Written Babytalk

You know those things that you make and then you loose them in your files or Drive? I was looking through some files the other day and found a copy of this jewel: 

Basically, I took the TEKS and broke them down into a K-12 list so I could easily see what grade taught which expectations. I also wanted kids to see that capitalizing the first letter in a sentence was a KINDERGARTEN and FIRST GRADE TEK. Not sure the irritation comes through correctly here, but I'm sure that anyone who's graded a paper in the last century would understand. 

Now, I really don't believe in shaming kids, but I do believe that we should let them know what they should be able to accomplish. We don't let kids go around pronouncing "spaghetti" as "pasgetti" because babytalk is embarrassing. Neglecting basic mechanics is written babytalk and is even more embarrassing. At least it should be. 

So how can you use the chart?

1. Reference. It's an easy way to look at what is supposed to be learned before the kids get to you and to have a clear understanding of where kids are headed. 

2. Give pieces of it to kids. Once you cover something in class, then you can have the kids highlight it as a non-negotiable editing item. Or you could have kids show you EVIDENCE that they can apply these skills in their writing. 

Hope it helps.