spontaneous punctuation

This week we dug a little deeper in the parts of prepositional phrase, sentence patterns, and the pronoun case. In addition to this, we also learned about "fanboys." Which was actually a really useful tool! I never really thought about putting commas before some of the words "fanboys" stands for. I even applied these rules to a current essay I produced. We also finished reading about the story of "Dora" and how kids struggle with punctuation and why. Honestly, I had a really hard time getting through the second half of the article. It was super dense and very repetitive. I fell like each section was like, "punctuation is hard. . . and this is why" only with a different story to follow. Even though we had a Socratic seminar about the article (which I always love a good discussion), I almost feel that other students felt the same way I did about the article. We did generate discussion, but not like we did last time. I feel that the class struggled, and therefore, didn't really know what to say about it. Anyway, before leaving last class we were posed with a question: "when do you actually notice punctuation and think about what you're doing?" Well, the answer to that question is spontaneous punctuation. I don't really think about what I'm doing unless I have a complicated sentence that I'm trying to form. Honestly, everything else just comes naturally to me and I don't really think about it as I'm typing or writing. I don't see it as punctuation, I guess. I see it as part of the word, part of the spelling, part of its very essence! Overall, I felt that discussions were good this week and there isn't anything I have questions about or don't understand. It was smooth sailing for me this time around!

Question of the week: Than or then? Barbara mentioned it in class this week and now I'm confused and worried that I may be using it wrong! Anyone want to clarify for me?