I think memorizing definition and facts can be a great thing but when it starts...

[A home for their hearts]

getting in the way of learning I really begin to wonder if it's good at all. My dc, especially my son, can say the definition of a noun, but when I ask him to tell me one he gives me that far away look. Same seems to happen when learning math facts, they can memorize them till the cows come home but give them a different type of math to do and they are clueless! I'm obviously missing something here. We are using FLL 1/2 and although I love the ease of it, I wonder if it's enough for them. I don't want my dc to become complacent and stop thinking.

[Jennefer@SSA]

First of all, grammar is very abstact for young kids and many are not ready for it until they are much older. There is a whole school of thought that says wait until 5th or even 6th grade before starting and things will go much easier b/c their brains are more developed and prepared for the concepts.

That being said, asking the def. of a noun requires a very low level of thinking but asking them to produce a noun on their own requires a much higher level of thinking (thinking of Bloom's Taxonomy (http://www.teachervision.fen.com/teaching-methods/curriculum-planning/2171.html) here).

There are some steps in-between that may help your dc. For example, can you ask them to identify the noun given 2 choices: cat or jump? Then give them 3 choices and so on. Then at some point can they identify a noun in a short sentence. Keep getting more and more advanced.

I am a strong believer in teaching kids not only what to think but how to think but I think learning definitions can build a strong foundation for making that happen. If you are having to spend an inordinate amount of time drilling the definitions to the point you can never work on other things I would re-evaluate. If not, keep on keeping on! It will pay off in the years to come. :)

Hth

[hwfquilts]

I am guessing your son is in 1st or 2nd grade, based on your using FLL 1/2.

I'm not sure that memorizing does get in the way of real learning (unless you spend all your time memorizing facts and NO time on other work, which is unlikely!). I think when children are young and are memorizing facts, like math facts and grammar definitions, they may not get the application part yet. But as they get older and move through more school, they have those definitions in their minds and when they do reach a point of understanding, the facts are already there. My rising third grader doesn't really get what it means that a noun is a person, place, thing or idea, although he knows the rote definition. My rising sixth grader totally gets it, after memorizing the fact in first grade, then seeing it in action for several more years. I think down the road there's a point of convergence between the memorized fact and its use, and that kids have a head start if the fact is already "in there" when understanding hits.

Don't know if that helps you think about it, but there's my .02 :)

Best,
Heather

[tristangrace]

Ideally, the kids would understand the stuff they're memorizing when they're memorizing it--but it honestly doesn't bother me if the comprehension doesn't come till later.

For example--I have no prob asking my 1st grader to begin memorizing the list of Egyptian dynasties at the start of the school year, even though we won't finishing reading about them for months . . . and even though she may not really "get" all the connotations of what a dynasty is and how they are connected to one another until we cover them again in 5th grade--four years from now! If she's memorized them well, the "meaningless facts" stored in her brain will become richer and richer with meaning over time. On the other hand, if the "meaningless facts" are not available to pull out when needed, she'll just have to memorize them at that point, when it make take more effort for less payoff.

Susan

[johnandtinagilbert]

I found that having them act out verbs, bring me "nouns" made the abstract memorization much more concrete and it helped them actually understand all that stuff they were memorizing...hth

ps hang in there, many things start slowly and come together beautifully with due diligence, just make sure you're not only drilling; drilling,is just one part of the equation (and I think an important part)

[Cadam]

Remember, you are building pegs. One step at a time. You have a lot of steps to get through and a long time to get through them. You have to know the information before you can understand the information.