A Diagram Race

Middle school students divide into teams to diagram a sentence. After putting one line and one word on the board, they hand off the marker to someone else on their team. The first team to finish with a correctly diagrammed sentence wins. We write their time on the board and compare it to the teams of the other middle school grades. In this race, the 7th and 8th grades tied, diagramming their sentences in 1:37 (one minute and 37 seconds). The winners get Smarties candies!

Do you know how to diagram a sentence?

Time yourself.  How long does it take you to diagram the following sentence?  Correct answer will be given on Monday.

Mrs. Donofrio gave me the book, Elijah of Buxton, and I put it into my backpack.

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10 thoughts on “A Diagram Race

  1. That was so fun because everyone in the 6th grade had a chance to diagram a sentence in a fun way! I was on the green team and I was motivated by my fellow team. It was very exciting! We should do that again sometime.

  2. Of course I know how to diagram sentences because you taught me how! It took me 43 seconds to diagram the sentence you just put on. The race we had was a lot of fun and I am looking foward to doing it again! -Sadie

    • Sadie, your comments always bring a smile to my face. 43 seconds! You are a whiz. I think I might have a hard time beating that record myself. We’ll do another race soon.

  3. Hi Brooke!
    Guess what???? I have a contact for you from Vermont! Her name is Professor Mirka Prazak-Pini and we went to high school together in Pakistan! She is an Anthropology professor at Bennington College in Bennington, Vermont. She said that she would be “delighted” to be your 50th! She is a super interesting person and has spent many years living and working in Kenya on all sorts of projects. Her address is
    mprazak@bennington.edu
    For the last 20 years or so, all we have done is exchanged Christmas cards. I hadn’t reached out to her until your sweet mom asked for a Vermont address. I sent Mirka a message and within an hour she wrote me back saying she was soooooo happy to help. If it hadn’t been for your class project, I probably wouldn’t have reconnected with her. This is just a small example of how when you are kind to someone that kindness comes back to you. I wanted to help you and know I have rekindled a wonderful friendship. :)8
    Thank you and have fun in school!
    Mrs. Chonody

    • Dear Mrs. Chonody,
      I read your comment with so much appreciation, I had to respond, even though I know this was addressed to Brooke. I can’t believe how cool this is!!! It is phenomenal to think that a blog I started in my kitchen Florida last summer somehow resulted in a rekindled friendship of two people I’ve never met and who knew each other in Pakistan twenty years ago!
      All of your comments, and especially the last line of this one, epitomize the global classroom we hope to create through our class blog. Thank you for all your gracious words that keep us motivated from post to post.
      I just had to let you know how heartwarming it is for me and all my students to come into contact with wonderful people like you through this blog. Thank you for sharing your experiences with us.
      We will soon share our second blogging celebration with you as a result of meeting our second goal: Visitors from all 50 states!! Yahoo!
      Most sincerely and appreciatively,
      Beth Donofrio

      • Dear Mrs. Donofrio, Brooke and friends,
        WOW!!!!!!! Well, first of all, you made me cry. I was so incredibly touched by Mrs. Donofrio’s kind and thoughtful words. As much as I have made you guys smile, you have made me smile ten times as much! What a blessing this has been for all of us!
        I also have to thank you for making me 20 years younger! Although Mirka and I have been exchanging Christmas cards for around 20 years…..we were actually in high school together in Pakistan, nearly 40 years ago!!!! It is hard to believe, but as you guys get older, you will find out that time really does go by waaaaay too quickly and that is why you make the most of each and every day!!!!
        Next, I just have to say that I never in my life thought that I would make it to the top of any Top Ten List!!!!! I was truly touched…..you should have seen me crying. Just ask Brooke, about me and crying….I am softie. However, on this occasion, the tears were truly merited and now that I have made it to the top of a Top Ten List, I think that I will rest just a bit easier.
        In closing, if possible, I would just LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to come to your class and meet all of you! I could share a few stories about living in Pakistan as well as some of the other cool places, I have been. For instance, I had a pet monkey when I lived in Nigeria….our world might be huge but it is amazing that kids in Nigeria, Pakistan or right here in Venice are much more alike then they are different. I don’t want to do anything fancy….like a presentation or anything like that, just stop by and say, “hello or jambo or salaam”!
        Please let me know if this works for you guys….take care and thank you again for making my year!
        Take care,
        Mrs. Chonody

        • We can’t wait to meet you in person! I will get your contact information from Brooke’s family, and we will set something up soon. Our blogging friends in British Columbia have asked for a Skype visit, too. Perhaps we could all visit on the same day. That would be fun! The mom of one of my students is a journalist. I’m thinking that all the global connections we are making are worthy of a story as well. My student is going to check with his mom to see if she would like to visit and write a story about using blogs in education. Thank you for all your interest and enthusiasm. We will see you soon!
          ~Mrs. Donofrio

  4. I took part in this amazing race and fortunately, my team won. Although, I congratulate the opposite team for doing very well ( no sarcasm intended) and the score was very close.

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