Fix-It! Grammar and Editing Made Easy with Classics†

Fix-It! contains five stories at different ability levels, each one to be used over the course of a year: an abridged version of Tom Sawyer, two humorous takeoffs on classic fairy tales, an abridged version of Andersen's The Little Mermaid, and an abridged, translated version of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. From these stories, students rewrite several sentences a day, four days per week, correcting as many of the embedded grammatical errors as they can find. They also search for dress-ups and sentence openers.

In order to use Fix-It! for as many years as possible, start with the easiest story at your student’s grade level. The following recommended levels are suggestions only, however. You could teach a later level to younger students who are more advanced, while older students whose grammar understanding is weak might need to start with an easier story.

Tom Sawyer: Grades 3–6
Frog Prince, or Just Desserts: Grades 4–8
The Little Mermaid: Grades 6–9
The King and the Discommodious Pea: Grades 7–10
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: Grades 9–12

The Teacher's Manual contains the corrections for each sentence, along with explanations of grammar, and the definition for a bolded vocabulary word. An appendix explains the most relevant grammar rules and discusses IEW style, especially in relation to teaching grammar.

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Question:
Do I review or "teach" the skills prior to my students reworking the sentences each day? Or do
I let them make as many corrections as they can find and then go over the ones they missed?

Answer:
Fix-It is designed to teach through repetition, so you don't have to teach the concepts they don't know before beginning. Instead, have them copy the passage and correct as many errors as they can find, as well as looking up the vocabulary word and finding dress-ups and openers, if you want. Then compare what they do to the correct version and discuss/teach what they missed. The same concepts repeat throughout the story, so they'll hear them over and over again. When you know you've discussed one already, try to guide them to see it for themselves. For instance, if it's another comma splice, ask them to tell you what the main clauses in the sentence are, then ask them what punctuation is joining those main clauses, and remind them that a comma isn't strong enough. Ask them what it needs instead. The teaching comes as you go rather than in advance. Reassure them that most students don't catch everything and they'll improve as they work at it.