The problem of the missing "so" in FANBOYS isn't a product of Common Core
itself; it may come down to local curriculum choices or any number of other
things. The Standards aren't "bad," they just fall short in many areas. One
would have to ask Pearson and ETS about specific assessment content and
mechanisms...

I've included a few excerpts of the Language Standards below;
unfortunately, they grow more rather than less ambiguous from grades 9
through 12.

The blame game is an interesting one, though mostly unproductive. So, the
consensus is that students enter the university with questionable (at best)
language skills - do they necessarily leave with better ones? The consensus
is that poor instruction has left students with "difficulties" they carry
to college - but many of them leave college as teachers who bring those
unrepaired difficulties with them (who are then blamed for poor
instruction, and the wheel of life spins on). Were their "education"
programs and methods classes of any benefit? The past two student-teachers
assigned to me *could not* identify the subject and verb of a complex
sentence. That's much more frightening to me than a 5th grader not knowing
the variances of "so" in all its glory.

- John



Language Standards K–5

*Grade 2 students:*

Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and
usage when writing

or speaking.

a. Use collective nouns (e.g., *group*).

b. Form and use frequently occurring irregular plural nouns (e.g., *feet,
children, teeth, mice,* *fish*).

c. Use reflexive pronouns (e.g., *myself, ourselves*).

d. Form and use the past tense of frequently occurring irregular verbs
(e.g., *sat, hid, told*).

e. Use adjectives and adverbs, and choose between them depending on what is
to be modified.

f. Produce, expand, and rearrange complete simple and compound sentences
(e.g., *The boy*

*watched the movie; The little boy watched the movie; The action movie was
watched by the*

*little boy*).

*Grade 5 students:*

a. Explain the function of conjunctions, prepositions, and interjections in
general and their function in particular sentences.

b. Form and use the perfect (e.g., *I had walked; I have walked; I will
have walked*) verb tenses.

c. Use verb tense to convey various times, sequences, states, and
conditions.

d. Recognize and correct inappropriate shifts in verb tense.

e. Use correlative conjunctions (e.g., *either/or, neither/nor*).

*Grade 6 students:*

a. Ensure that pronouns are in the proper case (subjective, objective,
possessive).

b. Use intensive pronouns (e.g., myself, ourselves).

c. Recognize and correct inappropriate shifts in pronoun number and person.

d. Recognize and correct vague pronouns

(i.e., ones with unclear or ambiguous antecedents).*

e. Recognize variations from standard English in their own and others’
writing and

speaking, and identify and use strategies to improve expression in
conventional language.

*Grade 8 students:*

Explain the function of verbals (gerunds, participles, infinitives) in
general and their

function in particular sentences.

b. Form and use verbs in the active and passive voice.

c. Form and use verbs in the indicative, imperative, interrogative,
conditional, and subjunctive

mood.

d. Recognize and correct inappropriate shifts in verb voice and mood.








On Thu, Mar 12, 2015 at 12:08 AM, Turner, Tildon L. <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:

> Hi Nathalia,
>
> There is no mystery.  The students were misinformed.  It is always
> stressful as a teacher to have students who have received inadequate or
> erroneous instruction of any kind.  The mnemonic is FANBOYS not FANBOY.
> The "S" makes all the difference.  "So" is the only coordinating
> conjunction that indicates material implicature, effectively carrying the
> meaning of "therefore".  In the college setting in which I teach, I can be
> forceful about blaming poor previous instruction for difficulties some
> students have and can dissuade them from continuing to use incorrect
> grammar.  I appreciate the fact that you may not have such a luxury with
> younger students.  However, they need to be weaned of the misunderstanding
> regarding "so".
> Perhaps the students only think of "so" in its adverbial usage such as: "I
> went to bed early so I could get a good night's sleep", which of course
> does not require a comma.  They need to become comfortable with a compound
> like "It is very hot outside today, so I'm not going to wear a jacket",
> which typically does take a comma.
>
>
> All the best,
>
> Til
>
>
> Til Turner
> Languages and Literature
> Northern Virginia Community College
> www.englishiskillingme.com
> Ph: 703.323.3269
>
>
> ________________________________________
> From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar [
> [log in to unmask]] on behalf of Nathalia Hardy [
> [log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Wednesday, March 11, 2015 8:17 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Compound Sentences and Coordinating Conjunctions
>
> I am hoping you could help me solve a bit of a mystery.  Some of my
> students have been taught that "so" is not a coordinating conjunction and
> should not be used to join two independent clauses.  Unfortunately, none of
> them can explain this other than to say "their teacher said so."  These are
> seventh and eighth grade students.  They have been taught the mnemonic
> device FANBOY to remember the coordinating conjunctions and are holding
> firm in their "understanding."  Am I missing something?
>
> Best,
>
> Nathalia Hardy
>
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-- 
John Chorazy
English III Honors, AP Lit
Advisor, *Panther Press*
Pequannock Township High School
973.616.6000


Noli Timere

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