Dear Listmates,

I would appreciate some comment on the relative advantages of marking sentences (following a KISS Grammar method or similar) versus diagramming sentences in the Reed-Kellogg style (or variant) for the purposes of teaching and learning how to understand sentence structure.  The students are diligent upper elementary and middle school students performing at or above grade level; the teachers believe that grammar instruction is important; the administration lets the teachers do what they want, provided their students continue to outperform other schools.  Should students learn diagramming? What advantages does it bring them that marking will not? When should they learn diagramming?  Does anyone have any experience with using either both methods or diagramming with this age group?  Is there any relevant research? 

Thanks,

Scott Woods