Diagramming is simply a tool.  How useful it is depends on how a teacher chooses to use it.  If it's treated as an end in itself, that is, we diagram to learn to diagram, it's pretty much a waste of time, but if it's used as you are using it, to reinforce and illustrate principles like parts of speech and grammatical relationships, then it can be a powerful learning aid.  From what you write, it sounds as if your 8th graders are gaining some benefit from learning the diagramming skills.
 
That said, we have to recognized that Reed-Kellogg diagrams are based on a theory of grammar that was traditional but decidedly inadequate.  RK diagrams don't sufficiently distinguish between function and structure; they make no distinction between complementation and modification; they treat all prenominal modifiers as if they are adjectives, which is in keeping with how the traditional eight parts of speech treat them but still wrong; and they are unable to reflect word order accurately.  In spite of all those problems, they still represent basic notions like subject, predicate, main verb, direct object, predicate nominative, and modifier clearly, and that's no small benefit.
 
I'd say keep using them because they are, for all their warts, the best thing that is generally available to and familiar to our culture for the purpose of teaching grammar.
 
Herb Stahlke 

Subject: diagramming
Many of you know, I'm an 8th grade teacher of writing and grammar in Georgia (B.A. from O.S.U. and M. Ed. from Ohio U.) with 150 students in 5 classes.  Anyhow, I've been reviewing parts of speech with my darlings (we're talkign BASICS ... nouns/pronouns, verbs (action and linking), adj., adv., prep. phrases, d.o. and pred. nom. and pred. adj.), and some of them STILL just don't get it.  Thus, I've dusted off my Dru Riley Everts incomplete grammar book and started diagramming sentences with my students.  They all moaned and groaned at first, BUT, they all agree that diagramming is FORCING them to see the connections between parts of speech that they didn't see before (plus, they like to go to the board to diagram their sentence).

Anyhow, for the past decade, diagramming was 'considered' taboo; something old school that wasn't worthy of our time.  Are times changing?  Can we diagram in peace, since we realize that diagramming is just an old fashioned graphic organizer that really does help many students decipher a sentence's construction?

Thoughs, comments and criticisms from you all would be greatly appreciated.




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