What is the correct way to answer questions?

[MommyInTraining]

If my 10 yo dd has the question:

Who are the main characters of the story?

Is it OK for her to just list the names on her paper, or should she be required to answer in a complete sentence?

Thanks for your help!

[Tansy]

May be a complete sentance using commas correctly?

The main characters are George, Martha, and Phyllis.

But hey did she get all the characters woo hoo!!!

[my3sons]

Hi Terri! Well, the proper way to answer would be to restate the question in the answer, as Tansy described. This is an excellent habit to teach, but I confess that I don't always require it. If the writing a child is doing is more than enough for him already, then accepting a shorter answer is a way to lighten up on the writing and yet still have the child show he knows the answers. For example, I don't always require restating the question in the answers for the 5 science questions each week. However, if the purpose of the assignment is to teach LA skills such as writing in complete sentences (i.e. for grammar), then I do require this. It has actually been very beneficial to teach this habit in an oral way for my ds. So when I ask him a question orally, he responds orally by restating my question in his answer. This often carries over into his writing anyway. So, long story short - yes, it's a good idea to require complete sentences that restate the question for answers. But, if a child has enough writing already and another part of the writing of which the sole purpose is to teach writing is not done as well because of it, then I'd back off requiring detailed answers for science, history, etc. and require the most detail in writing assignments. HTH!

In Christ,
Julie