The same may be said of grammar and composition. The meaning and application of terms must be learned, sentences must be analyzed, and words must be parsed, before the student can comprehend the philosophy that underlies the correct use of any language. As a matter of fact, correction is a useful exercise in 6th grade, after a year of diagramming correctly constructed sentences. Common syntax errors abound in magazines and newspapers, and children can do corrections of sentences that you have collected once a week. There are also rules that govern syntax which should be learned by heart the first year, in 5th grade, and reviewed periodically after that.
Punctuation is a branch of syntax.
The rules governing proper punctuation should be memorized and practiced in these two years. Much of their writing in writing class has been copying up till this point, and they will have an instinct for correct punctuation after having copied correct punctuation for so many years. However, the rules governing punctuation should still be memorized, just in time for more original writing in writing class in the form of journals and narrations. Spelling Spelling is technically a subset of orthography. We learn and practice spelling all throughout the grammar stage, 1st through 6th grades.