Has anyone heard of the "Deconstruction Dozen?"
It was introduced by Tim Ferriss, author of 4 Hour Chef, 4 Hour Body, and other very popular books.
It is simply a list of a dozen sentences that are to be translated into your target language. Then, you take these translated sentences, compare them with the original sentences, and attempt to make sense of the grammar.
I thought this was rather interesting, so I thought I'd give it a shot with Russian. Can anyone translate these sentences? Thanks!

1. The apple is red.
2. It is John's apple.
3. I give John the apple.
4. We give him the apple.
5. He gives it to John.
6. She gives it to him.
7. Is the apple red?
8. The apples are red.
9. I must give it to him.
10. I want to give it to her.
11. I'm going to know tomorrow.
12. I can't eat the apple.

Check out this link for more info on this technique.
http://fourhourworkweek.com/2007/11/07/how-to-learn-but-not-master-any-language-in-1-hour-plus-a-favor/