It’s Wednesday, and time forour Homeschool Resource: Language Arts. I would like to ask you to check out the Recommended Website: Parts of Speech Tutorial, Children’s Storybooks Online, Do You Speak American?, DLTK – Children’s Book Breaks,
Age Range: 7-10 (Grades 2-6, with parental supervision) This fun “Parts of Speech Tutorial” is comprised of a series of animated games that help kids identify and use nouns, adjectives, verbs, commas, and capitals. It’s part of the massive, ad-supported Sheppard Software website that offers hundreds of free learning games for children in language arts, math, science, history and more.
When you get to the website you’ll see a picture of a stage. Click on the word “Play” on the stage curtain to create a character using nouns, adjectives, and verbs. If you’re uncertain of those parts of speech, then look at the menu on the left side of the page to find educational games that include:
- Noun Explorer – Learn the definition of a noun and use it to feed fish in the animated game.
- Adjective Adventure – Select fly adjectives and use them to feed the spiders.
- Verbs in Space – Use verbs to hammer robot aliens in space.
- Magical Capital – Help a fairy capitalize words in sentences.
- Comma Chameleon – Select punctuation marks and help the chameleon place them in a sentence correctly.
Once you play those games, go back to the main page to build your character for the stage. This is an engaging way to help kids learn and practice parts of speech.
When you’ re finished, be sure to click on the words “Sheppard Software” at the top of the screen to explore all of the learning games offered at this site. You’ll want to bookmark it to return often.
Recommended Website: Children’s Storybooks Online
Age Range: 5-18 (Grades K-12, with parental supervision) This award-winning site contains original stories with illustrations for young children, as well as stories for older kids and young adults too.
This ad-supported archived website gives you many riddles, mazes, and coloring activities that are coordinated with the stories. You can also click on a “sound” link to listen to some of the stories. One example is the book The Farm Animals – by Rolando Merino. It’s a free, complete, online, Click-a-Word Talking eBook! You can click and hear every individual word pronounced, hear every page read, and listen to real farm animal sounds!
There is real potential here for older siblings to read the online stories to their younger brothers and sisters – so it’s a friendly site for the entire family.
Going to this site is a little like going to the library without leaving home!
Age Range: 7-10 (Grades 2-6, with parental supervision) This fun “Parts of Speech Tutorial” is comprised of a series of animated games that help kids identify and use nouns, adjectives, verbs, commas, and capitals. It’s part of the massive, ad-supported Sheppard Software website that offers hundreds of free learning games for children in language arts, math, science, history and more.
When you get to the website you’ll see a picture of a stage. Click on the word “Play” on the stage curtain to create a character using nouns, adjectives, and verbs. If you’re uncertain of those parts of speech, then look at the menu on the left side of the page to find educational games that include:
- Noun Explorer – Learn the definition of a noun and use it to feed fish in the animated game.
- Adjective Adventure – Select fly adjectives and use them to feed the spiders.
- Verbs in Space – Use verbs to hammer robot aliens in space.
- Magical Capital – Help a fairy capitalize words in sentences.
- Comma Chameleon – Select punctuation marks and help the chameleon place them in a sentence correctly.
Once you play those games, go back to the main page to build your character for the stage. This is an engaging way to help kids learn and practice parts of speech.
When you’ re finished, be sure to click on the words “Sheppard Software” at the top of the screen to explore all of the learning games offered at this site. You’ll want to bookmark it to return often.
Recommended Website: Do You Speak American?
Age Range: 9-18 (Grades 4-12, with parental supervision) This PBS website attempts to answer the question, “Do You Speak American” through information and activities that explore the origin and evolution of English in the U.S.
When you get to the site you will see a menu of choices that provides a sound introduction to the topic along with “Special Features” that offer further exploration. Younger visitors may wish to jump directly to the extensive activities page. There, you can access information, quizzes and exercises such as:
- Radio America — Listen to radio broadcasts from typical speakers in each of the 50 states, and notice the great variety in dialects and pronunciation of words.
- Where is the Speaker From? — Listen to a few different speech samples and try to place them on a map of the US. (You might want to try this *after* you’ve listened to Radio America).
- Verb Machine — See what would happen to one verb if you used another verb as a pattern to conjugate (or try to figure out) the present, past, and perfect tenses.
- Test Your Vowel Power — See if you can understand the speech of people who pronounce vowels differently. (These shifts in pronunciation are appearing regionally throughout the U.S.)
This site can easily be used to springboard an interest in studying English grammar — and it’s a great Social Studies conversation starter as well.
Recommended Website: DLTK – Children’s Book Breaks
Age Range: 3-10 (Grades PreK-4 – pre-readers and early readers, with parental supervision)
This is a massive arts and crafts website that offers free coloring pages and craft activities that correlate with children’s literature including books, fairy tales, fables and nursery rhymes.
It’s a great way to extend the learning (and the fun!) after you read a story with your child.
When you get to the website you’ll see a menu that includes:
- Aesop’s Fables
- Arthur
- Clifford the Big Red Dog
- Curious George
- If You Give A Mouse A Cookie
- Nursery Rhyme Activities
- Stone Soup
- ~ and many more!
Click on any title and a new page opens where you’ll find printable coloring pages of the book characters and scenes, as well as craft activities such as instructions and printable templates for making puppets, felt board characters, story sequencing cards, and art projects of all kinds.
Be sure to click on:
- Book Report Ideas – Get free templates for making a book report and a diorama.
- Home Made School Journal – Access free instructions and templates on how to make your own personalized journals and diaries.
- Mini Books – Find an amazing array of printable alphabet stories, Bible stories, holiday stories, and some themed stories. You can also print out templates for making custom stories that are all about your child.
This site offers fun ways to enhance learning through blending reading, writing, and art!
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
