Good morning, I wanted to share Homeschool Resources: Grammer with you this morning. If you have used any of these resources leave me a comment and let me know what you thought of them and why.
Grammar in a Nutshell is an online resource that teaches all aspects of English Grammar, allowing teachers and students of all ages to learn English Grammar in an engaging and exciting manner in their homeschool.
Grades 5 and up, with parental supervision
This website offers many free resources to help students learn about Greek Mythology!
Learn about the Gods, creatures, and heroes from ancient Greece that equip kids to understand vocabulary and references in literature, poetry, the newspaper, blogs, and all forms of communication and entertainment. Consider these basic examples provided at the website:
- In tribute to Hercules and his Labors, a huge or heroic task is said to Herculean.
- The Midas touch, or the gift of profiting from whatever one undertakes, is named for a legendary king of Phrygia.
- A book of maps gets its name from Atlas, the Titan who supported the heavens on his shoulders.
You’ll find many more examples in the “Teachers” section of the website that you can access from the home/landing page. It also includes free suggestions for mythology-themed activities and lesson plans designed to build skills in creative writing, vocabulary development, and art appreciation, along with two free downloadable ebooks titled, “The Heroic Myths” and “The Illustrated Odyssey.”
When you get to the site you’ll see the main menu that includes:
- Gods – Learn about 12 deities that dwelt on Mount Olympus through engaging text and colorful graphics.
- Heroes – Read the comic-book-style biographies of Jason, Hercules, Bellerophon, Theseus, Odysseus and Perseus – in English or Latin! Print them out to read offline too!
- Today – Find out how the Greek myths are relevant today.
- Encyclopedia – Get definitions and descriptions of various characters, places, and events in Greek mythology.
You’ll also find links to other websites with more in-depth information about Greek mythology.
This website is actually a commercial site that offers a CD-ROM of a Greek Mythology game for sale. However, that is one small aspect of this mostly free educational site.
Words and Their Stories is an award-winning, game-based online interactive Vocabulary Curriculum from FableVision Learning that teaches the fascinating stories behind words.
Grades 5-12, with parental supervision
This website offers a free, unique, and engaging tool to inspire creative writing and poetry.
The idea here is to:
- Select a background picture from an array of beautiful, striking, and surprising images. (Parents, as always, should preview to determine suitability.)
- Drag-and-drop word tiles displayed below the background picture to create a short story or poem inspired by the image in the photograph.
- Edit the story or poem to create a satisfying literary work of any length.
This gadget is modeled after the magnetic word tiles that many people have on their refrigerators. As explained on the website, “The object is to put the right words in the right place and the right order to capture the essence, story, and meaning of the picture.”
When you get to the site you’ll see a picture with word tiles below it. You can dive right in – or, if you would prefer some instruction on how to use this tool effectively, click on “Lesson Plans” on the horizontal menu bar at the top of the page, then click on the tutorial. Also, check out the lesson plans:
- Types of PIC-LITs – Get some basic tips along with ideas on how to use the word tiles to write a simple caption, a compound sentence, and a paragraph.
- Parts of Speech – Nouns, adjectives, verbs, pronouns, and more with links to YouTube videos on how to use PIC-LITs for each.
- Poetry – Explore a series of “advanced” lesson plans on how to write poems – including the use of figurative languages such as metaphors, similes, allusion, personification, irony, imagery, and more.
You can post the finished work in the public gallery, save them in your own free account file, e-mail the results, or link to them on Facebook – a clever way to inspire the young writers at your house!
Wordly Wise i3000™ provides direct academic vocabulary instruction to develop the critical link between vocabulary and reading comprehension through robust activities, social sharing, and interaction, and differentiated instruction within the digital application.
Grades 6-12, with parental supervision This website offers free classic audiobooks that you can download and listen to in MP3 or M4B format.
Some of the titles include:
- Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
- Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan
- Treasure Island by R. L. Stevenson
- Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
- White Fang by Jack London
- Emma by Jane Austin
- and more!
Click on the format and a new page opens with a summary of the book and links to download the material. Depending on the size of the file it may take several minutes to download. There are no pictures or text – just narration. So, if you have one of these classic books, you may want to use it and follow along as the narrator reads the story. You can also search by Author Name to find a book not on the “Most Popular Download” list.
Reading Eggs and Mathseeds makes learning interesting and engaging for kids, with great online reading and math games and activities. Plus, Reading Eggs and Mathseeds are based on solid scientific research and your subscription is good for up to 4 students.
Grades 7-12, with parental supervision
This website offers all of Shakespeare’s works online along with articles and analysis of his life and works – and much more.
The site is produced by Amanda Mabillard who holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Alberta in Canada and focused on Shakespeare and Renaissance political philosophy in both undergraduate and graduate school.
She also was the Shakespeare Guide on About.com, so some of her articles link to material posted there. When you get to the site you’ll see the featured content in the center of the screen. Scroll down to “Why Study Shakespeare“? to start.
Back at the top, use the menu on the left side of the screen to access all of his plays and sonnets along with analysis, plots, a biography of Shakespeare scholars, and a fun selection of Shakespeare quizzes.
Use the menu on the right side of the screen to get the answer to the trivia question of the day, see the featured quote, the word of the week, and more.
The content here is comprehensive and a terrific resource for homeschooling families.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
