It’s Wednesday, and time for us to share a Homeschooling Resource for Language Arts. I would like to ask you to check out the Recommended Websites: Handwriting For Kids and The Literature Network. If you have used these resources leave me a comment and let me know what you thought of them and why.
Age Range: 4-10 (Grades K-5 approximately, with parental guidance) This ad-supported website offers free lessons and practice worksheets for learning how to print, write in cursive, and learn English grammar. (It also offers instruction and worksheets for learning arithmetic.)
When you get to the website you will see an introduction, and a menu on the left side of the screen that includes:
- Manuscript – Learn to print by tracing letters of the alphabet, words, and sentences using the free worksheet variations available here.
- Cursive – Learn cursive writing by tracing first, and then writing independently. Free printable worksheets of individual letters, words, and complete sentences are provided for practice.
- English – Use the free lessons and worksheets to learn grammar, including nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and prepositions.
- Mathematics – You’ll find a selection of interactive math lessons, worksheets, and drill games.
You’ll also find links to further resources, Spanish worksheets, Biblically-themed handwriting and cursive worksheets, and a flash card making tool.
Click on any topic and a new page opens where you’ll find the lessons and worksheets. The layout isn’t always crystal clear – but if you just click on a couple of items, you’ll figure out how best to use this site quickly.
Recommended Website: The Literature Network
Age Range: 11-18 (Grades 5-12, with parental supervision) This ad-supported website provides free biographies and literature including stories, books, and articles by a variety of authors from A to Z.
You’ll find a searchable collection of prominent works, along with fun quizzes that test your biographical knowledge of your favorite authors.
When you get to the site, you’ll see an alphabetical list of authors names including:
- Louisa May Alcott (Little Women)
- Jane Austen (Pride & Prejudice)
- James M. Barrie (Peter Pan)
- Lewis Carroll (Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland)
- F. Scott Fizgerald (The Great Gatsby)
- Kenneth Grahame (The Wind in the Willows)
- Homer (The Odyssey)
- Herman Melville (Moby Dick)
- Beatrix Potter (The Tale of Peter Rabbit)
- William Shakespeare
- Henry David Thoreau (Walden)
- Mark Twain (The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn)
- Jules Verne (Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea)
Click on any name and a new page opens with the author’s biography, a collection of their works (many that you can read online), and a challenging interactive quiz.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
