Does your child know the parts of speech?
More importantly, does he know how to use them? Most children have brilliant memories as a God-given gift. It might be easy for your son or daughter to tell you the difference between a noun and a verb. But if you asked your child to give you a list of five verbs, could he do it? In order for your child to do well in school, he must have a good command of the English language. This is only possible if he really knows and understands the use of the parts of speech.
Games can be valuable at=home learning tools.
With English, a creative parent can come up with many enjoyable ways to teach the concepts. In fact, with just a pad of paper and a pen, you can design any number of games to teach the parts of speech alone!
A small pad of paper is sufficient. You might want to use a dictionary, but it isn’t really necessary. On each piece of paper, write a single word. On the back of the page in tiny letters, write its part of speech. With these, your child can learn and review an important grammar concept.
Shuffle up the papers and they can be used as simple flash cards. The child can work on them alone, or with another person. He must simply look at a word, and identify its part of speech. If he is correct, he may go on. If not, try having him repeat the part of speech’s definition. Then have him use the word correctly, in a sentence, and talk about how he has demonstrated word’s proper place.
Another game is called “Tag It Or Try It.”
Your child chooses a paper at random. His first decision must be is this word one he should tag something with, or is it something he should try to do. If the word is “bright” for example, he should choose to put the tag on something in the room that is bright. Perhaps he will tag a lamp or a colorful toy. Then he must identify the part of speech. At first you might have to coach him. Is the object called a “bright?” When the child sees that the word “bright” describes the object, he should know that it is an adjective.
Verbs and adverbs, on the other hand, are words a child must “try” to do. If the word is “slowly,” for example, the child will choose to “try” it. Then he can move himself, a part of his body, or an object slowly along. To be fully correct, he must see that slowly is an adverb. Try playing with a group of children. If a child gives an incorrect answer, the tag is passed to another child.
You can help your child to acquire important knowledge.
You can help your child excel academically for the glory of God. Make the learning fun by using games.
by Dr. Paul D. Lindstrom for “There’s No Place Like Home”
Christian Liberty Homeschools has the tools you need to be successful. Visit us at: https://www.homeschools.org