| Grade Level | System Requirement | Product Number |
|---|---|---|
| Grades 3-4 | Apple 128K | A272 |
| One creepy monster after another creates grammar fun for students as they learn to select words to complete sentences, edit usage errors, and identify parts of speech. Features three interactive programs Reinforces and builds upon the grammar skills introduced in class. | ||
Introduction
Grammar Monsters is a set of three programs designed to provide third- and fourth-grade students with opportunities to strengthen their grammar skills. The product gives students practice with creating complete sentences, editing a passage for correct usage, and recognizing basic parts of speech.
Grammar Monsters is a product from MECC’s Grammar Series. Another product in the series, Grammar Toy Shop, gives first- and second-grade students practice with grammar skills. In the future, this series will include software packages designed to reinforce grammar skills for elementary school students through the sixth grade.
The guiding philosophy in the development of the MECC Grammar Series includes the following:
- The products should be interactive so that students realize that using accepted grammar “can make things happen.”
- Students should not simply be drilled on grammar principles; rather, they should “experience” grammar in meaningful contexts.
- The products should have a central theme and should either create stories or allow students to practice skills within stories.
The design of Grammar Monsters supports this philosophy. Each of the programs reinforces instructional objectives related to grammar skills typically introduced formally in grades three and four. Each of the activities, however, is based in meaningful context, either in sentences or in a story. In each activity, students see the results of recognizing and using proper grammar.
For example, in the program Monster Maker, students edit three errors in a short description of a monster. Each of the errors in the passage is related to problems in the usage of nouns, pronouns, action verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. As students correctly edit these errors, the portion of the monster that the sentence describes appears next to the story. Students can then print out their edited stories along with the corresponding monster.
Students can exit a program by pressing the Escape (Esc) Key whenever the program is waiting for a response. Sound may be turned on or off at any time by typing Control-S (press the S Key while holding down the Control Key).
Program Information
- Title: Grammar Monsters
- Grade Level: 3-4
- Subject Area: Grammar
- Program Type: Guided Practice
- Hardware: Apple II series computer with 128K of memory and one disk drive; color monitor highly recommended.
- Classroom Use: Individual student
- Leaming Objectives:
- to create complete sentences;
- to edit errors in usage of nouns, pronouns, action verbs, adjectives,and adverbs; and
- to select or enter singular or plural proper nouns, present- and past-time verbs, adjectives, or comparing adjectives and adverbs.
- to recognize nouns, pronouns, action verbs, adjectives, and adverbs; to edit errors in usage of nouns, pronouns, action verbs, adjectives, and adverbs; and to select or enter singular or plural proper nouns, present- and past-time verbs, adjectives, or comparing adjectives and adverbs.