Thursday, March 18, 2010

Hey, Teachers! Tell Me What You Think/Use/Want!

This wonderful writeup on the iLearn Technology blog contains some great suggestions for teachers to use Grammaropolis in their classrooms, including printing out the character cards, setting up the games on classroom computers, and encouraging students to write their own stories with the characters.

That last suggestion made me realize that I have been remiss in not posting the assignment that got this whole thing started in the first place: the Parts of Speech Children's Book.

The Assignment: Write a children’s book from the perspective of a single part of speech.
  • Narrate a day in the life of your part of speech.
  • What happens?
  • What’s the conflict?
  • How does your part of speech solve it?
  • Other parts of speech should be characters in the story.
Requirements:
  • The story must effectively convey the purpose of your part of speech.
  • May be in first or third person point of view.
  • Color illustrations on every page.
Some qualities of Children’s Books to consider:
  • Personification of animals and objects
  • Strong characterization
  • Overcoming obstacles
  • Clear storyline
Some things to think about for you, the personified part of speech:
  • What is your job?
  • What is an example of you doing your job well?
  • What is an example of a mistake you might make at your job?
  • Who are your friends at work?
  • Who don’t you get along with?
  • What do you do to relax?
  • Who or what stands in the way of you doing your job well?
  • How do you overcome those challenges?
That's it. I was amazed at the level of quality and imagination that resulted from letting the kids run with it, and I was impressed by how well they responded to a non-traditional grammar assignment. That's why I'm doing this now.

So, teachers, here's the part where I ask for your help. How are you using Grammaropolis in your classes? How have the students responded positively, and what have been some frustrations? What sort of things do you wish there were more of/less of?

The bottom line: How can I make it better for your you and your students?

6 comments:

  1. My kids love Grammaropolis, but they ask about getting the books "for real". Will you ever publish them in paper format?

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  2. My 4th graders are loving Grammaropolis! Will there be a report option in the future? I'd like to know how much time they spend practicing. Thanks!

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  3. What grade level(s) are these appropriate for?

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  4. I have some students that find that the videos go too fast. It would be great to have some printouts or supplemental sheets that go with the program. (eg. lyrics, paper/pencil quizzes, etc)

    ReplyDelete