We were fortunate to be in on the beta testing of this engaging grammar program, and I have been impressed with not only the program itself, but also with the responsiveness of the creators. My children have taken pretty thorough grammar classes through their elementary and middle school years, but I do not want them to lose those skills as they go through their high school years. I think this program will be a great way for them to keep that learning fresh in their minds, and will supply a review for them which is easy to use daily. We plan to keep it a daily part of their schooldays this year.
An amazing part of the GrammarPlanet program is that it is FREE!!! It is supported by advertising, and yes, there will be advertisements on the students' working pages. If that bothers you or your student, you can opt for the paid subscription, which frankly is very inexpensive.
If you have students younger than mine, or some who are less adept at grammar, you could use this as a learning program--the videos and accompanying explanation sheets and exercises are a good way to learn these elements of grammar as well.
So how does it work?
Each unit begins with an informational sheet for the student to open and print to reference during the lesson.
After they print the page, they read it and then are ready to watch the lesson.
The pages and the video combine to teach the student the information needed for that lesson. The student follows this by proceeding to the exercises, where they are asked to pick out the different parts of speech in the sentence (the ones which have been taught to that point).
If the student makes errors, those are pointed out, along with the correct answer.
Something really neat is that the parent, when signed in as the parent/teacher account, can view their students' progress, including the specific exercise answers and what the student got correct and incorrect.
Parents are also kept informed via email regarding the regularity with which their student logs in to use the program. If a student makes too many errors on a lesson or test, their account is locked until the parent resets it. That way the parent has the opportunity to help their student understand a concept (or just remind them to SLOW DOWN and do it right!)
If a student doesn't understand or remember something, the videos and papers are available to them at any time.
Tests...oh yes, I did mention those, right? The tests are similar to the exercises, they just don't have the instant response. At the end of the test the student receives his or her grade and may review what they got right or wrong (parents can view that as well). The grades are compiled on a page the parent views.
Each lesson only grades the information that has been given to that point. A student who has learned the parts of speech elsewhere might get a little frustrated if what they know to be true is not included yet (such as marking a predicate adjective as an adjective and getting it wrong because it hasn't been covered to that point), but hopefully you and they can take that into consideration when viewing results.
Overall, as using GrammarPlanet as a grammar program as a refresher/reminder course for my high schoolers, I have been very happy with it. We plan to continue it throughout the schoolyear for my 11th grader and 9th grader.
One reminder on ads--if your child is annoyed by the ads (which allow them to offer it for free) -- there will soon be a paid membership which will eliminate those ads. It sounds like it will be very reasonably priced, too.
If you want to read about what others thought about GrammarPlanet, please click on the link below!
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