English Grammar

Skills needed: child needs to be a reader
Time: Wednesday 6:15 to 7:30
Fee: 35/ per class 140/ month

Out of all the classes offered at The Montessori House, I would say that this one is the most important for native English speakers. After years of living overseas, time and time again I have worked with expatriate students who did not know the mechanics of their own language. For example, just recently I was substitute teaching in a local school which has some native English speakers ranging in age from 6 to 12. The students spoken language was fantastic but most of the students could not write a proper sentence nor did they know basic grammar facts (when to use a verses an or the concept of singular and plural nouns). As an educator this is freighting because many of these students will go back to their country and lack the necessary writing skills to succeed. English grammar is easy to learn and if given the correct building blocks to written language, children will succeed in all subjects. Even if a family has no intention of moving back to their native country I strongly urge that knowing English grammar will open more doors for your child.

The Montessori method uses a dynamic hands on approach to learning and understanding grammar. Students will also learn the fascinating history of the English language which helps the children understand and remember irregular patterns. Oral reports, speeches, debates, poetry and drama will also be a large part of this lesson.

Grammar:

· suffixes, prefixes and root words
· compound words and word families
· Article: function, indefinite and definite, singular and plural
· Noun: function, singular and plural (including spelling rules), masculine and feminine* classification of nouns (common, proper concrete, abstract, material, and collective)
· Adjective: function, agreement between noun and adjectives, classification (descriptive, numeral, definite, indefinite, possessive, interrogative, demonstrative, distributive and proper), comparative and superlative
· Verbs: function, kinds of verbs (transitive, intransitive, notional, auxiliary, and linking), voices (active, passive) Moods (indicative and subjunctive, imperative, infinitive and participle) and tenses
· Preposition: function, types
· Adverb: function, and kinds
· Pronoun- personal, demonstrative, relative, conjunctive and agreement of pronoun and verb
· Conjunction- function, types (coordinate, subordinate, compound, cumulative

Sentence Analysis
· Subject and predicate
· Direct and indirect object
· Adverbial phrases- kinds
· The Complement
· Attributive and appositive
· Simple and compound sentences

* Although most people don’t consciously realize the English language does use masculine and feminine nouns. Example: director and directress, heir and heiress, count and countess, hero and heroine…