Here is a sentence I received in a student’s paper:
I love visiting Cape Coral with its beautiful ocean, gorgeous weather, and friendly people!
I wanted to analyze just what made her sentence so effective. Using the Linking Blocks allowed us to see its structure in color, revealing strong parallelism.
I love visiting Cape Coral with its beautiful ocean, gorgeous weather, and friendly people!
We see a prepositional phrase with a compound object, ocean, weather, and people. In addition to that, each BLUE noun has its own PURPLE adjective, modifying it.
The parallelism becomes even more obvious when we manipulate the word blocks like this:
I love visiting Cape Coral with itsbeautiful ocean,gorgeous weather, andfriendly people!
Like what you see? Visit our online store to view Linking Blocks products such as our Linking Blocks Kit:
Linking Blocks Kit
This set includes:
-50 blocks (10 colors)
-Links
-Word cards
-Punctuation cards
-Function cards
-Part of speech cards
-Carrying case
We are excited to announce that we have our Intermediate Course now available for purchase! This has been in the works for a long time. Thank you to those who have patiently waited for the arrival of this next course. The Intermediate Course picks up where the Basic Course leaves off. It digs deeper into the use of the different parts of speech.
We are now offering our most popular books as packages to provide a discount. Make sure you look for the packages when purchasing the Workbooks and Answer Keys. To purchase yours now just click here.
We would like to hear from our customers who have purchased this course. Any and all questions, comments, or requests are much appreciated and encouraged. Please provide us with your input below.
We are also excited to deliver another one of our combo learning packages: The Basic Student Package. Children will learn quickly and efficiently by using this basic student grammar package system of learning. The basic student grammar package will assist students with the basics of grammar by providing them a different approach to learning. Visual learning incorporated with the written concepts help children learn faster.
This learning kit includes
The Basic Course Student Workbook, The Basic Course Student Workbook Answer Key, and The Basic Writing Course Student Notebook. To purchase yours now just click here.
We would like to hear from our customers who have purchased this course. Any and all questions, comments, or requests are much appreciated and encouraged. Please provide us with all your thoughts below.
Our Teacher’s Set Basic Course is everything all you teachers need to present grammar. Don’t forget the Student Workbook to provide additional exercises to solidify the concepts with your student. The set includes the Linking Blocks Kit, Basic Course Teacher`s Guide, Introduction and Demonstration DVD, Flash Cards – Basic Course, Parts of Speech Songs CD, and Parts of Speech Poster. To purchase yours now just click here.
We would like to hear from our customers who have purchased this course. Any and all questions, comments, or requests are much appreciated and encouraged. Please provide us with your input below.
Our Linking Blocks Kit is a necessity for all teachers and educators to assist children with grasping the idea and concepts of English grammar. This
Linking Blocks Kit Includes
50 blocks of 10 colors, Links, Word Cards, Punctuation Cards, Function Cards, Part of Speech Cards, and Carrying Case. To purchase yours now just click here.
We would like to hear from our customers who have purchased this kit. Any and all questions, comments, or requests are much appreciated and encouraged. Please provide us with your input below.
From the desk of Beverly Menken
We are excited to announce a new book, The Basic Student Writing Notebook, which will be available for purchase in the near future.
The Basic Student Writing Notebook was created to give students an opportunity to apply their understanding of grammar concepts to the writing of effective sentences. The notebook also provides a way to develop a list of words which are colorful, creative, and specific. Just as colorful fabrics enhance the beauty of a quilt, so do colorful, specific words enhance a student’s sentences. With the skillful addition of each new part of speech such as strong verbs or quality adjectives, the sentences come alive with vibrant language.
In addition to developing colorful, language-rich sentences, the Basic Student Writing Notebook is an effective diagnostic tool for the teacher. He may observe if a student has used the specified part of speech correctly. For example, the teacher may notice that the student used an adverb in his sentence when the directions actually called for an adjective. Perhaps a student will write a sentence with a compound subject instead of following directions that call for a compound sentence. As the teacher observes these errors, he may adjust his lesson to review those trouble spots.
Because the student must critically think about how to add a specific word to a sentence, he is applying his understanding of grammar to the real world of written communication. This application of grammar concepts combined with an enriched, vivid vocabulary becomes a wonderful combination. The study of grammar becomes truly practical in the real world of composition. One quality sentence becomes two, then three sentences, and eventually pages of sentences, which become paragraphs, research papers, and novels. Be watching for this exciting new book!
From the desk of John Menken We are delighted to introduce this third edition of the Hands-On English with Linking BlocksTM Teacher’s Guide. Here are some of the significant changes that appear in the third edition:
The volume is now perfect-bound instead of spiral-bound. This more traditional binding allows easy identification on the bookshelf and prevents the sagging typical of spiral-bound volumes. There are no spirals to snag, and pages are less likely to tear out with wear. The new color-coded cover coordinates with the Basic Course Student Workbook and anticipates Intermediate and Advanced Linking BlocksTM courses to follow.
Inside the Third Edition, you will find the “How-To” sections much more available in the front of the book instead of in the back resource section where they used to be. You will find that the third edition’s font is easier to read, and the whole book easier for the teacher to use. From the start, the Linking BlocksTM Teacher’s Guide has been scripted, giving the very words that the teacher would say. In the earlier editions, however, the teacher’s words were indicated by italic font. In this third edition, the teacher’s script is given in imperative voice, such as “Show with the blocks, how. . . .” “Point out. . . .” and “Have the student tap. . . .”etc. This change makes it virtually impossible to get off step with your instruction.
Our vision is to train effective communicators. Teachers are at the forefront of that mission. We confidently present to you, our teammates, the best instructional tool that our team of teachers, writers, and designers could assemble. Thank you for choosing Hands-On English with Linking BlocksTM.
Beverly Menken
Co-author of Hands-On English
with Linking Blocks
The brain receives information through one’s senses. When multiple senses are employed in learning, one retains the information longer. By using the sense of touch, the tactile sense is stimulated, and one’s hands serve as a neurological connection to the brain. If the visual modality is combined with the tactile, this is a powerful combination for memory. Hands-on-English with Linking Blocks is a method for teaching English grammar that employs the tactile and the visual learning pathways to the brain. When one sees a blue noun block and a red verb block and moves the blocks together to make a simple sentence, the brain is registering the thought, “This is a simple sentence with two parts—blue and red.”
Hands-on-English with Linking Blocks not only incorporates the tactile and the visual modalities for learning, but the student also vocalizes as he arranges the blocks. While the exercise of picturing the colored blocks occurs in the right hemisphere of the brain, the left hemisphere is functioning when one is verbalizing the colors and the names of the parts of speech. Instead of grammar terms escaping one’s memory, the student has a color association which he reviews every time he builds a new sentence with blocks. Purple adjectives, orange adverbs, and yellow prepositions become like velcro to the brain. Tapping the colored blocks and verbalizing these abstract words becomes even yet another powerful memory device.
Nanci Bell on her web site lindamoodbell.com/research/articles records how brain scans recorded an actual growth in gray matter volume when students were taught to read by methods that incorporated imagery (right brain picturing) and verbalization. These scans were done before students were taught by these methods, and then also after the therapy. The students made significant gains in their reading scores, and the brain scans showed actual changes in the brain. See the article and video on her web site. The results are quite fascinating!
Although Hands-on-English with Linking Blocks does not teach reading, the methods of instruction incorporate visualizing the colors in one’s mind and verbalizing the concepts that match those colors. Retention of the concepts is typically greatly improved, and the student develops understanding of patterns in the English language.
In summary, understanding of language concepts such as a noun, verb, and a simple sentence is greatly enhanced by using many senses and by right brain imaging (picturing) and left brain verbalizing. Could this be a revolutionary new learning tool that helps students as never before? Try Hands-on-English with Linking Blocks and see for yourself!
Although it is not surprising, we have had some issues in the printing process of the new books. I was hoping to have the 3rd edition Student Workbook & Answer Key delivered today, it looks like it will be later this week before they arrives. I will let you know when we are ready to start shipping.
