Customer Reviews

The Chortling Bard: Caught'ya! Grammar with a Giggle for High School

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As the parent of a grade eight home-schooler, I wish that I could give this book more than five stars. Any book capable of stimulating a student's interest in Shakespeare should be in every teacher's book collection. My son eagerly looks forward to doing this grammar activity just to see what the characters are doing each day! After finishing the first collection of activites in this book, my son asked to read the original Much Ado about Nothing. Simply amazing!

I discovered (and bought) Jane's first two Caught'ya books at the national Differentiated Education conference last summer. I have used the high school level stories successfully in the two semesters since then. I wanted more stories so that I could keep my students on track throughout the year, so I ordered The Chortling Bard.

What a resource! There are three fully-completed stories based on some of Shakespeare's most entertaining plays. Not only do my students get practice adn instruction in grammar, but they get exposure to Shakespeare without slogging through it all at once. They can experience the stories and enjoy the plots, since they're not doing the incomprehensible everybody-read-a-part-even-if-you-don't-know-what-you're-saying thing. They may not read the original Shakespeare, but they are involved in the story, which generates discussions, and by the end, they get it!

I really like using this technique in my classroom. I'm a bit of a ham and love doing the sentences out loud. Some of my student teachers/subs haven't been so comfortable, though. (You really have to get into the act.) I like the fact that every student can get 100% on the assignment no matter what they're level. Because of the repetitive nature of the assignment, students really do remember what you're teaching them.

If you want to continue "caught'ya" fun in high school then this is for you. I have used the "Romeo and Juliet" story from Jane's first book for my ninth graders, and I wanted to continue the "caught'ya" method with my sophomores. "The Chortling Bard" fits the bill nicely. My students loved the story "A Midsummer's Nightmare," and I loved my students' improvement in writing conventions and sentence variety. Put those grammar tomes back on the shelf and "chortle" with the Bard!

My mentor turned me on to this publication. Since the creation of this edition, many other Grammar with a Giggles have surfaced. I have yet to try others but this one is a blast. My ninth graders love to find out what happens between Beatrice and Benedick, plus they're learning grammar!

This book is definitely a hit with upper level (11th and 12th graders) and works perfectly as a reference for the Caught'ya Grammar with a Giggle.

"The Chortling Bard" is an excellent way to reinforce grammar skill in high school students in a way that is not only educational, but fun. As a homeschool mom of three, I was familiar with the Caught'ya method, since I used the first book a few years ago when my kids were younger. This year I needed something for my 15-year-old, so I was thrilled to find the author had revamped three of Shakespeare's plays.

The book is divided into sentences for three years of school. Along with ideas for lessons to carry over from the daily Caught'ya, the book has suggestions for mid-term exams, quizzes, and finals.

I highly recommend this book and method. It really helps reinforce skills such as punctuation, capitalization, and much more. Plus the kids don't hate it presented in this entertaining format.

My 9th graders like the story, but hate that it makes them think. I like it because it's far more interesting than worksheets and takes less time to grade.

This book is a great way to incorporate grammar if you don't have the time to teach a grammar unit. It also incorporates Shakespeare into your lessons, which is always useful. The answer key and explanations are also very helpful. I will continue to use this book!!

This product requires a pretty thorough knowledge of English grammar to use it. You also have to re-write the text w/ errors for the students to correct each day. It is a great concept, probably better for a public school setting than a home school setting where I was looking for something interesting and different but more "spoon fed" for grammar this year.