I know I’m showing my age when I talk about how much I LOVED the Fokes Sentence Builder kit! For those of us old enough to remember, the Fokes kit contained picture cards arranged by grammatical categories. The approach was a systematic one to teach students how to construct sentences. Unfortunately my Fokes kit was misplaced by a coworker and the product is no longer available (except on eBay where I’ve seen bids of $450!).
Working on syntax seems to be something many clinicians shy away from, but research shows a strong link between syntactic flexibility and other linguistic/cognitive-based skills such as working memory, comprehension, writing and vocabulary. In my opinion, the downside of syntax therapy is that it’s just not FUN, and this can be demotivating to students and clinicians.
But since the payout of engaging students in syntax therapy is so clinically important, and my memory of the Fokes kit is so fond, I decided to create an updated version with some “modern” spins.
Monster Sentences includes 144 color-coded word cards in 5 grammatical categories (WHO/subject,
IS DOING/verb, WHAT/direct object, WHERE/prepositional phrase,
WHICH/adjective).
There are 5 sentence lines that serve as syntactic “blueprints”. Students select cards and create sentences. You can choose the syntactic “blueprint” that targets your students individual goals.
After your students are familiar with their target sentence structure, it’s time to play! I’ve created a fun reinforcement game that provides more grammatical and syntactical practice.
Students build their
MONSTER SENTENCES by advancing to each “monster zone” on the gameboard,
collect a corresponding card at each, and return to START.
You can take a look at Monster Sentences in my TPT store here. I’m sure you will agree that the price is MONSTROUSLY better than the price for the old Fokes kit on eBay — and probably a bit more fun!
