Question about Michael C. Thompson's books

[angelique]

Years ago I purchased Caesar's English 1 and worked through most of it with my oldest ds. While clearing my shelves yesterday, I debated whether or not to keep it and use it for my youngest ds. So I went to the Royal Fireworks Press website to see if it was even still in print and I was delighted to learn that it's only one component of a larger language arts program! I'm thinking of purchasing the other four books for this level; Grammar Town, Paragraph Town, Building Poems and the Practice Sentences Workbook and also the Secondary Level books (Magic Lens, Word Within the Word and Poetry & Humanity) for my up and coming ninth graders.

All that to ask anyone who has experience with these other books: Is it worth the expense (all those books will cost over $330)? I love the methodology of Easy Grammar but year after year of endless worksheets of meaningless sentences without any relation to real literature gets tedious.

Does this language arts program keep their interest? I know it was designed with GT students in mind.

Do they retain the grammar concepts that they learn? I don't care for the traditional method of diagramming sentences (don't shoot me) and from what I can see in these books, diagramming is kept to a minimal - binary subject/predicate form. Is that how it is done throughout the series?

Also, we are working through IEW's TWSS program; could we use that in conjunction with this series or would that be overkill? I didn't really get a good feel for how much writing instruction would be included in the series.

If I used all the books for one level, how much time would it take per day for a "typical" student to complete?

Do the teacher's manuals contain lesson plans that show how to tie all the books together into a comprehensive whole?

I think I just need some assurances from someone who has worked through a complete level of these books. I have looked through every sample page of every book in the series on the website and it appears to be an excellent curriculum, but we have changed programs before only to be sorely disappointed.

That's all I can think of for now. I would appreciate any feedback about this series.:)

[nmoira]

Here are some recent threads.

 

One

Two

Three

 

All that to ask anyone who has experience with these other books: Is it worth the expense (all those books will cost over $330)?

You need only the teacher's manuals for the elementary series. I'd advise you to get the practice books as well. You can get away with just the TM's here as well, but the student books are convenient.

 

Does this language arts program keep their interest? I know it was designed with GT students in mind. Do they retain the grammar concepts that they learn?

I find that interest is maintained and retention is good, especially with periodic reinforcement with the Practice books.

 

I don't care for the traditional method of diagramming sentences (don't shoot me) and from what I can see in these books, diagramming is kept to a minimal - binary subject/predicate form. Is that how it is done throughout the series?

Yes it is, and I agree absolutely. My biggest problem with diagramming is that it takes emphasis away from the beauty of language and reduces it to a functional level. MCT's system doesn't do this.

 

I think I just need some assurances from someone who has worked through a complete level of these books.

We're still in the grammar series... so I can't quite get you there. :)

[angelique]

Thank you for your helpful post, the links to the previous posts were informative also. Since I don't need the TMs for the elementary grades, do you think it would it be beneficial for my 10yob to just start at the beginning at the lowest level and progress from there? We haven't made much progress this year in either writing or grammar (totally my fault, not his) neither have I covered poetry ever with him. Could we start at the beginning and move at a faster pace? Would he miss anything by skipping the first level? I figure if I have the funds and I can just get away with the TMs, then I could afford to just start at the beginning and not miss anything good. Any opinions?

 

Angelique

[nmoira]

Thank you for your helpful post, the links to the previous posts were informative also. Since I don't need the TMs for the elementary grades, do you think it would it be beneficial for my 10yob to just start at the beginning at the lowest level and progress from there?

You need ONLY the TM's for the elementary program. :) Grammar Island and Sentence Island are fun. Because Grammar Town dives into verbal phrases, I'd be inclined to do GI first. Sentence Island talks almost as much about the beauty of words and sentences as it does sentence structure, so it's more than "this is how to make a sentence."

 

We haven't made much progress this year in either writing or grammar (totally my fault, not his) neither have I covered poetry ever with him. Could we start at the beginning and move at a faster pace?

That's an option, though I'd recommend doing two levels a year and completing the Practice books before moving on. MCT's system is meant to be applied, rather than just studied.

 

A word of warning though, there are no formal assignments in the Elementary writing series. It's up to you to help reinforce the lessons learned in writing for other subjects. Other than the practice books, there is no built in reinforcement to the program, and most topics (vocabulary, and perhaps poetry, excepted) are meant to be covered quickly and applied throughout the year.

 

Would he miss anything by skipping the first level? I figure if I have the funds and I can just get away with the TMs, then I could afford to just start at the beginning and not miss anything good. Any opinions?

I wouldn't miss the first level of the poetry series. You could miss Grammar Island, but as I said above, it's fun and a good introduction to MCT's way of doing things. You could easily skip Building Language.