simple grammar program for LD kids?

[Michelle T]

DS is 11.5. ADHD, dyslexia, dysgraphia. Very poor comprehension, retention, attention.

 

I'm not really concerned about advanced grammar concepts, dangling participles and the like. But he still doesn't get things like commas, quotation marks, capital letters, very basic mechanics.

 

I've tried various cheap language arts workbooks, but not found anything that really is helpful.

 

Recommendations? What are you all using for grammar with a slow learner? Not looking for writing, I am going to use IEW for that.

Michelle T

[Myrtle]

Have you seen samples of Shirley grammar? It's very structured with a lot of practice and very little variation to confuse kids. It's also direct instruction/scripted and the lessons are conducted the same way day after day so the kid knows what to expect, what question will come up next, and how to answer it. Check into samples of this at a homeschool bookstore if there is one near you to see what grade level would be best.

[Kelli in TN]

I am using First Language Lessons with mine. FLL was NOT a good fit for my other kids, it has been the perfect fit for my slow to learn guy! Very gentle, mostly oral work, just good all around.

[Baseballmom]

My son had many problems with the same things. We are using Shurely with much success. He is 12, but we started with 4th grade. I love the way they teach puncuation and capitilization. The student is given a list of rules and, when they do editing exercises they have to write the number of the rule above the letter or punctuation mark. Previously my son just guessed and would sometimes get it right and other time wrong. Shurley has so much review that after 5 months he actually can tell me all 8 parts of speech and identify them in a sentence. It truly is a miracle that this boy finally is beginning to understand grammar.

HTH,

[Laurie]

I'm using this with both dc this year. The punctuation exercises are at the end of the book but can be mixed in at any time. My dc are doing really well with the prepositional approach. Being able to identify and cross out the prepostional phrases (the "fat") has made it easier for them to find and focus on the bare bones of the sentence.

 

The workbook exercises involve mostly crossing out, underlining, etc. which is especially helpful for my child with dysgraphia.

 

I have no idea how to do links now, but there is a website if you're interested in finding out more: easygrammar.com.

[Laurie4b]

I think that dictation is likely to meet your child's needs better than a particular program. I've used both Shurley and FLL. Liked Shurley for teaching parts of speech, but not for language mechanics. I think FLL's strength is also parts of speech, though it is better on mechanics than Shurley, imo. I also liked the poetry memorization, etc. It might be a little young for an 11 year old.

 

What I have done with my two ds's with dyslexia (one of whom is also ADHD and dysgraphic) is to dictate sentences that incorporate the spelling and language mechanics that we are working on. DIctation has an advantage over workbooks and programs in that the child is doing everything he will need to do in his own writing except thinking up the sentence. This accomplishes the generalization that is needed in a way that doing prepared exercises often does not. Additionally, as the mom, you can see where your child still needs work and where he can move on. A program can't do that. Dictation shouldn't be arduous. I dictate maybe 6-10 sentences a day for my 11 yo. They are as short as possible while including all his spelling words.

 

First, the sentences I dictate are simple statements. I will work on the first letter being capitalized and a period at the end. Then, I begin to throw in some questions. The child needs to start to differentiate between a statement and a question. Later, some exclamations are added. Then items in a list, quotations, etc. Somewhere along the line, I learned a little trick for reminding kids to check that the first word is capitalized and the punctuation added. You say, "Tip tap," when they're done their sentence. The "tip" is a cue to touch the tip of their pencil to the end of the sentence to check for the end mark. The "tap" is a cue to touch their pencil to the beginning of the sentence to check for the capitalization. Kids like the sound of the phrase, and because you are not saying, "Check your endmark" that little added step of thinking about it helps them start checking on their own.

 

Because I use the overteaching method (described on the old boards if you do a search), the repetition needed for retention is built in.

 

Finally, I would teach keyboarding asap if you haven't already done so. I do all our dictation at the computer. This makes it so much easier for a child with dysgraphia. Additionally, I can think of very little writing nowadays that is not done on the computer.

[Claire]

Shurley Grammar was the first grammar program that "stuck" with my dyslexic dd. The oral repetition and oral analysis really helped her finally grasp the fundamentals of grammar. We did level 3 when dd was about 10yo. We skipped the writing portion as we went through the lessons. It was an easy program for us to get through, although by the end we were both sick of the rhymes. Some people create their own catchy rhymes, and I think that's a great way to go if you are creative.

 

After that, the only program that really helped was Hake Grammar. This program is split up into daily lessons that are written directly to the student. I did help my dd out with explanations now and again, but for the most part she could work on it independently. It is a good program for dysgraphics because very little writing is required -- mostly circling and underlining for the exercises. (We skipped the writing portion of this program.) Our only problem with it is that it took my dd so long to work through a lesson -- about 30 minutes. I would highly recommend planning on spending two years on a single level of Hake, doing lessons just 2 or 3 times a week. Then, if you want to continue with Hake, skip a level. Grammar from year to year involves a lot of repetition and very little new material, so skipping a level is no problem at all.

 

It also helped my dd to learn to type. The *only* program that worked for her (and I tried more than half a dozen) was Keyboarding Skills by Diana Hanbury King. I did have to watch her during these lessons to make sure she was practicing with the correct fingers (very important first step in keyboarding!). Once she was able to type more work, the word processor on the computer helped her identify punctuation and grammatical errors.

[Baseballmom]

Shurley Grammar was the first grammar program that "stuck" with my dyslexic dd. The oral repetition and oral analysis really helped her finally grasp the fundamentals of grammar. We did level 3 when dd was about 10yo. We skipped the writing portion as we went through the lessons. .

 

We also skip the writing portions.

[Michelle T]

Thanks for suggestions, I am looking at all of them! Shurley has always sounded interesting, but I haven't wanted to try it. I know it relies heavily on the rhymes, or little chants to remember concepts, and my DS gets really annoyed and bothered by that sort of thing. I know he would be all mad and think it was incredibly dumb, and that would be all he could focus on. He is quite easily distracted by anything that bothers him, or that he deems "dumb".

 

Have any of you encountered resistance to the rhymes used in Shurley? Do your kids tend to like that sort of thing, or be very annoyed by it?

Thanks!

Michelle T

[Claire]

Both dd and I developed some resistance to the rhymes! Your best bet would be to commisserate with your son on their quality, and work with him to develop his own versions. They can be quite silly. Someone on the General Board might have home versions that have worked for them, for ideas. Before purchasing Shurley, you might want to discuss all of this with your son to make sure he will buy into the recitation part of the program. Getting agreement first could be crucial to success.

[Jan P.]

Hi,

 

I've been following this thread with interest. I have a high school dyslexic dd that needs a good solid grammar program. I have tried Easy Grammar in the past with her, but I don't think she retained anything. I spent big bucks on Analytical Grammar and it almost threw her over the edge. I'm wondering about HAKE but they don't have a high school book yet that I know of. I worry about if I used the 8th grade text if that would look bad on her high school transcript.

 

Any thoughts?

[Jen in DE]

Hi,

I have two daughters - one 10 year old with ADHD, math issues, and dysgraphia. The other (9 years old) has ADD, anxiety/ocd, and dyslexia. We have been using the Grammar Ace purchased through Sonlight (FYI-it does not have religious references). It is a very simple grammar program that utilizes Schoolhouse Rock to help teach the concepts. The activities are simple, but have worked well for both of them, and they LOVE grammar. The concepts are sticking, and they even correct me sometimes. I have enjoyed it as well. This is a good BASIC program. Don't expect sentence diagramming, but it does help and is a lot more fun than the torturous programs we tried before. Some of the activities are a little young for the 10 year old, but I just adjust them, and it's fine.

[Quiver0f10]

I am using Rod & Staff, but we do it all orally. I like how it's small chunks and it has tons of review, which my ds needs.