Sue G in PA Posted July 13, 2014 Share Posted July 13, 2014 Here is my dilemma. My rising 8th grader has only had bits and pieces of grammar instruction using mostly R&S English (very sporadically, little retention). His writing is terrible. This is all my own fault...I won't throw him under the bus, lol. He does struggle academically and has behavioral issues that contribute. But he has matured a lot and I believe he is capable of more than we (and he) give him credit for. My concern is that he does not have a great foundation with most LA topics, not just grammar. I am looking into CLE LA for my 6th and 4th grader (switching from R&S b/c I just do.not.like.it). I like the workbook form of CLE and it seems to be very thorough. The only problem would be placement. My 8th grader would likely need to start in level 5!!! He will not be high school ready the following year anyway, so that isn't a concern. We are giving him one extra year of middle school to focus on some skills that are lacking and necessary for high school level work. So, should I go ahead and place him in CLE 500 series or use a different program altogether? I don't want to "waste" his time on topics that aren't as important but I do want to help him re-build that strong foundation. I had planned to use AG with him, but wonder if that would be enough to cover the other LA topics that CLE covers. Am I making any sense? LOL. Any suggestions and advice would be appreciated before I purchase anything. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murrayshire Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 I don't know a thing about CLE, so can't help you there....... We have loved AG for our oldest! Your dc could start with Season 1 and 2 for 8th.....saving the mechanics year for 9th with the high school Review books. If you are wanting mechanics before 9th grade then he could probably work on JAG Mechanics with Season 1 & 2...... Seems like a lot but JAG Mechanics isn't too bad but will expose him before starting AG Mechanics in 9th grade. AG may be your quickest way, yet thorough way, to get him where you want him. Have you looked at Hake Grammar? It is spiral and includes mechanics in with each lesson.....it also has writing with it that is very structured, which sounds like what he needs. I'm not sure on placing? Someone else may be able to help you there. We have only used grade 6 and I haven't seen any others. There could be a placement for it on the Saxon Homeschool website..... I'm hoping someone else chimes in about Hake Grammar for you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue G in PA Posted July 14, 2014 Author Share Posted July 14, 2014 I'm not a fan of Hake, though I know it is thorough. Someone else mentioned Exercises in English in my other thread. I might go with that. I can't afford JAG on top of all the other books I still need. I need something short and sweet, lol. I "could" try AG with him and see how he does. I'm just not certain that he would be up to the task. :/ I will have to look through the Student book. We could always more very slowly. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefgazer Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 This may not be a good fit overall for your son (I would especially think the writing and vocabulary would not be a good fit, given his LA deficiencies), but my personal opinion and experience are that MCT is excellent for grammar and retention of grammar. I think what I would do is look for writing, vocabulary, and literature instruction elsewhere, but just get the MCT Grammar Island book and Grammar Island practice book. My DD came from public school with *zero* grammar instruction, and after Grammar Island, she was very good at grammar. After Grammar Town, she was a downright ace at grammar. Now integrating that grammar into her writing will take something more than just bald-faced and unadorned grammar instruction, but she does have the details of the parts of speech, parts of a sentence, different types of phrases, and different types of clauses down pat. I would start at the "Island" level. Don't worry about it being a kiddie thing; it's an entertaining book and only take a month or two to complete (after that, the student completes 2-3 sentences a week for the rest of the school year for practice). Once he knows his grammar, you can build on that for reading, writing, etc... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexasTrue Posted July 15, 2014 Share Posted July 15, 2014 Hello, Wanted to let you know about Shurley English. I used it this past year for our 7th grader. I also used it in her lower grades. I feel that it is excellent in teaching grammar and writing skills. Really, just everything your child needs to know to succeed in English. It is so well rounded. They have jingles that they repeat before almost every lesson to reinforce their learning. There are question and answer flows that teach the structure of sentences. It seems to flow together nicely and is well constructed. If your child is struggling with English you may try Level 7 or call them and they will help guide you. I do know that Level 7 taught our daughter so much about grammar and writing skills. I believe they are coming out with Level 8, but not sure about that. They said months ago that they were, but I haven't seen it on their site yet. Hope this helps a little! www.shurley.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 15, 2014 Share Posted July 15, 2014 Put him in Esentials of Writing 7, order Daily Grammar Ultimate 8 and call it done. It is more important to get those writing skills up than grammar skills at this stage in the game. I finally acknowledged this for my older two. They are thriving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LivingHope Posted July 17, 2014 Share Posted July 17, 2014 I think A Beka's Grammar and Composition I or II may do the trick. The writing instruction is integrated in the worktext and looks to be solid. https://www.abeka.com/ABekaOnline/BookDescription.aspx?sbn=138258 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annabel Lee Posted July 19, 2014 Share Posted July 19, 2014 I'm in a similar situation with an 8th grader. The amount of work needed to catch up, per my original WTM-ish plan, is overwhelming.LivingHope, are you knowledgeable on the Abeka English curriculum to answer questions? Mind if I pick your brain? I just finished looking at the Grammar & Comp. I & II samples. Which level should a child start with if they have only been introduced lightly to simple subject-verb-adjective diagramming and only an overview of the parts of speech? Is there enough repetition that it would be OK to start in level 2? If level 1 is the best starting point, is it possible to accelerate the lessons a bit? How many Grammar & Comp. lessons are scheduled per week in the "Homeschool Lessons Curriculum" guide (teacher's manual)? Is the Abeka English curriculum so integrated that any one subject (Grammar & Comp, for instance) is dependent on use of Abeka for other language arts subjects? Is it necessary or ideal to use the whole Abeka English kit and kaboodle, or does it make no difference if Abeka Grammar & Comp. is paired with non-Abeka literature, spelling, and vocabulary?Finally, I'm curious which parts of my original plan this would replace. It looks like it could possible be a way to start from a very basic point in grammar knowledge & writing skill and move forward to being "on grade level" by the end of the book, which is appealing. My original plan included Writing With Skill 1 (continuing into level 2 mid-year) with Writing With Ease 3 & 4 slowing continuing alongside, Rod & Staff English 5 continuing on into the next level(s) when finished mid-year, and some writing across the curriculum in literature, history, and science a la WTM. I also hoped to work in some of The Creative Writer. This is probably too much, which makes Abeka G&C look simple and easy to use. But what parts of my original plan are not replaced by Abeka G&C? ETA: I'll start a thread for my questions as well. Sorry for side-tracking your post, OP! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue G in PA Posted July 20, 2014 Author Share Posted July 20, 2014 No apologies! Hijack away. ;) I am not a fan of Abeka. I had an older edition Grammar and Comp and I just don't think it'll work for him. :/ AG "might" work but again, I am not sure. Since my original posting, I have pretty much decided to go with IEW Narnia for his writing this year. I have it, I like it and we're gonna try it! ;) Grammar...I am torn. I could go back to R&S 6 and suffer through another year, give AG a try OR just get Easy Grammar for this year and do AG next year when he's a bit more "mature". I'm thinking at this point we need to focus more on the writing than the heavy grammar. Easy Grammar would fit the bill paired with IEW Narnia. I will look into Shurley (the jingles might work for this child) Any other thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LivingHope Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 Hi, Annabel. I haven't had my children use A Beka (we use Rod & Staff English), but my sister's children used A Beka's Grammar & Composition Levels I and IV. She really liked them a lot, especially the instruction on how to write book reviews (this starts in level 1). Because the student's work is to be written directly in the workbook, unlike Rod and Staff's English, A Beka's grammar program was efficient and visually pleasing for them. Sue, check out these affordable options for 8th grade: Harvey's Grammar with the worktext by Classical Writing to enrich the course with diagramming skills Although scheduled in Homer and Diogenes, this grammar course is independent from the CW's writing curriculum. http://classicalwriting.com/Harveys.htm Our Mother's Tongue is a inexpensive grammar book that is recommended by Ambleside Online. This is includes diagramming as well. http://www.christianbook.com/our-mother-tongue-guide-english-grammar/nancy-wilson/9781591280118/pd/280017 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluedarling Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 This year for 7th I had my dd do JAG/JAG Mechanics. She was great with it at first, but it quickly ramped to the point she could no longer keep up (and this is using 4th-5th grade materials!) There was just too much to remember, and it became overwhelming. Your son sounds similar, and I would hesitate to recommend AG for a struggling student. We are trying Easy Grammar Plus this year, but I can't recommend it because we haven't tried it! However, it is designed to help older students catch up in grammar...that's a plus. She really wants to do OYAN this year, and while I'm concerned it may be too much, its worth the risk to me if it can get her interested enough to try to write! My back up plan is Jump In. I'd love to hear what you decide to use! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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