What if we skip R&S 7?

[Milknhoney]

After reading all the advice here, we went from FLL4 to R&S 6. I think this was a good choice. We ended up taking two years to go through it, because with all of ds's other subjects I didn't want to devote more than two days a week to it. I want to have grammar completely covered by the end of 8th, but I don't want to increase the time he is putting into it. Ds has an intuitive understanding of grammar, so I think it is unnecessary to spend a lot of time on it, but I still think it is important to have a formal study of it. I thought about switching to an easier curriculum that would still cover all the necessary topics but would take very little time to complete. Ds firmly expressed the desire to stick with R&S. He says his mind wanders too much when the work is too easy because it is more boring. The best solution I can think of is to skip R&S 7 and move right to R&S 8 and take two years to cover it. Is there anything in 7 that isn't also covered in 8? Does 8 assume too much prior knowledge of concepts introduced in 7 to make this impossible? We would be skipping the writing assignments as we are also doing WWS. 

 

Thanks in advance for your input!

[Garga]

Compare the table of contents to see what is covered in both grades. If something is missing in the 8th grade book, then cover it separately.

 

I'm having my youngest take 2 years of CLE 6 grammar, for the same reasons you're thinking of having your son take 2 years of R&S 8. R&S and CLE both tend to overkill the grammar, so doing one year over two years just doesn't seem to be a problem.

[2_girls_mommy]

Memoria Press does.  They go right to 8.  I kind of wish I had noticed that last year.  We have been taking R&S slowly as we have so much focus on Latin and L.A. in other areas.  So as 8th grade was starting, we were just finishing up grade 6.  So I purchased grade 7 for 8th grade year.  Then I noticed MP goes right into 8 at 7th grade.  They have their own English recitations til 6th, then put them in R&S 8 in 7th grade now.  But at the time I was looking at it in the last catalog they were still using R&S 6, then going into 8.  If I had noticed that I probably would have just purchased 8 and called us good too.

 

But I had already bought 7, so we've just gone through it and will do 8 during 9th grade.

[Aloha2U]

Well... yes, but (compared with English 7) R&S English 8 is more than just a grammar book. English 7 is review, new grammar concepts, and solidifying those grammar concepts. R&S 8 is built upon the grammar concepts learned in English 6 and 7, with more writing for practical usage of those grammar concepts. I would think that you'd want English 7 under the student's belt to work through the writing in English 8. And I don't mean the "writing" assignments but the writing involved in the grammar portions as well. Perhaps obvious, but true. Also, there are some things covered in English 7 that are not covered in English 8 (e.g., dictionary, atlas, and encyclopedia skills). 

 

Fwiw, my little man having followed a similar course of study, FLL 1-4 and then R&S 6-8, I would recommend working through English 7 before English 8. We also use a separate writing program. That being said, having him at least read through the "writing" assignments has been beneficial for him, I believe. Honestly, I wouldn't skip 6, 7, or 8. They've been a great line-up after the FLL series.

 

On a side note: My little man was 100% involved in composing the response contained in this post.  :)

 

 

[Tess in the Burbs]

We skipped 7. I was teaching back to back grades. The increase each year was minimal. So my Dd jumped to 8. I will say the first issue we had was chapter 9 that focused on adverbs and the different ways used. Otherwise it has gone well.

[Penguin]

We skipped from Book 6 to Book 8. IIRC, Chapter 2 was a bit rough, and then all was well after that. I am SO glad I did this, and had the series completed before high school ramped up. I think we were 90% done by the start of 9th.

 

(We also did only the grammar lessons.)

Edited May 7, 2016 by Penguin

[yvonne]

We've done R&S 3-7. I would do R&S 7 and then do R&S 8, rather than spreading R&S 8 out over two years. Part of the strength of the R&S program is that it circles back over the grammar every year, each year adding a layer of complexity. For us, circling back over and adding to the grammar each yet meant that my students really internalized the material. If you have two more years to spend on grammar, and especially since you've only done one year of R&S so far, I'd definitely take the opportunity to circle over it twice more with R&S 7 & 8.  R&S 7, especially, would really pull things together for a student who has only done R&S 6 so far, imo.

[Milknhoney]

I'm resurrecting this thread with an update for anyone else out there who may be considering  skipping the grade 7 book. The grade 8 book turned out to be too challenging for my son. It might have worked out okay if I had been at his side to coach him through all the class practice exercises, but I need him to work independently so I can focus on younger sister. He's been in the grade 7 book for the last week and so far so good. He'll have to do more lessons per week to get through in one year, but they are taking him less time and frustration to complete. And most importantly, he's now completing them correctly and with understanding. 

[2_girls_mommy]

We ended up skipping the last half of 7 and jumping right into 8. It is a big jump. It does require more of my time to teach than lower levels, but we were ok doing it. But it definitely is not an independent subject.