Both of these responses were very helpful. I have been under the impression that children with Downs can typically learn to read just as well as other children, and are usually avid readers when they get older. However, I recently met a woman whose son is featured on "Joni & Friends" for his pottery business. She told me that he never was able to learn to read or count. He is now in his twenties and still can't read, but enjoys making pottery and finds a sense of vocation that way. I'm learning that I just need to work with Maggie and not compare her too much to others with Downs. Thank you! Jean -- I'll take a look at the link you posted. I used Sing, Spell, Read and Write with my firstborn, and was thinking that program might be fun for Maggie.

I have an 8yo daughter with Downs Syndrome who does not read yet. Most of what I have read, including information published by national organizations says to teach using sight words and pictures on flashcards. I have been trying to use a phonics approach, but things are going very slowly. She knows most of her letters and can copy the vowel sounds I make, but isn't very interested. She also shows little interest in drawing and writing. What she loves is listening to music, watching DVDs and reciting/singing the portions she has memorized. Anyway, my primary question is: Has anyone successfully used a phonics-based approach to teach a child with Downs Syndrome to read? If not, what would you recommend? Thanks so much! Julie Shields Douglasville, GA

Does Latin have secondary complements? Also, the word "title" would be in the ablative case, right? It's not a direct object. If it were, then what follows would definitely be an object complement, as in the sentence "They named their baby Jane." I think I can concede that it's an appositive, but something doesn't seem quite right about it. It seems too essential, and I thought that you could remove an appositive from a sentence w/o affecting it's structure, or central meaning.

Okay, grammar nerds, I need your help! Can the object of a preposition have a complement? Here's the sentence: "Webster gave a series of lectures which were published under the title Dissertations on the English Language." The italicized portion of the sentence is what I'm wondering about. Is this a complement, renaming "title"? I don't think it could be an appositive, because it is needed to complete the meaning of the sentence and/or the grammatical structure. Appositives can be left out w/o changing the structure of the sentence. So, the only other option I can think of is that the title in italics could be another prepositional object, with the "understood" preposition of going on the slanted line in the diagram. (i.e. "....under the title (of) Dissertations...."). Anyone wanna tackle this? Follow-up question: If I had a copy of Descriptive English Grammar, would all my problems be solved? Thanks!

Just checked back and was able to download the sample. Many thanks! :)

We are at Week 30 of WWS-2. Reading ahead, I'm having a hard time figuring out how to help my students choose the topoi they will want to include in the Joan of Arc essay. It seems to me that the topoi you choose should depend on your thesis. I'm guessing that at this point, I should just tell them to choose the topoi they enjoy writing the most, or the ones they think they can get good notes for. I am wondering, however, if the idea of the thesis, and how topoi are used to explain and "prove" it will be introduced at some point. Does anyone know?

I'm getting a 404 error when I click on the link. Also getting this when I try to access the writing category at Peace Hill Press. Servers down?

I thought I saw a Scope & Sequence chart for WWE Level 3 somewhere. Does anyone know where something like this might be? Checked the php website, but didn't find anything.

Thanks -- that was very helpful. I'll check out the Workbook for Arguments.

Okay, how about the other recommendations from TWTM, like A Rulebook for Arguments? Can anyone comment on that?

I'm considering using this with my high school rhetoric class of four home-schooled students. I'd love to hear feedback & comments from those who have used it. I've ordered a copy to review, but it's not here yet. :) TIA,

Elizabeth, What's the name of the rhetoric book you said you had that Janice in NJ recommended?

The example (sentence about the teacher) doesn't really fit the "comma in a series" type, because "teacher" is being modified by the other two items, and isn't one of the list items itself. With that sentence, there is only one correct way to punctuate it -- without the comma. Does that make sense?

Has anyone heard?

I've used both, but not for the same books, so can't compare that way. I agree w/ previous comments on what is included. MP has more variety, However, some of the MP questions are not very carefully worded, and can be frustrating for a late-grammar or early-logic stage student, who still needs concreteness and precision in what is being asked. I noticed this especially w/ The Hobbit. I do like the vocabulary list & copywork/dictation exercises that MP provides. One other note -- VP gives permission to make copies for a family or classroom. MP does not.

I'm not sure what you mean about no "re-writes." We've always done a first and second draft of each WP, making necessary changes after going through the editing protocol. Or are you talking about something else? Thanks,

Can you compare Lost Tools to Classical Writing? I've been very happy with CW, but am wondering if LT would be better at the high school level. Any thoughts? Thanks so much,

nm

Oh good, I'm glad the link was there. When it first came up for me, it wasn't showing, but it always looks different when I view it, because I'm the author, so I wasn't sure.

I was reviewing my copybook projects, and noticed that for some reason, I had never published a manuscript edition of the Ancient Copybook for Zaner-Bloser users. Hmmm. Well, anyway, I have re-worked it, with larger guidelines (and a new poem about Pharoah Menes), and you can download it for free here: http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/my-first-ancient-history-copybook-zb-manuscript/16595147 If you have any problems downloading it, just email me by midnight Friday, and I will send you a pdf file. (I also plan to revise the cursive copybooks with a larger font size. I've received some feedback from users stating that the lines are too small.)

Thanks so much! I've been off the board for a couple of years, and just found out about WWE, and therefore thought it was "new." I'll check out the threads.

It is called Writing With Ease, and you can read about it at the Peace Hill Press website.

One way you can accelerate is to create your own lesson plans instead of using the workbook, so that you can work through the skill levels faster, or skip the ones that your dc has already mastered. When I first started using Homer, there were no workbooks, and I had to take the suggested models and come up with everything myself. What was good about this was that I could just skip to the next skill level when I wanted, and could go at the pace I needed. So, for example, in the Instructor's Guide for Homer B for Week 8, you're "waiting" on Days 1, 3 & 4, so that you can finish Skill Level 7 for Day 2. That means that on Days 1, 3, & 4, your dc isn't doing anything new, but is just doing the "Routine" they've learned in previous weeks. For most students, this is what they need in order to get comfortable with the program, but for others, it may be unnecessary. Using the workbook you spend about 2 weeks per skill level (there are 10), fo 20 weeks. If you want to finish in 12-16 weeks, you'll just need to decide which skill levels to move through more quickly, and will need to change activties. You can probably still use the workbook, but will need to give new instructions to your dc. If you use the workbook, you'll need to choose which weeks to eliminate. With the remaining weeks, you'll need to add in the lessons skipped. For example, if you want to skip Week 8 ("Martyrdom of St. Alban"), then the only change you'll need to make to Week 9 is on Day 2, where you'll need to make sure that you've taught Skill Level 7, lesson 5 before moving to Skill Level 8. (Or you can add SL7, lesson 5 to the Day 2 lesson for Week 7). Does that make sense? The Writing Projects should be fine -- you'll just do less of them. for example, instead of doing four of WP#8, you might only do three. I think that the WPs for Arrangement can be the most difficult, but also the most fun, so you shouldn't skimp too much on those. Feel free to ask more questions. HTH,

I've used CW for years, and love it, but am curious about SWB's new book. Based on the description, it seems to embrace the same philosophy, but may lay it out in simpler fashion. Can anyone comment on this? TIA,

and we used Latin in the Christian Trivium. This program is weak, however, on Roman history & mythology, so if you use it, you'll need to make sure you have other sources for that portion. (Previous to LiCT, he went through Latina Christiana I & II, and did a few chapters of Wheelocks.) HTH