siloam Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 I don't see how a test is going to prove anything. I was expecting you to say he couldn't write worth or lick or something that shows his lack of grammar knowledge has held him back in life in some way. All I hear is a test designed to find out if your child knows his nouns and verbs said, nope doesn't know a noun from a verb. I say, "Who Cares?" Does he read, write, speak well? Michelle Michelle, The grammar portion of the test we are required to take actually covers much more. Capitalization, tense, singular/plural agreement, and compound subjects. That is at 3rd grade. In 5th grade those are covered and add on Adjectives, Adverbs, and more compound situations. That is the CAT 5, which as I understand it is not that in-depth. Heather Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siloam Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 This is interesting and helpful! So, I guess then, just Latin is not enough grammar? You use Lively Latin? *sigh* I am only up to about lesson 7 of Lively Latin, but my feeling is that no, there is not enough grammar taught. Maybe we are moving to slowly through the program to get the full effect but I can't remember a time I really had to really sit down and think about grammar in LL. At this point the focus is nouns and verbs, and their distinction is pretty clear. Predicate Nominatives I think were mentioned early on, but I don't remember it being more than just a mention. My dd is carrying a heavy load in math and LA/writing, so she only does one page in LL a day. I need to learn it too so when she gets to a new lesson I sit down and go through it myself, doing the whole thing. I am not sure where it is going to go with grammar, but to date I wouldn't translate what we are doing in Latin to a strong understanding of grammar in English. That might change farther down the line through... Heather Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barefoothomeschooler Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 Hanging my head in shame as I confess that yes, I now believe grammar is important. I've spent 4 years here, shaking my head, on my soap-box about grammar not being super important . . . yada yada yada . . . and now I'm standing up tall and confessing to the Hive that I was wrong. It is important. I've done a disservice to my kids by not making it a priority. Deep Sigh. Got that off my chest. Return to your scheduled browsing/planning/researching. Warmly, Tricia Edit: There is no "might" about swallowing the humble pill. I'm crunching it back, the whole thing. I have just come to the same conclusion! After following a non traditional approach for 2 years and my girls (10 and 11) coming out of it without any solid grammar fundimentals. I have decided to switch back. they did FLL 1/2 a few years ago. I started FLL 3 this summer and they are flying through it and loving it. we will do FLL 4 by Christmas along with WT. I am also useing WWE and they are doing great with those too. So glad I switched back!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skaterbabs Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 The "Painless _______" series is a really good one for when you want to cover a lot of material quickly in an engaging way. They do have a "Painless Grammar", and it would be easy enough to work through to get caught up in one school year . The books are fairly inexpensive as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angela in ohio Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 The grammar portion of the test we are required to take actually covers much more. Capitalization, tense, singular/plural agreement, and compound subjects. That is at 3rd grade. In 5th grade those are covered and add on Adjectives, Adverbs, and more compound situations. Yes, that has been my experience as well. Most standardized test questions in the area of grammar are about application. Often, they give a sentence, and the student must determine what is incorrect or how to correct it. A low score would not mean a lack of theoretical grammar knowledge but of actual ability in usage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kwg Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 I am only up to about lesson 7 of Lively Latin, but my feeling is that no, there is not enough grammar taught. Maybe we are moving to slowly through the program to get the full effect but I can't remember a time I really had to really sit down and think about grammar in LL. At this point the focus is nouns and verbs, and their distinction is pretty clear. Predicate Nominatives I think were mentioned early on, but I don't remember it being more than just a mention. My dd is carrying a heavy load in math and LA/writing, so she only does one page in LL a day. I need to learn it too so when she gets to a new lesson I sit down and go through it myself, doing the whole thing. I am not sure where it is going to go with grammar, but to date I wouldn't translate what we are doing in Latin to a strong understanding of grammar in English. That might change farther down the line through... Heather Thank you for your thoughts! That is very helpful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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