diaperjoys Posted February 27, 2010 Share Posted February 27, 2010 Have you used it? Pros/cons? I'm considering it for my upcoming 2nd grader. Also, what about placement? We're doing CLE LA this year, but it covers things in a different order. Maybe we should quickly go through GWG 1st grade, and then go into second?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robsiew Posted February 27, 2010 Share Posted February 27, 2010 We use GWG and like it. It's simple, no teacher prep and easy independent work. I just go over their daily sheet with them after they've done it to make sure they understand. It takes my 2nd grader 5-10 min. and my 3rd grader 10-15 min and it's set up for 3 days a week. A con I've heard is the child not really understanding and being able to complete the sheet anyway. I think, left to their own devises, this would be the case for my kids too... but because I know this, I make sure to go over all the skills with them after each sheet to make sure they are getting it. We also use WWE and I find that when I ask grammar questions in there my kids know the material so for us, the retention is there. Personally, I think this "con" could be said with any curriculum if the skills are not practiced out of the context of the curriculum... I've also heard that the levels have a lot of repeated elements. For grammar stage I am fine with this because I think that's how you learn things... over and over. Especially grammar. You just have to see it, say it and do it over and over again until it sinks in. This is one reason why I'd re-evaluate for Logic stage though. I think you'd be okay just going into 2nd grade. A lot of things are review from first grade. I didn't find this program until late in my dd's 1st grade year... we did cram in most of the 1st grade book, but when I got the 2nd grade I realized I probably didn't need to. If your child knows basic sentence structure I think you'd be fine in 2nd. (Basic like capital letter/period) My ds9 is almost done with the 3rd grade book. He's been diagramming sentences and has a really good understanding of this. He's covered sentence structure, nouns, pronouns, verbs, adverbs, direct objects, and adjectives. The last section he's about to go into is punctuation and some irregular words. I'm pleased with the amount of grammar he's learned so far. We'll be continuing on with the series at least through the 4th grade book. Then I might reconsider for Logic stage.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted February 27, 2010 Share Posted February 27, 2010 I think you'd be okay just going into 2nd grade. A lot of things are review from first grade. I didn't find this program until late in my dd's 1st grade year... we did cram in most of the 1st grade book, but when I got the 2nd grade I realized I probably didn't need to. If your child knows basic sentence structure I think you'd be fine in 2nd. (Basic like capital letter/period) I started level 1 at the beginning of 2nd grade and by doing 15 two sided pages for 12 months, we'll be done with level 2 at the end of 2nd grade. Really painless, and it is, for us, sticking. I bring up the points we have covered in WWE and in our spelling work. I'm glad I did one because kiddo's handwriting was so big a few months ago, he couldn't have done the level 2 work without extra paper. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lightly Salted Posted February 28, 2010 Share Posted February 28, 2010 It's a great program. We're switching to R&S English next year, because I want a more integrated program for grammar/writing, but as a stand-alone grammar program to use beside WWE I think it's great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kewb Posted February 28, 2010 Share Posted February 28, 2010 We use GWG and like it. It's simple, no teacher prep and easy independent work. I just go over their daily sheet with them after they've done it to make sure they understand. A con I've heard is the child not really understanding and being able to complete the sheet anyway. I think, left to their own devises, this would be the case for my kids too... but because I know this, I make sure to go over all the skills with them after each sheet to make sure they are getting it. We also use WWE and I find that when I ask grammar questions in there my kids know the material so for us, the retention is there. Personally, I think this "con" could be said with any curriculum if the skills are not practiced out of the context of the curriculum... I use the program with my two for 4th and 6th grade. I have been very happy with the program. I can see how a child would be able to answer the question without a full understanding so I, too, make sure to review the skills with them so I know they have got the concept. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aludlam Posted February 28, 2010 Share Posted February 28, 2010 We've only been using level 1 for about a month. It's the only grammar program that we've used. What I really like about it so far is that the pages are "clean". So many other things I've looked at have been so full of writing that I couldn't stand to look at them, let alone teach from them. kwim? GWG is very simple (thus far), "learning" at the top of the page and "doing" on the bottom and back of the page. Anyway, that was a big plus to us (me). Angela Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HollyDay Posted February 28, 2010 Share Posted February 28, 2010 I used it with great success for 3rd grade. But, it was too much review for us in 4th. In fact, it was VERY repetitive and boring for 4th. I wish I had skipped 4th and done 5th instead. It is very straight forward. Plain, black and white style, which is great if you have a dc like mine who gets distracted by cute colorful illustrations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chocolate Lover Posted February 28, 2010 Share Posted February 28, 2010 I started DS on GWG 1/2 about the middle of 1st, when he was 6.5 yrs old. He worked on it through the summer and was starting the 2nd grade level work in about the end of September. He is currently in the 4th grade book. There is enough repetition to get the ideas to stick. He is a language kid, though. He is doing fine in math and science, trumpet and softball, but I suspect he will be a writer for a living. I am starting to tweek other curriculums to have them taught from a literature point of view. Anyway, DS has learned a lot from GWG. It is clear, no busy looking pages, only the idea. We like that. I like the repetition that others complain about. I think it develops confidence in English grammar. Yes, the same general subjects are taught in each level, but at a higher difficulty, and with more sub-subjects. For grammar, so many approaches are hidden, I like the explicit approach, meaning clear verbal, GWG has. DS and I are both verbal learning styles, and it is great with that. HTH;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in St Louis Posted February 28, 2010 Share Posted February 28, 2010 We completed GWG level 2 and then switched to CLE. Even after completing GWG2, we went back to CLE 105 to "catch up." You should be able to go into AT LEAST GWG 2 (maybe even 3) after having some CLE under your belt. HTH!:001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MelanieM Posted February 28, 2010 Share Posted February 28, 2010 I haven't tried GWG but, looking at the samples, it appears to be similar to the approach used in this free LA curriculum from McGraw-Hill. It's worth looking at if you're going with a workbook approach. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovetobehome Posted March 5, 2010 Share Posted March 5, 2010 Wow, has anyone used that free curriculum (above)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyGrace Posted March 5, 2010 Share Posted March 5, 2010 :iagree: I'm thinking that free curriculum looks really good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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