Cathy Duffy's review of MCT

[Jen500]

http://cathyduffyreviews.com/grammar-composition/michael-clay-thompson-language-arts.htm

[rafiki]

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[Granny_Weatherwax]

It is a great review. I hope she includes it in the Top 100 picks. I am confident that MCTLA will get that reputation as more homeschoolers discover and use the program.

[Samiam]

Has Cathy Duffy given any bad reviews? I don't think I have read a review that says a bad thing on any curriculum that I have looked at...she basically just states the selling points.

[angela in ohio]

Has Cathy Duffy given any bad reviews? I don't think I have read a review that says a bad thing on any curriculum that I have looked at...she basically just states the selling points.

 

Not really. They're a lot like TOS reviews. :D

 

A few times she has said something was too difficult or time-intensive, which I take with a grain of salt. :001_smile:

Edited March 15, 2010 by angela in ohio

[Jen in PA]

Thanks for sharing!

[Granny_Weatherwax]

When I spoke with her (via email) about doing the MCTLA review she indicated that curriculum which she finds really bad or inappropriate for homeschooling will not be put on her site. I do not know enough about homeschooling curric. to know how much is out there that is not on her site or in her book.

[Capt_Uhura]

That is what I was thinking.....better for her to say positive things about a curriculum and remain silent about others. As my mother would say, "If you don't have anything good to say, don't say anything at all." :001_smile:

[Crimson Wife]

I think it's very misleading of Cathy Duffy to say that each of the MCT books can stand alone. That's true for the vocab and poetry components but not the others. The grammar instruction can only be called thorough if one uses all 3 of the other books together. The grammar books by themselves don't have much in the way of content- the majority of the "grammar" instruction is contained within the "writing" book. And I think Cathy Duffy ought to have made that clear.

 

We're loving CE1 and Building Poems, the jury is still out on the rest.

[StephanieZ]

I think it's very misleading of Cathy Duffy to say that each of the MCT books can stand alone. That's true for the vocab and poetry components but not the others. The grammar instruction can only be called thorough if one uses all 3 of the other books together. The grammar books by themselves don't have much in the way of content- the majority of the "grammar" instruction is contained within the "writing" book. And I think Cathy Duffy ought to have made that clear.

 

We're loving CE1 and Building Poems, the jury is still out on the rest.

 

Really? What level books are you working with?

 

With the Town level (which is all I have experience with), I think Grammar Town could stand alone and seems to contain a solid amount of grammar.

 

Personally, I love using all 4 books together, but I don't see the Paragraph Town book containing more grammar than the Grammar Town book. . . Paragraph Town does reinforce the grammar, which is super, but I think the Grammar Town book is more explicit and comprehensive wrt grammar.

 

It seems to be that the grammar, or vocab, or poetry books could stand alone. I would want to try Paragraph Town w/o the background of Grammar Town since PT reviews a lot of grammar that was more explicitly taught in GR. . . But, PT is the only of the four books that I would NOT think *could* work perfectly well as a stand alone.

 

Hmmm. . .

[Jen500]

I think it's very misleading of Cathy Duffy to say that each of the MCT books can stand alone. That's true for the vocab and poetry components but not the others. The grammar instruction can only be called thorough if one uses all 3 of the other books together. The grammar books by themselves don't have much in the way of content- the majority of the "grammar" instruction is contained within the "writing" book. And I think Cathy Duffy ought to have made that clear.

 

We're loving CE1 and Building Poems, the jury is still out on the rest.

 

Um, no, as far as the Town level, all of the grammar is taught in the grammar book. The writing book has a grammar review. I'm not sure why you keep writing that the grammar is not taught in the grammar books.

 

And I think Ms. Duffy wrote that each book could be used alone, but they are best when used together.

[Spy Car]

Cathy Duffy wrote:

 

"Each book (or series) could stand on its own, but the integration of the five books for each level creates a synergistic effect: the whole is greater than the sum of the individual parts."

 

Bill

[Crimson Wife]

Really? What level books are you working with?

 

I've looked through a friend's copies of all 3 of the elementary grammar books and have personally used Grammar Town.

 

With the Town level (which is all I have experience with), I think Grammar Town could stand alone and seems to contain a solid amount of grammar.

 

Personally, I love using all 4 books together, but I don't see the Paragraph Town book containing more grammar than the Grammar Town book. . . Paragraph Town does reinforce the grammar, which is super, but I think the Grammar Town book is more explicit and comprehensive wrt grammar.

 

I disagree. When I had previewed the 3 grammar books alone, I had come away very underwhelmed. There just didn't seem to be much in the way of content to my eyes. When I got Paragraph Town and started reading the chapters in the back, I finally realized that everyone who had told me (over and over ;)) that MCT grammar was, in fact, "meaty" enough had been correct. Had I seen both Grammar Town and Paragraph Town at the beginning, I wouldn't have questioned the program's grammar coverage. But seeing just Grammar Town alone gave me a false impression.

[tenoraddict]

Has anyone started an older child on MCT? I'm a little concerned about CD's comment about needing to start from the beginning... Next year, I'll have a 7th (5 years of Shurley and 1 of R&S) and a 5th (3 year of Shurley and 1 of FLL) grader...I can't imagine that I'll need to start them from the beginning of MCT...

[Jen500]

Has anyone started an older child on MCT? I'm a little concerned about CD's comment about needing to start from the beginning... Next year, I'll have a 7th (5 years of Shurley and 1 of R&S) and a 5th (3 year of Shurley and 1 of FLL) grader...I can't imagine that I'll need to start them from the beginning of MCT...

 

I would not start at the beginning (Island level) with your dc. I think most people have suggested choosing a level based on your child's writing level. Some people have called the publisher and found them helpful as far as picking a level.

[StephanieZ]

I've looked through a friend's copies of all 3 of the elementary grammar books and have personally used Grammar Town.

 

 

 

I disagree. When I had previewed the 3 grammar books alone, I had come away very underwhelmed. There just didn't seem to be much in the way of content to my eyes. When I got Paragraph Town and started reading the chapters in the back, I finally realized that everyone who had told me (over and over ;)) that MCT grammar was, in fact, "meaty" enough had been correct. Had I seen both Grammar Town and Paragraph Town at the beginning, I wouldn't have questioned the program's grammar coverage. But seeing just Grammar Town alone gave me a false impression.

 

:confused::confused:

 

Have you actually taught/used Grammar Town? Maybe you missed some things when you "previewed" it?

 

Having taught/used all of GT, and now well into PT. . . and while I hate to be contradictory, I have to say that GT provides more grammar meat than PT. PT does review/refer back to the grammar taught more thoroughly in GT. However, there is no grammar taught in PT that wasn't more explicitly and more completely taught in GT. Based on my experience with the 5 books of the Town level, I am just very confused with your characterization of the grammar teaching.

[Matryoshka]

Has anyone started an older child on MCT? I'm a little concerned about CD's comment about needing to start from the beginning... Next year, I'll have a 7th (5 years of Shurley and 1 of R&S) and a 5th (3 year of Shurley and 1 of FLL) grader...I can't imagine that I'll need to start them from the beginning of MCT...

 

I wouldn't go back to the beginning with kids that old. I did go back a level and started my 6th graders with Town, but I didn't go back all the way to Island. I probably could've gotten the Voyage level for grammar, but decided to stay all on one level because the rest of it looked worth going through, although perhaps at a faster pace than if they'd been younger. I will probably move on to at least the Voyage level grammar before the year is out.

 

Depending on how much writing your older kid has done, I'd say either Essay Voyage or Paragraph Town - it's the writing that's the most challenging/advanced part of the program.

[StephanieZ]

Has anyone started an older child on MCT? I'm a little concerned about CD's comment about needing to start from the beginning... Next year, I'll have a 7th (5 years of Shurley and 1 of R&S) and a 5th (3 year of Shurley and 1 of FLL) grader...I can't imagine that I'll need to start them from the beginning of MCT...

 

In a very similar situation, I started with Town. . . and we're doing it over 4-5 months (about 3 hrs/wk). Has worked very well and we'll go into Voyage this fall.

[Crimson Wife]

:confused::confused:

 

Have you actually taught/used Grammar Town? Maybe you missed some things when you "previewed" it?

 

Yes, my DD did GT and she's now in PT. I've got both books in front of me now. GT devotes 1 page each to prepositional phrases, appositive phrases, and verbal phrases. Each page has 2-3 brief paragraphs written in a large font that give a very brief overview of what each phrase is. PT devotes multiple pages (in a smaller font) to each of these with IMHO a much more thorough discussion plus practice exercises for the student. The treatment of clauses is similar.

 

My GT book says "teacher's manual" on the cover but there isn't the kind of thorough lessons that PT has in the back.

[Granny_Weatherwax]

I think the important thing to remember is that Cathy Duffy reviewed MCTLA. Up until this point it had been overlooked as a homeschool curric. Now that Cathy has reviewed it and is including it on her site (and, dare I hope, in a future edition of The Top 100) more homeschoolers will have an opportunity to learn about MCTLA and can decide for themselves if the curric is appropriate for their children.

[StephanieZ]

Yes, my DD did GT and she's now in PT. I've got both books in front of me now. GT devotes 1 page each to prepositional phrases, appositive phrases, and verbal phrases. Each page has 2-3 brief paragraphs written in a large font that give a very brief overview of what each phrase is. PT devotes multiple pages (in a smaller font) to each of these with IMHO a much more thorough discussion plus practice exercises for the student. The treatment of clauses is similar.

 

My GT book says "teacher's manual" on the cover but there isn't the kind of thorough lessons that PT has in the back.

 

Interesting! Thanks for the detailed feedback.

[rafiki]

.

[radiobrain]

I think her review was pretty decent... considering that she didn't actually experience doing it with a kid.

 

I think that the over the top factor is the love and understanding of language which is hard to measure and is different for each child and family.

 

I also think that she should have clarified that it is BEST to start it from the beginning, if possible, but that starting at Town level is best for those 11+ .

 

Also, she listed the grade levels that are the TaG grade levels. She should have said Island 3/4, Town 4/5+, Voyage 5/6+.

 

That is my uber-critical nit picking. I am glad that she essentially got the gist of it. :D

[EKS]

Has anyone started an older child on MCT? I'm a little concerned about CD's comment about needing to start from the beginning... Next year, I'll have a 7th (5 years of Shurley and 1 of R&S) and a 5th (3 year of Shurley and 1 of FLL) grader...I can't imagine that I'll need to start them from the beginning of MCT...

 

My older son started at the Voyage level after completing (and not retaining) Hake 8. It was the right level to start him in as there is a *big* jump at the Magic Lens 1 level.

[tenoraddict]

 

I would not start at the beginning (Island level) with your dc. I think most people have suggested choosing a level based on your child's writing level. Some people have called the publisher and found them helpful as far as picking a level.

Calling the publisher is excellent advice; thanks. I can't keep the names of the levels straight anyway.

[happymom]

Has anyone started an older child on MCT? I'm a little concerned about CD's comment about needing to start from the beginning... Next year, I'll have a 7th (5 years of Shurley and 1 of R&S) and a 5th (3 year of Shurley and 1 of FLL) grader...I can't imagine that I'll need to start them from the beginning of MCT...

The practice books are similar to the parsing of sentences that you do with Shurley. Each day we do two sentences out of the Practice book. The first one I do with my ds using the question answer flow that I learned from using Shurley. The second sentence I have him do by himself. Some of the parts of speech are labeled differently than Shurley, for example articles and possessive pronoun adjectives are just labeled as adjectives.

 

Your kids should have a solid understanding of grammar after doing that much of Shurley. I wouldn't recommend doing the Island or the Town level with your kids unless you want to read through them quickly for a quick review. Definitely skip the practice books. I'm not sure about the Voyage level as I haven't seen it. The poetry books would be worth getting from the beginning though.

[titianmom]

I've found most of her Top 100's less than stellar IMHO. There has only been one of her "picks" that I found that was useful for us.

 

I read her reviews only to get a gist of what the curriculum contains and it's approach. That's it.

 

As a matter of fact, I have come to avoid her Top Picks, sad to say.

 

What I wish I could have (but prob never will in my lifetime) is a huge warehouse of homeschooling material located in my local area that I could go to and browse to my heart's content with my kid, so that we could pick out what works for us and not have to rely on someone else's opinion and maybe one or two page samples that are usually not the part of the text that I need to see.

 

I honestly think that many of the people who write reviews for curriculum are paid to do it, folks. My 2 cents.

 

Rainbow Resource is the same way. I look for what the curriculum contains and the approach and ignore the opinions that, 98% of the time, I usually end up disagreeing with after I purchase the product and actually use it.

 

The advertisements (reviews) are never as great as the reality. Kinda like the picture of a Big Mac on the order board overhead at Macie-Dees and the actual hamburger you end up with on your disposable wrapping paper at the table. I'm always tempted to go up to the counter and hand them my sandwich and ask for the sandwich on the board overhead.

 

"Can I have that one?"

 

:lol:

Kim

[Jen500]

I honestly think that many of the people who write reviews for curriculum are paid to do it, folks. My 2 cents.

 

 

 

:lol:

Kim

 

I thought Duffy's review of MCT was mostly descriptive.

[StephanieZ]

@Crimson Wife -- the more I am getting into PT with my dc, the more I see your point about the grammar covered in PT!

 

I still think that GT lays a good foundation in the grammar concepts, but I see that the lessons in PT are really developing more depth on those concepts.

 

I am starting to think that while GT might stand alone as a basic grammar course, adding the next layer with the grammar in PT is definitely the icing on the cake.

 

The more I work with the Town level, the more synergism I see among the books.

[happy2teach]

Has anyone started an older child on MCT? I'm a little concerned about CD's comment about needing to start from the beginning... Next year, I'll have a 7th (5 years of Shurley and 1 of R&S) and a 5th (3 year of Shurley and 1 of FLL) grader...I can't imagine that I'll need to start them from the beginning of MCT...

 

I have a question relating to Shurley Grammer. I am comparing Shurley Grammer vs. Rod and Staff. Could anyone tell me why someone would pick Shurley Grammer over Rod and Staff? Could you tell me the differences between them and what you like or dislike about each.

 

BTW, I am new and cannot figure out how to start a new thread :confused:, how do I do that, and I appologize in advance for inserting my question here.

 

Thanks.

[Granny_Weatherwax]

I honestly think that many of the people who write reviews for curriculum are paid to do it, folks. My 2 cents.

Kim

 

 

In this case, not true.

 

I contacted Cathy and suggested she reveiw MCTLA. Then I contacted Dr. Tom at RFWP and told him what I had done and 'suggested' he prepare a package to send to Cathy, who would be contacting him regarding the review. I then came here and asked MCTLA users to also contact CD and suggest she review MCTLA; MTCLA users should include in the email what they really thought about the program. Cathy contacted Dr. Tom, he mailed the package, she did the review.

 

I cannot speak to the other stuff in Cathy's book but I know without a doubt that the MCTLA/RFWP review was not solicited by RFWP in any way. A pushy, very happy MCTLA-using homeschool mom encouraged it.:D

Edited March 28, 2010 by The Dragon Academy

[tenoraddict]

I have a question relating to Shurley Grammer. I am comparing Shurley Grammer vs. Rod and Staff. Could anyone tell me why someone would pick Shurley Grammer over Rod and Staff? Could you tell me the differences between them and what you like or dislike about each.

 

BTW, I am new and cannot figure out how to start a new thread :confused:, how do I do that, and I appologize in advance for inserting my question here.

 

Thanks.

I switched to R&S because we were so sick of Shurley after all those years. Shurley is a solid program, but we just needed a break. My younger 2 were switching to FLL this year, and since R&S is one recommended by SWB, we went with it. I don't regret using it this year, but I'm glad to find MCT. R&S is very dry...BORING, actually...but it gets the grammar job done. Shurley uses lots of chants, which my kids have recalled this year while using their other curriculums.

 

If you're deciding between R&S and Shurley, I'd go with Shurley...but look into MCT.