Grammar after 8th grade ... what's left to learn? (x-post)

[Haiku]

If my kids start grammar in 2nd grade and study it every year through 8th grade, what's left to learn in high school? Do my kids really need to study grammar for eleven years??

 

Tara

[Mad Jenny Flint]

My son started with EFTC grades 1-3, then Voyages in English grammar in 4th, then R&S grammar grades 5-6 and Analytical Grammar in 2 years (7-8). He is currently using the AG review booklets (which match up rather conveniently with a 4 year history/lit. cycle) which keep him fresh. He already knows the "why" of it, and just needs to keep his chops up. When he has a question about something he just consults his AG notes booklet which was saved from grades 7-8. This works well for us and is time efficient. He is also getting grammar instruction when we work together on paper revisions and he reads a TON. No reason to spend time that could be well used for other things.

[Brindee]

I agree with Jenny. My dd is a year behind where I'd like her to be, so we will be doing grammar next year (9th grade). After that, I was thinking of doing the AG Review books, just to help keep it there.

 

Do the AG review books work okay if you haven't done AG?

[Kimm in WA]

I also agree. We used Rod & Staff from 3rd grade through the 8th grade book for my 3 teenage boys. I split the 8th grade book in half and did 1/2 in 8th grade and 1/2 in 9th grade so they would have time to do a writing program as well.

 

They have all tested well in both the ACT, PSAT, and my oldest son scored well on the placement test the community college administered for him to get into the dual-enrollment program. He was very well prepared for his first CC English class, English Composition 101.

 

We used the high school years to concentrate on writing skills using the IEW history-based writing lessons, High School package (which does include a grammar review book called The Blue Book of Grammar), and Andrew Pudewa's high school seminar on writing, including the timed tests for college admissions tests.

 

HTH,

Kimm

[zootle]

Having 2 kids in highschool and one in 8th grade, I tend to agree. The younger still does formal grammer. The middle does review as needed with Rod and Staff. My oldest just graduated. I concentrated on writing with him during his junior and senior years. If I saw a consistent error in his writing then we would review that area.

Cindy

[Leanna Tomlinson]

I'm about to graduate dd #2. We did not do formal grammar in high school, but I did buy each of them their own copy of Elements of Style by Strunk & White. http://www.amazon.com/Elements-Style-Fourth-William-Strunk/dp/020530902X

 

In fall of 9th grade I would have them read/review one chapter of Strunk & White per week until the book was completed.(there are fewer than 10 chapters). In Jan. of 10th grade they started SAT prep books which included grammar review. That was plenty even for my eldest who is presently taking editing and publishing courses in college for her minor.

 

HTH,

Leanna

Edited March 19, 2010 by Leanna
typo

[Mejane]

With daughter, a junior, we just go over grammar within the context of errors in her writing. Fortunately for both of us there aren't many. :)

[ereks mom]

DGP (Daily Grammar Practice) from here on out.

[Ester Maria]

Basically you can do linguistics - what's left is a more thorough study of the English phonetics and phonology, then the units of morpho-syntax, which naturally leads to semantics, which again quite naturally leads to lexicology, the study of dialects and regional variants as well as the historical development of the language (which usually includes the component of studying several historical grammars), and if you're really into studying the language, you can introduce the topics of not-English-specific linguistics, such as historical linguistics (esp. if you studied classics long enough), discourse analysis (the linguistics of the text), etc. and, ultimately, semiotics.

 

I don't intend to go through it all for English with my daugthers, but for Italian, I would love to (it's just that I doubt they'll still be homeschooled when old enough to study semiotics and such interesting things). Over the last decade and half (approx.) there has been a new approach to the Italian morpho-syntax, with somewhat different classification of parts of speeches both on the level of syntax and semantics, and I find it just superb, much better than the traditional division and far more "structuralist" (in a good sense) and I already started to switch to that mode with my daughters when discussing grammar. I don't follow the studies of English linguistics, but I don't doubt there are many interesting approaches to the language which could be studied on the high school level as a type of continuation of the study of grammar. :)

[lllll]

If my kids start grammar in 2nd grade and study it every year through 8th grade, what's left to learn in high school? Do my kids really need to study grammar for eleven years??

 

Tara

 

If you start them early, it may not take the full 11 years to go through your grammar program.

 

We've always done year-round school. As soon as our dc finished with one grammar book, I gave them a week off grammar before starting the next level. Working this way, now-17yod has been finished with the entire ABeka grammar books for a few years now.

 

I think our dc liked doing all the grammar. It was easy for them and provided a nice break in days filled with hard things like Latin, logic, GB's, etc. And because it came easy to them, they never spent very long on grammar each day; so it's not like it took up tons of time. You may find the same with your own dc. It gets easier and faster as they get further into it.