FLL 4 for 5th grade?

[Katiebug_1976]

I am thinking of using FLL level 4 with my ds next year. He is 10 and will technically be in 5th grade, but grammar & writing have been a weak subject for him. So, my question is, if he has not had a whole lot of formal grammar & writing, would FLL 4 be appropriate for him? Then, if we use that, what would we do for 6th grade since FLL stops after level 4? I would really appreciate your thoughts and advice.

 

Thanks so much,

[adrienne]

We've used FLL 4 this year for my two fifth-graders, and it's working fine; although, pretty dull in my opinion. Even without much formal writing or grammar, I think it would work well. If I had to do it over again, I'd have chosen something a bit more engaging and less scripted.

 

As to where to start sixth grade, we're deciding on that now. The publications from Royal Fireworks Press look intriguing, as do most of the WTM posts regarding that LA program. Also, there's AG (or JAG) that we're considering. I'm sure others can give some insight into the programs that they're using.

 

hth,

Adrienne

[Katiebug_1976]

Thank you for the reply. Is there a favorite Language/grammar program out there for 5th grade?

[Another Lynn]

Hi,

We were a bit behind with FLL and so we were maybe 20 lessons into FLL4 when we started 5th grade. It was going fine, but after we got more than halfway through the book (don't remember exactly which lesson number) it just seemed that he outgrew it. I didn't see too much ahead that wouldn't be fairly simple to just explain one time, etc. I ended up buying a couple Light Units of CLE LA 500 (5th grade). It has been a good combination of review and new material. We obviously won't finish it this year, but I'm not worried about being half a year or so behind. There is also the possibility that we would only use a couple levels of CLE LA and then use Analytical Grammar later (right before high school?)

 

So, yes, you can use FLL 4 in 5th, but it might get too easy before you are done.

 

Btw, I'm not sure what your experience would be if you were going straight from FLL3 to CLE 5 - there might be some diagramming that your dc hadn't seen, but I don't know if it would be a problem or not.

[Paintedlady]

We've started using it this year (we just started) b/c we school through the summer, and my dd, 10 yrs old, will be using it into next year in 5th grade. She's had a full year + of grammar but little diagramming, so I think it will be a good fit. It is VERY scripted, which I'm not sure yet if I like. It's also teacher intensive, which I don't mind, but you should know that as well. hth!

[Krissi]

I'm using FLL 4 for my 5th grader, who is not behind and it works quite well. If you don't want extensive worksheets/writing for grammar, this is a good one. Not too much writing,bgood, solid grammar lessons without bells and whistles. Easy to use and implement. It won't be exciting, but it will work. I'm using Rod & Staff 6th gr English next year.

 

My personal opinion is that it would be very good even in remedial sense.

[karensk]

I am thinking of using FLL level 4 with my ds next year. He is 10 and will technically be in 5th grade, but grammar & writing have been a weak subject for him. So, my question is, if he has not had a whole lot of formal grammar & writing, would FLL 4 be appropriate for him? Then, if we use that, what would we do for 6th grade since FLL stops after level 4? I would really appreciate your thoughts and advice.

 

Thanks so much,

 

I plan to use R&S-5 for dd after she finishes FLL-4, which might be around November. That's one of the WTM recommendations, and I really liked the program when I used it with ds -- user-friendly, efficient, effective.

 

When ds was starting 5th grade, he had not had much formal grammar or writing before starting R&S-5. We didn't rush things, sometimes dwelling on a topic for a little while before moving on. We do most of the lessons together orally (~15-25 min.), plus a short homework assignment on most days (usually ~15 min. or less). He's going to end up spreading R&S-5 and R&S-6 over 3 years (5th-7th grades), and that's fine with me. It's a pretty advanced/accelerated program, IMO. Ds recently took a practice SAT at Princeton Review and did well on the grammar section; much of the credit goes to R&S.

 

Here's a brief comparison of FLL-4 and R&S-5 in terms of format:

- R&S has more exercises and more problems in each exercise...helpful if the student needs extra practice to "get" the concept. You'll have to gauge when to skip some if it's too much. FLL-4 has fewer practice sentences (problems). The amount of writing is much less, though it's easy enough to adjust R&S to do more of it orally.

- FLL-4 is scripted. If you'd like assistance in doing the Q&A for parsing sentences, then this would be very helpful. R&S doesn't have this, but not everyone needs it.

 

Have you seen the sample pages of FLL-4 at the Peacehill Press site? That might help you decide if it's appropriate.

 

HTH!

[Katiebug_1976]

I plan to use R&S-5 for dd after she finishes FLL-4, which might be around November. That's one of the WTM recommendations, and I really liked the program when I used it with ds -- user-friendly, efficient, effective.

 

When ds was starting 5th grade, he had not had much formal grammar or writing before starting R&S-5. We didn't rush things, sometimes dwelling on a topic for a little while before moving on. We do most of the lessons together orally (~15-25 min.), plus a short homework assignment on most days (usually ~15 min. or less). He's going to end up spreading R&S-5 and R&S-6 over 3 years (5th-7th grades), and that's fine with me. It's a pretty advanced/accelerated program, IMO. Ds recently took a practice SAT at Princeton Review and did well on the grammar section; much of the credit goes to R&S.

 

Here's a brief comparison of FLL-4 and R&S-5 in terms of format:

- R&S has more exercises and more problems in each exercise...helpful if the student needs extra practice to "get" the concept. You'll have to gauge when to skip some if it's too much. FLL-4 has fewer practice sentences (problems). The amount of writing is much less, though it's easy enough to adjust R&S to do more of it orally.

- FLL-4 is scripted. If you'd like assistance in doing the Q&A for parsing sentences, then this would be very helpful. R&S doesn't have this, but not everyone needs it.

 

Have you seen the sample pages of FLL-4 at the Peacehill Press site? That might help you decide if it's appropriate.

 

HTH!

 

Ok, so you said that the WTM recommends that after FLL4 you move on to R&S 5? Our library only has an older copy written before FLL where they recommended Abeka as one of the most recommended grammar programs. Has that recommendation changed in the newer book? I had planned on using Abeka Grammar & Comp for my 2 older dd's (8th & 9th grade), but am trying to decide between Abeka & FLL 4 for ds (5th). We've used R&S before, but by level 7 my girls were burned out. So we dropped it and have been shopping around ever since. I am trying to stop that and find something that will work and stick with it.

[karensk]

Ok, so you said that the WTM recommends that after FLL4 you move on to R&S 5? Our library only has an older copy written before FLL where they recommended Abeka as one of the most recommended grammar programs. Has that recommendation changed in the newer book? I had planned on using Abeka Grammar & Comp for my 2 older dd's (8th & 9th grade), but am trying to decide between Abeka & FLL 4 for ds (5th). We've used R&S before, but by level 7 my girls were burned out. So we dropped it and have been shopping around ever since. I am trying to stop that and find something that will work and stick with it.

 

I don't believe A Beka English was mentioned in the grammar-level section of the latest edition WTM; R&S is, though. Another series recommended in WTM was Voyages in English, which would be good for those who didn't want the religious content of R&S. Since A Beka English was recommended in previous editions of WTM, I'd be totally comfortable using it. Maybe they were just recommending their top picks for grammar (besides FLL) -- one that was Christian, and one that was more non-sectarian?

 

I don't plan on going past R&S-6; we'll switch to something else, either Warriner's or Analytical Grammar or A Beka or any combination.

 

HTH!

[Katiebug_1976]

I don't believe A Beka English was mentioned in the grammar-level section of the latest edition WTM; R&S is, though. Another series recommended in WTM was Voyages in English, which would be good for those who didn't want the religious content of R&S. Since A Beka English was recommended in previous editions of WTM, I'd be totally comfortable using it. Maybe they were just recommending their top picks for grammar (besides FLL) -- one that was Christian, and one that was more non-sectarian?

 

I don't plan on going past R&S-6; we'll switch to something else, either Warriner's or Analytical Grammar or A Beka or any combination.

 

HTH!

 

 

Thank you :001_smile:

[mommy4ever]

In the site resources section on the main WTM site, there is a link to Workshops and Handouts, these are expanded outlines of the lectures. There are recommendations within that.

[Katiebug_1976]

Oh great! I will have to check that out. Thanks so much!