Need suggestions for grammar for a 15 yo who's had VERY LITTLE instruction

[DB in NJ]

I *may* be homeschooling my niece again next year. Last year we focused on other areas -- mostly relationship stuff. Her mother left a year and a half ago, and I've been teaching them here.

 

Anyhooo.....IF I teach them (she has a brother) next year, I want to focus on her reading, spelling, and grammar.

 

She's definitely behind and has some kind of learning disability (no clue what; her mother never had her tested, and her father refuses to do so too). The best guess would be dyslexia. Any suggestions for grammar? I want something thorough (all 8 parts of speech, etc.), not too much writing, ungraded would be nice, not babyish, not too advanced.

 

Any ideas??

 

I'm planning on using Sequential Spelling; we tried AAS last year, but it just wasn't my cuppa. No clue what I'll do for reading either, but I have a few ideas.

[Alicia64]

This suggestion will sound silly, but let me first tell you that I'm a professional writer -- and had an abysmal grammar education.

 

I have the creativity down, but the grammar gets me each and every time.

 

Seriously, get the 30 year anniversary School House Rock. Obviously you need a real curriculum too, but it's a great jumping off place.

 

The song that sings "a noun is a person, place or thing" will always be with me.

 

I have 7 year olds, but as we do lessons from First Language and, say, study nouns just for fun I let them hear the corresponding song from School House Rock. We all love it.

 

Plus in introduces fun into the learning process.

 

I'm still stumped as to why we need to learn to diagram a sentence; I've never once had an editor say, "you really should you an interjection here. Or your use of adverbs is all wrong."

 

But having recently heard Jessie Wise speak I'm guessing she'd say that there are a few people out there whom (Ha!) writing comes easily. For everyone else, he/she needs to start with the basics.

 

For curriculum I want to highly recommend First Language Lessons. As a writer who makes decent money I can tell you that I'm learning right along with my kids (and I'm no baby at 45 yrs.). We're on Level 1 and 2.

 

Alley

[Amber in AUS]

What about Analytical Grammar? It is designed for older students without any previous grammar instruction.

[HSMom2One]

What about Analytical Grammar? It is designed for older students without any previous grammar instruction.

 

:iagree: I was just going to say that! AG is a 2 year condensed program with several weeks on, weekly review, then several weeks on for year 2, followed by more weekly review. It seems very appealing to me by what I've read about so far.

 

Another option would be to pull out Rod & Staff English Grade 5. WTM recommends this for older students that have had little to no grammar, then work your way up.

 

Blessings,

Lucinda

[mdmurray]

I really love Easy Grammar. My dd struggled with grammar until we started this and now it all makes sense.

[Hannah]

You could try the free Kiss Grammar program.

[nansk]

You could try the free Kiss Grammar program.

 

:iagree:

 

I read just today in Ed Vavra's newly uploaded intro to KISS Grammar that a serious college student can complete all the levels of KISS Grammar in a year (iirc).

 

I am taking a good look at it to refresh my own grammar knowledge. The one thing that I was drawn to is that he uses sentences from classic children's literature for analysis.

[mom2denj]

:iagree: I think all of Alley's suggestions are great! Sometimes going back (school house rock) makes things, well, make sense. My 13 yr old dd loves school house rock and we listen to it for fun at least once a year. It is truly a good, fun refresher.

This suggestion will sound silly, but let me first tell you that I'm a professional writer -- and had an abysmal grammar education.

 

I have the creativity down, but the grammar gets me each and every time.

 

Seriously, get the 30 year anniversary School House Rock. Obviously you need a real curriculum too, but it's a great jumping off place.

 

The song that sings "a noun is a person, place or thing" will always be with me.

 

I have 7 year olds, but as we do lessons from First Language and, say, study nouns just for fun I let them hear the corresponding song from School House Rock. We all love it.

 

Plus in introduces fun into the learning process.

 

I'm still stumped as to why we need to learn to diagram a sentence; I've never once had an editor say, "you really should you an interjection here. Or your use of adverbs is all wrong."

 

But having recently heard Jessie Wise speak I'm guessing she'd say that there are a few people out there whom (Ha!) writing comes easily. For everyone else, he/she needs to start with the basics.

 

For curriculum I want to highly recommend First Language Lessons. As a writer who makes decent money I can tell you that I'm learning right along with my kids (and I'm no baby at 45 yrs.). We're on Level 1 and 2.

 

Alley

[Mandy in TN]

I *may* be homeschooling my niece again next year. Last year we focused on other areas -- mostly relationship stuff. Her mother left a year and a half ago, and I've been teaching them here.

 

Anyhooo.....IF I teach them (she has a brother) next year, I want to focus on her reading, spelling, and grammar.

 

She's definitely behind and has some kind of learning disability (no clue what; her mother never had her tested, and her father refuses to do so too). The best guess would be dyslexia. Any suggestions for grammar? I want something thorough (all 8 parts of speech, etc.), not too much writing, ungraded would be nice, not babyish, not too advanced.

 

Any ideas??

 

I'm planning on using Sequential Spelling; we tried AAS last year, but it just wasn't my cuppa. No clue what I'll do for reading either, but I have a few ideas.

 

Wintson Grammar worked well with my dyslexic oldest son.

 

Sequential Spelling made no sense to him, but worked great for my middle ds. Orton-Gillingham instruction is often used with dyslexic students. Look at The Writing Road to Reading with The Nuts and Bolts Guide by Mari Mcalister. This would also be phonics/ reading instruction.

 

HTH-

Mandy

[abbeyej]

Maybe look at Stewart English? It was recommended for later logic / early rhetoric stage in the first ed WTM.

[Sunshine State Sue]

:iagree: I was just going to say that! AG is a 2 year condensed program with several weeks on, weekly review, then several weeks on for year 2, followed by more weekly review. It seems very appealing to me by what I've read about so far.

 

AG has 34 lessons and can actually be completed in 1 year if necessary.

[LittleHouseHomeschool]

If she's got some sort of disability, I would go with a program that teaches in all modes of learning. You've got to hit each one or she will have a lesser chance of completely comprehending the material.

 

Winston Grammar fits the bill. Every sentence is analyzed using cards to show the job every word is doing in a sentence. (Hands on) The teacher presents the lesson and works two to three examples on a whiteboard. (Auditory/Visual) This takes about 10 minutes of teaching time. The sentence is analyzed with the cards and marked on a worksheet. (hands on/auditory/writing) The students can do this as a team or individually.

 

It's a fun program. I teach two sons right now using it (grade 6 and grade 10) and it works out very well. I think it would suit your purposes well.