teraberry Posted July 24, 2010 Share Posted July 24, 2010 I was planning on getting Rod and Staff English 8 for my 8th grader. He's been using Rod and Staff since 4th grade. I've LOVED Rod and Staff English, but looking through the grade 8 book, one can't help but notice how repetitive it is. I think repetitive is good with grammar, but it gets to a point where it's too much, and I think 8th grade may be that point. Can I just stop doing grammar/ English now? I AM planning on starting Write Shop, so that will keep my 8th grader sharp (I hope) and help him put all those English lessons to use. Do kids need to know grammar for placement tests (SAT, ACT)? Obviously, they will need to write well, but I mean... will they need to answer questions about demonstrative pronouns, prepostitional phrases, etc? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeanne in MN Posted July 25, 2010 Share Posted July 25, 2010 :lurk5: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
74Heaven Posted July 25, 2010 Share Posted July 25, 2010 I think grammar questions like those you mentioned are pretty rare on most standardized testing and prob. not on the SATs or ACTs but.... I would suggest doing R&S Grammar over 2 years and do a writing program the other half. I did a writing program like MWF and R&S T,Th one year and then R&S MWF and Writing program T,Th the next year. We did this for 7/8th for one child and 8/9th for the other. Personally I think grammar is important in brain development of logical thinking and reasoning & grammar is important in Latin and modern foreign language study. So, we did grammar thru 10th grade. And my oldest 2 are grammar experts partially because of their natural bent and partly because we covered grammar well with Shurley thru gr 7 and then R&S over 2 years; then one semester of Bob Jones high school English. Then, on to literature in grades 10-12. OTOH, you will prob. get plenty of replies saying drop grammar after 8 or 9 years; switch to writing and reading comprehension and literature and don't look back. And I will admit that Rod & Staff really goes deeeep into grammar - prob. the most advanced I've seen. One other thing is that kids tend to forget grammar if they aren't using it and referring to it. So my worrywart tendencies say to keep up some basic grammar review as long as you dare... lj Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ABQmom Posted July 25, 2010 Share Posted July 25, 2010 I was planning on getting Rod and Staff English 8 for my 8th grader. He's been using Rod and Staff since 4th grade. I've LOVED Rod and Staff English, but looking through the grade 8 book, one can't help but notice how repetitive it is. I think repetitive is good with grammar, but it gets to a point where it's too much, and I think 8th grade may be that point. Can I just stop doing grammar/ English now? I AM planning on starting Write Shop, so that will keep my 8th grader sharp (I hope) and help him put all those English lessons to use. Do kids need to know grammar for placement tests (SAT, ACT)? Obviously, they will need to write well, but I mean... will they need to answer questions about demonstrative pronouns, prepostitional phrases, etc? I hear ya! When my oldest dd finished that 7th grade grammar book, we quit! I just couldn't take it anymore. SWB recommends students continue with grammar, but my dd is topping out on the IOWA test in grammar every time she takes it. I'm thinking of doing some kind of grammar review with her, but I just couldn't go through another year of Rod and Staff. I know that's not much help, but I just wanted to say I completely understand! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AFwife Claire Posted July 25, 2010 Share Posted July 25, 2010 We are in the exact same situation as you. My oldest is going into 8th grade and has done R&S since th grade. It's going to take him another month or two to finish up R&S 7, and then I found a grammar workbook at the HEAV used curriculum sale (called "Writer's Choice Grammar Workbook 8) that I'm going to have him do the rest of the year, to keep everything fresh. I found an Easy Grammar Ultimate Grade 9 workbook at the same used sale, so I'm going to have him do that in 9th grade. I don't want him to forget what he's learned, but the workload of R&S was getting very heavy going into high school. I thought it was time to back off and just keep reviewing what he has learned, without so much daily time spent on everything. I do feel he has a VERY solid grammar foundation, and I am so thankful to R&S for that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hannah C. Posted July 26, 2010 Share Posted July 26, 2010 Former hs'ed student here.. :) I may have finished the 7th grade Rod and Staff grammar book, but I never did the 8th grade one. I took the PSAT and SAT in 2005-2006 and got very, very high verbal scores on both. (I'm also a NM Scholar.) There is *NO WAY* the words "demonstrative pronoun" will be on the SAT. Prepositional phrase, maybe. From what I remember of those tests, any grammar stuff did not require you to know terms, but just correct usage - OR the terms were simple ones, like direct object vs object, which I think you learn in Rod and Staff grade 3 or something. So, basically, no need to worry about R&S Grade 8 grammar if you're worried about PSAT/SAT tests. :) At my college, the only people I know who actually *know* advanced grammar terms are the classics majors, who take large amounts of Latin and Greek. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birchbark Posted July 26, 2010 Share Posted July 26, 2010 Daily Grammar Practice may be a good option for you. It only takes five minutes a day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missmoe Posted July 26, 2010 Share Posted July 26, 2010 Perhaps you might use the R&S workbooks from R&S 7 to keep everything fresh. If you've taught R&S grammar for that long, you'll be able to help her with grammar within her writing assignments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ereks mom Posted July 26, 2010 Share Posted July 26, 2010 I hear ya! When my oldest dd finished that 7th grade grammar book, we quit! I just couldn't take it anymore. SWB recommends students continue with grammar, but my dd is topping out on the IOWA test in grammar every time she takes it. I'm thinking of doing some kind of grammar review with her, but I just couldn't go through another year of Rod and Staff. I know that's not much help, but I just wanted to say I completely understand! :iagree: We quit after English 7 too. I have English 8 on my shelf, "just in case", but we probably won't use it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ereks mom Posted July 26, 2010 Share Posted July 26, 2010 Daily Grammar Practice may be a good option for you. It only takes five minutes a day. I'm particularly interested in the Bible version. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thepoteetteam Posted July 27, 2010 Share Posted July 27, 2010 One thing I have learned from a friend who has 10 kids and 2 of them were accepted into ivy league schools.......once you are finished with 8th grade R&S English, you are ready for college level English. Whoa! However, she only went thru the 7th grade books. Hope that helps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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