Grammar: If R&S is too much and Easy Grammar's too little...

[ereks mom]

We've used R&S, and I love that it is so thorough! But my kids hate it for that very reason.

 

We've used EG also, and while I love that it's easy to implement and is not nearly as time-consuming as R&S (even when we do much of it orally and only do evens/odds, etc.), I fear that retention may suffer.

 

So, what is there for grammar (for grades 5-8) that is somewhere between R&S and EG?

[Ellie]

Well, it's hard to compare the two completely, as R&S is a more complete English and EG is only grammar.

 

If you're wanting only grammar, then my vote is still Easy Grammar. I'm not sure what you're thinking of when you say "retention." Do you mean that your dc and identify parts of speech, or do you mean that their writing and speech are grammatically correct? It's the second one that is really important, yes? So do EG for a couple of years, maybe with DG between, and be sure to correct your dc's writing based on what you know they've learned in EG.

 

Or maybe something like EPS's Stewart English Program or Ridgewood Grammar.

 

If you're wanting something more comprehensive than just grammar, something that includes composition, dictionary skills, and the rest, then you're looking at ABeka or BJUP, or other school-like publishers.

[atozmom]

We really like AG and the retention has been great. We have used both R&S and EG and dd just did not do well with them. AG has not been time consuming either. Here's another thread where AG is being discussed right now. Sue has a good review that she linked in her post.

[ereks mom]

Well, it's hard to compare the two completely, as R&S is a more complete English and EG is only grammar.

 

If you're wanting only grammar, then my vote is still Easy Grammar. I'm not sure what you're thinking of when you say "retention." Do you mean that your dc and identify parts of speech, or do you mean that their writing and speech are grammatically correct? It's the second one that is really important, yes?

 

Specifically, the student I have in mind is my rising 7th grader family friend, and she is working behind grade level in all language arts areas. We used R&S 5 this past school year, and she absolutely HATED it. I've already bought Easy Grammar, but I have to wonder whether it will work for her. I've read several posts here on the WTM boards where people say it just didn't work for them because their dc simply did not retain the information: they still have difficulty identifying parts of speech and how the sentence parts work together in sentences. Yes, writing and speech should be grammatically correct, and that is important, but my student doesn't have a good grasp of either parts of speech or sentence parts, and her writing is terrible, so I have to cover BOTH of those areas with her.

[ereks mom]

I've looked into AG, and although I liked it fairly well, it is way, way out of my price range. The mom is expecting to pay $150-$200 total for all books for ALL subjects.

[Ellie]

Specifically, the student I have in mind is my rising 7th grader family friend, and she is working behind grade level in all language arts areas. We used R&S 5 this past school year, and she absolutely HATED it. I've already bought Easy Grammar, but I have to wonder whether it will work for her. I've read several posts here on the WTM boards where people say it just didn't work for them because their dc simply did not retain the information: they still have difficulty identifying parts of speech and how the sentence parts work together in sentences. Yes, writing and speech should be grammatically correct, and that is important, but my student doesn't have a good grasp of either parts of speech or sentence parts, and her writing is terrible, so I have to cover BOTH of those areas with her.

I still say Easy Grammar. You would want to correct each page before she does the next, and do any remediating/teaching before she goes on to the next. Although you've read "several" posts about EG "not working," there are at least as many others for whom EG was working; you have to pick sides. :D

 

So then you'd have to do something else for composition. Writing Strands might be a possibility; she'd probably need to start with Level 3.

[raceNzanesmom]

Specifically, the student I have in mind is my rising 7th grader family friend, and she is working behind grade level in all language arts areas. We used R&S 5 this past school year, and she absolutely HATED it. I've already bought Easy Grammar, but I have to wonder whether it will work for her. I've read several posts here on the WTM boards where people say it just didn't work for them because their dc simply did not retain the information: they still have difficulty identifying parts of speech and how the sentence parts work together in sentences. Yes, writing and speech should be grammatically correct, and that is important, but my student doesn't have a good grasp of either parts of speech or sentence parts, and her writing is terrible, so I have to cover BOTH of those areas with her.

 

I used both with my now graduate. He would tell you he liked EG better, but learned a lot more from R&S. We did a lot orally, so it wasn't as overwhelming. He did levels 6 and 7 and almost finished level 8. He scored very nicely on his ACT in LA.

 

FWIW, he did A Beka for 7th grade, his first year home, and hated it. Later I learned that was because he'd had little to no english instruction in public school. He did EG for 8th. Scored well, applied little. I started 9th grade with R&S 8 and he was lost. Went back to 6, he did well, and applies it to his writing. Best move I could have made. I haven't, obviously, used much so can't compare them all. I just know for my ds R&S was a hands down winner over EG.

[atozmom]

There are also some great free sites. English Grammar 101, Daily Grammar Archive and KISS.

[Guest]

Saxon/Hake Grammar and Writing. let her write in the textbook. My son requested to stay with this program until it ends. Painless. We do skip the dictations and journal prompts but you might want to have her do the journals for practice.

[almondbutterandjelly]

You might try some of the more fun grammar curriculum out there. MCT Grammar Island, The Sentence Family by St. Michael School, Grammar Tales by Scholastic. Montessori has some neat grammar materials, too. Also, perhaps diagramming would be helpful. I like Mary Daly's Whole Book of Diagramming, but any diagramming workbook would probably be effective, if diagramming would work at all for your student. (Some kids it's the key to grammar, some not.)

[ereks mom]

I still say Easy Grammar. You would want to correct each page before she does the next, and do any remediating/teaching before she goes on to the next. Although you've read "several" posts about EG "not working," there are at least as many others for whom EG was working; you have to pick sides. :D

 

So then you'd have to do something else for composition. Writing Strands might be a possibility; she'd probably need to start with Level 3.

 

Yes, I've already bought Writing Strands Level 3. :)

[ereks mom]

I used both with my now graduate. He would tell you he liked EG better, but learned a lot more from R&S. We did a lot orally, so it wasn't as overwhelming. He did levels 6 and 7 and almost finished level 8. He scored very nicely on his ACT in LA.

 

FWIW, he did A Beka for 7th grade, his first year home, and hated it. Later I learned that was because he'd had little to no english instruction in public school. He did EG for 8th. Scored well, applied little. I started 9th grade with R&S 8 and he was lost. Went back to 6, he did well, and applies it to his writing. Best move I could have made. I haven't, obviously, used much so can't compare them all. I just know for my ds R&S was a hands down winner over EG.

 

This sounds a bit similar to where my student is right now. For 4th & 5th grades, she attended a Christian school that uses ABeka exclusively. She came to me for 6th grade, but I didn't think she was ready for R&S 6, so we did R&S 5. She did fine with it, but it's just overwhelming for both of us--time consuming and intensive. I've actually been considering doing R&S and EG in alternating years: last year was R&S, next year would be EG, then the next year R&S, and so on.

 

Also, perhaps diagramming would be helpful. I like Mary Daly's Whole Book of Diagramming, but any diagramming workbook would probably be effective, if diagramming would work at all for your student. (Some kids it's the key to grammar, some not.)

 

She did learn to diagram, and is actually pretty good at it. I don't think it was the key to grammar like I hoped it would be.

[ElizabethB]

MCT! :lol::lol:

 

We really do enjoy it here.

[HSMom2One]

Of the two, my vote would be to stay with R&S. We have used both R&S and EG, and I have to say that my dd learned and retained more with R&S. We wasted a lot of time and money on EG to be honest. We also used Shurley English, but it was way too teacher intensive for me. I love the R&S TM and think it is very easy to teach because of the way it is set up. Then again, often times my dd just opened the lesson and did it herself because R&S is very straight forward.

 

Let's face it, most kids don't enjoy grammar as much as other subjects. No matter what program you choose, grammar is still grammar. Kids don't like vaccinations and taking medicine either, but we give them what they need because we love them. I would rather go with R&S and know that they are gaining a thorough program than try to find curriculum that is more fun and entertaining. I would tell my dc that they may not appreciate it now, but in the long run they will be thankful for the excellent teaching they received in language arts.

 

This year we will be moving over to ALL as soon as it is available. If it weren't for a desire to use SWB's curriculum, I'd be staying with R&S - but leave out the writing lessons. These are my top two choices for grammar.

 

Blessings,

Lucinda

Edited July 11, 2011 by HSMom2One

[Joyful_Journey]

We are switching to MCT this year (I just love the way he teaches the beauty of language), but we used Growing with Grammar last year with great success.

 

http://www.growingwithgrammar.com/

 

If you search the boards, you will find lots of enthusiastic GWG users. It was very easy to implement and included diagramming. My older kids did it without complaint (I'll be using GWG 1 with FLL this year with my first grader), and we likely would have continued on with it if I had not fallen in love with MCT grammar.

[papillon]

How about Exercises in English? It's from the publisher of Voyages in English, but apparently, EiE can be used as a stand-alone program. It's offered for Grades 4-8. http://rainbowresource.com/product/sku/008418/1310397807-997260 More samples can be found at the Loyola Press website, too.

Edited July 11, 2011 by papillon