Getting up to speed with Grammar

[Sunkirst]

I am looking for a product that will help me bring my son up to a high school level with grammar (although my primary goal is to improve his writing). He is 14, dyslexic, and struggles with spelling and writing. He loves literature and has a good vocabulary.

 

We worked through FLL when he was little. In the past 3 years we have tried Easy Grammar, Keys to Good Language and AG but stopped after a half year for all of these. He despised the writing in EG and KGL. AG was just too much of a time commitment (about an hour daily).

 

I don't know that this particular child needs to be able to diagram a sentence, but he does need to know when to use a comma.

 

I am hoping to find a program that:

Teaches punctuation and mechanics

Teaches basic grammar

Takes 20 - 30 minutes per lesson

Doesn't sound like it was written with the sole purpose of teaching grammar (I know this sounds silly, but when he ends up making fun of the writing, he doesn't take it seriously, and he doesn't even attempt to learn. We tried the samples of ALL, and he loved the quality of the writing, but...)

 

Any suggestions?

 

Thanks,

[ChrisB]

Perhaps KISS...

 

ETA: This thread might answer some of your questions regarding KISS if you are interested. He uses real sentences from literature.

Edited February 5, 2012 by ChrisB

[jibaker103]

Winston Grammar has been a life saver for my boys 12 and 16. Both have LD's and they were not retaining Easy Grammar Plus or SWB ALL. Winston is great because it forces them to build the sentences using color coded cards and then markup the sentences. The beauty of it is that it is hands-on, visual, aural, and written!

[abbeyej]

Perhaps consider Stewart English?

[Sunkirst]

Thanks for the suggestions!

 

I just spent the whole of the Superbowl reading about KISS (thanks so much for the link - What a thorough discussion!). I must admit that I'm frightened, never having learned grammar. My son would not complain about the quality of the writing, however, and I love that it's free but for the printing.

 

I'll have to look into Winston Grammar next - I'm glad they have a pretest (I wonder how much of his previous grammar my son retained?)

 

I like the sound of Stewart English, but I can find very few reviews (and those seem mixed). Abbeyej, have you used the program? What was your experience?

 

Thanks again, the Hive always comes through in a pinch!

[Kristin in Hawaii]

Hello,

 

My son is 15 and really had similar needs. I bought used copies (some had pencil marks) from Amazon -- started with A1 but quickly switched to B1. He is happy and learning quickly. I make sure I go over the answers with him every night and talk about the rules which govern the editing he had to do.

 

I highly recommend this. YMMV

[abbeyej]

I like the sound of Stewart English, but I can find very few reviews (and those seem mixed). Abbeyej, have you used the program? What was your experience?

 

Yes, I've used it. It was recommended for upper logic stage in the first edition WTM, though I believe they moved it to rhetoric stage in later editions. I would begin with the first level. Each book is thicker and more challenging than the one before it, but the first does cover grammar pretty well, such that a kid who learns the material will have a pretty decent foundation. The examples are drawn from classic literature, so as a student learns about a particular type of clause or phrase, he'll see that type used in 5-10 recognizable sources. The writing in the first book is mostly kept to individual sentences at a time, so while students are expected to do careful work, the amount is not overwhelming. There's no diagramming.