Colleen in NS Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 (edited) Who here has gone through R&S grammar levels 9 and 10? I know the focus in them changes to writing skills, which we will skip in favour of other teaching-writing plans. But what would you say is taught as new grammar skills in them? I quickly looked up subjunctive mood in them the other day, because it's not mentioned in level 8, and it is in 9 and 10; but I didn't have time to pick through and see what new skills are introduced - I imagine there are few, and I would have to had to check every lesson for those little stars, in the TE, that tell you about a new skill. I also know that previous grammar is reviewed in it. Also, has anyone ever combined 9 and 10 into one year, skipping the writing chapters (I also know that there are grammar-review exercises in some of the writing lessons)? In my quick look through the other day, it seems as if the grammar review is all pretty much the same in both books, right down to the wording of the lessons, lol (but the samples vary). So I'm thinking it would be sort of like doing the same book for both semesters of one school year, with intro. of subjunctive mood and whatever other new skills are in them. Has anyone ever done this? If so, how did it work out? I'm thinking of doing it, to get grammar study completed and thoroughly reviewed by end of grade 9. Yes, I know some people quit after book 8, but I don't want to. (But I don't have a clear-cut reason as to why, except that I like to finish sets of books, and the subjunctive concept sounded interesting, lol. But I suppose I should open myself up to argument in favour of quitting after book 8...but I don't wanna quit...but I'll listen to argument about it :D) I'm in the process of thinking about other things that I want ds to complete by end of grade 9, to make more room for him to diversify somewhat for high school (which starts in Grade 10 here) and start to really use the skills he has been building up over the years. So grammar is one of those things. ETA: about combining the two books into one year - I know that logistically it could work out - only roughly half of the lessons are grammar lessons. I mostly want to know if anyone has actually done it, and how did that work out for you, in light of other beginning high school work? (and I want to know about new skills introduced) Edited February 7, 2012 by Colleen in NS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J'etudie Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 :lurk5: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheryl h Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 :lurk5:me too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhudson Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 I have my ds doing that this year. He is doing the grammar and editing portions only. The editing teaching has been great as it has really helped him with editing all of his own papers. I have him doing the tests as a pre- test and then only having him cover what he didn't score well on so as to avoid wasting time. I think it has worked well and solidified his grammar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orangearrow Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 replying to this thread so I can find it later.... interested to read the replies, as I have had similar questions banding around in my head. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colleen in NS Posted February 8, 2012 Author Share Posted February 8, 2012 I have my ds doing that this year. Do you mean you are having him do both books this year, or that you are having him skip the writing portions? (or do you mean both?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhudson Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 He is skipping the writing portions but I have him pre- test each chapter to see if he know the material in grammar and editing. If he does we move on to the next chapter. If he does not know it we go through that chapter. We are only doing the first book this year but could have easily done the second as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colleen in NS Posted February 8, 2012 Author Share Posted February 8, 2012 We finished the first 9/10 book and are working in the second 9/10 book right now. I chose to continue beyond 8th grade because I feel that even though all the grammar is pretty much taught by 8th grade, my kids could use a couple years of reinforcement to really solidify the grammar in their minds. Also, I like the writing instruction found in the books, and there is a lot of composition in the 9/10 books. There is not a whole lot of "new" grammar in the 9/10 books. I'm looking through the first book right now, and it seems that these are thew new grammatical concepts: retained objective complements (lesson 18), nominatives absolutes (lesson21), subjects of infinitives (lesson 56), indicative, imperative, and subjunctive moods (lesson 68), that adverbs may modify prepositions, conjunctions, and whole sentences (lesson 84), and idioms (lesson 102). In the second book, the same new grammatical concepts are taught. Hope this helps you make a decision! Thank you for spelling out the new concepts for me! That is helpful. Even though there isn't a lot of new grammar, those concepts sound intriguing to me and make me want to continue. Why not continue learning some deeper intricacies of how our language works, as long as we still have the time. It can only be helpful, right? About the bolded part above. I'm assuming you did one 9/10 book per year. Based on your experience, and what you wrote about your kids needing *a couple of years* of reinforcement, do you think that putting both 9/10 books into one year would have been detrimental for some reason? Did you feel it was better to just do one book per year for some reason (other than time-for-scheduling-other-subject reasons)? I am trying to figure out if my idea of doing both books in Grade 9 will be detrimental or beneficial in the long run. We will have the *time* to do two books in one year - I just don't know if they should be spread to two years for some good reason. And I'd really like to end formal grammar study sooner to leave room for diversifying in my kids' last three years of high school. But as usual, I have to analyze everything before I decide. :D Thank you! He is skipping the writing portions but I have him pre- test each chapter to see if he know the material in grammar and editing. If he does we move on to the next chapter. If he does not know it we go through that chapter. We are only doing the first book this year but could have easily done the second as well. Thank you for clarifying the timeline! You've inspired another question. When I said I would skip the writing lessons, I was including the editing lessons with those. You said you have your son do the editing lessons so that he can edit all his own papers easily. I think my question (to you, and anyone else who has used these books or similar books) is, how important is it in the bigger scheme of things (college, life, jobs) to learn the editing techniques in R&S? I ask, because when I looked at the editing lessons, my eyes glazed over in the same way that they do when I look at mechanics lessons. I am convinced of why learning mechanics is important, though, so we do those lessons. But, what about the editing lessons? (I'm open to being persuaded by some arguments that make me look beyond the immediate benefits such as correcting our own papers, because I can picture myself wanting to still go over his papers even after he looks them over) Thanks for your help and patience with my questions as I analyze! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhudson Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 My dh has a degree in Technical Writing so using the right syntax was a big deal to him. My purpose in teaching editing was to teach the process of editing. Looking at a paper objectively and being able to spot the errors. I have seen a vast improvement in his papers since he learned how to edit. I very rarely see any grammar errors and what is even more impressive is that my dh doesn't either. :001_smile: I also saw this same thing when my twins went through FLL4 and SWB taught them to edit. I think it is a valuable skill in writing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colleen in NS Posted February 9, 2012 Author Share Posted February 9, 2012 Dawn and Karen, thank you for answering my questions! It's helpful, as I figure out what I want to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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