kloumc Posted May 26, 2012 Share Posted May 26, 2012 Dear WTM friends, Can any of you give a review on the grammar program for high school students entitled Chortling Bard: Caught'ya Grammar? I'm looking for something for my upcoming 10th grade son who just doesn't seem to *thrive* on A Beka grammar as my daughters did. Are the directions easy to follow if I purchase this one book without having any previous experience with the other titles in this series which are for the earlier grades? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted May 26, 2012 Share Posted May 26, 2012 (edited) Are the directions easy to follow if I purchase this one book without having any previous experience with the other titles in this series which are for the earlier grades? You do not need to have used previous titles with earlier grades, as each book is self-contained, and the introduction explains the "method". Can any of you give a review on the grammar program for high school students entitled Chortling Bard: Caught'ya Grammar? I'm looking for something for my upcoming 10th grade son who just doesn't seem to *thrive* on A Beka grammar as my daughters did. Chortling Bard (and all the others in the series) is designed as a grammar review, with a paragraph a day for practice of grammar usage and mechanics (capitalization, punctuation, word usage, homophones, subject-verb agreement, fragments/run-ons, etc.). In addition, 1 or 2 vocabulary words are included in each paragraph and are learned within the context of the story. Each paragraph adds on to the previous paragraphs as the next paragraph of a story. The middle school level (Giggles in the Middle) is 3 year's worth of 1 story (a Harry Potter type of wizarding school story). The Chortling Bard also has 3 year's worth of stories, but is 3 separate stories, each a humorous retelling of a Shakespeare play (Twelfth Nigh, Much Ado About Nothing, and A Midsummer Night's Dream). Each has 120 paragraphs, which comes out to 1 paragraph a day 4x/week for 30 weeks. The books were designed for classroom use, with the teacher writing the paragraph on the board, and students copying it, marking the paragraph corrections with proofing symbols, then writing the completely corrected paragraph below the copied version. The Grammar with a Giggle programs are NOT formal grammar textbooks, with instruction, incremental coverage of grammar points, diagramming or exercises. They are a grammar review/practice. So if you still need formal Grammar instruction, then this is not going to be a fit for you. Below are the details of what is in the book, and our pros and cons. BEST of luck, whatever you go with! Warmest regards, Lori D. The book contains: - a lengthy introduction with the story of how the program came about and the steps of how to use the book - a fun list of Shakespearean insults - a complete correct version of each of the 3 stories - an end of year test for each story - a complete vocabulary list for each story - a list of all the literary devices and writing conventions used in each story - an appendix with the explanation for each grammar usage and mechanics used in the book Each paragraph/lesson contains: - what number paragraph in the story it is - two versions of the paragraph with errors ("B" version = the "board" version with all the errors; "C" version = the corrected version) - lists the vocabulary word(s) used in that paragraph (no definition included) - lists the literary device(s) used in that paragraph (no definition included) - one short sentence explanation of each grammar point that needed to be corrected Pros - good practice for proofing own papers - good review of a wide variety of grammar points - fast to use -- about 10 minutes a day - the continuing story idea helps maintain interest - vocabulary words a nice bonus Cons - if you are looking for a complete grammar program, this is only review - the humor is very corny and sometimes lame - when it came to reordering a sentence or breaking a sentence into 2, we sometimes disagreed with the author's choice (BUT, the author does address that in the introduction, that English is always changing and some things are not so hard and fast) - You have to physically type up and print out all the paragraphs (You could either print each on a separate page, or print up several per page, print out, cut apart, and tape each on its own spiral notebook page -- which is what I did. Or, you could photocopy and cut out and tape into a notebook -- but the paragraphs are small and embedded in with the teaching text, and you'd have to photocopy about 30-35 pages.) Edited May 27, 2012 by Lori D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kloumc Posted May 26, 2012 Author Share Posted May 26, 2012 Thank you, Lori D.!! Your explanations are always so thorough! THANK YOU for taking the time to write about this program. This has been VERY helpful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted May 26, 2012 Share Posted May 26, 2012 You might try your library. Ours was able to get it on ILL, so I could see it for myself. I decided against it because it would have taken too much work for me to prep (as Lori said, not set up for easy use) and because the language and writing style was adding a layer of trouble for my dd. But maybe it will work for your situation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halftime Hope Posted May 26, 2012 Share Posted May 26, 2012 I'm wondering, if you had scanning capabilites and One Note (or an ipad, which I don't), do you think could do this quite easily? thx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halftime Hope Posted May 26, 2012 Share Posted May 26, 2012 because the language and writing style was adding a layer of trouble for my dd. OhElizabeth, could you help me understand what you mean? Thanks!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1shortmomto4 Posted May 26, 2012 Share Posted May 26, 2012 I tried that program for my then 10th grader (I think we used in 9th) and it was a bust but what did work wonders was the Giggly Guide to Grammar (I found it at Rainbow Resources). It sounds like it is geared for young kiddos but it is not - definitely covers it all and is a nice addition to the flip side of serious essay writing - you get to be creative. The book comes with a CD and you can print out the pages as you need them which makes it reusable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted May 26, 2012 Share Posted May 26, 2012 (edited) Valerie, the best way to understand why it would be hard to scan, or even photocopy and cut and use, is to go to Amazon, go to the "search inside this book" option, and then click on the "surprise me" option, which brought up an interior page. It's virtually impossible to recreate the layout here in a post, but I'll try: All this is on the left half of one page: 47. churlish, miens, gravely LD - play on words ("Malvolio" meaning "bad wishes" for the nasty person in the story); double entendre ("fool") Paragraph - subject change Commas - introductory subordinate clause; 2 adjectives; compound sentence introductory subordinate clause Prepositions - avoid ending a sentence with one if at all possible Homophone - their/there/they're Spelling rule - "i" before "e" ... Capitalization - "Fool" is a specific job Incorrect verb-tense switch - story in past Types of sentences - review compound and complex sentences And all of this is BESIDE the above on the right side of the same page: B - as maria left the room olivia and the arrogant churlish malvolio came in. there miens were serious and they talked very gravely. as soon as olivia sees the fool she asks him to leave C - As Maria left the room, Olivia and the arrogant, churlish Malvolio entered. Their miens were serious, and they talked very gravely. As soon as Olivia saw the fool, she asked him to leave. (2 more paragraphs follow, in the same format) B = suggested sentence for the board or overhead C = sentence written correctly LD = literary device What you would be trying to scan would be just that paragraph by the letter B, which, on the page is the upper right quarter of the layout for that one lesson. You can see how that would be difficult to scan; slightly easier to photocopy, cut, and tape, but it is still small with lines close together. That's why I just retyped with double spacing to leave room for the proofing/editing marks, and for re-writing sentences or adding needed words. It wasn't a big deal -- I could do about 2 months worth at a 40-minute sitting on a weekend. Hope that helps! Warmly, Lori D. Edited May 26, 2012 by Lori D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted May 27, 2012 Share Posted May 27, 2012 Oh good! :) I always appreciated it when people gave me a lengthy review so I could really understand how a program worked, and if it would be a good fit for us or not. Guess all those other good reviews managed to rub off on me for sharing with others now! ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halftime Hope Posted May 27, 2012 Share Posted May 27, 2012 Well, it was a nice thought, wasn't it.... ; > I am not a great typist, so I was hoping it would work some other way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted May 27, 2012 Share Posted May 27, 2012 Lori, I had seen that button on amazon and never tried it. What a cool thing! Thanks! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
txhomemom Posted May 27, 2012 Share Posted May 27, 2012 I have to give another vote to Giggly Guide to Grammar. We just started using it and love it. It has hilarious sentences, covers everything in grammar, and if you get the version with the CD you can print out everything. I also like that it is geared towards homeschoolers. I always hated adapting classroom versions of curriculum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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