Grammar - I really don't want to do it.

[Momof2kids]

I just bought Step by Step Grammar from Rainbow Resources. It's an all-in-one program for about $27.00. I am not happy with it and will probably return it. I bought this because it's less money than Analytical Grammar.

 

So now back to looking at the AG website and this just doesn't look appealing either. I am just not into all the diagramming. My dd hates diagramming too. We tried it in another curriculum.

 

So I am wondering is all the grammar and diagramming really necessary??! I am concerned with usage though. I want my kids to speak properly. When to say Me or I and stuff like that.

 

My dd will be considered 6th grade this fall so it's the perfect time to start AG but all grammar programs really just look boring, hard and awful to me. I don't know what to do.

[Janis in DE]

I think all grammar can be a little boring too. What I like about AG is that it is only 10 weeks plus reviewing once a week for the rest of the year. This way we don't have to do it all year. So cut done on the boring issue.

 

Janis in DE

[Angel]

I'm really no help, but I just wanted to say that that is exactly how I feel about Math so here's a :grouphug:

 

We use Rod and Staff and do it orally. Dd doesn't like grammar, but she has opted to stay with R&S because we get through it quickly doing it orally. We do our diagramming on the whiteboard. Grammar is usually done in 15-20 minutes. I'm guessing you would hate R&S, too, but if you would happen to give it a looksie, check the 5th grade book for your 6th grader. It's foundational.

[CCHSMom]

We have used Easy Grammar over the years, and I find that our children have learned a lot from this curriculum. After completing Easy Grammar Plus, my Grade 7 student also worked on Nancy Wilson's "Our Mother Tongue", which he found to be a bit more challenging but it seems like a solid "gather up the loose ends" kind of one-year program. I'm not familiar with AG, but diagramming is also definitely NOT a favorite....maybe a little would be good, but I wouldn't put my kids through too much of it! Best wishes,

 

Danielle :)

[AmyTompkins]

Shurley English? You might find that the "Question & Answer Flow" model makes the diagramming fairly painless for your dd. It is a different (verbal) way of obtaining the information.

 

 

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[Lori D.]

Three times a week, 10 minutes a session, read over the lesson together, and do 4 sentences on the whiteboard, parsing rather than diagramming. Done, and done painlessly here. : )

 

Or, what about a very simple grammar instruction/practice booklet that keeps it "short and sweet" -- like "Grammar Skills" series or "Grammar Practice" series both by Rosemary Allen, or "Grammar Practice Simplified" series by Nancy Rodgers

 

You still have to find something else for grammar mechanics (punctuation, capitalization, proofing, word usage etc.) -- but there are a lot of things out there for that:

- "Comicstrip Grammar" (word usage)

- "Take Five Minutes: A History Fact a Day for Editing" (editing/punctuation/capitalization)

- "Editor in Chief" (editing/punctuation/capitalization)

- "G.U.M. Drops" (editing/punctuation/capitalization from classic works)

- "Fix-It" (editing/punctuation/capitalization from the IEW people)

 

Also, doing a lot of writing, and then daily fixing a paragraph or two of your own writing is very helpful in practicing grammar mechanics. Or dictations, to practice thinking/writing/proofing simultaneously. Or write out a paragraph from the student's reading without any capitalization or punctuation and have them add it, and then take 2 minutes to discuss some grammar point from the Winston (or whatever grammar program you're going over).

 

Also, you might look at "Giggles in the Middle" by Jane Bell Kiester; it's a pretty painless way to not only practice grammar mechanics, but to also review grammar concepts. The book covers the three years of middle school. See it at: http://www.amazon.com/Giggles-Middle-Caughtya-Grammar-Giggle/dp/0929895886/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1214929090&sr=8-1

 

 

I bought Analytical Grammar last year to use as a final "grammar wrapup" for my then 9th grader. We only got about a dozen pages done. AG is very thorough, well conceived, easy to understand, with the added bonus of the paragraphs you work with on each worksheet build for the whole week giving you interesting information on a subject -- BUT... Worksheets -- esp. LONG ones like the AG pages -- just make us all snooze, and grammar ended up falling through the cracks and not happening here. : (

 

 

Grammar is like the "bones" or "girders" part of language arts -- it's not really that useful on it's own, but it supports and strengthens the rest of that subject area; and learning it develops personal and academic discipline, as well as helping to develop logic skills. Specifically, I think grammar is helpful in:

 

- writing and speaking well

- learning a foreign language

- analyzing literature

- developing academic discipline

- develolping logic skills

 

 

 

Don't know if any of that helps, but I sympathize! BEST of luck in finding a grammar program that works for both of you! Warmest regards, Lori D.

[at the beach]

I just bought Step by Step Grammar from Rainbow Resources. It's an all-in-one program for about $27.00. I am not happy with it and will probably return it. I bought this because it's less money than Analytical Grammar.

 

So now back to looking at the AG website and this just doesn't look appealing either. I am just not into all the diagramming. My dd hates diagramming too. We tried it in another curriculum.

 

So I am wondering is all the grammar and diagramming really necessary??! I am concerned with usage though. I want my kids to speak properly. When to say Me or I and stuff like that.

 

My dd will be considered 6th grade this fall so it's the perfect time to start AG but all grammar programs really just look boring, hard and awful to me. I don't know what to do.

 

Have you looked at Our Mother Tongue by Nancy Wilson? I bought this a while back, and it looks fabulous. I'm going to use it starting in 7th with my daughter, but I know we could use it this fall if I wanted to. I just wanted to take a grammar break this year with her and focus more on written narration. We did Rod and Staff in 4th and JAG last year. Anyhow, Our Mother Tongue is what Ambleside recommends starting in 7th. It does include diagramming but it's not overwhelming IMHO.

 

Good luck.

 

Anita

[Peela]

Here in Australia diagramming sentences in unknown, and grammar is not covered anywhere near as intensely as it seems to be in the U.S. I think it is the same in Britain.

This neoClassical approach emphasises grammar, but it's certainly not the only way to do things. You can do as much or as little as you like.

I don't want to put my 2nd child through AG either, although my first does it pretty well and I may as well continue it with her. My 2nd is just not going to handle it. I am looking for something lighter and less intense for him and I don't care if it has diagramming or not. I haven't yet found what I am looking for!