happypamama Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 Tell me why you might choose one of these over the other for a sixth grader (she is in fifth grade this year, working through WWE4). Also, if you've used either of these, what, if anything, do you use to cover additional grammar and/or spelling? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy M Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 :lurk5: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heidi Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 *Disclaimer* I don't have a 6th grader and I haven't used either product, but I have looked at samples over and over and over, plus I live on the WTM forums, sooo.... I would more likely use R&S English for grammar and writing with Writing Strands to flesh it out a little more, and R&S spelling. However, if you didn't use R&S English, whatever grammar you chose, I would pair it with Writing With Style because it is a stronger writing program than Writing Strands alone. OR if you did R&S English and skipped the writing assignments, you could pair it with WWS. But what do I know? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 Tell me why you might choose one of these over the other for a sixth grader (she is in fifth grade this year, working through WWE4). Also, if you've used either of these, what, if anything, do you use to cover additional grammar and/or spelling? I would use WWE if I completely agreed with its methodology and the whole WTM concept. :-) But I'm not completely sold on it, and so I'd go with Writing Strands, because I *love* the way it teaches writing. The author of WS didn't believe it was necessary to teach grammar or spelling as separate subjects. He believed you could address both in the actual writing. Although I see his point, I feel better doing at least some grammar, and for me that is Easy Grammar. I might or might not do extra spelling, depending on just how much help I thought my dc needed, and I'd be most likely to spend time doing Spalding first, then Writing Strands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted January 12, 2013 Author Share Posted January 12, 2013 *Disclaimer* I don't have a 6th grader and I haven't used either product, but I have looked at samples over and over and over, plus I live on the WTM forums, sooo.... I would more likely use R&S English for grammar and writing with Writing Strands to flesh it out a little more, and R&S spelling. However, if you didn't use R&S English, whatever grammar you chose, I would pair it with Writing With Style because it is a stronger writing program than Writing Strands alone. OR if you did R&S English and skipped the writing assignments, you could pair it with WWS. But what do I know? You know a lot -- thanks! I like WWE's approach, and since SWB is clearly a competent writer, I'm inclined to go with WWS, especially if it is a stronger program overall than WS. I hadn't looked at R&S before (we haven't really done much formal grammar, just what's been in our general skills workbooks, which I'm tired of, and what has come through Latin study); I like the looks of their sample lessons and might go with them for grammar (with or without the writing; I'll have to see if it duplicates or complements WWS). I'm also looking at Hake Grammar, since DD likes Saxon's math approach. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 You know a lot -- thanks! I like WWE's approach, and since SWB is clearly a competent writer, I'm inclined to go with WWS, especially if it is a stronger program overall than WS. I hadn't looked at R&S before (we haven't really done much formal grammar, just what's been in our general skills workbooks, which I'm tired of, and what has come through Latin study); I like the looks of their sample lessons and might go with them for grammar (with or without the writing; I'll have to see if it duplicates or complements WWS). I'm also looking at Hake Grammar, since DD likes Saxon's math approach. Rod and Staff's English series is much, much more than grammar and writing. If you want only grammar, then I'd look for something that does only grammar, as opposed to using a R&S English text and skipping everything except the grammar. And I don't think WWE is "a stronger program overall" than WWE. They are just different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted January 12, 2013 Author Share Posted January 12, 2013 I would use WWE if I completely agreed with its methodology and the whole WTM concept. :-) But I'm not completely sold on it, and so I'd go with Writing Strands, because I *love* the way it teaches writing. The author of WS didn't believe it was necessary to teach grammar or spelling as separate subjects. He believed you could address both in the actual writing. Although I see his point, I feel better doing at least some grammar, and for me that is Easy Grammar. I might or might not do extra spelling, depending on just how much help I thought my dc needed, and I'd be most likely to spend time doing Spalding first, then Writing Strands. Thank you. :) I looked at Easy Grammar, and I like the looks of it. (I also looked at Hake online; it seems very expensive for my needs.) Does EG do diagramming? I think my DD would enjoy that, and the Rod & Staff covers it. I think I'm trying to decide between EG and R&S. DD is a somewhat reluctant writer -- she'll do the assigned exercises but doesn't write for fun much -- so I'm not really convinced that writing is enough grammar for her at this point. I want to give an actual grammar program a shot next year and see what it yields (or doesn't yield). How independent is EG? With several young ones, I have limited time to spend with just DD and prefer to spend it on Latin and writing (and math as needed; she hasn't needed me for math much this year, but I expect that will change). If she can open to the assigned page, read the lesson and understand it pretty easily, and just ask me if she gets stuck, that's helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted January 12, 2013 Author Share Posted January 12, 2013 Rod and Staff's English series is much, much more than grammar and writing. If you want only grammar, then I'd look for something that does only grammar, as opposed to using a R&S English text and skipping everything except the grammar. And I don't think WWE is "a stronger program overall" than WWE. They are just different. Okay, that's good to know about R&S. It's a little hard to tell from the few samples online sometimes. If I go with R&S, it would just be the English, not the additional spelling and reading, but you're right; it doesn't make sense to go with that and skip a lot. Okay, that makes Easy Grammar look even better -- thanks, Ellie! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heidi Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 Okay, that's good to know about R&S. It's a little hard to tell from the few samples online sometimes. If I go with R&S, it would just be the English, not the additional spelling and reading, but you're right; it doesn't make sense to go with that and skip a lot. Okay, that makes Easy Grammar look even better -- thanks, Ellie! R&S English is grammar & writing. R&S has a seperate spelling book and a seperate reading book. I'm not sure what Ellie meant by her comment saying that it contains more. Just fyi. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 R&S English is grammar & writing. R&S has a seperate spelling book and a seperate reading book. I'm not sure what Ellie meant by her comment saying that it contains more. Just fyi. Here's what I mean: Scope and Sequence for Building With Diligence, the 4th grade text: Oral Communication Speaking: giving explanations, conversation, book reports, telling stories Parts of Speech Nouns: predicate, phrases; verbs: future tense, agreement, lie/lay, can/may; adjectives: that compare, phrases; Adverbs: phrases; Prepositions: object of; Conjunctions: coordinate Words Negative; unnecessary prepositions The Sentence Basic parts: predicate adjective; simple, compound; unity. Capitalization After interjections Punctuation Colon; hyphen Types of Writing Outlines (Book reports, reports, friendly letters, directions, notes, and stories have already been taught in earlier grades, so writing outlines will pertain to some of those kinds of writing) Using helps Concordance; Bible dictionary (dictionary usage has already been taught, so it's assumed that the children know about entry words, spellings, guide words, pronunciations, etc. and that they'll be able to use that knowledge in the assignments) Building With Diligence is pretty basic as far as writing and oral communication. Here's the scope and sequence for Building Securely, the seventh grade text: Oral Communication (second through fifth grade skills were "extended" in Progressing With Courage, the sixth grade text) Oral explanations; oral reports Parts of Speech Noun clauses; compound personal pronouns; pronoun agreement; pronoun reference; substantives; verb conjugation; divided verb phrases; progressive verb forms; emphatic verb forms; attributive adjectives; conjunctive adverbs; mild interjectons; verbals: gerunds, infinitives, participles, split infinitives Words Etymologies, heteronyms, homographs, hyperboles, inflections, introductory The Sentence Conciseness, effective sentences, elliptical sentences, misplaced modifiers, parallelism Capitalization Geographical features, organizations, ships and airplanes, brand names Punctuation Ellipsis points, italics (underlining), single quotation marks Types of Writing Character sketches, descriptive writing, gathering information, note taking: from sermons, from written material; organizing information; proofreading; poetry: message, repetition, parallelism, poetic feet; reports; social notes: invitations, thank-you notes Using Helps atlas, encyclopedia, thesaurus, topical Bibles The topics I colored are neither grammar nor writing, specifically. And there is writing instruction even in lessons which are not specified as "writing," as in "The Sentence" and "Words," so you can see that there's more writing than is sometimes assumed. Some of the lessons in grammar and poetry (and probably others; I just saw these in the samples) require copywork, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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