BJU english after 6th grade

[Zebra]

I've read a lot of people saying that they liked BJU writing and grammar up until 6th grade, then in 7th grade they didn't like it anymore. If you didn't like BJU english starting in 7th grade, can you explain why? I'm just wondering what is so different about the upper levels.

 

TIA!

[flmom]

I like the grammar portion, not the writing portion. I don't think the writing assignments properly prepare children for quality writing. They certainly are not good for a reluctant writer.

[Zebra]

You don't like the writing after 6th, but you do like it before? So something does seem to change.

 

Anyone else?

[...................]

I'm all ears.

[Down_the_Rabbit_Hole]

I found the writing projects in the upper levels fine. They had a good sampling of HS level writing projects, all types are presented over the course of 7th -12th. The teaching of writing is not there...most likely because it was done at the younger level. They will discus the type of paper written but if your student is not use to writing and you are looking for writing instruction then it is missing.

[Jess4879]

:bigear:

[Zebra]

I found the writing projects in the upper levels fine. They had a good sampling of HS level writing projects, all types are presented over the course of 7th -12th. The teaching of writing is not there...most likely because it was done at the younger level. They will discus the type of paper written but if your student is not use to writing and you are looking for writing instruction then it is missing.

 

 

That's an interesting point, and it makes sense to me.

 

Anyone else?

[PeterPan]

I do like the grammar we're doing (more or less), but there's no diagramming, meaning I've been having to add that myself. We're not doing their writing, because there's no structure to it. I assumed they would continue the structured approach of the lower levels, and they don't. The tm has some suggested prompts and whatnot to go with the really generic sections. Really though, it's too vague for me to implement with my dc who absolutely MUST have structure. So we're doing WWS along with it, and we're fine. We'd switch if we could find something I liked better, but I haven't found it yet.

 

I will say that I WISH we had done AG before starting into the BJU 9. That was total boner on my part. It would have been perfect. I would skip BJU 7 or BJU 7 and 8 and do AG instead, definitely. BJU goes into a lot of nuances that my dd might do correctly as a native (and therefore be able to pass a test on) but doesn't really understand. I like how carefully they explore those errors other people might make, things you might realistically see if you were say helping a friend proof a paper in college. Lots of real situations I can work with, even though it's not perfect and even though the writing is, well let's just say we don't love it. They try, yes. But you know the Yoda thing: don't try, succeed. ;)

 

I'd do AG first and see if you even feel compelled to do BJU after that. If you do, I'd look at Abeka or R&S before you decide for certain. And if, after all that, you want BJU, do it. That's how strong my recommendation and love for it is. :)

[Zebra]

Did you use BJU earlier and your dc still had a hard time understanding the upper levels? It does sound like there isn't as much hand-holding in the upper level writing. Which is why I like BJU in the first place. I really like how they break down the writing assignments. It's one thing to break them down less, but totally dropping the structure seems a bit extreme.

 

Hmmmmmm... :coolgleamA: .

[PeterPan]

BJU puts an entire chapter of the tm on their previews, so you should go look at it. You'll see exactly what's there and whether it's what you need.

[Zebra]

You know what I hate? When you use a curriculum and after awhile you realize, boy, this stinks. :laugh:

 

Anyway, thanks for the thoughts!

[PeterPan]

I'm confused. Are you talking about me or yourself? I don't hate the BJU, or I'd toss it. I just don't love it. Dd is willing to do it, so it can't be that bad. I had started to write a longer response and then just deleted it. See, for context, my dd is not a grammar, writer, blah blah kind of person. We did Shurley for years, because I could get it done in 5-10 minute segments with her. I have a background in grammar and linguistics, so I can teach with soda pop if I want. I'm just looking for some structure I can work with, with sentences that aren't too tedious (and hopefully are even INTERESTING, shudder), and something I can do hyper-efficiently with her. BJU isn't perfect for that, but not much else is.

 

I try not to live with regrets. We're making do with it. Today we did about 1/3 of a chapter (excluding the writing section). I talked her through bits and we did 1 sentence from each assignment section, diagramming and discussing. That's it. That's how we use it. I like their editing assignments at the end of each chapter, because they really pull everything together in a practical way. I think instruction is still too pigeonholed (one topic after another, no spiral), and we usually guffaw at the writing in the exercises as being stilted. But you know, it does what I want. So just look at the samples and see what you think. That's where I'm coming from though and how I have the take I do. Now you know. :)

[Zebra]

I didn't explain myself well, and I think you read too much into what I was saying.

 

All I meant was, I look at samples for everything before buying. For whatever reason that doesn't seem to weed out all the duds, it's always a crapshoot. I have bought curriculums I thought would be wonderful, and they were awful. Others I have used for several years and can't understand why suddenly they stink. I absolutely did not ever want to use BJU because of their political issues ,and now we love it. You just never know with curriculum.

 

I was just making a more general comment of, "I guess I am just going to have to use it and see how it goes :laugh: ". That's all!

[PeterPan]

Ah, gotcha! And yes, I think if you're loving it now, you're going to keep loving it. Everything I've done of their junior high on up stuff has been fabulous, well at least fabulous in the sense of thorough, well-done, etc. Whether it fits my student (or whether I can make it fit my student) is another story.