zenjenn Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 Does anyone have an independent grammar program they recommend, that is similar to FLL? We're been doing FLL3 but my daughters find it tedious and frankly, it does seem to me that they grasp the topics quickly without the need for the scripted portion, but the workbook is not really set up as written to the student, so it can't (as far as I can tell) be used independently. It's funny because we're in our 3rd year of using WWE and both my kids (and I) are quite happy with the scripted portion of WWE and we find it useful and beneficial, but FLL does not resonate with us in the same way. But I do like the content. Can anyone recommend something? In the upper elementary range. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heidi Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 R&S is fairly independent. Instructions are written in the student book with good examples. I usually do a quick oral review provided in the TM, read the instructions WITH my child, and she does the rest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zenjenn Posted January 28, 2013 Author Share Posted January 28, 2013 Thanks for the recommendation. We are a Jewish family, so I'd prefer a secular curriculum. (Well, I suppose a Jewish curriculum would be fine, too, but since it is unlikely that exists, secular it is!) Any one else have a recommendation? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thundersweet Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 Easy Grammar! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staceyshoe Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 Growing With Grammar is secular and independent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 Growing with Grammar would probably be a good choice for you. A friend of mine uses it, and she basically teaches the info, analyzes some sentences together at the white board, then has her kid go do the workbook pages. While GWG gets a bad rap sometimes for no retention, I think the way my friend uses it will have good retention (and it has for her DD). She teaches it much like I would teach a R&S lesson. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YaelAldrich Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 As another Jewish family, we use Saxon (Hake) Grammar 4 for my third grader. He loves it. For the younger ones, personally I do not do grammar formally with them. Good luck! Yael Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunnyDays Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 I'm another one who didn't like the scripted nature of FLL... it's just really not our style. We're also using Hake (Saxon) Grammar and Writing, and we like it. It's secular, very thorough, and can be done pretty independently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 Hake (Saxon) Grammar can be done independently. I go over the lesson with my son and then he does the exercises independently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KellyMama Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 Voicing another vote for GWG. We've used GWG and Easy Grammar. I like both of them but felt like GWG is a little less "formulaic" than EG can be sometimes. I teach the subject (like the PP mentioned, I think this helps with retention) and then the student completes the work. I go over it and grade it with them, then have them fix any mistakes while I'm watching. I love that it's independent and not scripted. With 3 x different grammar levels, I really didn't want something too teacher intensive! I do recommend the GWG tests - it will help spot the trouble areas before you move on. It's a solid program IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zenjenn Posted January 29, 2013 Author Share Posted January 29, 2013 Thanks for all the recommendations! Difficult choice. Another friend of mine recommended Grammar Island but that looks a little abstract as a core program? I'm wondering if maybe one of these would be compatible with Grammar Island. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TarynB Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 Another Hake fan here. :thumbup: We've used Easy Grammar and I liked it, but DS wanted something even more independent with more review, so Hake it is. He does great with it. He's also a visual learner so since he's now learning diagramming in Hake, it helps him "see" the sentence structure. Easy Grammar doesn't teach diagreamming, unfortunately, or else we probably would have stuck with it. They're both great programs, IMO. The way Growing with Grammar is written it was too easy for him to figure out the pattern and get the right answer without understanding the concept. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BatmansWife Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 I was going to suggest GWG also. Another Hake fan here. :thumbup: We've used Easy Grammar and I liked it, but DS wanted something even more independent with more review, so Hake it is. He does great with it. He's also a visual learner so since he's now learning diagramming in Hake, it helps him "see" the sentence structure. Easy Grammar doesn't teach diagreamming, unfortunately, or else we probably would have stuck with it. They're both great programs, IMO. The way Growing with Grammar is written it was too easy for him to figure out the pattern and get the right answer without understanding the concept. Can you explain what you mean by "the pattern"? I've heard this before (maybe from you?) and I really don't get what that means. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunnyDays Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 Grammar Island (and all of the MCT programs) are wonderful... however, they are NOT independent. MCT Language programs are meant to be read and discussed together. So if you're looking to go more independent, I'd steer you away from that one. If you have some time to invest, it would make a great supplement to read Grammar Island and Sentence Island, but doing the whole program independently wouldn't be ideal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TarynB Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 I was going to suggest GWG also. Can you explain what you mean by "the pattern"? I've heard this before (maybe from you?) and I really don't get what that means. Sure, I just mean that there wasn't sufficient variety in the way the exercises were written. (Edited to clarify, I'm talking about GWG.) After a while, the pattern was too predictable for us. I'm sorry, I can't remember specifics now, but I wish I could give a page or lesson number to illustrate. For example, a lesson would be asking the student to identify the prepositional phrase, and the sentences mostly all had the pattern of (noun) + (verb) + (prep phrase), instead of mixing up the order and/or offering more complex sentence structure. My DS was good at decoding patterns but couldn't necessarily identify a preposition in another format (for example, in a book he was reading) after completing those lessons. I've seen others mention the same thing, so when I saw it I recognized it. I'm sure GWG works great for others! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 Thanks for all the recommendations! Difficult choice. Another friend of mine recommended Grammar Island but that looks a little abstract as a core program? I'm wondering if maybe one of these would be compatible with Grammar Island. Yes! I highly recommend the MCT/Hake combination. Run through MCT at the beginning of the year, then follow up with Hake. MCT is great for the big picture, and Hake fills in the details. But MCT works best as a cuddle on the couch conversation. It would lose quite a bit if done independently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BatmansWife Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 Sure, I just mean that there wasn't sufficient variety in the way the exercises were written. After a while, the pattern was too predictable for us. I'm sorry, I can't remember specifics now, but I wish I could give a page or lesson number to illustrate. For example, a lesson would be asking the student to identify the prepositional phrase, and the sentences mostly all had the pattern of (noun) + (verb) + (prep phrase), instead of mixing up the order and/or offering more complex sentence structure. My DS was good at decoding patterns but couldn't necessarily identify a preposition in another format (for example, in a book he was reading) after completing those lessons. I've seen others mention the same thing, so when I saw it I recognized it. I'm sure GWG works great for others! I see. Thanks for explaining. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 Sure, I just mean that there wasn't sufficient variety in the way the exercises were written. After a while, the pattern was too predictable for us. I'm sorry, I can't remember specifics now, but I wish I could give a page or lesson number to illustrate. For example, a lesson would be asking the student to identify the prepositional phrase, and the sentences mostly all had the pattern of (noun) + (verb) + (prep phrase), instead of mixing up the order and/or offering more complex sentence structure. My DS was good at decoding patterns but couldn't necessarily identify a preposition in another format (for example, in a book he was reading) after completing those lessons. I've seen others mention the same thing, so when I saw it I recognized it. I'm sure GWG works great for others! We had exactly this problem with GWG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zenjenn Posted January 31, 2013 Author Share Posted January 31, 2013 I can see that being a problem with my DD. She's very clever when it comes to finding shortcuts. :D I try to be an involved teacher, but the reality is that our style is to have discussions about writing, literature, and history, and the rest for them to do independently and am there to grade, make corrections, and answer questions. Right or wrong that's how it ends up playing out in our family, or at least has been since they became fluent readers with study skills. I ended up choosing Saxon and purchased some MCT books as a supplement because I think they look lovely. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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