Soror Posted March 12, 2013 Share Posted March 12, 2013 How I was ever able to write decent papers in college without any explicit knowledge in grammar I have no idea. I have a few books here and I cannot make it sink in my head. I'm trying to work through Rex Barks now but I'm having difficulty keeping it straight and I've not even made it very far. I like Math, there are rules and formulas and such. Is there anything that breaks it down like that? I want to be able to teach ds writing and understand what I'm doing. I'd like to not sound like an idiot when I write. As my only writing for the last several years has been on message boards, which I seldom even have time to proofread, the little skills I did have are slipping away. Perhaps I need ideas on how you would re-mediate a student. I like clear, not wordy instruction, lots of examples and practice. I want pages that are non-cluttered and clear definitions and segmenting between different levels of instruction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arboreal TJ Posted March 12, 2013 Share Posted March 12, 2013 I plan on starting FLL in the Fall with my first graders :-) I'm also scouring the bowels of the Internet for a "reasonably" priced used copy of WWS, I'll buy new if I can't find used. I plan on starting WWS in the Fall, for me not my 1st graders! I've got some serious LA deficits to correct in the next few years! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted March 13, 2013 Author Share Posted March 13, 2013 I'm thinking perhaps I should print a copy of kiss for myself and just work ahead. I had hoped I could just relearn -learn by reading but it is not working. Of course knowing myself I learn better by doing. I was considering buying wws as well but I think I need a MUCH better grasp of grammar before I move onto studying writing- which is the final goal of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JuanitaL Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 I found KISS very helpful - I feel confident that I can pick out the s/v/c in the longest Victorian-era sentence. Harvey's elementary grammar was also a good one. In Harvey's I learned what the predicate part of the sentence is - for some reason, all these years I thought predicate = verb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mystie Posted March 14, 2013 Share Posted March 14, 2013 I like Our Mother Tongue by Nancy Wilson, and I think it meets your criteria. It's very concise but clear, with bulleted lists for definitions you could use as "rules," and it covers punctuation in a handy appendix reference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nansk Posted March 14, 2013 Share Posted March 14, 2013 Well, I wasn't a 'grammar idiot', but I did need to brush up the concepts. I used a grammar-only version of Harvey's Elementary Grammar that a homeschool mom typed into Word format. Other good options to brush up on grammar would be KISS Grammar self-paced course for older learners or the free ebook from DailyWritingTips.com. I have posted links to some free grammar options in this post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ohdanigirl Posted March 14, 2013 Share Posted March 14, 2013 Well, I wasn't a 'grammar idiot', but I did need to brush up the concepts. I used a grammar-only version of Harvey's Elementary Grammar that a homeschool mom typed into Word format. Is this it? http://www.box.net/shared/zt1kphlkd9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nansk Posted March 14, 2013 Share Posted March 14, 2013 Is this it? http://www.box.net/shared/zt1kphlkd9 Yes. This version will work well if you don't need an answer key. I bought the Harvey's Grammar answer key from ClassicalWriting.com, but the sentences don't fully match up with this typed-up version. However, I was able to make do for the most part. If you really need a good answer key, I would suggest you buy the both, workbook and the answer key, from ClassicalWriting.com. Their PDF versions are very affordable and they provide diagrams for every sentence (even the ones Harvey didn't ask for). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted March 14, 2013 Author Share Posted March 14, 2013 Thanks so much. I was looking for the KISS self-paced course but couldn't find a working link. I think I'll work on that for now. I did some from ds' workbook yesterday and it is working ok. I think if I keep on reading through the definitions and practicing surely it will make sense at some point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arboreal TJ Posted March 14, 2013 Share Posted March 14, 2013 Soror you have me thinking I need more grammar work before starting WWS. KISS looks interesting, if I had been taught grammar the KISS way my math/science brain may have understood grammar! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted March 14, 2013 Share Posted March 14, 2013 My grammar self-education is ongoing and disorganized and expensive. :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted March 15, 2013 Author Share Posted March 15, 2013 I started in on the self-paced KISS course yesterday. I'm not sure what I think about it. I expected it to start w/ subjects and verbs and then complements as that is where our KISS level 1 workbook starts, however it starts with prepositions. The problem is that it doesn't give much instruction in this manner as the preposition words are not necessarily prepositions- (for ex. the word after) and as to what makes up the prepositional phrase I seem to sometimes pick too many words and others not enough. Then I was looking into another site and it was talking about all the different kinds of prepositions, hmmm. So, it seems to teach more from whole to parts from what I can gather. Anyway, I am still on the prepositional phrases as I've not got one passage 100% right yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edeemarie Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 I have learned a lot of grammar from The Big Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation. It has an explanation of the concept, gives some examples, and then there are quizzes to make sure you fully understand. For what I needed, I found it very thorough. I believe there is a website to go with it too that has some more quizzes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted March 15, 2013 Author Share Posted March 15, 2013 Thank you edeemarie. I'll add that on my wishlist! I just did some more exercises and got 2 passages completely right and only missed 1 on the next. I'm going to try to do all of them so I know it well before moving on, doing some more I think I am figuring out why some are prepositional phrases while others are not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwik Posted March 16, 2013 Share Posted March 16, 2013 I like Our Mother Tongue by Nancy Wilson, and I think it meets your criteria. It's very concise but clear, with bulleted lists for definitions you could use as "rules," and it covers punctuation in a handy appendix reference. This gives a reading age of 4 to 8. Do they mean grades 4 to 8? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mystie Posted March 18, 2013 Share Posted March 18, 2013 Definitely *grade* not age. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heidi Posted March 18, 2013 Share Posted March 18, 2013 I am a grammar idiot! I just received R&S 7 in the mail for this very purpose. I believe it will work nicely; it reviews even basic grammar from previous years (which I need!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto2Cs Posted March 18, 2013 Share Posted March 18, 2013 I used this book in a college class, and even though I was fairly familiar with many parts of speech, etc., it was amazing how much I learned from it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Violet Crown Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 At dh's suggestion, I checked out Wardhaugh's Understanding English Grammar: A Linguistic Approach. It's really helped me both understand English grammar more clearly and teach it to Middle Girl more effectively. http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-English-Grammar-Linguistic-Instructors/dp/0631232923 She and I just started discussing adverbs, and for the first time I really feel that I'm understanding how they work, and what is and isn't an adverb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koerarmoca Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 I'm still a grammar idiot :blushing: I am reading Harvey's, and doing FLL with dd3 I also do Evan Moor daily practice with my older two. Dh is an amazing writer and he helps me a lot in this area. He does all the correcting of writings and practice sheets. He also does a bit of the teaching. I feel I have improved a bit. It's just something I have always hated but I want my kiddos to excel where I have failed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 I was pretty good at grammar, but learned a ton thru Rod and Staff. Very clear explanations! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forgiven Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 I was okay at grammar. I had tested out of taking English 101 and 102 in college, based on an essay I wrote for my admissions test. So I guess I was okay at it, but I never really understood it until this year. MCT Island has opened my eyes immensly! Wow. I didn't realize how much I didn't understand until I read through it with my kids. And some of the stuff I did know, but taught myself as an adult when I started writing novels. I do it for a hobby, mostly, but I had bought some books when I started writing. I learned a lot from them, but still not as much as I learned from just the Island level of MCT's LA program. I'm floored at how much more my kids know than I did at their age. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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