Opinions on secular grammar and writing curricula?

[AMJ]

After the end of this school year we will be switching from private school to homeschool. My DDs will be in 4th and 6th grades. Would folks please post what they use for grammar and writing, and opinions on curricula? I personally would prefer more secular curricula, and want one with good grammar, sentence diagramming, builds good writing skills (in a DD who resists having to write stuff). I've looked at Rod & Staff and like what I see except for how heavily religious material permeates it.

 

The school my kids are coming from changed their curricula selections at the start of this past year, which has led to some discontinuity in coverage of material. I may be doing some minor remedial work as it is to make sure a good foundation is laid.

 

Can anyone please recommend good grammar and writing curricula, and where in those curricula to start a 4th grader and a 6th grader?

 

Thanks!

[Ellie]

Easy Grammar is secular. So is Writing Strands. Your dds could start Easy Grammar at 4th and 6th grade levels; both could start at Level 3 of Writing Strands; your older dd might be able to do Level 4.

[zoo_keeper]

We use a mixture of Grammar/Writing programs, all secular. Winning with Writing/Growing with Grammar/Digging into Diagramming are very workbook-ish, but my girls enjoy them (they're the easy stuff, despite the diagramming!). We also use KISS Grammar which is awesome. It's free (however we print off the pdfs, so not entirely free) and has a very active forum/listserv. While it doesn't outright diagram, it focuses (at least at the first level) parsing the sentences and uses much more difficult sentences than GWG/DID. I love it! Finally, we also use Michael Clay Thompson's LA packages. We've only completed the Island level (we're taking a break before starting the Town level), but its "Practice Island" also focuses on parsing complex sentences. The characters in "Sentence Island" became so beloved in this household that the girls devoured the spinoff literature series. Good luck!

[Alte Veste Academy]

We use and enjoy the traditional language arts program, Voyages in English. Textbooks and workbooks are available for grades 3-8. Diagramming is covered. The writing is very public schooly, so it is not our main program for that, but it is helpful to have the typical scope and sequence at hand. I do cover the genre lessons (although I do not teach them exactly as laid out). http://www.loyolapress.com/voyages-in-english-writing-and-grammar-program.htm

 

We also adore MCTLA. Your 4th grader could start at the beginning, with the Island level. Your 6th grader could start with Town if paragraph work is needed or Voyage if paragraphs are good. http://www.rfwp.com/series/mct-levels-homeschool-packages

 

For 6th grade writing, you can't beat Writing with Skill. If you do WWS with your 6th grader, you could do WWE with your 4th grader. http://peacehillpress.com/language-arts/writing.html

 

We have also benefitted enormously from IEW. If you went with IEW, you could teach your kids together. http://www.excellenceinwriting.com/start

 

WWE, Voyages in English, MCTLA, and IEW are the foundation of our LA here. We will definitely be including WWS soon too.

[lillybell]

We use Winning with Writing as well and it has been great. Very structured and they have really learned how to get from point A to Z with essay writing. We used Easy Grammar and it worked very well for my 14 year old but my younger daughter does struggle with it a bit. She does the work but has a hard time looking at the bigger picture. It is separated into sections in the parts of speech. She will work on adverbs for a whole section then later when she is working in another section forgets what an adverb is. So it will work for some kids and not for others. This next year, I am going to try Analytical Grammar. I did purchase it and also purchased Digging into Grammar to give that a try first. I am thinking of purchasing Hands on English linking blocks which teaches the parts of speech to help her better. Those are some of the the secular writing and grammar programs that we have used or are planning on using.

[Crimson Wife]

I would look into Warriner's Introductory Course for your 6th grader for grammar and WWS1 for writing.

 

The 4th grader could use FLL4 and WWE4.

 

Hake is secular as is Sadlier-Oxford Grammar Workshop and Writing Workshop.

[zoo_keeper]

Another Peace Hill Press product that is on my radar is their Creative Writer series. I've been salivating over it!

[Another Lynn]

Another vote for looking at Hake for grammar.

[Catherine]

I know your kids are not early elementary, but I wonder if you could (particularly for the younger one) use First Language Lessons, done quickly. I only had this for my youngest, but it really worked well. He's in sixth grade now and is a grammar whiz! Maybe start in the second or third level and cover only the material that she doesn't already know.

[Alessandra]

Here is another: Ridgewood Grammar

 

http://eps.schoolspecialty.com/products/details.cfm?series=2391M

 

http://eps.schoolspecialty.com/downloads/povs/s-ridgewood_grammar.pdf

 

A writing program: 6+1 Traits

 

http://educationnorthwest.org/traits

 

http://www.evan-moor.com/search?q=traits

[Wildiris]

Oldest DD now a Sophomore in high school credits her almost perfect ACT English score to Shurley English ( used grades 3-5) and Hake Grammar (used grades 6-8). Looking back, she feels that the repetition of Shurley, the jingles and modified diagramming were the key to her success. Shurley English is not secular, but we used it and omitted the parts that did not reflect our religious orientation. Hake is secular and is also repetitive but dry. We did use the dictation section of Hake frequently. We used writing sections of both grammar/writing programs loosely. I wanted to be sure we covered the same types of writing assignments, but I found more effective means of teaching writing than what either program provided.

 

The important part about teaching and learning grammar is know how to apply it during the writing process, particularly during editing.

[5LittleMonkeys]

I would look at using Writing With Skill for both of them. You could look at Analytical Grammar for the older one. AG has a level intro. level called Junior AG that might work for the younger.