thundersweet Posted August 3, 2008 Share Posted August 3, 2008 I am trying to pick a grammar program for my 2nd grader. I am also looking long term here. I hope to pick one and stick with it. After reading about Easy Grammar and the deleting of the prep phrases, it looks like it would be a great help to the child in the long run. What are the pros and cons of doing it this way. Most programs diagram. EG makes it look so easy. I only know of Easy Grammar that deletes the prep phrase and marks the sentence without diagramming. I am leaning towards this method. Is there any reason not to? Those that use EG, how do your kids score on state testing? My "plan" was to either use FLL, EG, or GWG until 5th grade and then switch to JAG or to AG in 6th. I would appreciate any advice you may have to offer. Thanks, Sandy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HollyDay Posted August 3, 2008 Share Posted August 3, 2008 My youngest did very well with EG and moved nicely into GWG. My oldest did not retain a thing. Literally, it was a wasted year for us for her. THe prep removal concept is actually a pretty neat one I think. Traditional diagrammers will take issue with me on this one. But, how often do we diagram sentences in "the real world". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallory Posted August 3, 2008 Share Posted August 3, 2008 KISS Grammar starts with simple sentances, but very quickly moves to marking the prep phrases (I think it uses parenthses). It is online and free, so you can at least check it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ekarl2 Posted August 3, 2008 Share Posted August 3, 2008 Removing (or identifying) prepositional phrases first and diagraming are not mutually exclusive. You can ID the prepositional phrases first, this allows you to find the main parts of the sentence (subject, verb, direct object, etc.) MUCH more easily. You can then diagram the sentence. Analytical Grammar does this. I do think the diagraming is important when you get to advanced grammar concepts (phrases and clauses). Most programs don't get to that point (for good reason) until at least 5th grade. Spending three years prior to that just learning basic grammar is a LOT of time. I'll probably use FLL with my kids (nice, gentle, oral, nothing FORMAL with grammar) until they're ready for the formal grammar stuff. That will be 5th grade in this house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
titianmom Posted August 3, 2008 Share Posted August 3, 2008 I was going to say the same thing. I use a curriculum that does plenty of diagraming (CLE is pretty solid IMHO), and when I go over lessons I remind her that it helps to "remove" the prep phrases first. She still has to do something with them in diagraming, and I believe diagraming is a useful skill. I do still diagram in my head whenever I'm writing a story, etc., just to check my grammar. I love diagraming, LOL. Kim Removing (or identifying) prepositional phrases first and diagraming are not mutually exclusive. You can ID the prepositional phrases first, this allows you to find the main parts of the sentence (subject, verb, direct object, etc.) MUCH more easily. You can then diagram the sentence. AG does this. I do think the diagraming is important when you get to advanced grammar concepts (phrases and clauses). Most programs don't get to that point (for good reason) until at least 5th grade. Spending three years prior to that just learning basic grammar is a LOT of time. I'll probably use FLL with my kids until they're ready for formal grammar. That will be 5th grade in this house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thundersweet Posted August 3, 2008 Author Share Posted August 3, 2008 What grammar programs have you identify and remove prepositional phrases before diagramming? Do most of them operate this way? I heard AG did. I know you could teach the child to do this but on your own but what programs teach this way? Thanks, Sandy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
titianmom Posted August 3, 2008 Share Posted August 3, 2008 I don't think any actually "teach" you to remove the preps before diagraming. I'm saying I have my girl do this at least mentally to help in organizing the diagraming of a sentence. Then she plugs in the prep phrases to complete the sentence diagram. AG only diagrams and labels the diff parts of speech over each word. Easy Grammar removes the prep phrases and then labels the rest. I just do the best of both worlds in CLE language arts and I think with both techniques, the concepts are not only easier to learn but stay with you better in the long run. Also, with my version, when you run into the exceptions with the prep phrases, ( first of all, CLE points out the new concept anyway,) you learn to deal with those exceptions more clearly as they arise and it isn't a total "Wait a min, this doesn't work anymore and I'm confused" problem. Kim What grammar programs have you identify and remove prepositional phrases before diagramming? Do most of them operate this way? I heard AG did. I know you could teach the child to do this but on your own but what programs teach this way? Thanks, Sandy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thundersweet Posted August 3, 2008 Author Share Posted August 3, 2008 By "teach" I mean programs like Easy Grammar. It teaches from the get go to remove pp. In my case, I would not have taught that if I wasn't told to do so in the program. lol Lets just say, I am not the greatest with grammar. I want it to be as simple as possible for me to teach. Sandy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ekarl2 Posted August 3, 2008 Share Posted August 3, 2008 AG only diagrams and labels the diff parts of speech over each word. Kim Actually, there is a specific process of labeling that AG uses that teaches the student to identify (by surrounding with parentheses) the prepositional phrases first. It is after he does that step that he finds the verb, subject, and other sentence parts. Then he diagrams. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
titianmom Posted August 6, 2008 Share Posted August 6, 2008 I actually looked at AG to buy this year. The sample didn't make that clear, though. Personally, although Easy Grammar is more popular, I liked AG better, FWIW. (Not that my opinion means anything, LOL.) But I think EG has been around a lot longer. (?) Thanks, Kim Actually, there is a specific process of labeling that AG uses that teaches the student to identify (by surrounding with parentheses) the prepositional phrases first. It is after he does that step that he finds the verb, subject, and other sentence parts. Then he diagrams. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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