bnwhitaker Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 I got advice to start at 4th or 5th grade in R&S English. I will only be using the grammar portion, not writing. My boys are 9 & 10. They have had a very little bit on grammar. By little I mean they know noun & verb. They have had just a tad of some of the other 6 parts but not sure they would be able to point them out still, maybe? So I feel like they are at the beginner stage still. I am horrible at English so hard it's for me to tell what they need. I have went over the TC of both books and they look very similar. But I was wondering if the 5th grade book has smaller type or just harder sentence's? Does anyone feel they would be missing out by not doing both books for review? Ex. 6th & 7th grade not reviewing enough. I worry 5th might miss some key factors they might need? Any advice? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coffeegal Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 The 4th grade book lays a gentle, but thorough, foundation for the rest of the series. Since your children are younger (9 and 10) I would start there. The 5th grade book quickly reviews what is taught in the previous books before moving on to more difficult concepts. It works as a starting point for older children, but I wouldn't jump a 3rd or 4th grader into the book without a strong grammatical background. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 If there's anything in 4 that is absolutely foundational it *will* be repeated in the 5 book. 5 will probably go through it a little faster and take it a step further. I'd think hard about how much school time/effort I want to give grammar. Placing higher means they'll have to work at it a little harder and take a little longer to get through it. Placing lower lets it be a bit easier, but you can accelerate through the material faster. Not knowing your boys I'd start the oldest one in the book that best correlates with his grade, and do one lesson a day with both of them. I'd use the oral quiz in the TE, have them read the lesson, and do the oral drill section with them. Then I'd decide how much of the written to assign them based on how well they did the oral section. This would take about 30 minutes tops. My 10yo is a 5th grader using the 5 book. Since he has a sturdy grammar background from FLL and R&S, 5 has been easy peasy for him. If I pushed him harder he is capable of doing the 6 book, but I don't want grammar to be that big of a focus in his day. As it is he spends no more than 20 minutes a day learning grammar very well, and has no idea he's the frog in the boiling pot of water. He also gets grammar reviewed/used in his Latin and writing. My oldest ds (9th now) didn't have as thorough of a grammar background when he started the 5 book in 5th grade. He had to work a little harder, but he still finished the book in a school year. 5 laid a firm enough foundation that 6 felt like a breeze. We did have to make it a bigger focus that first year, and he could mostly coast through after that. Every book seemed easier to him. I could have placed him in the 4 to make 5 easier, but I'm really glad he started with 5. By the time he got to the 8 book R&S had done such a thorough job that he was getting nothing wrong and it felt like busywork. That's when we called the subject of grammar officially done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gratitude Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 My oldest 10 is in 4th doing English 4 and it is just right for him & honestly this is more grammar than I had in Honors high school & college English. Solid program. My 8 year old is in English 3. We have used R&S English since 2nd and I am pleased. If they have only had nouns and verbs I would start with level 3 or 4. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Twain Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 My 5th grader is using the R&S English 5, and I think it is challenging, though he is able to complete it fine since he has done every one of these books since 2nd grade. If I were in your shoes, I would start at the 4th grade book, especially since the level of the grammar program is on the high side. The 5th grade book is teaching my son more grammar than I was ever taught in public school. Being a year "behind" in R&S English is not really behind compared to the usual instruction in schools. The 5th grade book moves fairly quickly through the basic concepts. If your children don't have any background it may be difficult, or at the least take more time than usual. In particular, the diagramming takes time and practice to get the hang of. However, the 5th grade book does a brief review of all of the concepts that were previously covered, so you wouldn't necessarily need to start at the 4th grade book. The books are not very expensive. You could buy both 4th and 5th student editions and see for yourself which level would be best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanette Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 If nothing else, this program will be THOROUGH! We started using it and had to ditch it midstream because it moved too slow for my son (who I THOUGHT needed ALL of the practice), but he caught on rather quickly and it wasn't all necessary. But honestly, you can't go wrong with the prices and the quality of the curriculum! For your situation, I would start at the 4th grade level and let them work through it. Personally, I'd rather them do too much and then do a reinforcement in the 5th grade book instead of starting on the 5th grade book. They need a firm foundation at this stage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Twain Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 My dh says to start in the 3rd grade book. He says that one is hard. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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