If you use WWS, what literature and grammar do you use?

[MamaSprout]

The title says it all, I guess. Thanks!

[redsquirrel]

I have used WWS for my older boy and now with my younger one.

 

For grammar we have used R&S. For literature we used a variety of things.  In 6th grade we worked through Figuratively Speaking, just to cover our bases. I mostly focused on the reading lists in TWTM to find books, although I also added in a few middle grades classics. To help with that, I just googled the 'title of book reading guide middle school' or something along those lines.  I found plenty to work with. 

[kirstenhill]

DD is in Writing with Skill 1. We're not using a program for literature this year - just reading books from a list I compiled from various sources. For Grammar, DD is focusing on learning diagramming this year. She is finishing up Big Bad Grammar Slammer and then will do a basic sentence diagramming workbook I picked up at Rainbow Resource after that.

[stlily]

My middle grade student is in the 6th grade.  We use Rod and Staff for grammar.  The sixth grade book is called "Progressing With Courage". For literature we use the assigned reading list in TWTM.  Susan Wise Bauer recommends, "Avoid “literature programsâ€; instead, key a reading list to the history curriculum."  Below is sample of the books on her list this read for this year:

 

Sixth grade, Middle Ages/Early Renaissance: 400-1600 AD


Beowulf: A New Telling, by Robert Nye

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, verse translation by J.R. R. Tolkein
Canterbury Tales, retold by Geraldine McCaughrean
Dante’s Inferno, Cantos I-V, trans. Robert Pinsky
Saint George and the Dragon, from Spenser’s The Fairy Queen retold by Margaret Hodges
The Boy’s King Arthur : Sir Thomas Malory’s History of King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table Edited by Sidney Lanier, original illustrations by N.C. Wyeth. 
The Sword in the Stone, T. H. White
Shakespeare Stories, by Leon Garfield

 

There are recommended books for each grade level in the logic stage in TWTM.  Hope this helps.

[Butter]

I have an 8th grader doing WWS2.  For grammar he is using Voyages in English 8 and for literature, he's reading some of the books on the list in WTM and we discuss them.

[Kristie in Florida]

R&S for grammar, TWTM for literature.

[MamaSprout]

How long does R&S take each day/ week?

[KeriJ]

We are using WWS 1.  We were using R&S for grammar, but are switching to CLE.  For literature, I just pull from various places: HOD, SCM, TWTM, and we just read and discuss at this point.  

[fourisenough]

AG for grammar & Homeschool Book Study JH class (online) for lit. They only "do" 8 books per school year, but we add books that correspond to our history (and our whims), though we don't analyze and write about them.

[KeriJ]

How long does R&S take each day/ week?

 We skipped writing assignments, reviews and a few lessons at the end of the book.  We were able to get a book done working about 3 days per week.  It only took us about 15 minutes each day.  We read through the lesson, went over a few of the oral exercises, and I assigned a few of the written exercises.

Edited December 16, 2015 by KeriJ

[redsquirrel]

How long does R&S take each day/ week?

 

Well, if you aren't using the writing assignments then it is pretty easy to get through a book in a school year using it 3-4 times a week.  We do it mostly orally and it really isn't that big a deal. But, my kids have been through FLL 1-4, so this is building on what is foundational, not learning something new.  If grammar hasn't been studied before, then it can be good to start with FLL4 and then jump into R&S.  But, that isn't a necessity, just makes it easier. There are PLENTY of kids who jump into R&S 5 and do just fine.

 

We start with the oral review, which is in the teacher's book, and takes a few mins. Then I read through the lesson with him. Then we do some of the exercises orally. We usually end with the second review at the end of the chapter, also in the teacher's book, and some sentence diagramming if they have it.

 

The thing with R&S is that it is just So Much that you can pick and chose what looks good for your kid. If the topic is obviously well understood, just do one or two exercises together and call it good. If not, find some more to do together. 

[TracyP]

My oldest was 4th/5th grade when we started WWS. She used Climbing to Good English (think workbook version of R&S) for grammar.  Lit was "just reading" good books. These were mostly pulled from whatever year of the history cycle we were on and 1000 good books. This year (7th) is the first time we have done any formal lit.

 

Next year my 5th grade ds will start WWS. He will use MCT for grammar, and like his sister, he will have no formal lit.

[tmstranger]

My 6th grader is doing WWS1.  We use R&S grammar 5 (he was new to R&S this year, so we were advised to start here) and TWTM for literature.  We use the book lists in TWTM and some other sources (Sonlight, HOD, etc.), but we discuss the books using the guidelines in TWTM.

 

We also do R&S mostly orally.  I have him write answers one time each week, but I choose just one section to be completed on paper.  We also skip the writing lessons, so we are moving along at 3x/week and I think we'll finish up by the end of the year. 

[TarynB]

Alongside WWS, we used Hake grammar (not the writing workbook, just the grammar text), Figuratively Speaking, Mosdos lit (discussed orally, didn't use the workbook), and books chosen from the various popular lists (WTM, Sonlight, AO, etc., etc.) We also had Killgallon's Sentence Composing in the mix at various times for something different.

Edited December 16, 2015 by TarynB

[Zoo Keeper]

8th grader: using second half of WWS, vintage version of Warriner's Grammar and Comp 8 (but not the composition bits), and AO year 7 for lit.

 

7th grader: using first half of WWS, vintage version of Warriner's Grammar and Comp 7 (but not the comp), and my own lit loosely based on AO year 6.

[RootAnn]

Dd#2 is using WWS1 at her own pace. She's doing FLL4 with dd#3 & reading lit that goes along with history.

When dd#1 did WWS1, she was doing lit aligned with history, Figuratively Speaking & G.U.M. for grammar.

[serendipitous journey]

A. is using WWS1 in fifth grade this year; grammar from MCT's Town level + Harvey's; literature from various Ambleside Online years, History Odyssey's Logic Ancients, plus other sources; poetry from IEW's poetry memorization + various.  

 

Just to give a sense of our literature at this point in our year, he's reading The Secret Garden; Halliburton's Book of Marvels; What If? (science literature); Tales from Ancient Egypt; The Math Book; The Burgess Bird Book; a collection of stories by John Muir, D'Aulaire's Greek Myths.  These books are assigned a chapter at a time. 

 

I'm reading to him from Tennyson's poetry, Kidnapped, and Tom Sawyer (he started reading ahead in Tom Sawyer though) and when we read before bed (he gets to watch videos some nights -- usually documentaries) The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate.  We pair-read Asimov's Short History of Biology and Bullfinch's Mythology. 

Edited December 17, 2015 by serendipitous journey

[stlily]

How long does R&S take each day/ week?

 

My daughter does a Rod & Staff grammar lesson a day.  There are an average of 130 lessons per year (the average school year is 180 days) which means she will likely finish the book before the end of the year.  This works because if she has a lengthy writing assignment in Writing With Skill, I'll have her skip her grammar lesson that day.  Of course you can always do grammar 3-4 times a week if that works best for your family.  It takes her about 20-30 minutes to complete a lesson a day but she doesn't do every exercise. I'll share more about what an average lesson looks like in a bit. Also, on test days she only takes her test.  She doesn't complete an additional lesson. Test days are shorter days for her.

 

SWB recommends Rod & Staff because the program teaches sentence diagramming.  She says, "We don't think diagramming sentences ought to be optional. Sentence diagrams reveal the logic of sentence structure, . . . Diagramming is a hands-on grammar activity. Visual learners will benefit from "seeing a picture" of grammatical structure, . . . diagramming prevents the child from simply parroting back rules that she doesn't fully understand. . . These texts take a rigorous, systematic, old-fashioned, and very effective approach to building expository writing skills."  

 

R & S has more practice exercises than most students need so it isn't necessary to do every exercise.  Here is another quote by SWB, "Although the writing exercises in the middle-grade books should be completed, don't feel that you have to complete every grammar exercise.  If your child understands the concepts and is able to put it into practice, there's no need to be compulsive about finishing the page.  In addition, you should feel free to adjust the topics of the assigned essays so that they match the student's history or science learning."  If a student was using R&S as both a grammar and writing curriculum, then it is recommended they complete all of the writing assignments but it isn't necessary to complete all of the grammar exercises.  Here is an example of what an assigned lesson looks like in our house:

 

English 6 – Progressing With Courage

 

â–¡ Lesson 26: Possessive  Nouns

â–¡ Class Practice: None

□ Written Practice: A. all, B. Odd #’s, C. all, D. All

□ Review Exercises: Odd #’s

 

If I feel she needs the practice, I have her do all of the exercises.  If not, I only assign the odd numbers.  Sometimes I have her skip whole sections. I also adjust the writing topics to match her history and science topics like Ms. Bauer recommends and this is what it looks like in her planner:

 

English 6 – Progressing With Courage

Chapter 3: Working With Nouns – Developing Paragraphs

Lesson 24: Developing Paragraphs by Using Examples and Illustrations

â–¡ Class Practice: A.

â–¡ Written Exercises: B. As you write your summary on a topic about the Yangtze River, develop one of your paragraphs using examples and illustrations as explained in today's lesson. 

â–¡ Review Exercise: All

 

I love this because one assignments counts for two and she's applying what she's learning.  I apologize for the long post.  Hope it helps :)

[dancingmama]

We use WWS1 in 6th grade and Dd is using MCT for grammar and BYL for Lit.

[MamaSprout]

8th grader: using second half of WWS, vintage version of Warriner's Grammar and Comp 8 (but not the composition bits), and AO year 7 for lit.

 

7th grader: using first half of WWS, vintage version of Warriner's Grammar and Comp 7 (but not the comp), and my own lit loosely based on AO year 6.

 

I have Warriner's on the shelf. How many lessons do you cover a week?

[MamaSprout]

My daughter does a Rod & Staff grammar lesson a day.  There are an average of 130 lessons per year (the average school year is 180 days) which means she will likely finish the book before the end of the year.  This works because if she has a lengthy writing assignment in Writing With Skill, I'll have her skip her grammar lesson that day.  Of course you can always do grammar 3-4 times a week if that works best for your family.  It takes her about 20-30 minutes to complete a lesson a day but she doesn't do every exercise. I'll share more about what an average lesson looks like in a bit. Also, on test days she only takes her test.  She doesn't complete an additional lesson. Test days are shorter days for her.

 

SWB recommends Rod & Staff because the program teaches sentence diagramming.  She says, "We don't think diagramming sentences ought to be optional. Sentence diagrams reveal the logic of sentence structure, . . . Diagramming is a hands-on grammar activity. Visual learners will benefit from "seeing a picture" of grammatical structure, . . . diagramming prevents the child from simply parroting back rules that she doesn't fully understand. . . These texts take a rigorous, systematic, old-fashioned, and very effective approach to building expository writing skills."  

 

R & S has more practice exercises than most students need so it isn't necessary to do every exercise.  Here is another quote by SWB, "Although the writing exercises in the middle-grade books should be completed, don't feel that you have to complete every grammar exercise.  If your child understands the concepts and is able to put it into practice, there's no need to be compulsive about finishing the page.  In addition, you should feel free to adjust the topics of the assigned essays so that they match the student's history or science learning."  If a student was using R&S as both a grammar and writing curriculum, then it is recommended they complete all of the writing assignments but it isn't necessary to complete all of the grammar exercises.  Here is an example of what an assigned lesson looks like in our house:

 

English 6 – Progressing With Courage

 

â–¡ Lesson 26: Possessive  Nouns

â–¡ Class Practice: None

□ Written Practice: A. all, B. Odd #’s, C. all, D. All

□ Review Exercises: Odd #’s

 

If I feel she needs the practice, I have her do all of the exercises.  If not, I only assign the odd numbers.  Sometimes I have her skip whole sections. I also adjust the writing topics to match her history and science topics like Ms. Bauer recommends and this is what it looks like in her planner:

 

English 6 – Progressing With Courage

Chapter 3: Working With Nouns – Developing Paragraphs

Lesson 24: Developing Paragraphs by Using Examples and Illustrations

â–¡ Class Practice: A.

â–¡ Written Exercises: B. As you write your summary on a topic about the Yangtze River, develop one of your paragraphs using examples and illustrations as explained in today's lesson. 

â–¡ Review Exercise: All

 

I love this because one assignments counts for two and she's applying what she's learning.  I apologize for the long post.  Hope it helps :)

 

Yes, very helpful!

 

[MamaSprout]

Alongside WWS, we used Hake grammar (not the writing workbook, just the grammar text), Figuratively Speaking, Mosdos lit (discussed orally, didn't use the workbook), and books chosen from the various popular lists (WTM, Sonlight, AO, etc., etc.) We also had Killgallon's Sentence Composing in the mix at various times for something different.

 

How long does Hake take each day/week? It looks very straight forward and looks like it includes a fair amount of diagramming.

[fourisenough]

We use WWS1 in 6th grade and Dd is using MCT for grammar and BYL for Lit.

Sorry, OP, to go off on a tangent, but I'm curious how long per day dancingmama's DD spends on BYL? Does she do the full grade-level (history, science, lit, geography, art, poetry, etc)? or just the literature? I'm interested for next year, but don't know if we could handle it and keep up with other things we plan to do (online class, co-op classes, etc).

[Zoo Keeper]

I have Warriner's on the shelf. How many lessons do you cover a week?

We do grammar three days a week, and cover 2 or 3 exercises per day.  This pace finishes the grammar/mechanics portion of the book in around 32-33 weeks. 

[....]

Literature = interest-led, but next year, we are going to try Excellence in Literature

Grammar = Easy Grammar Plus

 

My kids are a little older than recommended for WWS, though.  My 7th grader is using WWS1 and my 8th grader is using WWS2.

[MamaSprout]

Sorry, OP, to go off on a tangent, but I'm curious how long per day dancingmama's DD spends on BYL? Does she do the full grade-level (history, science, lit, geography, art, poetry, etc)? or just the literature? I'm interested for next year, but don't know if we could handle it and keep up with other things we plan to do (online class, co-op classes, etc).

 

FWIW, It is scheduled for 5 days/ per week. We bought it and never used it b/c I didn't want to take the time to wrangle it into a 4 day/ week schedule.

 

[fourisenough]

FWIW, It is scheduled for 5 days/ per week. We bought it and never used it b/c I didn't want to take the time to wrangle it into a 4 day/ week schedule.

 

That's my concern exactly. We will spend 1 day at co-op and only work at home 4 days/week next year. Hmmm. Thanks for sharing.

[TarynB]

How long does Hake take each day/week? It looks very straight forward and looks like it includes a fair amount of diagramming.

 

Hake grammar is very straight forward and does include a decent amount of diagramming. It's also written to the student and thorough. For us, no involvement was needed on my part except grading the work. (For others who may be reading, the diagramming is easy to skip if you don't care to include it. Diagramming is included but not integral to the rest of every lesson.)

 

My DS did one lesson per week, working on it two days per week, about 15 minutes per day. If I remember correctly, a grade level includes about 110 to 120 lessons, depending on which level you're using. The way we did it, we spread one level over almost two years. There's so much overlap/repetition of topics between levels 5 and 6, and also between levels 7 and 8, I didn't see the need for my son to do a whole level every year. YMMV.

 

So on the first grammar day each week DS spent about 15 minutes reading the lesson instruction and doing the examples and practice sections over the new material. Then he would stop for that day. The second grammar day each week, he would do the review section for that week's lesson, doing only every other question (evens or odds). There's so much spiral review, he never needed to do it all. But it is nice to have it there in case you need it. Next to each review question, there's a reference in parenthesis to the lesson number in which that concept was taught, in case the student needs to flip back and look at a lesson again. Also, I let my DS write in the textbook instead of writing on separate paper. I felt that saved him a bit of time on each lesson as well.

 

There are tests in the teacher's book if you want to use them. The first one is used after the tenth lesson (I think) and then after that there's a test after every five lessons. DS never took longer than 15 or 20 minutes to do a test.

 

If we had wanted to do a whole level in a year, we could have done it easily by spending about 30 minutes per day twice a week, or 15 minutes a day 4 days a week, for example.

 

So, that's my long-winded way of saying, he spent about 30 minutes on each lesson, skipping half of the questions in every review section, and writing in the book to save some time. HTH.

 

Edited December 17, 2015 by TarynB

[SparklyUnicorn]

We used WWS 1.  I used MCT grammar.  We didn't use anything specific for Lit.  We just read books and discussed some of them.

 

 

[MamaSprout]

Hake grammar is very straight forward and does include a decent amount of diagramming. It's also written to the student and thorough. For us, no involvement was needed on my part except grading the work. (For others who may be reading, the diagramming is easy to skip if you don't care to include it. Diagramming is included but not integral to the rest of every lesson.)

 

My DS did one lesson per week, working on it two days per week, about 15 minutes per day. If I remember correctly, a grade level includes about 110 to 120 lessons, depending on which level you're using. The way we did it, we spread one level over two years. There's so much repetition between levels 5 and 6, and also between 7 and 8, I didn't see the need for my son to do a whole level every year. YMMV.

 

So each week DS spent about 15 minutes reading the lesson instruction and doing the examples and practice sections over the new material. Then he would stop for that day. The second grammar day each week, he would do the review section for that week's lesson, doing only every other question (evens or odds). There's so much spiral review, he never needed to do it all. But it is nice to have it there in case you need it. Next to each review question, there's a reference in parenthesis to the lesson number in which that concept was taught, in case the student needs to flip back and look at a lesson again. Also, I let my DS write in the textbook instead of writing on separate paper. I felt that probably saved him a bit of time on each lesson as well.

 

There are tests in the teacher's book if you want to use them. The first one is used after the tenth lesson and then after that there's a test after every five lessons. DS never took longer than 15 or 20 minutes to do a test.

 

So, that's my long-winded way of saying, he spent about 30 minutes on each lesson, skipping half of the questions in every review section, and writing in the book to save some time. HTH.

 

 

What I need to know. I'm seriously considering it, but I have Warriner's First Course with TE on the shelf. I wonder if I could do Warriner's for the rest of this year and split Hake 8 up over the next two years (this is for a 7th/ 8th co-op.) We'll be using WWS1 for the rest of this semester and start WWS2 in the fall (or at least that's the plan for the moment....)

[TarynB]

What I need to know. I'm seriously considering it, but I have Warriner's First Course with TE on the shelf. I wonder if I could do Warriner's for the rest of this year and split Hake 8 up over the next two years (this is for a 7th/ 8th co-op.) We'll be using WWS1 for the rest of this semester and start WWS2 in the fall (or at least that's the plan for the moment....)

 

I've never used Warriner's, but I certainly don't think you can go wrong with that (just going by its reputation) and since you already own it, that's even better. And, yes, I think the independent format and efficiency of Hake makes it ideal for co-op situations too. Sounds like a good plan to me! :thumbup:

 

[SparklyUnicorn]

I've used some of the Hake levels too.  It's very easy to use and very thorough. 

 

 

[Targhee]

Grammar - MCT Magic Lens

Lit - Shakespeare course at co-op, family read aloud discussions, MCT poetics

[dancingmama]

Sorry, OP, to go off on a tangent, but I'm curious how long per day dancingmama's DD spends on BYL? Does she do the full grade-level (history, science, lit, geography, art, poetry, etc)? or just the literature? I'm interested for next year, but don't know if we could handle it and keep up with other things we plan to do (online class, co-op classes, etc).

Well, I tweak everything based on dd's preferences. Right now she actually does both Medieval Hx and American Hx but she reads fast and well and all.day.long. She loves the book choices and reads them (and sequels) for fun on her own.

 

She does not do everything though. Every Sunday I look at the week's schedule and base what she will work on depending on her schedule for that week. It only takes me about half hour because Emily lays everything out for you so nicely. We do a different science (exploration education) as we needed something more independent. We do art and poetry when, and if, we want to. She does do the history, lit, and geography with modifications as we do do WWS and MCT. Overall, I'd say she does about 2 hours a day on BYL. She does American Hx 3 days a week and Medieval twice a week. The best part is that she loves the choices (she picked both those histories, not me) so she willingly does the reading and (most of the time) the assignments. For example, she's in her room right now reading Rascal on her own.

 

We do plenty outside stuff. She is a Girl Scout Cadette and volunteers with a daisy troop, she dances over 12 hours a week, attends a twice monthly co-op (with homework), monthly homeschool game day, weekly meets with friends, and she still has time to watch all her geek shows.

 

BYL is easily adaptable to whatever you want as long as you let go of the "must do it all" mentality. And for the price, you really can't beat it.

[The Governess]

Dd 11 is using WWS 1 this year. She is finishing up R&S 7 for grammar. Being ahead in grammar has really helped her. When writing, she can focus on overall organization/planning, voice, word choice, etc. because good grammar is natural for her.

 

We are using VP lit this year. So far she has read: Kidnapped, A Christmas Carol, Around the World in 80 Days, and The Jungle Book. She's enjoyed them all so far, although Kidnapped took her a while to get into due to the language. We've been to Scotland so reading about places she had visited helped keep her interest.