doing classical conversations essentials...

[Frelle]

assignments with my 3rd grade daughter is kicking my butt.

 

that is all.

 

*sigh*

[Linda...inOwasso]

LOL Frelle... I hear you! My dd isn't doing essentials yet, but just the increase in workload for 3rd grade is already wearing on me!

 

What grammar (if any) have you used previously? Dd8 will be in essentials next year and I'm hoping having a year of Shurley Grammar 3 and R&S 4 will prepare her well.

 

Hang in there!

[Another Lynn]

We've never done Essentials, but I'd bet my right arm you're not alone. I had two friends pull their kids out of Essentials last year because they found that they preferred a different approach to grammar. (They both liked IEW and continued using it at home). It seems like most people I know either LOVE Essentials or HATE it. Also, from the little I know about it, it sounds pretty challenging for 3rd grade. The philosophy as I understand it is to throw everything at them and let them get whatever they can knowing they will get it all thrown at them again the next year.

 

When I begin to discuss curriculum woes, one of my best friend always asks me, "Lynn, is it working for *you*?" That helps me put it in perspective sometimes.

 

That was more than you asked for! Wish you the best!

[G5052]

I'm an Essentials tutor teaching mostly 3rd graders and a few 4th graders, and I'm not expecting them to get it all this year. The parts of speech, four sentence structures, and four sentence purposes and weekly writing with lots of help from mom is all I'm expecting. Most of them seem to be doing no more than Tasks #1-3 at home from the Essentials Guide. That's plenty for a first-year student.

[Frelle]

The writing assignment for Jamestown is what I was struggling with in particular. We did the America, Land Of assignment after I was in class with her, and it went fine. I had a sick toddler and missed the second week, and we had to stay home the third week because the illness turned out to be coxsackie virus. So I havent been in class since week 1. Tomorrow is week 4.

 

I am not even getting to the IEW stuff. We didnt really do much with it the first week in class, and I am totally lost with regard to what I am supposed to do with using the ultra fine tip sharpie and making up sentence variations for the scriptures. Like where the heck do they get "Jesus, who laughed, wept" out of the Jesus wept verse?

 

It may be too much for *me*. But I feel like my daughter is capable of the work and that I just need to get my act together and do it for her. She did FLL level 3 last year.

 

Our tutor is awesome, and did tell me that I need to make sure that I am doing what she is capable of, however little or much that might be.

 

But I do need to figure out this whole sentence variation thing.

 

And I never ever want to miss a class again.

 

Thanks for your kind words!!

[Susan in MO]

This is our first year doing CC and our first year doing Essentials. I had trouble wrapping my mind around the way the Essentials book was set up.

 

I had to rearrange in order to begin to understand it.

 

One thing that helped me was to pull out Appendix C, put it in a folder and named it "Answer Key."

 

Another was to arrange all the student pages in order. For example - Week 1 charts then the editing exercise and finally week 3 - 4 have 3 task sheets behind the charts.

 

All the charts are in page protectors so that they can be done over and over again and moved from week to week if they aren't mastered.

 

The other thing I did was to stop and remember the classical method and what CC was doing in Foundations.

 

We started in the Grammar stage and memorized the definitions. Once we memorized the defs. filling out the charts was not a problem. We just had to remember where the memorized information went on the chart.

 

The same with the sentences. Memorizing them will allow them to have an example of what each sentence type is.

 

Example: Remember that Jesus wept is S/V(I). When they think subject/verb(I) "Jesus wept." should come to mind.

 

I also took the suggested lesson plan and worked it up for each week. Here is week 2. HTH

 

Essentials of English Language - Week Two Suggested Schedule

Weekly Parent Preparation



• EEL Guide: Read Lesson 2
  
•  Our Mother Tongue: Read Lesson 2 and 6. Work through exercises if needed.
  
•  EEL Prep for student: S2A, S2b, S2C,S2D (and week 1 charts not mastered)
  
•  Choose spelling lists for week: Appendix A pgs. 29 -31.
  
•  EEL Editing Exercise 2:
  Correct: 1) Capitalization and Punctuation errors
  2) Spelling
  3) Double-check work before comparing with the corrected version
  
•  IEW Writing: Review US History – Based Writing Lesson 2: Read Lesson
   
  Day 1
  
•  EEL Attend Essentials’ Class: Introduce material for the week and review previous material.
  
•  IEW Writing: Attend Essentials class. Review structure and style for the weekly writing project. Begin outline, brainstorm list for dress-ups, openers...
  Day 2
  
•  Grammar: Have students work on this weeks Charts (S2A, S2b, S2C,S2D)
  
•  Our Mother Tongue Practice and Dialogue: Lesson 2 (first half of chapter)
  
•  Dictation and Dialectic Analysis: Not scheduled this week.
  
•  EEL Editing Exercise: Week 2 –Start the Exercise.
  
•  Spelling/Dictation: Write Spelling lesson for the week. (or test and study)
  
•  IEW Writing: Start/Finnish outline and brainstorm lists for dress-ups, openers…. Study Vocabulary
  Day 3
  
•  Grammar: Have students work on this weeks Charts ( S1AAi, S1B, S1C, S1D, S1E) Keep track of charts that are mastered and put these on a rotating schedule for review.
  
•  Our Mother Tongue Practice and Dialogue: Lesson 2 (Complete the Lesson)
  
•  Dictation and Dialectic Analysis: Not scheduled this week.
  
•  Spelling/Dictation: Write Spelling lesson for the week. (or test and study)
  
•  IEW Writing: Create/type-up rough draft. First edit from parent. Study Vocabulary
  Day 4
  
•  Grammar: Have students work on this weeks Charts ( S1AAi, S1B, S1C, S1D, S1E) Keep track of charts that are mastered and put these on a rotating schedule for review.
  
•  Our Mother Tongue Practice and Dialogue: Lesson 6 (first half of chapter)
  
•  Dictation and Dialectic Analysis: Not scheduled this week.
  
•  EEL Editing Exercise: Week 2 - Complete the exercise.
  
•  Spelling/Dictation: Write Spelling lesson for the week. (or test and study)
  
•  IEW Writing: Correct edits, add dress-up, openers, etc… according to “checklistâ€, type up paper on computer, and final edit from parent. Study Vocabulary
  Day 5
  
•  Grammar: Parent/Student chart “choice-day.†( S1AAi, S1B, S1C, S1D, S1E)
  
•  Our Mother Tongue Practice and Dialogue: Lesson 6 (Complete the lesson)
  
•  Dictation and Dialectic Analysis: Not scheduled this week.
  
•  Spelling/Dictation: Write Spelling lesson for the week. (or test and study)
  
•  IEW Writing: Correct edits, retype, properly label all dress-ups, openers, etc…according to checklist. Print final copy and attach checklist. Study Vocabulary
  

 

[NCMom]

The writing assignment for Jamestown is what I was struggling with in particular. We did the America, Land Of assignment after I was in class with her, and it went fine. I had a sick toddler and missed the second week, and we had to stay home the third week because the illness turned out to be coxsackie virus. So I havent been in class since week 1. Tomorrow is week 4.

 

I am not even getting to the IEW stuff. We didnt really do much with it the first week in class, and I am totally lost with regard to what I am supposed to do with using the ultra fine tip sharpie and making up sentence variations for the scriptures. Like where the heck do they get "Jesus, who laughed, wept" out of the Jesus wept verse?

 

It may be too much for *me*. But I feel like my daughter is capable of the work and that I just need to get my act together and do it for her. She did FLL level 3 last year.

 

Our tutor is awesome, and did tell me that I need to make sure that I am doing what she is capable of, however little or much that might be.

 

But I do need to figure out this whole sentence variation thing.

 

And I never ever want to miss a class again.

 

Thanks for your kind words!!

 

I think the sentence variation exercise you are taking about is Task 5 in Essentials and/or the C3 and C4 master sheets and has nothing to do with the IEW assignments??

 

The C3/C4 sheets are for copying - understanding comes later (I hope, lol).

 

I seriously hope you are not doing Task 5 for third graders before Week 4! My head would explode!

 

Is your tutor sending out a sheet explaining what everyone did in class and what they need to do at home each week? If not, do you want to see mine? PM me.

 

hth,

Georgia

[Riverfront Headmistress]

Like where the heck do they get "Jesus, who laughed, wept" out of the Jesus wept verse?

 

 

 

You must be looking at the back of the task page....

 

The main sentence is, Jesus wept. The sentence is: simple, declarative. Once the child is able to identify the parts of speech, purpose, structure, pattern, and diagram the sentence they are then to move onto changing the pattern.

 

Jesus wept. (simple, declarartive)

 

Step 1: Make the above sentence compound (add a fanboy). Jesus wept, and He cried.

 

Step 2: Make the original sentence complex (using wwwasiab) Jesus, who loves me, wept.

 

Step 3: Make the orginal sentence compound/complex (add a fanboy AND a wwwasiab). Jesus, who loves me, wept, and He cried.

 

I hope that clears it up so. It is hard to understand via internet.

[SonshineLearner]

We just started Essentials at age 10, grade 5. For us, it's perfect. I'm concentrating on the IEW portion at home, relying on her learning Henle Latin as her grammar portion. Since she's doing Henle, she's doing diagramming and such in Latin. Grammar use to be learning Latin, anyway. For us, we don't have anyone younger than 9 doing Essentials. I'm happy to have started in grade 5, and grade 4 would be the earliest I would start. Before then, I think copywork and such...are better for our family.

 

Carrie:-)