Jump to content

Menu

Easy Grammar...BLAH!


wehave8
 Share

Recommended Posts

Am I the only one TIRED of dragging out this HUGE TE  (times 3!)?  On top of all the copying!   :(

I know you can buy the student pages, but it looks like they don't have the teacher's notes in them, so I'd still have to keep the TE handy, besides when I'm correcting (times 3!).   :(

 

Pam

Edited by wehave8
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The TE is giant, I agree! If we take school with us during the day, Easy Grammar always stays home, it's exhausting to take anywhere!

 

I was trying to save $$ so I only bought the TE and I cover up the answer page with sticky notes as the kids do their work that day. As the  topics are getting more difficult, I explain the grammar and then sit next to the kids as they work so I don't have to go back and check it separately...and I can make sure that no one peeks under the sticky notes. ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The TE is giant, I agree! If we take school with us during the day, Easy Grammar always stays home, it's exhausting to take anywhere!

 

I was trying to save $$ so I only bought the TE and I cover up the answer page with sticky notes as the kids do their work that day. As the  topics are getting more difficult, I explain the grammar and then sit next to the kids as they work so I don't have to go back and check it separately...and I can make sure that no one peeks under the sticky notes. ;)

 

So cumbersome!

 

Pam

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Am I the only one TIRED of dragging out this HUGE TE  (times 3!)?  On top of all the copying!   :(

I know you can buy the student pages, but it looks like they don't have the teacher's notes in them, so I'd still have to keep the TE handy, besides when I'm correcting (times 3!).   :(

 

Pam

 

I buy a student workbook for each child, because my time is worth it. So, yeah, my teacher edition plus the student workbook.

 

Of course the student text wouldn't have the answers in it. :-)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've always thought it was ridiculous--make a TM and a Student book. I don't want to have the Student use the pages in the TM. I did purchase separate Student books--I knew up front I wouldn't want to make copies!

 

When my kids did it, I had them both in the same level (they were 6th and 8th, using Plus). So, I pulled the manual out once and corrected both pages at once--that simplified things for me :-).

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've always thought it was ridiculous--make a TM and a Student book. I don't want to have the Student use the pages in the TM. I did purchase separate Student books--I knew up front I wouldn't want to make copies!

 

When my kids did it, I had them both in the same level (they were 6th and 8th, using Plus). So, I pulled the manual out once and corrected both pages at once--that simplified things for me :-).

 

Really? Huh. Most textbooks have a student edition and a teacher edition. Why would EG be different? :confused1:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I always have the spine cut from my TM and hole punched.  I put in a big binder and I pull out the student pages, which are typically on the right-hand side, and insert them into page protectors for my son to complete with dry erase.  Then I will check them against the answer key on the left-hand side....wash, rinse, repeat.  If we are going somewhere and I need to take multiple pages, I will stagger which ones I give him at any time because the stinker is smart enough to figure out that if I give him 5 pages, he will have the answer key since the pages are front and back....lol. This method also helps me save the books for his younger sisters in a few years.

 

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Really? Huh. Most textbooks have a student edition and a teacher edition. Why would EG be different? :confused1:

 

Most others have reduced student pages with the answers.  EG is so huge because it has the full student page & a full size answer page all in one.  I know you can get the student pages separately, but you can't separate the TE from the student pages to reduce the bulk I have in my little space.  

 

I did take the bindings off and put them in 3 ring binders, but it is also a pain to switch out a week of answer pages into separate notebooks to make them more manageable.

 

Just saying it's a pain.  :(

 

 

Pam

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I bought the kids their own copies in addition to the Teacher's copy.  

 

However, at the end of the school year we did EG, my kids had dropped down a grade.  :(  They knew less at the end of the year then they had going in.  :(  (This was 2 years ago.)

 

I was pretty unhappy.  I think they ended up knowing less because they could figure out the "trick" to getting the right answers without having to really think about it.  All the problems on each page were about the same thing and they could do it mindlessly after a few problems.  They didn't really engage with the book and they didn't retain anything beyond a few days, so by the end of the year, they hadn't maintained what they already knew and forgot some of it as well.

 

We switched to CLE where there is a constant mixture of types of problems.  You might have to find the noun for #s 1-5, then you're working on punctuation for #6-10, then you're using some vocab words for #11-20, etc.  A grammar book with many different types of questions forces you to think as you move through the problems.  You don't learn about nouns for a week and then never see them again.  Every few lessons, nouns will come back up, so you have to either remember, or pop back in the book and refresh your memory about it: a spiral program. 

 

 

 

 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I bought the kids their own copies in addition to the Teacher's copy.  

 

However, at the end of the school year we did EG, my kids had dropped down a grade.   :(  They knew less at the end of the year then they had going in.   :(  (This was 2 years ago.)

 

I was pretty unhappy.  I think they ended up knowing less because they could figure out the "trick" to getting the right answers without having to really think about it.  All the problems on each page were about the same thing and they could do it mindlessly after a few problems.  They didn't really engage with the book and they didn't retain anything beyond a few days, so by the end of the year, they hadn't maintained what they already knew and forgot some of it as well.

 

We switched to CLE where there is a constant mixture of types of problems.  You might have to find the noun for #s 1-5, then you're working on punctuation for #6-10, then you're using some vocab words for #11-20, etc.  A grammar book with many different types of questions forces you to think as you move through the problems.  You don't learn about nouns for a week and then never see them again.  Every few lessons, nouns will come back up, so you have to either remember, or pop back in the book and refresh your memory about it: a spiral program. 

 

Thank you for posting!

 

I just ordered CLE LA for 3, 5, & 6.  I looked at them before, have a love/hate for R&S, but went with EG.  I don't like it....after HOURS of copying this past summer.  :(    Looking forward to a new approach.  Your review was encouraging!  

 

Pam

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Didn't even make it that long here. :laugh:

 

Pam

 

Ha! Well, I don't blame you. You were doing it with three; I was only running one kid. Who very quickly spotted the patterns and turned in perfect papers without needing to understand anything. I did like the preposition thing at the beginning, but that's all it had going for it.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

We only made it a few months here, and that was almost 2 years ago. Unfortunately we haven't really found another one we like (secular), and I keep looking at the EG on the shelf wondering if I want to try it again. The kids don't have those questions, my older two definitely don't want to try it again.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Really? Huh. Most textbooks have a student edition and a teacher edition. Why would EG be different? :confused1:

 

What I wrote was "make a TM and a Student book." I suppose that isn't 100% clear! What EG creates is not just a TM (that's what I want!)--it's a TM and Student book combined. All of the student pages are in the TM so that a person can theoretically buy JUST the TM and nothing else. (I emailed the company and this is what I was told). I found it a complete waste of paper. Kids don't want to work out of a big huge book like that (or at least my kids would not have wanted to--they would have been overwhelmed), plus the answers are on the facing page (which has the exact same student page AGAIN but with the answers). So now you have an overly huge book and temptation for kids. Or, you have to use them like masters and copy them (impractical with such an unwieldy book, though not impossible). I felt it was a waste of paper (and actually, that big thick book dissuaded me from even trying EG for several years, which is a shame). 

 

So I'm saying--don't combine them. Make a TM that is just a TM. It would be so much easier to flip through a book with half the pages!

Edited by MerryAtHope
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think it's swell after dealing with R&S. I thought that was cumbersome. I love the open and go-ness of EG for myself and the student, but also know that they'll get more grammar in their Latin and foreign language. Editing and spelling work they get elsewhere from other writing as well.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...