Differences Between MCT Levels?

[wendyroo]

My third grader is using MCT's Island Level this year and it is going very well.  We really enjoyed Grammar Island, and the practice book is offering a perfect challenge level.  Right now (only ~5 sentences into the Practice book), he is mis-classifying  one or two things in each sentence, but I'm hoping that all the information will solidify over the coming months and that by the 100th sentence he will have mastered that difficulty level.

 

I keep vacillating about what to do next.  I have read lots of old threads about MCT, and the general consensus seems to be that Grammar Town pretty much just re-covers the same information as Grammar Island and that Practice Town is just a very small step up from Practice Island.

 

If you were going to pick and choose, and only do some of the levels (focusing on the grammar books, not so much the vocab/poetry/writing), which would you do?

 

Next year, for 4th grade, I was considering using Junior Analytical Grammar and Mechanics along with Caesar’s English 1 and Building Poems.

 

Then in fifth I would have him do Voyage level (minus Essay voyage) and in 6th move right to Magic Lens 1 which I hear starts teaching more in depth grammar concepts.

 

Thoughts?  Experiences?

 

Thanks.

[GeoKitty]

I would do Town Level for fourth. It is wonderful. Then keep moving along through the levels. But that’s just me. There is also a new literature level (level 4 i they call it now) .

[silver]

We've done the Island level and have finished Grammar Town and are part-way through Practice Town. The Town level adds two types of phrases. So while Island only covered prepositional phrases, Town covers prepositional phrases, appositive phrases, and verbal phrases. Under verbal phrases are gerunds, participles, and infinitives. I assume they'll all be covered again in the Voyage level, but Practice Town so gradually introduces these new phrases that it seems worthwhile to do with a student that doesn't have any practice with them.

[LMD]

Paragraph Town also adds a lot, it's different from Sentence Island (though the same story style)

Practice Town is very similar.

 

I personally wouldn't skip essay Voyage - it's my favourite.

 

I don't think there's anything wrong with your plan though.

[Targhee]

I skipped island and did town, then no grammar the next year, then The Magic Lens 1. Done this for two kids. I like MCT material a lot! But recall most public schools, even gifted programs, review a LOT. There is a step up from Island to Town. With third child we did Island and then skipped a year. She's in 2nd year of public now, but if she comes home in 6th I will do Town with her.