Help me choose 6th grade grammar

[athena1277]

DS is finishing 5th grade.  We used FLL for 1st-4th.  We started 5th with R&S and I quickly saw that it was too much writing for him and he needed more instruction than I was able to easily give.  We switched to the new GWTM as soon as it came out.  I liked it at first, but it has gotten to be too hard for 5th, imho.  We were supposed to do lesson 73 today.  I just couldn’t get through it.  I’m calling it done for the year (we only have about 2weeks left).  

Now I’m really having to rethink grammar for next year.  I have no idea where to go.  I need something that’s “open and go.”  It also can’t have too much writing.  I don’t want anything that’s too fluffy, but not something so in depth that it gets frustrating.

Ideas, please!

[Ellie]

For just grammar and little writing, Easy Grammar Plus.

[alisha]

My 5th grade writing phobic (not quite that bad) son loved Winston Grammar (basic) this year. I think we're going to go through Daily Grammar (dailygrammar.com- as opposed to Daily Grams), next year. It's free.

[Targhee]

MCT front loads grammar instruction, then there is daily independent practice with sentence analysis (it is not traditional diagramming though). You would probably start at the Literature level or Magic Lens 1. The first 6-10 weeks are working together on the concepts, but the rest of the year is maintenance.  It is open and go in a "do the next thing" sort of way - no prep, no extra materials, just lots of discussion.  Sentence analysis Exercises only require labeling (e.g. D.O., prep phrase, etc).

Analytical grammar is similar in there are seasons of teaching with review work by student in between.

[Holly]

What about starting at the beginning with the next GftWTM workbook next year?  Or was it that painful?  We just started it a month ago, so we aren't too far into it yet, but I remember her saying you could start at the beginning each year and go quickly through the material they'd already mastered.  Buying the next workbook would likely be cheaper than switching programs. 

I am glad I placed my 5th grader in FLL with her younger sister!   GftWTM is no joke!  I almost placed her in GftWTM with my older two and it would have been a huge struggle for her.  She is not very strong on grammar at this point. 

We used Junior Analytical Grammar earlier in the year, but it was too easy for my older ones and too difficult for my 3rd child.  However, it might be a good fit for your DD.  There is little writing and it's less intense than GftWTM. 

[caedmyn]

We used Get Smart Grammar (one year diagramming-based program) this year for 6th.  It presents things clearly and my DD understands it for the most part which is pretty good for her (she still randomly forgets what a preposition is, after 6 years of grammar).

[Momto6inIN]

Analytical Grammar has been great for my oldest 3 so far. Open and go, spread our over 3 middle school years, and very thorough. A bit pricey but worth it in my opinion.

[TheAttachedMama]

7 hours ago, caedmyn said:

We used Get Smart Grammar (one year diagramming-based program) this year for 6th.  It presents things clearly and my DD understands it for the most part which is pretty good for her (she still randomly forgets what a preposition is, after 6 years of grammar).

 

Could you tell me more about this program?   How many days per week do you do grammar?  (I see there are 38 lessons from the sample, but not sure how they would divide.)    How long would you say that grammar takes per day?   Do you watch a video each day, or one time per week?  (Things like that.)

 I am trying to decide between Analytical Grammar vs Get Smart Grammar.    I feel like Grammar for the well trained mind is a bit teacher intensive for me!   

[fourisenough]

I vote for Analytical Grammar. Either do it with your child or consider buying their videos. It’s so straight-forward and solid. Can be very hands-off depending on your child’s level of independence generally. My DD13 did it in two years so we could finish before beginning Latin 1. She really knows her grammar.

[monalisa]

We liked Saxon Grammar (didn't use writing part) for 5th-8th.  I let my dd write in the textbook as if it was a workbook.  The daily review worked very well for my dd.  I liked that it included daily vocabulary words also.

[caedmyn]

On 5/1/2018 at 5:46 AM, TheAttachedMama said:

 

Could you tell me more about this program?   How many days per week do you do grammar?  (I see there are 38 lessons from the sample, but not sure how they would divide.)    How long would you say that grammar takes per day?   Do you watch a video each day, or one time per week?  (Things like that.)

 I am trying to decide between Analytical Grammar vs Get Smart Grammar.    I feel like Grammar for the well trained mind is a bit teacher intensive for me!   

One video per lesson, or they could just read the new teaching for each lesson.  I had DD double up the first couple of lessons since they were the easiest, to fit it into 36 weeks.  There is the new teaching and then 5 sentences to diagram per lesson plus occasional quizzes (some lessons are just review plus the sentences).  We school 4 days/week and I scheduled the new teaching + 2 sentences for M and 1 sentence a day after that.  You could easily schedule it 2 days/week if you wanted.  I would say it averages 20-25 minutes on Mondays (less for the first part of the book) and 5-10 minutes a day after that...10 mins only if she had a lot of trouble remembering which part of speech things were.  It's entirely independent unless she can't figure out what part of speech something is.

[kesmom]

We have really liked Fix-It Grammar.

 

 

[Mom28kds]

I did Essentials in Writing for 5th and think I'm going to do this in 6th as well. They watch a 5 minute video each day then do the work. First half of the year is grammar and 2nd is composition. 

[Knock]

Another vote for Analytical Grammar. I've used it with multiple students, and it's even worked for different learning styles. I also appreciate that it gives ample time for each year's lessons (called "seasons") - it's enough work to last a year, but falling a week or month behind on work isn't going to make you want to cry and give up on grammar. (I have BTDT with Shurley, which is what I used prior to Analytical Grammar.) I also used Easy Grammar and Daily Grams, but not for middle school. I loved the foundation they set with identifying prepositions, but my older students didn't retain much after that, which is when we switched to Shurley. 

[ByGrace3]

I  have one child in Analytical Grammar and one in Fix It Grammar. I like them both, but AG is much more in depth (of course we are in Season 3 of AG and only finishing book 2 of Fix It).I will say, however, that my child doing AG is begging for Fix It next year ?  

[cintinative]

On 4/30/2018 at 6:44 PM, Holly said:

What about starting at the beginning with the next GftWTM workbook next year?  Or was it that painful?  We just started it a month ago, so we aren't too far into it yet, but I remember her saying you could start at the beginning each year and go quickly through the material they'd already mastered.  Buying the next workbook would likely be cheaper than switching programs. 

 

 

We are at about week 26 of GWTM and I do not recommend it if you do not want an intense, rigorous grammar course.  The first ten weeks I felt like it was a good next step from FLL4 and then it ramped up totally and became very rigorous and we are now spending two to three days on a single lesson. We are learning a lot however.  

 It *is* open and go though, OP.

[Maryam]

On 5/3/2018 at 10:22 PM, Knock said:

Another vote for Analytical Grammar. I've used it with multiple students, and it's even worked for different learning styles. I also appreciate that it gives ample time for each year's lessons (called "seasons") - it's enough work to last a year, but falling a week or month behind on work isn't going to make you want to cry and give up on grammar. (I have BTDT with Shurley, which is what I used prior to Analytical Grammar.) I also used Easy Grammar and Daily Grams, but not for middle school. I loved the foundation they set with identifying prepositions, but my older students didn't retain much after that, which is when we switched to Shurley. 

I am in the same dilemma as OP so totally following! GWTM (used with 8th grader) was too teacher intensive and not enough review imho. I quit half way through too. It’s a good curriculum but not a good fit for dd and me. So two questions:

- Can my dd (9th grade next year) do Analytical Grammar independently? And does she need videos to do so? Does it include enough review?

- my current 4th grader will have finished FLL4 by next year. Will she transition into Junior Analytical Grammar or Analytical Grammar in 5th? 

[fourisenough]

1 hour ago, Maryam said:

 

- Can my dd (9th grade next year) do Analytical Grammar independently? And does she need videos to do so? Does it include enough review?

- my current 4th grader will have finished FLL4 by next year. Will she transition into Junior Analytical Grammar or Analytical Grammar in 5th? 

Yes, I would say AG contains enough review and can be done quite independently. I didn’t use videos, but if your DD learns better that way, I’d consider buying them.

I would put your rising 5th grader in AG Jr. It’s fantastic and much more age-appropriate.

[mama mills]

On 5/1/2018 at 6:22 AM, Momto5inIN said:

Analytical Grammar has been great for my oldest 3 so far. Open and go, spread our over 3 middle school years, and very thorough. A bit pricey but worth it in my opinion.

This was the answer to the question I wanted to ask about analytical grammar. Thank You!