tdbates78 Posted September 3, 2020 Share Posted September 3, 2020 Hello everyone! My 5th graders are doing CLE Language arts and we just don't love it. I switched from BJU last year. I really liked BJU, and my girls liked BJU, but retention was a big problem. They did well day-to-day with the lessons, but really struggled with the language arts component of the standardized test. So we switched to CLE at the end of last school year because I liked the constant review and repetition. We use CLE for math and it works wonders for my girls so I had high hopes for their LA curriculum. I just don't feel it always explains new topics very well. Today we were working on adverbs versus prepositions and even I couldn't make sense of some of the answers to the questions. I ended up purchasing a separate bundle through Teachers Pay Teacher so we can work through it before picking back up with CLE again. I'm hoping to find something similar to CLE in repetition and review but maybe more colorful and with clearer teaching. I don't need a spelling, writing or penmanship component, as we do all of those separately. My girls are very much the get-it-done workbook type. I've been looking at Abeka. I skimmed through it at a local homeschool consignment shop and was intrigued. I would only purchase the language component, not the entire package that comes with spelling, reading etc. My girls are strong readers but not strong at grammar. Any suggestions? How does Abeka compare to CLE? Thank you! Tracy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan in TX Posted September 3, 2020 Share Posted September 3, 2020 Take a look at Rod and Staff . It is a traditional textbook and it is not colorful but there is a lot of review. Each book reviews and builds on the previous one. There is so much review that some of it can even be skipped. It is written for classroom use so we don't do all of it. We skip the oral drill and I just have my child read the chapter and do the written exercises. Although some kids might find the oral drill helpful. Susan in TX Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted September 3, 2020 Share Posted September 3, 2020 (edited) In my writing curriculum the way I address adverbs and prepositional phrases is to look at how the words function as a whole. For example, The fairy flew down the hill. If the sentence were simply, The fairy flew down, down would be an adverb. Since adverbs are not necessary for a sentence, you can remove them and the sentence will make sense. In the original sentence you should be able to recognize that down cannot be an adverb bc the sentence, The fairy flew the hill, makes no sense bc hill is obviously not a direct object. Down the hill functions as a single unit describing where the fairy flew and therefore down is acting as a preposition. In the sentence, The boy threw down the pencil, down can be moved/removed without changing the meaning of the sentence, The boy threw the pencil (down). Pencil is the direct object receiving the action of the throwing and down is simply an adverb describing where. Does that help? Edited September 3, 2020 by 8FillTheHeart 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdbates78 Posted September 3, 2020 Author Share Posted September 3, 2020 (edited) Thank you all. I will take a look at Rod and Staff! I have never used any of their curriculum so I'm off to do some research. 8FillTheHeart, thank you! I know the difference myself but trying to explain to my not-interested 10 year olds, based on the CLE explanation, wasn't working. And based on their explanation there were a few answers to questions that didn't make sense/seemed to be wrong (ex: labeled as a preposition instead of an adverb). This has happened a few times throughout previous lessons, and it frustrates us all. I personally never had any problems with grammar so I find the answers to be obvious. My twins definitely do not! I found some fun worksheets through TPT that I think/hope will help. Edited September 3, 2020 by tdbates78 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Another Lynn Posted September 3, 2020 Share Posted September 3, 2020 Hake/Saxon has lots of review. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdbates78 Posted September 4, 2020 Author Share Posted September 4, 2020 I looked into R&S today and I'm not sure it would work. There doesn't seem to be enough review? I will look into Hake/Saxon as well. Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted September 5, 2020 Share Posted September 5, 2020 9 hours ago, tdbates78 said: I looked into R&S today and I'm not sure it would work. There doesn't seem to be enough review? I will look into Hake/Saxon as well. Thank you! Oh, gosh, there's plenty of review in *all* of R&S's materials. R&S English is very comprehensive, but it is a traditional textbook style, and not everyone likes textbooks. 🙂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdbates78 Posted September 5, 2020 Author Share Posted September 5, 2020 OKBud, you sold me on FLL! I used FLL 1 when we first started homeschooling. I don't know why it didn't occur to me to give it a look again. I just checked out some samples of FLL 4 and I decided to give it a try. With good ol' Amazon Prime I'll get both workbooks and the teachers manual tomorrow. That will give me time to go over it before we resume school after the holiday. I think/hope this will fit the bill. I'm looking forward to giving it a try. Thank you for the recommendation! Thank you everyone for your help! Tracy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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