9th grade English advice

[LongRamblings]

My daughter is entering ninth grade and I would love your advice for our English/Language Arts curriculum.  Her achievement test scores showed well above level in reading, average in vocabulary and  grammar.  Even though we made slight progress in writing this year both of us found Write Shop 1 difficult to use and the result has left her behind in writing.  She hates reading and prefers workbook style learning rather than my preference of  Charlotte Mason style.  We used English Lessons Through Literature as well this year but it was like pulling teeth. I also need to choose more independent choices for her as I have an 7th and 5th grader. Now I am not sure what to choose for next year. Below is a list of curriculum that I am considering and would love your thoughts. 
 

The Good and the Beautiful (too Charlotte Mason? Not independent enough? )

 

Learning Language Arts Through Literature ( love the look of this. The samples seem workbook enough for her and CM enough for me. I don’t know what level to choose. To meet state requirements I would need to go with Gold but is it too advanced for a beginner writer? Is there a way to make it work or should I choose a different level and work up?) 

create my own program:

Spelling: continue with Sequential Spelling

Vocab:???

Writing:continue Write Shop 1 since she is learning even though slow and cumbersome 

Grammar: Fix It Grammar (she previously used Easy Grammar and wants a change)

Literature:???

 

 

 

Edited May 26, 2021 by LongRamblings

[Lori D.]

15 hours ago, LongRamblings said:

My daughter is entering ninth grade and I would love your advice for our English/Language Arts curriculum...
...scores showed well above level in reading, average in vocabulary and  grammar...
...Write Shop 1 difficult to use and the result has left her behind in writing...
... She hates reading...
...prefers workbook style learning rather than my preference of  Charlotte Mason style...
...English Lessons Through Literature... was like pulling teeth...
... I also need... more independent choices for her as I have an 7th and 5th grader...

...Below is a list of curriculum that I am considering and would love your thoughts
- The Good and the Beautiful (too Charlotte Mason? Not independent enough? )
- Learning Language Arts Through Literature (...I would need to go with Gold but is it too advanced for a beginner writer? Is there a way to make it work or should I choose a different level and work up?) ...
- create my own program:
- Spelling: continue with Sequential Spelling
- Vocab:???
- Writing:continue Write Shop 1 since she is learning even though slow and cumbersome 
- Grammar: Fix It Grammar (she previously used Easy Grammar and wants a change)
- Literature:???

Gently, and meaning this with all good will, from your post I see a few potential red flags that might be signaling a problem that might need to be addressed before considering / choosing curricula:

- DD scores above average in reading level -- but hates reading
- DD is behind in Writing -- many average students don't start to "click" with writing until about 9th grade when the logical thinking and analysis portions of the brain start maturing -- BUT, if there are other issues (struggles with getting thoughts from brain onto paper, run-ons and no punctuation/capitalization, regularly missing words or mis-worded sentence structure, etc. -- can indicate some underlying problems with processing / thinking / writing
- Sequential Spelling -- can be used by regular spellers -- BUT, it's also a good fit for students with dyslexia, so if Sequential Spelling is working for DD, and because she is still needing spelling beyond 8th grade, that can suggest the possibility of a learning issue
- workbooks -- can certainly be the student's preferred learning style -- but workbooks can also be easy to learn the trick of filling in the blank and avoid actual thinking or wrestling with the material for learning (which is a critical aspect of learning in high school -- analysis and synthesis)
- workbooks, because of their independent nature, can also make it easier for the student to "mask" possible LDs, by working away from parent oversight/involvement that could catch learning problems 

So, please disregard if I'm reading out of context. 😉 -- I had the experience of DS#2 with mild Stealth Dyslexia (affected Spelling and Writing to a large degree, and Reading to a lesser degree -- and Math to a huge degree.) But if you think that DD has been successfully masking mild LDs up to this point might be a possibility, I would get some testing to rule out vision convergence issues, stealth dyslexia, or other vision problems or mild LDs/processing issues FIRST.

And then I would think hard about how this particular student best takes in information and processes it (actually learns), along with thinking about what kind of *learning* needs to happen in high school -- reading, thinking, and interacting with the material (discussion, analysis,  synthesis).

And FINALLY I would start researching curricula to see what was the best fit as far as any possible LDs, the student's needs in learning style, and what materials best help *this* student step up into high school level work. JMO, so use or toss, as it helps (or not). 😉 

All that said, below are ideas for the different areas of LA for 9th grade English. Wishing you and DD all the BEST for a GREAT 9th grade English adventure! Warmest regards, Lori D.
____________________

LITERATURE

 LLATL
We used excerpts from the Gold levels of American and British Lit. It is "light". There is very little help or instruction for the literature, there are only a small handful of questions about the literature, and they are mostly comprehension, NOT thinking/discussion questions. There are a few ideas for writing assignments or projects, but no writing instruction and no grading rubric for the writing. LLATL is designed for the student who enjoys independent reading of classics; researching on their own about author / times/ the literature; and coming up with their own ideas for what to write about. So, yes it's independent, but no, it's not going to fit for a student who is not a self-motivated and eager learner.

Good & the Beautiful
JMO: All-in-one programs RARELY work -- most students do not fit neatly at the level of all of the Language Arts topics being covered. Also, G&B only covers OLD literature, so no exposure to or wrestling with contemporary issues or literature that is more recent than works published 75-100 years ago. No experience with any of the G&B levels, but FWIW, I hear that the topics covered in the elementary levels are all over the place in level, and that the middle/high school levels miss the mark in teaching needed skills for literature and writing.

Other options:
- together DIY: Figuratively Speaking + poems & short stories (ideas in this thread: "Figuratively Speaking paired with short stories"
- mostly independent: Lightning Literature 8 -- for gr. 7-9
- hybrid (together/solo work): Oak Meadow: The Hero's Journey -- complete 9th grade English program (Lit. & Writing)
- hybrid (outsource/some parent oversight) Lantern English: take 4 of the Literature 8-week courses + 4 of their Essay Writing series 8-week courses
____________________

WRITING

Write Shop
If it didn't work last year, it's not going to magically start working now (if only, right? 😉 ), so I'd switch to something else. Ideas:

Essentials in Writing (by grade level -- use the placement guide)
Video-based lessons. Also has an optional scoring service for $99 to grade/provide feedback on several of the writing assignements during the year. (If going with this program and wanting the scoring, sign up NOW, as these slots go fast.)

Jump In (gr. 6-9)
Fairly independent; covers all 4 types of writing (Descriptive, Narrative, Expository, Persuasive); teaches basic paragraph structure and moves from single paragraphs into multi-paragraph essays; helps guide the student in thinking of what to say, and how to organize their thoughts/writing. (It is designed to take 2 years by having the student do 4 weeks of free writing from provided prompts after finishing each unit, but we found the prompts to be lame and repetitive, so we skipped that and did the program in 1 year, no problems.)

Lantern English online writing classes
You would still need to help some at home, but all of the assignments and feedback are from an outside source, which can reduce a lot of friction of trying to work with writing with your child. (Many MANY children work better with writing for someone outside the home rather than for a parent.) I recommend taking four 8-week long classes of the Essay Basics series. Lantern also offers separate 
____________________

SPELLING and GRAMMAR
Sequential Spelling and Fix-It sound like good fits for your student.

Most students are done with these topics by the end of 8th grade, but if your student needs more support in these areas, definitely continue to work on these areas through 9th grade, or even all through high school, if needed. (For example: I had my average speller DS#1 doing Spelling through 10th grade, and my struggling speller DS#2 do pretty intensive spelling through 12th grade. Both had finished formal Grammar instruction by the end of 8th grade, but I had them do light Grammar review 2x/week for 10 minutes all through high school, just to keep fresh with Grammar esp. as it applied to Writing.)
____________________

VOCABULARY
Often comes in context of the Literature so you may not need a separate program. But if a workbook works best for this student, check out this series: 
Vocabulary From Classical Roots

Edited May 26, 2021 by Lori D.

[LongRamblings]

1 hour ago, Lori D. said:

Gently, and meaning this with all good will, from your post I see a few potential red flags that might be signaling a problem that might need to be addressed before considering / choosing curricula:

- DD scores above average in reading level -- but hates reading
- DD is behind in Writing -- many average students don't start to "click" with writing until about 9th grade when the logical thinking and analysis portions of the brain start maturing -- BUT, if there are other issues (struggles with getting thoughts from brain onto paper, run-ons and no punctuation/capitalization, regularly missing words or mis-worded sentence structure, etc. -- can indicate some underlying problems with processing / thinking / writing
- Sequential Spelling -- can be used by regular spellers -- BUT, it's also a good fit for students with dyslexia, so if Sequential Spelling is working for DD, and because she is still needing spelling beyond 8th grade, that can suggest the possibility of a learning issue
- workbooks -- can certainly be the student's preferred learning style -- but workbooks can also be easy to learn the trick of filling in the blank and avoid actual thinking or wrestling with the material for learning (which is a critical aspect of learning in high school -- analysis and synthesis)
- workbooks, because of their independent nature, can also make it easier for the student to "mask" possible LDs, by working away from parent oversight/involvement that could catch learning problems 

So, please disregard if I'm reading out of context. 😉 -- I had the experience of DS#2 with mild Stealth Dyslexia (affected Spelling and Writing to a large degree, and Reading to a lesser degree -- and Math to a huge degree.) But if you think that DD has been successfully masking mild LDs up to this point might be a possibility, I would get some testing to rule out vision convergence issues, stealth dyslexia, or other vision problems or mild LDs/processing issues FIRST.

And then I would think hard about how this particular student best takes in information and processes it (actually learns), along with thinking about what kind of *learning* needs to happen in high school -- reading, thinking, and interacting with the material (discussion, analysis,  synthesis).

And FINALLY I would start researching curricula to see what was the best fit as far as any possible LDs, the student's needs in learning style, and what materials best help *this* student step up into high school level work. JMO, so use or toss, as it helps (or not). 😉 

All that said, below are ideas for the different areas of LA for 9th grade English. Wishing you and DD all the BEST for a GREAT 9th grade English adventure! Warmest regards, Lori D.
____________________

LITERATURE

 LLATL
We used excerpts from the Gold levels of American and British Lit. It is "light". There is very little help or instruction for the literature, there are only a small handful of questions about the literature, and they are mostly comprehension, NOT thinking/discussion questions. There are a few ideas for writing assignments or projects, but no writing instruction and no grading rubric for the writing. LLATL is designed for the student who enjoys independent reading of classics; researching on their own about author / times/ the literature; and coming up with their own ideas for what to write about. So, yes it's independent, but no, it's not going to fit for a student who is not a self-motivated and eager learner.

Good & the Beautiful
JMO: All-in-one programs RARELY work -- most students do not fit neatly at the level of all of the Language Arts topics being covered. Also, G&B only covers OLD literature, so no exposure to or wrestling with contemporary issues or literature that is more recent than works published 75-100 years ago. No experience with any of the G&B levels, but FWIW, I hear that the topics covered in the elementary levels are all over the place in level, and that the middle/high school levels miss the mark in teaching needed skills for literature and writing.

Other options:
- together DIY: Figuratively Speaking + poems & short stories (ideas in this thread: "Figuratively Speaking paired with short stories")
- mostly independent: Lightning Literature 8 -- for gr. 7-9
- hybrid (together/solo work): Oak Meadow: The Hero's Journey -- complete 9th grade English program (Lit. & Writing)
- Lantern English: take 4 of the Literature 8-week courses + 4 of their Essay Writing series 8-week courses
____________________

WRITING

Write Shop
If it didn't work last year, it's not going to magically start working now (if only, right? 😉 ), so I'd switch to something else. Ideas:

Essentials in Writing (by grade level -- use the placement guide)
Video-based lessons. Also has an optional scoring service for $99 to grade/provide feedback on several of the writing assignements during the year. (If going with this program and wanting the scoring, sign up NOW, as these slots go fast.)

Jump In (gr. 6-9)
Fairly independent; covers all 4 types of writing (Descriptive, Narrative, Expository, Persuasive); teaches basic paragraph structure and moves from single paragraphs into multi-paragraph essays; helps guide the student in thinking of what to say, and how to organize their thoughts/writing. (It is designed to take 2 years by having the student do 4 weeks of free writing from provided prompts after finishing each unit, but we found the prompts to be lame and repetitive, so we skipped that and did the program in 1 year, no problems.)

Lantern English online writing classes
You would still need to help some at home, but all of the assignments and feedback are from an outside source, which can reduce a lot of friction of trying to work with writing with your child. (Many MANY children work better with writing for someone outside the home rather than for a parent.) I recommend taking four 8-week long classes of the Essay Basics series. Lantern also offers separate 
____________________

SPELLING and GRAMMAR
Sequential Spelling and Fix-It sound like good fits for your student.

Most students are done with these topics by the end of 8th grade, but if your student needs more support in these areas, definitely continue to work on these areas through 9th grade, or even all through high school, if needed. (For example: I had my average speller DS#1 doing Spelling through 10th grade, and my struggling speller DS#2 do pretty intensive spelling through 12th grade. Both had finished formal Grammar instruction by the end of 8th grade, but I had them do light Grammar review 2x/week for 10 minutes all through high school, just to keep fresh with Grammar esp. as it applied to Writing.)
____________________

VOCABULARY
Often comes in context of the Literature so you may not need a separate program. But if a workbook works best for this student, check out this series: 
Vocabulary From Classical Roots

Thank you for taking the time to give me such great advice. I understand why my post may seem to imply that my daughter has a language disorder even though that wasn't my attention.  In truth her issues are more with my downfalls rather than her own. I have three older children that have graduated or currently attending college. Our eldest two chose to attend public school after homeschooling a while. My third eldest struggled with school from the very beginning and it wasn't until middle school that we realized she was dyslexic and had an auditory processing disorder. It was extremely difficult figuring what worked best.  My younger kids excelled at whatever programs I gave them so I began to focus more strongly on daughter #3.  Daughter #4, the current 9th grader the post is about, loved reading at this time and excelled with all the classes she is average at now. I allowed her to choose the books she wanted to read but there was a required amount to accomplish.  Daughter #3 Junior and Senior years were so difficult with playing catchup for graduation that I didn't realize my daughter #4 becoming a teen and doing just enough to officially finish. She kept her scores A/B range and slowly read less and less without heavy prompting.  I tried to stay on top of everything but I had to spend so much time preparing my oldest for graduation. Then 2020 hit. It may not have impacted other homeschoolers drastically with school but became a factor with ours. We lost 5 family members to corona, some distant but all hitting hard. We also had several that were hospitalized with severe symptoms that recovered.  Of our closest family members, numbering 34, 25 of them had corona and this doesn't even account for friends or the time we were exposed. My eldest was the only one that had corona of our household. My stepdad, their grandfather, passed away from corona 2 weeks from our first planned visit in a year.  Then I had a medical issue arise that slowed us down for a couple of weeks. Any other year it would have been handled quickly but doctor's appointments were much harder. In the end, we like everyone else struggled and I was just happy to be able to get their school must do's completed. Daughter # 3 graduated and will graduate top of class in cosmetology school in a few weeks.  This year we have worked diligently on our school and accomplished so much but I came to the realization that daughter #4 is slacking whenever possible. Again, she is doing the work and capable of more but not pushing herself unless I am on top of her.  She is bad to pull up other tabs on her computer while doing her math classes online rather than spending the entire amount of time on studying. Or  she claims she  is reading but will waste time daydreaming, phone,, computer, until caught.  Etc. Obviously from her reading scores on achievement tests she isn't struggling with it as much as she pretends.  Anyway, I would like to choose a program that does give her independence so that I can not have her my primary focus of the three yet still where I can step in and make sure she is implementing it well.  I am going to try to push her harder while maintaining  more balance than I did with our previous daughter.  So now you know my deep dark secret. 

[chiguirre]

If you dd loves workbooks but you'd like to introduce more literary analysis and critical thinking, I think Glencoe's Literature Library would be a good fit. There are free pdfs for many of the classic middle school and high school books. They're laid out like workbooks, but it's not straight fill-in-the-blank type work. If you buy the Glencoe editions used on Amazon they have the supplementary readings that accompany the main text. These are non-fiction articles that highlight an aspect of the main text. 

http://www.glencoe.com/sec/literature/litlibrary/#:~:text=Glencoe Literature offers a collection,full-length novels and plays.

[Lori D.]

(((((hugs))))) So, so very sorry for all of the loss and difficulties you and your family have experienced in the past years, and especially during the pandemic. 😪

It is hard to not only get back into a school rhythm and back up to speed, after all the disruption you all have suffered, but to also have to move into a  new and higher gear of high school.

Perhaps you and DD#4 could use this summer to build a foundation, but in a fun way. Perhaps practice "digging deeper" and analyzing by doing so with films, rather than books? Or, choose a few shorter classics you can read together or listen to together, and then watch the film version, and discuss/compare? Or possibly enjoy using parts of the Movies as Literature program together?

I'm "liking" @chiguirre 's suggestion about the Glencoe Lit. Library guides (you can print the pdfs from the website if you prefer to have DD have a hard copy to work with rather than the computer 😉 ) -- but I would strongly encourage doing some of those books together. That would allow the 2 of you to select some high-interest books to start with, and transition into high school Literature -- all while you still see that the work IS getting done. 😉 

Another possibility: if your students would enjoy The Lord of the Rings (AND if the 9th & 7th graders *get along*, lol), perhaps combine the 9th and 7th graders and do the year-long Literary Lessons from the Lord of the Rings study all together. Read aloud together, or listen together to the complete edition by Rob Inglis, and then do the end-of-chapter notes and questions together. You could also have 9th grader do on her own several of the additional works discussed in the study, and use a Glencoe guide to go with some of those works. (Some of the works referenced in the study include: Beowulf, Macbeth, Midsummer Night's Dream, the Iliad or the Odyssey, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.)

I *totally* understand the need for independence with 9th grader due to having 7th and 5th grader -- BUT... you may have to adjust your timetable and priorities for this year (or at least the first semester of this next year), and really help 9th grader get on track and into a good (i.e. NOT distracted) style of homeschooling and self-learning, with a lot of oversight and 1-on-1 interaction and discussion with YOU. And that needs to happen before you can loosen the reins a bit with 9th grader and expect that independent work WILL happen consistently and responsibly ;). And THEN you will be able to schedule more time and attention to the younger 2 students. Otherwise, there could be a very BIG potential for 9th grader falling through the cracks.

And honestly, as long as the 2 younger students are on track with their LA and Math, anything else they do is icing on top. (Fun Science and History shows and documentaries and kits or projects you can hand off to them, and books they can read during their solo reading time.) So that takes the pressure off of you to have to spend so much time with them next year, and gives you permission to pour your time/energy into the most pressing need right now, of the rising 9th grader. It's really important to nail 5 solid credits (English, Math, Science, Social Studies, and either Foreign Language or Fine Arts or an Elective) as she moves into high school, because it will be REALLY hard to catch up later if she continues in the "slacking habit" and falls behind with high school level work... 😉 

Totally NOT your fault with everything that has happen in the past few years! So be kind to yourself! And realize you ALL may need a gentle re-start after this crazy time.

And celebrate! Hurrah for DD#3 graduating in a field of her interest and strength and at the top of her class! And gratitude that so many of the sick family/friends are recovering! 😄

But setting up your DD#4 NOW for success with a lot of scaffolding and special attention to get her back on track as she steps into high school, will absolutely pay off big for you LATER (in a semester or a year). She'll have the good habits and routines established; with your help, she will have developed the tools she needs for working successfully independently.

Just my 2 cents worth (several times over, lol). 😉 Even in light of your brave, detailed second post, I still recommend the LA items (in my post up-thread) as being worth looking at to see if they might meet your needs. (And also consider the Glencoe guides + individual titles or the LLftLotR ideas.)

Wishing ALL of you the very BEST! Warmest regards, Lori D.

Edited May 26, 2021 by Lori D.

[LongRamblings]

16 minutes ago, Lori D. said:

(((((hugs))))) So, so very sorry for all of the loss and difficulties you and your family have experienced in the past years, and especially during the pandemic. 😪

It is hard to not only get back into a school rhythm and back up to speed, after all the disruption you all have suffered, but to also have to move into a  new and higher gear of high school.

Perhaps you and DD#4 could use this summer to build a foundation, but in a fun way. Perhaps practice "digging deeper" and analyzing by doing so with films, rather than books? Or, choose a few shorter classics you can read together or listen to together, and then watch the film version, and discuss/compare? Or possibly enjoy using parts of the Movies as Literature program together?

I'm "liking" @chiguirre 's suggestion about the Glencoe Lit. Library guides (you can print the pdfs from the website if you prefer to have DD have a hard copy to work with rather than the computer 😉 ) -- but I would strongly encourage doing some of those books together. That would allow the 2 of you to select some high-interest books to start with, and transition into high school Literature -- all while you still see that the work IS getting done. 😉 

Another possibility: if your students would enjoy The Lord of the Rings (AND if the 9th & 7th graders *get along*, lol), perhaps combine the 9th and 7th graders and do the year-long Literary Lessons from the Lord of the Rings study all together. Read aloud together, or listen together to the complete edition by Rob Inglis, and then do the end-of-chapter notes and questions together. You could also have 9th grader do on her own several of the additional works discussed in the study, and use a Glencoe guide to go with some of those works. (Some of the works referenced in the study include: Beowulf, Macbeth, Midsummer Night's Dream, the Iliad or the Odyssey, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.)

I *totally* understand the need for independence with 9th grader due to having 7th and 5th grader -- BUT... you may have to adjust your timetable and priorities for this year (or at least the first semester of this next year), and really help 9th grader get on track and into a good (i.e. NOT distracted) style of homeschooling and self-learning, with a lot of oversight and 1-on-1 interaction and discussion with YOU. And that needs to happen before you can loosen the reins a bit with 9th grader and expect that independent work WILL happen consistently and responsibly ;). And THEN you will be able to schedule more time and attention to the younger 2 students. Otherwise, there could be a very BIG potential for 9th grader falling through the cracks.

And honestly, as long as the 2 younger students are on track with their LA and Math, anything else they do is icing on top. (Fun Science and History shows and documentaries and kits or projects you can hand off to them, and books they can read during their solo reading time.) So that takes the pressure off of you to have to spend so much time with them next year, and gives you permission to pour your time/energy into the most pressing need right now, of the rising 9th grader. It's really important to nail 5 solid credits (English, Math, Science, Social Studies, and either Foreign Language or Fine Arts or an Elective) as she moves into high school, because it will be REALLY hard to catch up later if she continues in the "slacking habit" and falls behind with high school level work... 😉 

Totally NOT your fault with everything that has happen in the past few years! So be kind to yourself! And realize you ALL may need a gentle re-start after this crazy time.

And celebrate! Hurrah for DD#3 graduating in a field of her interest and strength and at the top of her class! And gratitude that so many of the sick family/friends are recovering! 😄

But setting up your DD#4 NOW for success with a lot of scaffolding and special attention to get her back on track as she steps into high school, will absolutely pay off big for you LATER (in a semester or a year). She'll have the good habits and routines established; with your help, she will have developed the tools she needs for working successfully independently.

Just my 2 cents worth (several times over, lol). 😉 Even in light of your brave, detailed second post, I still recommend the LA items (in my post up-thread) as being worth looking at to see if they might meet your needs. (And also consider the Glencoe guides + individual titles or the LLftLotR ideas.)

Wishing ALL of you the very BEST! Warmest regards, Lori D.

Thank you. Definitely following your suggestion of staying on top of her for a while especially the first semester. I have already started that. She had 6 lessons left in algebra and I believe she expected me to let her slide since that’s her best subject. I have insisted that she finish but in her own time. She can do them all in a day or spread them out over the next two weeks. We finished last week with everything else. We have already talked about books we can read and discuss during the summer. Her dad hates reading and said he will read every night for 15 minutes working up to 30 minimum if we do it as a family. (Separate books)  while waiting on replies I ran across Movies as Literature and ordered it right away. I think this would be perfect this summer. Thanks again for all your help. 

[LongRamblings]

Sorry my posts are so long. Trying to be clear and as honest as possible so y’all can help. 

[Not_a_Number]

18 hours ago, Lori D. said:

I *totally* understand the need for independence with 9th grader due to having 7th and 5th grader -- BUT... you may have to adjust your timetable and priorities for this year (or at least the first semester of this next year), and really help 9th grader get on track and into a good (i.e. NOT distracted) style of homeschooling and self-learning, with a lot of oversight and 1-on-1 interaction and discussion with YOU. And that needs to happen before you can loosen the reins a bit with 9th grader and expect that independent work WILL happen consistently and responsibly ;). And THEN you will be able to schedule more time and attention to the younger 2 students. Otherwise, there could be a very BIG potential for 9th grader falling through the cracks.

I don't have a kid this age, but I've definitely worked with teens before (including my much younger sister), and I really, really, really agree with this. If a kid is struggling, I tend to assume the solution is one-on-one interaction and again getting her engaged with her studies as opposed to just checking them off. 

I would also guess she's kind of depressed and traumatized by last year. Is that possible? It sounds like the pandemic hit your family extremely hard. She may just need some bonding and recovery time and a chance to rediscover what she likes. 

[theelfqueen]

For grammar - Fix It Grammar is definitely not workbooky - despite having a workbook looking student book. The student reviews incorrect grammar and corrects it - then the teacher needs to go over with them the corrections and then they copy the corrected passage elsewhere. It is really good practice and my 16 year old liked it a lot ... but not quite "workbook" style. 

If you need more workbook style - I've used this with teens before and it is also good but more general :

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/0991167406/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_fabc_5J7VXQP0K04KYSYP339W

I caution people often (as a former high school teacher and a homeschool mom) against leaning too heavily on "independent work" - asking teens to sit by themselves with little interaction is not generally that effective. Remember when you were in high school and the teacher would leave the room for some reason and chaos would ensue? Yeah. That's teenagers on their own. Young teens often need more scaffolding and guidance than younger students (you're asking them to think in more complex ways and that requires guidance and discussion).