Any experience with WTMA Grammar?

[ByGrace3]

I am considering an online grammar class for my dd who will be in 7th grade next year. She is dyslexic and bright, but cannot spell at all. She has had some grammar, but it has definitely been a weak spot in our homeschool...wondering if this might be a worthwhile endeavor? Anyone have any experiences with the class/certain teachers?

Thanks! 

[Helpdesk]

Jessica Otto teaches all the grammar classes. Just an FYI.  

There's a Bridge to Grammar course to catch up to the starting point for Grammar for the Well-Trained Mind, the Well-Trained Mind Press curriculum.  I *think* the I, II, III, IV levels complete one cycle of the workbooks.

I'm not an expert in the WTM Academy world, but thought I would let you know the little bit I do know (or think I know).

[Lori D.]

What is your goal for grammar for this student?

And, would a formal/traditional outsourced option that likely will involve a lot of writing be the best fit for a dyslexic student who struggles with spelling?

For my stealth dyslexic DS#2 (struggled heavily with spelling and writing, and also with math), what worked best for Grammar was working in short bites together, a lot of it aloud. Any writing part was done very visually on a white board using colored markers and by "parsing" (drawing lines, arrows, boxes, circles, etc. to show parts of sentences and their connections), rather than through formal diagramming. I adapted the Winston Grammar series (Basic, Word Works, Advanced) to whiteboard and parsing work. (But you could use any number of Grammar resources by adapting (like, working orally, or doing it in a visual way) to fit your student's LDs.)

Two Grammar resources (again, done with close supervision) that worked well here: In middle school, the "Take Five Minutes: A History Fact a Day for Editing" -- very useful for proof-editing practice of GUM (Grammar Usage and Mechanics) errors. And then in high school, The Chortling Bard, which is a paragraph a day that adds to an overall story, and focuses on proof-editing PLUS review of Grammar concepts, and also introduces 2 vocabulary words per paragraph. You could try the middle school version, which is one Harry Potter-like story (kids at a magic school) spread over 3 years: Giggles in the Middle.

However, I think the BIGGEST help for him was that I was right there, mentoring/tutoring him through the Grammar process. And we did Grammar regularly and consistently in small bites to match attention span (3-4x/week for 15-20 min/session), to embed and review.

Outsourcing to an online class where DS#2 would have had to try and have the executive functioning skills (that were not yet developed) AND overcome the writing/spelling issues (which were not resolved yet) AND do it largely on his own -- would have been a major fail for him at 7th grade (and even well into high school).

Just our experience with Grammar and LDs. 😄 BEST of luck in finding what meets your goals and is a great fit for your student and you! Warmest regards, Lori D. 

Edited April 26, 2022 by Lori D.