Chloe Posted December 17, 2008 Share Posted December 17, 2008 Can this be done independently? Those who have used it, how much grammar did your dc have before it and what did you use? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deeinfl Posted December 17, 2008 Share Posted December 17, 2008 has been using Winston Grammar this year and we LOVE it! He had been doing formal grammar from the time he was in the second grade. He had much knowledge on a worksheet, but outside of the worksheet, he didn't understand what any of the parts of speech were or how they were used--or why they were used. Now we have started Winston Grammar and I cannot say enough good things about this. Just the other day I was trying to figure out if one of my adverbs modified a noun and he was quick to point out that an adverb only modified an adjective, adverb, or a verb. I couldn't believe that this knowledge was coming from him. We go over the main lesson on Monday together. We work the sample sentence with the cards and sometimes do one or two sentences from the workbook assignment with the cards. I then let him go off on his own and see if he could put his knowledge to the test. I would not have him do it completely alone. This is one subject that I think a teacher is needed for, if not then your child is just basically filling out the worksheets, but not really making connections. For us, it has sort of become a game, and a subject that we look forward to doing every day. I try not to let him do more than 3 sentences per day as I want the knowledge to be remembered for the next day. It is definitely a 'thinking' curriculum. I had read so many negative reviews that I was put off from it for years even though my gut kept telling me that it would work with my son, as he is such an auditory learner. I was right. IT may not be for everyone, but it was definitely for us. We had years of paces, Easy Grammar, and some other formal programs behind us, but none of them taught him to retain the information for the next assignment. You are continually reviewing as the previous information is used in every lesson. Okay, I'm packing for a move in December, yes, a move before Christmas. YIKES! I hope this helps, Dee in Sunny FL! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonshineLearner Posted December 17, 2008 Share Posted December 17, 2008 My brother did it in a group setting when he was younger.... We'd probably use it now, but we have to many grammar things going on... Although, my mom does use it when she's teaching my girls Latin... Carrie:-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted December 17, 2008 Share Posted December 17, 2008 used it when dd was 11, made it through 10 lessons before she absolutely refused to do another one...and this was a child who obediently did everything I gave her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted December 17, 2008 Share Posted December 17, 2008 (edited) However, it's so simple to use, it only took us 10 minutes a day together, 3 times a week. We would go over the lesson together, then the child would mark 4 sentences on the whiteboard. End of lesson for the day. If the child was solid with the concept, the next day we moved to the next lesson; if not, we covered the lesson again, and did 4 more sentences on the white board and then on the 3rd day that week just practiced with 4 more sentences. You will need something else to cover grammar mechanics (punctuation, capitalization, etc.). For a solo workbook complete grammar program for 8th grade, many people really like Analytical Grammar, which you can either do intensively in 1 year, or it has 2-year or 3-year schedules to spread it out. BEST of luck in finding what fits for your family! Warmest regards, Lori D. Here are more past threads on Winston Grammar and Analytical Grammar Winston Grammar? http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=37313&highlight=winston+grammar Winston Grammar anyone? http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28375&highlight=winston+grammar Analytical Grammar Users: Can you share pros and cons? http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16693&highlight=winston+grammar Winston Grammar vs. Analytical Grammar http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12550&highlight=winston+grammar What Grammar do you use for 7th/8th grade? http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12418&highlight=winston+grammar Edited December 17, 2008 by Lori D. fixed links Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rafiki Posted December 17, 2008 Share Posted December 17, 2008 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted December 17, 2008 Share Posted December 17, 2008 PS -- re: Winston and previous grammar instruction. You need NO previous grammar instruction with Winston Basic. You could easily complete Winston Basic in about 6-8 weeks (30 lessons in a lesson a day), and then complete all or most of Winston Advanced with a bright 8th grader with no previous grammar instruction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted December 17, 2008 Share Posted December 17, 2008 Oops! I see you have a 9yo, NOT an 8th grader. We started Winston Basic in 3rd grade, went slowly through the first 20 lessons the first year, 3x/week. Then in 4th grade, started from the beginning, whizzed through the first 20 lessons, and then slowly did the last 10 lessons; then in 5th/6th grade did Winston Wordworks; then in 7th/8th did Winston Advanced similarly to Winston Basic. For grammar mechanics we've used a variety of things: - Write Source workbooks (gr. 2-3) - A History Fact a Day for Editing (gr. 4-5) - Sonlight-style dictations that I created from their reading (gr. 1-5) - Editor in Chief workbooks (gr. 4-8) - Grammar with a Giggle (gr. 6-8) - The Chortling Bard (high school) We also supplemented early elementary grammar with: - Mad Libs (parts of speech; gr. 1-4) - Grammar Ad Libs (parts of speech; gr. 1-4) - Schoolhouse Rock:Grammar (parts of speech; gr. 1-4; video and CD rom games) - online grammar games - Comicstrip Grammar (parts of speech; word usage; punctuation; gr. 5-8) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngieW in Texas Posted December 20, 2008 Share Posted December 20, 2008 I'm using it with my two younger girls right now. My 7th grader just finished WG Basic. We went over the lesson one day, and then she did half of a worksheet each day after that. She did WG 4 days/week. She did Fix-it Grammar 1 day/week. Fix-it is a proofreading program. WG Basic is only parts of speech and Fix-it doesn't overlap with it at all, so they were good programs to use together. My dd is going to start Word Works after Christmas break. My 5th grader is just in lesson 10 of WG Basic. She does WG 3 days/week and does proofreading using http://www.spellingconnectionsonline.com . Fix-it was too difficult for her even at the most basic level. She does just 3 sentences on each of the days that she does WG. This is first program that has made her really understand the difference between adjectives and adverbs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chloe Posted December 23, 2008 Author Share Posted December 23, 2008 This sounds like what I'm looking for. I plan to use the Basic next year with a 5th and 6th grader. I've also considered JAG/AG, but they are more expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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