Easy Grammar...Anybody using? pros or cons?

[Holly IN]

We are currently using Rod and Staff English. I love love love the program however I do not like the diagramming. It is too redundant on the lines. I do agree that it is very important to know diagramming however those lines are so confusing. This is coming out of the 5th grade book. My son is now officially confused over what to put DO and IO on the lines. I think that it is foolish to expect to pick them out and then put them on the lines. I have been told that Shurley and Easy Grammar have them diagram in a way that you just pick them out in the sentences by lableing them above the words instead of the traditional diagramming way.

 

However I am concerned that EAsy Grammar is substandard program. So I need help in figuring this out as convention is coming up in April (in our group we have a curriculam sale a week before the convention) and I know several moms are going to be selling their Easy Grammar. I need to hear from you your thoughts on this program.

 

Thanks guys!!;)

 

Holly

[Holly IN]

bumping

[Aletheia Academy]

Based on my experience as a ps English teacher, in my previous life...

 

Easy Grammar is a fine program. The scope and sequence make sense to kids. Starting with prepositions helps them to isolate them from other parts of the sentence. There is plenty of practice and review built in. It's very easy to use. No bells and whistles. No multiple components to pull in. The workbooks are black and white- not too distracting. I'm planning on using it when the time comes.

 

I've looked at R&S, too. I think it also is a fine program. However, I really don't want my kids to spend the time writing out all the exercises. I'd rather have them reading or making those connections I discussed above. Also, I don't feel R&S has enough writing in it, so I would have to get another program for that (or make up a lot of my own material).

 

There is one problem with this program, or any other program that teaches grammar skills discreetly...I think it is vital for you to connect the skills learned in the workbook to literature that is being read and to your kids' own writing. Pull sentences from both of these sources on a regular basis to make connections to the topics being addressed in EG. Look for good and bad examples to discuss and revise as necessary.

 

Just my two cents. HTH!

 

Warmly,

[HollyDay]

We tried Easy Grammar and Daily Grams last year. They are short lessons - 2 page I think. My oldest (5th grade) did not retain a thing. I really think she did not remember a single thing. It was too short, not enough review and too few practice problems. Now, having said that - my youngest- (2nd grade) did fairly well. She liked the simple format and retained a fair amount.

 

I took my 5th grader back to BJU 5 and she did very well with it (again). I never should have switched her from BJU, but I was tired of the expensive TM and needed a break. This year we did Winston 1 and I am using HArvey's with CW HOmer A.

 

My 3rd grader this year is using GWG 3 quite successfully. GWG is a nice program that is midway between BJU and EG/DG. It has more practice problems and review than EG/DG but not as repetitve as BJU.

[Ellie]

It was the only thing I used with my younger dd for grammar, and it seemed to do the trick for her.

 

I did not do Daily Grams (we used EG the first year it was published, before the author thought about DG). I don't see the need to do them simultaneously. Alternating between EG one year and DG the next would be my recommendation.

 

It's important when doing EG for *you* to correct each page that your dc does before going on to the next. Yes, even if your dc is old enough to do the corrections himself. More than one parent has rued the day she let her dc correct his own work and then discovered that her dc had made many mistakes on each assignment.

 

My dd did 3 pages a day. She'd do a page, I'd correct it, then she'd do the next and I'd correct it, then she'd do the last page and I correct it. I wanted to finish the book in a year and then move on.

[Claire]

My dyslexic dd did EG level 3/4 for a year and retained nothing. She couldn't even tell me the difference between a noun and a verb.

 

I really liked Hake Grammar. It includes diagramming, but it is only a small part of the lessons. Hake is written directly to the student, so can be done largely independently. Also, each level of Hake does not assume the student knows diagramming at all, so starts from scratch. IMO Hake is best stretched out over two years, though, as each daily lesson is quite long. (Just skip the next level when moving up. Grammar includes a lot of repetition of old material anyway.)

 

Couldn't you just skip the diagramming part of R&S if it's working for you otherwise?

[swimnactmom]

This year in 5th grade, he is breezing through the 4/5 book. I have no regrets having done it that way because my ds has mastered the basics of grammar and more importantly, it was painless and his writing has improved because of his ability to analyze his grammar in his writing (yes, he was able to transfer his grammar skills.) He has a much better understanding of grammar than I ever did. I believe Easy Grammar's approach of presenting prepositions first has simplified the whole process and given him a boost of confidence. As a result, we are ready to study formal diagramming, and not being intimidated by that endeavor, we will start Analytical Grammar this summer.

I was considering using Winston Grammar at first, but for some reason the guy at the home school fair (from Moore's) talked me out of it. He said that nobody uses that much anymore. I now know that that is incorrect. Winston was the only other program I was considering given my ds's lack of skills at the beginning of our homeschooling years.

I think that if your child is confused and needs a simple explanation about grammar and a boost of confidence, Easy Grammar is a great program. I would not stay with it however because it gets redundant from year to year and other programs offer a more in depth study of the subject.

If your child is mixed up with DO and IO perhaps an independent workbook on just direct and indirect objects would do the trick and you could continue in your current program after clearing that up.

[HiddenJewel]

I've looked at R&S, too. I think it also is a fine program. However, I really don't want my kids to spend the time writing out all the exercises. I'd rather have them reading or making those connections I discussed above. Also, I don't feel R&S has enough writing in it, so I would have to get another program for that (or make up a lot of my own material).

 

Was your opinion on the writing in R&S based on all the levels (up to 9/10)? I have always heard that the writing instruction increases the higher the level.

[Holly IN]

ok...I read all the responses... All of them are helpful.

 

I really like Rod and Staff however I do not like the way they do the diagramming with the diagramming setup. I like the way Shurly or Easy Grammar does it where you just lable it above the sentences. My oldest son is not doing well with the line where you have to make all these lines then break the sentences a part then put them on the lines vs. reading a sentence then just lable them above it without re-writing the whole thing and doing the line thing.

 

Is there a better program out there that is like R&S that does labeling instead of the classic diagramming. Otherwise I would have to just have him do the lableing instead of diagramming for R&S (more work for me though).

 

Any thoughts??

 

Holly

[HiddenJewel]

ok...I read all the responses... All of them are helpful.

 

I really like Rod and Staff however I do not like the way they do the diagramming with the diagramming setup. I like the way Shurly or Easy Grammar does it where you just lable it above the sentences. My oldest son is not doing well with the line where you have to make all these lines then break the sentences a part then put them on the lines vs. reading a sentence then just lable them above it without re-writing the whole thing and doing the line thing.

 

Is there a better program out there that is like R&S that does labeling instead of the classic diagramming. Otherwise I would have to just have him do the lableing instead of diagramming for R&S (more work for me though).

 

Any thoughts??

 

Holly

 

One thing to consider is that by only identifying the parts of the sentence IN the sentence instead of the on the lines, you may not get a clear picture of what each word or phrase modifies. This may only be true of a visual learner and other learning styles can do that just fine within a written sentence.

[Aletheia Academy]

In fairness to R&S, I have only looked at the earlier years, so I don't know about the upper levels. However, unless the format changes quite a lot, I still wouldn't use that program for writing in general.

 

In the early years, I ascribe to SWB's suggestion to stick with copywork, narration, and dictation. Somewhere in the logic stage, I would start with writing cohesive, logical paragraphs, and I won't move on from there until that is accomplished. After working with more than a thousand students, most high school sophomores don't begin the year knowing how to do that.

 

Finally, I would move on to longer pieces and issues of style in more detail. There are many types of expository writing, and I think students need to see many models at different levels. The one curriculum in which I have seen a bit of that is Write Source. Maybe SWB's new writing texts will have models...Students/teachers in ps do have a bit of an advantage here because there is a captive group of models for every achievement level that provide fodder for discussion about stengths and weaknesses.

 

Anyway, those are my thoughts! :-)