9th Grade English - Need help choosing curricula

[Bay Lake Mom]

My rising 9th grade daughter is needing a lot of guidance and help with writing as well as grammar. I am going to be spending a one hour block with her each day next year, and I'm looking for something to guide me daily with lesson plans. I am a Math person, and English was never my strength so I need something that will guide us both well. She is also not a natural writer.

I would like it to cover basic composition skills, various writing projects with step by step instruction, a strong review of grammar that includes diagramming, and literature lessons if possible. I've looked at TGATB English 9, but I'm hearing mixed reviews. Some say it doesn't have enough actual writing instruction, but some say it's a great mix of english lessons.

I'm not looking to send her off on her own to work independently every day. She really needs guidance and I'm willing to dedicate that time for her.

[ScoutTN]

I think that may be hard to find and you might do better assembling several different parts into a homemade whole.

Grammar. What specifically does she need help with? Not knowing details, I’d suggest Analytical Grammar. Can be used over 1-3 years. Does she know the parts of speech? 

Writing. Can she write a good paragraph with a topic sentence and supporting details? Can she write a basic narrative and a basic descriptive paragraph? Has she had any introduction to essay writing?

Literature. How strong a reader is she? What kinds of books did she read this year? What does she like? Does she know basic literary terms and devices? If not, I’d suggest Figuratively Speaking as a good starting point. 
 

More information might help boardies make suggestions.

[stlily]

If you're o.k. with Christian curriculum, Rod & Staff English is excellent and very affordable. Abeka is also a good option. Both programs are thorough and systematic. Both were recommended in the earlier editions of The Well-Trained Mind. Rod & Staff doesn't cover literature, though, but it covers everything else on your list. Not sure if Abeka's English includes literature.

You can see samples of Rod & Staff's English 9 here:

https://www.milestonebooks.com/item/1-129-1/

 

Here you'll find Abeka's 9th grade Language Arts here:

https://www.abeka.com/abekaonline/bookdescription.aspx?sbn=380776

 

Hope this helps. 🙂

 

[Bay Lake Mom]

Thank you stlily. I forgot about Rod & Staff English. I think that might be a good fit. She needs a solid overview of grammar, and we can add our own literature to go along with History.

 

[8filltheheart]

For writing, maybe Windows to the World.  It really breaks down essay writing.  Lively Art of Writing is another that offers very detailed instructions.

 

[Lori D.]

If she still needs Grammar instruction and practice, then you might go with

8 hours ago, Bay Lake Mom said:

...I would like it to cover basic composition skills, various writing projects with step by step instruction, a strong review of grammar that includes diagramming, and literature lessons if possible...

At the high school level, Grammar, Writing, and Literature all tend to be split out and covered by difference programs. There are a few publishers who have Grammar & Writing together at the high school level, but I can't think of a single program that includes Literature as well. There are a number of reasons for that, but the big benefit is that it allows you to pick a resource that best fits your student's individual needs for each of those areas.

GRAMMAR
Below are 3 options that would be final instruction in Grammar, and include diagramming. So these options would be more intensive and more learning-based (rather than review). The options below are  often used in grade 8 OR grade 9, if a student is not quite done with Grammar instruction, or really needs to revisit Grammar overall:

- Growing with Grammar level 8 
Written to the student, but you can easily go over the teaching portion of the lesson together; this looks like it would cover all of the topics more at a thorough review level (whereas AG and R&S are full-on intensive programs).

- ORIGINAL / "CLASSIC" version of Analytical Grammar
Set up so that you can schedule this over 1 year, 2 years, or 3 years -- whatever your need is. [The new edition is sold as 5 separate packages for the different topics:  Basics (level 1); Mechanics (level 2); Parts of Speech (level 3); Phrases & Clauses (level 4); Punctuation & Usage (level 5).]

- Rod & Staff Grammar grade 8
I have often read that it is the grade 8 year really puts all of the Grammar concepts together, and it is quite rigorous, so there would be no problem in using it in 9th grade.

One thing to consider -- does your student really NEED additional instruction in Grammar? Usually by 8th grade, a student has received all of the Grammar instruction needed, and in high school, Grammar is a tool used in support of Writing. Grammar is used in context of Writing in the revision stage of Writing, through with sentence structure and "GUM" (Grammar Usage and Mechanics), as well as in proof-editing Writing that has been revised. Grammar is also a useful tool in studying a foreign language. If that is more along the lines of what your student would benefit from -- review of concepts, but NOT diagramming, then possibly:

- Fix It Grammar, level 5 (gr. 9-12) (from IEW)
Grammar topics in context of fixing errors in a paragraph of writing.

- The Chortling Bard
Review of a variety of Grammar concepts through fixing errors in a paragraph a day, with each paragraph building up a retelling of 1 of 4 Shakespeare plays; also includes vocabulary building with 2 focus words per paragraph. No diagramming, but fun and fast -- 10 minutes a day, and it really keeps students thinking about Grammar in context of their OWN writing (revision and proof-editing).

- Analytical Grammar: High School Reinforcement
If Grammar instruction is completed and diagramming is understood, these are for review, using passages from different authors: American; British; World; Shakespeare Plays

_________________

WRITING
 I'd suggest:

Jump In (gr. 6-9), OR, The Power in Your Hands (gr. 9-12)
If your student is remedial / not comfortable composing multi-paragraph pieces of writing, then you could go through Jump In; if she can handle multi-paragraph assignments, then go with The Power In Your Hands -- it is gentle, and works well for a high school student who hasn't hit their stride with writing yet.

Both levels by Sharon Watson; both written to the student, but you could do the teaching text portion together. Covers all 4 of types of writing (Descriptive, Narrative, Expository, Persuasive), and a variety of types of assignments. If you went with Jump In, I'd recommend dropping the 4 weeks of "free writing from a prompt" that is scheduled at the end of each unit -- that is what turns the program into a 2 year program. Without that, it is a solid intro into writing for an older student who doesn't need all of that additional writing practice of just putting pencil to paper.

Writing With Skill 
Either level 1 or level 2  -- look at the table of contents for topics, and sample of level 1 and sample of level 2 to see what would be a good fit. Very guided/scripted. Formal instruction. Parts to whole style of instruction. This program would totally have KILLED my DSs (one was an average writer, but disliked writing, the other had mild LDs and struggled heavily with Writing). However, many people find this style of instruction works well for their student. No formal grammar instruction, but there is a bit of beginning literary analysis as part of the learning to come up with ideas of what to write about (formulating a thesis).

Lively Art of Writing
For learning to write the essay. Also, 2 WTMers created this FREE set of work pages to go with it (it is linked in the 1st post I linked you to here).

Lantern English - Essay Basic series of classes
While this is an outsourced online option, and does not have tons of instruction, you might find this useful to plug one of the 8-week courses every so often as part of what you do for writing in high school.
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LITERATURE

If you go with matching Literature with History (which has pros -- AND cons -- to doing ALL of the literature that way), I strongly recommend doing Windows to the World when you are ready to start writing about your literature. The best, clear, step-by-step instructions I've seen in how to write a literary analysis essay. Even better, if you are not familiar with or comfortable with digging into lit., you might do WttW along with Teaching the Classics. While it has been discontinued, you could look for a used copy of Jill Pike's syllabus, which schedules how to do BOTH of these together, plus adds material.

Edited May 26, 2023 by Lori D.

[Ann.without.an.e]

If you are open to an online course then consider Lantern English. It is self paced and they have essay writing sent to her with weekly assignments and a teacher to give feedback. They also break it down into 8 week sessions so you can just try one session and don't have to commit to a whole year. 

[Zoo Keeper]

My personal favorite for jr high/high school grammar is vintage Warriner's (classic textbooks that were used in schools years ago).... here is the 9th grade (ish) book  and Seton still sells an answer key. 

It is very similar in content to Rod and Staff or Abeka grammar, good old fashioned grammar that includes diagramming, but it is secular.  You can easily get through the grammar/usage/mechanics portions of the book in one school year by doing around four or five exercises per week.

You "check out" the book on archive.org (free to make an account) and see inside the book.

Edited May 27, 2023 by Zoo Keeper

[MJmom]

I like Grammar Planet a lot. It’s an online adaptive version of Analytical Grammar that kids do for 15 minutes a day. You also get notes that create a grammar reference book when you are done. It’s very well done (and affordable).