FLL level 3 too fast-paced?

[mnmmomjen]

Hello,

 

I'm new to this board, but have been using FLL 3 for 9 yo DD (3rd grade) since September. We switched to FLL from Sonlight, so this is my first experience with SWB's book.

 

Overall, I like the program, but am now finding that DD isn't quite grasping the concepts as quickly as they are introduced in the workbook. She seemed to do alright with the basic diagrams of verb/subject/adverb. But, now, at lesson 37, I find she is lost (and has been since we started clapping and naming the helping verbs around lesson 27).

 

She is an avid reader, and uses the correct forms of verbs in her sentences; her writing is pretty good. But, once we get past the very basics of diagramming and identifying parts of speech, the concepts do not seem to be sticking.

 

I am thinking that I should go back and review, or provide some additional exercises to reinforce these concepts. If so, I am wondering if there are any resources anyone knows of that would provide this extra practice so I do not have to reinvent the wheel.

 

Has anyone else used this program and found the need to slow down or review? I have seen many reviews of Level 1/2, but not many addressing Level 3. Perhaps because it is so new?

 

Thanks and Happy New Year!

Jennifer

[Zelda]

Hello,

 

I'm new to this board, but have been using FLL 3 for 9 yo DD (3rd grade) since September. We switched to FLL from Sonlight, so this is my first experience with SWB's book.

 

Overall, I like the program, but am now finding that DD isn't quite grasping the concepts as quickly as they are introduced in the workbook. She seemed to do alright with the basic diagrams of verb/subject/adverb. But, now, at lesson 37, I find she is lost (and has been since we started clapping and naming the helping verbs around lesson 27).

 

She is an avid reader, and uses the correct forms of verbs in her sentences; her writing is pretty good. But, once we get past the very basics of diagramming and identifying parts of speech, the concepts do not seem to be sticking.

 

I am thinking that I should go back and review, or provide some additional exercises to reinforce these concepts. If so, I am wondering if there are any resources anyone knows of that would provide this extra practice so I do not have to reinvent the wheel.

 

Has anyone else used this program and found the need to slow down or review? I have seen many reviews of Level 1/2, but not many addressing Level 3. Perhaps because it is so new?

 

Thanks and Happy New Year!

Jennifer

 

I think you will be okay, actually. FLL4 repeats the information adding new information along the way. But, if she is really lost then it might not hurt for her to do the review lessons again (they are every 10th chapter or something). Those are long lessons that you can break up into 2 or 3 days worth of lessons.

[prairiegirl]

I find that FLL 3 has lots of repetition (sp?) If you are finding that your dd isn't understanding something, be rest assured that it will be dealt with many times over before the end of the book. This is one of the reasons why we like FLL so much.

[Carol in Cal.]

But my DD had a lot of trouble with grammar when she was 8 or so and we were doing Rod and Staff 3. I don't know why it was so hard for her, but I remember distinctly getting through part of it, very painfully, and then realizing that the very next chapter was going to finish her completely--it was on direct objects. I couldn't tell you how I knew this so thoroughly and so certainly, but looking back on it, I think that I sensed that her brain was just as full of grammar as it could possibly get right then, and that if we added one more thing, it would all ooze out and she wouldn't remember anything.

 

The logic of it was just really hard for her, and she wasn't retaining it. She was already a pretty good writer, and I put aside grammar for a while and came back to it later. I used down level Rod and Staff ever since, and that has worked out pretty well. (Of course, the writing instruction has to be different from just RS if you do it downlevel.)

 

So anyway, I encourage you to decide whether you want to continue or just take a break from instruction. Do you think that your child is able to learn this right now, or not?

 

During our break we would diagram and discuss a couple of simple sentences about 3X weekly, and I was still reading her very complicated books, so she was being exposed to a lot of good writing and soaking up the sentence structure by osmosis anyway. I also avoided books with poor spoken grammar like Junie B. Jones. And I had her continue with writing and copywork.

[mnmmomjen]

I don't know why it was so hard for her, but I remember distinctly getting through part of it, very painfully, and then realizing that the very next chapter was going to finish her completely--it was on direct objects. I couldn't tell you how I knew this so thoroughly and so certainly, but looking back on it, I think that I sensed that her brain was just as full of grammar as it could possibly get right then, and that if we added one more thing, it would all ooze out and she wouldn't remember anything.

 

 

I have this same sense with my DD as well. I did end up putting FLL aside and have instead focused on some copywork and a bit of writing. Another lesson for me in adapting the curriculum to the needs of the child!

 

During our break we would diagram and discuss a couple of simple sentences about 3X weekly, and I was still reading her very complicated books, so she was being exposed to a lot of good writing and soaking up the sentence structure by osmosis anyway.

 

I think I will do this; having her diagram sentences that I know she can do in order to build confidence and solidify her understanding.

 

I am also wondering about the chants for helping verbs; do you think the CD is helpful for this, or is it just a matter of repeating the chant and then doing some diagramming to reinforce the idea?

 

Jennifer

[Carol in Cal.]

I have this same sense with my DD as well. I did end up putting FLL aside and have instead focused on some copywork and a bit of writing. Another lesson for me in adapting the curriculum to the needs of the child!

 

 

 

I think I will do this; having her diagram sentences that I know she can do in order to build confidence and solidify her understanding.

 

I am also wondering about the chants for helping verbs; do you think the CD is helpful for this, or is it just a matter of repeating the chant and then doing some diagramming to reinforce the idea?

 

Jennifer

 

 

In fact, I would repeat all of the memorization for grammar pretty regularly. This is such a great age for memorization, and retention should be great into the middle school years and beyond if you practice right now.

 

Just one thing, though, FLL uses a different order for pronouns than Rod and Staff does, and I prefer Rod and Staff's because they start with the subject pronouns in case order, and then follow with the objective case pronouns in case order, and then follow with the possessive pronouns. That's much more functionally useful down the road than the FLL approach.

 

So when teaching the pronouns, it's:

I, you, he, she, it, we, you, they

 

and then:

me, you, him, her, it, us, you them

 

for the subject (nominative) and object (objective) pronouns, for instance.

[Strawberry Queen]

It could be that your dd need more time to absorb the information if it is all new to her. My dd8 is also doing FLL3 and she's doing okay but she's done FLL1 and 2 so the only new thing that she's encountered has been sentence diagramming and direct object. If we had just started FLL3 with no prior memory work then we would have to take it more slowly. As it is we took a grammar hiatus for about 6 weeks, but that had nothing to do with grammar-just life. ;)