Rod & Staff English placement?

[razorbackmama]

We used R&S several years ago for a little bit but will be switching back in the fall. (I think!:tongue_smilie:) I need help with placement, as I've heard the upper grades are somewhat advanced.

 

My oldest will be in 7th grade. He is in Easy Grammar 6 right now, but we just started a couple months ago, so he's not even halfway through yet. So by the end of the year I know he won't actually be done.

 

My 2nd son will be in 5th grade. He is in Easy Grammar 4. He's through about as much as my older son.

 

My oldest dd will be in 4th grade. She's in Easy Grammar 3. Same deal as above LOL.

 

I'm about to start FLL 1 with my youngest son (currently 1st grade), and I'll just continue to use level 2 with him next year. Would I then move on to R&S 3 after that?

 

Thanks!

[sweetbaby]

I would browse through the Table of Contents for your current grade levels on the Rod and Staff site. You can compare what you are learning with Easy Grammar with the topics in Rod and Staff in order to get an idea. This is what I did two years ago when we switched from Abeka. I noticed that Rod and Staff covers topics that Abeka didn't when comparing grade levels.

 

We ordered samples also.

 

I placed my then 4th graders into the 3rd grade English with their brother who was in the 3rd grade. They didn't like the label "English 3" but I had explained that it was really on their level. I'm glad we made the decision to do this because it worked out very well for them. I think it would've been a more difficult transition if we jumped right into their grade level with Rod and Staff.

Edited January 5, 2009 by sweetbaby

[SheilaZ]

We've used R&S for a few years from 4th to 7th grade.

I use FLL for 1st and 2nd and then Easy Grammar at 3rd before moving to R&S for the rest of the program.

 

Your dd will have no trouble going from EG 3 to R&S 4, even if she doesn't finish the EG book. The grade 4 book reteaches everything from the previous years.

 

My oldest is in the grade 7 book currently and it is challenging. For your oldest, I would say to try R&S 6 for next year since it is very different than EG. It assumes that you have a lot of prior knowledge and really steps up the composition work.

 

Now the middle one is a quandry. If he isn't on schedule to finish EG, he might be better off in R&S 4. But if he's anything like my 4th grader, he would rather die than be in the same level as a younger sibling.

 

If he is decent in grammar, he could just go into the grade 5 book. R&S 5 reteaches some topics but does assume that you got most of the info in R&S 4. You'd just have to take it slowly and use the worksheets for reinforcement.

 

I hope this helps a little.

[razorbackmama]

We've used R&S for a few years from 4th to 7th grade.

I use FLL for 1st and 2nd and then Easy Grammar at 3rd before moving to R&S for the rest of the program.

 

Your dd will have no trouble going from EG 3 to R&S 4, even if she doesn't finish the EG book. The grade 4 book reteaches everything from the previous years.

 

My oldest is in the grade 7 book currently and it is challenging. For your oldest, I would say to try R&S 6 for next year since it is very different than EG. It assumes that you have a lot of prior knowledge and really steps up the composition work.

 

Now the middle one is a quandry. If he isn't on schedule to finish EG, he might be better off in R&S 4. But if he's anything like my 4th grader, he would rather die than be in the same level as a younger sibling.

 

If he is decent in grammar, he could just go into the grade 5 book. R&S 5 reteaches some topics but does assume that you got most of the info in R&S 4. You'd just have to take it slowly and use the worksheets for reinforcement.

 

I hope this helps a little.

 

It does! And LOL about the middle one wanting to die. I'll have to check out the table of contents and stuff. He is pretty decent at grammar, and it is one of my favorite subjects to teach, so he MIGHT be able to handle it. But I'll check it out, just to make sure.

 

I was planning to use something else for composition and just skip the assignments in R&S that relate to that...would you still recommend R&S 6 for my oldest? (I'm kind of leaning toward yes LOL.)

[MIch elle]

http://www.rodandstaff.info/samples/english/

 

Starting with R&S E. 7 would be VERY difficult; I don't recommend it. My older ds used R&S E.7 in grade 8. Don't worry about the grade level.

 

Having R&S E.5 will help you with Chapter 1 of R&S E.6 which is hard because they review from the previous year & you're expected to know it. Just get through it as best you can & move onto the other chapters where there will be more review & time to memorize.

[SheilaZ]

It does! And LOL about the middle one wanting to die. I'll have to check out the table of contents and stuff. He is pretty decent at grammar, and it is one of my favorite subjects to teach, so he MIGHT be able to handle it. But I'll check it out, just to make sure.

 

I was planning to use something else for composition and just skip the assignments in R&S that relate to that...would you still recommend R&S 6 for my oldest? (I'm kind of leaning toward yes LOL.)

 

Book 5 isn't bad to start with at all. I think he'd be fine.

 

R&S is a great program even without the composition lessons, so you can skip all trhat stuff if you want to. (We skip the poety section, with no ill effects.)

They do have some very good lessons on outlining, so you might want to do those even if you use another writing program.

 

I would be sure to get the complete program. The TE has answers to the text, workbook, and tests, as well as quizes and teaching ideas. The workbooks are inexpensive and very good target review. And the tests are hard! If you pass the tests, you have mastered the material.

[razorbackmama]

Thanks, y'all!:D