What do you use for LA for 2nd & 3rd grade?

[Follstad]

Hi,

In K and 1st with my dd8, I did use SL to some extent. I tried it with my ds6, but it just didn't work. I've really not done much in the way of language arts this year, and feel a little behind. I guess I'm looking for the grammar end of it; I've just about decided on AAS for spelling.

 

Anyone have thoughts on Shurley English, and does that incorporate spelling? And, is it easier to pick a program that does both?

 

There are just too many choices!!!!

 

Thank you!

Sarah

[plain jane]

There are TONS of choices and you'll likely get many different responses to your question. I haven't used a great deal of LA curriculum as I was able to find a great fit for our family from the get-go, but I can share with you what I'm using. :)

 

I use Shurley and find it to be very thorough. It can be a tad dry at times, but dd doesn't seem to mind. She is able to do most of it on her own, with the exception of the writing portions. I use WRTR for spelling as Shurley doesn't cover spelling. I also use Writing With Ease to cover narration and dictation as Shurley does not cover these either and they are skills that I want my dc to be proficient at. It takes very little time for us to do both.

 

For writing I also use IEW so our grade 3 LA line-up looks like this:

 

Grammar: Shurley English

Writing: IEW, WWE

Spelling: WRTR

Reading Comprehension: McGuffey's Readers, McCall Crabbs reading selections

Edited April 1, 2009 by plain jane
spelling

[Closeacademy]

My oldest is just finishing up 3rd grade. She is a very visual learner who needs short intense lessons. Language arts follows the LCC plan:

 

2nd--Spell to Write and Read phonograms followed by Minimus Latin. We also rewrote Aesop's fables as summaries.

 

3rd--Minimus Latin followed by Lively Latin and Classical Writing Aesop's B.

 

We learn grammar from our Latin studies.

 

Next year for my 2nd grader, we are taking a different path since she loves Rod and Staff materials. Her plan looks like this:

 

Rod and Staff Phonics 2 and Rod and Staff English 2

 

Good luck finding something that works for you.:001_smile:

[lotsofpumpkins]

My dd will be using R&S English, spelling, phonics, and reading/Bible for 2nd grade. 3rd grade will be the same, except phonics will be over.

[Wee Pip]

I got tired of piecing things together & worrying about whether everything was being covered. So after a relaxed 2nd gr year, I put my dd through 2nd grade a second time using BJU materials. She's now entering 3rd gr materials. Here's a review of it:

 

BJU English: Grammar & Writing - I like the visual, workbook format of the grammar & I like what is taught. The writing assignments cause us grief, but I think that is my anti-writing dd. For her, I've made it more of a tag-team writing effort & we get the job done:)

 

Spelling - it is word family based, but includes word endings (brag, bragging, brags). It is a bit easy once you know the spelling pattern, but I like this. Also includes dictation sentences, which I like!

 

Reading - part of me likes it, part of me wants to rebel & go with a living books type of reading. It teaches vocabulary, reviews phonics rules, syllables, main ideas, & all those other things that don't seem to fit into spelling or english. BJU is sort of a modern, colored, more visually appealing version of Rod & Staff, IMHO. Stories have morals, or Bible themes, or about famous missionaries, or historical figures.

[Deana FL]

FLL 1/2 is designed for first and second grade. It is very repititious and mostly oral. This didn't work very well for us.

 

But, FLL 3 has a completely different format and I LOVED it! In fact, it was so great, that I pulled my 4th grader from her ABeka and had her go through it w/my 2nd grader. Very thorough and well written. It is teacher intensive, but as an English major, I've learned so much from it.

 

I highly recommend the First Language Lessons series! I believe there are sample lessons on the Peace Hill Press website.

[Annie Laurie]

There are a lot of great choices, I'm having trouble narrowing down LA myself. My ds will be 3rd grade and dd will be 2nd.

 

We're definitely continuing All About Spelling.

 

I can't decide on the rest, I've considered Rod and Staff, Growing with Grammar, and First Language Lessons for grammar, or just waiting awhile longer and doing Junior Analytical Grammar. I like Writing With Ease for writing, though Writing Tales looks fun and like it would combine grammar and writing.

[dkholland]

With all four dss, I have done FLL1/2 and loved the gentle way it introduces english terms and memorization. In 2nd, we focus on handwriting, memorization and copywork and we use the ETC workbooks. In third, I ramp it up a bit and use Shurley grammar (we love the jingles and classifying) and now I am using WWE and loving it. I also add spelling in 3rd grade. For my boys this has worked well and hasn't pushed them too hard. If you know boys, you know they are never too willing to do a bunch of writing!!!:)

[gandpsmommy]

Have you looked at First Language Lessons? Dd is a bit accelerated, so she did it for K-5 and first grade, but it is designed for first and second graders. FLL 3 is what we plan to use next year for third grade grammar. We have been using AAS and really like it. We're on Level 3 now, and spelling is still dd's favorite subject. Because dd was ready for it we also began Latin this year using Lively Latin Bigbook I. It includes a lot of grammar instruction, which is why we took a break from FLL this year. We're using Writing With Ease for writing instruction, and I can't say enough good things about it. It is a terrific program and very easy to use.

[FriedClams]

CLE

[Ida]

She only recently finished her phonics program (SSRW) which is all we were doing for LA for the first part of the year. Since then we've been doing:

 

ETC book 4

 

GWG 1 (I decided to start at the beginning of the program and think we can finish 1 and 2 before the beginning of next school year so she will be on GWG 3 when she starts 3rd grade.)

 

AAS-I have all of my kids (who are poor spellers like their mother) doing this together since the beginning of the year. We are about half way through book 2.

 

I am also using the ideas for copywork, narration, and dictation from WWE and using them along with the books I have her reading aloud to me. Right now she is still on Frog and Toad level books working on building fluency.

 

As to whether or not it's better to have an all in one curriculum, I guess that depends on whether or not you can find one you like. My older two are doing K12 English for the first time this year. I absolutely love it for my 6th grader. I thought about starting the 2nd grade K12 with my daughter after she finished SSRW, but I'm happy with what I ended up pulling together.

 

There are so many choices out there. Best wishes in finding the best match for your family!

[Follstad]

Hi,

Thanks for all the great replies, once again, everyone is so helpful! Although, it sort of points me in several different directions! I/we have used FLL, WWE, and we've done the ETC. We're a bit behind in the first two. I've also purchased Write Shop, the first two levels, but haven't started that. I guess I feel I have my foot in too many different resources, and even still, am worried I'm not covering what needs to be covered. Which also makes for over-buying and then needing to re-sell what doesn't get used!! I'll have to check out some of these other suggestions at our convention next month.

 

Thanks again!

Sarah

[SilverMoon]

My current third grader's LA looks like:

-First Language Lessons 1/2 for grammar (she wasn't ready in first, didn't understand in second, going through the entire book in third)

-copywork, dictation and narration for writing

-Spelling Wisdom (from simplycharlottemason.com)

-lots of real books for reading

 

She also gets oodles of LA practice in history and science.

 

In second grade she used a Plaid Phonics workbook, with lessons in Phonics Pathways as needed. When she got more solid with her reading wings I started her into a first grade spelling book (A Reason For) to get her familiar with spelling itself, then gradually slid her over to on level work. She dabbled in FLL 1/2 but didn't really understand it.

[emmsmama]

Ds is using FLL this year and will use it for 2nd grade as well. Dd is using WTM Level 3 and will probably use Level 4 next year. It's quite thorough for grammar, but I'm having a hard time getting over the complete wastage of paper in the workbook (they could make the workbook half the size if they didn't waste so much space in it).

 

For Spelling I'm not doing anything formal with ds, but with dd I am using Spelling Power.

 

For Literature we use Ambleside Online book lists as a guide.

[motherdear]

This book has been a wonderful choice in our family. I believe it's written for grades two through high school. It is very thorough and covers everything you want to know about writing. It's very easy to use and worth a looksee at your local convention.

[motherdear]

This book has been the best choice in our family. It is a multilevel curriculum which takes you from grade 2 through high school. It is very easy to use and you will not have any "gaps." It's worth a looksee at the local convention.

[Narrow Gate Academy]

For 2nd grade we are using:

copywork, SWO, a modified FLL, and reading lots of library books with narration

 

For 3rd we use:

copywork/dictation, R&S3, SWO, CW Aesop, and lots of library books with narration

 

HTH

[5ray2006]

If we homeschool next year for 3rd grade (I keep changing my mind), this is what we will be using:

Spelling Workout or Rod and Staff Spelling

BJU Reading 3

BJU English 3 or Growing with Grammar 3

WWE