Rod and Staff.. ooh ooh I have a ? too

[littleleadvillelady]

I saw that someone else posted about Rod and Staff and I thought while you all were thinking about it maybe you could answer a question for me too.

I am interested in Rod and Staff english for my 5th grader. She is a struggling reader and has not had a lot of grammar instruction. (We have been trying to conquer the reading issues first) I have also thought about going ahead and putting my 2nd grader in too. So I am not sure what level to start them in. Does R&S english review every year? Does it build on concepts previously taught? Would it be too difficult for her to plunge in at grade level? Any suggestions?

Thanks Amy

[MIch elle]

nt

[Staci in MO]

Rod and Staff begins at the beginning each year. However, the pace of the review accelerates each year.

 

TWTM says that you can start a child on grade level up until 5th grade. A sixth grader doing grammar for the first time should start with the 5th grade book. For most dc, this would be fine, but a lot of people back up another year and start with the 4th grade book. A lot of people use R&S English below grade level, because it's so rigorous.

 

So it really depends on your dd. If she's had reading struggles, there's a chance she struggles with all things Language Arts, so starting with 4th grade might be good. But, she might do just fine with the 5th grade book. I personally didn't think there was a big jump in difficulty between 4th and 5th grade English. The jump from 5th to 6th grade, though, was pretty formidable. :tongue_smilie:

 

If you could somehow get a hold of both to look at, that would be ideal, but it might not be possible.

[PollyOR]

My dd (11) has struggled with reading too. From my experience, I would recommend the 4th grade book. For us the 5th grade book would have been too much too soon.

 

I haven't tried the 2nd grade level.

[Carol in Cal.]

I would start with Rod and Staff 3, and skip all the writing lessons; using another curriculum (Writing Strands, maybe?) for writing. Then I would skip to RS5 the following year. RS3 is so basic that it gives a really good overview of grammar. It also covers other LA areas that it sounds like you may not have covered yet, like dictionary use, punctuation, etc. in more detail than the later books do. I would expect that it would give her a great grounding in grammar and also a lot of the basics that she might not ever get if you don't cover this one. I'm suggesting this instead of 4, having used both of them, because you mentioned that she had had trouble with reading acquisition--so I think that a lot of the material in 3 will not be as 'natural' to her as it might be to someone who has already done a lot of age-appropriate reading.

 

Rod and Staff will send you free samples at each grade level that you are interested in, and they do give a good view of the level of work at each one.

 

It is very common for people to use RS a grade below grade level anyway, because it covers such a depth of material. My DD is about 1 1/2 years below grade level, and still her friends all think she is a grammar genius. This may say more about her friends than it does about her, LOL, but really I think that what it reflects is my choice to teach to mastery and usefulness rather than just 'getting through the material' so she is able to apply it elsewhere in a way that many of her friends cannot. RS is an excellent program!

 

For the younger one, I would use FLL1/2, hurrying through the first grade lessons and then slowing down a bit for the second grade ones. That is mostly an oral curriculum so it's easy to just grab, sit down, and run through. No homework.

[mamaof2andtwins]

I actually would start in the 3rd grade book as well, if she has had minimal grammar instruction.

 

I put a 5th grader with virtually no grammar instruction in to the 5th grade book, and it was a nightmare. It took us 2 years to wok through the 5th grade book. His sister was in th 3rd grade book at the time, and I should have just done them both together.

 

Jennie

[Christine]

I saw that someone else posted about Rod and Staff and I thought while you all were thinking about it maybe you could answer a question for me too.

I am interested in Rod and Staff english for my 5th grader. She is a struggling reader and has not had a lot of grammar instruction. (We have been trying to conquer the reading issues first) I have also thought about going ahead and putting my 2nd grader in too. So I am not sure what level to start them in. Does R&S english review every year? Does it build on concepts previously taught? Would it be too difficult for her to plunge in at grade level? Any suggestions?

Thanks Amy

 

I'm trying to think. . .

 

I put my 6th grader, at the time, in the 5th grade book. We had done Easy Grammar / Daily Grams for a couple of years prior. He really struggled with R & S when we started, but has since been completely acing the course.

 

I started my 2nd child when he was in 5th grade with the 3rd book. My 2nd child struggles in all aspects of school, and this was no different, but he's moving through slowly, and I am now seeing glimpses of "sure knowledge" (knowing that this is definately a direct object and that is a preposition, etc.) and understanding.

 

If at all possible, I would try to get a couple of sample to look at and start based on those where your dd would "fit". There is nothing worse than trying to start a kid at "grade level" when they aren't quite there, and then the frustration levels, and mental anguish. . .

[littleleadvillelady]

It is such a blessing to have you guys as a resource! Thank you for all the great advice. We live in a tiny, mountain town that does not have many homeschoolers. Being able to ask you guys is such a blessing. Thanks!

[Katiebug_1976]

Rod & Staff does have a lot of review each year, but it also builds on what was taught the previous year. Having jumped in "in the middle" with my dd, I would suggest starting with level 3 and moving through it at a quicker pace if your dc need to. Then you wont miss anything. Especially if there hasn't been much formal grammar. My dd got frustrated when the book would refer to something learned in a previous book, and since we didn't do that book, she had not learned that, so we went back a couple levels, and are doing 2-3 lessons per day so she will be back up to where she feels she should be (she has issues with the number on the book). R&S only goes through 10th grade anyway, and is a quite advanced program. So there's plenty of time to complete the whole program if you want. My now 7th grade dd was "correcting" the incorrect grammar in the posts from my dh's online college classmates. She was really encouraged by the fact that she could keep up with, or was more advanced than some college students.