For those that have used GWG for a year or more...

[Ann@thebeach]

How are your kids retaining things? We've been using GWG 3 this year and we are about 1/2 way done with the book but my 10 yr old does not seem to be retaining it IMO. I have to keep reminding him of things we did in the past. Or maybe it's just because it's not a subject he likes at all-but who does ;)

 

Just wondering how others have done with it or maybe this specific program just isn't the right one for my DS. We used FLL for him in first grade and while I didn't care for it, I have to admit I felt he retained things better. Wondering if I should switch to FLL3?

 

Thanks

[patchfire]

I thought dd was retaining things relatively well, at least in that she's able to complete the exercises in the book well. However, as we've been working through Writing Tales and the grammar included in it, I'm having my doubts. For various reasons, I had already decided to use JAG next year, but now I'm doubly glad - perhaps GWG just wasn't clicking enough to be applicable elsewhere for her.

[Sasharowan]

My dd9 has done GWG3 this year. She knows the grammar while doing grammar, but her writing still has a capital letter, 3-4 sentences, and then a punctuation.

[Amy loves Bud]

My son has used GWG 4 and GWG 5. He has about three weeks left in GWG 5. I think he has retained it well. We are using Classical Writing Aesop B right now and he has no difficulty with the grammar there, based on what he has learned in GWG. HTH!

[katilac]

Well, there is a reason grammar is studied for so many years!

 

We use GWG with good success. What types of things is she having trouble retaining? Is it very basic info, like simple parts of speech? Or does he forget how to diagram certain parts of a sentence?

 

I'd think having trouble retaining basic info would be more of a red flag which calls for adding in some memory work or reviewing new curriculum. But having to review the rules of diagramming, or messing up irregular verbs? That type of thing is very typical for most kids, and it's why grammar has so. dang. much. review!

[HollyDay]

We used GWG 3 and 4. I was disappointed with 4. Dd did not retain much. There wasnt enough (IMHO) teaching or review on punctuation and capitalization. Prepositions were poorly presented (IMHO). It became monotonous and rather boring, but the retention was not there either. 3 was good. It was good enough to make me want to use 4 this year. But, I will not be using 5 next year.

[teacalm]

I switched dd9 from GWG5 to Rod Staff Eng 5 and she's doing well, so far. She said she remembers what she did in GWG5. However, another mom in our little hs group commented that her ds9 is not getting GWG at all. I guess it's different for everyone. With my dds, I make sure that they are getting it by consistently checking their work everyday.

 

All different results for everyone.

[patchfire]

We used GWG 3 and 4. I was disappointed with 4. Dd did not retain much. There wasnt enough (IMHO) teaching or review on punctuation and capitalization. Prepositions were poorly presented (IMHO). It became monotonous and rather boring, but the retention was not there either. 3 was good. It was good enough to make me want to use 4 this year. But, I will not be using 5 next year.

 

Prepositions are exactly the area with which dd is having difficulty! She's not transferring the knowledge well.

 

I've been supplementing punctuation and capitalization with a lot of editing-type exercises this year, so I don't know where she'd be with those had I not.

[buddhabelly]

for the same child. It was necessary for us to skip 4, simply BECAUSE he did retain what he learned in GWG 3. He is retaining everything well. He loves diagramming. (Shhh: so do I.) It does have a lot of review, so I don't really understand why some kids are forgetting. My son also did FLL 1/2, if that figures into your informal poll.

 

Julie

[Karen sn]

Prepositions are exactly the area with which dd is having difficulty! She's not transferring the knowledge well.

 

I've been supplementing punctuation and capitalization with a lot of editing-type exercises this year, so I don't know where she'd be with those had I not.

 

Curious: Did she memorize the prepositions?

[ChicoryChick]

Well, there is a reason grammar is studied for so many years! .............and it's why grammar has so. dang. much. review!

 

 

YES! :iagree: When I read this a light bulb went on in my head.

 

As a child, I strongly disliked grammar. I loved math, science and history, but really struggled with grammar. Every year it seemed like we repeated the same thing over and over (of course they also added new things every years as well) and it was so BORING. One of the things I had a difficult time wrapping my around was direct objects. I just didn't get it..... until eleventh grade. Then it finally clicked. For some children it just takes longer than for others. (hopefully it won't take your children as long as it took me ;) )

 

Another area in which I struggled was creative writing. I hated it. I was not the kind to make up stories in my head or see a bee and be able to write a story about it. That is just not how my brain worked, never mind trying to remember the grammar rules and apply them.

 

My point is that a young child in the early to middle years of elementary school is probably not going to get most of it. They might be able to memorize the rules and parrot it back you or even apply it to the sentences in a book, but when the time comes to apply it in their writing or review it weeks later those rules are not going to be foremost in their mind. What is going on in their mind is "what am I trying to say here and how do I put that on paper?" It is not "Do my sentences begin with a capital letter and end with a punctuation mark and is that word spelled correctly?" or they are remembering the last few concepts that were learned. It is the repeated drilling and growing throughout the years and having the child correct his work in his own writing (after he gets the story worked out) that finally causes the nail to reach it's mark.

 

If you believe that GWG (I have never used it so can't comment on the actual curriculum) is teacher friendly to you, presents grammar in a clear and concise manner, has enough built in review and builds on itself from year to year, then I would recommend sticking with it. Eventually your child will get it (especially when they reach the logic stage). In the meantime, I would have him/her keep a list of rules nearby and have him go through them like you would Latin vocabulary words or mathematical facts. Also let them use the list to correct their own writing after they have worked the sentence, paragraph or story out, It is the application of the grammar that is more beneficial in the learning.

 

Just my .02 (and hoping this makes sense)

 

BTW ~ I am learning this the hard way. I am a recovering grammar curriculum hopper. ;)

Edited April 29, 2009 by kayinpa

[arcara]

We're using GWG 1 and 4 this year with great success!!

 

I've been impressed by how well my older dd is doing with diagramming. This was her 1st exposure to prepositions. She has a little trouble. This was the one section of the book that I had to go over with her. But, she understood it well by the end of the section.

[LaxMom]

We used the end of 1, 2, and are now getting toward the end of 3. My daughter retains the information well.

 

HOWEVER (because there is always a "but"), she is still in the process of learning to compile original thought and put it on paper in a readable format. (She's 8) That is a skill that develops with practice, at a later age. So, like a number of kids I know IRL, she does not yet transfer her ability to spell, properly punctuate, etc. to the process of writing narrations, for instance. So we are learning to edit after getting the thoughts on paper. ;) That's a whole 'nother skill set.

[Bambam]

My oldest used GWG 3, 4 and currently 5. She hasn't had a problem retaining the information with the exception of exactly how to diagram a certain part of speech. She regularly corrects grammar and punctation that she sees in various signs and announcements. (I do not let her proof read my emails or posts!) She is currently having some trouble with prepositional phrases, so we are taking that part slow and I am working with her and trying to ask herself the questions she needs to figure things out.

 

I've been pleased with GWG so far. I like the program and how it is laid out, but we will be going more next year, and I would prefer a program that is easier to take with us. So we are changing to CLE's LA program - it will be much nicer to take one little booklet than two books. Trivial reason, but there it is! BTW, my oldest tested into the proper (next) grade level (6th).