Grammar

This is a really nifty little picture book that illustrates the importance of commas through the use of simple sentences with humorous illustrations contrasted with the same sentence (on the opposite side of the page) differently punctuated. The results are entertaining and quite educational.

Here is one example:

On the left-hand page is the sentence: "Slow, children crossing." The cartoon-like picture shows a crossing guard signalling for cars to stop while some school children cross the road.

On the right-hand page is the sentence: "Slow children crossing." The picture is of a bunch of children holding up traffic by very slowly walking across a bridge weighed down with a dog that won't move, a large pile of books, etc. A car impatiently honks while waiting for his turn to cross the bridge.

My children and I found this very engaging. My 9 year old immediately disappeared, book-in-hand, to pour over it again on her own.

A two-page appendix shows thumbnails of each picture along with their corresponding sentences and a brief explanation of the grammatical rule involved. Here are the explanations given for the examples used above:

Slow, children crossing.
The comma separates two independent phrases Slow and children crossing.

Slow children crossing.
Without the comma, slow is an adjective that modifies children.

There are thirteen sets of sentences in all.

Intended for use in first and second grades, the 200 completely-scripted lessons in this textbook are a complete guide in "How to Teach English to Young Children". The non-consumable book is actually a textbook for the teacher rather than the student. Lessons are completely secular and include portions of classic poems, stories and rhymes. Also included are original poems and stories as well as a few selections that have been adapted for young children. Pictures are black-and-white line drawings rather than photographs or color reproductions.

Each day's lesson is taught to the student, interactively, utilizing no workbooks or photocopied worksheets. The teacher is an integral part of this course, which combines direct instruction with regular drill and review. First grade lessons are almost completely oral with a Montessori-feel to them. Montessori classrooms use a repetition technique that has been applied to the lesson scripts when a new concept is introduced to the child. The course begins with very simple, very short lessons and builds into longer lessons with very short copywork assignments by the end of the year. Second grade lessons incorporate more pencil-and-paper writing, with some written copywork each day. Composition exercises are oral throughout, focusing on narration from short stories, poetry, and pictures. Poetry memorization selections are short and rhyming, which should make it enjoyable for most students. In addition, many lessons include enrichment suggestions for students who find their lessons comfortably easy. A variety of activities keeps the student engaged from the beginning to the end of each day's lesson and from week to week throughout the course.

In the introduction, Mrs. Wise writes, "I believe we underestimate what young children are capable of learning. We can grow children who exceed the average by exposing them to above-average content-----as long as that content is taught patiently, frequently, and consistently, and is reviewed often." There are educators who think that formal grammar and language study is more suited to later elementary school, but Mrs. Wise shows us how to make English class both productive and enjoyable in the earliest years. An excellent, early foundation in English can provide the necessary background for deeper study in following years as well as foreign language study in elementary school. This book gives the teaching parent everything (s)he needs to provide that foundation.

The very first lesson in first grade is completely oral and introduces the concept of a noun; it takes less than 10 minutes to complete. The early lessons in second grade include an oral teaching part, a written copywork part, drill and review, and poetry memorization. There is a distinct change from the beginning of the book to the end. Some lessons focus completely on picture study (oral composition), and others are just poetry study.

The lessons include both picture study and narration. I didn't find the pictures especially inspiring, but they are "family-type", "everyday-situation-type" of drawings set in current times. I thought the most valuable part of First Language Lessons was that it teaches the mother HOW to get the most out of a picture study by providing a lengthy list of guiding questions. It should be easier for a mother new to this idea to branch out to other pictures after gaining some experience and confidence.

This is a simple and charming, Catholic grammar workbook designed for use in the second grade. It reinforces very basic grammar concepts such as - what constitutes a sentence, nouns and verbs, past and present tense (choosing the correct verb), singular and plural, opposites, simple synonyms, and capitalizing words such as - the days of the week, the months of the year, special titles and the names of God. A complete answer key is included.The book is illustrated with pen and ink drawings (some religious and some charming basic children's pictures) and supplemented with some classic Catholic poetry.

Because there is not a great deal of explanation of how various aspects of grammar work, this works nicely as a supplement to Simply Grammar (reviewed below).

Language of GOD for Little Folks - Level C, is Catholic Heritage Curricula’s grammar program designed for the third or fourth grader. It is a complete program in a spiral bound workbook and does not require any additional text or teacher’s manual. The program focuses on gradually building language skills. These skills are very naturally presented within the context of the Catholic faith. Topics covered are sentence parts, nouns, verbs, adverbs, adjectives, pronouns, commas, apostrophes, tense, and subject- verb agreement. These topics are all covered in a slightly more challenging manner than in the previous levels.

We have been using CHC’s Language of God program for two years. It presents the information in a regular and comprehensive manner without being needlessly repetitive. Each topic is introduced and the child has the opportunity to practice the necessary skills with reviews included every few lessons. We normally supplement the exercises by discussing the concepts as they apply to our literature and writing assignments. The program is designed to be easy on the teacher and easy on the student without sacrificing quality (speaking plainly, it is easy for me to call out, “Start your grammar.” while attempting to redirect a mischievous toddler and my eight year old begins the lesson joyfully). Furthermore, it teaches grammar while focusing on the ultimate goal of salvation. In the very first lesson it is necessary to read through and discuss several passages from the Gospel. This is a very balanced program for the Catholic home schooler.