I've been homeschooling my daughters for somewhere near 13 years now, and as one would expect, grammar has been a regular component of our curriculum. English, and the topics that fall under its title, has for the most part, been one of our strengths in schooling. I don't typically face resistance from my girls in this area, with the exception of the mild squawks that might pop up when a paper is assigned. I have had the joy (yes, joy, I do enjoy this subject) of reviewing Fix It! Grammar from Institute of Excellence in Writing (IEW) the past month or so, and I appreciate their approach in making lessons practical in application.
Fix It! Grammar is a program that offers 6 different books to work through. Regardless of the grade level that your student is working through with a different curriculum, if you are new to this one, it's a good idea to begin with the The Nose Tree - Book One. That's exactly where we decided to start. Doing so will allow you to get the feel for the teaching style, and if necessary, you can work through the book at a faster pace. Interestingly, this program was borne out of a teacher's frustration with most of the grammar programs out there. Those teach the fundamentals, but students often have trouble applying the rules. In these books, they will learn the concepts, by using them in their writing. The assignments start out slow, marking parts of speech and punctuation, and continue building from there.
This book will take you through 33 weeks of lessons, if you follow a schedule of 4 days a week, 15 minutes a day. If you start an older student at this level, it can be shortened to a semester's worth of work. I'm working through this first book with my 13 year old, and we both find it easy to follow. Parents/Teachers will find everything they need to implement the lessons, in the manual, broken into daily assignments. If you use the physical copy of the book, you'll only need an extra single spiral notebook, where students will write out vocabulary words, and the rewrites of the paragraphs that will be edited. There are flash cards at the back of the student book that can be cut out and laminated as well. A Glossary is also included, which you'll find very helpful, as well.
The week's assignments are broken up as follows:
Learn It - This is an overview of the material to be covered during the week.
Daily Fix Its - Reading the sentences, look up words that are in bold in the dictionary, choose the appropriate definition, and write it in the back of the spiral notebook.
Day 1- Mark and fix the first passage with teacher help as needed. Rewrite afterward.
Days 2-4- Use abbreviations on the page, as well as grammar cards, to mark passages
Rewrite- Rewrite the passage into the spiral notebook. You will eventually have a handwritten copy of the whole story.
I like IEW, and I like this program. My 13 year old, who is in 8th grade, has had no problems working through the assignments this far. We started at Book one, The Nose Tree, so honestly, I didn't expect any issues. Since she can work through the material at an increased pace, we'll check out the other books as well. This can be a promising option for students just beginning their grammar career, as they will have the opportunity to learn the fundamentals in a practical way, as they work, and as it applies to their writing. As you begin planning for the next school year, consider IEW Fix It! Grammar for your studies.
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