Suggested Age

10-12

WHY FOCUS ON GRAMMAR FIRST?

Communication does rule the nation. Most significantly, the successful study of grammar is the bedrock of such effective communication in writing. In these early years, the student establishes an iron-clad grasp of these basic grammatical principles so that their writing may flourish and mature as they continue in their English sequence. The Easy Grammar 6 workbook is the primary text, and class objectives include the following:

Identify and understand the eight parts of speech as well as their functions in a sentence

Master the lists of helping and irregular verbs, prepositions, contractions, and pronouns

Reinforce subject-verb agreement and pronoun-antecedent agreement

Revise sentence fragments and run-on sentences

CAN WRITING ACTUALLY BE JOYFUL?

Absolutely. The first step in writing is establishing the “comfort zone,” where the student feels at ease conveying thoughts onto paper. If critique comes too intensely in this early writing process, students may doubt their abilities and feel discouraged. At worst, they may develop a disdain for writing altogether. Rest assured, beloved parents… there will be ample opportunity for the red ink of correction to flow in the years to come. But for now, we want them to know that their content (i.e. themselves) is of primary importance. So the compositions in this year of the sequence are:

Designed to be enjoyable, allowing the student to be creative and expressive

A prime opportunity for the teacher to highlight their strengths, offer encouragement and suggestions, and help impart a sense of pride in their work

A prime opportunity for the student to employ the rules of correct grammar, capitalization, spelling, punctuation, and sentence structure they learn in class

Usually one page typewritten or, one-and-a half pages handwritten (about 250-400 words), double-spaced

HOW DOES VOCABULARY FACTOR IN?

Think of it like… weight training. To build a strong muscle (vocabulary), one gradually increases both the weight (the difficulty of the words) and the repetitions (how many times the words are used) while keeping a consistent practice schedule (a list of twelve words a week). The weekly vocabulary component features:

Charts to be filled out on each list, involving definitions and synonyms

Crossword puzzles, so the students can see their new words used correctly

The student’s own original, descriptive sentences using their new words

Spelling tests administered by the parent-teacher