Reviewed by 10HatsMom. Click here to see 10hatsmom's profile.
Grades: 2nd - High School
Levels Used: Level Pre-A, Level A
Character Quality Language Arts(CQLA), includes Composition, Writing, Grammar, Key Word Outlines, Spelling, Vocabulary, and Dictation.
Materials: Teachers Book (only need to purchase one time), Spelling Notebook (only need to purchase one time), Student Book (purchased each year)
Ease of teaching: Difficult to understand and get started, but worth the time invested to learn to teach
Happy With Curriculum: Yes - why below:
- incorporates character qualities and heroes of the faith in the passages and has student work with them to create a better paper
- repetitively teaches key word outlines week after week in the same format
- frequent review of grammar previously learned and teaches child to use the grammar
- price is good for an entire year of all the subjects it covers
- extra research projects listed in each section
- flexibility
Cons - difficult to learn to use, learning curve from most curriculums a little slow, spelling weak
Reviewed by homeshoolingwithjoy. Click here to see homeshoolingwithjoy's profile.
Essentials of the English Language (EEL) is a complete and thorough English Grammar Curriculum. It consists of 24 lessons that are to be completed each year for three years. EEL is designed to be used in a Classical Conversations Essentials class which is taught by a qualified, trained tutor.
We started using this program when my oldest son was in the fourth grade. He had a very basic knowledge of English grammar ahead of time, but struggled with even the rudiments such as nouns and verbs. He could formulate sentences, however, there never seemed to be a capital letter or end mark anywhere!
I was a little leery of beginning Essentials with my son, because of the difficulties he has in sitting still and concentrating for periods of time. Nevertheless, we had a wonderful year in the program. The part my son liked the best was meeting with his peers in the classroom to learn the material together. The classroom was very interactive and kept the students attention.
The students memorize vocabulary, rules, and lists with the aid of "Mastery Sheets" that are introduced in the classroom and worked with at home each week. Fun games are often used in class as a way to review past material and help the students really know and understand the grammar. The students are taught to systematically and thoroughly analyze sentence structures and patterns through question and answer prompts and diagramming.
What really makes this an excellent program for me is the fact that as a mom, I get to sit in on the class and learn from the tutor how to go home and teach my children. Each week I sit in class along with the students and soak in the information which makes me better able to answer questions and lead my children at home during the week.
The guide is very complete and lists what to do each week at home. The curriculum is for students grades 3-6 and is designed to be progressively more challenging each year. I did not put my oldest son in the program when he was in 3rd grade because I felt that it would have been too much for him, but 4th grade was the perfect starting time.
The Essentials of the English Language is a wonderful program and I strongly recommend it for students in the 4th- 6th grades. I would only recommend the program for a 3rd grader that is an exceptional reader and enjoys learning.
Reviewed by homeshoolingwithjoy. Click here to see homeshoolingwithjoy's profile.
We began using Phonetic Zoo Level A with my oldest son when he began the fourth grade. Before this spelling program my son could not spell anything! Spelling was a bad word at our house for both him and me. The process was painful and frustrating, nothing seemed to work.
I was drawn to Phonetic Zoo because it is an auditory program. As stated on The Institute for Excellence in Writing website, "Auditory input and then spelling the word out loud, letter by letter, ensures accurate storage of the correct sequence in the brain, which allows for correct retrieval and accurate spelling."
The program is recorded on CDs which the student listens to independently. First, a phonetic rule is stated and then the current words are stated along with a sentence using each word. The student writes the words he hears them. After all the words are written down, the CD spells each word correctly. The student listens to the CD and writes the correct spelling for all misspelled words. This takes only about 15 minutes a day. The student does the same lesson each day until he spells 100% of the words right 2 days straight.
This procedure makes sure that the student has mastered the words and it also makes him feel great to receive the 100% grade twice for each list. This process eliminates the frustration on the students part and the parents part.
I highly recommend this program for all students!
