Questions about R&S English and Analytical High School Reinforcement books

[SS in MD]

Hello all!

My dd has used R&S english 3 - 6 and I was about to buy English 7 (she starts 7th grade in the fall), but then I heard about AG. I had the following questions-

1) Should she continue to use R&S English 7 & 8 (in 7th & 8th grades) then can she use the AG High School books, or does dd need to have used AG full program prior?

2) Or has anyone stretched R&S English 7 & English 8 across 4 years (English 7 in 7th & 8th, English 8 in 8th & 9th)? After that what's next?

3) Or not buy R&S English 7, and switch to AG for 7th and 8th, then onto using the AG HS Reinforcement books in high school.

I'd really like dd to focus more on writing and literature. She's learned a lot from R&S, but I'm just confused as to the best steps to take reguarding LA and of course what best prepares her for SATs & college.

Thank you all for responding!
Sangita

[BarbinTN]

Hi Sangita,
I have no words of wisdom here but I am disappointed that you haven't gotten any responses. I too am looking in to AG instead of R&S although my dc is only in 6th grade. So, just a bump for your post I suppose:o)
Blessings,
Barb

[SS in MD]

Thanks!! I was hoping for some responses as well!! I am really confused as what to do, she is my oldest dc, so this is all new to me!

BTW, we spread R&S 6 over 2 years (5th & 6th grade). My dd started R&S English 3 in 2nd grade, so she was always a year "ahead" in English, then when we got to 5th grade I had her do R&S English 6 for 2 years, but she didn't do the writing lessions, for those she used Wordsmith Apprentice in 5th and right now she's doing Wordsmith in 6th. A big reason why I spread R&S 6 over 2 years is I wanted her to have more time to spend on developing her writing skills. This probably won't help you as your dc is going into 6th... oh well!

Good Luck - thanks for the post!

[Heather in VA]

We switched from R&S to AG in 6th grade. It was the best thing we ever did. Not only does AG give you more time for writing and literature, but it really helps you think about grammar and sentence structure in a whole new way. DD always did well with R&S but it was just exercises. AG really makes you think about what you are doing and the role each word and group of words play in the sentence.

So I can't tell you what to do, but I've never regretted the switch.

Heather

[HiddenJewel]

Not to muddy the waters, but doesn't R&S have a 9th and 10th grade English now?

[HiddenJewel]

We switched from R&S to AG in 6th grade. It was the best thing we ever did. Not only does AG give you more time for writing and literature, but it really helps you think about grammar and sentence structure in a whole new way. DD always did well with R&S but it was just exercises. AG really makes you think about what you are doing and the role each word and group of words play in the sentence.

So I can't tell you what to do, but I've never regretted the switch.

Heather

I'm glad to hear this as I am planning on using AG with my 6th and 8th graders next year.

[BarbinTN]

This is my motivation as well; writing. We are starting IEW next year and I want more time to focus on that!!

Thanks for sharing!
Barb

[BarbinTN]

DD always did well with R&S but it was just exercises. AG really makes you think about what you are doing and the role each word and group of words play in the sentence.

Thanks for this encouragment. This is what I am reading on the IEW yahoo board in regards to writing and grammar. Exercises are simply that, just exercises. I think I am really starting to understand why we need grammar and what type of grammar. I really, really, really like the statement on the AG demo video that grammar is grammar and that is not grade level!!!!!!!!!! This has always been my hopes in a grammar program b/c I have two ds coming on the scene; 2nd and 3rd graders along with 2yog. I cringe at the thought of teaching 4 R&S English lessons on top of everything else. Combining my boys is my sole purpose for researching grammar yet again. R&S has been great for my dd but is/was it necessary?? I don't know but I guess we'll find out when/if they go to college!!

Blessings,
Barb

[Sandy in Indy]

I haven't looked at AG so I can't speak to that. My oldest have done R&S Eng through grade 8 (book 8). Then in high school we dropped grammar (R&S was enough!) and concentrated on writing and literature.

R&S does have a 9/10 book but its focus is writing, not grammar.

[SS in MD]

My oldest two dd are using R&S, but I have a 7 yo that I have to start grammar next year and 4 yo that will be in the schooling bunch in a few years. The idea of teaching everyone R&S at different grades makes my head spin. Like you said, it is good & thorough, but I just can't imagine doing that! It's time consuming... I'm already thinking perhaps for my 7 yo (2nd grade next school year) trying GWG instead of R&S? She isn't an auditory learner, so I don't think FLL will work. Any sorry to ramble, but what are use using with your 2nd grader?

But, back to the main post, the more I think about it the more I'm leaning toward using AG for 7th & 8th and perhaps their h.s books later on... Hopefuly AG will be challenging enough. Though, I can't imagine there is that much more grammar to learn (I know I never learned that much in ps)

Thanks again for your thoughts!

[HiddenJewel]

But, back to the main post, the more I think about it the more I'm leaning toward using AG for 7th & 8th and perhaps their h.s books later on... Hopefuly AG will be challenging enough. Though, I can't imagine there is that much more grammar to learn (I know I never learned that much in ps)

Thanks again for your thoughts!


I'm wondering if it is not so much that AG introduces more grammar than R&S but how it is introduced. BarbinTN mentioned that AG is more than just exercises but actually makes you think about how the words work in the sentence.

[StaceyinLA]

wanted to have something that was ONLY grammar so I could focus more on writing.

My kids were thrilled with the switch! They did well with R&S and learned A LOT, but they really liked the change. AG is a great program. I had my 7th, 9th and 11th graders using it (they started it last year and are in the second part now), but my 9th grader did switch at the middle of this year to EG. She was really struggling with the labeling, and I think the no-fluff of EG works for her (though I KNOW it is not as rigorous).

AG is working very well for 7th grade ds and for 11th dd (it was a little late to start it for her in 10th grade, but I wanted to feel she really COVERED grammar during HS).

I hope this helps. We love AG here!!

[BarbinTN]

Obviously, I am no veteran as my oldest is only in 5th grade. I have however bought and used TOO MANY curriculas with her. I had to see if the grass was greener on the other side so to speak. We tried Abeka, BJU, FLL, R&S and I think that's it.

With my 2nd grader I started out with FLL. When we hit the 2nd grade section and began memorizing the helping the verbs is when I started questioning what I was doing. I planned to used R&S a grade level (because of the handwriting) behind so he wouldn't be hitting the helping verbs etc until the middle of the 3rd grade book which would be in his 4th grade year. I saw no reason to memorize all that stuff when we wouldn't be reinforcing it for a while. Not to mention the fact that my 1st grader will NEVER catch up if he continues on. My goal in life is to combine them as much as possible.

I wish I knew the entire scope and sequence of GRAMMAR ITSELF. You know like with math, there is addition, subtraction, multiplication, algebra, geometry etc. I feel like if I knew ALL that stuff I could make the best decision of which grammar program to use.

Either AG is complete or not. If it is complete, then why does it take 10 years for R&S to teach it? I understand that R&S is complete with usage, writing etc but do they need 10 years to cover the parts of speech?

I don't know girlfriend!!!!!! I may call the folks at AG and pick their brain. I know on the IEW yahoo board that many of the folks including some college teachers recommend things like FixIt to correct grammatical errors instead of textbook exercises which are not in context of the actual writing project. I do find it somewhat entertaining to read the 2 extremes on this topic.

I just know that I want to see my kids, read LOTS of books, cook meals, exercise and have an occassional shower. I can't do with Classical Education! Perhaps I need to redefine my philosophy.

Happy hunting,
Barb

[yinne]

I had my oldest dd use R&S through book 8 and then this year she is using AG's High School Reinforcements books. It has worked great.

Just enough review to remember what she has learned, but not a huge time commitment. I do not think she would have done nearly as well if I had not had her go through R&S 7 and 8.

She rarely has any questions about the exercises in the AG book, and she rarely makes any mistakes.

Yvonne in NE

[StaceyinLA]

included in their books. They also review each year and get considerably more difficult as the years go by, but they aren't necessarily introducing NEW material each year.

AG, otoh, just covers the grammar. There are no bells, no whistles, just the facts.

I think using R&S was nice for the elementary grades since it covered writing and I really wasn't worried about adding a writing program at that point. I like AG for the older grades because I have more flexibility with writing and I know I'm still getting the grammar coverage as well...

[Brindee]

R&S has brought us out of the Grammar doldrums to the point where my kids ENJOY it! Before it was painful for all of us! I'm sooo happy we found it and started it (just 2 years ago)! I'll probably do as some of the others have said and use it through 8th, then switch to something else.