What does a day in the life of R&S English 3 look like?

[jail warden]

I am looking at this for next year. Currently we are doing GWG and while it's fine, I'm not sure it's sinking in. They're doing the work just fine, but would they or I ever be able to apply it? I just don't know. I do SWR and RS Math, both of which are very teacher-intensive. While I love these programs and the way my children learn them, I don't think I can add in one more thing that I have to completely teach. So let me know what all 'you' as the teacher have to do, and how much the student does on their own? I was completely blown away by Janice in NJ and want to make sure we really learn this stuff and want to know the best path to take. TIA!

[Jackie in AR]

What we did in English 3 was to read the lesson together, then dc would either orally do some of the exercises while I listened or I would assign a few exercises for them to write on their own, depending on the day. If we did everything orally, it would take 15 minutes at the most. There is also a packet of worksheets that you can purchase to go with the book and dc could complete those instead of doing the work orally or doing the work in the textbook.

[strider]

I would take a quick minute to ask dd the review questions from the TM.

Dd and I would read the instructional material do the oral exercises together.

Dd would work independently on some or all of the written exercises--I assigned whatever I saw fit.

Total time--15 or 20 minutes.

I have a high opinion of R&S grammar--it's thorough, with a lot of review, and not too overwhelming.

[Colleen in NS]

I do SWR and RS Math, both of which are very teacher-intensive. While I love these programs and the way my children learn them, I don't think I can add in one more thing that I have to completely teach.

I use WRTR, R&S English and math, and LC - all of which need to be taught. I do find, however, that once I learn how to teach each program, the time is cut down significantly. I like (well, grit my teeth sometimes) investing the time at first to learn to teach it, because it's so worth it afterwards.

[Suzanne in ABQ]

In my experience, there isn't much a 3rd grader can do independently. Perhaps handwriting/copywork. Probably not grammar. Definitely not Rod & Staff. My 6th grade dd does R&S6 by herself. But, I still sit and do my 4th grade ds's R&S4 with him, mostly orally, or on a white board. Personally, I think grammar is too important to leave it to them to figure out on their own. I hate to say it, but if you really want your dc to learn grammar, you're going to have to carve a chunk of time out of your day to teach it to them

I say this while cringing because I'm currently giving myself the same lecture regarding writing. I really want to implement a writing program with my 6th grade dd, but it will take time away from other things. I don't know how I'm going to do it, but I know it needs to be done. I'll find a way to make it happen (maybe hire a housekeeper?) :)

[Rhondabee]

I would write the answers to about half of the Written Exercises.

So, for example, if Part A has 7 sentences, I would write the answers to the first 3, then label numbers 4-7 on his paper.

Then, we'd do half of Park B (me writing the answers), then I'd leave room for him to do the rest.

Etc, etc. etc.

Then, after we'd gone through the Written Exercises together, but before he did the independent work, we'd go through the Written Review together orally (or, if necessary, on the whiteboard).

THEN, he'd finish the Written Exercises on his own. This helped my ds remember what he was supposed to do, since he could look back at my "pattern".

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And, on a side note, don't skip the exercises along the lines of "Make up a sentence about this picture, and use a state of being verb."

[mcconnellboys]

We went over it mostly orally last year. Ds did do some of the diagramming on paper, but also did some of that orally. It generally took about 10 minutes.

Regena

[dalynnrmc]

We're finishing up Eng3 now, our first R&S experience and love it!

What we do is to go over the review in the TM, and then ds reads the lesson aloud. He tells me if he understands, and I check to see what work is to be done today. In the book, I read the directions to him and let him do the first one of each section orally to be certain that he understands. If there is a problem, we continue orally in that section and/or go back and read that part of the lesson until he DOES understand.

Then I check to see if there is a worksheet. If there is, he does that work; if not, he does the work in the book on his own paper, just writing the answers. (If it is a lot of writing, I allow him to type it on the computer.) When he is done I check it to make sure he has understood.

Another note: every fifth lesson is a review lesson. We have begun doing these review lessons FIRST, as a sort of pre-test. If he needs to go back and cover one or more of the lessons in the format above, he does so. But if he aces or nearly aces the review lesson, we don't bother teaching what he already knows, and move on to the next review. We've moved very quickly since starting with this method, and it helps ds to feel like he's just about the smartest kid on the planet to get to skip lessons like that. ;)

[Christine]

It's been awhile since we've done R&S 3 so I can't really answer your questions well; however, I just wanted to let you know that I have a schedule for R & S 3 (2-8, as well) on my blog. (Go under "Schedules".) It's in MS Word format and will give you a "visual idea" of a daily schedule -- feel free to grab it and save it if you wish too.

[angela in ohio]

I go through the lesson in my TM with them, which includes reading the lesson in their book out loud and doing the oral exercises. Then they write the rest of the activities (including the reviews.) I have a dd tha hads done 3-6 and one that has done 2-4. They don't do the lessons totally independently at all. They both apply the concepts outside of their grammar lessons frequently both casually (we are nerds, we talk about grammar - and lack of it, LOL - all the time) and in their other school work, so I feel like this is working for us.

[Mandy]

Sorry...I posted this as a reply, but had the intention of posting a new thread.

I am using FFL 1-2 right now and really like the format. My daughter has learned and retained a great deal, and I would love to move on to FLL 3. Here is the rub. I already have access to a "free" Rod and Staff English 3 for next year.

Here is my question for those who have used both programs at this level. How do the two programs compare in ease of use, student retention, parent/student enjoyment. I do plan on getting Writing With Ease, so I will not be using the writing component of R & S.

Thanks for any insight you might have,
Mandy

[jail warden]

I LOVE your schedules!!!:hurray:

[KIN]

I also love your schedules, Christine! I saved all of the Rod & Staff grammar ones! Thanks so much!

[Christine]

I LOVE your schedules!!!:hurray:

Thank you for the kindness.

I also love your schedules, Christine! I saved all of the Rod & Staff grammar ones! Thanks so much!

You are more than welcome, I hope they will come in handy for you.