Analytical Grammar

As my oldest entered high school, I went researching for a solid grammar curriculum he could use to finish out his grammar studies.  I was looking for something that wasn't too involved, since he had already been exposed to these concepts.  He mostly needed some review and reinforcement during his high school years.  He needed something straightforward and not terribly time consuming.  He had already learned the rules of grammar, and now needed to focus most of his time on his great book studies.  We finally landed on Analytical Grammar and it was a perfect fit.

The philosophy of the writers of Analytical Grammar is  "that they don't need to be "doing" a grammar worksheet every day, all year long, for years and years and years!  If grammar is taught sequentially and logically, there is no need for so much repetition."  They argue that grammar instruction isn't even needed until middle school ages.  I know, I know.  That's hard for us parents to hear--especially those of us who are Classically minded.  While I am not ready to drop grammar from my elementary students' work plans, the idea of not having to struggle through busy work is very appealing.  I had noticed that my oldest and his 6 years younger sister were doing basically the same grammar work year after year, and really that much repetition wasn't necessary to achieve our goals.  

The program of Analytical Grammar is set up in 3 seasons.  You purchase 1 set and that set includes all you need for those 3 years of grammar.  You can modify the seasons and complete them sooner than 3 years, but we stuck to the 3 year plan.  The first 10-12 weeks of the year consist of new lessons with new material, as well as some practice pages. The curriculum teaches parsing and diagramming as it goes, using real literature such as Twain and the Gettysburg Address.  If you aren't comfortable teaching, they sell dvds that cover the material for you.  I found that my student was able to read the lesson and understand it himself without my instruction.  After those initial weeks, the student will complete a page of practice every other week for the rest of the year.  I hear your skepticism.  The reality is, it works.  My oldest was never a good diagrammer, and I wondered how much he would retain with only this much practice.  I was blown away by both the depth he learned and the ease at which he can now diagram complicated sentences, but also the depth of retention from one season to the next.  He just didn't need the drill when the lessons were taught with an emphasis on patterns.  

The 3 seasons can be completed anytime from 6th grade onward.  Once those seasons are complete, your student can  move on to the high school reinforcement books which allow for practice using real literature from American authors, British authors, World authors, or Shakespeare.  If you can't wait to start until 6th, they also have Jr. Analytical grammar, which my oldest daughter used and loved this past year.

The program is no-frills and uses real literature.  It teaches grammar in a logical progression, without excessive repetition and busy work.  It fits our goals and priorities well, while teaching solid grammar rules and constructions.  We have been very pleased and look forward to trying out their new writing curriculum as well.