Where to begin again in English...

[LeAnna]

Hi! We have been away for awhile from Rod and Staff English, but I would like to get my kids back into it. Where would I start? My kids are currently in 2nd grade, 4th and 5th? How would this look in the long term plan?

Thank you!

[my3sons]

Hi! We have been away for awhile from Rod and Staff English, but I would like to get my kids back into it. Where would I start? My kids are currently in 2nd grade, 4th and 5th? How would this look in the long term plan?

Thank you!

Hi LeAnna! Your 2nd grader can begin with R & S English 2, or if that child is doing Beyond Little Hearts, the intro to grammar on Day 5 of the plans would be good to do, and R & S English 2 can be started the following year with Bigger Hearts for His Glory. Typically, dc should shoot for completing R & S English 6 by the end of Grade 8, as R & S English is quite advanced, we want to avoid overload, we want to balance with good writing programs, and R & S English 7 and 8 are high school credit worthy (being spread across the 4 years of high school). So, that being said, I'd say your 4th grader should do R & S English 3 if he/she has not done any diagramming. If he/she has done some diagramming, and is fairly good at grammar, he/she could begin R & S English 4, probably half-speed, doing half this year and half the next. For your 5th grader, I'd do either R & S English 4 full-speed, or R & S English 5 half-speed (spread over 2 years, half this year in fifth grade, and half next year in 6th grade). This would again depend on this child's previous exposure. If he/she has not done much with grammar, and with diagramming, I'd definitely go with R & S English 4 full-speed. One last tip, Carrie suggested doing 2/3 of R & S English orally /on the marker board, and reserving only 1 section to be written. We have loved this and been able to very successful with completing R & S English consistently through the years - with solid retention. I'd highly suggest doing this! HTH!

In Christ,
Julie

[LeAnna]

That sounds great! They have not done diagramming. So for next year... 3rd, 5th and 6th, would you suggest book 2, 3, and 4? Possibly going full speed at least with the two older?

Thanks!
LeAnna

[my3sons]

That sounds great! They have not done diagramming. So for next year... 3rd, 5th and 6th, would you suggest book 2, 3, and 4? Possibly going full speed at least with the two older?

Thanks!
LeAnna

I was thinking the placements were for now for 2nd grade, 4th grade, and 5th grade. Thanks for clarifying that! Looking to next year, I'd have your 3rd grader go ahead and do R & S English 3. It is fine to begin with R & S English 3 and not do 2 for third grade, as 3 is somewhat a repeat of 2, and 3 teaches diagramming from the start. For your fifth grader, I think full-speed 4 would probably be just fine, especially if this child does fairly well with LA type subjects, but you could see and always drop down to 3 with younger sibling if that proves to be a better fit. For your sixth grader, I'd say R & S English 4 full-speed, unless when you look at the scope and sequence below, you think that child is ready for R & S English 5...



For the 6th grader, it would be better to work through R & S English 5 or half of R & English 6 by the end of Grade 8, taking time to make sure that child truly understood the concepts well, than to rush to get through R & S English 6 by the end of Grade 8. Carrie has mentioned before that it is alright if not all students make it through level 8 of R & S English upon graduating high school. Having done all of the levels through mid-7 of R & S English so far with my oldest ds, I can confidently say that R & S English 6 is probably more grammar already than most dc will ever receive. That being said, it is an outstanding English program, and it teaches strong writing skills as well as grammar skills. Using it to whatever level one is able will help that student develop strong writing and grammar/usage skills that can be applied across all subject areas. I'd not use anything else with our kiddos - the results are that solid and worth every minute we have spent doing grammar together through the years. HTH!

In Christ,
Julie