English on a Roll - English Grammar Teaching Method Review

We recently had a chance to review English Grammar Teaching Method from English on a Roll.  What a great concept this has been to use!

English Grammar Teaching Method from English on a Roll is a new and innovative way to teach Grammar to students.  It introduces fun to the boring subject of language arts and grammar.  Originally created to help ESL students get a better grasp on the English language, this multi-sensory program can help students (and adults) that are struggling readers and writers to finally click with the grammatical concepts.  English Grammar Teaching Method can be used with any student whether typical or special needs.

I had the opportunity to try this program out with the girls.  It was very easy to setup in our lesson plans.  The information is laid out in an easy to read format for the instructor.  Since there is a a set of manipulative blocks necessary to complete the program, this information is even included in the daily plan.  Instead of sitting out an entire box of small blocks that tempt children to play instead of learn, the lesson plan lists which blocks you need for each lesson.  You only need to get out those blocks to complete the assignment.

Caty and Lydia both have an introduction to grammatical concepts.  So I was curious to see if playing with a set of "dice" would help them or just be a hinderance as I would need to pick them up as they were thrown.  This made me nervous.  But we jumped in with both feed to work on the program.

I was pleasantly surprised that the girls didn't just start rolling the dice carelessly so we might always be crawling to find them.   I was able to read the information or question/answer sections from the main book and BAM we were set.

Our experience has been positive so far.  Caty is picking up parts of speech that she was struggling with in the past.  So far they have tackled subject pronouns, consonant sounds and using a/an, who/what questions,  and noun/pronoun relationships.  I have included Lydia also as reinforcement.  She has definitely loved using English Grammar Teaching Method instead of a bunch of boring workbook pages from her typical grammar book.

You are not left alone with English Grammar Teaching Method.  The first pages of your book contain a fully laid directions to successfully use this 36 lesson book.  This was great, since there has never been a subject that I have taught a subject like this before.

Our lessons start out with me giving them worksheets for the lesson.  Each lesson has a guide for the teacher/instructor to follow.  It tells me which dice to use for each lesson.  So I don't just set the entire case of 40 cubes in front of the girls.  I know that will be a huge distraction.  Our grammar really takes no time at all.  We are done in roughly 20 minutes, depending on the day.  There have been a few times that they have loved the worksheets/work so much that we have continued with made up examples and work so they can keep going.

The dice are feature color coded words that match their part of speech.  There are a couple extra blank dice included also, though we haven't gotten to the point of using those.  You can add your own info as needed on these for certain lessons.

The case that the dice come in is very durably made.  I love this!!!  I hate getting a product that has a little weight and it's in a cardboard carry/storage case!!  It takes just a few weeks of getting it off the shelf and daily use before the case if falling part and I'm stuck crawling around picking up the item from all over the floor or finding a new storage container.  English on a Roll has provided a great case.

I consider English Grammar Teaching Method a great benefit for our family.  I have seen great improvement in the girls work.  That's a wonderful side benefit... multi-level teaching!  You can use this program with any age, from early elementary when they are learning grammar through adults learning English as their second language.  The cost is $75.00 for a set with 1 Teacher Manual and a 40 cube block set.  This is enough for up to 6 students to use the cubes.

We plan on continuing with English Grammar Teaching Method.  Linda Koran has found a way to make teaching grammar easy and make it fun!!  I highly recommend checking this out for your family!  They have a video demonstration available so that you can see how to use a lesson.



See how other members of the Homeschool Review Crew used English Grammar Teaching Method from English on a Roll in their homes.  Visit the link below to learn more!

Fortuigence - Essay Rock Star Expository Essay Writing Course Review

Writing can be a very difficult.  It is not a subject that I enjoy teaching.  Let's face it, writing is a subject that a child needs.  You cannot just take it out of a curriculum the way you do cursive handwriting.  A child needs to learn writing so that they can effectively communicate in emails, business correspondence or even file a complaint.  So When I was having trouble with seeing how to approach this subject with Joey, I was very grateful to be given an opportunity to try out the Essay Rock Star Expository Essay Writing Course from Fortuigence.  

Essay Rock Star Expository Essay Writing Course (for ages 12 - 18) is an online writing course that allows a student to go at their own pace, yet still interact with a teacher who is grading and reading all of their materials.  This is part of Fortuigence's semester long Essay Rock Star writing program and this unit takes about four weeks to complete.  It teaches the art of writing an expository essay.  This type of essay is one of the most requested essays during high school and college.  

Essay Rock Star Expository Essay Writing Course trains students in a 5 step writing process that not only allows them to write an effective expository essay, but gives them more strength in their other types of writing.  They learn brainstorming, organization, free-writing, revision, and editing skills.

Essay Rock Star Expository Essay Writing Course is very easy to use, and is written so that students can take the lead on their classwork.  They simply log in and click on their course.  The lessons can be read by the student or there is an option for the lesson to be read to them.  It is like working with a teacher directly.  

Completed lessons are easy for students to track.  They can also easily send a message to the instructor to ask questions.  Turning in assignments is also very easy to do.  We actually created them in a Microsoft Word file and then uploaded the file.  

Feedback from the instructor was quick.  We usually heard back within 24 hours, there was one time it didn't take that long even.  

In our class, there are actually 7 lessons.  You could easily do this course in just a couple weeks, but I chose to not overwhelm Joey and we are concentrating on one lesson a week.  Although he was able to do Lesson 1 & 2 in one week.

The lessons are not complicated and easily explain what is expected of the student.  It also explains why we need to write things in specific ways.  You could read or listen to the materials in roughly 15-20 minutes and then just add in your writing time to the schedule.  Some kids might be able to finish their assignments in under an hour.  Some students might need a bit longer.  

The instructor also gave wonderful feedback on Joey's assignments.  She focused on how he could improve and not what he was doing wrong.  This is exactly any student needs.  I was very impressed with her concern for Joey and making sure that he gets the most from the program.  They work really well with students who have special needs or learning disabilities.

Like I mentioned earlier, this is one of 4 units in the Essay Rock Star Writing program from Fortuigence.   Essay Rock Star Expository Essay Writing Course has been created for students between the ages of 12 and 18.  It can be used as high school credit.  The cost is $57.00 for this unit, or you can purchase the entire Essay Rock Star Writing Course for $197.00.  

We plan on chugging along with our Essay Rock Star Expository Essay Writing Course and then continuing on with the Persuasive Essay course.  I really feel the amount of support provided from the teacher has been wonderful.  It's like having a safety net there for me with a subject that I am not totally comfortable teaching.  Plus I can easily print off the records for Joey's transcripts.  

Several members of the TOS SchoolHouse Review Crew were given the opportunity to try out various parts of the Essay Rock Star Writing Course. Be sure to check out how this program worked for their families.

The Art of Poetry - Review

****I received The Art of Poetry set as part of this review for TOS Schoolhouse Review Crew.

Poetry is a subject I have dreaded approaching with our kids.  The boys have shown zero interest, and all the different types just absolutely confuses me.  Classical Academic Press recently provided us with The Art of Poetry by Christine Perrin to review.  This seems to be the answer to all that confuses me.

Poetry is really about feelings, thoughts and emotions.  There is really no right or wrong.  So why was I afraid?  Since the boys are learning more about emotions, maybe poetry is the answer to help them get more in control with what they are feeling.  Poetry can be short, so less frustration than with writing stories.

The Art of Poetry has been great for this non-creative side of me.  This program covers topics such as the Elements of Poetry, how to create using images, using metaphors, the use of symbols, the History of Poetry and how to the all these elements to form verses.  There is even information for how to start a poetry group or host a workshop.

The Student Edition of The Art of Poetry ($24.95) provides lots of information and vocabulary to help students to understand poetry.  There are plenty of inspirational examples also.  You can view a sample of the Student edition by following this link.  This book is really written to help students to learn to love poetry.  

You can also purchase a Teacher's Edition ($29.95) to go along with your student workbook.  This copy contains the entire text from the student edition, as well as the answers to questions and explanations of thirty-nine poems from the student textbook.  You can view an example of the Teacher's Edition by following this link.

You can also purchase the entire course on DVD for only $69.95.  This 15+ hour DVD set helps show how strong reading can lead to better poetry writing.  

You can view of sample of the DVD Set here:

How did this program work for us?  There is so much information in this material that we had to take it very slow so far.  So we did not follow any suggested time schedule, and really it is completely up to you how fast or slow you move through this program.  You can move very slowly and do an intense study of each chapter if you choose.  There is a suggested timeline by the author, you can download it here.

After just a few weeks though, Joey did recognize more poetry terminology.  Since Joey would definitely be on an IEP in this subject area if he were in Public school, I could see some improvement in his understanding.  He is beginning to express more interest in writing poetry.  He can see that maybe he can be express some of his frustrations or feelings in a few short lines, to make him feel better.  He has not written anything yet, but I continue to show him the examples.

In fact, the ease of using this product has given me some confidence to start introducing more poetry with Lydia.  She is the creative writer in our family, always wanting to write songs.  So my encouraging this behavior, we are working our way into writing more poetry.  Since she is only in First Grade though, we are introducing this curriculum in small amounts.  But I have been able to easily adjust the information that we discuss.  

So far The Art of Poetry has been super easy to use.  I felt like it is the safety net that I have been looking to have when I started working on poetry with our kids.  I can easily adjust lessons for their learning levels.  I plan on continue using this program with Joey and with Lydia.  

The age recommendation is Middle School through High School.

You can purchase the above items separately or as a bundle for the low price of $99.95.

**The prices I listed are as of April 1, 2013.  

Other members of the Schoolhouse Review Crew were able to use the Art of Poetry as well.  Be sure to visit the Schoolhouse Review Crew blog to see how it worked for them.

Essentials in Writing --- Visual Grammar

Essentials in Writing has a full curriculum ranging from 1st grade through high school.  The approach of Essentials in Writing is to "encourage students to be confident writers in personal writing and in public."  In our world of advancing technology, more and more correspondence is being done through "written" word and not just verbally.  The use of social media and instant message contact during game play or even in business, really makes the use of a writing skills curriculum essential.


Both my boys are delayed in the area of Language Art.  My goal with the boys is to be able to have them write complete sentences...lol.  To be very honest, it was been a challenge for the boys to get sentences on paper.  They can speak in full sentences.  But when it comes time for their brain to connect to their pencils, forget it.  So we have been working on just typing up thoughts and feelings for their blogs.  That has not been working so well.

I was very excited to get the opportunity to try out Essentials in Writing - Grade 3 ($40.00).  This DVD and PDF workbook combo has been wonderful for the boys.  Joey has been grasping more information about topics since he can watch a lecture, from someone other than mom.  He also isn't just trying to read about topics and do a worksheet.  He learns better by watching and then working on review questions.

Some of the topics covered by the Essentials in Writing Grade 3 curriculum include:  

• Review sentences types and making complete sentences
• Capitalization rules: beginning of sentences, names, city/state
• Punctuation rules:  period, question mark, & exclamation point, and commas in items in sequence
• Grammar:  subject/predicate (both complete and simple), nouns, proper nouns, action verbs, adjectives, pronouns, linking verbs, possessive nouns, subject/verb agreement
• Spelling rules for plural nouns
• Alphabetization
• Parts of a personal letter & Writing a personal letter
• Parts of a paragraph & Writing a paragraph
• Other forms of written communication:  lists/thank you note/invitation
• The writing process (prewrite, draft, revise, edit/publish)
• Use the writing process to compose narrative and descriptive paragraphs
• Revision:  word choice (use of a thesaurus), using strong details & a variety of sentence structure in writing
• Poetry (text features/end rhyme and composition)

You are encouraged to watch the DVD lesson, which is purposely made into short, easy-to-understand lessons.  These small "chunks" of information are helpful for children to understand topics better.  Mr. Stephens teaches in a step-by-step, easy to understand way.  He shows the students how to use the new concepts in their writing.  After the student understands, then they can move onto the worksheets for each lesson.  

Some of what we have already finished has been necessary review, while other topics have been new.  Either way, we have easily been able to cover a couple of lessons a week as the boys have been able to grasp more and answer questions.

When we first received our product, I simply printed off their workbooks (which you can pick and choose what you would like to print).  You can also purchase a pre-printed workbook for $20.00.

Our typical week includes me assigning a minimum of two lesson topics, if they can handle these there have been a couple weeks where we tackled 3 - 4 lessons.  It depends on attitudes on the day we do grammar, but sometimes we put the DVD in our main television in the living room and I watch the lesson with both boys.  If there has been fighting that day already, I put the DVD in the respective child's workbox and allow them to watch it on their laptops with headphones.  When they are done listening to the lesson, they then bring their workbook (which I also put a spiral binding on) to me and we complete their "written" assignment.  Here is a sample of the lessons on DVD:

This product has been working very well for us.  The boys are making progress, and Joey actually feels a sense of accomplishment when he can understand a topic after watching it on the DVD.  He can do it on his own, with only minimal help from Mom to help him with the review questions (which is what he calls the worksheets).  

Brayden has been doing well with it also. Currently we are a ways off from seeing major improvement in their writing, but we are enjoying this program so much that we plan on continue using this and purchasing the next grade level for the boys. I actually can see this program really helping them with their sentence formation.  Which is really important as both of the boys play online games, and try to communicate through instant messages.  I am also planning to start Lydia in this program come our next school year.  

Of all the actual language arts programs that we have used in the past year, I have to say that this is really my new favorite.  The ease of use is incredible.  I glance through the assignments when I am typing up the plans for the week (each child gets a daily assignment check off list) and that is pretty much it.  It is the easiest subject that I have right now to "plan". 

Several members of the School House Review Crew were given the opportunity to try all the levels of Essentials in Writing.  Please stop by and check out how this curriculum worked in their homes.