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1.
Choose Spelling Materials |
Recommended
for 1st and 2nd grades:
Spectrum Spellers
Thirty-six colorful lessons. Each lesson contains four fun but
simple pages and the words and activities are based on phonetic
principles.
The first grade book is good for children who are just
learning to read. The first 15 lessons review the most basic phonetic
principles, but don't actually have word lists to memorize. Beginning
with the 16th lesson, there are word lists containing 6 words (and 4
challenge words for those who wish to use them) and simple, but useful
activities involving those words, phonics, and study skills (such as ABC
order).
The second grade book is also phonetically based, each
lesson having ten "core" words and five optional "challenge" words.
Different dictionary and study skills are covered in each lesson. A
particular advantage of the Spectrum spellers is that each lesson
contains a short writing exercise. (Each writing lesson in this
book also has an example of the same exercise done by another student.
This example contains misspelled words for your child to proofread. I
usually cross this section out to avoid having the child see the misspelled
words*, but do read it aloud to give and idea of how to do the writing
lesson.)*which according to CM can
do more harm than good- brain sees the word misspelled and this "photograph"
imprinted on the brain can cause confusion
*If your 1st grader is just
learning to read, I suggest using the Grade 1 speller.
*If your 1st grader is already a proficient
reader and has a fairly good foundation in phonics, I would suggest
getting the Grade 2 spelling book.
*If your 2nd grader has not
had formal spelling lessons, I suggest using the Grade 2 speller even if
he/she is a proficient reader
*If your 2nd grader has had
formal spelling lessons, you may want to use the Grade 3 speller.
Spectrum Spelling Grade 1 -$8.95
Spectrum Spelling Grade 2 -$8.95
Spectrum Spelling Grade 3 -$8.95
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Recommended for grades 3-12
 Spelling Power
The publisher says it best:
Requiring just 15 minutes
a day, Spelling Power is totally individualized. Everything needed to
teach each of your students spelling skills to the college level is
contained in this one easy-to-use, step-by-step curriculum manual.
Placement tests tell you exactly where each of your students should
begin. Once their placement level has been determined, your students
will use the research proven test-study-test method, along with
immediate self-correction, to master word lists which are organized by
phonetic principles and spelling rules.The manual begins with a 12-page Quick
Start Introduction that will help busy home school moms get their
children started working with Spelling Power right away. For many
families, this will be all they have to read to begin using the program.
For ease in use, there is also an Index and a Glossary.
Even if you are new to teaching, you'll
find that Spelling Power's easy to understand, step-by-step instructions
will help you integrate your spelling instruction with your other school
work and unit studies.
$49.99 softcover
$5.95 -optional
student record book arranged on the inside specifically for use with the
Spelling Power book, very useful
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2. Choose Phonics
Materials |
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Really
Reading!
Tanglewood's own reading program
is now available
through a free PDF download!
If your child can
recognize
most of his letters and knows most
of the consonants'
sounds, try this
learn-to-read program
and save your $ for books!
Click here:
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*We
suggest that beginning readers use the Really Reading program along
with Spectrum Phonics Grade 2 and a variety of easy readers. |
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 Spectrum
Phonics
These phonics workbooks have been around for years as Merrill
Phonics Skilltexts. Now, with a new name and a new color look,
they are actually cheaper! I couldn't do without these workbooks.
As much as I like natural learning (no workbooks), I depend on these for
order and thoroughness. Each page is one short lesson, and each
lesson briefly explains a phonetic rule and then has a straightforward
activity illustrating the rule. (Dictionary and
study/comprehension skills are briefly covered too.) In my
opinion, a necessity!*I've found that the grade levels are on
the easy side. I suggest using a grade 2 book with a first grader,
and so on.
Recommended for 1st grade
Phonics Skilltext Grade 2 (B) -$8.95
Recommended for 2nd grade
Phonics Skilltext Grade 3 (C) -$8.95
Recommended for 3rd grade
Phonics Skilltext Grade 4 (D) -$8.95
Recommended for 4th grade
Phonics Skilltext Grade 5 (E) -$9.95
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3. Choose your English Grammar
materials |
Choices for
1st grade:
choice #1 (Tanglewood's pick)
Do not do formal grammar study this
year.
Instead, cover the grammar rules listed below during copywork
exercises.Essential
grammar rules to know by the end of 1st grade:
1. Every sentence begins with a capital letter.
2. Every sentence ends with an end mark.
3. "Telling" sentences end with periods.
4. "Asking" sentences end with question marks.
5. Be able to recognize a comma.
Note: Many publishers
including Rod & Staff do not
have texts for this
grade. Their formal studies
start in 2nd grade.
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 choice
#2:On sale!
35% off!
First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind
Written by Jessie Wise, the co-author of The
Well-Trained Mind, this text is a complete beginning grammar
course. All the lessons are scripted (tells the parent
exactly what to say). Even though this text is advertised as a
classical approach to teaching grammar, Charlotte Mason"ites"
will appreciate the emphasis on poem memorization, picture study, and copywork
lessons as well.
Intended for use in 1st and 2nd grades.
(For more of my thoughts
on this text, see the description for 2nd grade.)
Intended for use in 1st and 2nd grades.
$24.00 420
pp. now $15.60!
(hardcover edition- I picked this
since it needs to
last 2 years for each child who uses it)
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Choices for
2nd grade:
choice #1:
(Tanglewood's pick)
 Rod
& Staff: Preparing to Build
This is a very easy to
use and comprehensive English grammar course. Each lesson is
contained on a layout of two pages. The left-side page covers the
lesson which is to be read aloud by the parent and the right-side page
has a few writing activities for the student to do on his own.
Sentences, nouns, verbs, pronouns, and adjectives are studied.
Memory poems, review lessons, and a study skills section are also
included.
What I really like is the way the student is also given much
direction as to how to make the best sentence- not just an
acceptable one. *This is a 'Tanglewood pick' book.
367 pages. Hard cover,
162 lessons including reviews.
*We don't
carry Rod & Staff yet.
The apple is a link to a store that sells them:
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choice
#2:
First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind
See the description above. The first 100 lessons are intended for
first grade and lessons 101-200 are intended for second grade.
While billed as a text for "classical" education, in my opinion it is
more CM. There is a lot of poem memorization, picture study, and
verbal interaction with the parent rather than actual writing practice.
(Actually, there is very little writing and I found this to be a
detriment. In my experience, a child can tell you
all-day-long that a sentence begins with a capital letter and ends with
a period. However, for some reason this knowledge does not
automatically translate into his writing. It is only with a lot of
actual writing practice that the basic rules become second nature.)
*see below for more comments$24.00 420
pp. now $15.60!
(hardcover edition- I picked this
since it needs to
last 2 years for each child who uses it)
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*I thought I
would prefer the FLL book because it was more "CM". However,
after using both books,
I've decided that I prefer R & S. It is more focused and very easy
to understand.
As a parent of several
children, I also find it comforting to know what to expect (at least in
the areas of grammar & math) from
each lesson and to know that each lesson will take approximately the
same amount of time.
* R & S has heavy Bible themes and all of the lessons refer to God
and/or a Bible story in some way.
Also, God as the Creator is a strong theme throughout the book.
*While the writers of FLL are Christians, the book does not have overt
Christian themes. |
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Choices for 3rd grade:
Choice #1
 Rod
and Staff Beginning Wisely
This is a very comprehensive English grammar study. The easy to
understand lessons are arranged so that the parent covers the first part
with the child and then the child does written exercises on his own.
There are 125 lessons in addition to reviews and extra activities.
*There is a teacher's manual, extra worksheets, and other helps that are
available for this grade. We don't carry these- we think the book
is enough.
*We don't carry Rod & Staff yet.
The apple is a link to a store that sells them:
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Choice #2
Primary Language Lessons
by Emma Serl
This is more than just a simple grammar text! While the child
gets a comprehensive education in English grammar and usage, he also
gets a good dose of fine literature written by the likes of Robert Louis
Stevenson and Samuel Taylor Coleridge as well as fables, folklore and
maxims.Charlotte Mason"ites" will like Miss
Serl's use of reproduced paintings to train children in the art of
observation and oral language skills.
Intended for use in 3rd and 4th grades,
ages 7-9
$14.95 hardcover
160pp
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Choices for 4th grade:
Choice #1
 Rod
and Staff Building with Diligence
This is a very comprehensive English grammar study. The easy to
understand lessons are arranged so that the parent covers the first part
with the child and then the child does written exercises on his own.
There are 127 lessons in addition to reviews and extra activities.
There are several composition lessons as well. This book makes a
separate writing program such as Writing Strands unnecessary.
*There is a teacher's manual, extra worksheets, and other helps that are
available for this grade. We don't carry these- we think the book
is enough.
*We don't carry Rod & Staff yet.
The apple is a link to a store that sells them:
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Choice #2
Primary Language Lessons
by Emma Serl
This is more than just a simple grammar text! While the child
gets a comprehensive education in English grammar and usage, he also
gets a good dose of fine literature written by the likes of Robert Louis
Stevenson and Samuel Taylor Coleridge as well as fables, folklore and
maxims.Charlotte Mason"ites" will like Miss
Serl's use of reproduced paintings to train children in the art of
observation and oral language skills.
Intended for use in 3rd and 4th grades,
ages 7-9
$14.95 hardcover
160pp
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Choices for 5th grade:
Choice #1
 Rod
and Staff Following the Plan
Everything your 5th grader needs to know about English grammar (sentence
types and structure, the eight parts of speech, punctuation,
miscellaneous lessons on thins such as capitalization, the dictionary,
synonyms, antonyms, Bible reference books, hyphens, colons, and more)
in sequential lessons. Over 25
composition lessons are included, making another writing program
unnecessary.
*We don't carry Rod & Staff yet.
The apple is a link to a store that sells them:
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Choice #2
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A great workbook series to
consider:
 Language
Practice series
Although I'm not
much of a workbook person, I really like these workbooks and would
suggest using them during the second half of the school year. I
recommend these books especially to those who use First Language Lessons
and/or simply copywork for teaching English grammar. (For those of you
who use Rod & Staff I don't think the workbooks are necessary.)
Each book is designed for a specific grade level and covers most (if not
all) of the important concepts your child should know in simple one-page
lessons. Each concept is briefly, but clearly explained, followed by
meaningful practice exercises. Great preparation for those
standardized tests, in addition to being short & sweet!!
(I've found that the grade
levels are appropriately assigned for these workbooks and would suggest
sticking to your child's grade level regardless of whether you're doing
a 'slower' Charlotte Mason track or a 'faster' classical track.)
Language Practice 1 -$11.99
Language Practice 2 -$11.99
Language Practice 3 -$11.99
Language Practice 4 -$11.99
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4.
Choose a Writing Program |
Suggested for 4th-6th grade:
 Wordsmith Apprentice
I've haven't used this program yet, but
I've heard a lot of rave reviews about it. It seems as if this as
a writing course that children actually like! Here's what the publisher
has to say about it:
All the practicality, humor and fun of Wordsmith, but
written for the younger student, ages 9-12. An easy to use writing
course encouraging students to develop their writing skills as they
participate in every role on a newspaper staff: editor, reporter,
writer, etc. Children develop a love for writing as they express
themselves through sentence and paragraph writing, persuasive writing,
and much more.
$16.00
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Remember to get your
Tanglewood Corebook! |
