Customer Reviews

 
Amy G. from TN wrote the following on 01/21/2008:
We are currently using First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind Level 3 for my 3rd grade daughter. Although she did not use Levels 1 + 2, she had no problems transitioning into Level 3 from a different language arts program. The teacher’s manual is scripted and fairly easy to follow. It’s not as clearly written as Saxon Math’s teacher scripts, but I usually prefer to put the text into my own words anyway. My daughter seems to become unfocused when I follow the script word for word. The teacher’s manual is vital to the use of this program—it includes directions, word lists, sample schedules, and answers to the lessons. This curriculum includes 89 grammar/writing lessons, 7 letter writing lessons, 7 dictionary skills lessons, and 7 oral usage lessons. This provides plenty of material for one school year at the rate of three lessons per week. Memorization of the basic parts of speech, 6 poems, and grammatical rules are at the heart of this program. Surprisingly, these are not presented in a tedious way—there are physical activities, games, and chants that help to make this memorization fun. The companion CD for Levels 1 + 2 is quite useful for Level 3 as well—it includes the chants and songs for several of the lists to be memorized. This has made our learning more enjoyable and the memorization of the lists almost effortless. This program also presents copywork/dictation lessons and narration. My daughter loves these because they are short and sweet. Teacher preparation is minimal—it does help me to read through the brief scripted lesson before presenting it to my daughter. We only use this with our 3rd grader, but I think it would be fairly easy to adapt to 2nd through 4th levels without much alteration. First Language Lessons Level 3 is great for just about any learning style. Although there aren’t any pictures or “cutesy” decorations in the workbook, but it is good for visual learners because it teaches sentence diagramming. It’s great for auditory learners because of the repetition of the chants, poems, rules, etc.—this is especially fun when using the songs from the companion CD. The rhythmic clapping, physical games, and drama included in the lessons are a great help to all students, especially those who need hands-on activities to make the information stick. One thing that would be beneficial is an audio companion CD for Level 3—this would be a great time saver. It has helped me to make our own CD of the poems since we have to repeat them aloud so many times. The poems that are memorized in this level are as follows: “The Land of Nod” by Robert L. Stevenson, “A Tragic Story” by William M. Thackeray, 3 stanzas of “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” by William Wordsworth, “A Time to Talk” by Robert Frost, the first stanza of “The Bells” by Edgar Allan Poe, and “A Slash of Blue” by Emily Dickinson. In contrast to Levels 1 + 2, these poems are left unaltered—this was a great relief to me, as I feel that the original poet deserves to have his work remembered in its original text. The only thing I noticed is that one line of “A Tragic Story” is left out, but I think it was just a typo because the line that was omitted is a repeated line (much akin to Robert Frost’s “…and miles to go before I sleep…” line from “Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening). Aside from the small number of typographical errors, this language arts program is enjoyable and easy to implement. If you decide to use this curriculum, you will need to include handwriting, spelling and reading lessons to make a complete language arts program. First Language Lessons Level 3 is a good value for the money, and it introduces challenging concepts in a gentle way.

 
Ann B. from Plano, TX wrote the following on 02/20/2008:
After really enjoying FLL 1&2, we used Rod & Staff 2 for second grade and have gone back to FLL Level 3 for third grade. I also have Rod & Staff 3, and we are about half way through FLL3. I have mixed feelings about the program. FLL3 is sort of a Saxon approach to grammar: you will spend a couple lessons on something, and then move on with integrated review. You might have parts of speech, do some narration or poetry memorization, and then back to parts of speech. It is not a straight grammar program, and in this sense is reminiscent of a Saxon approach. The book is a gentle approach and covers each topic adequately. I simply do not think it provides enough practice for some children. If you have a child (like my oldest) that tends to "get" things only by practicing several times, this may not be the best choice for you. It would be nice if there were a few more diagramming examples as an option. Generally, children are expected to pick up things in a couple tries, and then rely on subsequent reviews (several throughout the year). The second issue is that the book requires constant parent-teacher interaction throughout the lesson. For me this is a problem because it brings up time-stewardship issues and because I would like my third grader to begin to read from learning, i.e. to have her own text, develop her reading and comprehension skills in learning from text explanations. As a plus, I love the way they integrate good literature and poetry. It can be a really welcome break from "straight" grammar. I don't know if I will continue with the program simply because I don't know if it would be the wisest use of my time with three children. All in all, if you're willing to take the time and are comfortable with a spiraling approach, this is a solid choice.