QUICK SHOPPING
Language Usage and Practice
Let me describe a scenario I come across on occasion when speaking with homeschoolers. The family has found a great series of workbooks - they enjoy the ease of use, the format, and the coverage, and, best of all, they are relatively cheap compared to other items on the market. They have had great success because everything just falls into place with this series. So here they come after completing the 6th grade workbook, intent on picking up the next in the series - only to discover that the series ended at 6th grade! As you can see, that is quite a dilemma. What is the best way to solve such a problem? Make sure the series you are starting out in goes all the way - and this series does. With books for each grade level up through eighth as well as one for the high school years, you are pretty much covered for supplemental practice through the clear, logical progression of chapters focused on the skills of vocabulary, sentences, grammar and usage, capitalization and punctuation, and composition. Within each chapter, one skill is worked on at a time, with rules and directions for exercises clearly stated on each workbook page. Special attention is given to ensure coverage of composition skills such as brainstorming, clustering, topic sentences, supporting details, taking notes, revising, and proofreading - all very important steps in process writing. While each workbook follows the same basic progression as listed above, some do throw in an extra chapter, either at the beginning or the end, on readiness/study skills - with more practice in following directions and using reference materials. Each workbook also begins with an assessment of preexisting knowledge, and tests are given at the end of each chapter to check retention. Designed to be easy for independent use, all of the worksheets are perforated, consumable, and reproducible. A definition of language terms and an answer key are included in each book. ~ Zach
