I actually first heard of Fix it Grammar back in May while attending a workshop by Andrew Pudewa which is the founder, director and author of many things from IEW but not for Fix It Grammar. I was at my state homeschool conference and was pleased to meet and listen to his sessions. I learned a lot listening to his speaking and I must say he is so funny to listen too. He makes everything comical and I really appreciated him keeping my attention.
The author of Fix It Grammar is Pamela White. She teaches online for IEW and has taught in classrooms for years. She actually came up with this program out of frustration while teaching high school grammar.
Personally my family has had experience with IEW products before and really have loved them and that is one reason when this item came up for review I was thrilled to be apart of it!
My oldest son is using this review and he is 14.
Is this hard to get started in?
NO! This is such an easy method to use. I was a little worried it would be in-depth and I would need to prepare a lot but no. You simply open the teacher manual and get familiar with the layout and read the introduction so that you understand everything you need to before starting with your child.
No stress!
How we are using Fix It Grammar:
The suggestions to start with are 15 minutes a day for 33 weeks. So far we have used Fix It Grammar for 5 weeks and we are in week 8.
The method behind this grammar is very friendly; you simply are presented with a few grammar rules/skills for the week to work on. The student has to locate the errors within the short passage and fix it. Then each week the repetition helps to build mastery of the editing skills and grammar skills.
Here is where I think this grammar is great because my son isn't actually writing anything through the week; he is editing the content provided. So for my reluctant writer this grammar has been a huge hit!
I explained to Kyle that at the end of this program he would have a really great story to look back at and be able to see his editing skills completed a story. He really enjoyed this idea.
Every week on day 1 you talk about the instructions and concept being taught because each week there is a different concept to master. After he understands the new context I have turned him lose. Normally, we read over this in under 10 minutes. Personally for my son who is 14 I have expected him to go at a faster pace after the first 2 weeks which is why we are in week 8.
The student book has a Learn It section (which is what you teach on day 1).
Then there is the Fix It section. This is where the child has instructions and help to complete each small chunk for his day.
You first will read the sentence. Then we talk about the vocabulary.
I like, that on each page for the week, the child has a small guide at the top of the paper that serves as a check off list. My son actually marks through this because he doesn't want to forget any steps. It has been a great help for him to not get frustrated because he may forget something expected but that just isn't the problem here.
So as you can see day 1 is actually the one that takes me the longest with my son. Day 2 - 5 he actually completes by himself.
However Day 5 is different than the rest. Day 5 is the rewrite day. This day he puts all his editing skills to use in writing the passage from his week into his own personal notebook. Each time he adds to his notebook he likes to use a
different colored pen to show it was a different lesson.
I really wanted to show you his notebook but he really hates his writing and asked me not to post that picture, so because I love my son I decided not to post his awesome notebook.
Our final thoughts:
Kyle has really enjoyed this method to grammar. I can personally totally see where Pamela had such issues with high schoolers because that is exactly what I am working with here! I love that this is small enough daily to keep him focused but still challenging to him.
I actually think I am going to order another book for Alexis. She is having a few small issues with her grammar (mainly my fault because I skipped her a grade but I have faith in her) and she has watched Kyle for several lessons and wants to try it!
Last but not least I love that this is truly well rounded. Grammar, vocabulary, editing, glossary skills and then some writing practice all thrown together. Totally have enjoyed using this and will continue on with it for the rest of the book.