The Dock

An Anabaptist Resource for Teaching and Learning

  • LOGIN / SIGNUP

Register
Continue with Facebook
Continue with Google
MENUMENU
MENUMENU
  • Blog
  • Featured Clips
  • Philosophy & Leadership
      • School Administration
      • School Board
      • School Culture
      • School Library
      • Community Relationships
      • Curriculum and Instruction
      • History of Christian Education
      • Philosophy of Education
  • Teaching & Learning
    • Classroom Management
    • Inspiration
    • Learning Disabilities
    • Literacy
    • Project Based Learning (PBL)
    • Recommended Resources
    • Standardized Testing
    • Strategies and Techniques
    • Student Motivation
    • Teacher Development
    • Technology
  • School Subjects
    • Art

      • Art
      • Music
    • Bible and Christian Thought

      • Bible Study
      • Doctrine
      • Ethics
      • Worldviews
      • Service
    • Social Studies

      • American History
      • Anabaptist History
      • Church History
      • World History
      • Geography
    • Language & Literature

      • English
      • Grammar
      • Reading & Literature
      • Language Arts
      • Writing
      • Vocabulary
      • Foreign Language & ESL
    • Math & Science

      • Math
      • Science
      • Chemistry
      • Earth Sciences
      • Life Sciences
      • Physics
    • Electives & Health

      • Physical Education
      • Electives
      • Business
      • Apps and Programs
      • Technology Literacy
      • Special Events
  • Events
    • All Events
    • Submit an Event To Be Posted
  • Classifieds
    • Teachers Wanted
    • Teachers Seeking Schools
    • School Supplies
    • Submit a Classified
  • About
  • Donate

Language arts curriculum: grammar vs. creativity?

Home › Forums › Teaching the Subjects › Language arts curriculum: grammar vs. creativity?

Tagged: curriculum, grammar, reading, Writing

  • This topic has 1 reply, 1 voice, and was last updated 1 year, 1 month ago by Jonas Sauder.
Viewing 1 reply thread
  • Author
    Posts
    • January 8, 2020 at 8:46 AM #106803
      Lucas Hilty
      Admin
      Original Poster
      @lucashfbep-org

      A visitor to The Dock wrote:

      We are looking to change from Grade 2-10 CLE Language Arts to a new English, Spelling, and Writing (combined or separate) curriculum. We find CLE focuses too heavily on grammar mechanics and takes so much time which eliminates possibilities for creative writing, reading, etc. Furthermore, most of our students are [editor: aren’t?] really learning or growing from CLE study. We are looking into Abeka and BJU Press so far. Any input in those or other suggestions/comments? Thanks!

    • January 8, 2020 at 8:51 AM #106804
      Jonas Sauder
      Moderator
      @jonas

      You noted that CLE spends too high a percentage of time on grammar mechanics and that you are considering A Beka or Bob Jones.

      I understand your quandary. A peculiar thing about grammar teaching in elementary grades is that most curricula introduce parts of speech, phrases, and sentence types in lower elementary and continue to reteach those concepts practically every year thereafter. Most students don’t really “get” these rather abstract names for categories of grammatical structure until the secondary years. And while there’s nothing wrong with introducing them to elementary children, the problem is that the time taken up in doing so is robbed from time that the student could more profitably spend reading and writing.

      I think you will find that A Beka (especially) and also Bob Jones curricula are also relatively heavy on analytical grammar study as compared to their focus on reading and writing.

      I suggest you consider the conclusions of the Pilgrim Christian School of Kansas, which recently studied this quandary and chose curriculum that emphasizes more reading and writing. The document linked below outlines their philosophy and actual curriculum choices.

      Curriculum Philosophy, Purpose, and Rationale: Language Arts

      Also, Arlyn Nisly, the principal of Pilgrim Christian School, sent me this reply recently when I asked him what they are doing regarding secondary language arts following the same philosophy:

      We have extended this plan in principle to the secondary level, giving a little more emphasis to grammar than we do in the elementary. Again, it’s not a neat-and-tidy package, and we’re still tuning it, but basically we are working with these components:

      Grades 9-10 (combined, Year A/B rotation)–4 semester credits:

      • English from the Roots Up. We never got this integrated at the lower levels, so we’re implementing it here.
      • Winston Grammar. We spread this out over two years, splitting each lesson so that the 10th-graders take the more challenging problems.
      • Easy Grammar Ultimate. More with the mechanics of writing: capitalization, punctuation, sentence combining, etc. Grade 9 does the 9th-grade level, and Grade 10 the 10th-grade level.
      • Weekly writing assignments. This includes journaling, which is not graded.

      Grade 11: Composition Class–1 semester credit. The text for the course is Lucile Vaughan Payne’s excellent, but very dated (copyright 1965!) Lively Art of Writing. We intend to update this, but it has provided a very solid foundation for essay writing for our students for over 40 years. Two projects have dominated this course: a research paper, and a whole-class project, in which the students interview members of the community and compile their work in a 30-40 page booklet that is made available to the community. Topics have included the history of our school and noteworthy storms in our community’s history.

      Grade 12: Speech Class–1 semester credit. The course involves a handful of shorter speeches of different purposes (inspirational, informative, persuasive, etc), some oral interpretation, and one major speech, addressed to Grades 7-12 in a Friday morning assembly.

      Grades 9-12: Current Issues and Literature–2 semester credits. Each month, the entire high school researches a current issue (water, human trafficking, social media…) or reads a noteworthy book (Les Miserables, The Chosen, Othello…). After some discussion, each student writes one report and presents one report orally, selecting a topic for each one from a teacher-generated list

      We always see room for improvement–in the program and in the student output, but we feel positive about the basic approach.

  • Author
    Posts
Viewing 1 reply thread
  • The forum ‘Teaching the Subjects’ is closed to new topics and replies.
Pass it on:

Browse the forums…

  • A Servant Education: Inspiration and Ideas
  • General Announcements
  • School Administration
  • School Board
  • School during a Pandemic: Serving Students in the Shutdown
  • Suggested Reading Material
  • Teaching the Subjects
  • General Discussion

Welcome!

Log In
Continue with Facebook
Continue with Google
Desk from Skippack School The Dock is conceived to serve schools in the spirit of Christopher Dock, the devoted teacher who authored a warmly practical teacher's manual in colonial America. Read more...

The Dock List: a Podcast

Listen and follow on the platform of your choice.

Subscribe on iTunes
Follow on Spotify
Subscribe on Google Play

OTHER HELPFUL SITES

Christian Light
Christian Learning Resource
Faith Builders Educational Programs
Sharon Mennonite Bible Institute
Contribute banner
2019® THE DOCK | ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Powered by Cloudways.              
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Forum
  • Contact Us
  • Leave Feedback
  • Privacy

Optimized by PhastPress

Add The Dock to your Home Screen

Add
  • Home
  • Leave Feedback
  • Blog
  • Featured Clips
  • Philosophy & Leadership
    ▼
    • School Administration
    • School Board
    • School Culture
    • Community Relationships
    • Curriculum and Instruction
    • History of Christian Education
    • Philosophy of Education
  • Teaching & Learning
    ▼
    • Classroom Management
    • Inspiration
    • Learning Disabilities
    • Literacy
    • Project Based Learning (PBL)
    • Recommended Resources
    • Standardized Testing
    • Strategies and Techniques
    • Student Motivation
    • Teacher Development
    • Technology
  • School Subjects
    ▼
    • Art
    • Music
    • Bible Study
    • Doctrine
    • Ethics
    • Worldviews
    • Service
    • American History
    • Anabaptist History
    • World History
    • Geography
    • English
    • Language Arts
    • Reading & Literature
    • Writing
    • Foreign Language & ESL
    • Math
    • Science
    • Earth Sciences
    • Life Sciences
    • Physics
    • Physical Education
    • Electives
    • Apps and Programs
  • Forums
  • Events
  • Classified Listings
    ▼
    • Teachers Wanted
    • Teachers Seeking Schools
    • School Supplies
    • Submit a Classified
  • Log In
  • Share what you’ve made.
  • About
X