The first book of this series authored by Jessie Wise, co-author of The Well Trained Mind, is based on Lessons in the Use of English by Mary Hyde (which, when edited by Cyndy Shearer of Greenleaf Press, became English for the Thoughtful Child). Jessie Wise believes that children as young as first or second grade are capable of learning the correct use of language; it’s just a matter of if and how the material is presented to them. After all, she says, if you believe in exposing your children to quality literature before they have begun to read proficiently [which most of us do], why shouldn’t we expose them to the sounds and sights of correct language and grammar usage? Although at this age learning these rules will require a lot more patience on both the part of the student and the teacher, learning it the right way early on is a huge step towards learning proper English and grammar rules later in life. Although it sounds like a big job, her books are very straightforward and easy-to-use.

The author’s goals for this series include: 1) training student’s ears to be attuned to the sound of properly spoken language, 2) training their speech to the correct use of grammar, 3) having their attention sharpened by asking them to narrate parts of a story back to you after hearing it aloud, and 4) using correct language in writing.

Starting in second grade they should be able to copy short sentences properly using grammar and punctuation and be able to write short sentences both from dictation and on their own, again using proper punctuation, capitalization, and spelling. Sounds like a lot of work to get to that point, right? True, it will take patience and a lot of practice, but the author has included four important tools in your toolkit to help you through this process. Her “Four Strand“ approach relies on using memory work, copying and dictation, narration, and grammar to help both you and your student reach these goals. Memory work begins with the child memorizing and reciting short definitions and rules to reinforce the sounds of correctly spoken sentences as well as short poems to discover the enjoyable rhythm of language and continues through the elementary grades with rhymes and rules and longer poems. First graders will be copying short sentences, but copying sentences from dictation is withheld until second grade when children’s motor skills and their “feel for” language are stronger. Narration exercises alluded to earlier include story narration where a short story is read to the child and he or she is asked to recite in complete sentences the story in their own words back to you or to answer comprehension questions about the story in complete sentences. Picture narration exercises are also used, where the student will observe a picture and describe it using complete sentences. Grammar, the last tool in your kit, is taught early on by giving the child definitions of the parts of grammar - reciting the rules and using them in speech and in writing as much as possible. These four strands are continued through the levels with increasing complexity and length.

FLL 1-2 covers both first and second grade and is designed to accompany separate phonics, spelling, and penmanship lessons. There are 200 lessons in all -- 100 for first grade and 100 for second grade. The lessons tend to be very short, with the topic printed at the top of the page and other things to review underneath. The structure of each lesson is easy to follow with different print fonts denoting notes for the teacher, what the teacher might say to teach the concept, and something similar to what your child may say in reply to a question. Though it is not necessary to follow the script exactly, it gives an example of how you may wish to teach the lesson. Each lesson takes up only a page or so, and most of them contain oral lessons to complete together, such as answering questions or focusing on narration of a story, picture, or a poem to memorize. Memorization exercises are reviewed for days after the initial exposure, and the child is encouraged to recite poems to themselves and to an inanimate object before working up the courage to present it to his family. Following the lesson enrichment activities are often given, although it is up to your discretion and the ability of your child to determine if you will have them complete these or not. Often these ask for the child to illustrate the prose studied or to copy part of a lesson out in writing. These are more advanced than the exercises in the lessons and were included for the more precocious children to complete if they so desire. A sampling of topics covered for first grade includes nouns (common, proper), days of the week, pronouns, capitalization, seasons, days, months, holidays, verbs, addresses, dates, and an introduction to sentence types. In second grade, verbs, contractions, adjectives, letter writing, prepositions, and interjections are covered, along with extensive review of the topics covered in first grade. Although this may sound heavy for first and second-graders to handle, don’t worry, everything is broken up into manageable morsels easier for them to digest and remember. The key is in repetition and practice, and the author reminds us that if it is our intention to take a lengthy break from school, such as summer break, then we should still keep up with the lessons, ideally covering one or two a week so that everything you’ve worked so hard on up to this point isn’t half-forgotten and recovered with a struggle the next year. Several different versions of the first book are now available; choose from the original paperback, hardcover, or spiral-bound. The Audio Companion CD provides theater-quality presentations of the fun poems, entertaining stories, and memorable rhymes found in First Language Lessons (1-2). There are also some original songs to aid memorization of the parts of speech.

Level 3 and higher of this program continues the basic components, but in addition to the teacher manual, a consumable workbook is provided for the student’s work. The four teaching goals remain the same, and the authors (Sara Buffington is co-author) continue to weave the lessons with the four strands: memory work, copying/dictation, narration, and grammar. There is also a continuation of the scripted teaching approach using the same type formatting as the first book. There are 89 lessons in Level 3 plus three short (7 lessons each) optional teaching sections: writing letters, dictionary skills, and oral usage. A sampling of the topics include: eight parts of speech, forming plurals, linking & state of being verbs, four types of sentences, parts of a sentence, comma usage, quotations, and contractions. Diagramming is introduced at this level. As in the 1-2 book, grammar concepts are introduced and reinforced through the use of rhymes and rhythmic chants. [Just a note on these, you might want to practice these a bit ahead -- I experimented with the one on state of being verbs and found it to be a bit tricky in terms of rhythm. I wouldn’t have wanted to be trying it out for the first time with my student. I’m thinking there would be more entertainment than learning in that “lesson.”] The course can be completed in one year in about 30 minutes per day and 3 days per week. Workbooks provide some lesson examples, copies of the memory work pieces, and space for diagramming as well as for the copywork and dictation exercises. The pages are perforated and 3-hole punched so they could be filed in a binder. Level 4 provides a continuation in both format and content and covers a full range of grammar topics including parts of speech, punctuation, sentence diagrams, and skills in beginning writing and storytelling. Optional end units provide practice in dictionary use and letter writing.

There are so many things to like about this program that one hardly knows where to begin. It’s easy to follow and use, the instruction is comprehensive and thorough yet gentle, teacher prep is at an absolute minimum, all learning styles are addressed, and last but not least, underlying the entire program is a love for the beauty and structure of our language. - J.L / J.P

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.

 
Lori H. from McComb, MS wrote the following on 07/07/2008:
I am thoroughly pleased with what my son has learned this year with FLL 3. His eyes glazed over with other grammar programs but not with this one. The lessons are short and scripted as with FLL. I like the conversational tone and the fact that when my son explains the concepts back to me I can tell that he really understands it. This book includes grammar, punctuation, beginning diagramming, narration, dictation,and poem memorization. The companion workbook has all you need to complete the written exercises including diagram forms to fill in. This was a huge plus for my son. I have found this curriculum to be very user friendly and I plan to use First Language Lessons 4 when it becomes available.

 
Melissa S. from Knoxville, TN wrote the following on 11/24/2008:
We tried ABeka, BJU and Rod & Staff English. With these curricula, both of my children hated English! Then we tried First Language Lessons for the Well Trained Mind. We're using Level 3 and have downloaded the sample lessons of Level 4, because it isn't yet released. It's unanimous! Both teacher and students love English in our house now! First Language Lessons helps children memorize wonderful, challenging poems. Best of all - children LIKE it. It takes thirty minutes. It's teacher scripted, GENTLE, and they do it happily.

 
Jenni H. from Cary, NC wrote the following on 05/11/2009:
This choice for grammar is an excellent one. My child learned more than I thought she would. I found the teacher guide easy to use and the fact that it is scripted is great. There was little teacher preparation involved and I enjoyed interacting one on one with my child. I believe it was worth the money and I will hold on to the teacher guide for my son in two years. This program engages the child and encourages listening skills. The child practices the concepts and reviews concepts throughout the year. We enjoyed the poems, dictionary skills pages, letter writing lessons, and extra activities. I have shared this with many fellow homeschoolers. Definitely worth it!

 
Karin Z. from Romeoville, Illinois wrote the following on 10/29/2007:
We are using this for our grammar this year. Grade 3 is wonderful. It teaches my daughter lots of grammar in little sessions, usually taking just a few minutes for the lessons. We are having good success with this. You need the Teacher Manual; that is where the script is for the lessons. You could get by not getting the student edition and have them write the lesson on paper. I open the book read it over to myself once and do it with my dd. Not lots of advanced prep. There is no actual writing lessons so you will need a writing program.

 
Lisa C. from Greensboro, MD wrote the following on 04/17/2009:
I was so happy to discover the new 3rd grade edition of First Language Lessons when my daughter was finishing up 2nd grade. I would highly recommend this curriculum. My daughter loves to do grammar together! Even things such as diagramming sentences and memorizing prepositions are fun with this program! This is not something you can send your child off to do alone. You must order the Teacher book and do each lesson together. However, advanced preparation in very minimal - about 5 minutes a day at most to skim over the lesson before teaching it. There is a newly released 4th grade program. I plan to order it very soon! I'm really hoping to see a 5th grade program available by the time I need it.