Heart of Dakota Tidbit:
How we use Rod and Staff Grammar through the years…
(The following is a clip of a 2008 post by Carrie from our message board that discusses why HOD chose to stay with Rod and Staff Grammar throughout our guide cycle. The entire thread can be read here.)
InHisTiming,
You are always on the same wave-length with my researching brain, it would seem! We have just been going through this very area extensively the past month and pondering our future recommendations through grade 8.
How we recommend using Rod and Staff Grammar.
At this point, we are quite sure that we will be recommending Rod and Staff English throughout our guides. Rod and Staff English texts actually go through grades 9-10 at this point. However, grades 9-10 are almost entirely based on giving writing instruction and are VERY technical. English 7-8 are about applying grammar to writing, and are also more like what a high school level grammar and writing text would be.
So, with that being said, our plan is to recommend that families teach through Rod and Staff English 6 by the time their child is finished with grade 8. With our new ancients guide, we plan to recommend for one level of grammar (your choice of either Rod or Staff English 4 or 5) to be spread out over 2 years by doing 2 lessons a week. After spreading either Level 4 or 5 out over 2 years, the child would do the remaining levels of Rod and Staff English at full-speed (4 days a week) to complete Rod and Staff 6 by the end of grade 8.
Why do we stretch out one level of Rod and Staff?
The reason for suggesting that one level of Rod and Staff English be stretched out over 2 years during grades 4-5 OR during grades 5-6 is that it will give the child time to mature into the higher-level thinking skills required to do the upper level of diagramming and writing assignments taught in Rod and Staff 6. It will also give parents a lightened grammar instruction schedule for a couple of years to prevent burn-out in teaching grammar year after year, along with matching the more CM-style guidelines for teaching grammar more fully in the middle school years.
Blessings,
Carrie
PS: To see one easy way Carrie has seen success in teaching Rod and Staff, check out this blog post here!
