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Should you have questions not covered in these FAQs, please
don't hesitate to contact Robin Finley personally at rfinley@analyticalgrammar.com .
It is a unique method of teaching grammar, which starts from "ground
zero" - assuming that the student knows no grammar - and continues
on from concept to concept, until the entire body of knowledge which we
call grammar is covered. The concepts, rather than being taught separately,
are woven together into a logical whole which the student will recognize
to be what he already knows about how words are put together into sentences
to make meaning. Since these concepts make sense to kids, they remember
them. In other grammar programs each concept (the adjective, for example)
is taught as a separate entity. In truth, most words that we call adjectives
can be used as other parts of speech in different sentences. So it stands
to reason that what students need to be taught is not to "recognize" an
adjective from a list of words; they need to see how an adjective functions
in a sentence in relationship to other words. The concepts in Analytical Grammar are taught in a certain logical
order, so that each concept builds on and is reinforced by the concepts
already covered. This method is not unlike the study of math where
one is applying everything one already knows about math and simply
moving on to a new concept.
Better and more correct writing for one thing, plus a clear understanding
of the English language and far more fluid use of it, both in speaking
and writing. One's ability to write English correctly is a tremendous advantage
in the working world, so one must understand the rules of punctuation.
Units 18 through 28 of Analytical Grammar are devoted to punctuation. This
is the "pay-off" for the study of grammar, because without knowing
the parts of speech, clauses, and phrases, the punctuation rules don't
make sense and are soon forgotten. Making grammatical mistakes in one's
speaking and writing is not only embarrassing; it can be a real obstacle
to career advancement. Units 29 through 34 cover the rules of proper usage
(when to use "I" and when to use "me," for example).
It is impossible to understand these rules without understanding grammar.
It is taught sequentially as a whole body of knowledge instead of being
taught piece-meal along with writing or literature or other language activities.
When units 1 through 17 are finished, the student has learned ALL the grammar
he/she will ever need to know in order to master the rules of punctuation
and word usage. Since every concept is woven logically together with every
other concept, there simply is no reason for endless repetition and drill.
The sentences used are written at a sixth-grade reading level. The course
has been successfully classroom-tested for over 20 years with children
from the gifted to "special ed." As a result of taking this course,
one student improved his "verbal mechanics" score on his achievement
test by 35% - from about average to well above! This kind of improvement
is not uncommon. Since the student will achieve mastery, you can reinforce his/her
new knowledge by calling attention to mistakes made in his or her writing.
The student can now address those mistakes in an authoritative manner! However, all of us forget details! When each unit of Analytical Grammar
is completed, the student should tear out the pages of exercises and
discard them. What will be left over will be all of the pages of notes.
These are numbered sequentially. There is a Table of Contents at the
beginning of the workbook and an Index at the end. Voila! The student
will end up with a complete and indexed grammar book to refer to in
case he needs to refresh his memory in the future. I have had many
former students comment to me that this was an invaluable grammar reference
when writing college term papers! What if I don't want to cover all
34 units at one time? You can easily break the course up into three sections.
Units 1 through 10 would be the first section. You could wait a while
and then do Units 11 through 17. After another break you should cover
the rest of the 17 units together. We've divided these into three seasons.
You can wait a week, a month, or even a year
between the sections! Should you decide to wait more than a month,
however, I would suggest that you purchase my little volume entitled
Review and Reinforcement for just $19.95. It contains reinforcement
exercises to be done after Unit 10 and after Unit 17. It also contains
some review exercises to be given to the student between the first
and second break. The reinforcement exercises consist of readings from and sentences
about some selections from literature, of primary interest to children
and adolescents. They are designed to reinforce the skills learned
in the preceding units of Analytical Grammar. What do I need to order? For one student, you need to order the basic set of Analytical
Grammar at $99.95. This set contains the student workbook and the teacher
book. If you are teaching more than one student, you need to order additional
workbooks, one for each additional student at $59.95. If you plan to
break the course - with breaks in between the sections - rather than
teaching it all at one time, you need to order Review and Reinforcement
at $19.95. |