Grammar Works! (Grades 4-8)

Rating:
Summary: Tackles a tough subject and makes it easy!
Review: Grammar is undoubtedly one of the most difficult aspects of learning language. This book is fun to use, keeps a child's interest and they learn from it. It is an invaluable tool for teachers as well as parents who wish to help their children at home.

Rating:
Summary: This one really works
Review: I am a former student of Halverson's and a high school English teacher. He taught me most of what I know about grammar. Even more astonishing, he made us look forward to "grammar day" each week. After some disasters trying to recreate the techniques I learned in 1983, I found this book. Thank goodness. Although it is geared to younger students, those with true grammar impairment don't mind learning it this way. Moreover, teachers will easily see how to adapt the approach to older kids. Get it. This man is the pro you always wished you or your kid had in school.

Rating:
Summary: Delightfully fun, creative, fresh, and comprehensive
Review: This book is an imaginative, intriguing, and enchanting path through a difficult subject. Grammar Works is definitely not a book just for teachers. The book says it's written for grades 4-8. I personally found it of great value as an adult. My 9 year old (4th grade) daughter was able to complete (with some assistance) all the exercises.

What I especially liked about the book was the creative way the author made learning fun. He uses themes for the lessons and cute stories, obviously geared to the interests of children, that run through the activities. The most appealing part of the book, for children, are the "rewards" at the end of each lesson. My daughter couldn't wait to get to the end to do the maze. I love that the mazes reinforce in such a fun way what she'd just finished learning.

I also appreciate the fact that the lessons often didn't just "teach" the material. Instead, I was delighted with a powerful method of self-discovery. The technical information is presented. It is then followed up with a clever method, such as true/false questions that lead the student to discover the way the rules really work and what they mean in a practical way. Being able to figure out how and why the rules actually apply is far more effective than just being given the dry information. This method, like the entire book, avoids the trap of giving children a bunch of "rules" and a list of exceptions to the "rules" that we all find overwhelmingly frustrating.

The material doesn't get stale because it's not presented in the same dry manner, and approaches are always interesting and fresh. We are anxious to start working through Spelling Works and look forward to more helpful and fun books by Mr. Halverson.