R. Robin Finley and Erin M. Karl
Analytical Grammar
www.analyticalgrammar.com
3810-201 Lunceston Way
Raleigh, NC 27613
(919) 783-5094
This is a spiral-bound workbook with 18 grammar reinforcement exercises for the high school student, designed to complement the Analytical
Grammar Notebook. Each exercise uses ten actual sentences taken from works by famous American authors such as Mark Twain, Edgar Allan Poe, F. Scott Fitzgerald, John Steinbeck, and more. Each exercise is divided into four parts. The first two sentences are to be parsed and diagrammed, the next three sentences are used to identify types of phrases and clauses, the next three sentences are to be punctuated properly, and the last two sentences are for practicing grammar usage skills (rewriting, re-ordering information, word choice, etc.)
The workbook contains a complete answer key with helpful teaching notes. The workbook is usable by itself, but would be best used with the Analytical Grammar Notebook by the same company, in case the grammar you have previously taught does not include the same elements or terms.
The design and format of the workbook is straightforward, self-directional, and well-organized. The exercises are targeted for intense, quick, supplemental grammar education and are very effective for solidifying grammar skills and improving writing and communication skills. I really enjoyed the idea of a workbook using actual sentences penned by great authors. It makes the work interesting, entertaining, and sophisticated.
If you need to supplement the grammar skills of your high school student for improved writing, or even test preparation, this is a good tool. It is a little too much grammar for my personal style of homeschooling--which stops short of such details as participles that function as helping verbs, gerunds, and complex diagramming, etc., so this curriculum may be more suited to the tastes of the classical homeschooler. The cost of the book is $19.95. These are of high quality content and it looks like they are produced independently by the authors themselves. These things considered, this workbook is a fair value for a solid, effective product.
Product Review by Camilla Anderson, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, December, 2009
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