This is my family’s fourth year of homeschooling, and in those four years we have used several different English writing and grammar curricula (such as Bob Jones, Shurley Grammar, IEW, Instructional Fair Diagramming, Write Source, and various grammar workbooks). All of these curricula have their strong points, and we didn’t necessarily switch specifically because of problems with the curricula. Often we chose to change curriculum because I wanted a different approach that would better fit my children’s learning styles.

Since teaching grammar in isolation does not necessarily lead to better writing, I prefer an English curriculum that doesn’t treat grammar and writing as two completely separate entities. Consequently, this year my 4th grader is using Learning Language Arts Through Literature (which is based on a Dr. Ruth Beechick’s real-world approach to teaching grammar and writing), and my 6th grader is using Rod and Staff English. Both curricula teach grammar in conjunction with writing. So far, I’ve been pleased with both, but especially with Rod and Staff, which leads me to the following review.

Rod and Staff English, Grade 6

Progressing With Courage is the name of Rod and Staff’s 6th grade English curriculum. It consists of a hardcover, non-consumable student textbook and a hardcover teacher’s manual. A set of worksheets and tests are also available for use with the curriculum, but they are not required. (You can view dozens of sample pages from the Rod and Staff English curriculum here.)

Considering Rod and Staff English books are both hardcover and non-consumable, the price is quite reasonable. The prices (for new books) run from around $13-18 for the student text, depending on the grade level, and $15-24 for the teacher’s manual. A worksheet set costs around $3 and the tests about $2.  Of course, these books can also be found used online and through other homeschoolers. I purchased our own grade six set (student text and teacher’s manual) for $13 from a fellow homeschooler.

The Student Text

The student book is printed in black and white, with only a few black and white pictures interspersed here and there. Although the text lacks bright colors and lots of illustrations, for some students this simple layout might be a benefit since it is not distracting.

The student text is broken up into 11 chapters, which are further divided into a total of 132 lessons. Each lesson begins with a 1-2 page explanation about the subject to be covered, including numerous well-written examples. Since the books were designed originally for use in a classroom, following the lesson there is a section for class practice which, for the homeschooler, can simply be done one-on-one. After the class practice there is a section of written exercises which is intended for the student to complete on his own. These are not fill-in-the-blank or multiple choice questions as in many other curricula; rather they are practical application sentences which require the student to understand the concept fully in order to get the right answers. At the end of each lesson there is also a very short section of review questions which covers concepts from previous lessons.

The Teacher’s Manual

The teacher’s manual (the larger book in the photo above) includes the entire student text, in reduced size, as well as the answers to all the class practice, written exercises, and review questions. It also contains the answers to the worksheets and tests at the back.

At the beginning of each lesson, the teacher’s manual includes an oral review of previous concepts. Then following the oral review, the lesson is given in outline form for the teacher’s use.

Quality of Content

Rod and Staff does an excellent job teaching grammar in the context of its application to writing. They never teach a concept for the sake of the concept. In other words, grammar is not taught in isolation as a separate subject, and each grammar concept is always taught with direct application to writing and communication.

For example, when teaching about the four types of sentences, the student is shown the practical application of that concept, giving examples of writing that makes use of only one type of sentence as opposed to all four. Then the student is asked to write a paragraph utilizing all four types of sentences. This practical application really helps the student understand the “why” of the concept and gives him the tools to apply the concept in his own writing. This application approach is quite different from many curricula which may have page after page of sentences which the student must identify as either D (declarative), Imp (imperative), Int (interrogative) or E (exclamatory), but never an example of the application to real life. Application is everything, and Rod and Staff does an excellent job of applying grammar concepts to writing.

When taught properly, diagramming sentence structure can be a very effective method of teaching grammar. (For me, diagramming sentences is what finally made 10th grade English grammar make sense!) Rod and Staff English does an excellent job of teaching grammar and sentence structure through diagramming. But at the same time, diagramming is not taught for the sake of teaching diagramming. It is used for a specific purpose, directly related to the improvement of writing skills. But while Rod and Staff includes diagramming in their curriculum, it is not overdone. Students are often required to diagram only the basic skeleton of a sentence; they are not required to diagram every single word of each sentence. Consequently, the main goal of diagramming is still achieved without burdening the student with needless rules and busywork.

How Our Family Uses Rod and Staff

I require my son to complete four lessons per week. For each lesson, we sit on the couch together and I go through the oral review from the teacher’s manual, asking him the questions aloud. Once that is completed, my son reads the lesson to himself. (When we first started using Rod and Staff, I read the lesson aloud to him, but I quickly discovered that since he’s a visual learner, he grasped the lesson much better when he read it to himself. So we switched to having him read the lesson to himself while I read through the lesson in the teacher’s manual. It works much better for us that way.)

After he reads through the lesson, we go through the class practice, using a lap-size white board as a “chalkboard” on which he writes his answers. Following that, if I feel he needs more practice or review, I assign him all, or just a portion of the written exercises and review questions.

Sometimes a particular lesson requires a writing assignment which may take substantially longer to complete, but most of the time, if I assign the full written exercise, he can complete it in 15 minutes or so. Since we usually spend only 15 to 30 minutes together going over the initial lesson, many times he is finished with his grammar in 30-45 minutes.

I have been exceptionally pleased with Rod and Staff English. My son is not a big reader, and he’s not a great fan of school in general, but he has told me in the past week that he is actually (*gasp!*) enjoying Rod and Staff! He explained that he’s understanding the grammar concepts much more clearly than with other curricula we’ve used in the past, and he and I have both noticed that his writing has been improving since we started this curriculum. He has been consciously applying the concepts he’s learned in Rod and Staff, and it’s paying off for him.

You can read other reviews of Rod and Staff English curriculum below.

• Rod and Staff English is one of Cathy Duffy’s Top 100 Picks
• Home School Reviews: Reviews from homeschooling parents who have used Rod and Staff
• The Old Schoolhouse magazine reviews Rod and Staff

Have you written a curriculum review on your blog?

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