Our Language Arts Plans 2009-2010

I am slowly pulling together what our school plans will look like for next year. On my sidebar (down near the bottom) are our plans for science and the boys reading lists for next year. Language arts is always the toughest for me because there are so many components to it...composition, handwriting, punctuation, spelling, grammar, etc. But I have finally come up with a plan.

For spelling we use Spelling Power which I love! I love the fact that my boys don't have to waste time and study the words they already know. We will also use SpellQuizzer along with Spelling Power. SpellQuizzer is a software program that quizzes spelling words.

For composition we will use some products from Institute for Excellence in Writing. Zach will do Ancient History-Based Writing lessons since we are studying Ancient History next year. Noah will do one of IEW's newest programs, All Things Fun & Fascinating. I am really excited that they came out will this new book! It is a year's worth of writing lessons, but it is slowed down for a younger child. This is just what we need since it will be Noah's first year of formal writing lessons.

For focusing on grammar and mechanics we will be doing two things (but only once a week) in addition to their writing curriculum. We are going to read through Grammarland which is a real old book that tells a story of all the parts of speech. There are small exercises at the end of each chapter. You can view Grammarland here. We also will be doing a copywork/dictation exercise once a week. Here is a brief explanation of copywork and dictation. To help me along with this since my punctuation is a bit rusty I will use A Writer's Guide to Perfect Punctuation as a reference. I love this book! It is so short and simple. Each chapter is about a different type of punctuation (periods, semicolons, commas, etc.) and when you use it.