2nd ( Second ) Grade English Grammar Practice - Where's the beef?

[KrisTom]

I have looked at the sample pages for English Grammar Practice in both the student and teacher key books. Where is the specific grammar instruction/scripted lessons for English Grammar Practice? Or is this intuitive? I don't think we will buy all the pieces for 2nd grade, but I have used Prima, and I don't see how they perfectly align, though I know basic grammar is covered. I just don't think we are going to add Latin in for a 2nd grader next year as I will be transitioning to having four full-time learners at different grade levels. If we use MP, I was thinking Traditional Spelling and Literature (this is the most likely part of MP we will use) along with Classical Phonics plus the EGP. I am wondering if that is enough, though without Prima, maybe I need a fuller grammar curriculum? I am thinking of using Michael Clay Thompson, either Poodle or Island, with her, which could suffice as a full grammar curriculum.

[Mom2mthj]

I have used the second grade core a couple of times, but English Grammar Practice was not a part of it at that time. It is a newer addition to the core. A couple of times I used the old version of first language lessons that was completely oral and combined first and second grade into a single book. It was maybe 10 min, 3 times a week and it still didn’t get done all the time with my oldest. Unless you are really set on it, I wouldn’t bother with MCT. I would just talk about basics of the parts of speech and capitalizing the first word in the sentence during your other subjects and call it good. You have a big year ahead of you and streamlining things will be important.

[enbateau]

I don't think pushing the abstraction of grammar outside of what you'll already see in Traditional Spelling, lit, and EGP is necessary if you eventually plan to add PL. My MP2er's grasp of the parts of speech was purely memorization at that age. Pushing PL to 3rd is pretty common around here. Rather than buying a separate grammar curriculum, could you use the words to know & vocab from lit guides to identify some of the parts of speech? We seamlessly incorporated the concepts we were learning that year in other subjects to increase recognition and mastery. When we crafted a response to a comprehension question, we talked about each sentence needing a subject (who/what the sentence is about) and verb (what the subject is or does). I agree with Dorinda that with so many new balls in the air, a separate piece might not get done anyway.

[KrisTom]

I have used the second grade core a couple of times, but English Grammar Practice was not a part of it at that time. It is a newer addition to the core. A couple of times I used the old version of first language lessons that was completely oral and combined first and second grade into a single book. It was maybe 10 min, 3 times a week and it still didn’t get done all the time with my oldest. Unless you are really set on it, I wouldn’t bother with MCT. I would just talk about basics of the parts of speech and capitalizing the first word in the sentence during your other subjects and call it good. You have a big year ahead of you and streamlining things will be important.

Thank you so much for this insight. Yes, I am quite nervous about next year! I have another child who is using All About Reading, and one of my thoughts was to perhaps use the Poodle Level (Introductory) of MCT for the two of them. It would just be oral, too, but it is quite expensive--so waiting is an option, too.

[KrisTom]

I don't think pushing the abstraction of grammar outside of what you'll already see in Traditional Spelling, lit, and EGP is necessary if you eventually plan to add PL. My MP2er's grasp of the parts of speech was purely memorization at that age. Pushing PL to 3rd is pretty common around here. Rather than buying a separate grammar curriculum, could you use the words to know & vocab from lit guides to identify some of the parts of speech? We seamlessly incorporated the concepts we were learning that year in other subjects to increase recognition and mastery. When we crafted a response to a comprehension question, we talked about each sentence needing a subject (who/what the sentence is about) and verb (what the subject is or does). I agree with Dorinda that with so many new balls in the air, a separate piece might not get done anyway.

I can certainly use the Lit Guides that way, thank you! I guess what I don't quite understand is whether or not there is instruction that accompanies the EGP? We did EGR I and II this year, and as you know, the kids learn the rules and then apply them. I don't seem to be able to figure out where kids learn the rules for EGP? Or is it just meant to be intuitive or rely upon the parent's knowledge? The samples have activities such as "edit the sentence."

[KrisTom]

Ok, I think I found the answer. There is NO teaching. It is meant as a review or compliment, and it is mean to be oral. I think we may just get the teacher book, and I may still use MCT (at least Poodle, which has just three books) since we will not do Latin just yet.

[enbateau]

I think the component you're missing is that much of the grammar work has been going on in morning Recitation for a few years by this point.

I would point to the following in MP2 Recitation:

Wk 1: What letter do you add to a word to make it plural (s...or es) Then students make a few nouns plural in EGP. This is review from TS I as well.
Wk 2: What is the punctuation mark plus letter combination used to show possession? ('s) Students use 's & s' to form the possessive, a review from STT/MSTT.
Wk 9: What punctuation mark is used for a statement? (period) Students put periods at the end of statements in the EGP book, and it's review from TS & STT.
Wk 11: What punctuation mark is used for excitement? (!) What punctuation mark is used when someone is speaking? (" ) Students put in quotes and !'s. It's review from MSTT.
What is made when two words combine to make one shorter word? (contraction) As review from TS I, students identify components of a compound word in EGP. The pattern continues in following weeks.
Wk 12: contractions
Wk 13: common and proper nouns
Wk 14: synonyms and antonyms and prepositions
Wk 15: pronouns
Wk 16: adjectives & adverbs
Wk 20/21: verbs (plus be/linking/existence verbs)
Wk 25: conjunctions
Wk 26: 8 parts of speech

Over half of these are review from MP1 Recitation. Wk 2 in MP1 Recitation hit capitalization rules addressed in EGP.

It's all there. Not everyone has or does the recitation, but it acts almost like the rule that EGR would introduce, and the EGP pages, albeit without explicit instruction for the teacher to point to, act like the practice exercises.

Like Dorinda, I did not have EGP when my eldest came up through MP2, although I wonder if we did the Core Skills pages?? I do have them now, as I'm getting ready to start them with my rising MP2er. They work in tandem with students who are completing MP's literature, spelling, and recitation curricula. Latin isn't necessary to complete them, but having at least recitation and literature would make the program the most cohesive.

[KrisTom]

I think the component you're missing is that much of the grammar work has been going on in morning Recitation for a few years by this point.

I would point to the following in MP2 Recitation:

Wk 1: What letter do you add to a word to make it plural (s...or es) Then students make a few nouns plural in EGP. This is review from TS I as well.
Wk 2: What is the punctuation mark plus letter combination used to show possession? ('s) Students use 's & s' to form the possessive, a review from STT/MSTT.
Wk 9: What punctuation mark is used for a statement? (period) Students put periods at the end of statements in the EGP book, and it's review from TS & STT.
Wk 11: What punctuation mark is used for excitement? (!) What punctuation mark is used when someone is speaking? (" ) Students put in quotes and !'s. It's review from MSTT.
What is made when two words combine to make one shorter word? (contraction) As review from TS I, students identify components of a compound word in EGP. The pattern continues in following weeks.
Wk 12: contractions
Wk 13: common and proper nouns
Wk 14: synonyms and antonyms and prepositions
Wk 15: pronouns
Wk 16: adjectives & adverbs
Wk 20/21: verbs (plus be/linking/existence verbs)
Wk 25: conjunctions
Wk 26: 8 parts of speech

Over half of these are review from MP1 Recitation. Wk 2 in MP1 Recitation hit capitalization rules addressed in EGP.

It's all there. Not everyone has or does the recitation, but it acts almost like the rule that EGR would introduce, and the EGP pages, albeit without explicit instruction for the teacher to point to, act like the practice exercises.

Like Dorinda, I did not have EGP when my eldest came up through MP2, although I wonder if we did the Core Skills pages?? I do have them now, as I'm getting ready to start them with my rising MP2er. They work in tandem with students who are completing MP's literature, spelling, and recitation curricula. Latin isn't necessary to complete them, but having at least recitation and literature would make the program the most cohesive.

Ahh thank you, thank you, thank you! So grade 2 has recitation that includes grammar, so I should think about possibly purchasing the recitation if we don't buy the whole core? It might sound silly, but I feel like I need something concrete from the publisher to make me feel like I am doing something proven and right, lol.

[enbateau]

You can usually get it as a separate download for pretty cheap if you're not getting a CM.

[KrisTom]

You can usually get it as a separate download for pretty cheap if you're not getting a CM.

Thank you! We will do that if we go this route. MP was just not a good fit for my older two this year, so we scaled back a lot, but then I think we just scaled back too much. Whatever piece we do, I think we need to do it right, maybe just with less pieces.

[jen1134]

Thank you! We will do that if we go this route. MP was just not a good fit for my older two this year, so we scaled back a lot, but then I think we just scaled back too much. Whatever piece we do, I think we need to do it right, maybe just with less pieces.

We use all MP, but we don't do all of MP, if that makes sense. A tip for ordering: if you call/email your order for "customized cores," you'll still receive some level of discount as long as you buy a Curriculum Manual for each "core" you're ordering. I do this each year and it works very well for us.

[KrisTom]

We use all MP, but we don't do all of MP, if that makes sense. A tip for ordering: if you call/email your order for "customized cores," you'll still receive some level of discount as long as you buy a Curriculum Manual for each "core" you're ordering. I do this each year and it works very well for us.

Thank you so much. Yes, we did this last year for my oldest.

[sunflower21]

I think the component you're missing is that much of the grammar work has been going on in morning Recitation for a few years by this point.

I would point to the following in MP2 Recitation:

Wk 1: What letter do you add to a word to make it plural (s...or es) Then students make a few nouns plural in EGP. This is review from TS I as well.
Wk 2: What is the punctuation mark plus letter combination used to show possession? ('s) Students use 's & s' to form the possessive, a review from STT/MSTT.
Wk 9: What punctuation mark is used for a statement? (period) Students put periods at the end of statements in the EGP book, and it's review from TS & STT.
Wk 11: What punctuation mark is used for excitement? (!) What punctuation mark is used when someone is speaking? (" ) Students put in quotes and !'s. It's review from MSTT.
What is made when two words combine to make one shorter word? (contraction) As review from TS I, students identify components of a compound word in EGP. The pattern continues in following weeks.
Wk 12: contractions
Wk 13: common and proper nouns
Wk 14: synonyms and antonyms and prepositions
Wk 15: pronouns
Wk 16: adjectives & adverbs
Wk 20/21: verbs (plus be/linking/existence verbs)
Wk 25: conjunctions
Wk 26: 8 parts of speech

Over half of these are review from MP1 Recitation. Wk 2 in MP1 Recitation hit capitalization rules addressed in EGP.

It's all there. Not everyone has or does the recitation, but it acts almost like the rule that EGR would introduce, and the EGP pages, albeit without explicit instruction for the teacher to point to, act like the practice exercises.

This is gold! 🌻

[Teach05]

I think the component you're missing is that much of the grammar work has been going on in morning Recitation for a few years by this point.

I would point to the following in MP2 Recitation:

Wk 1: What letter do you add to a word to make it plural (s...or es) Then students make a few nouns plural in EGP. This is review from TS I as well.
Wk 2: What is the punctuation mark plus letter combination used to show possession? ('s) Students use 's & s' to form the possessive, a review from STT/MSTT.
Wk 9: What punctuation mark is used for a statement? (period) Students put periods at the end of statements in the EGP book, and it's review from TS & STT.
Wk 11: What punctuation mark is used for excitement? (!) What punctuation mark is used when someone is speaking? (" ) Students put in quotes and !'s. It's review from MSTT.
What is made when two words combine to make one shorter word? (contraction) As review from TS I, students identify components of a compound word in EGP. The pattern continues in following weeks.
Wk 12: contractions
Wk 13: common and proper nouns
Wk 14: synonyms and antonyms and prepositions
Wk 15: pronouns
Wk 16: adjectives & adverbs
Wk 20/21: verbs (plus be/linking/existence verbs)
Wk 25: conjunctions
Wk 26: 8 parts of speech

Over half of these are review from MP1 Recitation. Wk 2 in MP1 Recitation hit capitalization rules addressed in EGP.

It's all there. Not everyone has or does the recitation, but it acts almost like the rule that EGR would introduce, and the EGP pages, albeit without explicit instruction for the teacher to point to, act like the practice exercises.

Like Dorinda, I did not have EGP when my eldest came up through MP2, although I wonder if we did the Core Skills pages?? I do have them now, as I'm getting ready to start them with my rising MP2er. They work in tandem with students who are completing MP's literature, spelling, and recitation curricula. Latin isn't necessary to complete them, but having at least recitation and literature would make the program the most cohesive.

This is when I wish I had a time machine to go back and do first grade with MP. Too bad I hadn’t heard of MP at that point.

[enbateau]

This is when I wish I had a time machine to go back and do first grade with MP. Too bad I hadn’t heard of MP at that point.

We came to MP at precisely that point (summer before 2nd), and we did a quick survey of parts of MP1 (oral save for math), then started MP2. It was fabulous! We haven't looked back. I have a student who started in 7th, and his progress has been night and day. There is no bad time to start a mastery-based Christian education.