Saxon Grammar and Writing (a.k.a. Hake Grammar and Writing) is an economical and comprehensive language arts program for your middle school (fifth through eighth grade levels) homeschool student. It costs just under $50 for the textbook, workbook and teacher’s pack. This program is a great option for parents that homeschool because it combines grammar, vocabulary and writing instruction into one program. It also promotes regular review of learned concepts. However, this is a secular program.
When Your Student Will Be Ready For Saxon’s Curriculum
Your student will be ready to start Saxon’s language arts program whenever they have comfortably completed a phonics program and is reading with relative fluency. Do note that this program doesn’t include any further reading or reading comprehension instruction. It is also important that your student knows the basic parts of speech and what their function is within a sentence.
How Information Is Presented
The information in the student text is presented in the following manner:
- Vocabulary words (presented either through dictation or copywork)
- The lesson’s presentation
- Sample exercises
- Practice using what was just taught
- Review of the vocabulary words and the lessons
How Saxon Works
This textbook is easy for students to use on their own, which makes this great for parents who are homeschooling more than one child. The student workbook includes writing lessons and writing exercises as well as extra practice lessons. Tests are generally administered every 5 or so lessons, beginning with lesson 10.
Summary For Saxon Grammer and Writing
The great thing about this curriculum is that it provides as much or as little repetition as your student needs. While it can be repetitive you can easily skip a lot of the review exercises if you feel like your child has mastered them already. In total there are 112 exercises, which include weekly dictations and journaling. It is important that these lessons be completed in the program’s order because one lesson will lay the foundation for the next.
This really is a great option for homeschooling families who want a rigorous language arts program that is also economical. It is also very comprehensive in that it completely covers writing, grammar and word study. You may want to add literature selections from your local library in order to complement the program though.