I’m going to guess that you and your child aren’t thrilled with the idea of studying grammar. Diagramming sentences and memorizing parts of speech doesn’t sound very fun. That is why I love the Fix It! Grammar curriculum from the Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW).
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What Is Fix It! Grammar?
Update: This is a review of the older edition of Fix It! Grammar. A new edition is now available with some additional features. What I share in this review is still applicable to the new edition but you can learn more about the updated edition in this blog post.
Fix It! Grammar takes an exciting story and turns it into a fun lesson in grammar. Each week students will learn a few new grammar concepts that will aid them in finding and correcting errors in the daily passages. There are six books in the series that are geared towards 3-12 grade. Everyone, no matter what grade level, is encouraged to start with the first book in the series and then move through them at their own pace.
This curriculum provides instruction in grammar as well as vocabulary, handwriting and modeling quality writing. It works well with IEW’s writing programs.
How Does Fix It! Grammar Work?
Each book in the series is a story that is used to teach grammar. The student will find and correct errors in the daily passages and mark parts of speech before rewriting the sentences. When the student is finished with the book, he or she will have written out the entire story!
The first two books in the series (The Nose Tree and Robin Hood) are both broken down into 33 weeks. I am assuming the other books in the series are similar in length but I have only used the first two books so far. Each week consists of a lesson and 4 days of grammar work.
Each lesson teaches one or more new grammar topics which the parent will need to introduce to the child. One or two vocabulary words are given for each daily passage. The student is required to look up the definition of each word and write it down. Daily passages are then marked and corrected before the student copies the daily passage correctly.
After the initial presentation of the new material, students should be able to work independently on the daily passages. I stayed close by to answer questions and to check my children’s work.
How I Use It With My Kids
The Nose Tree
I used The Nose Tree with a 2nd grader and 4th grader. I found that it was just the right level for my 4th grader and a little challenging for my 2nd grader although she did well and was able to complete the book in one school year.
On Mondays I would introduce the new lesson and work through the first daily passage with my daughters. On Tuesday through Thursday, my 4th grader worked on the daily passages independently. My 2nd grader was able to work independently through the first part of the book but needed my assistance as we got further into the curriculum and the topics got more difficult. We took Friday off.
Robin Hood
I had my 5th grader work through the Robin Hood book this year. This book was much more challenging than The Nose Tree so she only got half way through the book. We will be finishing it next year. If I had known how challenging Robin Hood was going to be I probably would have had my daughter take two years to do The Nose Tree and then moved on to Robin Hood for 6th and 7th grade.
Did We Like Fix It! Grammar?
Yes! Both of my kids who used Fix It! Grammar enjoyed it and so did I! We all have been learning so much about grammar.
Before we started using Fix It! Grammar my daughter struggled to understand grammar. She would be able to complete an assignment correctly but was unable to remember the information the next day.
Now both my girls who use this curriculum are enjoying grammar and retaining the information! They look forward to reading another portion of the story and hunting for errors in the text. They were so proud when they completed The Nose Tree because they had an entire story copied in their own handwriting to read to family and friends.
The only thing I don’t like about the curriculum is that there are only 6 levels. When my 2nd grader finished the first book in the series, she wasn’t really ready to move on to the next book which meant she either had to do the same book over again or take a year off from the program. I ended up having her do The Nose Tree over again for the first half of the year but the excitement that she had the first time around wasn’t there the second time so we put grammar on hold for the rest of the school year.
Update: The new edition solves this problem! A new level, Town Mouse and Country Mouse, has been added between the Nose Tree and Robin Hood. We are currently working through this new level and love it! Learn more about the new edition here.
I highly recommend the Fix It! Grammar series. It really does take a boring subject and turn it into an exciting adventure!
Would it be ok to use Fix It Grammar if my kids are also using BJU for English? I like their options for writing assignments but my boys get easily bored with grammar details. I have a 6th, 4th and 1st grader.
Thanks!
I just found your blog and youtube videos and are loving them. I haven’t homeschooled all 3 of them before and I’ve been nervous. I got BJU DLO for all grades and we are modifying it to work best for us.
Yes, absolutely! That’s the beauty of homeschooling. Being able to adapt curriculum to your family’s needs and interests. I’d skip the BJU grammar sections or at least limit them significantly if you plan on using Fix It Grammar. You don’t want to overwhelm your kids (or yourself). You can combine your 4th and 6th grader together with Fix It however it will be too advanced for your 1st grader. The 1st grader should probably stick to BJU.
This is the blog I was looking for, answer to my prayer! I didn’t know if Fix It! was too easy for my 4th grader-he is doing it this year and I wasn’t used to him getting through grammar without complaining and getting it done so quickly (~15min). In my mind that means it was too easy-I know, that’s wrong. But I wasn’t sure if my soon to be 3rd grader would find the 1st book too hard. I think we will stick to BJU grammar portion for the little one and start him with Fix It in 4th grade. I do wonder if you have ever done IEW writing for 3rd graders? They have the new video lessons Level A, and it says it starts in 3rd grade, though I am wondering if it will be too hard? Any advice would be appreciated about the writing portion.
Yay! Glad you found my blog! Fix It Grammar and IEW’s new Structure and Style for Students really are best for 3rd grade and up. I am using the SSS Level A Year 1 with a 4th and 6th grader and it is just right for them. IEW does have curriculum for younger kids. Check out my IEW page http://www.iew.com/JanelleKnutson and scroll down to the very bottom. Click on “New to IEW?” and then you can find helpful information on what’s available or use the IEW Pathway that is linked there. BJU grammar is also a great option for the younger ones. Hope that helps!