I'm referring to English. CLE & R&S, mostly for the middle school years or at least 4th and up. I'v used and seen the younger years but I'm trying to think of the future (not sure why) but I am. I like them both and my one child LOVES English a ton. I'm trying to figure out which route to go for the long haul. As far as the two, would you say they teach the same stuff but just at different times since one is spiral? As far as writing, like research papers, etc. does CLE teach that in the upper years or not? Does R&S get hard in the upper years, more so than CLE or are they about the same? I guess I ust need some comparisons between the two. Thanks!
Well, you're right, CLE does stretch it out two more years than R&S - R&S stops at 10th. But I've heard people say that R&S at 8th covers high school English pretty well, and 9/10 are more like college. I own these, and have looked at them but haven't used them yet. To me, CLE is easier to use because it's in a workbook so there isn't any copying in order to do the lessons. OTOH, R&S has a lot that can be done orally, so in actual practice, CLE seems to have more writing and not less. I had a student who was with me five years, and used CLE the entire time. We finished the 7th grade level last year, then she went on to an all-Abeka school for high school. The teacher there said that she was ready to do 9th grade Abeka English because she knows way more than the 8th grade raised-on-Abeka kids there. I think your choice probably should have more to do with the student's style than the content of each course -- whichever suits the student best. They're both very good!
This morning I was in a hurry and didn't have time to add that CLE teaches research papers in the fifth grade and in the eighth grade, spending an entire unit each year "holding the student's hand" through the researching and writing of it. I haven't actually used past the eighth grade yet... CLE is set up at least through the eighth grade with two days set aside per unit, for the purpose of writing, but I believe that it's pretty much up to the parent/teacher as to what writing is assigned. There are structured writing assignments within the units as well, and some parents feel that these are adequate without the "outside" two days worth of writing. I believe that the R&S is considered quite thorough in its teaching of different genre of writing, too.
Thank so much for your reply. Hmmm, it's tough cuz they both seem pretty thorough.... Hopefully someone will chime in more in the R&S area. Thanks again.
I am so new to homeschooling and even not sure what kind of curriculums you are reffering here. I just wanted to say I have heard a lot of good things about "Painless grammar" textbook.
CLE is spiral while R&S is mastery ... if that matters to you. Here's the scope and sequence for each: http://samples.rodandstaffbooks.com/1-19118/#6 http://www.keepandshare.com/doc/191...des-7-12-pdf-october-4-2007-8-47-am-489k?da=y (Sorry... this is all I can find for CLE. Maybe someone else has a better link.) All I can say is that I like R&S. I haven't seen CLE, so I can't offer my opinion on that one.
OMG, thank you so much for the R&S scope & sequence, that is exactly what I wanted to see. That helps me a ton. Looks like they learn a ton on writing different kinds of things. I'm assuming that you do not have to add an additional writing program with R&S since there is so much already? Thanks!
No, I would say no additional writing program required with either of these two. BTW, here's the S&S for CLE, both elementary and high school. http://www.clp.org/store/by_grade/23 You'll notice that second grade has "creative writing" listed for every unit. Third grade and above, you'll see specific writing assignments that are more purposeful: thank you notes, friendly letters, reports, book reports, news articles, poems, personal narrative, summaries, paragraphs (in chronological order, order of importance, spatial order), directions, exposition, speeches, and so on, more complex the higher up you go, of course. These are in addition to the teacher-made writing assignments allowed for (two days each unit). This is through the eighth grade.
Great, thank you for the S&S for CLE! So it's sounds like they are both pretty compairable. I've heard that CLE gets harder in the upper years, but have also heard that about R&S. So it makes me wonder if they are really about the same all around. Just that one is spiral and the other is master. Hmmm.... I don't want anything that is so hard the child doesn't learn. My one child LOVES English and really picks up on it so easy. But, my biggest thing is making sure my kids get a good foundation in the writing department, it's so important. I like both currics, that makes it even harder..... Thanks again...
R&S stops at 10th grade, but that's on a 12th grade level, so you can drag it out as long as necessary. If one wants to finish in 10th and then spend 2 years doing literature or writing research papers, that's ok, too. I don't think you'll be lacking in English no matter which one you choose.
