BJU Press’ Writing & Grammar 6 integrates composition, grammar, word studies, and study skills, with the goal of helping students become effective communicators. The course purposefully addresses writing from a Christian foundation, with specific emphasis on the concepts of verity, clarity, charity, sincerity, and dexterity. Chapter openers, presented by the teacher, explain the biblical worldview theme and the goals of the chapter.
The course consists of a student worktext, a two-volume teacher edition, assessments, and an answer key for the assessments. The course is designed to be taught from the teacher edition, with the student worktext providing application and practice. The full-color student worktext features many illustrations and colorful graphic design.
The course is presented in 15 chapters, with several lessons within each chapter. A grammar and writing handbook at the back of the worktext serves as a reference tool.
Learning goals, expressed in the textbook as “I will…” statements, clearly state the chapter objectives. Each chapter has a primary, but not exclusive, focus on either composition or grammar. Grammar and punctuation receive a great deal of attention in this course, particularly in the first half. The balance shifts more toward composition skills in the second half. Because of the extensive coverage of grammar, the course should work best for students who need to review grammar while they continue to develop composition skills. To keep things interesting, the course breaks up traditional grammar lessons with other types of activities.
To provide models for students for both grammar and composition skills, one or more “Mentor Texts” are included in each chapter. The majority are from non-fiction sources, such as Scientists: Inspiring Tales of the World’s Brightest Scientific Minds by Isabel Thomas and “The Promise” speech by Tim Tebow. Some are from fiction and poetry, such as the story of Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter and the poem “The Furry Choice.” The majority of the excerpts are only one or two paragraphs long, although the excerpt from the book Christmas for Somebody’s Sister by Dave and Neta Jack, is four pages.
“Punctuation Stations” scattered through the worktext address punctuation, and they are generally followed by activities connected to a mentor text, traditional exercises, or a mixture of both. For example, the Punctuation Station on page 60 teaches the use of the apostrophe. On the following page, students identify apostrophes in the excerpt from Pollyanna. The Punctuation Station on page 198 teaches about commas in simple, compound, and complex sentences, and the following page has traditional-style workbook activities for practice.
Students learn to apply the writing process to various types of writing, including informational and argumentative essays, paraphrasing, and personal narratives. They will conduct and publish an interview (in print or digital form), and the final chapter has them write a historical fiction short story. In addition, most chapters include a “Writing Workshop”—10 in the entire course. In these, students learn a particular type of writing, such as writing a definition paragraph, an ad, a “list poem,” and a personal note. Others address writing skills such as using a variety of sentence patterns, varying the length of sentences, and how to introduce quotations.
The “Study Hack” at the end of each chapter helps students develop self-management and effective learning skills. For example, the Study Hack in Chapter 2 teaches the value of studying for all students, and the one for Chapter 3 addresses having an organized study space and routines for school and study. Elsewhere in the course, students learn to conduct both library and online research.
Three “Word Studies” teach about prefixes and suffixes, English words from Greek word parts, and homophones.
A chapter review assesses student understanding before they take their test. The course has eight tests, a final exam, and preassessments. Tests are provided for the chapters that teach grammar and research. The chapters on particular types of composition conclude with proofreading and evaluation using checklists and rubrics.
For Teachers
The two-volume teacher edition has reduced images of student pages with overprinted answers in red, and these images are surrounded by instructional information. At the front of the first volume is a lengthy explanation of the program. The appendix includes a section of Instructional Aids with rubrics for evaluating compositions, extra grammar exercises, writing prompts, game resources, and a page that helps teachers explain the gospel to students.
The teacher edition includes directions for many activities that have students work in pairs. Students working alone will miss out on that interaction, but it isn’t essential.
As for all the lessons, those that focus on grammar include lesson presentation plans for teachers, but many students will be able to complete those lessons without direct instruction. The composition lessons usually require the use of the lesson presentation from the teacher edition.
Additional digital resources, including video links, a digital scheduler, and a gradebook, are available free of charge at BJU Press’ Homeschool Hub. Worktext pages have occasional QR codes that link to AfterSchoolHelp.com, where students can access additional review and practice.
Summary
Writing & Grammar 6 is a comprehensive course that covers both grammar and composition well. While it requires direct instruction to fully utilize the course components, some can be skipped, and homeschoolers can complete much of their work independently.
