Q: I’ve heard a lot of positive comment about your Language of God grammar program, but wonder if it is enough for grammar and writing?
The Language of God series extends from second through eighth grades. [In first grade, grammar is incorporated into the spelling program.] Language of God’s grammar closely follows the standard sequence of grammar study found in quality language arts books.
Language of God’s writing assignments are based on the reasoning that a true picture of a student’s mastery of writing and grammar skills will less likely be revealed in a story about ‘How I Spent My Summer Vacation’ than in, for example, a letter of thanks written to his parish priest. In preparation for adult life, Language of God users practice their writing and grammar skills in practical ways, including letters to shut-ins or elderly relatives in the early levels, or letters to the editor of Catholic or secular publications or to their congressional representatives. Other writing assignments range from paragraph writing to journaling.
In summary, ‘enough writing’ depends largely on how much writing is assigned by the teacher, who knows her children’s interests best. If too little writing assigned, there is too little writing.
For those who would like extra writing practice in the elementary grades, other CHC writing programs include Writing Workshops.
“Hands down, Language of God is the most wonderful program for Language Arts!”
– Jennifer, IN
Q: Language of God seems like a strange title for an English book. What is this title supposed to mean?
Language is a great gift from God; it can be used to curse or to bless, to hurt or to comfort, to tear down or to build up. This series aims, through gentle, child-friendly, Catholic grammar instruction, to teach children to use this great gift of language to bless and build up, ultimately to witness to the infinite love of God.
Q: I want to purchase your Language of God book, but I see that there are no tests that come with the book. Are there any tests that I can buy that go with the book?
A testing system is built into each level of the Language of God series; however, the test pages are labeled as review or practice pages.
In a public school setting, classroom teachers have difficulty tracking individual, daily progress because of the sheer volume of work produced by 30 students. Testing, therefore, is necessary to shed more light on individual performance.
In a homeschool setting, testing doesn’t generally reveal further information on student progress than the teacher already knows; the teacher is intimately and immediately aware, on a daily basis, of her child’s understanding of the material.
In any case, in the Language of God series these review, or test, pages occur about every 12 to 15 pages, and may be used for review, practice, and testing. Some like to use the pages as practice exercises, but then return to the same pages and use them as tests a week or two later. [If the workbook page has been used, the test may be given orally.]
