Name: Thrive! NCHE Homeschool Conference
Start: 2025-05-22T00:00:00-05:00
End: 2025-05-24T23:59:59-05:00
Location: Winston-Salem, NC

Tagged: ILL, Language arts, PLL, Serl

This topic has 10 replies, 6 voices, and was last updated 13 years, 9 months ago by Heather.

Viewing 11 posts - 1 through 11 (of 11 total)

Author
Posts
June 24, 2011 at 6:54 pm
Heather
Participant
Has anyone here used Serl’s Primary Language Lessons for a 4th grader? I’ve posted before about Grammer problems and thanks to your encouragement I’ve decided upon Serl’s Language Lessons. I ordered both Primary and Intermediate Language Lessons as I was unsure where my daughter would fit best, but after perusing the books (which are wonderful by the way), I am thinking about starting PLL at lesson 1. There is so much in there that she didn’t cover in her previous program. I think it would start out a bit light and then get gradually deeper which would be a good progression for her, rather than jumping into the middle of something she’s not done before. I am thinking that if I skip most of the memorization (we’ll get that in other subjects), we could complete PLL in one year and she could start ILL in 5th grade. Does anyone see a problem with this? I know in the upper grades they are supposed to get more into analytical grammer, and I don’t want to interfere with that. This plan would have her completing ILL in 6th grade, ready for analytical in 7th.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
June 25, 2011 at 2:37 pm
Heather
Participant
bumping…anyone?
June 25, 2011 at 3:12 pm
Rachel White
Participant
Hey Heather,
You could skip memorization, observation and dictation exercises. Plus, do 75% orally. You can wait untill ILL to do the dictation and composition exercises in written form. Yes, it could be done in one year doing it this way. My dd used it last year (gr. 3) and just about finished, but we didn’t always do it the 4 days a week that is required to move through them. Don’t skip the poems and the questions that go with them; it’s valuable info.
HTH,
Rachel
June 25, 2011 at 3:47 pm
Laura.bora
Participant
My son is in 4th and is using Primary – but we are nearing the end of the book. I think it’s fine, if that is the level they are at! (If you haven’t done any grammer before, I think it is best to start there.)
June 25, 2011 at 4:26 pm
Heather
Participant
Thank you for the advice! I hadn’t thought of skipping the dictation also. That will work out even better since I will have her doing SCM Spelling Wisdom this year. So, you wouldn’t forsee a problem with starting ILL in 5th, finishing in 6th and not starting more analytical grammar until 7th?
Thanks again!
June 25, 2011 at 8:02 pm
Rachel White
Participant
No, no problem. AG doesn’t recommend instruction with their material until after 6th and for OMT, AO starts at Yr. 7, anyway.
Rachel
June 25, 2011 at 8:23 pm
Heather
Participant
Thank you Rachel!
June 25, 2011 at 10:05 pm
AussieMummy
Participant
Yes & no. I wasn’t keen on Serl’s because we all ready cover memorization and dictation and copywork. Thus while it was the best deal out there I wasn’t totally thrilled with it.. until I stumbled upon an Australian version which had no dictation or memorization in it. 😀
July 22, 2011 at 1:50 pm
Renelle
Participant
We have used 1/2 of Emma Serls Primary language lessons and are now using Intermediate Language Lessons, with our ds9. I like it because of it’s simplicity and no prep yet there are beautiful selections. If something is a bit hard I just help him along by scribing or asking leading questions etc. The version we use is the fore mentioned Intermediate Lanuage Lessons from Homeschooling Downunder . It has been adjusted to add some Australian poetry, prose, spelling (British), writing assignments. The American version is fairly true to the original.
We aim to do one simple lesson a day.
We also do Spelling Wisdom at least once a week and Italics handwriting just a little each day.

Warmest Wishes, Renelle
July 24, 2011 at 9:36 pm
LDIMom
Participant
WE are using it with our 5th grader who is 11. My situtaion is a bit different but similar as well. We needed to start at the beginning as my son is an English Language Learner. I am AMAZED at what he is already accomplishing after just a few lessons in PLL. We do skip some things that I know will cause more frustration than help, and other things I will allow oral (when it specifies write). I plan to do one lesson a day for now, but may speed up. I just loved the lesson we did recently which covered “to, too, two” and that our son really got most of the answers correct. It was so affirming to me as his teacher. I am so hard on myself sometimes (aren’t we all) b/c I wonder if I am not the best teacher for him, but to see him fly through those and really get it. Wow!

I love how short the lessons are and he does too. He would not do well with something long and a worksheet. We’ve BTDT. I am using ILL with my 9YO son, a 4th grader, but I am planning to go back and use a few lessons from PLL with him as needed.

I am really pleased with PLL and ILL and the ease of use. They are great for an ELL student from my experience thus far, and I would think a child needing remediation would benefit for many of the same reasons my son is.

I personally wouldn’t fret over it at all. I am realizing my 7th grade son needs some remediation and I only wish I had realized it sooner. I am having a really hard time getting him to go back. I (and he) are frustrated but he needs to know basic sentence structure.

Life is always fun and challenging! I’ll say that! Best to you on this and hoping it is going well!
July 25, 2011 at 10:49 pm
Heather
Participant
Thank you all for your help and responses! I did start PLL with her, but I chose only the lessons that I knew would benefit her, and it seems like we’ll be finished with those select lessons by the end of first quarter. I plan to begin ILL then and with eliminating the copywork, dictation and memory since we get those in other subjects, we’ll be on track to finish ILL in 6th and onto AG in 7th. She is really enjoying PLL and is already learning so much! And I agree, the to, too, two lesson was great!
I can’t thank you enough!