Grammar Island by Michael Clay Thompson – Book Review

BOOK REVIEW
Grammar Island
by Michael Clay Thompson

I both loved and hated this curriculum.

First, what I didn’t like:

  • The graphics are horrible. All artwork and photographs are pixelated. This may have been fixed in later versions, though.
  • The story/writing about Mud the Fish within Sentence Island was annoying, though my kids didn’t seem to care. I do like the effort to make Grammar more whimsical, though I think the execution could have been better.

What I did like: 

  •  The use of color within the typography is a great way to emphasize things visually.
  •  I love the method of four level analysis. It is so much clearer than diagramming (though diagramming is more clear about showing phrases as large modifiers, so we’ve begun adding it in occasionally.).
  • The Practice book is an excellent idea and helps solidify everything.
  • I love the “sit on the couch and snuggle while you learn” type of material. This isn’t boring worksheets. It often just felt like more Read Aloud time.
  • This is a challenging curriculum. I like that it expects a lot of my kids. I don’t expect them to understand everything right away, but they grow in their understanding as the year progresses. This curriculum covers in one year (3rd or 4th grade usually) what I learned up through 7th grade in school.

Overall, it is a product I would use again because it works and my kids love it.