If you're just starting with this series, let us suggest an option to save you some money--and get some video help at the same time! Instead of purchasing Levels 1 or 2, pick up the Junior Analytical Grammar or JAG: Mechanics courses found here!

The end of grammar instruction isn't the knowledge of grammar—it's the application of that knowledge in writing and speaking. Students don't need to rehearse the same information year after year, they need solid instruction the first time around so they can be freed for more important study later in their academic careers. Robin Finley has created a course primarily for homeschool use that keeps all these elements in mind and gets students the information they need in timely fashion with a minimum of pain and suffering.

How Do These Work?

In early 2023, newly revised editions were quietly released by Demme Learning, which acquired the rights to AG from the author's daughter a couple of years earlier. Instead of Junior Analytical Grammar and Analytical Grammar sets, there is a series of five levels, each with its own emphasis. Each level includes a teacher's edition and consumable student workbook and together they cover middle school and high school. Instruction is found primarily in the student books, with teacher editions acting mostly as exercise and test answer keys, though the teacher books also include limited teacher notes to help you teach your kids.

Levels 1 and 2 offer a gentle and fairly brief introduction to English grammar for 5th graders. Level 1 is just a tweaked and reformatted version of Junior Analytical Grammar, and, like before, includes 11 weekly units for roughly one semester of study, covering the parts of speech and classic sentence diagramming. Level 2 replaces Junior Analytical Grammar: Mechanics, and follows up with 16 weekly units dealing with punctuation and usage. Both books lay a solid foundation for more in-depth study in Analytical Grammar Levels 3-5.

The original Analytical Grammar was a single volume that could be used anywhere between grades 6-12, though the author advised implementing it in the three years directly following use of Junior Analytical Grammar and Junior AG: Mechanics. It did not need to be done after the other courses—it was a stand-alone course that taught students everything they need to know about grammar, usage and mechanics to make them good writers; it could also be done in one year, though this was an intensive option. The new series takes the original three "seasons" and divides them into three books

Instead of 34 units in one book, Level 3 has 10 lessons, Level 4 has 7, and Level 5 has 19. These lessons have essentially the same sequence as the original book, but tend to have slightly more instruction, and with the replacement of the "Skills Support" sections with more consistent "Application & Enrichment" sections, more practice with usage.

The original book had plans for 1-, 2-, or 3-year use, and the author provided a Review and Reinforcement workbook which helped students stay fresh between school years. These courses make that book unnecessary by providing the needed review in the backs of Levels 3 & 4. As before, after completion of the Analytical Grammar courses, students can work through four literature based review texts with Shakespeare, American, British and world authors themes.

Diagramming is heavily emphasized throughout this series. In Analytical Grammar 3-5, the student exercise and test pages are meant to be removed from the book, leaving only the notes which then form an uninterrupted guidebook and grammar reference for years to come. Because the workbooks aren't cluttered with a lot of needless repetition some parents may wonder if their kids are getting all the grammar they need; realistically, they're probably getting more and better instruction than most courses (even much longer ones) offer.

The Beyond the Book Report courses are designed to be used in conjunction with the Analytical Grammar program. Over the course of three "seasons," middle- and high-school students are taught how to write a basic book report, a pamphlet book report, and a news article book report, provide a basis for literary analysis and teach basic expository writing (essays and research papers). Three-, two-, and one-year schedules are provided for getting through all three seasons depending on the grade in which students begin the course.

For each of the three Season One modules, students choose which book they're going to read and report on; Charlotte's Web is used throughout as a guide with sample lesson/assignment answers. All the content for the course is included on a CD-ROM which provides PDF lesson pages and lectures. In the basic book report module students learn to paraphrase and summarize; in the pamphlet module they construct a more in-depth report in pamphlet form; in the news article module they conduct the book report as though they were writing a news article.

This is pretty basic book reporting, without much of a focus on analysis, though these lessons pave the way for more detailed literary study. Beyond the Book Report is designed to provide a literary analysis supplement to the grammar instruction provided in Analytical Grammar. Kids will need to study literature more thoroughly in high school, but these programs offer a solid basis on which to build, and introduce modes of study that will help students not only in their English studies, but across the spectrum of their school curriculum and experience.

Our Honest Opinion:

These aren't exciting or attractive books—just black and white text with no illustrations. But if you want your kids to have a good education and don't care how entertained they are, you couldn't do much better for a grammar course. Each concept is presented in logical order, and instruction is brief but thorough, so kids don't have to struggle with poorly written sentences that obscure rather than illuminate meaning.

For ease of use and quality of instruction the only comparable series we've seen is Rod & Staff English, though Analytical Grammar is much shorter without sacrificing content. Kids need grammar to understand the language and its uses, and Robin Finley gives it to them straightforwardly without strings attached or more information than they need. Highly recommended!