English Grammar

Grammar CurriculumGrammar Resources

In an age when the truth and inherent nature of everything is routinely questioned, it should come as no surprise that grammar education has come to be regarded as unnecessary and even pernicious. Teachers advocate integrated approaches in what are essentially programs designed to facilitate language learning by osmosis—students will "pick up" the rules of English by reading and writing on their own much better than when they are subjected to rote memorization of the parts of speech and the drudgery of sentence diagramming.

This view is about 100 years old....and the one that preceded it stretched from roughly the 8th century B.C. in Greece to the early part of the 20th century across the whole Western world. While length of tradition is no argument in itself, the fact that so many great intellectuals were the product of the direct approach to grammar instruction (and the fact that so few of similar ability remain) should count for something. Grammar formed the basis on which the rest of one's education was built—the "grammar stage" of Classical education was just that, a solid grounding in the nature and usage of language intended to facilitate literacy, critical thinking and the ability to form ideas from existing facts.

It's hard to find a good definition of grammar, largely because its importance has been questioned and its content ignored for so long. Currently it's most often described as the rules regulating language, but this is only part of the story. Grammar is the system of usage employed for a language to facilitate and codify meaning. In simpler terms, grammar is rules that do regulate language for the explicit purpose of aiding universal understanding among speakers of that language. If such linguistic governance does not exist, people who ostensibly speak the same language will not understand each other.

A commonly identified problem among those educated in the United States is that they retain a certain form of illiteracy from their earliest years through high school and even college. They can identify and even read words, but they cannot interpret them in any meaningful way and they certainly cannot form complex ideas or thoughts based on what they read. There are (as with anything) a variety of contributing factors, but one of the most basic is the lack of direct grammar education they receive.

To design a bridge one must first be fluent in the laws of physics and mathematics employed in such an undertaking. The same principle applies to language—in order to understand what sentences, paragraphs and books mean, a student must first understand why words are arranged as they are, why punctuation works the way it does, what different kinds of words exist and why they must change form depending on context, even what context itself is. Grammar is that study, and it is not simply an end in itself, it is the foundation for the very thing toward which education aims: comprehension.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he is a husband and father, teaches adult Sunday school in his Presbyterian congregation, and likes weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur.Read more of his reviews here.

 

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46 Items found Print
Active Filters: 3rd grade (Ages 8-9), Used Books & Materials
Claritas Fundamental Grammar Text
by Shannon Carroll Bucko
3rd edition from Claritas Publishing
for 2nd-12th grade
in Claritas (Location: CUR-CLA)
$38.00 (1 in stock)
Climbing to Good English 2 & 3 - Dictionary Skills Respelling Flashcards
from Schoolaid
for 2nd-3rd grade
in Climbing to Good English (Location: GRA-CGE)
$5.50 (1 in stock)
Climbing to Good English 3 - Teacher's Guide
from Schoolaid
for 3rd grade
in Climbing to Good English (Location: GRA-CGE)
$6.00 (2 in stock)
Daily Paragraph Editing Grade 3
by Barbara Linde
from Evan-Moor Educational Publishers
for 3rd grade
in Evan-Moor Grammar (Location: ZCLE-EM)
$9.80 (1 in stock)
Diagraming Sentences
by Deborah White Broadwater
from Carson-Dellosa Publishing Company
for 3rd-8th grade
in Clearance: English & Language Arts (Location: ZCLE-LAN)
$3.00 (2 in stock)
Easy Grammar Grade 3 - Student Test Booklet
by Wanda Phillips
from Easy Grammar Systems
for 3rd grade
in Easy Grammar / Daily Grams (Location: GRA-EGDG)
$6.95 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Eats, Shoots & Leaves
by Lynne Truss
from Putnam Juvenile
for 2nd-6th grade
in Grammar Picture Books (Location: GRA-PIC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
English 3 - CLP Teacher's Manual (old)
2nd edition from Christian Liberty Press
for 3rd grade
in BJU Writing & Grammar (old versions) (Location: OBJU-GRA)
$6.00 $3.00 (1 in stock)
English for the Thoughtful Child Volume One
by Mary Hyde & Cynthia Shearer
2nd edition from Greenleaf Press
for 2nd-4th grade
in Charlotte Mason Language Arts (Location: GRA-CM)
$14.50 $7.50 (5 in stock)
English Grammar Recitation I - Teacher Guide (old)
by Ashley Gratto
1st edition from Memoria Press
for 3rd-5th grade
$9.00 $4.50 (1 in stock)
First Language Lessons Level 3 - Instructor Book
by Jessie Wise & Sara Buffington
from Well-Trained Mind Press
for 3rd-4th grade
in First Language Lessons (Location: GRA-FLL)
$32.95 $16.00 (2 in stock)
Fix It! Grammar Book 1 - Student Book
by Pamela White
4th edition from Institute for Excellence in Writing
for 3rd-5th grade
in IEW Fix It! Grammar (Location: GRA-IEW)
$19.00 $11.00 (1 in stock)
Fix It! Grammar Book 1 - Teacher's Manual
by Pamela White
4th edition from Institute for Excellence in Writing
for 3rd-5th grade
in IEW Fix It! Grammar (Location: GRA-IEW)
$19.00 $9.00 (2 in stock)
Fix It! Grammar Book 2 - Teacher's Manual
by Pamela White
4th edition from Institute for Excellence in Writing
for 3rd-5th grade
in IEW Fix It! Grammar (Location: GRA-IEW)
$19.00 $9.00 (1 in stock)
Grammar Songs - Book only
by Kathy Troxel
from Audio Memory
for 3rd-8th grade
in Grammar Reference (Location: REF-GRA)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Grammar Songs with CD
Audio Memory CDs
by Kathy Troxel
from Audio Memory
for 3rd-8th grade
in Grammar Reference (Location: REF-GRA)
$22.95 $15.00 (2 in stock)
Intermediate Language Lessons - Teacher's Guide
Tch from Lost Classics Book Co.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Emma Serl Language Lessons (Location: GRA-SERL)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Introduction to Composition - Teacher Guide
by Brenda Janke & Jessica Watson
3rd edition from Memoria Press
for 3rd grade
in Memoria Press Classical Composition (Location: WRI-MPCC)
$11.85 $7.00 (1 in stock)
Language 3 - Quiz and Test Book
5th edition from A Beka Books
for 3rd grade
in A Beka Grammar & Writing (Location: GRA-ABK)
$8.00 (3 in stock)
Language 3 - Quiz and Test Key
5th edition from A Beka Books
for 3rd grade
in A Beka Grammar & Writing (Location: GRA-ABK)
$9.50 (4 in stock)
Language 3 - Teacher Key
5th edition from A Beka Books
for 3rd grade
in A Beka Grammar & Writing (Location: GRA-ABK)
$21.00 (3 in stock)
Language Lessons for a Living Education Level 1
by Kristin Joy Pratt
from Master Books
for 2nd-3rd grade
in Language Lessons for a Living Education (Location: GRA-CMLL)
$41.59 $31.50 (1 in stock)
Language Smarts Level D
by Judy Wilson Goddard
from Critical Thinking Books
for 3rd grade
in Critical Thinking Language Smarts (Location: GRA-CTLS)
$42.99 $20.00 (1 in stock)
Oral Language Exercises
from A Beka Books
for 1st-6th grade
in Clearance: English & Language Arts (Location: ZCLE-LAN)
$4.00 (5 in stock)
Primary Language Lessons
by Emma Serl
from Lost Classics Book Co.
for 2nd-3rd Grade
in Emma Serl Language Lessons (Location: GRA-SERL)
$10.00 (2 in stock)
Primary Language Lessons (Lingua Mater)
by Emma Serl
Updated from Hillside Education
for 2nd-3rd grade
in Charlotte Mason Language Arts (Location: GRA-CM)
$11.00 (1 in stock)
Primer 1 - Teaching Helps
by Kathy Weitz
from Cottage Press
for 2nd-3rd grade
in Charlotte Mason Language Arts (Location: GRA-CM)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Primer 1 Spring - Student Book
by Kathy Weitz
from Cottage Press
for 2nd-3rd grade
in Charlotte Mason Language Arts (Location: GRA-CM)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Primer 2 - Teaching Helps
by Kathy Weitz
from Cottage Press
for 3rd-4th grade
in Charlotte Mason Language Arts (Location: GRA-CM)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Rex Barks: Diagramming Sentences Made Easy
by Phyllis Davenport
from Paper Tiger
for 3rd-6th grade
in Miscellaneous Grammar Curriculum (Location: GRA-MISC)
$18.00 (2 in stock)
Rod & Staff English 3 - Pupil
from Rod & Staff Publishers, Inc.
for 3rd Grade
in Rod & Staff English (Location: GRA-R&S)
$13.02 (5 in stock)
Rod & Staff English 3 - Teacher's Manual
from Rod & Staff Publishers, Inc.
for 3rd Grade
in Rod & Staff English (Location: GRA-R&S)
$14.50 (3 in stock)
Sentence: English Worksheets Grades 3-5 - Teacher's Manual
by Martha Zook
from Rod & Staff Publishers, Inc.
for 3rd-5th Grade
in Rod & Staff English (Location: GRA-R&S)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Shurley English Level 2 - Teacher's Manual
by Brenda Shurley
2nd edition from Shurley English
for 2nd-3rd grade
in Shurley English, 2001 edition (Location: GRA-SHUR)
$17.50 (1 in stock)
Shurley English Level 4 - Homeschool Audio CD
by Brenda Shurley
from Shurley English
for 3rd-4th grade
in Shurley English, 2001 edition (Location: GRA-SHUR)
$2.80 (1 in stock)
Story Grammar for Elementary School
by Don & Jenny Killgallon
from Heinemann Educational Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Miscellaneous Grammar Curriculum (Location: GRA-MISC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Usborne Illustrated Grammar and Punctuation
from Usborne
for 3rd-7th grade
in Grammar Reference (Location: REF-GRA)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Well-Ordered Language Level 1A - Teacher's Edition (old)
by Tammy Peters, Daniel Coupland
1st edition from Classical Academic Press
for 3rd-4th grade
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Well-Ordered Language Level 1A Set (old)
by Tammy Peters, Daniel Coupland
1st edition from Classical Academic Press
for 3rd-4th grade
$22.00 (1 in stock)
Well-Ordered Language Level 1B
by Tammy Peters, Daniel Coupland
1st edition from Classical Academic Press
for 3rd-4th grade
in Well-Ordered Language (Location: GRA-WOL)
$23.95 $15.00 (1 in stock)
Well-Ordered Language Level 1B - Teacher's Edition
by Tammy Peters, Daniel Coupland
1st edition from Classical Academic Press
for 3rd-4th grade
in Well-Ordered Language (Location: GRA-WOL)
$26.95 $19.00 (1 in stock)
Word Fun
by Michael Dahl
from Picture Window Books
for 1st-3rd grade
in Grammar Picture Books (Location: GRA-PIC)
$9.50 (1 in stock)
Word Wizard's Book of Adverbs
by Robin Johnson
from Crabtree Publishing
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Grammar Reference (Location: REF-GRA)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Word Wizard's Book of Nouns
by Robin Johnson
from Crabtree Publishing
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Grammar Reference (Location: REF-GRA)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Word Wizard's Book of Pronouns
by Robin Johnson
from Crabtree Publishing
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Grammar Reference (Location: REF-GRA)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Word Wizard's Book of Verbs
by Robin Johnson
from Crabtree Publishing
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Grammar Reference (Location: REF-GRA)
$4.50 (1 in stock)