Giggles + Grammar = Giggles in the Middle

Grammar is one of those school subjects that kids either love or hate.  I would guess the majority of kids would vote the second.  I know mine would.  She has one of those love/hate relationships with it too.  She loves to write, but writing means knowing grammar rules well, which means practicing grammar, which is where the hate comes in, lol!

As you may have noticed from past blog posts, I am always on the lookout for new homeschooling material, especially for Language Arts.  I'm a strict teacher when it comes to grammar, I enforce at least a lesson (even if it is a short one) every day.  So when we finish a book and all its lessons, we go on to a new one.  Grammar is a tough subject to find engaging books for Amber.  Her learning style tends to be more on the "interest" side, so if I can find a book or curriculum that teaches to her likes, she is more apt to learn.  Books that explain concepts with stories, jokes or graphics appeal to her.  I have only found a couple of books like that in the past.

When Maupin House was looking for reviewers for their books, I went to their website to see what they had to offer.  I was immediately intrigued by Giggles in the Middle: Caught'ya! Grammar with a Giggle for Middle School (Jane Bell Kiester).  Grammar and the word Giggles in the same sentence?   I was sold before I even looked in the book, I was certain this would be something Amber would like.
I have been using Giggles in the Middle every day for the past couple of weeks with Amber, who is 13.  For the most part she has liked it, it still is grammar and I can't hide that lol! 

The format of Giggles in the Middle is unique to any other book I have used so far.  The whole curriculum revolves around the story of group of students and Horribly Hard Middle School.  It is split up into three middle school years, but instructions include how to implement it if you are starting in 7th or 8th grade.  Each year includes 125 Caught'yas.

What's a Caught'ya exactly?  The Caught'ya method is an integrated way to teach language skills in context.  It allows you to teach grammar, usage, mechanics, vocabulary, paragraphing, sentence structure, homophones, misspelled words and more all within the context of a story.  After the introduction of the story is read, each Caught'ya is a 2 to 4 sentence paragraph continuing the story.  The hitch?  They are full of errors that the student needs to correct.  Something like this:

whats a caughtya exactly  the caughtya method is an integrated way to teach language skills in context  it allows you to teach gramar usage mechanics vocabulary paragraphing sentance structure homophones mispelled words and more all with in the context of a story.                                  -- Get it?

The neat thing is the teacher can change them according to what they feel is appropriate for the level of the students.  For the sake of the review I decided to leave the Caught'yas as they were formed in the book, and start from the beginning with the 6th grade year.  We have been doing 2-3 Caught'yas a day.  Although Amber is 8th grade age and doing a lot of high school work already, this is sufficiently challenging for her.  That surprised her some, and thrilled me.  It has made her much more conscious on how a sentence is to be structured.

Interspersed between the Caught'yas are writing ideas related to the story.  These are fun and make the student think a bit.  They encompass many different writing topics such as narratives and persuasive writing.

There is also a great deal of rich vocabulary introduced.  With most middle school material, I tend to find both the activities and vocabulary weak for accelerated students.  There is none of that in Giggles in the Middle.  Favorite Bill O'Reilly words like sagacious, odious and puerile are used, expanding the students word choice for writing and preparing them for college entrance tests.

I am planning to continue using this book until we are done with it, even if that extends into the next school year.  This is a good choice for those with middle school students who want a change from traditional workbooks with worksheets.  Using it without modifications is appropriate for accelerated students also.

To purchase Giggles in the Middle or to view other titles by Maupin House you can visit their website at www.MaupinHouse.com

I received a complimentary copy of Giggles in the Middle from Maupin House for thepurpose of this review.

Comments

[Jane Kiester]

Thank you for your lovely review. If any parents or teachers or students have a question or need help implementing Caught'yas, feel free to contact me at janekiester@comcast.net. I love to hear from parents and teachers who use my books.
Jane Kiester