I finally had a chance to take a peek at the Grammar Galaxy curriculum to see what all the buzz is about. Teaching doesn’t get much better than using stories to impart serious language arts skills – and enticing children into those stories through exciting missions.
The author, Dr. Melanie Wilson, is a dear friend of mine, but I don’t want you to get the impression that I’m saying nice things about Grammar Galaxy because of our friendship. She has truly written an engaging elementary language arts program!
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What is Grammar Galaxy?
Grammar Galaxy is a language arts program for 1st-6th graders that uses stories and missions to teach language arts concepts.
Each lesson includes a new story in the continuing saga of the evil gremlin and his quest to destroy Grammar Galaxy. Within the story line, language arts skills are creatively taught. Your children become part of the story as they complete quick missions in the workbook that require them to use language arts skills to deter the gremlin.
The concept is brilliant really. The stories are full of humor and the lessons move so fast that children may barely realize school is the name of the game.
Which Grammar Galaxy do I order?
Three volumes are available, with the fourth volume to be released before the end of 2019.
- Nebula, Vol. 1 (1st grade+)
- Prostar, Vol. 2 (3rd grade +)
- Yellow Star, Vol. 3 (3rd grade+)
Each volume follows the same general format with new skills introduced and past skills expanded as you progress from one to the next.
Melanie says you can certainly start at any level, but there is no harm in beginning with the first volume even if your children are older. They will likely move through the material at a faster pace, but you will be sure they have a comprehensive introduction of all the language arts concepts.
What can I expect from the lessons?
There are 36 lessons in each volume. Each lesson done in its entirety takes only 30 – 60 minutes.
Some people choose to split up the lessons over several days. Some choose to power through entire lessons in one day.
As you can see, how you choose to go through the lessons will determine how long each volume lasts in your homeschool. Those of you with older children could likely get through all the volumes in a year or two. (In fact, I think many older children could work through the readings and missions independently.)
I know some of you will ask if this is enough since it doesn’t seem to offer a great deal of daily work over the course of an entire school year. Good question.
Your children will certainly cover an abundance of language arts skills:
- phonetics
- grammar
- punctuation
- writing
- comprehension
- vocabulary
- literary genres
- literary techniques
- dictionary and encyclopedia skills
The curriculum is based on the mastery method of learning – meaning the goal is to learn a concept and move on. As your children work through the missions (worksheet activities), you’ll be able to see if there are certain struggles that you may choose to reteach in another way during another language arts lesson. Or, if you’d like to spend more time on a particular concept, you’ll have plenty of wiggle room to do so.
Grammar Galaxy doesn’t claim to be a thorough phonics program, spelling program, or handwriting program. You could easily use Grammar Galaxy alongside other curricula to have a very well-rounded elementary language arts education.
Of course, you’ll always want to supplement any language arts program with lots and lots of books. Books that you read aloud to your children and books they read to themselves. Reading good books strengthens every single area of language arts and beyond.
The Bottom Line
I think you will love this curriculum if…
- You have a child who is motivated by clever, humorous stories.
- You have a child who is motivated by missions and challenges.
- Your child responds well to mastery learning and doesn’t need consistent practice of new skills.
- You appreciate the flexibility to provide your own choices for phonics, spelling, and/or handwriting alongside this program.
- You appreciate a curriculum that is quick and easy-to-implement.
I would love to hear your thoughts about Grammar Galaxy! Have you tried it? Do you love it? Let’s chat in the comments.
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