TOS Review: Logic of English

I was asked to review Essentials: Logic of English Complete Set, from Logic of English. The Essentials program is intended for Ages 7+ through Adults and teaches phonemic awareness, spelling, and grammar skills, using a unique and effective approach.




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Let me first say - WOW!  I had heard about this program but had never seen it in action, hands-on. I was already excited to have the chance to review the product but was even more impressed when the large box arrived. I opened it up with my children watching. The items included seemed like an endless Christmas morning amazing gift, as each item I pulled out seemed to be even more impressive than the prior. I was thrilled!  My excitement only grew when I discovered that this program is a common sense approach that allows me, as the teacher, to create custom-built lessons for my individual child's learning style!

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This hardbound printed set with flash cards, which sells for $243, includes:

• Essentials Teacher's Manual (Sells separately for $95)
• Essentials Student Workbook (Sells separately for $25)
• Spelling Journal (Sells separately for $8.00)
• Basic Phonogram Flash Cards (Sells separately for $18.00)
• Spelling Rule Flash Cards (Sells separately for $15.00)
• Grammar Rule Flash Cards (Sells separately for $22.00)
• Advanced Phonogram Flash Cards (Sells separately for $15.00)
• Game Book (Sells separately for $15.00)
• First Set of Game Cards (Sells separately for $10.00)
• Second Set Game Cards - Common Bookface (Sells separately for $10.00)
• Quick Reference Chart (Sells separately for $10.00)

THE WAY IT WORKS:

The Logic of English Essentials brings order to learning the English language. This program is a multi-sensory system that allows students to learn how to read, spell, and write with confidence. The Logic of English uses 74 basic phonograms and 30 spelling rules that were chosen because they are the ones that make up approximately 98% of all English words.  There are no sight words used for memorizing. Instead, students learn the reason behind why the way words are pronounced and spelled.

The main pieces to this curriculum are the teacher manual and the student workbook, either manuscript or cursive. The workbooks are intended to give students practice in handwriting skills.  I chose cursive.  The rest of the components accent the program to give the student a full, rich learning experience filled with enjoyment of the entire learning process.

When I opened the hardcover, very durable quality, teacher's manual, I noticed there were teaching schedules presented for various age or learning levels. I chose to follow the one that was appropriate for my 7-year-old. These schedules are followed by a "Before You Begin" section that has must-do phonemic awareness exercises before beginning the lessons.

Each lesson begins with a big box block of a summary of the lesson, so you know exactly what will be covered.

The lessons are divided into three sections that include four main teaching points for each lesson:

    

    

1. Phonograms - Phonogram Quiz
2. Exploring Sounds 
3. Spelling Rules - (Throughout the lessons, the entire book includes 480 high-frequency words) Rules and Lists of 15 words that include practice sentences, dictionary sound marks, syllables, markings, spelling hints, parts of speech and vocabulary development. It also introduces word roots.
4. Grammar - Using parts of speech in sentences, phrases, and punctuation with vocabulary development activities while learning how to move into writing paragraphs and essays.

There are also optional activities, which are all marked in blue boxes. Choose the activities that best suit your own, individual, child. If you have a kinesthetic learner (like me), select the games and activities that involve movement and hands-on learning. If you have an auditory or visual learner, there are plenty of activities for these students as well.

All of the lessons are presented in a way that students actually learn and not just memorize long lists of rules, and allow the teacher the flexibility to move as quickly or as slowly as each individual student needs.

Every 5th lesson is a review and assessment lesson.  These are intended to be a custom-designed lesson with games and activities included to re-emphasize material as needed.

HOW I USED IT:

Since I was given the choice between manuscript or cursive, I chose the Cursive version, because my kids have tons of chances to practice manuscript writing, but not so much on the cursive end. I have also heard that it can be a good thing to teach cursive first for various reasons.
I noticed right away that the program was different than anything I had ever used, because it sold me on the very first exercise of explaining how to recognize whether a letter is a consonant or a vowel by singing. I also, love how it offers a variety of games and activities - Many which are exciting and fit for my very kinesthetic learner.

 My 7-year-old was the lucky one in my household to get to sit down with me and experience this curriculum, though I did introduce it to my 12-year-old struggling speller as well.

I very quickly discovered that it would work best for us if I concentrated on covering one section per day. Since there are three main sections to each lesson, this meant that each lesson would last at least three days. Staying on pace meant finishing about one and a half lessons a week. Though, since learning is our main goal and the main goal of this curriculum, I was completely comfortable spending more time on some lessons and less time on others. I learned early on that it is best to let my child lead her own learning process as I use the curriculum as a guide.

Each 5th lesson is an assessment and review, which works out great to use as a time to slow down and really make sure your child has learned what was presented to that point.

What I discovered is that even at the early-reading age of 7, my daughter already has a fairly decent grasp on phonics and spelling. Though, she was definitely not beyond what the book instructed by any stretch of the imagination.
The games included really make the learning fun. A lot of the games are card game or Bingo or game board (from the games or workbook pages) style of fun.

Everything you need as a teacher is here. Any materials you need for a lesson is listed clearly at the start. While, you can pretty much pick up the teacher book and follow along to guide your child in learning, there is some teacher preparation to ensure the lessons, games and activities move smoothly.
Logic of English also offers other books and learning apps for a variety of ages and grades:
        

See what other members of the Schoolhouse Review Crew had the privilege of reviewing and what they thought, by clicking on the picture below: