Bridgeway English: Focus on Grammar and Focus on Writing ~ a Review

Bridgeway Academy provided the following books for the purpose of this TOS Schoolhouse Crew review. 

As a homeschool mom, my planning is not the same as a typical school teacher. There are times when I focus more on one subject than others, and yes, there are times when my focus on a subject is not all that it needs to be. Last year, the subject that I addressed least of all with my now eighth grader was grammar. I searched for just the right curriculum to fill that need this year, and I think Bridgeway English Book 1 Focus on Grammar ($23.33) is just what she needed. Recommended for grades 7-12, this book covers grammar and language arts and was a great fit for my 8th grader.

Although it is marketed as a remedial English skills development course, I think this would be a good review for any junior high student. Specific topics addressed include: subject and predicate, fours types of sentences, sentence fragments, run-on sentences, compound sentences, noun functions, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions and prepositional phrases, conjunctions, interjections, and grammar review.

Bridgeway English is the first in a two part series. We also received the second book: Bridgeway English Book 2 Focus on Writing ($23.33) which builds on the skills covered in the first book with functional writing assignments. It covers: clauses, sentence variety, subject/verb agreement, grammar and mechanics, writing skills, rules of capitalization, rules of punctuation, proofreading, editing, letter writing, business writing, study skills, critical thinking and reasoning, and learning about fact versus fiction. 

My 8th grade daughter enjoyed using this curriculum review. She shared that the individual components were easy, but she had to remember all of the information for the reviews at the end of the units. I'm glad it was enjoyable as she will be continuing with these books until she completes them. I'm also encouraged that though the review sections were challenging, she was able to successfully complete them. The lessons are easy to understand. My daughter actually called it fun and shared that she likes it better than any other grammar lessons that she has done.

The types of sentences were one topic which I'll share as an example. Each type (declarative, iterrogative, exclamatory, and imperative) was explained clearly in one unit. Workbook pages (approximately two per topic/lesson) explained the topic and included instructions and focused practice problems. 

The section on run-on sentences was timely, as that was one thing I corrected in a recent essay that she completed. In that unit, she identified and corrected run-on sentences. 

Though the individual lessons do not have a spiral format, the units do. She spent about one week on each unit. Though specific grammar rules are not memorized, skills are learned as they are used through the practice provided. She will be continuing with both of these books until completed, but will focus even more on the book 2 as we all plan to write more in November. 

Though I received the teacher's Guide/Bridgeway English Key (also $23.33), after initially reading the helpful introduction and how to use the books, I did not have to often refer to the key. 

 

    

 

 See what other crew members shared in their reviews of resources from Bridgeway here. Some have also reviewed Bridgeway's online classes. 

 

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this product through the Schoolhouse Review Crew in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions I have expressed are my own or those of my family. I am disclosing this in accordance with FTC regulations.