The Key, along with the accompanying Red Workbook and the Core
Instructor Text, make up Grammar for the Well-Trained Mind: a complete
course that takes students from basic definitions ("A noun is the name
of a person, place, thing, or idea") through advanced sentence structure
and analysis--all the grammar skills needed to write and speak with
eloquence and confidence. This innovative program combines the three
essential elements of language learning: understanding and memorizing
rules (prescriptive teaching), repeated exposure to examples of how
those rules are used (descriptive instruction), and practice using those
rules in exercises and in writing (practical experience). Each year,
parents and teachers go through the dialogue, rules, and examples in the
Core Instructor Text; students follow along in the Workbook. This
repetition solidifies the concepts, definitions, and examples in the
student's mind. There are four Student Workbooks, one for each year.
Each Student Workbook contains the same rules and examples--but four
completely different sets of exercises and assignments, allowing
students to develop a wide-ranging knowledge of how the rules and
examples are put to use in writing. Each Key to the Workbooks provides
not only answers, but also explanations for the parent/instructor, and
guidance as to when the answers might be ambiguous (as, in English, they
often are). All of the rules covered, along with the repeated examples
for each, are assembled for ongoing reference in the Comprehensive
Handbook of Rules. This will become the student's indispensable guide to
writing through high school, into college and beyond. Step-by-step
instruction takes students from the most basic concepts through advanced
grammatical concepts such as modal and hortative verbs and multiple
functions of noun clauses. Extensive diagramming exercises reinforce the
rules and help technical and visual learners to understand and use the
English language effectively. Each step of the diagramming process is
illustrated and thoroughly explained to the student. Text for examples
and exercises are drawn from great works of literature, as well as from
well-written nonfiction texts in science, mathematics, and the social
sciences. Regular review is built into each year of work. The Key
accompanies the second of four non-sequential workbooks, each containing
new exercises that allow students to practice and apply the grammar
principles under study.
