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Straight Forward All-In-One English Series Master Book Review by Missica Pullen

S. Harold Collins
Garlic Press
1 (800) 789-0554
899 South College Mall Road, Suite 381
Bloomington, IN 47401
http://www.garlicpress.com

We have been reviewing Straight Forward All-In-One English Series Master Book, published by Garlic Press for the last several weeks. This is a 142-page workbook that encompasses a “straight forward” approach to English Grammar, and covers capitalization, punctuation, nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections. Under each main topic are different subtopics that cover specifics. This workbook does come with permission for a parent or teacher to make copies, so you can use it with more than one student if you need.

Straight Forward All-In-One English Series Master Book covers the same material that the other Straight Forward English Series books cover, except you will find it all in just one book. The workbook begins with a “Beginning Assessment Test,” so you can test your child for areas of strengths and weaknesses. This is great if your child has already mastered a topic since you will not need to waste time and resources to cover an already understood topic. Each section has a review test that covers only that particular section. At the end of the book you will find a cumulative final review, as well as an answer key. It is really nice to be able to compare the beginning test with the final test to see your child's progress.

Straight Forward All-In-One English Series Master Book does not cover everything regarding grammar. For example, there is no sentence diagramming. The company does have additional advanced books that would fill in any gaps this book may have, however minimal those gaps may be. I could see a child as young as 3rd grade utilizing this book, but it is also appropriate for older students who may need the review. It is not “babyish” in anyway, so older students would feel comfortable using it, but the terminology used is not so advanced that a younger child would be lost. It is a really good “for all ages” book, and inexpensive at only $14.95.

The lessons are short and to the point, without all of the bells and whistles of color graphics. The lessons are presented and taught using grammar rules and examples; and a practice set follows each lesson. Everything is in black and white, so there is no strain on ink or toner should you wish to make copies. This workbook is well suited for students who are used to the public school style school work. It is not hands on or “living book” style. So if you fancy text-only black and white worksheet style grammar work, this is perfect for you. With that said, it would also be a good fit for any homeschool family as a fast and efficient way of reviewing or reinforcing grammar work.

The lessons are short and varied. I typically will introduce the topic and have my son work one to two exercise each day. An exercise could be two or three questions, or it could be correcting 10 sentences. It all depends on the topic. Some exercises are underlining specific parts of speech, some are fill-in-the-blank, some are sentence correcting, etc. The exercises are varied enough that your child will not get bored doing the same thing over and over each time. Using the beginning assessment could reduce the time spent even more, by allowing you to see where your child may need extra practice, or where he or she may be able to spend less time.

Overall, I like this book a lot. It is not jazzy and game-like, but it is a fast and easy way to teach grammar. To be honest, the lack of illustrations have proven to be quite nice in the face of ADHD and Autism. There is nothing to distract my son away from the lesson.

I like that Straight Forward All-In-One English Series Master Book has everything in it that we need right now (and later) all in one book. I do not have to keep track of multiple books, or try to lesson plan a bunch of different topics. I really enjoy the fact that I can have my son take a beginning test, see where he needs the review or practice, and only focus on those lessons, with a short review of the other areas just to stay on top of them. Later on, we can easily add in the advanced books for even more practice. This workbook can be used by multiple ages and grades, which makes this a great book if you have a large or varied age ranges in your family. Since you can make copies, you can cover all of your grammar needs with just this one book. So while this may not be a “fun” styled workbook, it is a cost efficient and well executed workbook that is definitely worth checking out. I highly recommend this to my teacher and homeschooling friends.

—Product Review by Missica Pullen, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, November, 2015

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