TOS Review - Bridgeway Academy - Bridgeway English Book 1 Focus on Grammar

Before I was asked to review Bridgeway Academy and their product Bridgeway English Book 1 Focus on Grammar, I had never heard of this company. This is kind of surprising because I have homeschooled for almost 8 years and thought I had researched every product and company that was out there. I was pleasantly surprised with what this company has to offer and the actual product I reviewed for them. Throughout the remainder of the review I will refer to the reviewed product as Focus On Grammar. 

Through the TOS Review Crew Bridgeway Academy sent our family Book 1 Focus on Grammar and Bridgeway English Key as physical products to review. Both came as softcover, spiral bound books. This product is recommended for grades 7-12 and can even be used by adults to brush up on basic grammar concepts. Book 1 Focus on Grammar and Bridgeway English Key retail for $23.33 each. If purchased together that would be $46.66. Book 2 is also available for $23.33 and has a focus on writing.

Book 1 Focus on Grammar is considered a remedial program that will teach the student the basics of grammar. Below you will find the grammar subjects included in this book:

• Parts of a Sentence and the Four Kinds of Sentences
• Sentence Fragments, Compound and Run-on Sentences
• Kinds of Nouns and Noun Functions
• Direct and Indirect Objects
• Complements, Appositives, and Noun of Direct Address
• Object of Preposition and Prepositional Phrases
• Pronouns, Antecedents, Modifiers, Adjectives, Articles, and Adverbs
• Prepositions, Conjunctions, and Interjections

Book 1 Focus on Grammar has six sections. Each section contains an explanation of material to learn, Tremendous Tales, activities and assignments to complete, reviews, self-tests, and final unit tests. Each section teaches the student step by step and builds on itself as the student goes through each unit.

Bridgeway English Key is basically the teacher's edition with answers to all the assignments and tests for Book 1 and Book 2. I always like having the answers available in case I run across an assignment that gives us a little trouble. I also like the fact that Grace can check and grade herself when the need arises.

I would like to take a minute and also discuss many other resources the Bridgeway Academy has to offer the homeschooling community. Homeschooling families can utilize this company a little or a lot. They can keep your records for you and issue diplomas, as long as their criteria is met for graduation. Your child can get all their credits and classes from Bridgeway if that is what you desire. This can be curriculum delivered to your door or classes and learning co-ops online. I don't think I would utilize this portion for our family but I am sure there are homeschooling families that would like all they have to offer. There is no way I could cover everything they have available for the homeschooling community so I would strongly recommend visiting their website and seeing all they information and resources that are available.

How We Used the Product and What We Thought

We don't typically include grammar every year in our curriculum. This year did happen to be a grammar year due to standardized testing in May. Our state requires it every three years. It is amazing how quickly students can forget different concepts and rules about grammar, as well as other subjects, that need to be reviewed periodically. This product really could not have come at a better time for us. I had Grace do 1-2 pages of Book 1 Focus on Grammar, 4-5 days a week. This has been a great review for her. Grace likes using workbooks and materials that are straight forward. In her words, "simply teach me the information and let me do the work". She doesn't want to be bogged down with a lot of fluff and extra stuff to do. She really likes Book 1 Focus on Grammar and is learning a lot through review. I like the way the book is set up. I particularly like the smallish articles of information found in the Tremendous Tales sections. We both like this book so much that we will continue to use it the remainder of Grace's 9th grade year. At first I thought in the beginning of the book that this was below her grade level, but as we get farther in I can see that I was incorrect. It started with the more simple concepts and is building through each lesson. I think it is a great book with everything a student needs to know about basic grammar.

Check out Bridgeway Academy and their product Bridgeway English Book 1 Focus on Grammar.

Also visit the TOS Review Crew and see what the other Crew families thought of their review products.