TOS Review: Logic of English

My biggest fear regarding homeschooling is teaching my daughters how to read.  We have bounced from curriculum to curriculum trying to find the perfect match for our family. Thankfully, Izzie, 6 years old, is an emergent reader.  However, I didn't want to take the long and winding path teaching Mac, 4 years old, to read.  Honestly, I hadn't heard of Logic of English before being offered to do a review.  After doing some research and spending a lot of time on their website, I was so excited to get my hands on their products!

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Logic of English uses a systematic multi-sensory method based uopn 74 basic phonograms and 30 spelling rules to teach students how to read, spell and write.  The curriculum does not use any sight words.  With this method, students learn why words are read and spelled in a particular manner.  In addition, the Logic of English incorporates the meanings of roots, suffixes and prefixes, which provide the student a way to decode and comprehend.  The Logic of English curriculum also incorporates sentence level grammar, punctuation rules, tenses, plurals and more.

We received Logic of English Foundations, Level A, which is for beginning readers.

Recommended Ages: 4 to 7 years old

Foundations A, Teacher's Manual  (printed or PDF)   $38

Foundations A, Student Workbook  (printed)   $18

*Workbook may be purchased in either Manuscript or Cursive.*

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The Logic of English Foundations has four levels--A, B, C, and D.

We received the following one-time purchases, which are used in Levels A-D.

Logic of English, additional resources

Basic Phonogram Flash Cards   $18

Handwriting Tactile Cards (manuscript or cursive)   $28

 Rhythm of Handwriting Quick Reference (manuscript or cursive)   $10

 Student Whiteboard   $12

Phonogram Game Cards (manuscript or cursive)   $10

Phonogram Game Cards (blue bookface)   $10


In order to determine which level is the best fit for your child, be sure to check out the Curriculum Page to see a brief description of each level and a suggested schedule. 
 
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What's included in the Foundations, Level A, Teacher's Manual?

•  The 209 page hardback manual contains numerous phonemic awareness activities.  Students will learn to read and write all twenty-six lowercase letters.  In addition, students will play a variety of games and activities, while they learn how to decode short vowel words and constant blends.   

• At the beginning of the manual, there is a very detailed and organized Scope & Sequence.  

Logic of English, Foundations, Level A-Scope & Sequence

• There are a total of 40 scripted lessons.  Each lesson follows the same format.  At the beginning of each lesson, the objectives and materials needed are listed, followed by three separate sections, which include, Phonemic Awareness, the Phonogram being learned, and Handwriting.

Logic of English, Foundations, Level A--Teacher's Manual

Be sure to check out more sample lessons from the Teacher's Manual.

• There are color-coded "teacher boxes" sprinkled throughout each lesson.  The green boxes are Teacher Tips, which are suggestions to help aid in the lesson.  The orange boxes are Multi-Sensory Fun activities to use during the lesson.  There are blue Vocabulary boxes and green Book List suggestions.  The Speech Tips are in the red boxes, whereas, the purple boxes suggest ways to Challenge your student.  Lastly, the yellow boxes contain activities for the day that correspond with the phonogram being taught.  

• There are a total of 22 Phonemic Awareness Games.  Mac's favorite game was Guess the Animal, where she would have to guess an animal that began with a specific sound.   

•  There are a total of 28 Phonogram Games, that incorporate numerous multi-sensory activities. 

•  The innovative Rhythm of Handwriting method is built into the Foundations curriculum aiding students in developing fluid handwriting.  The manual contains the manuscript and cursive handwriting methods.

Logic of English, Foundations, Level A--Teacher's Manual

• After every fifth lesson, there is a review and assessment lesson.  There are a total of 8 review and assessment lessons.  It is suggested not to use the assessments as a way to grade the student; instead, they should help provide information regarding the student's progress and determine where he/she needs more practice.  Logic of English suggests mastery of the concept before moving forward.  

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What's included in the Foundations, Level A, Student Workbook?

• The 155 page softbound workbook contains colorful worksheets that correspond to the lessons found in the Teacher's Manual.  

Logic of English, Foundations, Level A--Student Workbook

You can view more sample lessons, both manuscript and cursive, from the Student Workbooks.
 

• There are Handwriting Practice pages incorporated within the lessons.  

•  There are 10 Reading Comprehension Games and 2 High Frequency Word Games.  The very colorful and interactive games are introduced throughout the Student Workbook. 

Logic of English, Reading Comprehension Game

• In addition, there are 6 Student Readers, which develop reading comprehension skills as opposed to picture reading. The readers are found in the back of the Student Worksbook. 

Logic of English, Student Reader 2

Logic of English, Student Reader 2

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Thoughts on additional resources...

The Basic Phonogram Flash Cards are required for Foundations, Levels A-D.  

•  There are a total of 74 cards, each printed on heavy cardstock for durability.  It seems that these cards could easily be used for multiple children and hold up very well over time.

• I really liked that the sound(s) for each phonogram and example(s) were conveniently located on the back of each flash card. 

 The Handwriting Tactile Cards (manuscript or cursive) are recommended for Foundations, Levels A and B.  I would highly suggest purchasing the tactile cards!   

• Includes a-z lower-case letters, A-Z upper-case letters, and numerals.

 

• The explicit, rhythmic instructions are included on the back of each card for reference. In addition the cards include the sound(s) made by each of the A-Z phonograms, as well as sample words written in either manuscript or cursive.   

Logic of English, Handwriting Tactile Cards

• The tactile cards are colorful with a raised, sandpaper texture for a high sensory introduction to writing.  Mac really enjoyed tracing the letters!  

The Rhythm of Handwriting Quick Reference is a colorful chart, which contains directions for how to write each letter.  It is recommended for Foundations, Levels A and B. 

Logic of English--Rhythm of Handwriting Quick Reference

•  It is a very organized chart, letters are arranged by initial stroke.  It is convenient to have all the directions for correct letter formations in one place.  However, it's not a must have, especially, if you have the Handwriting Tactile Cards.  

The Student Whiteboard is recommended for Foundations, Levels A-D.  I would highly suggest investing in the student whiteboard. 

• The extra large student whiteboard is extremely durable and stain resistant!  It still looks brand new after using it during the review period. 

Logic of English, Student Whiteboard

• The whiteboard is double-sided.  The large handwriting chart side is great for learning to write letters and the six-line side is perfect for writing short words, phrases, and sentences.  I foresee our family using the student whiteboard for several more years! 

Logic of English, Student Whiteboard, Side 1

Logic of English, Student Whiteboard, Side 2

 

The Phonogram Game Cards are recommended for Foundations, Levels A-D.  There are numerous games described within the curriculum.  Unfortunately, during the review period, we were unable to advance to a lesson where the games were used.

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What did I like about the Logic of English, Foundations, Level A?

• The simple method of teaching my daughters how to read, write, and spell.  There are only 74 phonograms and 30 spelling rules in the curriculum!

•  The very detailed scripted lessons within the Teacher's Manual.  I felt very confident teaching each lesson.  The colorful pages also caught my attention and the color coded boxes contained some really useful information. 

• The variety of Phonemic Awareness Games and Phonogram Games.   

• The colorful student workbook was a huge hit with Mac.  It was simple and straight-forward, but kept her engaged during each lesson. 

• I loved the Basic Phonogram Flashcards!  It is extremely convenient to pair the phonogram and it's sound(s) together on one card.  It was nice to be able to hold the card up to Mac and see the sound(s) and example(s) on the back. 

• The Handwriting Tactile Cards were Mac's favorite!  She spent countless hours tracing the cards.  

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I would highly recommend Logic of English, Foundations, Level A.  

 

I'm thrilled about taking a more systematic multi-sensory approach with Mac!  We are thoroughly enjoying the curriculum and look forward to advancing and completing the other levels. 

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Sail over to read what other Crew Mates had to say about their experience with  Logic of English.