Review: Memoria Press: Poetry for the Grammar Stage

Poetry for the Grammar Stage by Memoria Press is designed for grades 3rd through 6th.  The one book is divided up by grades, the poems get progressively more difficult over the 4 year period.  The poems also coincide with the Classical Core Curriculum, however the book can also be used independently.  It is possible to cover more poems in a shorter time if starting with an older child (or more literature developed child).  I received the Student Guide and the Teacher Guide for this review.

My son, age 8, is in 3rd grade, so we focused on the first few poems that were labeled for 3rd graders (7 total). 

There are 8 total for 4th grade, 9 total for 5th grade and 10 total for 6th grade.

Each poem includes a box for illustrations, a page with lines to copy the poem, vocabulary words with definitions from the poem, an “Analyze” section for determining rhyming structure and comprehension questions.

There is also an Appendix at the back of the book that gives definitions of poem terms, for example “refrain”.  This is helpful in completing some of the assignments, if you are not familiar with poem terms. 

The Teacher Guide and Student Guide are the same, with the exception of the answers in the Teacher Guide.

My son enjoyed several aspects of this program.  His most favorite was the Analyze section, he found it ‘fun’ to write out the rhyme scheme for the poems.  He also enjoyed illustrating the poems.

Writing is an on going struggle for us, we found the lines for the copywork to be too small for him, therefore we did some copywork on a separate sheet of paper, with wider lines.  I didn’t require him to copy the entire poem, I would have him pick a favorite stanza and copy that.  We did the questions orally (sometimes I have to pick my battles).  As we move up in the grades and use the program more I plan to have him complete more of the work himself and in written form.  For now, I love that it is a bit flexible in application. 

This is a great curriculum to introduce poetry study into your homeschool.  Since there are only 7 poems total for the 3rd grade, you could do several in a month, space it out to one a month, or take several days to complete each lesson.  It’s very flexible as to how you would introduce and utilize the program. 

The Teacher’s Guide was very helpful to me, as I’m not as familiar with poetry as I would like, and I was able to reference it in cases where I wasn’t quite sure of an answer.  I’m sure it will come in handy even more so in the later grades.

For those who may be overwhelmed by teaching poetry, there is a 10 step “How to Teach a  Poem” at the beginning of the guide.

You can find sample pages and a table of contents at the website. 

The cost is $30 for the set or $14.95 for the Student Guide and $16.95 for the Teacher Guide, if purchased individually. 

Disclaimer:  I received a free copy of this product 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.