Teaching reading and writing with Logic of English ~ Foundations C review

If teaching your child to read seems scary to you… well, then you haven’t met the Logic of English program! After being introduced to this full-service English curriculum last year with the Schoolhouse Review Crew, I couldn’t get enough! I reviewed Foundations A, then immediately ordered their Foundations B program. I’ve reconnected with Logic of English to bring you this review of their Foundations C level.

Sponsored post. 

Teaching reading and writing with Logic of English Foundations C

Here’s a quick look at the Logic of English Foundations C materials I used for this review, in case you’re planning to order for your child.

Logic of English Foundations C consumable materials include: 

• Teacher’s manual – a full color hardback with forty lessons, scope and sequence, and standards alignment
• Student workbook – a colorful book filled with activities to help students practice sounds, spelling, handwriting, writing, and reading skills.
• Foundations C Readers – Eight paperback small booklets that are used in various lessons throughout the Foundations C teacher’s manual. I say “consumable” because they seem to only be used for Level C with different readers for the other levels.

Reusable Materials (I already had these items from my Foundations Level A review):

• Basic Phonogram Flash Cards
• Phonogram and Spelling Rule Quick Reference (since my son knows and uses so many phonograms now, I find I have to refer to this chart regularly to be sure I’m keeping their “names” straight – so incredibly helpful!).
• LOE Student Whiteboard
• Phonogram Game Cards
• Phonogram Game Tiles

As we’ve worked through the first half of the Level C lessons over the past few weeks, I’ve loved the consistency of the lesson plans from level to level. The layout and style of the lessons has remained the same, so I am quite comfortable with how to prep and plan for teaching. For a homeschool mom, prep/planning time is about five to ten minutes. Of course, prep time depends on how many of the extra activities you include. Still, usually the prep is easy, like selecting the phonogram cards or tiles we’ll need that day, or grabbing a few toys for using with our word work. Occasionally, I have to cut out a few pieces from the workbook.

For parents considering this program, Logic of English is suggested for ages 4-7. My son is currently 7 and finishing first grade (he’s a late birthday). We began Level A when he was six and in the Spring semester of Kindergarten- just for a frame of reference. 

Many of the games and activities (like phonogram bingo or “go fish” for phonogram sounds) are carried over from previous levels, with slight gradations in difficulty, which means my son is also accustomed to the work, and I’m not constantly stopping to teach a new game. He finds the activities fun and easy, and loves coming to the English part of our school day. He absolutely loves when we get to use cars and trains and other toys in our learning!

At the same time, there are specific ways Level C takes students up a notch:

• Students copy out full sentences for the handwriting / dictation portion of the lesson.
• Reading includes more critical thinking and inference work.
• Students generate writing ideas and short sentences.
• Punctuation and capitalization for writing is introduced.

How we’re using Logic of English Foundations Level C

As with past levels, we continue to complete about 3-4 lessons per week. Generally, we can work through an entire lesson in one day’s “class” time. This doesn’t include the extra games and activities – which we sometimes do, or save for a ‘light’ day with no lesson.

I keep it simple by going through the lesson plan in the order laid forth, which balances teacher modeling with student interaction. Simple doesn’t mean boring though! A sample lesson might include:

• Vocalization games (saying phonograms in silly voices)
• Kinesthetic games (acting out words, or creating a life-size phonogram game board around the house)
• Tactile activities (spelling words with cut out phonograms or phonogram tiles)
• Sensory activities (snacks that go along with the lesson or theme, writing in rice or sand)

The variety of activities are easy to set up, and really most of the lesson feels like play to my son, which makes the lesson time just speed along. We both enjoy the back and forth games we get to play together.

One aspect of Level C that I thoroughly enjoy is the reading comprehension sections. As I mentioned, Level C really expands this section, and included detailed Q&A sections that go along with each reader. The guided reading questions help me lead my son through how to extract meaning from the text. The teacher’s manual is so clear and thorough, and I don’t have to spend my time racking my brain for “just the right question” to be sure my son grasped the meaning of the book.

You can see from the photo above the difference between Reader 1 at the beginning of Level C, and Reader 8 at the end. There will be a good amount of reading growth in these 40 lessons!

And of course, as a former writing teacher, I was thrilled to see Level C introduces students to the craft of writing. So far, my son has created word banks, idea charts, brainstorming lists, and even written his own original sentence. I was jumping up and down inside my writerly heart when he told me that his first sentence was a poem! And so it was (he was also doing some pattern thing with his handwriting – alternating cursive and manuscript!):

Our lesson time with Logic of English has always been more like bonding time with my son, because I love words and languages so much. I can share my joy in the art of language at his level, while feeling confident that he’s learning exactly what’s needed to grow in his verbal ability. Perhaps a little part of that feeling stems from my own love for words. But I KNOW the major part of feeling confident and having fun is due to how clearly and logically each lesson progresses from one understanding to the next. Logic of English is a curriculum that is oh-so-aptly named!

I’m so happy that our family discovered the Logic of English program. There is no need to fear phonics and writing instruction when you have materials this precise and easy to use!

What are your concerns and questions about teaching kids reading and writing? If you have any questions about this curriculum, please comment below and I will answer! 

This post is sponsored by Logic of English and I was provided with materials to facilitate this review. All opinions are my own. Affiliate links have been used in this post and purchases made after clicking through these links may generate a small commission for me.