Patterns of Power
Patterns of Power (PoP) is a program for teaching grammar and writing conventions through mentor sentences. Each week, students are presented with a focus skill and mentor sentence from literature that reflects the target skill. Students then move through a series of 5-10 minute “invitations” over several days.
From the Patterns of Power Family Brochure
Research shows that students do not benefit from isolated grammar instruction. In a meta-analysis of elementary writing instruction strategies, Graham et al. (2012) write, “grammar instruction was ineffective in improving writing, but sentence-combining instruction, study and emulation of good models of writing, and inquiry activities improved the quality of students’ writing.” While this is only one example, there are countless others. For additional research, please see my Writing Research page.
The point, here, is that grammar workbooks and programs that systematically and explicitly teach grammar in isolation are ineffective.
Meaningful grammar instruction should be directly tied to students’ writing. As homeschoolers, we have several options or approaches to tackle this. If we really want to follow the research, this would mean a totally DIY approach that examines the specific needs of each student in front of us and then targets those needs through their writing. Writing Matters is an excellent resource for facilitating that level of instruction. Some writing programs, such as Write by Number, also incorporate grammar into the program.
At this point in our homeschool journey (and life!), Patterns of Power is a great resource for our family because it strikes a balance between the often ineffective, open-and-go grammar instruction and a total DIY approach.
My Approach to Patterns of Power
While there are suggested pacing guides available, they best correlate with Patterns of Power Plus (a classroom resource, not worth your money!). However, the overall framework of lessons/topics for grade level and a sequence are outlined for you. I went through the suggested pacing guide and made a list of the relevant lessons from the main resource book. It works out to be about one lesson per week, so I plan to just go through that list in order and check them off as I go.
Check out my Detailed Look Inside Over on YouTube
Recommended Resources
Patterns of Wonder | Pre-K - 1
