Building Christian English series

The curriculum appears to use appropriately challenging academic content, particularly in grammar instruction.

Review notes grade 7 'covers grammatical concepts that other publishers spread out through high school' and is 'more difficult and more comprehensive than most others for seventh grade'

The curriculum strongly supports direct, explicit instruction with clear teacher guidance and systematic skill building.

Review describes 'clear explanations, examples, and plenty of practice' with 'teacher's manuals include teaching instructions' and 'lessons require teacher involvement'

The curriculum appears to use primarily textbook exercises and passages rather than whole books for reading instruction.

The review focuses extensively on grammar exercises, writing assignments, and textbook-based activities with no mention of novel studies or complete literary works

The curriculum incorporates substantial scriptural content and farm life references but lacks systematic domain knowledge building across academic subjects.

Review notes 'a great deal of scriptural content, as well as frequent references to farm life' but no mention of systematic history, science, or arts knowledge integration

Teacher's manuals provide instructional guidance and answer keys but limited evidence of comprehensive professional development materials.

Review mentions 'teacher's manuals include teaching instructions plus answers to student exercises' but no indication of extensive teacher training or background knowledge resources

The curriculum includes some review elements but limited evidence of systematic retrieval practice.

Teacher's manuals include 'oral reviews, and written quizzes' and there are 'test booklets' for grades 2-8, suggesting some review but not comprehensive retrieval practice

The curriculum includes some vocabulary work but appears limited in scope and systematic approach.

Grade 2 covers 'synonyms, antonyms, and homonyms' and there is 'dictionary use' instruction, but the review suggests minimal vocabulary emphasis compared to grammar

Writing instruction is present but emphasizes organization over creativity, with limited composition work until high school.

Review notes 'minimal amount' of composition work compared to other exercises until grades 9-10, and writing instruction 'reflects Rod and Staff's educational philosophy—the emphasis is on organization and clear writing rather than upon creativity'

Insufficient evidence to assess phonics instruction in early grades.

The review begins with grade 2 content focusing on 'sentence structure up through paragraph development' but provides no details about foundational phonics or decoding instruction