Madsen Method: English for Life Review

Madsen Method: English for Life
Our Forefather’s Method of Instruction

The Madsen Method is a complete, non-consumable language arts program that incorporates all four neurological learning avenues.  Students will learn how to speak, hear, do, and see the tasks given to them.  By incorporating all of the senses into the learning process, students will truly learn the material.  Once the student has completed this program, they will be able to teach others the material.

When I first heard about the Madsen Method, I was drawn to the idea that they used all of the senses in the learning process.  I watched videos to see what the method was all about to gain a better understanding of what would be involved for me as the teacher.  After watching the videos, I was given the opportunity to talk to Joe Madsen.

I have to tell you that it was a real pleasure talking to Joe.  He has such a passion and conviction when it comes to the Madsen Method.  Over the phone, we went through all kinds of exercises, so I would have a good understanding of some of the things that would be involved in this curriculum.  Everything sounded wonderful.  I knew that it would require a good bit of work on my part, but that didn’t bother me.  After all, I wanted what was best for Munchkin, and it sounded like this would fill some gaps that she had in her language arts learning.

We received Part 1 of the curriculum, and I was floored when I saw all of the materials included.  Part 1 of the Madsen Method includes:

• Folder that contains templates packet (cd and hard copies)
• Informational hand-outs
• Spiral One: Intro to Madsen Method & Sections 1-3 (Teacher Guide)
• Spiral Two: Section 4 (Teacher Guide)
• Spiral Three: Section 5, Lessons 1-7 (Teacher Guide)
• Spiral Four: Section 5, Lessons 8-14 (Teacher Guide)
• Spiral Five: Section 5, Lessons 15-21 (Teacher Guide)
• Spiral Six: Games, Coloring Pages, Comprehensive Index
• Spiral Seven: Standardized Spelling and Reading Tests

Part 1 is geared towards K-1 students or remedial students.  It sets the foundation for the rest of the Madsen Method curriculum.  Each part of the curriculum is sold separately.  In addition to the above mentioned items, I received Listen in Library cds.  Home Educator’s Discounted Rate for Part 1 of this program is $219.95.

After reading over all of the materials in the packet, I looked over the first lesson.  I have to admit that the word-by-word scripting was a little hard for me to get past since I like to be more relaxed, but I did the lesson as directed.  At first, Munchkin didn’t mind the scripted work as she learned how to speak, hear, do, and see all of the tasks given to her.  She learned the “recite as you write” method.  She learned the learning position.  She filled in her performance charts which she liked.

As we progressed into the program, the material became extremely repetitive for a child at her age and learning level.  Side note: We did find that due to needing to repeat phrases word-for-word, her memory was getting better which helped in areas other than just this program.  We kept plugging along, but it soon became something that she did not look forward to at all.  I did my best to make things fun for her, but she likes to be challenged and this material (other than recitation) was not challenging her.

After a while, we found that although we love the theories and concepts that we were learning with Part 1 of this curriculum, it was too basic for Munchkin.  (Notice I said the theories and concepts we were learning…  I learned a good bit right along with Munchkin as we worked through various aspects of the program.)  Since Sections 4 & 5 were all about learning the phonograms and writing letters, I wish we would have had this when Munchkin was first starting out with language arts as I really feel this is a great program even if it Part 1 isn’t right for us at this point in time.

One really wonderful thing about this program is all of the support that you receive.  They really want you to succeed in your educational journey with their product.  They are very hands on and encouraging.  We have taken away some great learning methods from this program and incorporated them into other subjects.

Want to hear about the experiences my other crew mates had with Madsen Method?  Head on over to the TOS Crew blog to see what they had to say.

I received a copy of Part 1 of the Madsen Method as a member of the TOS Crew for the purpose of an honest review. No other compensation was received. All opinions are my own.