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Trivium Pursuit :: Greek :: Homeschool Greek Volume One - A Thorough Self-Teaching Grammar of Biblical Greek
| Homeschool Greek Volume One - A Thorough Self-Teaching Grammar of Biblical Greek |
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: Review of Homeschool Greek by Cathy Duffy at cathyduffyreviews.com
This is a self-contained Greek course for students ages thirteen and up. The Volume I course, “Mostly Nouns and Such,” consists of a 310-page, plastic comb-bound textbook, a 65-page Greek reader, vocabulary cards, and three audio tapes. It assumes that students are familiar with the symbols and sounds of the Greek alphabet. (A Greek Alphabetarion provides the necessary groundwork.) Students need not have prior instruction in English grammar, although it will certainly be helpful.
See the rest of this review at Cathy Duffy's web site
http://cathyduffyreviews.com/foreign-language/homeschool-greek.htm
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: Review of Homeschool Greek by Christine Miller at classical-homeschooling.org
The first New Testament Greek curriculum written specifically for teens aged 13 and up is earning high praise from eminent Greek scholars. This complete self-study program for dialectic stage students, older teens, and adults with no prior knowledge of Greek teaches New Testament Greek through deduction (grammar study), while providing reading practice in the Greek New Testament from the very beginning of the course (induction). The text is written so as to become the Greek teacher for the student, eliminating the need for a parent or teacher already familiar with Greek.
The lessons proceed incrementally and sequentially through the grammar, and take nothing for granted - not even English grammar. As a matter of fact, a student that has not formally studied English grammar can begin in this text and thoroughly learn English grammar while he studies Greek. Every concept is carefully and thoroughly explained in an easy-to-read style, and each lesson contains questions, exercises, and review designed to ensure mastery. The answers are provided in the text. The carefully chosen vocabulary is limited to allow students to concentrate on mastering the grammar, while recognizing the most important vocabulary used in the Greek New Testament . The student will also build a Greek grammar and vocabulary notebook as he works through the course, which further embeds the concepts learned and provides a reference for easy review.
The Greek spoken and written alphabet is taught separately in A Greek Alphabetarion, using exercises, drill games, and review, and is meant to be completed first as a foundation for the rest of the program - even children can learn and master its material. Homeschool Greek, Volume 1: Nouns and Such teaches nouns, prepositions, adjectives, pronouns, demonstratives, and beginning verbs in 95 lessons. This volume comes with well-done pronunciation tapes, vocabulary drill cards, tests and test keys, and the New Testament Reader, Volume I, used concurrently with Homeschool Greek to provide practice in reading Greek and recognizing the grammar, and contains the Greek and English text of Matthew chapters 5-7, the Sermon on the Mount. Homeschool Greek, Volume II: Verbs and Such, is scheduled to be available in 2005.
Having told you the nuts and bolts of what you can expect with this curriculum, I will share my impressions as well. Mr. Bluedorn truly knows his subject inside and out. The impeccable scholarship used in crafting this program (and crafting can be the only verb to describe the excellent organization of the material to be learned, within the true independent study framework of the lessons) is evident from the first page, and on every page. Homeschool Greek delves into the language, giving you a rare glimpse of its history and culture, and goes beyond the bare bones basics to let you savor the elegance of its phonics and the beauty of its constructions. You didnt know phonics could be elegant, or constructions beautiful? They can. It was a joy to read, and my mouth is watering to begin the study myself with my family.
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: Reviews by Students and Parents
I have just received Homeschool Greek and I am delighted to find out it is as good, if not much better, as advertised. Thank you very much for publishing such great material for studying biblical Greek. I believe it is very useful even for a non-native English speaker like me. May the Lord richly bless you in your faithful service.
Sincerely yours, Clay Lin
I really appreciate your Homeschool Greek books. The method you use to teach is helping me to learn more quickly than I thought I could but is also keeping me challenged. When my mother told me that we were learning Greek, I was quite excited, but when I found out that it had its own alphabet, I was thrilled. I love languages, and my favorite lessons are my Greek ones. My favorite part is actually reading it. When I listen to the tape, I can imagine Jesus speaking to the crowds so much more vividly then I ever can in English.—Sincerely, Sara Walker, a Homeschooled student from Illinois
It has been said that writing is a generosity not a performance. Harvey Bluedorn has given both homeschoolers and anyone interested in classical education a generosity. His Homeschool Greek course is not only clear, logical, and thorough; it is also wonderfully attractive. Though I studied three years of graduate level Greek, I'm convinced both my joy and use of Greek would be dramatically better had I studied by this approach. It just simply works better with the way we humans have been designed to learn.—Fred Lybrand, Homeschool Dad, pastor at Midland (Texas) Bible Church, writer
I use PC Study Bible a lot and often get into the interlinear text. The Greek seems to hold more meaning than any translation alone. 'Homeschool Greek' is helping me unlock that meaning. The Grammar seems to have just the right balance of new information and review to keep it interesting and really teach the material. It's increasing my interest in the Greek language with each lesson.—Jason Rowberg, Age 17 Anaheim, CA
My other daughter Inge will finish her Home School Greek Vol 1 beginning of December. Greek is one of the most successful subjects in our homeschool. She enjoys it tremendously. One of the reasons is that the course is so well structured. She wants to continue.—Ernst Jacobs
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: Review by Barbara Haney Martinez, Ph.D. Fairbanks, Alaska
We just received the Bluedorn Greek materials. I can't compare it to Werner, but I can compare it to Machen and Payne. Since Machen and Payne both spend considerable time in "Attic" Greek, only half of their book is devoted to Koine. I am not at ALL opposed to my kids learning Attic... in fact, Payne notes that seminary students are often ill prepared to read Attic, and do not realize they need it for the Septugaint. I have no objection to Classical Greek, but I would like them to learn Koine first. If they have a solid foundation in Koine, I think the transition to Classical is not a difficult one.
I think the Bluedorn materials are excellent. They are squarely aimed at a full year of Koine. The system includes flash cards, tapes for the lessons and the reader, and a lesson book and a reader. The Reader that comes with it is EXCELLENT... straight from the Gospel of Mathew. This is unique because most readers tend to pull from the Gospel of John. The lesson materials do an excellent job talking a student through the grammar of both the English and Greek language. It is one of the few programs in ANY language I have seen that covers diagramming in the instruction of that language. It is thoroughly self teaching. The lessons distill material that is rather complex into understandable chunks. The material is scripturally based, which I find quite refreshing in a Greek curriculum. It also has a bit of humor, and a student who is an avid reader will enjoy the word play in some of the lessons.
I know I hesitated a bit before I bought it.. as the cost seemed a bit high, particularly compared to a text book. However, once you get the program, you can see you really have more than your money's worth. The tapes give the auditory re-enforcement, and really do match the lesson. While I don't know what is planned for future volumes, I think the current volume is excellent.
As a side note, the Greek Alphabetarion, is also excellent. It is thorough, informative, and maintained my children's interest (range from age 6 to 17 both boys and girls). My kids fought over it several times. My kids might fight over the last scoop of ice cream, but not school books. They started leaving little notes for each other in Greek letters and became quite competitive. The ending selections from the Gospel of John were sufficient to encourage my older son to continue to study on his own after he completed the primer.
The little Greek and Hebrew Alphabet books prepared by the Bluedorn's daughter are really cute! The charts included in the book are worth laminating. While not informative like the Alphabetarion, it has the "primer" writing marks that small children find delightful and helpful. The calligraphy is beautiful and not distracting to the child. Even older children will find the penmanship something to be admired.
I attended graduate school at the University of Notre Dame and graduated in 1989 and was the Director of Forensic (Speech and Debate) while a graduate student there. I have been a faculty member at St. Mary's College, IN; Eastern Illinois University, University of Illinois, Washington State University, and the University of Alaska Fairbanks prior to homeschooling my children. I have held administrative positions at the University level. I have worked in the area of Educational Support Materials for several principles textbooks in the field of Economics such as earlier editions Ruffin and Gregory and Parkin. I am not readily impressed by curriculum materials for either the University, Secondary, or Primary grades or for homeschool. It is not uncommon for me to re-write material my children's use. This is one of the few programs that I have bought that required NO re-writing work on my part. In fact, I've never had to re-write any materials authored by the Bluedorns that I have purchased. I have always received more than fair value.—Barbara Haney Martinez, Ph.D. Fairbanks, Alaska
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: Review by Jay P. Green Sr., editor and translator of the Interlinear Greek-English New Testament
Harvey Bluedorn. . . . has developed three excellent volumes for learning Greek at home. . . . One cannot help but be impressed by the sound thinking, the scholarship, and the insistence on a thorough education for all. . . . This is not for children only. . . . You can and should get these excellent helps for yourself. Why? Because it will help you immensely to learn more exactly what God has written for your own learning, conduct, and worship. However literal the English, the Greek is far better for your ultimate joy and understanding.
Bluedorn. . . spends some time on teaching English and showing the ways it is the same as the Greek, and the many ways that it differs. You, or the child, will better understand what he is doing as he proceeds.
First, in learning Greek, one must learn the alphabet. To memorize the 24 Greek capital letters and 25 small letters is not hard. One can do it in a day or two. But Mr. Bluedorn is not satisfies with that as an introduction to Greek. He proceeds to teach the student the sounds so he or she can pronounce the letters, and finally the words, as you read. This gives one the proper foundation, for to learn the parts, the sounds, and the symbols prepares the student to thoroughly handle the Greek Language. So, he says, read your lessons out loud; engage your mouth, your ears, hands, and eyes. This is the old-fashioned way of learning. And it works!
In our judgment this is an excellent way to study Greek. In fact, this reviewer plans to go through it in order to more thoroughly understand the Greek of the New Testament. . . Please do yourself a favor, learn Greek. It sharpens the mind. . . .
—Jay P. Green Sr., editor and translator of the Interlinear Greek-English New Testament
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: Review by Donald Potter at donpotter.net
I recently found an incredible resource for teaching and learning NT. Greek: Homeschool Greek by Harvey Bluedorn. The title is unassuming, but I assure you that this is the most complete grammar of the NT on the market. It reflects the industrious mentality of an earlier era in the intellectual history of our country, the era of Noah Webster and Edward Robinson - and Alexander Campbell. It is in a programmed format for 13 year olds and up. It carefully compares and contrasts English and Greek grammar. There is a NT Reader comprised of the Greek text of the Sermon on the Mount with a carefully prepared "Verbal-Equivalent Translation," accompanied by a cassette tape. He teaches a well researched system of pronunciation in a separate book, A Greek Alphabetarion, accompanied by a teaching tape. His pronunciation is very close to my system, two dialects of the Erasmian system. He uses the 1550 TR throughout. The first volume is a comprehensive presentation of the nominal system and the present tense of the verb. I have not seen the second volume which teaches the rest of the verb system. This is so complete that I stagger to think of the degree of competence some of the homeschoolers are going to achieve. Bluedorn teaches to mastery. Christian schools and colleges can do nothing but enhance their programs using these books.—Donald Potter
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: Table of Contents of Homeschool Greek Volume One
Introduction
Why Study Greek? 1
How to Use this Book
Programmed Interactive Format 3
Greek Notebook 5
Vocabulary Drill 6
Greek Reader 6
Lesson Guide 8
Diagram of Vocabulary Cards 9
Final Remarks Before You Begin 10
C H A P T E R I
Definitions
Lesson 1 Language, Symbols, Translation, & Grammar 11
Lesson 2 Words & Sentences 13
Lesson 3 Lexical, Syntactical & Contextual Meaning 14
C H A P T E R I I
The Simple Active Sentence
Lesson 4 The Simple Active Sentence, The Subject 16
Lesson 5 The Predicate 18
Lesson 6 The Verb (Subjective Definition) 19
Lesson 7 The Verb (Objective Definition), The Noun 21
Lesson 8 The Transitive Verb, The Direct Object 23
Lesson 9 More on Direct Object, Sentence Diagramming 25
C H A P T E R I I I
Word Ending
Lesson 10 English Word-order 28
Lesson 11 Greek Word-order 29
Lesson 12 Inflection, The Noun, Case,
The Nominative & Accusative Cases 31
Lesson 13 The Personal Pronoun, Word Form & Function 34
Lesson 14 Greek Word Endings 36
C H A P T E R I V
The Omicron Declension
Lesson 15 The Dimensions of Number & Gender
Word-stem 38
Lesson 16 Declensions 41
Lesson 17 Paradigms, The Omicron Declension 44
Lesson 18 Transliteration, Translation, The Conjunction 46
C h a p t e r V
Noun Gender
Lesson 19 Grammatical & Natural Gender 48
Lesson 20 Gender Specific, The Modifier 50
Lesson 21 The Definite Article, Modifier Agreement 52
Lesson 22 Noun Paradigms with Gender 54
C h a p t e r V I
Neuter Nouns
Lesson 23 Omicron II Neuter Nouns, The Rule of Context 57
Lesson 24 Translations 60
C h a p t e r V I I
Feminine Nouns
Lesson 25 Omicron I Feminine Nouns 62
Lesson 26 The Determiner, The Adjective 64
Lesson 27 The Substantive 66
Lesson 28 Greek Verb Endings 68
Lesson 29 Review 70
C h a p t e r V I I I
Alpha Declension
Lesson 30 Alpha Declension Nouns 72
Lesson 31 Alpha I, II, III Feminine Nouns 73
Lesson 32 Alpha IV, V, VI, VII Masculine Nouns
Common & Proper Nouns 76
Lesson 33 Comparison of Omicron & Alpha Declensions 78
Lesson 34 Comparison of Noun & Article Endings 79
Lesson 35 Comparison of Noun Endings 82
C h a p t e r I X
The Greek Verb Copula
Lesson 36 First, Second & Third Person, The Verb e„m… 85
Lesson 37 The Subject Complement, The Copula 88
Lesson 38 Diagramming the Subject Complement
and Compound Sentence Elements, Ellipsis 90
C h a p t e r X
Some Prepositions
Lesson 39 The Preposition, The Object of the Preposition 94
Lesson 40 Prepositions Govern Cases, The Phrase 97
Lesson 41 e„j, The Gloss, The Synonym, The Definition,
How to Translate a Preposition 100
Lesson 42 ¢n£, The Idiomatic Expression 103
Lesson 43 The Prepositional Phrase, The Adverb, The Particle,
Diagraming a Prepositional Phrase 105
Lesson 44 Adjectival & Adverbial Phrases 107
C H A P T E R X I
The Genitive Case
Lesson 45 The English Possessive Case,
The Greek Genitive Case Root Idea 111
Lesson 46 Omicron & Alpha Genitive Articles & Endings 114
Lesson 47 Categorical Analysis, The Lexical Entry 119
Lesson 48 Deducing & Analyzing Endings 123
Lesson 49 More Deducing & Analyzing Endings 125
C H A P T E R X I I
The Dative Case
Lesson 50 The Dative Case Root Idea, The Indirect Object 128
Lesson 51 Sentence Diagramming the Indirect Object
The Questions to Identify the Indirect Object 131
Lesson 52 The Personality of the Indirect Object, Counterfeit
Indirect Objects, Verbs and Indirect Objects 133
Lesson 53 Inflections of the English Personal Pronoun 135
Lesson 54 Omicron & Alpha Dative Articles & Endings 140
Lesson 55 No Gender-Specific Endings for Nouns
13 Case & Number Specific Endings for Nouns 143
Lesson 56 17 Gender-Specific Endings for Articles 150
Lesson 57 The Postpositive, The Emphatic Expression,
Capitalization 152
C H A P T E R X I I I
Adjectives
Lesson 58 Adjective Endings 155
Lesson 59 Adjectives, The Epsilon-Iota-Rho Rule 159
Lesson 60 Adjective Word-Order 163
Lesson 61 Review 164
Lesson 62 Review 166
C h a p t e r X I V
Articular Constructions
Lesson 63 The Articular & Anarthrous Constructions,
Apposition, The Attributive Position,
Normal, Rhetorical & Rare Word-Order 167
Lesson 64 Review 170
Lesson 65 The Phrase, The Clause, Parts of Speech
The Predicative Position,
Normal, Rhetorical & Rare Word-Order 172
Lesson 66 Explanation of Articular Constructions 176
Lesson 67 The Key to Articular Constructions 180
Lesson 68 Upright & Oblique Cases, The Use of Óloj 185
Lesson 69 Seven Step Strategy for Sentence Translation 189
Lesson 70 Vocabulary Review 191
C h a p t e r X V
Personal Pronouns
Lesson 71 The Antecedent, The First Person Personal Pronoun,
More Uses of the Dative Case 194
Lesson 72 The Second Person Personal Pronoun,
The Intensive Use in the Nominative Case 197
Lesson 73 Pronoun Function and Agreement 201
Lesson 74 Genitive Pronoun in Attributive Position 203
Lesson 75 Genitive Pronoun in Predicative Position 206
Lesson 76 Genitive Pronoun with Adjectives 209
Lesson 77 Possessive Adjectives 211
Lesson 78 When Natural Gender is Grammatical Gender 214
C h a p t e r X V I
Third Person Personal Pronoun
Lesson 79 The Third Person Personal Pronoun 218
Lesson 80 Intensive Use of the Third Person Pronoun 221
Lesson 81 Genitive Pronoun Positions 223
Lesson 82 Review 225
C h a p t e r X V I I
Demonstrative Uses of aÙtÒj
Lesson 83 The Identical Demonstrative Use of aÙtÒj 228
Lesson 84 The Intensive Demonstrative Use of aÙtÒj 231
Lesson 85 The Reflexive Pronouns 234
Lesson 86 Third Person Reflexive for First & Second Person,
Distinction of Reflexive English Translation from
Reflexive Use 236
Lesson 87 Summary of the Uses of aÙtÒj 240
C h a p t e r X V I I I
Demonstrative Adjectives
Lesson 88 The Near & Far Demonstrative Adjectives 243
Lesson 89 Uses of the Near & Far Demonstratives 246
Lesson 90 Uses of the Near & Far Demonstratives 249
Lesson 91 Review of Demonstratives 251
Lesson 92 Review of Demonstratives 252
Lesson 93 Review of Demonstratives 253
Lesson 94 Review of Pronouns 255
Lesson 95 Review of Verbs 258
A P P E N D I X O N E
The Greek Alphabet 261
A P P E N D I X T W O
Greek Accents 266
A P P E N D I X T H R E E
Homeschool Greek Lexicon 271
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: Reviews on Amazon
This is an excellent Greek language system. I am 50+ yrs. old and didn't finish High School, but a couple of years ago I decided I would like to learn Biblical Greek. I have tried a couple of other Greek lesson systems, Mounce and Voeltz, plus some freebees that can be found online, and found them quite difficult. Mr. Bluedorn has developed a lesson plan that provides an easy to follow, step by step system that is divided into easily digestible lessons. "Homeschool Greek" begins with the basics of English grammar then transitions into Greek grammar with an intuitive and easy to learn system. The accompanying tapes reinforce the lessons aurally and provide a pronunciation guide. Each lesson is quite brief, with plenty of review to fix the previous lessons in your mind. The lessons finishes with a the reading of a couple of verses from the Book of Mathew interlined with a very literal translation so you can see exactly what each Greek word means and how the grammar differs from English. Every few lessons there are review quizzes. This is an integrated system that works very well for me, a little vocabulary, a little grammar, some hearing, and some reading, never so much that it overwhelms, just enough to keep things interesting. I would recommend "Homeschool Greek" to any person who is thinking of learning Greek. I think it is an excellent tool and because it is designed for homeschoolers who may not be proficient in the Greek they want to teach their children, Mr. Bluedorn has devised a system that essentially teaches itself. I have learned more Greek in the last two months than I did in the previous two years, and I've enjoyed every minute of it. David W. Gosse
Homeschool Greek is a fun and exciting door into the Greek language. It's a thorough course, starting with the very basics of the definition of language and a little English grammar before introducing the Greek grammar, but then covering solidly the Greek grammar. This first volume focuses mainly on the function or syntax of nouns, prepositions, and adjectives. The text is written in a friendly manner, like a teacher talking directly to you, not lecturing at you. (Mr. Bluedorn even throws in the odd joke here and there.) There are questions throughout each lesson to solidify the concepts in the student's head, and vocabulary is introduced and practiced as the lessons progress. To help with the vocabulary, Mr. Bluedorn has included tapes in which he pronounces each word, and each form of the word, and gives the definition, all of which is also on cards that will accumulate until there is quite a large stack of wonderful words known by the student. At the end of each lesson is a daily assignment of reading from the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew (in Greek, but accompanied by a more direct English translation than is in your Bible), which helps show the words in their proper context and also give some insight into the actual meanings of the passages. Also, there are diagnostic tests to help the student make sure the subject matter is understood before moving on. All in all, Homeschool Greek is a very useful tool that I believe God has used in my life to prepare me for His calling, and I recommend it to anyone who has the desire to study the Scriptures in their original language. Kaelan
If you are looking for a program to learn biblical Greek, I highly recommend "Homeschool Greek" by Harvey Bluedorn. This program is very thorough, but doesn't bog down in the mire of repetition and monotony. Mr. Bluedorn's technique of reviewing everything is very effective--I can actually remember what I have learned after each module! For those who struggle with grammar, Mr. Bluedorn has such a clear way of explaining even the hard points. A Greek Alphabetarion and the Hupogrammon are also very helpful tools which I would recommend going through prior to Homeschool Greek. Ronny Lynn Wahlquist
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