Love2Smile Posted August 6, 2010 Share Posted August 6, 2010 Just wondering what you thought of my plans for my 10th grader for English this year. Wordsmith Craftsman Wordly Wise Sequential Spelling 4 or more Progeny Press Guides Writing Summaries, reports etc...from History Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lagirl Posted August 7, 2010 Share Posted August 7, 2010 I just posted a very similar post - wish I had noticed your post first. I am new to hs'ing and am not familar with Progeny Press Guides. Wondering, have you used them before? Also, I notice you are not including a Research paper for this year. Neither am I. I am going to wait and have dd do that during her Jr. and Sr. year. (I dread that, so I'm putting it off as long as possible.) Looking over your plans it seems ours are somewhat similar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Love2Smile Posted August 7, 2010 Author Share Posted August 7, 2010 I just posted a very similar post - wish I had noticed your post first. I am new to hs'ing and am not familar with Progeny Press Guides. Wondering, have you used them before? Also, I notice you are not including a Research paper for this year. Neither am I. I am going to wait and have dd do that during her Jr. and Sr. year. (I dread that, so I'm putting it off as long as possible.) Looking over your plans it seems ours are somewhat similar. I have not used PP guides before, but like the looks of the samples I have seen and they seem to get positive reviews. The Wordsmith Craftsman "teaches" several different papers, including a research paper. You might want to look at it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faithr Posted August 7, 2010 Share Posted August 7, 2010 Does your 10th grader still need help with spelling? I have kids who struggle with spelling but because high school level courses require so much more writing, they didn't need a program anymore. They improved in spelling simply because of the amount of writing increased so much. And this shift from a program that focused on spelling to making spelling just part of writing seemed to help them tremendously. I think it gave them confidence and made spelling not a just a particular subject they dreaded but put it in context and made it more meaningful. So I would advise making those writing summaries, short essays from history and also writing out short answers to the Progeny Press study guides the main way to practice writing. Then as your student works his way through Wordsmith Craftsman hopefully those lessons will spill over into his every day writing and you'll see improvement. But in my personal experience, it was almost more important for ME to understand the principles of good writing so that I could/can analyze and give direction in the everyday subject matter writing (history/lit summaries, essays). I guess what I'm trying to say is that the best way to learn writing is to do it a lot. Anyway, I feel like I went off on a tangent here! I'm thinking through things for my own current 10th grader! Sorry if this doesn't quite make sense! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted August 7, 2010 Share Posted August 7, 2010 I agree with Faithr about spelling. You can cover word roots and that sort of thing instead, if you feel you still need to. Are you only scheduling 4 literature works? That seems very light. Perhaps you are doing some reading connected to history that you are not counting as lit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Love2Smile Posted August 7, 2010 Author Share Posted August 7, 2010 Does your 10th grader still need help with spelling? I have kids who struggle with spelling but because high school level courses require so much more writing, they didn't need a program anymore. They improved in spelling simply because of the amount of writing increased so much. And this shift from a program that focused on spelling to making spelling just part of writing seemed to help them tremendously. I think it gave them confidence and made spelling not a just a particular subject they dreaded but put it in context and made it more meaningful. So I would advise making those writing summaries, short essays from history and also writing out short answers to the Progeny Press study guides the main way to practice writing. Then as your student works his way through Wordsmith Craftsman hopefully those lessons will spill over into his every day writing and you'll see improvement. But in my personal experience, it was almost more important for ME to understand the principles of good writing so that I could/can analyze and give direction in the everyday subject matter writing (history/lit summaries, essays). I guess what I'm trying to say is that the best way to learn writing is to do it a lot. Anyway, I feel like I went off on a tangent here! I'm thinking through things for my own current 10th grader! Sorry if this doesn't quite make sense! Thanks for the input! Actually both my girls are natural spellers. I think with all the vocab from WW and PP guides and reading is plenty. We just got used to doing SS together each day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Love2Smile Posted August 7, 2010 Author Share Posted August 7, 2010 I agree with Faithr about spelling. You can cover word roots and that sort of thing instead, if you feel you still need to. Are you only scheduling 4 literature works? That seems very light. Perhaps you are doing some reading connected to history that you are not counting as lit? Well she is going to be reading a lot of history lit. I just did not include it here, because not sure which books yet. She may be doing Notgrass World History, so the lit from there as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted August 7, 2010 Share Posted August 7, 2010 A literature course also includes short stories, poetry, and other genres, not just novels. If you find a way to include those, then you should be fine.:-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homeschoolmom97 Posted August 8, 2010 Share Posted August 8, 2010 I too am putting a lit course together that sounds really similar to what you are doing (up to and including the extra related reading in history, AND your daughters' spelling talents!!). Sadly, several of the works I wanted to use did not have PP or Total Language Plus guides, so I'm going to have to use resources like SparkNotes to put study and discussion assignments together. :glare: Also, related to Ellie's post about shorter works - have you considered getting your hands on a lit text, and using it for some shorter works? I'm going to use a PH text, because it comes with ready-made opportunities for comparing literary works... Finally, and this may be overkill, have you also considered putting together a list of "outside free time" reading? Some other posters (I can't remember who, but I think it was on a post about a four year high school plan) came up with some pretty extensive lists that I really thought sounded good. No major assignments related to them, just extra reading, hopefully that will be just plain enjoyable.... When I see this in writing, I start to worry that I'm going to make my poor dd's head explode with all the stuff I'm planning for her to do...;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Love2Smile Posted August 8, 2010 Author Share Posted August 8, 2010 Instead of the PP guides, I "may" go with Light Lit 8th grade. I know I know I know, it's not grade level. She came out of public school and I think it would be a good fit. Otherwise I have the LLATL Gold series on hand as well. I was planning on saving it to do in 11th grade while she is doing American history, and then the British one to do in 12th grade. However in 12th grade she may be in CC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChemMommy Posted August 8, 2010 Share Posted August 8, 2010 Is your dd behind in school? Does she have areas in which she is deficient? Is she planning on college? If so, what kind of college? The reason I ask is that the lit seems quite light for a college-bound sophomore. For novels is more typical of public school and is probably heavier than a ps class, however, you haven't listed smaller works, poetry, and short stories. Spelling is probably not necessary at 10th grade, unless your child have major spelling problems. I would replace spelling with a roots-based vocabulary program. I would also plan on your child becoming very comfortable with the basic 5-paragraph essay, if they are not already comfortable with it. I haven't used WS craftsman, so maybe it covers that. IMHO, getting a solid handle on the essay is a huge goal by the end of 10th grade. I would encourage you to consider moving past history summaries and into writing assignment that involve more critical thinking. For example, change the assignment from "What happened during the war of 1812" to "What were the long-term consequences of the War of 1812" or "How did the War of 1812 contribute to the anti-slavery movement in the north" Just my $0.02 and I'd probably have very different comments if you thought your child needed catch-up time, wasn't planning on any college, or had clearly focused career goals that might absorb lots of school hours. You've chosen quality curricula for this year. I think a few tweaks and you'll be pleased with your program!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Love2Smile Posted August 8, 2010 Author Share Posted August 8, 2010 Pam, Both my girls will be attending community college either dual enrolling at 11th or 12th grade or after graduating. I "was" considering Notgrass as one of my history options. I know they have weekly history assignments. Do you think that would provide the writing essays etc..you mentioned? Yes, Wordsmith Craftsman does teach the 5 paragraph essay as well. Let me know your thoughts! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Love2Smile Posted August 8, 2010 Author Share Posted August 8, 2010 Also...she is behind in math and will be starting Alg. 1 this year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChemMommy Posted August 9, 2010 Share Posted August 9, 2010 Pam, Both my girls will be attending community college either dual enrolling at 11th or 12th grade or after graduating. I "was" considering Notgrass as one of my history options. I know they have weekly history assignments. Do you think that would provide the writing essays etc..you mentioned? Yes, Wordsmith Craftsman does teach the 5 paragraph essay as well. Let me know your thoughts! Full- or part-time community college? If part-time, what courses?? You need to think this through carefully. What subjects will they be covering in 12th grade between home and CC? What subjects in 11th? Okay, now, based on those answers, what do you need to cover this year. Worry about specific curricula later; for now, just identify the topics. I'm not familiar with Notgrass, but if it covers history with some critical thinking, you should be fine. And yes, if they are going to CC next year, it's great that WS craftsman will help with essay writing. 10th grade isn't terribly behind to be in Algebra I. 11th and 12th would still be Algebra II and Geometry. That's a basic math background to head to college with. And idea what she might major in??? That might affect your planning, too! Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Love2Smile Posted August 9, 2010 Author Share Posted August 9, 2010 Pam... Thanks for all your help. Not sure what classes she'd be taking at CC. But it would be dual enrollment. Most likely a writing course and maybe Spanish. She has no idea what she wants to be...oh wait..she is very interested in video game design and video art. Not a math or science major for sure! So for 10th grade her schedule looks like this" Biology ACE History World: Notgrass English: Lit from Notgrass, Wordsmith Craftsman, Wordly Wise. Math: Algebra one with Saxon This is a child (teenager) who hates school. She has no interest in college at this point and is into computer gaming design, video making (you tube) which I must say she has incredible talent. She volunteers with the dogs at our animal shelter weekly. That's about it, no sports or other interests. Loves to read Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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