Could someone please look over my plans for my 9th grader this year?

[RhondaM.]

I need assurance that I'm on the right track.

My ds will be an older 9th grader (he is a year behind, but has ADD or ADHD and is unmedicated). He really is very immature and unfocused.

 

I feel very strongly that he needs to focus on three main areas: math, writing and literature.

 

Writing: I think I finally found something that will work. IEW. We used it for a month or so this year and it is wonderful. I think I can take this kid through all the units and he will do well. I think it will be painless to use the IEW methods for writing about history and science and literature this year.

 

Literature: He has spent the last two years successfully avoiding reading. He has read portions of books, but I cannot remember if he completed an entire book last year. It was a VERY bad year. This year I plan to read each and every book along with him so we can discuss them. I am picking books from genres I think he will enjoy (science fiction, fantasy and horror) in order to make this as painless as possible. Then we can write about the books using IEW. I plan on using the WTM/WEM methods for discussion.

 

Math: Teaching Textbooks Algebra I (this better work)

 

History and science will be very light. For two reasons.

 

1. I just do not think it makes sense to pile on a heavy science and history schedule for this kid, this year, when he needs to focus so strongly on basics subjects.

 

2. If his history and science are light, I can easily keep up with reading all of it with him and help him to get more out of it so that I can help him to write about it. (Writing about these two subjects are my main goal)

 

So for science this year he will work through Walch Marine Biology his 1st semester (no lab), then for his 2nd semester we will begin Classical Astronomy (though we will probably do this an entire year from January to January) doing all the projects we can.

 

For history he will work through Painless American Government during the 1st semester. (There seems of lots of opportunity for a research projct with this.) Not sure what we will do for 2nd semester.

 

Besides that we are going to do (as a family) WP Sea and Sky w/ Older Learners Guide, which covers world history with a nautical theme, and oceanography (first semester) then astronomy (and a few other things) 2nd semester. There are lots of writing prompts, map work, timelines, projects and lots and lots of easy experiments that I will expect him to set up and do with his younger brother and sister.

 

I'm excited about this super easy curriculum because we will be in Dana Point, California from July 3rd until October 5th (at least), just a mile from the Ocean Institute where we can do a lot of hands on stuff, plus go on some wale watching tours, look at some tide pools and other marine biology, oceanography related stuff. I'm hoping that being near the ocean will make science real and alive this year and spark some excitement about our learning this year.

 

It seems so simple, yet anything more would be overwhelming for him. Using simple books this year I think I can get this kid writing and discussing and learning and possibly get him on track where next year we can do something like TOG 4.

 

Do you think this is a good plan? Or am I just kidding myself? :001_huh: Last year I tried to pile it on and it was a total disaster. The kid really does struggle. I feel that until I get him going in these areas that we can't really do anything more.

Any advice or opinions?

 

Thanks very much (and sorry this got so long.),

[mama25angels]

Rhonda, I think it looks good.

[Mandy in TN]

Writing: I think I finally found something that will work. IEW. We used it for a month or so this year and it is wonderful. I think I can take this kid through all the units and he will do well. I think it will be painless to use the IEW methods for writing about history and science and literature this year.

 

:thumbup: I really like IEW.

 

Literature: He has spent the last two years successfully avoiding reading. He has read portions of books, but I cannot remember if he completed an entire book last year. It was a VERY bad year. This year I plan to read each and every book along with him so we can discuss them. I am picking books from genres I think he will enjoy (science fiction, fantasy and horror) in order to make this as painless as possible. Then we can write about the books using IEW. I plan on using the WTM/WEM methods for discussion.

You may also want to look at a lit book just to read through and learn about terms and genres. It takes the pressure off finishing books, so he can actually enjoy the ones that her does finish. This spring my book-allergic second ds used McDougal Littel's Literature Blue Book. I didn't get a teacher's guide. He just read the intro and a selection from each unit and we discussed what he had read based on the questions at the end to the selection.

 

Math: Teaching Textbooks Algebra I (this better work)

We used MUS Alg1, Geometry, and Alg2. This year oldest ds will be doing Kumon Math, Geometry Success in 20min/ day, and Trig Success in 20min/ day. 2nd ds will be using Kumon Math, Life of Fred Geometry and Life of Fred Trig.

 

So for science this year he will work through Walch Marine Biology his 1st semester (no lab), then for his 2nd semester we will begin Classical Astronomy (though we will probably do this an entire year from January to January) doing all the projects we can.)

We will be using parts of Apologia's Marine Biology first semester, because (since ds #1 used it this year) I already have the book. Second semester I think we will be using George's Secret Key to the Universe, DK's Universe and maybe Hands of a Child Adv Astronomy for activities/ written work.

 

For history he will work through Painless American Government during the 1st semester. (There seems of lots of opportunity for a research projct with this.) Not sure what we will do for 2nd semester.

Second ds used Painless American Govt (just read through the book and answered the questions) this year along with America Votes!, the two Standard Deviants Govt. DVD's, the PBS DVD Not for Ourselves Alone, and TC Cycles of American Political Thought for a 1/2 credit in American Govt.

 

 

Besides that we are going to do (as a family) WP Sea and Sky w/ Older Learners Guide, which covers world history with a nautical theme, and oceanography (first semester) then astronomy (and a few other things) 2nd semester. There are lots of writing prompts, map work, timelines, projects and lots and lots of easy experiments that I will expect him to set up and do with his younger brother and sister.

Second ds will be using WP S&S! First Semester we will not be using the additional OLG title for history. He will instead read through Walch's Power Basics World History 3- Modern History. Second semester we will add the additional aviation history title. I will be giving him a credit in Modern History and in the course description explain that it was modern history with an indepth study of the history of aviation.

 

I'm excited about this super easy curriculum because we will be in Dana Point, California from July 3rd until October 5th (at least), just a mile from the Ocean Institute where we can do a lot of hands on stuff, plus go on some wale watching tours, look at some tide pools and other marine biology, oceanography related stuff. I'm hoping that being near the ocean will make science real and alive this year and spark some excitement about our learning this year.?.

How wonderful! Can we come visit?

 

It seems so simple, yet anything more would be overwhelming for him. Using simple books this year I think I can get this kid writing and discussing and learning and possibly get him on track where next year we can do something like TOG 4.

 

Do you think this is a good plan? Or am I just kidding myself? :001_huh: Last year I tried to pile it on and it was a total disaster. The kid really does struggle. I feel that until I get him going in these areas that we can't really do anything more.

Any advice or opinions?.

Don't underestimate the amount of work involved in WP S&S w/ the OLG. My ds will be attending LA at a tutorial, so I have no idea how many of the OLG writing and reading suggestions we will get to do. If you use IEW and as a guide/rubric to complete some of the writing suggestions in the OLG then great, but I wouldn't try to do two separate writing assignments.

 

Because ds#2 used Apologia's Physical Science this year and tracked weather for a month for a tutorial assignment, I will be eliminating all of the weather books except The Weather Book and Air. We will be replacing these most likely with the books mentioned above, but I haven't bought them yet and may change my mind by January.

 

I also think that if you do Painless American Govt with extra projects first semester then I would eliminate the OLG suggestion for ship history and let him tag along with sibs for fun. Second semester if he uses the OLG suggestion for aviation history and completes half of the 3-week projects then I would give him a half credit in aviation history. This will give him a full social studies/ history credit for the year without him feeling like he is doing a ton of work and not getting any credit for it.

 

HTH-

Mandy

[Laura in OH]

You may also want to look at a lit book just to read through and learn about terms and genres. It takes the pressure off finishing books, so he can actually enjoy the ones that her does finish. This spring my book-allergic second ds used McDougal Littel's Literature Blue Book. I didn't get a teacher's guide. He just read the intro and a selection from each unit and we discussed what he had read based on the questions at the end to the selection.

 

We used the book "Figuratively Speaking" for this. It uses excerpts from classic literature and does a great job of explaining many (40) literary terms.

 

See it here: http://www.rainbowresource.com/search.php?sid=1214416795-1209183

[Lori D.]

I like your idea of easy on the science. Our older son did 9th grade this year, doing Apologia Biology -- we only got through 10 of the 16 chapters. Initially I was disappointed, but in looking back, but by finishing the Biology up in the coming school year, we'll also be able to add a health unit I really wanted us to do, plus focus on really nailing down the writing.

 

You are so right to not push too hard if it's not going to happen, and esp. to focus on those foundational skills such as writing!

 

 

 

re: literature

May I suggest several ideas? Reading the literature aloud together popcorn style ("you read a page, I read a page") or book on tape or me reading it aloud and then discussing *in the moment* has gone over *very* well here.

 

- Lightning Lit 8 (did it in 8th gr. with older son; we'll do it in 9th gr. with younger son)

- Literary Lessons from the Lord of the Rings (did it this past year with 8th and 9th gr. sons)

- Well Educated Mind how to read The Great Books; Figuratively Speaking for learning literary terms; plus Garlic Press publishers lit. guides, Spark Notes, Wikipedia articles, etc. (used these this past year with 8th and 9th gr. sons)

 

 

Literature has been a little slower this way, with fewer books read over the course of a year -- but *everyone* got a LOT out of it, and it was quite enjoyable for everyone! And I found that I could also require some solo reading from them as well: about 1 book a month (8 books over the course of the school year) of books at or a little below their reading level -- I keep them reading by requiring them to fill in a sort of book report form, or 2-3 questions per chapter as they read that had to be turned in weekly.

 

 

BEST of luck -- and ENJOY your high school homeschooling adventures! : ) Warmest regards, Lori D.

[Mandy in TN]

We used the book "Figuratively Speaking" for this. It uses excerpts from classic literature and does a great job of explaining many (40) literary terms.

 

See it here: http://www.rainbowresource.com/search.php?sid=1214416795-1209183

 

My oldest ds used Walch's Toolbook for Prose and Poetry. Same concept.

Mandy

[RhondaM.]

 

You may also want to look at a lit book just to read through and learn about terms and genres. It takes the pressure off finishing books, so he can actually enjoy the ones that her does finish.

 

I probably won't do a whole lot of unfamiliar literary terms this year. Or at least not the first semester. We will talk about characters and foreshadowing and plot and all, but beyond that we will just stick to basic discussion, just using the types of questions in the WTM. I just want to get the kid to enjoy reading some books again.

 

Don't underestimate the amount of work involved in WP S&S w/ the OLG. My ds will be attending LA at a tutorial, so I have no idea how many of the OLG writing and reading suggestions we will get to do. If you use IEW and as a guide/rubric to complete some of the writing suggestions in the OLG then great, but I wouldn't try to do two separate writing assignments.

 

Yes, we will use IEW as our guide. The WP prompts will be what we actually write about. And I won't have him write about all of his literature, just a few of his books this year.

 

Because ds#2 used Apologia's Physical Science this year and tracked weather for a month for a tutorial assignment, I will be eliminating all of the weather books except The Weather Book and Air. We will be replacing these most likely with the books mentioned above, but I haven't bought them yet and may change my mind by January.

 

I have not decided how much of the 2nd 18 weeks of WP we will actually do. It really depends on how much fun we have with the first section. I have not bought the books for the 2nd part on purpose. I KNOW I intend to cover Classical Astronomy: Signs and Seasons though.

 

I also think that if you do Painless American Govt with extra projects first semester then I would eliminate the OLG suggestion for ship history and let him tag along with sibs for fun. Second semester if he uses the OLG suggestion for aviation history and completes half of the 3-week projects then I would give him a half credit in aviation history. This will give him a full social studies/ history credit for the year without him feeling like he is doing a ton of work and not getting any credit for it.

 

Here is what it is going to depend on. His writing will mainly focus on the WP writing topics. If he has to read the ship history in order to write about it, then we will do the ship history. We could still do the government, jut not any extra projects, research that first semester, though we could save that for the 2nd semester. But then I'm not sure what we will do about the aviation history 2nd semester.

 

I've just got to get started to see what we need/want to do. But I agree, we won't try to do everything.

 

Thanks for writing.

 

HTH-

Mandy

[summer]

I actually think it looks great!

[RhondaM.]

 

re: literature

May I suggest several ideas? Reading the literature aloud together popcorn style ("you read a page, I read a page") or book on tape or me reading it aloud and then discussing *in the moment* has gone over *very* well here.

 

I've been sort of toying with this myself. I don't know how well it will go over with HIM though. I'll have to experiment and see. He may actually like it better than having to go off alone and read. He is very social.

 

- Lightning Lit 8 (did it in 8th gr. with older son; we'll do it in 9th gr. with younger son)

- Literary Lessons from the Lord of the Rings (did it this past year with 8th and 9th gr. sons)

- Well Educated Mind how to read The Great Books; Figuratively Speaking for learning literary terms; plus Garlic Press publishers lit. guides, Spark Notes, Wikipedia articles, etc. (used these this past year with 8th and 9th gr. sons)

 

I bought one of the American Lit. highschool levels of LL last year and it did not go over well. Probably because of the book selections. I amy try it again with my middle dc. Not sure.

 

I had really wanted to do the Literary Lessons from LOTR because my ds has been wanting to read those books. I just hated to invest so much money into a lit program that he would probably hate in the end. We will most likely read some of the LOTR books this year though, as he has requested. Just not so formally.

 

 

Literature has been a little slower this way, with fewer books read over the course of a year -- but *everyone* got a LOT out of it, and it was quite enjoyable for everyone! And I found that I could also require some solo reading from them as well: about 1 book a month (8 books over the course of the school year) of books at or a little below their reading level -- I keep them reading by requiring them to fill in a sort of book report form, or 2-3 questions per chapter as they read that had to be turned in weekly.

 

Did he solo read a book a month besides what you were reading along with him? I was also only planning to read 8-10 books. A few of the books were a bit long (such as LOTR) but many of them very short works (Dr. J and Mr. H).

 

Thanks Lori for your help.

[RhondaM.]

Rhonda, I think it looks good.

 

Thanks. :)

[RhondaM.]

I actually think it looks great!

 

Thanks Summer. :)

[RhondaM.]

We used the book "Figuratively Speaking" for this. It uses excerpts from classic literature and does a great job of explaining many (40) literary terms.

 

See it here: http://www.rainbowresource.com/search.php?sid=1214416795-1209183

 

Seems like i've heard this book mentioned before. I should probably get it just to have on hand. Thanks.

[Deb in NZ]

My 14yos isn't advanced & needs to focus on the basics as well. My plan for him this year is:

 

Math: MUS-finish Epsilon & begin Zeta + finish Key to Geometry (books 1-3)

Science: Apologia General Science

Latin: Latin Prep 1

Spelling: Sequential Spelling for Adults

Penmanship: Lighthome Publications Copywork books (great for older boys who need work on their handwriting)

History / English / etc. : Trisms' History Makers (we'll begin this in July)

Music: Scottish Drums

PE: competative gymnastics, sailing

Social: SeaScouts

 

JMHO,

[RhondaM.]

Thanks for sharing Deb. I'm not sure what Scottish Drums are, but my ds also plays drums. And goes through tons of drumsticks!

[Deb in NZ]

My son plays drums in the local Pipe Band. He's due to take his level one exams for the Royal NZ Pipe Bands Assocaition in July. These are similar to the Trinity Music Exams for other instruments. Ds's drum sticks last longer as the sticks are a lot heavier than the sticks he used when playing the drum set in the Youth Music concert band. Drums are the ideal instrument for active boys IMHO.

 

Blessings,

[RhondaM.]

My son plays drums in the local Pipe Band. He's due to take his level one exams for the Royal NZ Pipe Bands Assocaition in July. These are similar to the Trinity Music Exams for other instruments. Ds's drum sticks last longer as the sticks are a lot heavier than the sticks he used when playing the drum set in the Youth Music concert band. Drums are the ideal instrument for active boys IMHO.

 

Blessings,

 

This is so true. Hope you ds does well in his exams. :)

[mama25angels]

:lol: my DS plays the drums as well and he goes thru a ton of drumsticks too. He plays for our Church and he and his brother and sister have formed their own band. It's amazing how similar our boys are.

[Lori D.]

I bought one of the American Lit. highschool levels of LL last year and it did not go over well. Probably because of the book selections. I amy try it again with my middle dc. Not sure.

 

I thought the same thing when I looked over some of the book selections of the high school LL levels. That's why I was suggesting the LL8 -- the full year program for 8th grade -- I truly think that almost all of the works in it are of a 9th grade level. LL8 consists of 12 units which includes 3 units on poetry (good stuff on how to listen to/analyze poems), 3 short stories (we didn't care for 2 of them), and 6 longer works (enjoyed all of them): Treasure Island, A Day of Pleasure, A Christmas Carol, The Hobbit, My Family and Other Animals, and To Kill A Mockingbird.

 

 

 

I had really wanted to do the Literary Lessons from LOTR because my ds has been wanting to read those books. I just hated to invest so much money into a lit program that he would probably hate in the end. We will most likely read some of the LOTR books this year though, as he has requested. Just not so formally.

 

 

I can only comment on how my 2 sons felt about the Lit. Lessons from LOTR -- LOVED it! They loved the books (we've read them twice before as a family), and we did the study together. The additional notes for each chapter are fantastic, bringing out examples of the themes, and also relating fascinating tidbits of what influenced Tolkien as the author in writing certain characters, etc. The notes are definitely written by someone who loves the trilogy and who is sharing their love of all the depths in the books, rather than "spoiling" the books by making it seem "like school work". (LOL) Also, the 12(!) additional units are fascinating -- loads of info, and you can use some of them to springboard into reading some other great lit., such as Beowulf, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and The Sword in the Stone.

 

We skipped the comprehension "fill in the blanks" questions on what happened in the chapter (since we'd do the guide the day after reading the chapters), and did the vocabulary "fill in the blanks" questions aloud together. As a result, we just used the Teacher Guide, which can often be bought used for a lot cheaper than trying to buy the entire study.

 

Also, if you're wondering if your son would like the study or not, perhaps both of you take a look at the sample pages on the website; click on the highlighted items for pdf files of the table of contents, sample chapter "lessons" and sample additional unit material: http://www.homescholar.org/Table%20of%20Contents.htm

 

 

Did he solo read a book a month besides what you were reading along with him? I was also only planning to read 8-10 books. A few of the books were a bit long (such as LOTR) but many of them very short works (Dr. J and Mr. H).

 

What each boy covered this past year book-wise:

 

1. about 6 solo books each -- I'd hoped they would do 8-9, but we had a hectic year outside of school

(totally on their own; that's why I gave them books that were at or a little below their reading level)

 

2. LOTR trilogy (aloud together 2 nights a week) (took all year, about 12 weeks per book)

 

3. Great Books (ancients), Well Trained Mind style (read aloud/discuss together during school, using lit. guides):

- Epic of Gilgamesh (abridged version by Westwood) (spent 3 weeks on this)

- The Iliad (Fagles translation) (spent 12-14 weeks on this)

- The Odyssey (Fagles translation) (spent 12 weeks on this)

- Oedipus the King (a drama; it's short -- read it aloud in 1 week)

- Antigone (a drama; it's short -- read it aloud in 1 week)

- The Aeneid (abridged version by Church) (spent 3 weeks on this)

 

 

Hope something there is of help. Next year I am hoping to get more solo reading out of everyone -- sort of start shifting the baton. I'm thinking of having a schedule and EVERYONE has a certain number of pages read by the end of the week, having jotted down thoughts or answers to questions that I (haha) prepared in advance, so Fridays can be discussion day... Just now starting to consider how this might work... If I get some good guides and we only do 6-8 solo books, I can probably prepare those question sheets in advance this summer.... Hmmm... : )

 

Thanks for getting me thinking, Rhonda! Warmest regards, Lori D.

[RhondaM.]

I thought the same thing when I looked over some of the book selections of the high school LL levels. That's why I was suggesting the LL8 --

 

LL looks great also...except for the books selections. My kids HATE Treasure Island...I confess...I do too. We really tried to like that story. They did not care for the Christmas Carol either :confused:. To Killa Mockingbird and the Hobbit (we really need to finish both) have both been halfway read and liked. I don't know anything about the others. I really do like the looks of the program though. Even LL 7, we've either already read the books or dislike them. I really wanted to use this program too. I think I'll be able to use some of the high school levels w/ my middle dc though. He is my reader.

 

 

 

 

 

I can only comment on how my 2 sons felt about the Lit. Lessons from LOTR -- LOVED it!

 

It does sound really good. Impossible to do this year though. Maybe the year we do ancients we could do this.

 

We skipped the comprehension "fill in the blanks" questions on what happened in the chapter (since we'd do the guide the day after reading the chapters), and did the vocabulary "fill in the blanks" questions aloud together. As a result, we just used the Teacher Guide, which can often be bought used for a lot cheaper than trying to buy the entire study.

 

Sounds like what we'd do too.

 

Also, if you're wondering if your son would like the study or not, perhaps both of you take a look at the sample pages on the website; click on the highlighted items for pdf files of the table of contents, sample chapter "lessons" and sample additional unit material: http://www.homescholar.org/Table%20of%20Contents.htm

 

 

 

Girl, you have no idea how many times I've looked over the entire website. It looks so good! I've got to use this one year, I really do. Like I said, probably the year I have them do ancients. This will probably make it much more tolerable to my oldest.

 

 

 

 

 

What each boy covered this past year book-wise:

 

1. about 6 solo books each -- I'd hoped they would do 8-9, but we had a hectic year outside of school

(totally on their own; that's why I gave them books that were at or a little below their reading level)

 

2. LOTR trilogy (aloud together 2 nights a week) (took all year, about 12 weeks per book)

 

3. Great Books (ancients), Well Trained Mind style (read aloud/discuss together during school, using lit. guides):

- Epic of Gilgamesh (abridged version by Westwood) (spent 3 weeks on this)

- The Iliad (Fagles translation) (spent 12-14 weeks on this)

- The Odyssey (Fagles translation) (spent 12 weeks on this)

- Oedipus the King (a drama; it's short -- read it aloud in 1 week)

- Antigone (a drama; it's short -- read it aloud in 1 week)

- The Aeneid (abridged version by Church) (spent 3 weeks on this)

 

 

 

The Great Books you listed are the selections that the Literary Lessons from LOTR covered, right? But you read the full length books instead of how the guide uses it? How did that go over as far as scheduling them together?

 

 

Hope something there is of help.

 

No! You've made me want to ditch my science fiction plans and do this instead! :001_smile: But it won't work. No time. We are about to drive to California and stay there for 3 months. I don't think I'd feel comfortable having my books sent to a new place...we couold get sent home early or something. Oh well...I just need to be content. Maybe I can hold him off on reading LOTR until we get to ancients though. By then my youngest will be in 4th grade and even she will be able to enjoy hearing them as we read them aloud.

 

Thanks again Lori.

[Tammyla]

I think it looks great, and especially like your focus on reading. We did that this year and it paid off ten fold. My dd, is now reading her regular for pleasure choices, but she actually enjoys many of the books I assign. She would never in a million years pick them up if they weren't assigned.

 

Planning for me works out best when I don't over schedule it. Your list looks like one he can do well on...day in and day out, day after day:001_smile:. It always easier and more uplifting to add more than be faced with the cutting choice. :D

 

Wishing you a wonderful year~

 

I need assurance that I'm on the right track.

My ds will be an older 9th grader (he is a year behind, but has ADD or ADHD and is unmedicated). He really is very immature and unfocused.

 

I feel very strongly that he needs to focus on three main areas: math, writing and literature.

 

Writing: I think I finally found something that will work. IEW. We used it for a month or so this year and it is wonderful. I think I can take this kid through all the units and he will do well. I think it will be painless to use the IEW methods for writing about history and science and literature this year.

 

Literature: He has spent the last two years successfully avoiding reading. He has read portions of books, but I cannot remember if he completed an entire book last year. It was a VERY bad year. This year I plan to read each and every book along with him so we can discuss them. I am picking books from genres I think he will enjoy (science fiction, fantasy and horror) in order to make this as painless as possible. Then we can write about the books using IEW. I plan on using the WTM/WEM methods for discussion.

 

Math: Teaching Textbooks Algebra I (this better work)

 

History and science will be very light. For two reasons.

 

1. I just do not think it makes sense to pile on a heavy science and history schedule for this kid, this year, when he needs to focus so strongly on basics subjects.

 

2. If his history and science are light, I can easily keep up with reading all of it with him and help him to get more out of it so that I can help him to write about it. (Writing about these two subjects are my main goal)

 

So for science this year he will work through Walch Marine Biology his 1st semester (no lab), then for his 2nd semester we will begin Classical Astronomy (though we will probably do this an entire year from January to January) doing all the projects we can.

 

For history he will work through Painless American Government during the 1st semester. (There seems of lots of opportunity for a research projct with this.) Not sure what we will do for 2nd semester.

 

Besides that we are going to do (as a family) WP Sea and Sky w/ Older Learners Guide, which covers world history with a nautical theme, and oceanography (first semester) then astronomy (and a few other things) 2nd semester. There are lots of writing prompts, map work, timelines, projects and lots and lots of easy experiments that I will expect him to set up and do with his younger brother and sister.

 

I'm excited about this super easy curriculum because we will be in Dana Point, California from July 3rd until October 5th (at least), just a mile from the Ocean Institute where we can do a lot of hands on stuff, plus go on some wale watching tours, look at some tide pools and other marine biology, oceanography related stuff. I'm hoping that being near the ocean will make science real and alive this year and spark some excitement about our learning this year.

 

It seems so simple, yet anything more would be overwhelming for him. Using simple books this year I think I can get this kid writing and discussing and learning and possibly get him on track where next year we can do something like TOG 4.

 

Do you think this is a good plan? Or am I just kidding myself? :001_huh: Last year I tried to pile it on and it was a total disaster. The kid really does struggle. I feel that until I get him going in these areas that we can't really do anything more.

Any advice or opinions?

 

Thanks very much (and sorry this got so long.),

[RhondaM.]

Thanks Tammy. I felt like I was on the right track, yet needed that reassurance. I am feeling much better about my decision now.

[Chris in CA]

Hi Rhonda,

How fun, we live in the Dana Point/San Clemente area. The Ocean Institute is a blast, don't miss the tide pools as well. If your up to it, we can meet sometime

[Lori D.]

LL looks great also...except for the books selections. My kids HATE Treasure Island...I confess...I do too. We really tried to like that story. They did not care for the Christmas Carol either :confused:. To Killa Mockingbird and the Hobbit (we really need to finish both) have both been halfway read and liked. I don't know anything about the others. I really do like the looks of the program though. Even LL 7, we've either already read the books or dislike them

 

By all means then, DON'T use Lightning Lit! :tongue_smilie: Seriously, no point in buying a program you would only use so little of. I think you're going to do GREAT with picking your own literature and your sci-fi selections. And BTW, we'll probably be doing some sci-fi this year to go along with the 20th century history! I'm trying to narrow it down to about 6-8 titles (an impossible task, I'm discovering!!) and use Garlic Press lit. guides, Spark Notes, and Wikipedia articles. What titles are YOU thinking of using?! Maybe that will help me narrow it down...

 

 

 

Girl, you have no idea how many times I've looked over the entire website. It looks so good! I've got to use this one year, I really do. Like I said, probably the year I have them do ancients. This will probably make it much more tolerable to my oldest.

 

Yes, we did Lit. Lessons from LotR along with the ancients, and that worked VERY well -- most of those ancient works were epics, and it was fun to compare the ancient epics with a "modern" fantasy epic written by someone who was greatly influenced by the ancient classics. We read the "extra units" in LLftLotR out of order, and read the one on the 11 conventions (literary elements) that are usually found in epics FIRST, so we could refer back to that all year long with ALL the literature we read.

 

The only thing I will say about LLftLotR is that you may want to consider getting it in earlier in high school rather than later, as it is more of an overview or gentle intro into literary analysis, and usually by junior/senior year your student will be going more in depth in analysis than LLftLotR -- not that you still wouldn't enjoy it, but... I'd say grades 7-10 are optimal for doing this study. Just my opinion, though! ;)

 

 

 

The Great Books you listed are the selections that the Literary Lessons from LOTR covered, right? But you read the full length books instead of how the guide uses it? How did that go over as far as scheduling them together?

 

No, we did more ancient works than what LLftLotR covered in the additional units -- AND for both the Iliad and The Odyssey, we read full length translations, not just selected portions. That's what took us so long. So really, we did a "double dose" of literature last year, between LLftLotR AND Great Books ala Well Trained Mind. I'm counting it as 1.5 credits. Here's what that looked like schedule-wise:

 

 

During the evenings:

1. Each week for 36 weeks, 1-2 evenings/week, read aloud 2 chapters from LotR. On average, it took 1-1/2 to 2 hours to read two chapters.

 

 

 

During the schooldays:

 

1. LLftLotR Study Guide

Each week for 36 weeks, 2 days/week (spending about 30-40 min. per chapter), do the study guide together to cover those 2 chapters we'd read.

 

2. LLftLotR Additional Units

One week out of every three, we'd spend about 2 hours reading/discussing an Additional Unit. Sometimes we'd do it in one day, but usually we'd spread it over 2-4 days.

 

3. Great Books study

Each week for 36 weeks (spending about 45 min. per day), we read/discussed a Great Book together. Here's what we covered, and how long each work took us:

 

- 3 weeks = Epic of Gilgamesh (abridged version by Westwood)

Used the SMARR literature guide -- brief, NOT helpful; wish we'd used the free online Spark Notes. Had each boy write a short compare/contrast paper of the Babylonian flood myth portion of the book with the Biblical flood account.

 

- 12-14 weeks = The Iliad (Fagles translation)

Used the Teacher Guide of the Novel Unit Literature Guide for The Iliad -- it was okay; designed more for a classroom; may have been more useful if we'd also gotten the student portion. Had the older boy practice summarizing/narrations by writing up a brief paragraph on each of the 24 "books" (chapters) of The Iliad.

 

- 12 weeks = The Odyssey (Fagles translation)

Used the Garlic Press publishers lit guide -- fantastic! Very meaty! Good discussion questions, literary analysis info, and writing assignments -- way more than we could use! Used several of the guide's writing assignment suggestions very successfully.

 

- 1-2 weeks = Oedipus the King (this is a short drama)

This is the first of the 3 plays of the "Oedipal Cycle". Used the Spark Notes; they were great -- far longer than the play itself! Discussed only -- no writing.

 

- 1-2 weeks = Antigone (this is a short drama)

This is the third of the 3 plays of the "Oedipal Cycle." Used the Spark Notes; they were great -- far longer than the play itself! Only regret -- wish we'd had time to also do the middle play of the cycle (Oedipus at Colonus) so we'd have had the whole scope of the story and themes. Discussed only -- no writing.

 

- 3-4 weeks = The Aeneid (abridged version by Church)

A young person's story-like adaptation; we were getting burned out on the ancient classics, and we had done the full translations of the Iliad and the Odyssey (which the Aeneid "springboards" off of), so an abridged version was fine for us. Again, we used the Spark Notes to help us see and discuss themes and symbolism. Had the boys each do a brief compare/contrast paper of themes or characters or plot events of The Aeneid with both The Iliad and The Odyssey.

 

 

Additional Solo Reading

On their own time -- usually in bed before lights out, or on weekends, they would do solo reading. I never asked more than about 30-45 minutes a week, and this fizzled partway through the year. Books they DID read included:

 

- God King (ancient Egypt)

- Shadow Hawk (ancient Egypt)

- Hittite Warrior (ancient Egypt/Hittite/Hebrew)

- Archimedes and the Door of Science (ancient Greece; non-fiction)

- various ancient Greek myths (about a book's worth)

- Ides of April (ancient Rome)

 

Books we didn't get to, so we'll shoot for these over the summer:

 

- Galen and the Gateway to Medicine (ancient Greece; non-fiction)

- Beyond the Desert Gate (ancient Rome/Palestine)

- Bronze Bow (ancient Rome/Judea)

- Ben Hur (ancient Rome/Judea)

- Eagle of the Ninth (ancient Rome/Britian)

 

 

Hope that answers your questions and isn't confusing! Warmly, Lori

[RhondaM.]

Grrr. I responded to this post, but it just disappeared when I hit send...because the server is too busy.

I'll just tell you my lit plans for the year. There are others that I am considering as well.

 

Dracula

Frankenstein

Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde

short stories from Poe

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Eragon

Eldest

Brisingr

(possibly) I, Robot

The Island of Dr. Moreau

Dragonflight

 

Thanks so much for posting how you used your Lit. Lessons from LOTR. It looks really great!

[RhondaM.]

Hi Rhonda,

How fun, we live in the Dana Point/San Clemente area. The Ocean Institute is a blast, don't miss the tide pools as well. If your up to it, we can meet sometime

 

We should try to do that. Sounds like fun. :) Thanks!