Planning for High School

[hpedlar]

Hello, all.  I'm new here and have a concern as I plan for next year.  I'm sure this topic has been visited many times so forgive me for redundancy if it's an old tune.  I have 4 girls who are currently in 8th, 6th, 4th and 1st.  I am starting to plan for next year and am getting very nervous about a few things, especially writing.  My eldest spent grades 4 - 6 in PS, where everything came very easy for her, and she did not have much intentional instrucion in grammar or writing.  I have not been as successful in writing instruction at home as I'd like the last 2 years, and my dd has not really ever had to write a real paper.  We are using a writing curriculum that I do not  think is rigorous enough, and I am beginning to look at Writing with Skill, and Power in Your Hands for next year.  My fear is that my dd is very behind in writing skill development.  She is a very bright student, but her work ethic is very lacking, largely due to her experience in PS,  and I have health issues that keep me from being as diligent on follow-through as I need.  THe combo has left me feeling like I am really hurting my dd's (and the others, too!) academic development.   We are switching to Biblioplan for history next year (Ancients) and had planned to use their lit sources as my dd's lit course.  But I learned about 2 programs yesterday that seem really good and seem to focus on writing instruction as part of their program:  Lightning LIterature and Excellence in Literature.  ANd after looking at THOSE, I'm all confused again about how best to help my dd develop her writing, and thinking skills without putting too much burden on her with too many different separate subjects.  One of my concerns is TOO MUCH writing if I use BP's writing assignments, and a writing curriculum, in addition to trying to develop the ability to write a paper on a piece of literature. . . I know all of that will not happen, and I want to give her the most bang for her buck in terms of instruction and integration.  Thank you in advance for any thoughts you may have! 

[Lori D.]

...My fear is that my dd is very behind in writing skill development...

… I have health issues that keep me from being as diligent on follow-through as I need...

 

… Biblioplan for history next year (Ancients) and had planned to use their lit sources as my dd's lit course...

… but… 2 programs … seem to focus on writing instruction as part of their program:  Lightning LIterature and Excellence in Literature...

 

… how best to help my dd develop her writing, and thinking skills without putting too much burden on her with too many different separate subjects...

… my concerns is TOO MUCH writing if I use BP's writing assignments, and a writing curriculum, in addition to trying to develop the ability to write a paper on a piece of literature. . .

 

… I want to give her the most bang for her buck in terms of instruction and integration...

 

Welcome to planning for middle school/prep for high school! :)

 

First, please set aside any worries about "being behind". Middle school students are all over the place in where they are in writing, and much of it has to do with a student's natural abilities and unique maturing time table, which is largely out of your control. You do NOT have to go into high school *already knowing* how to write well or write "long"; just steadily move forward each year, and you'll be fine. :)

 

Second, it looks like you plan to do an integrated History/Literature (i.e., the works of Literature largely fall in the same time period as the History being studied). While there are great connections made this way, if you and your student are new to doing formal Literature studies, this can be a more difficult path as most of the programs are History-based and don't provide a lot of specific detailed teaching instruction in Literature and/or Writing for either the teacher or the student.

 

So if an important goal is to get solid with writing and learn how to write a paper on a piece of Literature (which also means learning how to dig into / discuss / analyze Literature), then separating out the English credit (Literature & Writing) and the History time period may be the way to go for this first year of high school.

 

However, while both Lightning Literature (LL) and Excellence in Literature (EiL) are great for covering Literature, neither has the writing instruction and support that it sounds like you would be wanting — they do not teach writing. They include brief writing assignment ideas springboarding from the works of Literature read, with EiL having a rubric (checklist) for the parent/teacher to gauge if the student's writing has all the parts needed to be a complete paper.

 

The only Literature program I can think of that also walks you through writing is Windows to the World (WttW) (1 semester program for gr. 9-12), which walks you through how to annotate, how to write a literary analysis essay and use your annotations as support in your essay, and then covers 8-10 of the most frequent literary elements and how they work. The program focuses on 6 short stories (included), and has specific guided exercises to work through analyzing and leading up to writing, plus longer writing assignments. There is also a teacher guide with additional helps on teaching, writing rubric, and other resources.

 

While WttW is only 1 semester, you can purchase the Jill Pike syllabus (JP syllabus) which integrates WttW with Teaching the Classics (TtC), and adds 3 longer works (Jane Eyre, To Kill a Mockingbird, Hamlet), which extends the program to a full credit of English for 9th grade. TtC would be done together by you and your 9th grader, so you learn together how to discuss/analyze/look deeper at literature, and you can then use the tools gained from TtC on ANY work of Literature, which will help you have confidence in using future integrated History/Literature programs

 

The JP syllabus does say you can substitute other works for these three, so you could either:

1. go with the 3 works in the syllabus as written; in a later year, substitute 3 ancient classics for these

2. substitute 3 any works now, and later on use the program if you cover any of those 3 works

 

 

Totally just a suggestion, so take/leave as works for you ;), but here's what I think I would consider in your situation, to keep as integrated as possible while working on getting a solid familiarity with how to "do" Literature and how to write about literature, AND give YOU the most teaching support, since health is an issue:

 

- History = use BP just for your History

- English: Writing portion -- use a separate writing program to solidify writing

- English: Lit portion -- if using WttW, then do not use BP Lit; if using a writing-only program for the writing portion of English credit, then go ahead with BP for the Lit

 

Keep your high school credits manageable:

- History = work for 4-5 hours per week, then stop

- English: Writing portion = work for about 30-45 min/day =  2.5 to 3 hours total per week

- English: Literature portion = read 2 to 2.5 hours/week, discuss/analyze/background research = 0.5 to1 hour/week = 3 hours total per week

 

(English just DOES require more time than the usual credit -- I plan for 6 hours a week, to have plenty of time for reading, thinking, writing, which all require extra time.)

 

(You can "double dip" -- writing a research paper on a History topic, or writing out the occasional 1 paragraph response to a History discussion question can be a substitute for the regular writing program assignment every so often, AND counts as time spent for *both* History AND English)

 

 

9th Grade -- keep it simple, just 5 credits

1. Math

2. Science

3. Foreign Language OR Elective

 

4. Social Science: Ancient History

(Biblioplan--keep all students in one program and same time period for simplicity)

(for 9th grader, just do the formal History parts; use a few hist. fiction selections as History supplement)

(hist. fict. suggestions from BP: Mara Daughter of the Nile, The Ides of April, Beyond the Desert Gate, Ben Hur, Eagle of the Ninth)

 

5. English

(WttW, TtC, JP syllabus;  pick 3 ancient Lit works to sub into the JP syllabus)

(suggestions from BP: Epic of Gilgamesh, Greek myths, The Iliad, The Odyssey, Oedipus the King, Till We Have Faces)

(can also use the suggested Literature support materials from BP to support these Lit. selections; also consider individual Literature guides as additional support; for example: the Garlic Press guide for The Odyssey is quite good; this free audio lecture by Peter Kreeft is very helpful for guiding through Till We Have Faces)

 

 

Again, welcome! And wishing you the BEST of luck as you move into the high school years with your oldest! It's going to be great fun! :)

[The Girls' Mom]

If she has had little instruction, I think Writing with Skill is a good way to start.  It covers the mechanics of writing very well with little of the creative process needed (which overwhelms a lot of struggling writers) I wouldn't do WWS, BP AND a lit course though.  She would quickly become overwhelmed.  You do have time to beef up her writing, so don't worry about being behind!  

We did Power in Your Hands last semester and it was pretty gentle too.  We have moved on to EIL this semester, and I do not recommend it as a way to learn the basics as (like a PP said) it doesn't really give writing instruction.

 

 

[hpedlar]

Lori, THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH!  You understood exactly what my concerns were, though I was having immense difficulty putting them down in any coherent fashion.  You have given me MUCH to chew on, and it is incredibly helpful.  The missing piece is that my dd is enrolled part time in PS and will be next year also, for 2 or 3 classes and cross-country.  So your suggestion to back off on how much we do is one I need to listen to.  It was part of my concern about overwhelming her with too much writing .. . time will be a huge factor.   The Girls' Mom, thank you, also.  It just feels so very overwhelming, and your encouragement is something I need to hear.  THank you both so much!

 

[Lori D.]

The missing piece is that my dd is enrolled part time in PS and will be next year also, for 2 or 3 classes and cross-country.

 

What specific classes will she take at the school, and which at home (besides History and English)?

 

Yes, when scheduling, you'll need to plan on adding in time to account for:

- time commuting to/from the school

- time to mentally transition from school to home

- homework time for the at-school subjects

- time for the extracurricular (practices, meets, etc.)

 

Sounds like you have a good plan going! :) Warmest regards, Lori D.

[hpedlar]

Lori, she will be a freshman taking Geometry, Choir/PE (alternate days, same period), and possibly Spanish, at school.  I am nervous about Spanish due to the time it will take her at home for other subjects, so we will see.   Home will be history, English, and biology.  I wanted to add informal logic with materials we purchased and ended up not using this last year, but I know there will be no way if I intend to really work on writing.

 

[Lori D.]

Lori, she will be a freshman taking Geometry, Choir/PE (alternate days, same period), and possibly Spanish, at school.  I am nervous about Spanish due to the time it will take her at home for other subjects, so we will see.   Home will be history, English, and biology.  I wanted to add informal logic with materials we purchased and ended up not using this last year, but I know there will be no way if I intend to really work on writing.

 

Just brainstorming some time management ideas here ;)...

 

Credits:

 

at school

1 credit = Math: Geometry

(1 credit = Foreign Language: Spanish)

0.5 credit = Choir

0.5 credit = PE

 

at home

1 credit = English

1 credit = History

1 credit = Science: Biology

 

5-6 credits total

 

Science is a lot like English -- due to heavier reading and time for labs, Science usually takes closer to 6 hours/week for a credit, rather than the 4-5 hours/week for History.

 

How heavy is the school's homework load? I've assumed about 30-45 minutes per academic class per day (none for electives). So, for very general your daily scheduling, with (additional time for possible Spanish):

 

- 2.5 hours (3.5 hours) = school classes

- 0.5-1 hour (1.5 hours) = school homework

- 3.5 hours = homeschool 3 classes

 

So roughly, plan on 6.5 to 7 hours/day (no Spanish), or 8.5 hours/day (with Spanish), to include time for daily at school classes/commuting/transitioning, school homework, and accomplishing homeschool credits. Be sure to schedule time for the extracurriculars.

 

Some other tips for scheduling:

- plan a specific time in the evening each night for school homework

- some reading can be done in the evening or on weekends

- science seemed to go faster by planning a lab-only day once every 2-3 weeks, and "stacking" several labs on that one day

- double-dip some of your History and Writing assignments (counts for both)

- as much as possible, complete all one-on-one work with your other homeschooling children while older student is at school, so your time is open to work just with her as needed when she gets home

- I personally needed the weekend as a break, but, if you're really cramped for time due to the school hours and extracurriculars, then schedule a half-day on Saturdays

 

Modified block scheduling

Sometimes a modified "block schedule" can move you through subjects more efficiently, especially when a good chunk of your day has to be spent at the school. So if you have a block of 3-4 hours each day for home subjects, rotate:

 

Mon/Wed = 2 hours History, 1-2 hours English

Tues/Thurs = 2 hours Science, 1-2 hours English

Friday = 2 hours English, 1-2 hours finish History or Science

 

Some alternatives:

- spread out science -- do about 2/3 to 3/4 during the school year and finish the  1/4 to 1/3 as summer school

- do History this summer as summer school (although, that doesn't allow you to have all students working on the same time period at the same time)

- save Spanish for a future year, or do later as a dual enrollment course (1 semester college dual enrollment = 1 year of high school foreign language)

 

re: Informal Logic

How about enjoying the informal logic as a SUMMER fun "brain warm up" 3-4 times/week, either in the morning or after dinner? Maybe get some fun critical thinking/logic puzzles and games for the youngers, and enjoy all together over the summer?

 

Enjoy your educational adventures! Warmest regards, Lori D.