How would you combine these resources into two credits?

[Melissa B]

I need to prepare a transcript with grades for my dd going into 7th grade. This is what she is doing for English this coming year. I need to combine it into two clear credits - how would you do this? What would you combine and what would you title the credits? Should I give one credit for Composition and use the WTMA grade and one credit for Literature using a combination of the WTMA grade and a home grade for additional literature and just ignore the grammar, handwriting and spelling studies? 

 

WTMA - Writing with Skill Level 2 (all year)

WTMA - Socratic Discussion (one semester)

Hake Grammar 8 (first half of book)

Megawords (two maybe three levels if continued over summer)

Literature (currently have a list of 30 books - I need to reduce this to how many ????)

Pentime 7 (her choice, she writes all of her school notes in cursive and wants to improve her penmanship)

 

[regentrude]

Writing (includes all language mechanics, grammar, spelling, handwriting, and composition)

Literature (includes all reading, book discussions, book reports etc)

[lisabees]

Yup!  I agree with regentrude.

[Lori D.]

I need to prepare a transcript with grades for my dd going into 7th grade… I need to combine it into two clear credits - how would you do this? What would you combine and what would you title the credits?

 

First, just curious ;):

- why the need for formal "credits" in 7th grade?

- and why do you need two credits?

 

Typically, up through 8th grade, all of the things you list fall under the subject heading of "Language Arts", as students are spending a large amount of time on a variety of topics. The high school grades is when "Language Arts" streamlines and becomes "English", which is usually half Literature, half Composition/Writing, with just a little Grammar, Vocabulary, or Spelling thrown in as needed.

 

And, at the high school level, a typical English credit, because of the extra time needed for the reading and writing, runs 150 to 180 hours for 1.0 credit (so about 75 to 90 hours for 1 semester/0.5 credit). Don't know about approximate hours for a typical middle school credit, since credits are not typically used for elementary or middle school...

 

Anyways, based on your list of materials, I'd go with something like this:

 

For a transcript (which lists courses, credits earned, and grades earned):

1.0 credit = Literature

1.0 credit = Grammar & Composition

 

For a course description (describes goals of the course and resources used to accomplish the course):

 

Literature

- 1 semester = formal literature study, WTMA Socratic Discussion

- 1 semester = formal literature study, classic Literature book list

- supplemental: literary analysis (there is a small amount in Writing with Skill)

 

Grammar & Composition

- 1 semester = grammar, Hake Grammar 8

- supplemental: spelling: Megawords

- 1 semester = composition, WTMA Writing with Skill 2

- supplemental: penmanship: Pentime 7

 

 

...Should I … use the WTMA grade … and a home grade for additional literature and just ignore the grammar, handwriting and spelling studies? 

 

If you end up considering the Handwriting and Spelling as supplemental, then yes, you would not include those in your grading. Since the Grammar would make up 1 semester (0.5 credit) I would definitely grade that. So, grades for 3 of the 4 semesters should be pretty easy:

- 0.5 credit Grammar = parent grading of exercises/quizzes/tests in Hake Grammar

- 0.5 credit Composition = WTMA Writing with Skill 2 class grade

- 0.5 credit Literature = WTMA Socratic Discussion class grade

 

For a grade for the remaining 0.5 credit Literature from reading classic books, either use a Lit. program (maybe half of Lightning Lit 8 for example) and grade based on the work pages, writing assignments and discussion, OR, if you want to totally DIY like you would for high school, first select books and then determine a grade based on student participation in researching background info on the author/work/times; reading and discussing/analyzing the works; and output: short written paragraphs of answers to discussion questions, reader response papers, literary analysis essays, projects, etc.

 

 

Just my 2 cents worth! I'm sure there is more than one way to do it. :) Warmest regards, Lori D.

 

 

Edited July 24, 2016 by Lori D.

[Melissa B]

Writing (includes all language mechanics, grammar, spelling, handwriting, and composition)

Literature (includes all reading, book discussions, book reports etc)

 

 

Yup!  I agree with regentrude.

 

 

Would you attempt to grade all of the things that would be listed under writing (Hake grammar, Megawords, Pentime) or just take the grade from the WTMA class, call it Writing and be done?

[Melissa B]

 

First, just curious ;):

- why the need for formal "credits" in 7th grade?

- and why do you need two credits?

 

 

Anyways, based on your list of materials, I'd go with something like this:

 

For a transcript (which lists courses, credits earned, and grades earned):

1.0 credit = Literature

1.0 credit = Grammar & Composition

 

For a course description (describes goals of the course and resources used to accomplish the course):

 

Literature

- 1 semester = formal literature study, WTMA Socratic Discussion

- 1 semester = formal literature study, classic Literature book list

- supplemental: literary analysis (there is a small amount in Writing with Skill)

 

Grammar & Composition

- 1 semester = grammar, Hake Grammar 8

- supplemental: spelling: Megawords

- 1 semester = composition, WTMA Writing with Skill 2

- supplemental: penmanship: Pentime 7

 

 

 

 

If you end up considering the Handwriting and Spelling as supplemental, then yes, you would not include those in your grading. Since the Grammar would make up 1 semester (0.5 credit) I would definitely grade that. So, grades for 3 of the 4 semesters should be pretty easy:

- 0.5 credit Grammar = parent grading of exercises/quizzes/tests in Hake Grammar

- 0.5 credit Composition = WTMA Writing with Skill 2 class grade

- 0.5 credit Literature = WTMA Socratic Discussion class grade

 

For a grade for the remaining 0.5 credit Literature from reading classic books, either use a Lit. program (maybe half of Lightning Lit 8 for example) and grade based on the work pages, writing assignments and discussion, OR, if you want to totally DIY like you would for high school, first select books and then determine a grade based on student participation in researching background info on the author/work/times; reading and discussing/analyzing the works; and output: short written paragraphs of answers to discussion questions, reader response papers, literary analysis essays, projects, etc.

 

 

Just my 2 cents worth! I'm sure there is more than one way to do it. :) Warmest regards, Lori D.

 

 

 

Thanks, Lori. I like this plan!

 

I need the transcript because dd plans to apply to a selective/competitive high school program and applications with transcripts have to be submitted mid-8th grade. They do not admit many homeschoolers. So 7th grade documentation is important. Otherwise I definitely wouldn't bother. :)

 

She doesn't need two credits of English. I just feel like this is much more than 1 credit of 7th grade language arts work and want it accurately documented to show what she has done. The two WTMA classes will run at least 180 hours with the outside class work. Grammar/spelling/handwriting will add another 60+ hours and the additional literature at least 150 hours.

 

I like the layout of a Grammar & Composition credit and a Literature credit. Should I separate the Literature credit into two half credits - Socratic Discussion and Literature or lump it all together? 

 

Middle school transcripts seem more difficult to pull together than high school.

[regentrude]

Would you attempt to grade all of the things that would be listed under writing (Hake grammar, Megawords, Pentime) or just take the grade from the WTMA class, call it Writing and be done?

 

Oh heck no - I would never deal with dozens of grades! One grade that characterizes her overall performance. If you have an outsourced grade, you can use that.

 

Really, does it matter how you create grades for 7th grade? If she deserves an A, give her an A, done.

Edited July 24, 2016 by regentrude

[lisabees]

In our public middle school, 7th graders have two blocks of English - one is called Reading and the other is called Language Arts.

 

I don't grade, but...I would just list the Writing Class grade to make it easy. :)

[Melissa B]

In our public middle school, 7th graders have two blocks of English - one is called Reading and the other is called Language Arts.

 

I don't grade, but...I would just list the Writing Class grade to make it easy. :)

 

Thanks for mentioning this!! I just looked at our county school website and that is what the middle schools here have as well. I just assumed they would all have one credit of Language Arts. So I definitely want two English credits as that is what most of the kids applying are likely to have! That's a relief, as it fits better with our plans.

[Lori D.]

 

Literature (currently have a list of 30 books - I need to reduce this to how many ????)

 

I forgot to address this question, but then you added this:

 

 

...The two WTMA classes will run at least 180 hours with the outside class work.

...Grammar/spelling/handwriting will add another 60+ hours

...and the additional literature at least 150 hours

 

WAAYYY too much Lit time for one credit -- you've got 90 hours from the ONE WTMA Socratic Discussion class PLUS 150 hours for the additional literature. That's 240 hours, which is easily 1.5 credits. Just, no. Please don't make you child hate school. Or you. ;)

 

Definitely cut that 150 hours of additional literature in HALF. Don't worry about doing more than maybe 70 hours, AND, I'd just pick 3-4 books to lightly discuss (to keep up the skills learned in the Socratic Discussion class), and some (not all!!) of the remaining books can just be read for exposure and pleasure. JMO!

 

You have a good balance for the Grammar & Composition credit -- 90 hours for WTMA WWS 2 class + 60 hours for Hake / Megawords / Pentime. And definitely allow yourselves permission to stop once you hit about 60 hours.

 

Also, if you can, it would be very nice on your student to do just ONE WTMA class each semester, to spread out the heavy hours that are required by those classes, and each semester balance one heavy class with the opposite topic's lighter at-home work. For example:

 

fall semester:

Literature = WTMA Socratic Discussion

Grammar & Composition = at-home Hake, supplements of Megawords and Pentime 7

 

spring semester:

Literature = gentle amount of pleasure reading/exposure reading, discuss just 3-4 books

Grammar & Composition = WWS 2

 

 

So, in answer to your original question about cutting the 30 books on your list -- yes, do cut. Have your student pick just 3-4 that the student wants to discuss, and the rest can be considered "book basket" -- enjoy as many or as few as it works out, and you can slop over any unread books to the following year. Or student can enjoy later in life on their own. Really, it's okay -- we can NOT read everything, and many books are better if we get a little maturity and life experience under the belt to better appreciate them. :)

Edited July 24, 2016 by Lori D.

[Lori D.]

...I need the transcript because dd plans to apply to a selective/competitive high school program and applications with transcripts have to be submitted mid-8th grade. They do not admit many homeschoolers. So 7th grade documentation is important...

 

Got it! Totally makes sense. And BEST of luck in applying for the high school! :)

[RootAnn]

Lori- just a clarification. The WWS class runs all year, making it difficult to do just one class if she wants to do the Soc Disc class, too. And it would be a full credit in your post that breaks the descriptions up.

 

OP, I'd just use the WWS grade unless you feel like it doesn't reflect the extra work she did for you outside of class.

[Ellie]

In our public middle school, 7th graders have two blocks of English - one is called Reading and the other is called Language Arts.

 

I don't grade, but...I would just list the Writing Class grade to make it easy. :)

 

Once I finished 6th grade, I never had anything called "Language Arts." Seventh grade in Corpus Christi, Texas, was also Reading and English. Reading included all sorts of cool things: actual work on improving our reading skills, plus awesome vocabulary, a unit on newspapers (vocabulary related to newspapers, political cartoons, how to read the stock market pages, how to actually fold and read a newspaper), how to research (using the library, of course), and more. I loved that class. English included literature (different genres), creative writing, memorizing poetry, grammar.

[Lori D.]

Lori- just a clarification. The WWS class runs all year, making it difficult to do just one class if she wants to do the Soc Disc class, too. And it would be a full credit in your post that breaks the descriptions up...

 

Thanks for the clarification RootAnn! I missed that in the original post. :) I assumed both of the WTMA classes were 1 semester courses -- oops!  :blushing:

 

With this clarification, then it sounds like OP will possibly want to re-think the extras she wants to do at-home and only add them in after seeing how the classes go, as the 2 WTMA classes may really take up all available time for all the Language Arts topics...

Edited July 25, 2016 by Lori D.

[Melissa B]

I'm going to go with Lori's original plan. WWS will be about 140 hours add the grammar, spelling, handwriting for an additional 60 hours. I'll max that class at 200 hours and call it Grammar & Writing. Then the Socratic Discussion class will run around 40 hours plus the additional literature at 150 hours and I'll call that class Literature (again maxed at 200 hours.) Literature is a fairly painless class at our house and takes place in the hour before bedtime Monday - Thursday. My son will read for his full hour and continue long into the night if I don't check on him. However, dd usually has her light out and is asleep before the hour is even up.  :D I'll add three or four literature analysis papers to make sure she has a handle on them and to add to her portfolio and call it done. We generally school 200 days so that works out to an average of one hour per day per credit for the year.

 

ETA: I love this board! It seems simple now, but I couldn't wrap my head around it yesterday.

Edited July 25, 2016 by Melissa B

[Lori D.]

... WWS will be about 140 hours add the grammar, spelling, handwriting for an additional 60 hours. I'll max that class at 200 hours and call it Grammar & Writing. Then the Socratic Discussion class will run around 40 hours plus the additional literature at 150 hours and I'll call that class Literature (again maxed at 200 hours.)… We generally school 200 days so that works out to an average of one hour per day per credit for the year...

 

The only thing I would change in your plan is to make your max 180 hours rather than 200 hours. That 180 hours is the max for HIGH SCHOOL credits. And since you're talking middle school here, I personally would drop that max down to 150-160 hours… But since you're shooting for entry into a competitive high school -- AND if your student can handle the rigor -- then you could use high school standards for your middle school to get ready for the high school load across the subjects with this one subject.

 

The other reason I'd drop it down to no more than 180 hours is to give yourself a little breathing room and flexibility in case of illness, or life circumstances popping up unexpectedly, or if you student needs more breaks and time to get used to the WTMA classes, or if your student hits a rough patch in any subject and needs that built-in flex time for slowing down or having more time to focus on the struggle area by dropping another subject for a short while. You school 200 days of the year -- give yourself the option of taking 1 out of every 10 days off on the heavy Lit. & Writing. ;)

 

Also, middle school is about your last window of opportunity to pursue interesting bunny trails or try out activities of personal interest, as high school becomes so much about academics and fulfilling specific credits and college prep. It's very nice to leave yourself some wiggle-room in the schedule to be able to include those unexpected things as they pop up on your horizon.

 

I'd recommend going through your at-home materials and book lists and marking some with an asterisk in advance, so that if you've hit a "slow down" patch, you know you can skip those and get back onto your schedule, and you'll feel fine with that because you decided in advance what could be skipped if needed. :)

 

Be sure to leave time to breathe, and esp. to ENJOY your last 1-2 years of homeschooling together! Warmest regards, Lori D.

Edited July 26, 2016 by Lori D.

[fourisenough]

Sounds like you've figured out your transcript, but I just wanted to speak up to say my DD will be doing WTMA WWS2 and Socratic Discussion also. Will be a busy year, but we're both excited about it. My recent grad was drooling over the Socratic Discussion syllabus when I showed it to her; it contains many of her favorite short works.

[Melissa B]

Sounds like you've figured out your transcript, but I just wanted to speak up to say my DD will be doing WTMA WWS2 and Socratic Discussion also. Will be a busy year, but we're both excited about it. My recent grad was drooling over the Socratic Discussion syllabus when I showed it to her; it contains many of her favorite short works.

 

They might have a class together. 

 

I would not say my daughter is excited about the classes. She is more a math/science kid. But, she took WWS I last year and preferred it to writing papers for me. She is very social and enjoys the discussion portions of her online classes. To her, the best part about short stories is that they are not long stories.  :001_rolleyes:

[fourisenough]

They might have a class together.

 

I would not say my daughter is excited about the classes. She is more a math/science kid. But, she took WWS I last year and preferred it to writing papers for me. She is very social and enjoys the discussion portions of her online classes. To her, the best part about short stories is that they are not long stories. :001_rolleyes:

Lol! I think my DD loved the social aspect also. And she totally adored Mr. Hummel's sense of humor, manner with his students, and the workshop method overall.