8th grade plan that could qualify as 9th

[maize]

I need to put together a plan for dd13 for this coming school year. She will be in 8th grade but is talking about possibly wanting to graduate early (birthday right after the local cut off so grade placement is a bit arbitrary) and I'd like to plan an 8th grade year that is high school worthy in case we later decide to re-characterize it as 9th grade.

 

The only thing settled at the moment is math, she recently started AOPS Introduction to Algebra (my mom tutors her online) and will continue to work through that until she is finished, which I understand will give her algebra 1 and part of what is normally considered algebra 2. We will probably continue with the AOPS sequence as she likes it.

 

I need science, history, and an English credit. Foreign language will be continuing with Chinese tutoring and adding in something for German as she has been asking to do--any recommendations on that would be great!

Edited April 26, 2017 by maize

[maize]

We could probably afford one online class but not more, so mostly I am looking for at-home resources. I'd be tempted to do either English or German online if anyone has a good recommendation. (I have some but limited German language background, pretty good literature and writing background but limited time! I'm comfortable with and enjoy most high school level science).

Edited April 26, 2017 by maize

[Soror]

Listening in as year after next could be 8th or 9th for us.

[fourisenough]

Listening in as year after next could be 8th or 9th for us.

Same for us. DD12 has an October birthday, so next year is either 7th or 8th and the following year is 8th or 9th, but I want it to be entirely credit-worthy to give us flexibility in the future. She's a pre-pro dancer, so there's a chance she'll want to leave home early to begin her career.

[Meriwether]

So, Dd13 did an 8th/9th grade year this year. It is a long story, but we unexpectedly started doing K with her soon after she turned four. In my inexperience, I called it K. A few years ago, I realized that she would be graduating about a week after she turned 17 and didn't like that at all. We have debated what to do since then. I wanted this year to be more less high school worthy just in case.

She is doing:

Jacobs Geometry

Latin I through Lukeion
Apologia Biology (We are half a year off on science so she'll finish sometime next school year. Hopefully, she will eventually catch up.)
TOG Year 2 R level for lit and history
Breaking the Barrier Spanish 1
A Tolkien study using LLLotR and other resources

[Soror]

So, Dd13 did an 8th/9th grade year this year. It is a long story, but we unexpectedly started doing K with her soon after she turned four. In my inexperience, I called it K. A few years ago, I realized that she would be graduating about a week after she turned 17 and didn't like that at all. We have debated what to do since then. I wanted this year to be more less high school worthy just in case.

 

She is doing:

 

Jacobs Geometry

Latin I through Lukeion

Apologia Biology (We are half a year off on science so she'll finish sometime next school year. Hopefully, she will eventually catch up.)

TOG Year 2 R level for lit and history

Breaking the Barrier Spanish 1

A Tolkien study using LLLotR and other resources

My very tentative plans are similar- Biology(maybe Miller-Levine), LLLoTR, Spanish, math depends on where we end up in Algebra.

[Zoo Keeper]

DIVE Integrated Chemistry and Physics was a good science for my 9th grader this year.  He struggled through the math bits (not the fault of the program- he struggles with all math), but we were both very happy with the rest of it.  I think a motivated 8th grader would be fine with it, since you can choose what text to use with the disc, and you can chose to do a regular or honors track.

 

He did it mostly independently--looking at your sig ;).

Edited April 26, 2017 by Zoo Keeper

[Garga]

Here's what my son has done for 9th, if it helps:

 

Science: Biology.  

CK12 materials--this is an online open source text with quizzes and worksheets.  

We also watch (for sort of fun) crash course videos that go along with whatever topics he's learning.  

I used The Illustrated Guide to Home Biology Experiments for his labs.  

I had bought a Biology Coloring book, but we didn't have time for that.  

 

History:  World History

Used a text called "World History, Our Human Story".  I read it ahead of time and write up notes.  I "lecture" to him from the notes. (He's an auditory learner, so hearing me say the materials before he reads it helps him.)

He reads the book, then answers the 2 or 3 "thought" questions at the front of each section.

Watched these three Great Courses:

A Brief History of the World

Turning Points in Modern History

High School World History

 

He answers the questions at the end of each lecture.

 

English:  

The Lost Tools of Writing

A high school Analytical Grammar book 

World Literature, reading these books, then writing an essay based on them following The Lost Tools of Writing as guidance:

The Epic of Gilgamesh

The Odyssey

The Thousand and One Arabian Nights

Don Quixote

The Three Musketeers

6 short stories by Russian Authors, and 2 poems by Russian authors

The Hiding Place

The Little World of Don Camillo

Picnic and Hanging Rock

 

Foreign Language:  Spanish

He takes a class at a local tutorial, taught by a retired French/Spanish public school teacher.

 

Math:  Geometry

We use myhomeschoolmathclass.com

 

Elective:  Astronomy

These Great Courses:
Understanding the Universe

Our Night Sky

 

He answers the questions at the end of the lectures

 

Books:

Death by Black Hole

The Stars by H.A. Rey

10 or 11 astronomy related activities (like making a to-scale model of the solar system that took about .25 of a mile

 

He joined a local astronomy club and attends their meetings each month.

 

Extra Curriculuar:

 

Baking cookies at home for the homeless

Karate lessons twice a week.

 

 

Job:

Working at McDonalds

 

Testing:

I had him take the PSAT in September, just to see what it's like to test in a strange environment.

He'll be taking the SAT II subject tests in World History and Biology this coming June.  We'll be doing test prep for that for a couple of hours a day starting in mid-May.  (His Bio and World history texts will be done, so we'll fill that time with prep.)

 

 

Edited April 26, 2017 by Garga

[Garga]

For high school, you need to be thinking in terms of credits and meeting the requirements for colleges. Look on a few college websites; they like to see 4 years of English, 2-3 (or 4) years of a Language...etc.  

 

A half credit is about 60 hours.

A full credit is 120-150 for a regular class, and 180 for a lab.  

 

The above is a guideline, but if you're doing only 20 hours of work in history, it's not a full credit.  

[Lori D.]

I need to put together a plan for dd13 for this coming school year. She will be in 8th grade but is talking about possibly wanting to graduate early (birthday right after the local cut off so grade placement is a bit arbitrary) and I'd like to plan an 8th grade year that is high school worthy in case we later decide to re-characterize it as 9th grade.

 

The only thing settled at the moment is math, she recently started AOPS Introduction to Algebra (my mom tutors her online) and will continue to work through that until she is finished, which I understand will give her algebra 1 and part of what is normally considered algebra 2. We will probably continue with the AOPS sequence as she likes it.

 

I need science, history, and an English credit. Foreign language will be continuing with Chinese tutoring and adding in something for German as she has been asking to do--any recommendations on that would be great!

 

Ultimately, if the goal is to be "college prep", you'll need to complete a basic list of credits required by a majority of universities for admission:

 

4 credits = English

4 credits = Math (up through Alg. 2 at least, and many times a 4th math above Alg. 2)

3-4 credits = Science

3-4 credits = Social Studies (1 = American History; 0.5 each = Econ and Gov't)

2-4 credits = Foreign Language (at least 2 credits = the same language)

1 credit = Fine Arts

4-8+ credits = Electives

22+ credits = total

 

Coming at it from the backwards angle -- if next year ends up being 8th grade rather than 9th, credits that could still be brought up from 8th grade include: Biology or above; Algebra 1 or above; high school level Foreign Language.  Sounds like you have Math and Foreign Language nicely covered, whether next year ends up being 8th or 9th.

 

If you also wanted to be able to "bring up" the Science credit in then you'd probably need to go with Biology, or perhaps a conceptual Physics (requires less Algebra than regular Physics). Physical Science is also a possibility, but would only count on the transcript if next year ends up being 9th grade -- it would not be a Science class to "bring up" from 8th grade, as about half the time Physical Science is the standard 8th grade class. You could also just explore personal interest topics and not worry about making this high school science for this next year, which would mean that if next year is 9th grade, your student would either have just 3 science credits, or, would take 2 science courses in 1 year later on in high school -- both are do-able options.

 

For History, English, Fine Arts, and Electives: for a high school credit in general, plan on working about 150 hours, using high school level materials. While those credits are NOT typically "brought up" from 8th grade, by starting out at that high school expectation and pace, that might help you and DD decide if she's ready for all-high school work next year, whether next year turns out to be 8th rather than 9th or ends up being 9th.

 

So that would be 5.5 to 7.0 credits, of which 3.0 credits could be "brought up" if next year is 8th, or all of which would count if next year is 9th:

 

1.0 credit = English (something that is 1/2 Lit., 1/2 Writing)

1.0 credit = Math: Algebra 1 (AoPS)

1.0 credit = Science (options for 9th grade: Biology, conceptual Physics, Physical Science)

1.0 credit = Social Studies (typical for 9th grade: World Geography or World History; and a number of other possibilities)

0.5-1.0 credit = Foreign Language: Chinese

0.5-1.0 credit = Foreign Language: German

0.5-1.0 credit = Elective ??

 

In helping you and DD decide what and how much is reasonable for her, a rough guide is that 1.0 credit = 1 hour of work per day. So if doing 5.5 credits, plan on 5.5 hours of work per day. If doing 7.0 credits, play on 7.0 hours of work per day. Here's a more detailed chart for helping you use hours for counting credits and for scheduling:

. . . . . . . . . . . .lite . . . average . . rigorous

1.00 credit = 120 . . . 150 . . . 180  hours

0.75 credit =   90 . . . 110 . . . 135  hours

0.66 credit =   80 . . . 100 . . . 120  hours

0.50 credit =   60 . . . . 75 . . . . 90  hours

0.33 credit =   40 . . . . 50 . . . . 60  hours

0.25 credit =   30 . . . . 35 . . . . 45  hours

 

As much as possible, you'll want your credits to be roughly equivalent, which is why I suggest going with the average of 150 hours = 1.0 credit; some credits will likely not take quite that much time, and others (like English with the reading/writing and Science with labs) tend to take more than that, so going with the average as your rough goal helps you stay more consistent.

 

Also, don't forget to schedule in time for extracurriculars for DD to explore personal interests, plus time for hobbies, family time, and just plain "do-nothing-down-time" for mental/emotional recovery.

 

As far as specific curriculum suggestions...

- Do you want Christian? secular? other? don't care?

- What are DD's interest areas (English? History? Math? Engineering? Hands-On/Outdoor Activities? other?)

- What is DD's learning style (living books? textbooks? video lessons? other?)

- What is your teaching style, or level of need for teaching supports and resources for which subjects?

- Do you want to outsource anything in particular?

 

Once we know a little more about what you're looking for and need, we can provide more specific curriculum ideas. :) BEST of luck in your planning! Warmest regards, Lori D.

Edited April 26, 2017 by Lori D.

[brookspr]

We were sort of making this year a "gap" year because of DS's late September birthday. He will be going to the public high school part-time next year, but wanted the option to be done in 4 years when he is 17, and using the "gap" year as his freshman year.

 

AoPS Intermediate Algebra and a little bit of Geometry this spring

Several Bravewriter Classes (Expository Essay 2x, John Steinbeck short course, Penning the Past)

Teaching the Classics  ( condensed version over the summer with additional novel reading)

Nature study (would call it botany)

Japanese I (online class)

Coursera classes in video game character development and work on his art tablet in creating his own League of Legends character

Homeschool band and private lessons

Theater classes and plays

 

The only thing we are really missing is history/social studies. We tried to follow a more interest led curriculum this year, letting him pick out what he wanted to study and what materials to use. I know, doesn't sound like much of a gap year  :crying: but we did everything in a much more relaxed format and, other than the online classes, I left it up to him what he wanted to accomplish and how much time he wanted to spend on a subject.