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wehave8

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Posts posted by wehave8

    Another RS Math question

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    Rightstart?  I haven't seen samples for Level F yet.

    Yes, it can be disjointed--quite deliberately so.

     

    For instance, there's work on counting by fives.  Then the next day is money--and nickels, which are by fives.  And then time, where there's a focus on how many minutes are between each large number--five.  That kind of thing.

     

    And, yes, sometimes it switches topics completely for a while.  That's generally deliberate too, to allow the information to sort of work in the background for a while before coming back to it and moving on.

    You are right.  Level F samples are not out yet.  I made a mistake.  I have been looking at the C-E and Geometry the most.

     

    I am eagerly awaiting F.

     

     

    Pam

    Another RS Math question

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    Does RS seem disjointed or choppy to you?  I have been studying over the samples for Levels C and F, but it is hard to get the big picture.

     

    I thought I was decided on MM and using some RS along with it, but I haven't finalized that in stone yet.

     

     

    Pam

    My decision on math... (Order Placed!)

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted · Edited by wehave8

    ds 8th... VideoText Algebra (continue from last year)

    ds 7th... Start VideoText Algebra

    ds 4th... Math Mammoth

     

    We will do 4 days/week in the programs I listed and 1 day/week with...

    RightStart Activities for AL Abacus and Math Card Games

     

    Just had to write it down and see how it looked.   :)

    I'm making out our weekly schedule for next year and I needed to settle on a plan that I could afford both in time and money.

     

     

    Pam

    • Like 3

    Don't like how W&R teaches outlining, stay or leave?

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    I am not sure what the negative reviews for Chreia say, but I can tell you why I liked it and why I recommend trying it.

     

    - It is definitely the first book in the series that is intended for a logic-stage student. The student learns the difference between literal and figurative language, and they are expected to be able to say in their own words what the figurative language or saying actually means.

     

    - It has the student writing a variety of types of paragraphs every week...compare, contrast, praise, definition, persuasive, and closing. It might seem to get repetetive after a while since each lesson requires those same paragraph types, but by the end of the book the student will be able to write a paragraph of each of these types really, really well.

     

    - It really makes the student think. The Talk About It section each week is full of "why" questions, so the student gets lots of practice formulating an opinion and supporting it. The compare and contrast paragraphs require the student to think of an example from literature or history as a comparison or contrast to the individual the chreia is about, so they begin to make connections between people and critically compare their actions and the results.

     

    The book says it is for 4th-5th grades, but I would imagine most 4th graders and some 5th graders would struggle with these skills. I used it with my middle child at the beginning of 6th grade, and it was the perfect timing for her. I am on track with my youngest to use it at that same point.

    Thanks for pointing out all these pros.  Now we have something to weigh against some of the cons to see how it might balance out for us.

     

    Pam

    • Like 1

    Don't like how W&R teaches outlining, stay or leave?

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    This has been true for my DS - my plan for 7th is to be through book 6. It is the perfect place for him. He does advanced grammar, he is an excellent speller, he reads challenging books, he writes beautiful creative pieces, but academic writing is where we need to focus. This program keeps his interest, keeps him thinking, doesn't pander, and has enough variety so as to neither overwhelm or become boring. There is also a different underlying focus, you can tell, than simply reaching rhetorical milestones. It cultivates beauty, virtue, wisdom, and truth along the way.

    You probably already said (sorry for losing track :001_smile:) , but what will you use after W&R?

     

    Pam

    Lit./Comp. Grades 7 & 8... I have to decide on a game plan!

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    Based on my research, but not experience, I didn't think BTBR would have enough composition work. I determined from reading threads that it's more of a gentle intro into literary analysis, without much actual writing. 

     

    You own the Writing and Rhetoric now? I haven't seen their upper levels, but I imagine that would be more solid for composition work. I wish I could help more--I"m trying to decide on Lit and Comp for 8th grade myself--how I've read recently on BTBR. 

    I got W&R Level 3.  I talked to the rep. for quite some time, and she thought it would be a good place to start.  for the 7th grader.  He has been weak in writing.  I also got Level 2 for our 4th grader.  I wasn't sure what I wanted for our 8th grader.  I didn't even look at their upper levels.  I wish i would have spent more time there.  

     

    how I've read recently on BTBR. 

     

    I hear you!!!!  :)

     

    Pam

    Lit./Comp. Grades 7 & 8... I have to decide on a game plan!

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

     

    Toss-up...
    Unless someone throws a loop into this   :tongue_smilie: ...
     
    1.  Writing and Rhetoric, Essentials in Literature, AG
     
    2.  Beyond the Book Report and AG
     
    If I choose #2, would BtBR cover all the writing and lit. needed for 7-9th grades?
     
     
    Pam

     

    I have to decide this weekend.

    I bought W&R at the homeschool convention, which I can send back if I decide to go with #2.  I also have a chance to get EiL used, at a good price, if I go with #1.

    :confused1:  :confused1:  :confused1:  :confused1:  :confused1:

    Do I need writing in addition to Analytical Grammar

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    The majority of high school writing is usually geared around prep for writing required in college. So high school Writing tends to focus on:

    - essay writing of various types

    - research paper with citations

    - science lab reports

    - writing for study skills -- various types of note-taking from lectures; possible outlining/note-taking from textbooks

    - specialized essay writing -- timed SAT/ACT essays from prompts; college admission essays; scholarship application

     

    Very helpful in high school Writing is also exposure to real life writing:

    - writing for public speaking and presentations (esp. with power-point/slideshow aspect)

    - resume and cover letter

    - business letters

     

    I do not know of any one writing program that covers ALL of that, plus walks the student through the process of writing (brainstorming, organizing, rough draft, revision, proof-editing, final version). Various programs are strong with different aspects of the writing process and/or with different types of writing.

     

    Unless your student has a love/interest in creative writing, by high school that component is usually dropped. So, from your BtBR materials, you can drop: poetry, drama, sonnet, haiku, narrative poem, and limerick. And high school Writing does not focus on personal writing, so you could likely drop the journal report portion. (If your students are VERY behind in Writing -- i.e., struggle to write a complete paragraph, have not written multi-paragraph essays or several-page papers, then you may want to use something detailed/foundational before BtBR.)

     

    That leaves the following units in BtBR which would be helpful towards high school Writing:

    - paraphrase, summary, basic report writing, research paper = all of which contribute towards research paper with citations

    - essays = which would contribute towards writing various types of essays

    - oral reports = which would contribute towards future prep of presentations for college classes or jobs

    - pamphlet report, news articles = optional; could contribute towards possible jobs

     

     

    If the units in BtBR that I just outlined in the paragraph above help get you from the ground floor to high school level of writing by the end of a year, in an orderly, detailed way that "clicks" for both of your students, then pull it off the shelf and use what you have.

     

    Otherwise, JMO, but Writing is an absolutely critical/foundational skill for virtually all future types of jobs (whether college is in the picture or not), that if BtBR was only going to do a spotty job at getting my students up to speed, then I'd put it back on the shelf and buy whatever WOULD get the students up to speed. Momto2Ns suggestion of Power in Your Hands is a great one for covering most of what you need in one year.

     

    Or, if your students need to start with how to think of what to say and how to organize their thoughts and how to write multi-paragraph essays and reports, then start first with Jump In -- skip the "free write prompts" -- in fact, you can just get one student book, skip the teacher book, and have both DSs do their writing on loose leaf paper or a notebook -- or better yet, typed and printed out. That way you only need 1 book. Also, you can go through it at a pretty quick pace with older students -- and if you skip the "free writes" (trust me, the prompts are very lame and very repetitive) and also the last two units on creative writing (narrative and poetry), you will likely be ready for Power in Your Hands (the high school level) by about 1/2 to 2/3 of the way through next year, and you'll have a very solid writing foundation established. Both programs can be largely done by the student, and are each relatively inexpensive. Both do a good job of helping the student with the process of writing, organizing, supporting your points, and in covering a variety of types of writing.

     

    If you have limited time and have to choose between instruction in Grammar and Writing, go for the Writing. By high school, that is how Grammar actually shows up anyways -- in the student's writing, and in their speaking. Also, as an aid in foreign language study (word placement, verb tense, first/second/third person, pronouns, direct and indirect objects, etc.). If your student(s) need some Grammar in high school, a light Grammar review/remediation can be folded in on the side and practiced with the student's actual Writing. Sounds like you already own Analytical Grammar? You can use either the 2-year or 3-year schedule to lighten up how much time you need to spend on Grammar each week to give you more time to focus on Writing.  

     

    Killgallon's paragraph writing for Middle School or for High School would work as a remedial kick-starter for Writing, and they include just a bit of Grammar.

     

    For future years, once you get your "writing feet" under you this next year:

     

    For Business Writing, you might look at Jensen's Format Writing. It does have an *extremely* bare bones instruction for the basic writing process, so I do not recommend it for that aspect esp. if you have struggling writers or new/behind writers. But it has useful   examples of Business Writing that most other programs do not have.

     

    For writing a literary analysis essay, you might look at Windows to the World, a 1-semester Literature program, but that also includes Writing, and one of the best, straight-forward, step-by-step explanations of how to write a literary analysis essay that I've seen.

     

    For essay writing, you might look at the Elegant Essay, and for research paper writing, you might look at Writing Research Papers: The Essential Tools, from IEW.

     

     

    Two free supplemental resources that might be helpful: the OWL (Online Writing Lab) at Purdue, with articles on every writing and grammar subject, and Essay Wizard for info on writing a variety of different types of 5-paragraph essays, with some samples and some suggested writing assignment ideas.

    This has a wealth of information in it for mapping out a writing plan!  This should be x-posted on the K-8 board for those looking ahead.  :)  I'm glad I found it.

    Thank you, Lori D.!!!

     

    Pam

    Lit./Comp. Grades 7 & 8... I have to decide on a game plan!

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted · Edited by wehave8

    First... I was looking for a Lit. program.  
    I thought I was narrowing this down to 2 choices..
    1. Essentials in Literature
    2. Excellence in Lit.

    Then... it rolled over into a search for writing.   
    I found...
    1. Writing & Rhetoric
    2. Beyond the Book Report

    Now... I don't know what I want!   :confused1: 

    I was not looking for grammar (I thought we had that one covered), but BtBR with AG looks like a great combo!

    Any objections?   :001_smile: 

    Please help with reviews, pros, & cons!!!

     

    Pam

    • Like 1

    Composition and Lit 8th grade help?

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    Excellence in Lit  starts in 8th grade & offers five years worth of material. You can do them in any order, jumping in & out as you wish. You can pair modules of different 'years' of material with other modules of different 'years' of material all you like. Someone took all the books in the five years of material & color coded them by the 4-year history rotation, showing how you could pick & choose from the different levels.

     

    DD#1 used 4-5 of the units from the American Lit level and then I filled in with short stories & other books to make a full literature credit for her 9th grade year. There are nine modules (covering one book/author - with another book as 'honors'), I think, in each level - with the idea you cover a book per month. Each module is stand alone, so you can use one, two, five, or all nine modules in a book. I've never used the Honors option, so I don't know anything about it other than I know there is another book listed for each module. I don't know if you do that book in addition or instead of the regular book.

     

    I think there are samples available either on the website I linked, IEW's site (American Lit sample), or Rainbow Resources. There is no separate teacher book. It is written to the student. It is pretty inexpensive, but again, there is really no writing taught in the actual program.

     

    There is also Analytical Grammar's Beyond the Book Report and Sharon Watson's The Power in Your Hands. I haven't used either one, but if you haven't found what you are looking for, those are two more to investigate.

    I just talked to them at IEW.  They said they do not have a Lit. program for 7-8 grade.  Is Excellence in Lit not an IEW product?  

     

    Pam

    So...you are heading to convention....

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted · Edited by wehave8

    Nice! I opted not to go because Lancaster is a lot farther for me than Harrisburg, and I didn't really need anything to justify the time and money.

    It was a little farther for me, too (5 1/2 hr. drive), but I go as a vendor for ECHSDA (Erie County Home School Diploma Association).  My DIL goes with me and we take turns at our booth and looking around.

     

     

    Pam

    • Like 1
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