1Togo
-
Posts
1,640 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Blogs
Classifieds
Store
Posts posted by 1Togo
-
-
Credits Before College, Cheri Frame, offers lesson plans for a college-level psychology course using an inexpensive textbook. In addition, the course preps the student for the psychology CLEP.
-
A journal idea using Adler's 103 Great Ideas.
Paragraph 1 – 7th, 8th, 9th
Identify the Great Idea and summarize/paraphrase what the author has to say about it.
Paragraph 2 – 10th
Analyze/compare the reading selection with what the author has to say about the Great Idea in another place in the text or with another text.
Paragraph 3 – 11th
What difference would this make or not make in something you are thinking about doing or not doing? Why?
In class, five-paragraph essay on Friday.
-
1
-
-
-
My post about being validated for handwriting wasn't completely serious. I saw the article that Lisa linked but didn't even read it. I am old and old-fashioned. I grew up in the day when handwriting; i.e. block printing and cursive for me, was part of English and considered part of a good education. I followed through with that for our dc. As regards handwriting and typing on a screen, I do think they are different processes. By high school and beyond, all of us write or type according to the nature of the work.
-
2
-
-
Contact Mr. Zimmerman of TabletClass math.
-
2
-
-
I wouldn't pick more than one book by an author, although I just read "The Hobbit" and "Lord of the Rings" (in four days) and loved them once again. Every one of them would many, many issues to explore.
To begin - one of Tolkein's books
Once and Future King
Connecticut Yankee in King Authur's Court
Ivanhoe
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Hamlet
Julius Caesar
You don't need to stay in a time period though, and I wouldn't. Any good literature with well-developed characters, even children's books, are suitable. One Circe apprentice revisited childhood classics for LToW I -- Wind in the Willows, etc.
-
1
-
-
-
-
We have used Literary Lessons as well. I wouldn't try to combine LToW with Literary Lessons. Pick 8 books that you want your son to read. He will write an essay o each of those books. LToW I will keep him busy because he will writing a piece, which involves learning new skills and revision, while beginning reading a book for the next essay. I would just focus on doing LToW and doing it well.
As regards free writing, you have the idea. The student writes about a topic, a prompt, etc. Free writes are usually timed - 5, 10, 15... minutes. Then, the student may use that free write for a piece. However, the free write isn't always edited and shaped into a piece. A free write may only have one idea worth saving. It's such a different process than the process used with LToW.
-
2
-
-
Yes, we have used H4HS at home, and it worked well. It is written to the student, so the student reads the material, annotates, and completes the assignments. You provide input. However, I love Bravewriter classes because my children can see the writing of their peers. It's a matter of stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. Sometimes writing at home without seeing the work of peers is like writing at the bottom of an empty drum. As regards WttW, most of the heavy Christian content is in projects that can be skipped. I have lots of lit materials on my shelves, and I always go back to WttW because it is so clear and straightforward, step-by-step. I just haven't found anything else that isn't too vague or written with assumptions about the student's background. It's one thing to discuss a book and another to write a reasoned paper on it.
-
The recent studies on hand versus typed writing are amusing to me. I have always required hand writing for almost everything, and I have been accused of being behind the times, old fashioned, and even mocked. I am now validated.
-
2
-
-
Consolidated several rambling posts to one.
-
Btw, free writing won't have good form and form isn't the point. The free write is a place for raw, open-ended writing. If the writer chooses, the free write can be used as the basis for a polished piece.
-
1
-
-
LTOW and Bravewriter are different approaches. However, Bravewriter at the high school level doesn't rely so much on free writes. I would still begin with LTOW. Don't worry too much about the literature. Just choose classics at your child's reading level. Each LTOW paper is written about an issue from a novel, i.e. Should Mole live with Rat? Should Gandalf have chosen Bilbo? A lot of thinking goes into reasoning through those issues. The first papers are basic and simple. The final paper is a complete persuasive essay, and complexity depends on the student.
-
2
-
-
Tablet Class Math
-
1
-
-
We love Lukeion, but Latin 3 has been very time consuming -- 3 to 4 hours per day, including work on weekends. Dd studies for tests and NLE, works daily on translations; i.e. about 20 lines per day, and she is usually working on a Word Study paper and peer reviews. In addition, she has needed to review grammar. Other students may not need this, but dd does in order to make good grades.
-
Robin,
I would use Bravewriter H4HS followed by Windows to the World from IEW. WttW is not secular, but it is the best intro lit analysis I have found. If your son masters the concepts in these, he will be ready for more advanced work. Btw, Bravewriter has an essay class beginning in two weeks. Worth every penny.
Btw, H4HS and WttW are straightforward and easy to use. If you and your child are tired, etc., materials that go from Point A to Point B are best.
-
1
-
-
derecksurfs,
I guess I don't see Bravewriter classes or materials as open-ended. If you have a high school student who has some writing background and is ready to learn essays, then begin there. Use either "Help for High School" to teach at home or Kidswrite Intermediate followed by the Expository Essay class. If your student has mastered essays and can write essays across the curriculum, then classes like Literature Analysis, Textual Analysis, and Advanced Research are appropriate. Scheduling 3 or 4 classes and practicing the forms that are learned is a full year. Students prepping for ACT/SAT can work the Timed Essay course into the mix.
Fwiw, I also don't see the material in "The Writer's Jungle" as open-ended either. TWJ teaches the student to decide on a topic, narrow the topic, write about the topic, and polish the writing to presentation level. In the back of TWJ, Julie offers suggestions for a project per month based on the student's writing level. If you have several students working at the same level, they could each work on the same project to make life easier for the mentor.
At least before the more structured high school courses, Julie's method of teaching writing may seem a bit daunting to home school parents because it doesn't follow the typical "here is the lesson, teach it, and do it" format that is familiar to us. Just beginning a writing piece with a free write can be mind blowing for a parent. For example, your child loves, loves, loves wolves and decides to write a piece on wolves. So, you ask him to write a free write about wolves, and the outcome is a jumble of thoughts and ideas. As the writing coach, you then have to help your student sort through what is written and determine what can be used. Is there an idea that can make a good intro, a solid conclusion? Does the student need to do some research? It's a different process than research, take notes, write an outline, write the body paragraphs, write the intro & conclusion, etc. etc. However, our children have written lovely pieces using this process. I must admit, though, that I needed to see the process modeled by Bravewriter teachers before I understood it. II need to add that the process really makes sense to me now because what TWJ teaches is my writing goal. If my student goes through a writing curriculum and still can't choose a topic, narrow the topic, and write an interested piece about the topic, then she is wedded to teacher-driven assignments.
-
3
-
-
Fwiw, Cindy's Progym materials are quite challenging. Other options -- IEW's Theme-based Progym or the first four levels of the progym; i.e. Fable, Narrative, Chreia/Maxim, and Refutation/Confirmation using materials with dvds from Memoria Press: 1st six weeks - Fable; 2nd six weeks - Narrative; 3rd six weeks - Chreia; 4th six weeks - Maxim; 5th six weeks - Refutation; 6th six weeks - Confirmation. You might not achieve mastery, but you will have covered the core of the progym. Expect to spend an hour per day. You could add Bravewriter Movie Club or Boomerang for literature. So, a credit for English and a credit for literature.
Just throwing out ideas.
-
3
-
-
Since this is your daughter's last year of high school and you want to make sure that you get the transcript boxes checked without any problems, I would use the Chemistry portion of PAC's Integrated Chemistry & Physics, which was suggested in another post. We have used PAC in the past, and their courses are excellent for earning credits without distraction. The student can do the work independently, and there is nothing to put together; i.e. Point A to Point B. I would also take a look at Tablet Class math (I am becoming a broken record about TC, but it's been so good for dd.), and call the author. We began TC with Pre-Algebra and are now studying Algebra 2 and Geometry. Dd gets weekly, online tutoring with the author.
Since your dd is behind and struggling with math, i would make the science credit easy and streamlined and focus your daughter's mental energy on math. Fwiw, whenever I get anxious about what dd hasn't done or may not do to the standards on this list or even with her peers, I remind myself of regentrude's posts about the reason many freshman, physics students fail her class. It's not because they didn't take physics in high school. Instead, it's their poor algebra skills. If your daughter goes the cc route, she will need math, and the more secure she is with math; the better.
Also, I don't know the overall picture of your dd's senior year, but it's usually hectic, so I would suggest prioritizing. What is most important? How much time will be needed on a daily basis for the important things? What is git 'er done? What materials will make that happen?
Oops! After I posted, I saw you decided on Astronomy, but I am leaving my post for other readers. It's what I needed to read two years ago.
-
1
-
-
-
Hi Lisa,
I don't know enough about the topic to give a thumbs up or down, although the topic is timely and interesting. I do want to mention that Julie Bogart's "Help for High School" essay curriculum includes instructions for an Exploratory Essay. The process for this essay includes informal writing and exploration of a topic of interest. If your son did something like this, he would find out if the arms topic can go further, and he could document the process of either scratching the topic or going forward. It is a blessing to have the time to work through the process. H4HS also has a "Keen Observation of an Idea" exercise that is useful for determining what the student knows or perceives about a topic before beginning the research process. Both of these are adaptations of college-level materials. Btw, Julie also has a packet on "Textual Analysis," which your son can use with articles he finds during the research process. Oh yes, you might want to take a look at materials on National History Day for presentation ideas. I do love the idea of combining gov't., politics, and U.S. History into one, meaningful research project. Arms industry from the past until now; I don't see how there wouldn't be lots to mine.
P.S. We have using the "Textual Analysis" packet recently, and it has taken a specific type of paper dc has to write for an online class from borderline boring to boom.
-
1
-
-
We did VT after Saxon, so the material was a review. However, I do think VT would work well for a mathy student without Saxon.
-
1
-
-
Also agree. Do Biology with both. I wish we had skipped Apologia Physical Science and done Biology instead. Dc wishes that as well!
-
1
-
Red Wagon Tutorials asking for advertisers?
in High School and Self-Education Board
Posted
We have never taken RWT classes but have used the recorded lectures, etc, and it has been positive. Dc likes the additional explanations. At one point, I talked with the owner, who has always been accessible and helpful, and he said that he planned to use Apologia textbooks as long as they were written by Dr. Wile and available. He also said that he would prepare his own materials if Apologia phased out the textbooks written by Dr. Wile.