[Aops online certificate?]

Ruth, did the transcript include comments from the teachers, like a recommendation? Or was it purely a transcript with dates and grades?

[CAHSEE]

I called UC admissions recently to ask about a-g math (DS was thinking about a summer aops class, and the charter could not give him a-g credit for it), two separate people told me it was fine: UC is used to getting information from multiple providers from homeschoolers, they read every word, they won't be fazed by it.

 

I'm still not sure what to think about how much it matters to fulfill every inch of a-g.

 

But the exchanges, and a quick look at the pull down menu, did leave me feeling very confident about it being ok to use the pull down menu even for non a-g classes (like lukeion Latin) and supplement with a course description.

[Spelling]

Another vote for when McHenry's excavating English.

 

Old exam questions from the linguistics Olympiad.

[Fun, or box checking, World Geography, open to outside of the box]

Shepherd's software (online website) is very good for mastering country and capital names and locations. DS and I went through all of the continents before the last Olympics, and it was very satisfying to watch the opening parade and know where every single country was located. Something like that would be good prep before going into a serious geography class.

[Rhetorical and Scientific Analysis?]

The Story of Western Science web page has links to some original science writing. There isn't a lot of twentieth century stuff (because of copyright, I assume). We really enjoyed the Darwin selections.

[Seeking opinions on a standardized test score]

I think the new sat asks pretty good questions, actually. Last year DS and I spent a little time working on SAT prep and a little time looking at questions for the state tests, and the SAT questions were much smarter and more interesting, actually kind of fun.

 

The national merit score counts the English score twice, so it's a good fit for a Latin kiddo.

[Does anyone have experience with Lukeion for an upper elementary kiddo?]

Yes, this would be for the little sister.

[Does anyone have experience with Lukeion for an upper elementary kiddo?]

I was looking at the catalogue for DS14--who will be continuing on in Latin, and who would love to do some history or Shakespeare there if we could shoehorn it into his schedule--and I wondered if one of the English classes might be a good first online class for his sister. 

 

Has anyone tried Worldly Wise or Barbarian Diagrammarian with a youngster?

[What to do with defensive teen and writing ...]

As an alternative to only positive comments, would she be willing to work with you on just one aspect of each paper? Either take one paragraph and rearrange it OR go through and identify run on sentences OR have her write a clear thesis statement. It can be really overwhelming to focus everywhere at once. I find kids have much more stamina if there is only one job to worry about.

 

Also, I think it can help to think of editing more as getting comfortable with the tools in the toolbox than as fixing a particular paper. Let's work on identifying run-on sentences. Let's go through and flag candidates... What sentences in this paragraph are long enough to warrant a second look? Ok, that one's good. Nice job! This one needs a break somewhere. Where does the break go?

[Simple ways to share writing assignments for an English class]

I am looking for a free and straightforward way for writing students to share papers with each other. Have any of you come across an appealing platform for this, in coops or online classes?

 

Thanks!

[How do DE math class workloads compare to AoPS?]

We are probably going to have ds do math through calculus though aops, and I have a decent feel for what that workload is like. For kids who used aops all the way through calculus and then took college level math courses as dual enrollment, how did the workload compare? In terms of difficulty and also time demands. DS would be at a community college or possibly the local (decent but not flagship) university.

[If a student busts in an outside course .....]

I had a French teacher in high school who would give students who got an A on the final exam an A for the year. It worked to motivate us, and it seemed fair at time and seems so to me now--because the A reflected the material mastered at the end of the year.

 

If it is a question of lots of work that didn't get completed, you might ask the provider to call it an incomplete, so paperwork lines up (even if you don't plan to send the provider's transcript on). 

 

Teachermom, I really appreciate the mom grade advice! 

[What is the best place in the AoPS sequence to take the Math 2 SAT?]

Dp

[What is the best place in the AoPS sequence to take the Math 2 SAT?]

Thanks! Kiddo is in eighth now so there is no rush... He is doing a science sat 2 this spring, while it is fresh, and I thought it he's there anyway might as well add a second test. I might have him do a test run on math to practice time management, and have him take it for colleges next year.

[What is the best place in the AoPS sequence to take the Math 2 SAT?]

Title says it all!

 

DS will be largely through Intermediate Algebra when it would be convenient for us to take the test--would he have covered enough? And, if not, what's the best place in the sequence to take it?

 

Thanks!

[Looking for geometers]

Writing teacher here, not a geometer, but I'd say a big part of the learning my DS is getting from AoPS geometry is the writing out of formal paragraph style proofs. I have him start with goal and strategy, thinking through what is hard about a particular problem, how to summarize the approach in a few words, maybe mention what tricky concept is being explored. The writing piece had been challenging, harder than the math sometimes, but thinking through how to present something has helped him appreciate how pretty some of the problems are.

[Need names for a female dog]

Zuzu!

[AoPS Academy News: Now AP BC Calculus]

Double post

[AoPS Academy News: Now AP BC Calculus]

If I remember correctly, the UC application lets the student select rigor for each individual course from a drop down menu that includes honors and AP.

 

If you go through a charter, there is an option to select courses from their list of what the charter offers OR to type in your own name for a course. So it is possible to type in your own name for a course and then label it honors; having, of course, a strong course description to append or at least have available if they ask to verify.

 

My older kiddo is still in Junior high, so this is hypothetical for me, but I am hoping this option will be available to him.

[Best QUICK SAT essay prep]

This blog seems to have some useful tips:

 

https://blog.prepscholar.com/sat-essay-tips-15-ways-to-improve-your-writing-score

 

[Assigning grades in AOPS Intro to Algebra]

This is a very short version that I've pieced together from the link above and from helpful grader comments:

 

Considering the problem

 

What exactly  am I being asked for?

What is tricky about this problem? (What do I need that I’m not given directly?)

What am I given? What can I do with what I am given? Have I used everything I’m given?

What strategies will be helpful in solving this problem?

 

Writing a discussion of the problem

 

Goal and strategy:

We are being asked for…

We will use a basic strategy of...

 

Setting up equations:

Name and define variables precisely.

When you set up an equation, explain what it represents or how you came up with it.

Embed math expressions and equations into a sentence.  (But don’t mix words into equations.)

 

Writing it out:

Give each equation its own line.

When you change an equation, be explicit about what change you made and what justified it.

Number different cases when using casework.

Use generous amounts of white space.

Use diagrams or drawings if helpful.

 

Helpful phrases:

We have / we are given…

Using the following justification, we do such-and-such to it…

Then we…

Now we have….

 

The answer:

Box your answer.

Give a brief justification of your answer.

For a proof, explain how we know it works for all cases.

Give your answer in sentence form in the same terms that the problem framed it in.

(This can be at the beginning or the end. Put it in its own paragraph.)

 

[Assigning grades in AOPS Intro to Algebra]

Here's the link to the first page:

 

https://artofproblemsolving.com/articles/how-to-write-solution

 

 

[Assigning grades in AOPS Intro to Algebra]

For homework, it seems fine to me to grade on effort and completeness. And then weight the grade heavily toward the exam.

 

You could also assign one written proof, her choice of which challenge problem, per chapter, and grade those on quality of math and writing. AoPS has a page of hints on writing math proofs, and you can use the text as a model also.

 

The problems are meant to be hard enough that the student stumbles on a few--so grading on all the end-of-chapter problems feels a bit like penalizing the student for working at the appropriate level. 

[Latin killed the Romans and now Lukeion is killing me?]

I did not know Quizlet allowed set merging. Thanks so much!!!

[Lukeion Greek and Roman history workload?]

How hard are the Lukeion Greek and Roman history classes, as compared to language classes? Am trying to decide where in kiddo's high school sequence I might put them. 

 

DS has done two AoPS classes at the same time, and found it to be a lot. Would two Lukeion classes feel similarly unforgiving? Are the history classes comparable to Latin in terms of time commitment?