Homemama2
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Posts posted by Homemama2
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I've been wondering about the HSLDA classes! I'm not a big HSLDA fan, but I imagine the individual classes/instructors could be good.
Has your student taken this class? What do you think of it? Will your student be continuing with HSLDA for English (or another subject) next year?
Sorry! I've been off the forum and just saw this. My ds is taking it now. For him, it has been a lot of work (quantity-wise). However he is not a fast worker. He has enjoyed the literature selections, the class discussions on the literature (which are weekly), and really likes the teacher (Mrs. Hardy-she's super sweet!!). I think each of the writing assignments have been very good. They used Lively Art of Writing to teach essay writing, which I thought did a good job in teaching how to write a thesis statement etc. They are also using Analytical Grammar. My only complaint would be that I thought some weeks there was just too much work, considering it's an intro to writing class for 8th and 9th and not even their "English 1". This is our first experience with an online class, so maybe this is typical. For example, one week he had a grammar assignment daily, read 5 chapters in Jane Eyre with discussion questions that involved finding quotes etc., a creative writing assignment, an essay, and a research paper w/ works cited (first draft due.)
That said, I do think it is an excellent class. I'm considering putting my other son in it next year for his 8th grade year.
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HSLDA has a class for 8th/9th graders called Foundations in Writing that "might" be what you're looking for. It's focus is writing not literature, though, so they have fewer literature selections. They use Little Women, Oliver Twist, Jane Eyre, To Kill a Mockingbird, and a Shakespeare play. There are also many smaller readings, but those are current events, and various things like that for their writing assignments (they also read Lively Art of Writing).
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Grades 6-8 -- That's a really tough age range to meet everyone's needs, but you plan sounds good -- books that are at a grade 6 reading level, but with enough depth for 8th graders to "chew on". Also, preparing a list of questions in advance to have a range of questions at different levels might help discussion, too. :)
I've been running middle school/high school Lit. & Comp. co-op classes for several years now, some of them for wide age ranges (gr. 7-12), and that can be really tough to bridge that range, so I feel you pain. There's often a big difference in my gr. 9-12 classes between 9th and 12th in just understanding the Literature, much less being able to discuss it.
Also, I totally get being limited by the library, but I think it's perfectly reasonable for you to also include some books on the list that have to be purchased. When that happens for my classes, for those books, I point families towards online used book sellers, Amazon and Abe.com, and local used book stores, to help them save a few dollars.
What a great service you're offering to families! Hope it's an enjoyable semester, and BEST of luck! Warmly, Lori D.
ETA: PS -- I was just re-reading your original post, and 7+ books sure sounds like a LOT for one semester! I would think no more than 1 book per month would be needed so you can actually talk about it... Or did I misunderstand and this is a list for a full year?
Thanks Lori! That's a great idea about the used books online. For some reason, I didn't think of that even though I buy used all the time. I agree that 7 is a lot for 1 semester. Mainly I'm just trying to be overly prepared because last semester the kids were all reading at very advanced levels and sped through everything I had prepared so I was scrambling to come up with another book. (They read books in one week that I had planned to take 3 on.) I'm not letting them set the pace this time, but if this group reads as well I just want to have enough. :)
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Well, I'll toss in a critique. The most recent of those books was published in 1978 and all the authors and primary subjects are white (unless you do Huck Finn, in which case it's still mostly true, though it's a book about race... but I agree with others that you probably shouldn't do Huck Finn for a variety of reasons - dialect being one of them and the themes being another). While I think it's a good list, they just feel all older to me. It's something to think about.
I did not realize that! Thanks for pointing it out. I actually had some more racially diverse ones on my list to start with (Call it Courage, the Cay, Sounder and some others) but was thinking they were too easy of reads for that age, so I took them off. The Long Walk to Water looks good too. I had just heard about that one earlier this week. And I hadn't heard of those others, so that will be helpful.
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Since you have 6th graders in there, I honestly think Where the Red Fern Grows, Rifles for Watie, Carry On Mr Bowditch, Little Women... are slightly longer stretch books for that age. Even The Book of Three and The Dark is Rising are shorter, but they have some stretch writing for most 11 yos. Which is not to say you have to go with those options... just that I think your list already has some easier (Tuck, Westing Game) and some slightly harder books. If I were teaching a lit class where kids had to get the books read, I'd honestly aim for more shorter but meaty books, just because you want the reading to happen. If there's a kid who is a slower reader, that way it's more likely to get done, but the advanced kids still have good things to discuss.
Good to know! Thanks everyone for helping me with Huck Finn. I was really second guessing this one. In fact the main reason I had chosen it was because the group last semester had all read Tom Sawyer and loved that. But as I've been reading it, I wasn't sure the younger ones would be able to handle the dialect. I had Roll of Thunder as my replacement for that, so that will work well.
I guess I kept thinking this list looked rather easy for the 8th graders. It's just hard not knowing their reading level. But if we are having good discussions that should help it all balance out.
And thanks everyone for the other book suggestions!I'm going to look into each of them. I'm trying to find books they can get from the library, rather than buying...which has really limited my choices. Next time I don't think I'll do that necessarily.
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I'm teaching a literature/book club type class at co-op and would love some opinions on my choices. I have 6th-8th graders, and I only know the reading level of a couple of them. I'm trying to pick books that won't be too easy or too challenging, and will be able to have some good socratic discussions. This class is not replacing literature at home. I also need a variety of genres. I have some easier books chosen, but need some more challenging books, I think.
Here are the books I've chosen so far:
Tuck Everlasting
Where the Red Fern Grows
Westing Game
Adventures of Huck Finn OR Little Women
Rifles for Watie OR Carry On Mr. Bowditch
The Book of Three OR The Dark is Rising OR _________(fantasy)
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIHM
How do those sound?
What are some longer/harder books I could include?
Last semester their favorite book was the Giver.
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Thanks everyone! This confirmed my thoughts. I will look into Art of Arguement and the other choices mentioned. :)
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thank you. This is what I was thinking too. We did it in middle school with an 8th and 6th grader and it seemed ok for a light introduction but not close to credit worthy. I don't think I'm going to try to add anything...just look into something new altogether
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We completed this book last year, and a friend is insisting this is enough for a half credit (semester elective) in logic. I'm not convinced. It seemed too light on it's own. Can anyone give their opinion on if this is or isn't credit worthy? And if not, what other curriculum would need to be added to make it credit worthy?
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Allusions can be a brief mention of a place (like they mentioned Buckingham Palace) or a famous person (they mention Columbus). If they are looking for a connection to a literary work, chapter 9 is describing how Narnia began and where the lamppost came from in the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe (also is like the creation story in the Bible in Genesis although they don't mention it by name.)
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Personally I agree with you. My son has been using it with an online class this year and they are doing the whole book in one year. He's been doing well because he's had plenty of practice from years of Rod and Staff. But I can't imagine learning diagramming like this for the first time unless you spread the book out more. Of course every child, is different
ETA: he's on unit 8
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First, you only asked for suggestions. And the suggestions of the moms are just that -- suggestions. Not orders or requirements. ;)
Sounds like you've considered her suggestion, and it is making the book choice limited, so you are free to move on to make your final decision based on what meets the needs of the majority of the class and what meets YOUR goals as the leader of the book club class. JMO :)
Some ideas below; while I did break out girl/boy protagonists, all of these are great for both boys or girls, and none of them are "girly-girl" characters. BEST of luck in selecting your booklist, and enjoy your book adventures! Warmest regards, Lori D.
Wow! Thanks so much for the great list and the lit guide links!!
And thanks for the words of encouragement! :laugh:
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Does it have to be a classic?
The Root Cellar comes to mind.
No, that was just one mom's request. I will check this out! I haven't read it
The Witch of Blackbird Pond, Island of the Blue Dolphins, Midwife's Apprentice,
Thank you!
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Caddie Woodlawn
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk
This was also my first thought but they have all read this already. Thanks though!
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....I'm leading a middle school lit. class/book club at co-op and I told the parents that I was up for any suggestions. One girl's mom wants us to do a classic book with a girl as the protagonist. Seems easy, right? Well, here is why I'm struggling. There are only 5 kids: 3 boys, 2 girls. The other girl told my son that she usually hates books with a girl as the protagonist because the girls are either "all romantic or act stupid" She gave Anne of Green Gables, Secret Garden and Little Women as examples of books she hates. :huh:
I'd really like to find a book that they'd all enjoy, but almost all the books I can think of are similar to Anne of Green Gables etc. They've all already read Caddie Woodlawn,
So, any ideas of a non-girly book about a girl? :glare:
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Thanks everyone! I think I will skip the parts he is already proficient at, and then we can probably get into WWS 2 at some point this year. :)
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I've started WWS 1 with my 7th grader this year. We've used IEW for the past two years, and he did fine with it (however the checklists about drove us crazy. :laugh:) Before that we did Classical Writing Aesop A and B. He is a good writer, and can easily do written narrations. He also has experience with outlining (complete outlines, not just the one level that WWS 1 has them do.) I really like the look of this program, but I'm not sure if I should place him in a different level or if we should just push through this one more quickly since I already own it and can't return it (bought it a couple years ago.) Since we are only in week 4, it might end up not being an issue in a few weeks. Any thoughts? Thanks!
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Does anyone have experience with either of these, particularly HSLDA online academy? I'm trying to decide if I should put my 9th grader in an online writing class. He REALLY struggles with writing, and I feel like he might need someone else to teach him. We've never done an online class (and it makes me nervous b/c our internet is slow, and I'm not sure how he'll do with keeping up with the pace of an online class.)
I haven't heard of anyone who has used the HSLDA classes, but one class they offer looks like EXACTLY what I want. We also are not members with them, so no extra discounts or anything. I have heard good things about Landry from a friend and they have deals where you get the generics for a good price, so this is what my husband thinks sounds like the better deal.
Can anyone offer advice? Thx.
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would you mind sending it to me as well :)
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THank GOd for those easy-to-teach kids!!! I have one. (not the one in this thread) I feel for the moms who don't have any! :leaving:
Yes! I ONLY have one. 😉
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Well my youngest (7th grade next fall) is easy to teach, so we'll probably use what I already have around. No definite plans yet.
AO yr. 7 (not using their science and only parts of the history. Adding some BF Middle ages into it
Finish IEW SCC-B with older brother.
Math-Probably Pre-algebra.
BJU Life Science....probably. I didn't really care for Apologia General, but he actually think it looks "fun"? (I'm thinking that might just mean "easy"...)
Rod and Staff English 7
Wordly Wise -may let this double for spelling since he's a natural speller and his spelling prog. is done with
that's all I've got for now. I want to add more art/music to AO. We've been doing Latin this year but haven't gotten very far. Older brother may be taking Spanish or French with a tutor for high school and I may see if they can both do that.
Plus all the extracurriculars that we always do.
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Rifles for Watie is one that my son was reading for a lit. class at co-op. I haven't read it myself, but all the middle school boys have loved it. (as in they've all read ahead and finished the book before it was due in class). I think it's about the Civil War.
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Also curious as I was thinking of using this for Algebra next year...
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I'm also curious about Video Text being considered weak. I was thinking about using it next year for my oldest for Algebra and thought that I had heard it was a strong program. I certainly don't want to spend all that money on a weak program!! Could you elaborate?
ETA: I think we posted at the same time. :laugh: I'll search for some reviews
GHC convention- cheap parking??
in The Chat Board
Posted
I'm heading to the convention in Cincinnati next week. The last time I went a couple of years ago we printed something off for $5 parking (per day, if I'm remembering right.) Does anyone know if this is available this year? I can't remember where this was from. :confused1: Thanks!