michaeljenn
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Posts posted by michaeljenn
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I am going bonkers researching writing curriculum!! HELP! Tell me which program worked for your child!
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On 2/7/2019 at 6:59 AM, bluebonnetgirl said:
This is exactly what I am looking for as well! I was looking at the Big Tent Academy English IV class, but I would rather put my daughter in a gentle literature class. She is doing High School Writing Methods right now, and is doing well, but reading tough works of literature would be tough for her. She is more of a math student and struggles greatly with reading. UGH!! Let me know if you find anything!
If any of you have a good recommendation for a gentle, online class focused on literature with some writing, I would appreciate it. He does best interacting with others. A lively, patient, gentle teacher would be best - not so much to explain the writing process, which he is good at, but to help comprehend the literature and help break it down. Maybe a class where they even read together in class, stopping to go over passages in the moment. Perhaps a class where the pace of reading is a bit slower, only covering 4-6 books per year instead of so many. I know it is a long shot, but does anyone have a good recommendation?
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Thank you so much!! It is always helpful to hear good reviews before you enroll!
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I am considering signing my daughter up for a class with Big River Academy. I am thinking she will do English IV. Has anyone had a child take this course? I would love some feedback!
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Has anyone used any of the English or History classes from Classes from Beth? Any feedback would be great!
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Has anyone looked at this? Curious on your thoughts. It looks good, but is it enough? Anyone?
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I used CLE for several years and then decided to try TG&TB for grades 2, 5 and 8. We have used TG&TB for a few years now. I am starting to feel like it simply is not enough. My daughter just took a placement test for The Potter's School English and completely bombed it. I don't think that there is simply enough drill in TG&TB to really learn the concepts. I like what I see in TG&TB and it is such a "sweet" curriculum and the kids like it, but is it truly getting the job done. I wonder if the kids like it because the lessons are short, quick and don't require a lot of thinking versus Rod and Staff grammar or CLE. I feel like my kids are behind now and I am extremely frustrated. Just curious if I am the only one here...
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They wanted her to take a grammar class and a writing class in the summer. They felt it would make her writing more "solid" for the class. She passed the essay portion. Shouldn't the English 2 class make her moe "solid"? I don't get it.
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I signed my daughter up for English 2 with TPS. She will be a very young 9th grader in the fall. Her birthday is in July. She took the placement test and scored decent, but not great on the essay part, but only got 19 out of 30 of the grammar questions correct. They want her to take 2 summer courses or they will not approve her for English 2. Our other option is to take English 1. We absolutely cannot take 2 summer courses. Our summer is already booked. Is TPS English classes really this advanced? Sigh!! I am considering just letting her take the English 1 for 9th and continuing from there. Can I still give her a credit for English 1 even though it is really designed for 7th and 8th grade? I guess I could give her extra work? I don't know, just feeling like I have failed her. Any advice??
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A friend and I are interested in starting an academic co-op in our area. We have a huge successful co-op in our area that offers "fun" classes, but we lack an academic option. Our thoughts are to offer classes that would have homework and accountability it the subjects that are either harder to teach, or would be more fun to come together, discuss and do projects with. If anyone is part of an academic co-op, could you tell me the pro's and con's of it. I would also like any advice to this endeavor as well. Are there any websites to academic co-ops you could direct me to?? Thank you!
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Thanks:) We have used Rod and Staff and CLE in the past, so my 8th and 5th grader have a pretty good grasp of grammar. We are using Fix it! with IEW SWI A and B. I think it just "feels strange" that we are not using a textbook for grammar this year. My 5th is doing 2 sentences a day in book 1, and my 8th is doing 2-4 sentences a day depending on our time and what is being taught. I figure we will slow down once we get to book 3. I was able to purchase all of Fix it! on clearance at Mardel a few years ago and it has been sitting in my closet. I just looked through all of the books, and it gets meaty the further you progress.
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Are you using it as a supplement or as your only grammar program?
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Bringing this thread up again... any new updates?? Anyone posters above who continue to use Fix it?
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We are using BJU DVD for math, science and history for 2nd and 5th grade. The science videos are never more than 15 minutes long, and most are around 10 minutes. I like them because the instructor gives a lot of information and makes it more interesting than I can. For the first time ever, science is actually getting done! They don't love every single lesson, but at least it is getting done:) I feel good knowing they are building a solid science foundation. The 5th grade science teacher, Mrs. Ingersol, is very good!
Most of the time, science takes around 30-35 minutes a day. This includes the video, the worksheet (if one is assigned and if I decide he should do it), and reading the text. Sometimes I have him outline a section of his text and have him write a short summary as well.
I am sure other programs out there are more interesting and fun, but I never have the time or energy to implement them. I guess for us, the best program is the program that gets done consistently, so we will continue BJU.
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He is 11:)
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We started the year off with BJU English, but I am not loving the writing portions. We have used IEW in the past, so we went back to IEW. I also added Fix it! I have considered just doing IEW and Fix it! only, but am scared Fix it will not be enough grammar. Should I continue BJU grammar portions as well? Would it be too much? Opinions?
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The link to the student guides are contained in the Teacher's Manuals for both Fix it! and the Theme Based programs. Does that answer your question?
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That is a very hard question to answer.
For my own kids so far it has absolutely been the better fit but we are not all the way through and out the other end. It also depends on how comfortable you are taking the long view and your willingness and ability to adapt a program to meet the needs of your individual children.
For example, DD did SWI-B but I also watched TWSS to give myself a better understanding. By itself DD was not grasping all of the concepts in a way that really made sense to her, at least not at first. We got a friend to join in and we did the initial lesson of each concept collaboratively on a dry erase board. We did the KWO outline together, we did the writing together, etc. Then I had the kids revise their paper separately. We did that for many lessons. She and her friend had always struggled with writing so she needed a LOT of time and scaffolding and practice. Doing it collaboratively helped SO MUCH with internalizing what was being required of her.
Fast forward and now she is doing parts of SWI-C specifically to solidify her ability to complete a 5 paragraph essay. This is a weak area for her. Again, we are doing it collaboratively (just the two of us, not her friend or her brother) until it starts to gel in her head.
Fix-it pairs beautifully with IEW SWI because they use mostly the same terms and present many things in a similar fashion (although they don't have to be used together). Fix-It is a full grammar program (the new one is) but it is NOT a grammar program that makes grammar the be all and end all of existence. If you want diagramming, this isn't not for you. If you want lots and lots and lots of in depth daily grammar instruction and practice, this is not it. This program expects a child to absorb the information over time, through long term exposure and practice in short sessions, until things really sink in and internalize. If you want grammar to be a tool that can be used while writing, and you want it introduced in a gentle way, in short segments over time, without spending copious daily amounts of time doing it, this is your program.
What has worked well here for Fix-it:
- Except for the very beginning trying to get the notebooks set up, there is virtually NO prep each day. Just skim the week's concept the night before and you are ready to go. I keep the TM, the kid's notebooks, a pouch of writing instruments, and our large print dictionary in the same spot on our rolling cart so we all just grab and go. We put it all away again when we are done.
- The lessons are short, especially with Level 1. One sentence a day, 4 days a week. Much less push back from the kids and they also can focus harder on that one sentence instead of trying to rush through longer lessons so they aren't doing grammar all day.
- Concepts are introduced in small pieces, gently, and then practiced over a long time. New concepts are rolled in with older ones, building a kind of grammar tapestry as they go.
- Reference cards are to be used while the student practices these concepts. This is not cheating. This is helping the child learn the material through actual use instead of relying on rote memorization. Eventually the terms and the concepts tied to those terms become automatic and they no longer need the reference cards but the program does not assume automaticity after just a month or two of practice. This is especially helpful for children with low working memory and for those that find writing challenging. They can use their brains for the actual lesson, instead of frantically trying to remember, translate and apply defined terms.
- The TM has a lot of additional information so especially on the first day I sit with my kids, they do the sentence, and we discuss and correct as we go. The lesson is quick, I don't have to take the time to go back and correct later, I don't have to worry so much that they have misunderstood and are misapplying concepts and discussion in the moment has opened up a lot of interesting and helpful questions that we have delved deeper to answer. They remember better that way. Plus, once the lesson is over we can ALL walk away and not have to worry about it again until the next day.
- They are applying what they learned in their writing in other areas but we have the cards as reference if they get stuck.
- It is easily sped up or slowed down. If you hit an area the kids are really grasping and don't need so much time internalizing, double the lessons. Or even do 3-4 lessons a day. Slow down again when you hit harder areas that need more time to percolate.
- It can be adapted to the needs of individual children. For example: DD likes the copywork and does it in cursive with a pencil in her notebook. DS has dysgraphia so he either skips the copywork if he has already had to write that day or he copies it on a dry erase board or he types it. Also, they both struggled a bit with looking up words alphabetically, so we got a big print dictionary and they had to look the words up in that instead of on the computer or through their electronic dictionaries. It helped tremendously with really getting a better understanding of alphabetization at a deeper level. Also, the dictionary might have many different definitions for the same word. They had to reread the sentence and sometimes the passage to understand the specific meaning used in that particular sentence. That helped also with really understanding the meaning of words and how those words are used in context. Plus, both kids prefer to do the definitions at the end of the week so day 1-4 is sentences/copywork and they incorporate a 5th day to look up and write down definitions. It works better for them.
The bottom line, though, is that I have had to work collaboratively with my kids for a lot longer than I think many parents expect. A lot of parents want and expect independence in writing pretty quickly but many kids do not learn how to be truly independent writers until they have had a lot of years of experience writing and a lot of support doing it. Just depends on the child.
Also, while IEW and Fix-It have worked better than anything else we have tried, my kids don't learn well in a vacuum. DS especially needs interaction to learn and DD, while she needs quiet and space to write once she gets a concept, needs lots of examples and discussion and collaboration to grasp the concept in the first place. So we do a lot of interaction and discussion and modeling. IEW is brilliant, IMHO, at providing a solid scaffolding/modeling scenario for those who need it but just as with anything else the person helping the student learn is going to need to be flexible and willing to adapt the program to meet the needs of their individual children as well as willing to work alongside them when they need the extra scaffolding. I think a lot of kids don't really learn to write well without a great deal of support and practice and scaffolding and consistency over time.
Thank you so much for your reply.. the highlighted portion is me... I tend to expect them to get it the first time around. I think that is the reason we put IEW away the first time. I am starting to watch all the TWSS dvd's again and I am realizing that I was the problem. It wasn't IEW and it wasn't my children, it was ME not taking the time to truly work with them. :( I have listened to several of Andrew's podcasts and when he says "you can't help too much" it really struck home with me. He is so right. They won't need you there forever, but it is ok to help as much as needed until they get it.
As for grammar goals.... I want my kids to know enough grammar to produce good writing. I do not think most of the grammar in grammar books are honestly beneficial.
Thank you again! This helped me so much!
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I have used IEW in the past, but never really used it to its full potential. I ended up dropping it and going with a traditional LA program. I have used Christian Light LA for grades 3-7, and am now using Bob Jones for grades 2, 5 and 8. I like both of those programs, but when it is time for them to write something in history or science or for any other subject, I get blank faces. They literally don't know what to do. Also, I am not finding that their grammar exercises are transferring over into their writing. I feel like doing worksheet after worksheet for grammar is a total waste of time. Yes, they do great on the worksheets, but they truly are not "getting" it. My 7th grade daughter took WWS 1 online last year and it was like she never took it. She is having a hard time writing papers! UGH....
I have TWSS and SWI A and several themed based programs sitting on my shelf. I am considering doing a theme based program with my 2nd grader, SWI A with my 5th grader and then purchasing SWI B for my 8th grader.
My question is... will doing IEW and Fix it! consistently truly be enough. I don't know why I am having a hard time moving away from my traditional methods, but they are clearly not working. If I decided to go with IEW and Fix it!, it would be for the long haul... meaning we will continue this method until graduation.
Thoughts? Advice?
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We bought LA level 2, 4 and 7, History 1 and several science units. I had high hopes for this curriculum. I REALLY wanted to make this curriculum work for our family because I felt like we would get more covered in less time. We found that not to be true. My kids have done CLE LA and Reading for the past 3 years so TG&TB was simply way too simple for them. They were not challenged at all. We also used Sonlight the past few years, but that was way too much reading for us which is why we decided to give TG&TB a try. My kids thought it was too simple and "kiddy" even with the student explorer pages. We never ended up using the science and chose to go with BJU Press DVD for science..... this is where it got interesting. My kids LOVED their DVD lessons, so we added on the History and they loved that. My 8th grader is now doing English, Lit, History, Science and Spanish with BJU DVD. She takes Algebra 1 in an outside class. My boys are doing BJU Math, Science and History DVD and I am parent teaching BJU English/Reading/History.
I CANNOT believe we started the year with TG&TB but ended up using BJU. My kids are happy as can be and it is working wonderfully.
So my final thoughts about TG&TB is that it is a good program, but just didn't fit our needs this year. If you had a child that has not had much grammar or writing, then maybe it will be good, but it just did not seem like enough to me. It appeared to be when I read over the program, but implementing it was a completely different story.
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Thanks for your honestly!! I appreciate it! I am laughing about the "BRING BACK JIM WIESS" chant!! My kids love his voice;)
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I am considering TG&TB for my 13yo, but am concerned it may not be enough?? Would love to hear some thoughts from those who have used it for middle/high school.
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We have decided to go with BJU DLO for Science:) Thank you for all of your suggestions.
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I have an upcoming 8th grader and I feel like we have completely floundered when it comes to science. It is that one subject that keeps getting pushed aside when things get too busy. We have done a little science here and there, but have honestly not stuck with anything for a full year. We tried Apologia General last year and got about half way through it. She HATED it... it was so much to read and she felt as if it was too wordy. My daughter is honestly diligent about her work and we have been very consistent in all of our other subjects. WHERE DO I GO FROM HERE?? I don't want to go back to Apologia. I am not sure if I want a textbook science either. I figured I have one more year left until high school and part of me wants it to be a fun year. However, I feel like I have completely ruined her science education. Can anyone recommend a good get-er-done science program that she may actually enjoy??
What writing program did you see visible results from...
in K-8 Curriculum Board
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Thank you so much for the replies!! These are great!
Lori D - Love your advice! Very helpful!
I am asking for a 4th and 7th grade boys. They do ok with writing, I am just having a hard time finding a program. They all seem so good, but I want one that I know will bring results. I guess that is impossible to know until I jump in and use one.