I'm going to take a look at Schaum's today at the library. It looks good. My initial thought was to go through a book like this along with her, assign one or two papers along the way and outsource the grading to Write at Home. This might work. Thanks.

Why oh why can't any of your brilliant AoPS kids live next door? Skype anyone?? I'd pay well!ðŸ˜ðŸ˜

Well, that's the rub. This kid does not want a STEM track. She fancies herself a writer. She just loves math and AoPS in particular. That's why I'm so panicked by what these teachers said. She doesn't NEED AoPS rigor, she just wants it. That's why I'm now wondering, is it time to just cut bait and go to a traditional program with the guaranteed support we may need?

That's what I thought I was going to do for Algebra but we never needed the class...lol. I was feeling really confident about Geometry until today. I ordered Jurgensen this morning (thanks Wapiti) to have on hand and thought that with that and a tutor, we'd be just fine. Now, I'm second guessing. I've also read the reviews of this particular AoPS class....it's HARD. But then again, she cruised through Algebra with little if any handholding. But she did use the videos.

Dd is finishing Intro to A book and will be moving on to Geometry soon. Ideally, I'd love for her to take the AoPS online class but I think it will move too fast for her. Without the benefit of the online videos, I am nervous that without help, I won't be able to discuss/grade her proofs appropriately. So, I called around to try to find a tutor to help us. I met with two former high school Geometry teachers who have both given me some combination of "this is overkill, she'll never need this, why would you make this so hard." Alarmingly, one told me that proofs are now done in a fill in the blank format and that two column, and definitely paragraph, formats are completely outdated and unnecessary for the EOC, SAT and college. Is their assessment accurate or did I just get a bad lot? So, now I've started to panic. What if I can't find a tutor that will work with this text? What if she gets into this book and can't do it on her own? And what if it's then too late to register for one of the non-AoPS online classes? She loves AoPS but this last meeting with this teacher has left me feeling panicked and wanting to pull the Mommy card and just enroll her in one of the regular paced online classes and move on. That's not what she wants but I know I can't see her through the higher levels. Algebra II was always my limit. Hive, please help.

Thanks Wapiti. We'll be going through the book ourselves at the pace of mere mortals😜. Dd loves AoPS and we probably won't have significant issues. I do have a tutor on deck should we need it. When dd hit a bump, it was helpful to say, "Look at Foerster's section xxxx and see if you understand it from a different angle." I guess you're right though; it is a Google search away. I'll look around for Jurgensen and see if I can find a good deal. She didn't like Jacobs Algebra so I'd probably do well to steer clear of that one. Thanks for your help.

Ahhh, I see. It sounds like a great class. If we go this route, our plan may need to be readjusted. I was thinking Research Paper course in 10th and then AP Comp and Lit in 11th and 12th. Based on the rigor you describe, I think APs in 10th and 11th and then this in 12th would be a better path. We'll see. Like I said, we have a lot of time. Thanks so much for the info.

I've been taking a closer look at all of these. I really like the Lukeion class. I'll have to see what dd thinks as we move forward. I'm trying to decide if I teach this or we outsource. This is for future planning so I have some time to figure it out. Thanks so much.

So dd is working through AoPS. We've finished PreA and Intro to A. We're starting Intro to Geometry in the next month or so. In working through AoPS, it was often helpful to have another, more traditional, textbook on hand if we hit a bump in the road. For PreA, we had Lial's and for algebra we had Foerster's 1 and 2. We used these as both reference and to check retention at different points. Can anyone recommend a Geometry text that we can use in the same way? I've seen Jacobs and Jurgensen mentioned here. I happen to have Glencoe from a friend who was getting rid of some things. I don't really like the Glencoe book. I think dd will find it busy and confusing. She likes the straightforward look/presentation of AoPS. Any suggestions?

Bumping to see if anyone knows

This looks like a good start. We love SWB's thoughts on writing, but the WWS textbooks just move too slow for her, even when I speed it up. This is a good overview though. Thanks.

Does anybody know what the difference is between the 2006 version (Isbn 978-0131662551) and the 2007 version (Isbn 978-0132013499)?

Does anyone have a recommendation for a good resource to teach the mechanics of research paper writing (MLA format, outlining, etc)? This would be for a natural, proficient writer at an advanced 10th grade level. It can be a book, online class or website (anything but WWS as that crashed and burned already.).

Congrats and welcome aboard....this is our tentative plan for an Ancient Honors history/literature combo. Still tweaking... TOG - Rhetoric History and Literature Reading The Great Courses (dd loves TGC) History of the Ancient World: A Global Perspective and select lectures from the following series for depth: Understanding Greek and Roman Technology: From Catapult to the Pantheon History of Science: Antiquity to 1700, first 12 lectures Famous Greeks Famous Romans Vandiver's odyssey illiad and aeneid and mythology Plato's republic Great Pharaohs of Egypt The Persian Empire Barbarians of the Steppes From Yao to Mao (first half only) I may also add some of the documentaries mentioned up thread.

Hi Derek, Yes, I'm combining both. We're skipping about half of the writing assignments in LLfTLOTR and using LOTR as her source of topics for LTOW. In the LTOW class, you work on the essay invention process and topoi for two weeks with the actual essay writing on the third week. So, during the two development weeks of LTOW, she does the writing in LLfTLOTR. And then, during the writing week of LTOW, she skips the writing assignment in LLfTLOTR. I'm also using LLfTLOTR topics to teach paragraph construction to my 4th and 6th grader. It dovetails beautifully. The family fun nights include cooking food from Middle Earth, the little ones acting out scenes from the book, my son playing guitar and attempting to sing the ballads (fall on the floor funny) and of course costumes, costumes and more costumes. This has been so much fun, we've all decided to do Further Up and Further In next year. I purchased one of the Great Courses on CS Lewis along with his other works and a couple of biographies. We're looking forward to it.

Derek, Ridiculous doesn't even begin to describe this!! I got this recommendation from Sue last year and we haven't looked back since. I had to revive this old thread just to tell you that LLfLOTR is my daughter's REWARD when she completes her work every week. Seriously, she checks the last box on One Note and we MUST start discussion right there. We skip some of the fill in the blank stuff but the background and discussion questions are terrific. It's so much fun that my other two kids and husband look forward to it. We've even begun a family fun night around it. Crazy, I know. Then again, we are unrepentant Tolkien freaks around here.

Hi Derek, See, this is why I call this particular credit elusive. Our situation is tricky. I could teach English in its entirety but her writing is very personal for her and it is better for us if it is outsourced and critiqued by an outside party. She's currently enrolled in LTOW2 next year but we were flirting with the idea of Blue Tent at that time. I liked the quality of the work expected at Blue Tent and I had a long and very helpful email conversation with one of the instructors. It was also nice to have "one stop shopping" for that credit. However, dd has read most of the books, she's done with formal grammar after completing Rod & Staff 8 and she's doing Windows to the World now. They say she can substitute books on their list but I feel like the rest of it would be busy work for her. So, we've decided to stay with LTOW2 and couple it with our Ancients study and the corresponding WTM reading list. That, along with Vocabulary From Classical Roots and Great Courses lectures, will be our integrated history/English credit next year. LTOW definitely fills the comp side of the credit and the program allows you to choose your own writing topics so, as long as your literature list is strong and you add in enough discussion, I think it is a full English credit. Keep in mind, LTOW doesn't assign reading. It is assumed that you are already reading/ discussing great works of literature. The program is designed to teach you how to write based on those books.

I started another thread on this very topic a few days ago. There are great suggestions throughout... http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/542375-great-courses-ancient-history/?p=6203243

So what do you all think about this plan for a history/lit integrated course for a bright motivated 9th grader? Am I missing anything? Is it too much? I would be looking to assign two credits. TGC Courses History of the Ancient World: A Global Presepective - this course will be our guide either chronologically or geographically. My plan would be to do this series in its entirety using select (maybe most) of the lectures from the following series for depth. Understanding Greek and Roman Technology: From Catapult to the Pantheon History of Science: Antiquity to 1700, first 12 lectures Famous Greeks Famous Romans Vandiver's odyssey illiad and aeneid and mythology Plato's republic The Persian Empire Barbarians of the Steppes From Yao to Mao (first half only) Books The Bible Gilgamesh The Odyssey The Illiad The Aeneid Bullfinch's Greek Mythology Thoughts? ETA: I may also add some of the documentaries mentioned up thread. We love a good doc around here.

Oh I see. I like the Alberta way. What do you do in 9th? I've never understood making kids slog through science they didn't like. Science is such a dynamic and interesting area and my non-stem kid would love to explore some of those those little nooks and crannies but we have this list of "requirements" to fill that pins us to a more traditional track. I guess if I had more expertise, I could confidently know what to cut and what pre-requisites are needed to create something myself but alas, I'll have to follow a standard text and add in good books in areas of interest. I think it will still be fun.

Ahhhh, ok. I'll check those out. They might dovetail nicely with the "geographical" approach Lisa suggested up thread. I really like some of your documentary suggestions too. Thanks!

Apologia requires high school biology and chemistry as pre-requisites for the Advanced Biology course. Is that necessary based on your experience? Dd Is doing Physical Science this year. She liked McHenry's chemistry materials so maybe Cells is an option for a Cellular Biology unit. I'll have to look. Is it high school level? I seem to remember Elements being middle school or younger.

I just ordered Miller Levine and have been reading through the HS Biology thread. I think I'll use that as my spine and create outwards from there. I want it to be a challenging but interest led year. She likes science so that should make it easier. Thanks for your help.

Where can I read more about WHS? My google search turned up Verso Books. Is that it?

This looks great. So the format seems to be GC with a few docs and WHS for readings? Will you assign any writing to go with the lit?