Ouch. That sounds like a personal dislike of the book that is being passed off as a very surface-level and sensationalistic "review" to grab reader attention. HOWEVER... I was not able to read the full article, so I certainly don't want to judge on the basis of that single quotation, out of the greater context. 😄 Just my take: I have read and taught TKaM twice, and find the quality of writing to be better than Francine Prose did in that quotation above. And again, JMO, racism is a more minor theme in the work, as part of the backdrop of the culture of that place -- addressing racism or showing racism from a Black perspective, is not the main purpose of the book. I think she much more delves into the social/cultural hierarchy of that time and place, than the racism... TKaM has been acknowledged by Harper Lee to be slightly autobiographical, and so of course this is going to be written from her perspective and what racism looked like to her childhood self. Also important to realize, especially, as Lee was writing in 1960 and had not really lived outside of that culture. Crazily enough, I actually HAD Francine Prose as a creative writing instructor for one semester in college! It was very clear in having her as an instructor that she, too, comes from a very specific culture that had its own specific/unique political and cultural lens, and that she was writing out of a very specific literary culture. Not at all saying that's bad -- just that it's helpful when reading any author to understand their personal background, as well as the history/culture of the author's times, and the times of the work's setting. I personally don't find it helpful to discard books just because they don't come from a currently popular POV. After all, the reason we still read and discuss many of the classics that are part of The Great Conversation is precisely because they DO have universal themes, and they DO speak to the human condition. Yet come out of very different Ideologies and worldviews, which can make them challenging to contemporary ideologies or culture. But I don't think "differences" are something to fear. Real tolerance is the ability or willingness to allow for or listen to the existence of opinions or behavior that one does not necessarily agree with. So, I personally find it very stimulating to see and think about many different perspectives -- throughout time, and from around the world. 😄 However, that does NOT mean every book is a good fit for every person! (There are plenty of classics -- and current works --that just aren't going to work for ME, for various reasons.) 😄 So, one idea, if wanting to cover TKaM, is to broaden the perspective, and also do a work written with a young person coming of age theme, from a Black POV, set in that similar setting of time/place. For example, Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry (Mildred Taylor), published in 1976. It was written by a Black female author, born in 1943 and raised in Mississippi, and is from a 12yo Black girl's eyes, who is living in the 1930s Deep South. But also, once again... If you don't want to do To Kill a Mockingbird... just don't! It's all good. 😄 Wishing everyone well in their diverse literature journeys! Warmest regards, Lori D.

The main thing is to have a lot of different activities, AND, they can ONLY be done at school time, AND cycle through the ideas regularly so they don't get "stale" (lol) -- and then recycle the ideas 2-3 months later. - tub of water / bubbles / sand / beans / shaving cream... Do school outside with older children, while pre-Ker plays, doing with toys and kitchen utensils (scooping, sieving, pouring, measuring, cleaning, etc. on a back porch so that clean up is a quick hose-off. 😉 - paint with water Give child a small bucket that child can carry around, about half full of water, plus 2 sizes of paintbrushes used for painting big surfaces and edging; child goes outside and paints the wall, the sidewalk, the side of the house, etc. -- any hard surface -- with water. - pudding painting or finger painting in a ziplock Set child up in a high chair, or table and booster seat, and put pudding or finger paint inside a gallon-sized ziplock -- seal it AND tape it shut with a strip of packing tape. Then tape the edge to the table and let child squish and draw and mix without the mess. - sorting activities Sort toys into bowls, baskets or bins by color, or size, or soft/hard, or wheels/no wheels... etc. - fine motor skills activities Use toddler tweezers (larger size, plastic) or kitchen tongs to pick up cotton balls, duplo blocks, etc, and put into a container. Push pipe cleaners through a slot you cut into the lid of an empty oatmeal container. Drop clothes pins through a bigger hole into the empty oatmeal container. Open/close spring clothes pins to clip around the edge of a big bowl. Paula's Archives website (Paula was a poster here on these boards when first started!) is now gone, but can be accessed via Wayback Machine. I linked the site map page; here are the 2 pages from her website with lots of links to ideas: - Preschoolers: What to Do During Schooltime? - Homeschooling 3- and 4-year olds Brightly Beaming Resources has lots of free lesson plans (sound of the week; letter of the week; story of the week; science of the week; country of the week...) For pre-K workbooks, activity books (drawing, coloring in the lines, using scissors, basic tape & glue projects) check out: Kumon -- these are by age, so age 2, age 3, age 4... Rod & Staff -- these might be better next year -- for age 3-4 Some articles with ideas -- some repeat ideas, but each of these also has a few unique ideas: "35 Easy Toddler Homeschool Activities" "The Best Activities to Keep Your Toddler Busy While You Homeschool" "14 Activities to Keep Preschoolers Busy While Homeschooling" "12 Ways to Keep Toddlers & Preschoolers Busy While Siblings Complete School" "How to Keep Toddlers Busy While Homeschooling"

Eek! Sorry, I didn't mean to suggest I had ideas for resources for specifically teaching the research paper. I was only going to suggest browsing the Purdue University OWL (Online Writing Lab) website -- but @Zoo Keeper already suggested that. 😉 And I see other posters listed some additional resources worth checking out, as well. If thinking of pulling your prompts from your subject areas -- writing across the curriculum -- these past threads have some ideas: "Writing across the curriculum -- coming up with ideas?" What my "extra 2 cents worth" was going to be -- just me throwing in the basic essay structure (see below), copy-pasted from a past thread, in case it helps. 😉 Wishing you all the BEST in finding what works best for you and your student this year for moving forward in writing! Warmest regards, Lori D. _________________________ The heart of the structure of argumentative writing is:- the thesis statement, with 3 parts:1. thesis topic (overall subject of the paper)2. thesis claim (your debatable claim, position, or "take" on the thesis topic)3. thesis direction (big picture/overview of the major points of your argument,that you will flesh out in the body of the paper)- the argument of support (thesis direction) -- each body paragraph fleshing out a point of the argument in support of the thesis claim* topic sentence (stating which point of the argument you will cover in this paragraph)* if needed, detail/explanation sentence(s)* evidence -- specific piece of support -- facts, examples, anecdotes, data, etc.* commentary -- sentence(s) explaining how/why the evidence (piece of support) actually supports the point of the paragraph [additional evidence or piece(s) of support + commentary sentence(s)]* concluding commentary -- sentence(s) explaining how the point of the paragraph supports the thesis claimThe main types of argumentative essay writing you might encounter in high school:- literary analysis (character analysis; show how literary devices or a theme are at work; explain a key quotation; etc.)- comparison (compare/contrast)- cause/effect- argumentative research paper with citationsOther types of writing likely to be encountered in both college and high school:- expository (factual) research paper with citations - reader response (short -- 1-3 paragraphs usually -- supported answer to a discussion prompt question)- writing for oral presentations + power point presentations given in class- science lab reports- real-life writing -- resume and cover letter; applications; request for a letter of recommendation; letter/email of thanks, or requesting information or clarification, or assisting with a correction Other types of writing likely to be encountered in high school: - various types of essays: descriptive, narrative, expository (process (or "how to"); definition; classification)- ACT/SAT timed essays in response to a prompt- personal essays for scholarship applications and college admissions

I came back to throw in 2 more cents worth, lol, but it looks like @lewelma has you well covered. 😄

Totally NOT telling you it's a must book, but Garlic Press' Discovering Literature guide for To Kill a Mockingbird is quite meaty, if you don't have time to do a lot of prep. 😉 See sample pages: Remedia Publications. Also available through Amazon.

^^ Yes, that was what worked for DS#2 with LDs -- lots of running alongside. All the way through grade 12. He never would have been able to do an independent program. I had to pretty much create individualized instruction and helps for him, using bits and pieces from many different resources. I am a natural writer, so it was quite the brain stretch for me to try and figure out "what is this child missing? what does he need at this stage to move forward? what is a realistic assignment to put this aspect into practice?" DS#2's biggest struggles were trying to come up with what to say, and then how to organize his thoughts. (Every struggling writer is different, though.) So, lots of mentoring and guided questions from me during the brainstorming/organizing stage. He could take a detailed "writing roadmap," or keyword outline, or mind map, and rough draft write from that. And then lots more 1-on-1 time discussing how to improve the rough draft in the revising stage, which he could then take and work on solo, a bit at a time. @Green Bean -- do you have a struggling writer? If so, can you pinpoint the area(s) of struggle? That might help us point you towards specific resources that would help you work on those areas, as you may have to go more "DIY"...

I find that I can sometimes unclick the options of "print photos" and "print nutrition info", so that it only prints the recipe, and THEN when I hit print, and the print option box comes up, I click the "scale" option repeatedly so it scales down the file to print at a smaller size on the page until it finally fits on one page. But, agree -- sometimes I have to do the copy/paste method to get it to 1 page. Also, a related pet peeve -- trying to FIND the actual recipe in a web article... scroll, scroll, scroll, scroll past blah blah personal journey stuff, oh, here it is -- nope! psych! it's actually more discussion on a few of the steps in the process and photos.... gah! just give me the ingredient list and instructions!

Not trying to be annoying or argumentative... just musing here 😉 ... How long ago did you try that long list of resources in your original post? Because you may be dealing with a student with some learning delays or who is a late bloomer in writing. If that is the case, it's possible that nothing would have worked earlier because brain development for writing just wasn't in place yet, meaning nothing would have "clicked." But now, being older and with more time for brain maturing, a program that failed previously might work. (This was the case with our DS#2, so that's what I mention this as a possibility.) Also, just to clarify, what do you mean specifically by only "academic" writing? No assignments or instruction in creative writing or journalism? Only covers the research paper with citations? Covers essay writing of all types? Or limited to only literary analysis essays and possibly argumentative essays -- no descriptive or personal narrative essays, or scholarship/college application type of essays? That helps that, above, you mentioned what did NOT work for you about IEW. What was it specifically that didn't work for each of those other resources you've tried -- WWS, CAP WR, Lantern English, and elem/middle EIW? And could it still work for you if a program DID had some other types of instruction and assignments than academic writing--and you just skip those units or assignments? Just trying to brainstorm here to see if adapting in some way is a possibility, as it looks like you either can't use or have already tried most of the usual line-up of options... 😄

A tutor?

Welcome to homeschooling high school! 😄 While it seems like a chart would be a great idea, it's just not possible. Every student, every book, and even the goal for every subject is uniquely individual. 😉 I always had a tendency to plan for too much material, so in advance of the new school year, I would go through the booklist, and even the chapters in textbooks and put an asterisk next to a few things that we could drop if needed. That way, I wasn't overloading my students--or trying to race through material just to be able to finish and check off everything on the list. It was more important to me that we had time to really absorb, think about, and discuss material, and if that meant dropping a few things... well, NO one can realistically get through it all. That is what the rest of our students' adult lives are for -- keep learning! 😉 re: tracking hours and counting pages That's helpful for making sure you're doing enough -- but not overdoing -- for a credit, especially if you're not doing a standard high school textbook or program. But it's also okay to adjust your expectations if a book is easier or harder than expected. Again, that's where having marked a few things for yourself in advance helps you adjust as needed. As a side note: I'm noticing in your signature that your 9th grader will be covering Medieval Lit. Depending on what you are reading, be prepared for that to take longer than Modern Lit., as some works will be in translation, and some will be in verse format -- examples: Beowulf, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, The Canterbury Tales. And all Medieval works are going to be coming out of a time/culture that is very very foreign to our culture and mindset of contemporary time/place, so that takes extra time to research and understand the background of the author/work, in order to be able to think about it and discuss it. All that to say, I would take that in to consideration and allow for more time / fewer pages (however it is you assign reading) for Medieval literature. All that to say: you've done some great prep work in thinking about your schedule and what is realistic for your student. I think you will be fine. And, welcome to both you and your student to homeschooling 9th grade -- have a SUPER year! Warmest regards, Lori D.

Yea! And that's a great observation about following the themes through the decades of sci-fi. And speaking of which, you might be interested to know that the story "Runaround" in I, Robot is where the 3 Laws of Robotics that Asimov developed first appear. Those "laws" are taken as a given in all of sci-fi now. 😄 First Law = A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. Second Law = A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. Third Law = A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

Interesting. That did not seem to be an issue with either DS here, doing TKaM in grade 8. Nor did it seem that when I did it with my homeschool co-op class of 8th-9th graders that they were too young or missing a lot. But, I did provide them with a lot of set-up and background, which is important for getting the most out of any work of literature, IMO. A lot of the first half of the novel is clearly childish pranks and thinking, and then it builds into the "hard" things that happen to the characters, which works well as stepping stones for the reader to see that this is a coming of age story, and to see the clear progression in thinking and in maturing in Scout and Jem. There is a lot of humor in this book as well, and it did not go over the 8th-9th graders heads. It was a book they all enjoyed, and I think they liked being given a book with more "meat" to it and that had a bit of challenge to it for stretching. But, that has just been my experience with at-home and in a class of students. YMMV. 😄

Lighter, more humous, or more uplifting/inspiring novels/plays/short stories written in the 1930s-1950s: 1930s - UK = Thank You Jeeves, or, Right Ho Jeeves (Wodehouse) -- humor - UK = Miss Buncle's Book (Stevenson) -- humorous comedy of manners - UK = Murder on the Orient Express (Christie) -- mystery - UK = And Then There Were None (Christie) -- mystery - US = "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" (Thurber) -- humorous short story 1940s - US = "The Catbird Seat" (Thurber) -- humorous short story 1950s (sci-fi suggestions below are not "downer" dystopia or apocalyptic, but more the "interesting idea" type of sci-fi) - U.S. = I, Robot (Asimov) = sci-fi; novel-length; collection of loosely connected short stories - U.S. = Foundation (Asimov) = sci-fi; novel-length; collection of loosely connected short stories - U.S. = The Martian Chronicles (Bradbury) = sci-fi; novel-length; collection of loosely connected short stories - UK = "Lamb to the Slaughter" (Dahl) = short story; dark or black humor - UK = Our Man in Havana (Greene) = short novel; espionage thriller + character study + political satire - UK = The Daughter of Time (Tey) = mystery by one of the "4 queens of the golden age of British detective fiction" While not written in the 1930s-1950s, Richard Peck's YA is often set in that time period, which overlaps with his lived experience of growing up (he was born in 1934). So for a lighter, humorous pair of YA works, you might consider A Long Way from Chicago, and, A Year Down Yonder, which are set during the US Great Depression of the 1930s. Also, even though sci-fi is not usually SET in the time in which it is written, it often can give you a really good look at the mindset and what was important to the culture at the time the work was written--sci-fi written in the 1950s and 1960s is often a very good "window" into the US cultural mindset and politics of those times. 😉

Agreeing that after the Latin, Spanish will be pretty easy. What about doing the Spanish as dual enrollment at your local community college or university? That would be even above Honors level, as dual enrollment counts at the same "weighted" grade level as AP courses and tests. Your DS could conceivably take 4 semesters (2 each in 11th and 12th grades), for a total of 4 high school credits of Spanish -- and it would knock out in advance potential foreign language requirement towards a college degree program.

Fun! An interesting variety lineup for your booklist. 😄 Actually, I often see this one done at grade 8-9, so I think you'd be fine doing it in 10th grade, but of course, YMMV, due to the particular student or your particular goals for this year's lit. Another one to consider is Their Eyes Were Watching God by Hurston -- published in the 1930s by a black female author, with a black female protagonist. Eastern Europe: Russia - "Queen of Spades" (Pushkin) -- short story; early 1800s - "How Much Land Does A Man Need" (Tolstoy) -- short story; late 1800s - "The Nose" (Gogol) -- satirical short story; early 1800s; impressionist modernism and absurdism - a short story by Anton Chekov -- 19th cent. author Austria-Hungary - The Metamorphisis (Franz Kafka) -- novella; late 19th/early 20th cent. Poland - "Father's Last Escape" (Schultz -- Polish Jew killed in WW2; 1930s-early 1940s; magical realism - A Day of Pleasure (Isaac Singer) -- short novel, biographical sketches of Jewish ghetto, early 20th century (pre-WW1) OR, a short story by Singer Indigenous - The Man Made From Words (Momaday) collection of short stories, essays, poems, so perhaps choose selections? - Ceremony (Silk) novel, with short mythic Southwestern Native American type of tales interspersed in the main story of a Native American Vietnam War vet struggling with life upon his return from war; a lot of Navajo (Diné) culture and way of thinking in this one; some mature material, so you may wish to preview Also, I posted a list of World Lit. ideas (novels and short stories) by country / century in this past thread: "World Lit. help"

Welcome to the WTM boards! To be honest, because homeschooling has been around now for decades, there are very few universities any more that make it actively difficult for homeschoolers to be admitted. Some do have a few extra hoops to jump. My guess is that it will really be more about how much of a "fit" a college is for your student's personality, interests, and goals. Homeschooling, or where you went to high school, doesn't seem to come up much in conversation once you're a college student taking classes and getting involved with campus life activities. 😉 In case you are interested in seeing where other homeschoolers have been accepted, and have decided to go, here are links that @ScoutTN mentioned -- these are all linked on PAGE 2 of the big thread "College Motherlode", pinned at the top of the WTM College board: WTMer COLLEGE ACCEPTANCES / DECISIONS 2020 Class of 2020 acceptances 2019 Class of 2019 acceptances & decisions thread 2018 Class of 2018 acceptance thread Class of 2018 acceptances (list view) updated: 3/21 Class of 2018 decisions thread Canadian (mostly Ontario) acceptances - woo hoo! (report on successfully applying to Canadian colleges) 2017 The 2017 acceptance thread List view of class of 2017 college acceptances Class of 2017 decisions thread 2016 List view of 2016 acceptances 2016 decisions thread Class of 2016 check in Service Academies and ROTC - Class of 2020 2015 2015 - college acceptances 2015 college acceptances list only

Book Riot: "50 Must Read Preschool Books" -- a good variety of classics Brightly Beaming Resources website -- booklists by age, from baby, up through age 11 Also, Brightly Beaming has free curricula for: Letter of the Week, Science of the Week, etc. A great website for early learning for little ones!

Coming VERY late to this thread, and you probably already found what you wanted, BUT... Brightly Beaming website has free lesson plans for Letter of the Week. Plus: Sound of the Week Story of the Week Science of the Week (using the Let's Read and Find Out About Science book series) Country of the Week (which includes book ideas) Plus: booklists Plus: Toddler lesson plans, that include nursery rhymes, children's songs, indoor/outdoor games, and much more Preschool lesson plans, that include nursery rhymes, numbers, letters, colors/shapes, and much more

It happens all too quickly, doesn't it? But you've got this! And, you'll enjoy hearing about what other homeschool high school families are doing. There are so many options! And ways of creating a course to support your student's passions or goals. And having fabulous discussions with your high schooler about everything. You and DD are going to do GREAT! And have so much fun! Homeschooling high school, and the WTB high school board, are the BEST! 😄

You might look to see what materials, information, classes, or local gardening experts are available through your local programs of: Gardening Extension Community Gardens 4-H -- might have a high school level gardening program in your area (it looks like you are in WA?? -- Here's the WA State University 4-H Youth Development Gardening Program) Some FREE ideas: Cornell Garden-Based Learning, Youth Lessons -- links to various activities/projects from Cornell College of Agriculture & Life Science 4-H Gardening handout -- project suggestion list, from University of Florida School Garden Curriculum -- 200+-page info packet & worksheets for K-12 on growing a school garden from Slow Food USA Pathways to Horticulture -- pdfs and powerpoints from Minnesota Nursery and Landscaping Association Some NOT free ideas: 4-H Gardening Curricum series ($7 each) A (gr. 3-4) = "See Them Sprout" B (gr. 5-6) = "Let's Get Growing C (g. 7-9) = "Take Your Pick D (gr. 10-12) = "Growing Profits" Junior Master Gardener (middle/high school level) Beginning to Garden Books: Square Foot Gardening How Plants Work The Vegetable Garden Bible The Month-by-Month Gardening series, by area of the US (assuming you are WA, here's for the Pacific Northwest) ETA -- P.S. For high school level resources, you might also cross-post on the High School Board for more eyeballs of those who have or have graduated students at that level and have done gardening for credit at that level.

@Miss Tick -- do you have a link for that page? ^^^ It sounds fascinating! 😄 ETA -- Thx! And, that is a really interesting site! 😄

First, a quick aside 😉 : You might try cross-posting this on the High School Board with a heading that adds the specific subject you are looking for input on -- example: "Need some suggestions for 9th grade English" --o--r "Need input on 9th grade Spelling and Diagramming." Second, my input on your musings 😉 : I see Grammar and Spelling as tools, rather than as ends in themselves. Spelling initially assists with Reading, but also later with Vocabulary and Writing. Grammar assists with Writing, with Speaking, and with learning a Foreign Language. Usually by 9th grade, a student has completed all of the instruction in Grammar (and usually by 6th-8th grade for Spelling) needed to then put those tools into good use. Sounds like that is definitely the case with your DD. Since your DD is scoring almostly perfectly in Spelling (so she knows all of the sound and syllabication "rules") it sounds like that it is not really needed as a formal subject any more. Because she is doing Latin, she will continue to get exposure to Grammar. And a Writing class will put both Grammar and Spelling into practice. And since time starts getting very tight in high school, I'd be looking very very carefully at how to "budget" that scare resource of time. 😉 I agree with previous posters about switching to a Vocabulary program that you can do for 10 min. 2x/week. A roots-based Vocabulary would give you the most bang for the buck (helps you "decode" new words based on the roots). Vocabulary from Classical Roots series, or, Word Roots series (or other root-based ideas here). But if just looking to add interesting new random words into use, something like Vocabulary Cartoons is fast, easy, and uses a silly illustration and short "story" to help embed into long-term memory. Again, agreeing with previous posters about dropping Grammar, and possibly later in high school do a fast Grammar review geared towards taking the SAT/ACT. If you both really love diagramming, then maybe once a week, one of you pick a sentence from your literature to diagram and discuss the beauty of the author's writing style, or how the very structure of the sentence supports a theme in the literature... Just a thought! 😄 High school becomes a time of holding lightly to one's best-laid long-term plans, as students grow and change so much/so fast, and we have to be able to bend and flex to support their changing needs and goals. 😉

Also remembered another one DS#1 loved, but when he was a little younger (around 10): - From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler (Konigsberg) I also see that The Westing Game author wrote another puzzle-based mystery: - The Tattooed Potato and Other Clues (Raskin) No personal experience, but possibly: - Mo and Dale mysteries (Turnage) the first of the 4 books is Three Times Lucky, which was a Newbery Honor award book - Click Here to Start (Markel) "This wonderfully inventive mystery is part Ready Player One, part From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, and a dose of The Westing Game. Twelve-year-old Ted Garson is shocked to learn that his great uncle has died and left him a cluttered, junk-filled apartment. He’s even more surprised when he discovers his great uncle has transformed the place into a real-life, clue-filled escape room with a potential fortune waiting at the end. It will take every bit of Ted’s video-game fueled knowledge to crack this mystery." And from a list of middle grade mystery books with puzzles and riddles -- NOTE: most have already been suggested by previous posters, but a few additional titles here: - The Westing Game (Raskin) - Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library (Grabenstein) - The Mysterious Benedict Society (Stewart) - Book Scavenger (Bertman) - The Journal of Curious Letters (Dashner) - The Maze of Bones (39 Clues series) (Riordan) - The Inheritance Game series (Barnes)

Also, you might get additional responses if you cross-post this on the K-8, or Logic Stage, or even High School board... 😉

Girl protagonist, historical setting, possibly too young for your DS, but maybe: - A Murder for Her Majesty (Hilgartner) More historical adventure than mystery, and again, maybe too young, but possibly: - The Shakespeare Stealer; Shakespeare's Scribe; Shakespeare's Spy (Blackwood)