My son is using Giancoli this year, and it is a terrific text, but challenging. He used Apologia last year for Chemistry and didn't like it, so I looked for something different for Physics. Brenda

Hello, I'm also a regular reader and occasional poster on the TWTM high school board. I occasionally look at the other boards, but mainly post here. I have 2 boys, 11 yo & 16 yo, and I've been around on this board since 2000. We started out with a strict WTM approach, but then drifted to SL for our basis for history and literature, mostly because my older son just loves a good story. We still use some WTM suggestions and methods in our hs. I consider my cyber support here crucial to the success of our hsing efforts, and I'd like to thank each of you for your contributions to this community. I'd like to offer a special thanks to SWB for making these forums available! Brenda

.

Lisa, If I wanted to get the first book as a supplement to Henle Latin, would I need the other materials that they carry, like the student manual, grammar book, etc.? TIA, Brenda

Robin, Well, it's a one-off study, but my son used Math 87 in 7th grade (12 yo.). He even struggled a bit with the last several lessons that are heavy in Algebra. I had him start Saxon's Algebra 1 the following fall at 13 yo., and he did fine with it. If you decide to use another program (besides Saxon) for Algebra 1, I think you'll find that your dd has been introduced to a lot of the topics already via Math 87. That should smooth the transition. HTH, Brenda

Kris -- One note about the "Teaching the Essay" rubric -- it gives grades for things like "number of sentences" in the essay. I, personally, don't require a specific number of sentences in the essay, so I disregard that requirement. I use the rest of the requirements from that rubric fairly loosely, too. I do look for three separate sub-topics, one in each of the body paragraphs. I also expect quotes from the book to support the arguments, transitions to smooth the flow, and relevant concluding sentences for each paragraph. I was a little afraid of grading the written assignments once we hit 9th grade, and it took me a few months to get a good system in place. However, once I got the rubrics developed and made sure my son had copies before he started the assignments, things went much more smoothly. Brenda

The only thing I really graded before high school was math tests, and yes, he did know what his grades were. For other subjects, I did check written work, like math problems, and made him correct the ones that were wrong, but I didn't give a grade. My rationale was that I wanted to make sure he knew the material, but I didn't want to overly bog him down with grades on his daily work. I also wanted to teach him to be extra careful to thoroughly check his work when he's doing a test. I also helped him edit and improve his writing, but I didn't grade that either. Once high school came around, I had to figure out a way to grade each course. I was able to find a rubric for grading essays in the "Teaching the Essay" book from Analytical Grammar. IEW also has a sort of grading sheet that one uses with their curriculum. Once I saw these, I was able to make up my own grading rubric for subjects that required writing depending on what I expected from a particular course. I make sure that I give my son copies of the grading rubric before he begins the assignment so he knows what to expect. I've also purchased test books from the book publisher to use for grades if a particular publisher has a test book. When ds was in 9th grade, I got several month behind grading some of his work. I had to work like crazy to catch up, and I learned my lesson. Now I try to grade math and science tests the same day, and I try not to get more than a week or two behind grading essays. Brenda

Chris, Someone on the other post about what your high schoolers are reading mentioned Cry, The Beloved Country. My ds and I also really enjoyed that one, too. However, the language is a bit lyrical, so we got the audio book version from the library. We enjoyed hearing the story read and the African words pronounced by someone who knew how they should sound. My son and I had great discussions over this one, too. I think it takes place in the 40s or 50s. Brenda

My 16 yo ds is reading "Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust" by Immaculee Ilibagiza. This title, along with Kite Runner, which he just finished, are part of his history/lit school reading for the 20th Century period. I just finished a titled called "Boys Adrift" by Leonard Sax which is about the growing epidemic of unmovitated boys. I think someone at the WTM forum recommended this title, and I found it eye opening. If you have boys, you owe it to yourself to read this book. Brenda

Chris, My son just finished Core 300, and one of his recent favorites was Alas Babylon. The story is about how the residents of a small town in Florida react when most of the US is destroyed with nuclear weapons. It was written in 1959, I think, and definitely reflects the "mood" of that era. We skipped several of the Core 300 books this past fall so my son and I could put more focus on the titles we did read. I also used supplemental guides, such as Spark Notes on line, to help with our discussions. One book I added in at the end was the modern novel "The Kite Runner". We both enjoyed that one very, very much, and we'd recommend the recently released movie, too. Kite Runner does have one scene where a young boy is gang raped by bullies in an alley. It's not very graphic, but the incident is in there, FYI. Brenda