shburks
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Posts posted by shburks
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Thanks, everyone. Interesting and different approaches here. I do realize that percentages don't go on a transcript; I'm a former classroom teacher, but I just wanted some guidance on how to set up a homeschool grade versus a classroom grade where I did give value to homework completed, classroom participation, etc.
I don't think giving an A is always appropriate. While, yes, he may be able to more thoroughly understand the subject matter, it doesn't mean that he is a good writer or will get every single math problem right or even be fluent in French even if I give him repeated opportunities to correct. That feels like inflating grades to me, and it also doesn't seem realistic. A college professor isn't teaching to mastery nor does he/she care if students pass/fail half the time. I do appreciate the thoughts though
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I'm sure this has been discussed before, but my search words aren't giving me what I'm looking for!
9th grader, so I'm in the early stages of grading and preparing high school level grades. He does math and science online, so those percentages are set by the teacher-- x% for homework, y% for tests, z% for labs, etc.
What I can't wrap my brain around is something like foreign languages? What's an appropriate percentage for quizzes versus tests? What if it only has tests and daily work? We don't grade daily work like a public school teacher might, so I can't just grade him on tests! That's not fair!
What about history? Our text only does some projects and unit quizzes.
Can anyone share your percentages for grading purposes?
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On 10/15/2019 at 2:05 PM, Farrar said:
You can find tons of questions for them all online. There are also a few videos. I've gotten into the habit of looking for videos to introduce big novels - Crash Course Literature has a bunch and there's a TED-Ed series called "Why should you read..." and I'm pretty sure there's one about the Canterbury Tales.
Thanks so much!
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1 minute ago, Lori D. said:
Beowulf. BUT... since it's short, I'd also suggest reading 2-3 of the Canterbury Tales, too. Perhaps The Pardoner's Tale, The Nun's Priest Tale, and The Wife of Bath's Tale.That's actually what I was thinking, too, since it is short! I appreciate the suggestions for the Canterbury Tales stories, too, as I would not know where to start. I know we read a few in our AP English class, but I have very little recollection of them! Would I need any sort of a guide for the Canterbury Tales?
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3 hours ago, Lori D. said:
If trying to match publishing date of publishing dates, then the first 2 of the following classics are closest in publishing date:
approx. 1380s-1390s = Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
1392 = The Canterbury Tales
1418-1427 = Imitation of ChristI can't think of another widely-read classic written in the rest of the 1400s -- it would have to be something like Farrar's historical fiction suggestion for staying in that century.
I totally agree that doing a few of the The Canterbury Tales is a high school standard and is worthwhile (it was on our "must read" list 😄 ). But it was written in the Late Middle Ages (as was Imitation of Christ). If OP needs a work that fits in with the History time period listed in the original post -- Fall of Rome to Early Middle Ages -- roughly 500-1000AD -- then Beowulf or a King Arthur work, or even possibly Macbeth (even though it was written in 1606), is going to give a closer "feel" for early Middle Ages.
I think it may come down to whether the original poster is looking for classic lit. written in that broad time frame, or is looking for historical fiction of a more specific time frame to match up with the history period being studied... 😉
I'm looking for something set in the history period being studied rather than when it's written. Thanks, Lori D for the thoughts. Sounds like Beowulf may be the best option.
5 hours ago, Farrar said:I'd do Beowulf if you want to do the traditional choice. It's shortish, meaty, very useful for cultural literacy in general.
I second doing Once and Future King if you just want some meaty but interesting literature. There is a bit of sex - nothing too explicit though. It's the best of the Arthurian books out there.
If you wanted a literature tie in but didn't care if it was only loosely connected, you could do The Hobbit. Tolkien was inspired by this period, obviously. There are other fantasy books that might also fit the bill. You could even do a YA fantasy.
If you wanted something that's more historically focused and weren't worried about the literary aspects as much, I'd do Pillars of the Earth. It's long, but a light read. Very historically accurate. Not high literature, but well written. There are other options in this vein. It would just depend.
Thanks, Farrar! He read Once and Future King this summer, so I definitely need something different. Looks like Beowulf it is!
15 hours ago, Lori D. said:
- Beowulf would be the only one on your list that is at a high school level, and that is classic literature for digging into with literature analysis and learning about lit. topics.
- Beowulf, Dragon Slayer (Sutcliff) -- gr. 4-6 reading level; her historical fiction is great, but a 9th grader who loves to read can handle a full translation of Beowulf. 😉
- Merry Adventures of Robin Hood is most typically a middle school work.
- GA Henty's historical fiction has little to no depth for literary analysis, AND, some of his works contain historical inaccuracies and imperialistic views.
_______________________Side note: I really dislike Notgrass' literature selections for World History and American History:
- way too weird and scattered with no unifying "thread" running throughout
- too much nonfiction (which cannot be analyzed in the way fiction/poetry/plays can be, and is better used as supplemental reading in support of the actual History)
- too much historical fiction
- not enough actual classics of literature
- and not much in the way of actual instruction, background and helps for literary analysis and learning about literature topicsWhew... with THAT off my chest... (LOL!) ... Ideas for substitutes that are classics done in high school and that will get you the biggest "bang for your buck" as far as works that are well-known and alluded to:
ancients (B.C. to 500AD) -- although, it looks like you're already past this time period, these are still very worthwhile to read in high school:
- The Odyssey -- and the Garlic Press Discovering Literature guide -- meaty!
- Greek myths
medieval (500AD - 1500AD)
- Beowulf -- Seamus Heaney or Burton Raffel translation -- here's the free Glencoe Lit. Library guide to go along
- a few Canterbury Tales (Chaucer) -- MacCaughrean's abridged retelling is frequently used; Tenggren's edition is also abridged/retelling, with language not too far from the original
- Sir Gawain and the Green Knight -- Tolkien, Burton, or Amitage translations are most frequently used
- possibly a King Arthur work (perhaps The Once and Future King by T.H. White?)So... I THINK you don't like the literature for Exploring World History! ha ha ha! I don't disagree with you for some works. I like some but we are definitely replacing some others--either he's already read it or I just don't care to have him read it. This is not our only literature, so I don't mind him reading some biographies or non-fiction as that really appeals to him as well. However, I agree with you that I'd like more classic literature.
Between Beowulf and Canterbury Tales, which would you choose? I I mentioned above, but he's already read Once and Future King, so I think one of these two might be the better choice. I personally hated Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and I'm not sure I can make him read it!
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My son is doing Notgrass Exploring World History this year, and I'm not interested in having my son read Imitation of Christ. He's is a 9th grader but can handle any literature I've thrown at him. Can anyone suggest a suitable replacement that would take place during similar time frame? This covers the units from the Fall of Rome to the early Middle Ages.
I considered:
- Beowulf
- OR Beowulf, Dragon Slayer
- The Dragon and the Raven (aka the Days of King Alfred) by GA Henty
- Merry Adventures of Robin Hood
Would any of these be more appropriate than another or something else anyone can suggest? Thanks!
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2 hours ago, SS in MD said:
Thanks for the post. Its good to know prob & stats won't take that long to self-study :)
Honestly, I guess I'm hesitant with son doing DO for pre-calc because he got so ridiculously behind in Alg 2 this year! It might have been a combination of things (many videos, doing all the practice problems, self-pacing/getting sidetracked on the internet, etc) I've heard pre-calc is has many practice problems (too many?) Have your kids done DO for pre-calc? Did they do all the practice problems (along with homework problems?) What are your thoughts? Did they take the math level 2 subj test? How did they score? I don't mind him self-studying for the subj test. I just figured if I could find a precalc class that had that included it would be a bonus lol 😉
My son has done Geometry and Algebra 2 with DO. Our experience was complete opposite. Geometry took him forever and he breezed through Algebra 2 finishing the year early. He did every video and every problem that DO required but not anything extra. I’m not sure what you mean by “he did all the problems”—my son did the ones in the workbook and then the ones to turn in. Were there others your son did?
were doing pre-cal with DO this fall and reviewing Algebra 2 this summer via Khan Academy. He’ll take Math 2 Subject test in the spring
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On 4/19/2019 at 7:35 PM, Frances said:
When I was in high school, we were required to take PE every semester for all four years plus a one semester health class. And it was the same requirement for everyone whether or not you were on a sports team. I know that requirements in many places have been significantly reduced and students can now use sports to replace some or all of the requirement. I know that my two academically inclined and very athletic nieces did the minimum required and in one case, even fulfilled the entire requirement during summer school, in order to take more advanced academic classes.
Good heavens...how did you get anything else done if you had to tie up one class period with PE every semester all four years? That's crazy! Four core classes, foreign language, and PE. Is that all your transcript said?
4 hours ago, Melissa B said:I would follow your local school system. Here, kids in sports are exempt from PE classes. Since my kids are/were all in organized sports I don't give any PE credits on their transcripts.
We're a military family and will be moving in the middle of his high school years, so I'm not sure what that is! ha! I'll certainly look closer at the local systems once we're closer to graduation though!
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7 hours ago, MamaSprout said:
We’ve ended up using both plus a French (CLE) grammar workbook. I like the native speaker who does Language City, but the organization of the course makes it difficult to review material. There are worksheets that can be completed in the course with answers available as well as tests.
Next year we’re going to use a tutor + B th B because it works best for me, but I’m sure we’ll use the Language City Videos for review. Once you buy it you have it.
Thanks! I think I've read every thread on French classes, and I know your name has popped up a lot! I have a tutor lined up already, so I just need to decide which option to go with! For B th B, do you utilize the print or iBook versions? Or Both? I like the look of the iBook version but I'm still a little old school and like print!
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Thanks, everyone! Sounds like this is really all over the place, so whatever I decide to do will be ok! We're a military family so where we live now is not where he'll graduate but I would like his transcript to look similar to local high schools if he applies to in state schools for core state requirements.
I do plan to do .5 credit (semester) of health, so it sounds like I need 1-2 credits for PE as well.
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How many PE classes do you do for your high schooler? Our academic advisor says two years of PE with each class being .25 credits. That just seems high--two years worth of PE or maybe the credit per semester seems low.
Is that typical? 100 years ago when I was in school, two semesters of PE fulfilled our PE requirement and I just can't imagine that there's MORE PE required now!
(Yes, I know..."required" is all just wording and nothing required of homeschoolers per se but I don't want to be giving .5 credit when typical high schools are giving .25 credit!)
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Can anyone compare Breaking the Barrier and Language City self-study? I'm looking for French 1 for rising 9th grader.
I think I understand the gist of BtB...textbook with workbook, etc and/or the iBook version. Can be used separately or together, right? Essentially we're on our own though, so I would certainly utilize a French tutor.
I don't understand what is included with Language City self study. Watch the recorded videos and then what? They do the course work/homework and turn in for a grade just like the live classes? Is there a schedule or totally self-paced?
Thanks for any help!
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7 hours ago, MamaSprout said:
I already have 3 Precalculus textbooks. One of them is a newer version of what DO uses. Do I understand correctly that the assignments that are turned into DO are directly from him and the "in book" assignments are practice to be checked and home? We could practice from another text if we chose too?
I would just email him and ask him! He's quite responsive. There are practice problems that are just to reinforce the concepts and then there are homework problems that are from him--those are to be completed and turned it (via scan/email) for a grade. I'd think you could use the book you have to do the practice problems.
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11 minutes ago, Calming Tea said:
Paradigm? It's super basic and he sounds like it may be too easy for him...and it's maybe a little wordy but it's quick and easy....
If he's smart and a good student, he can just read through a public school text, take notes and answer all the end of section and end of chapter study guides...the old textbooks from the early 2000s were set up that way, if you can find them. You can order just some kind of basic Bio lab kit and he can just work through that separately so you have a lab credit. ...QSL is a separate course that's not tied to the book, my dd used it and the QSL kit we have is way overkill for someone not into biology (fetal pig and all) but maybe they have other kits...
Thanks! I thought about that--just having him read the textbook and do notes, end of chapter, etc. I'll take a look at Paradigm, too. That isn't one I'm familiar with.
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Looking for a biology course that ds could work through mostly on his own or online asynchronously. Really just need a get 'er done course as his focus is on physics and more engineering type courses. He hates the idea of bio (as do I), and we just need to get it done!
Thinkwell?
Acellus/Power Homeschool?
Plato?
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7 hours ago, Æthelthryth the Texan said:
Can you provide information on what you define as rigorous? Do you want a lot of high level, as in college text level reading, are you expecting a lot of writing output? Do you want something that provides assignments? You mention curriculum so do you want an all in one class that will provide you with tests and papers/assignments, or are you just wanting a spine to build from?
If you want to piece together, I echo @SusanC- you could start with a Great Courses couse, or a Great Courses Plus subscription and pull from whatever lecture series you want there and build your own course.
It's going to be tough to have any depth really on a single year World History program going through modern times. That's a fast clip. You could look at what courses GCP provide and then drill down to what you really want to cover and pick and choose from among the lecture series. I feel like certain textbooks do a better job than others when it comes to different time periods, so my recommendation would depend largely on what periods you want to invest you time. I've never found a general World History textbook I thought was great across the board, so I've never used one and can't help there.
If you're okay with building, my suggestion would be outline what are my must haves to cover that year, lay out a loose outline schedule for my school calendar as far as how much time on each period/event, and then work backward from there to fill in with readings and lectures. I'm not meaning to schedule each day right now- or at least I don't work that way!- but rather know where you're going to spend some time and where you're just going to fly by. Then you can build your resources from there. You're going to have to do a lot of fly-bys to cover the history of the world in 36ish weeks, so I think knowing what you think is most important for him to cover is where I'd start. Unless you want a full World History program in a box.
Great Courses typically have a PDF booklet for most courses that you can then use for some additional info, then writing and discussion prompts for each lecture. This is what we are using for US History after adding a text to go with it suggested here, and then I use FundaFunda's schedule to match them up. We've spread World History out over four years honestly, and for instance, have added a specific 20th Century additional credit. It was just too much for me to think about cramming in a year.
If you use a Great Course Plus Subscription, you can help justify the cost by using it for other classes, or family usage as well- with GCP you have access to a large number of their courses. If your sig is up to date and he's just 13, there are all sorts of things he and you both might find of interest on there. You can usually do a free trial period to get an idea of the offerings.
Those are good questions! By rigorous, I'm looking for higher level reading but not necessarily more writing output. Writing is a weak area for him right now that we're working on, but he can handle so much more than a short lesson each day. Ideally, I'd like something that comes fairly prepared with reading lined out and assessments of some sort. Honestly, I don't do well with having just a spine. I love the idea, but it just becomes too time consuming for me to try to piece things together.
I know--I completely agree with you that it's hard to have any depth in one year. Last year, we worked through about 10 major topics in world history focusing on time periods that HE wanted to do, so we spent a month on WWI, for example, and several weeks on ancient Rome and ancient Greece as well as Napoleonic Wars, imperialism, as well as some biographies like Winston Churchill and Queen Victoria. I basically let ds choose what he wanted to study more in-depth and them put together novels and historical books for him to read. I essentially did what you suggested but not counting it as a high school level course. I'd rather have a full year of world history to piece it all back together even though I know it'll be light and fluffy in some places.
3 hours ago, elegantlion said:I agree with the Anglo-Saxon Texan above (love the name!). It's going to be hard to go into any depth doing a World History course in one year. So you might consider whether you want to focus deeply on one area of history to really get the most out the study. As a person who loves history, I believe that speeding through history is a great way to discourage history lovers rather than encourage.
Great Courses are a wonderful way to focus on certain periods or civilizations. Yet, I understand the desire to not have to create your own study.
History study as outlined in WTM is also a rigorous way to approach history.
Ways of the World, recommended above, also has a primary source reader that would round out the book.
I agree with you in general. I feel like he needs the world history credit, and I don't have any big desire at this point to stretch it out longer than a year. I know it means less in-depth, but my thought is to circle back around his senior year and if he chooses, we could do more in-depth studies. He reads history books on his own for "light" reading, so I'm not really concerned about squashing his history love. if we stumbled on something he really wanted to know more about, we could always pause for a bit or add on some additional reading. I just wanted something that went deeper than a typical high school history book!
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10 minutes ago, EKS said:
Ways of the World is an excellent college level text. I'd supplement with additional reading.
Thanks! I'll take a look
16 minutes ago, SusanC said:Does it need to come through Modern? If not, SWB's History of the _______ might be worth a look. Otherwise, everyone recommends Spielvogel - but I've never seen it in person. I'm sure you all have scooped out the Great Courses offerings?
I've been researching history progressions trying to figure out what to do here next year. My future 9th graders are less history-enthusiastic and more mom-compliant, but *I* would love an in-depth history sequence, myself. We shall see where we end up in the fall...
I'd like for it to go through Modern. I know that means skimming the surface of some topics unfortunately! I'm not familiar with Spielvogel, but I'll take a look! I really hadn't considered Great Courses. Maybe I should revisit that!
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I'm not looking for an online class but a rigorous world history curriculum we can work through. DS loves history and enjoys reading and learning history, so I need something that isn't too light and just covers the surface--something with some meat! Even a good solid world history curriculum I could beef up with extra reading would work. Any suggestions?
I spent the last two years piecing together history curriculum for him as a 7th and 8th grader, so I do NOT want to do that again!
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On 2/19/2018 at 4:19 AM, brendafromtenn said:
Just to respond a bit about why we did 2 Algebra based physics. I know that it was overkill. But for THIS student, I just felt that he needed a bit more review of the Physics concepts to make sure that those skills were solid. So that when he switched to a calc based physics, that he was still not struggling with the physics concepts. We did the same thing for Calc. He took the DO's AP Calc, but we didn't take the AP test. And then this fall, as a freshmen, he started with Calc I with all the other freshmen engineering students. He has thanked me OVER and OVER. He even said just yesterday, that many of the engineering students are having trouble with Physics 1 this semester because this IS a Calc based physics and the engineers are having trouble meshing Calc and Physics. But since he took 2 physics classes in high school and DO's Calc and then again back in the fall as a beginning freshman, his skills are solid and he seems to be tutoring folks.
I also made this decision after talking with several engineering professors as we toured many colleges during his junior year of high school. I did not make this decision lightly.
For some of these upper level concepts, for some students, we need to let them "marinate" on the concepts for a while to get those skills solidly in their long term memory.
I know I would not have done this with ALL of my students. But for this one, it is paying off big time. That is why, when we plan for the up coming year, we really have to pray about it and think deeply about that kid.
Hope that helps!
Blessings,
Brenda
Brenda--I'm curious. You said he did the two physics classes to be better prepared before he did calculus based physics. Did he do calc based physics in high school or not until college so that he just had a good solid conceptual physics basis before he went to college?
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5 hours ago, Penelope said:
The WHA honors physics class used for ninth grade uses a text which is really more of an honors physical science text (even described that way by publisher), but not what I would think of as a traditional honors high school physics class. If you look at explanations from the publisher, they believe that the majority of students cannot handle vector physics in high school, so the book with those types of problems is reserved for the advanced student, which is what WHA uses for their Honors Physics 2. I like the idea of physics first, but, for my own kids, I don’t see the point of having two courses labeled “physics” in high school if the second one is still algebra/trig based.
Caveat that we haven’t taken the WHA class or used those particular books, just done some serious looking. I have used Novare Earth Science. It was okay. I have also used Derek Owens Physical Science for one child and will again for another, and will probably go with DO physics for my next ninth grader. For my junior who had also already had algebra, we did our version of “physics first” in grade 8. I used the Hewitt Conceptual Physics book with additional problem solving books and a big chunk of the GPB curriculum materials, which is more of an on-level “plug and chug” high school physics. I figured he would take Calc-based Physics in high school and no need to use up two high school science years for physics, so the course in eighth was meant to be a nice intro to cover however many topics we could, and ended up being very good. He has taken bio and chem at home and then AP Chem and done well.
Thank you for this. We used Novare Earth Science as well, but I actually really liked it. He's already done Physical Science (honors) through The Potters' School. We use Derek Owens for math but he really prefers live classes for science.
6 hours ago, RootAnn said:My eldest did physics first using DO Honors physics. She went onto take Chemistry (no honors option) with Excelsior Classes, skip science her Junior year, and dual enrolled her senior (this) year first semester in a Chemistry class for science majors. No issues.
She disliked physics, but loved chemistry. She's planning on majoring in math.
Good info! We need a live class for science although we use DO for math! It sounds like she did just fine with her science pathway though!
7 hours ago, Jugglin'5 said:My non-mathy daughter took Hon. Physics 1 with Jester as a sophomore. She loved it. I was really surprised! My son is taking the same thing this year as a freshman, concurrently with geometry. It has really worked out well for both of them. My daughter's sequence ended up being biology (Landry), physics 1, hon. chemistry, and now AP biology. She really enjoyed physics 1 and chemistry.
Thank you! The teacher for Honors PHysics 1 isn't assigned yet. Looks like Jester is leaving or undecided?
6 hours ago, h2bh said:I hear and read lots of good reviews of the Novare textbooks so I know I am in the minority. I haven’t seen the chemistry book but we have not loved the honors physics book. My daughter is taking honors physics at WHA and my son is taking Jetta’s physics class this year. My son has learned so much more. They are both physics first options so that isn’t the issue. My daughter works very few problems each week and spends time memorizing history of science. My son’s class is what I would expect of a physics class. And his class looks like more fun too! My daughter is a humanities kid so it doesn’t bother me that she has learned substantially less physics than her brother but I’m really glad my son gets to be more challenged. If AP science is your goal, you can get there with WHA (based on their track record) so I don’t mean to sound too negative. The teachers have great reputations for sure. I just wanted to offer my observations.
Honestly, I love the look of Jetta's class and we'd probably do it, but we're in Hawaii and so we're limited to the live class times we can do. Oh...I do see she has a noon class though and in central time so that might actually work. I really appreciate your comparison of the two courses! I'm going to take a second look at Jetta's! EDIT: Her website does say This physics course is ideal for both the STEM-minded student who will take more physics (i.e AP Physics or dual enrollment) later in high school or for the more humanities-minded student who desires a basic physics credit. Does that mean that your son will plan to take an an additional physics course later?
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I'm seriously considering WHA Physics this class for my ds for next year (rising 9th grader). He's very strong in math having already completed up through Algebra 2, and I'm rather intrigued by the physics first idea. I'd likely be looking at the Honors Physics class.
Can anyone give me some good feedback on the whole physics first experience? Someone whose dc is already in college or upper high school? I guess I'm still stuck on the whole "doing science out of order" (I know...it's my decision and no set order but it's still rocking my brain). Did this work out OK for your child?
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I'm looking to create a semester elective on New Zealand that would culminate with a two week trip covering the highlights of both islands. We (parents) are beginning the planning stages of this, but I thought this could be a good way to bring in some additional knowledge and research, but I can't really wrap my brain around how to do this!
We live in Hawaii, so we do have a little exposure to the native culture. I mean, it's mostly via a touristy luau or the Polynesian Cultural Center but we do have a little bit of working knowledge!
I'd like to incorporate some history and geography along with the assisting in planning the trip--money conversion, etc.
Has anyone done anything like this before? I feel like I've read where people have, but my searches aren't turning up any results! Also, any NZ homeschoolers on here who might have some good books (history, novels) to recommend?
Only child--9th grader who loves history and reads super fast if that helps! Thanks in advance!
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We are not required to do state history, but my son has requested to do Hawaii State History! Anyone have thoughts on a way I can put this together? I'm already creating one of his electives and his literature curriculum so I just don't have the time to put together a state history one, too!
Any experience with Monarch or A Beka state history? Anything else?
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We live in Hawaii and had a hard time finding some, too, that worked on Pacific Time. We have one class from CLRC and one from Open Tent Academy that’s east coast but late enough in the afternoon
How to Determine Grade Percentages
in High School and Self-Education Board
Posted
That was my argument as well. My son is quite bright and generally tests well, but he doesn't do well with re-doing papers or even correcting his work. He simply doesn't care and won't put forth any effort even if given the opportunity. I do give him the opportunity to revisit Latin and French tests but even taking a second look at them, sometimes he just doesn't know them and no amount of encouraging, nagging, etc can make him memorize all the vocabulary! ha ha ha!
I think that's fair. Perhaps not my approach, but I can absolutely understand what you're saying. 🙂