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dori123

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Posts posted by dori123

    Is Key to Algebra a full pre-algebra program? Other suggestions?

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    Another pre-algebra program to consider is Larson's Big Ideas (red accelerated) Math or his Pre-Algebra book. (The Pre-Algebra is an older book and the red aligns to common core standards, but they both cover the pre-algebra topics.) Larson was the guy who put together Chalkdust math.

    What I love about the red book is there are worksheets that go along with it. We never use the problems in the book (there are too many -- like 75 each lesson) but on Day 1 we do the lesson and the Practice A worksheet (about 25 problems). On Day 2 we go over corrections, then do the slightly harder Practice B worksheet (also about 25 problems). I find that's a really good pattern of new and review that gets remembered (kids are not mathy). 

    The Red book also has "Puzzle Time" worksheets that I assign on the Practice B days -- full of more entertaining, puzzle-like problems that go along with that lesson. We did the Key To books (fractions, decimals and percents) and loved them, but I want to transition to more traditional programs from here. We also do Jacobs' MHE on Mondays which is fun. 

    8th Grade Civics: Help Me Decide!

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    I have the OM Civics course on hand but I also really, really like the looks of the iCivics program and I am having the hardest time deciding between the two. 

    I hear wonderful things about both so I suppose neither is a bad choice, but OM seems to be more of a commitment in terms of time and teacher involvement/preparation. iCivics seems worksheet-based, but super easy to implement (ie independent work) and covers a lot of ground in a fun (games) way. 

    Can anyone give further insight? How much of a time commitment is the OM Civics course? We have a pretty hefty load as it is. We do have room for this to be an all-year course, but can only spare about an hour every other day. 

    Thanks so much!

     

    What is the name of this history resource?

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted · Edited by dori123

    I remember reading about an American History (modern era) text or program that was really fun but also rigorous -- focused mainly on American culture, 1950s+. (There might have been several books in the series focused on different eras.) 

     

    There were fun projects for each chapter; one that I remember was students had to come up with a list of guests for a TV talk show in the 50s and explain who each guest was and why s/he ought to be on the show. 

     

    What are the chances any of you know what resource I am trying to find?

     

    (Middle/High School)

     

    Math Assignments: Is this normal?

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted · Edited by dori123

    Thanks for asking the question! I deal with this as well.

     

    I wanted to add that I think there is a difference in understanding the math and having the maturity to execute it correctly on paper. My students are fantastic during our class -- they pay attention, give me the correct answers, work problems out on the whiteboard and explain things back in a way that makes me think they get it. Then as soon as they start working on their assignment, it's almost as if their brains melt away. It truly is a wonder.

     

    We also have our fair share of surface issues -- sloppy handwriting (more like resistance to handwriting), distractions, aversion to doing hard things, and general dislike of numbers and mathematics -- and I would say these things account for more than half of their errors... which means their grades are technically low but I still believe their understanding is fairly sound. So it is a balancing act between what they show they know verbally and what they write on paper.   

     

    I have noticed that they always get easier math right (85% and above) more consistently on paper, which might mean that they are in over their heads right now. (But then they complain the math is boring, so go figure!) 

     

    But maybe it means those surface skills need more time to develop and catch up with their math and thinking skills. Who knows -- I seem to have a thousand theories on what's going on at any given moment. Some days I am convinced we are doing it all wrong; other days I think we are miles ahead. 

     

    Either way, I think my next move (along with implementing many of the ideas presented here) is to put our current book aside and pick up the prior year's book instead (same author / format). I want to focus on them getting the right answers more consistently and cleaning up all those surface problems. My thinking is that easier math = less pressure and increased ability to focus on the details. I am also hoping for increased confidence, which should lead to being able to move faster on down the line.

     

    Anyway, good luck to you guys; let us know how it all works out. 

     
     

    8th Grade Planning Thread 2018-19 Updated 8-17-18

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted · Edited by dori123

    Loose plans are as follows:

    5-6 homeschool classes; 3 public school classes

    1. Math: Larson's Big Ideas Math: finish Red Accelerated edition and start Algebra 1. Maybe some Will do Jacobs MHE on Mondays.  Update: Big Ideas is going really well, and since DS is not amused by Harold Jacobs and is not enchanted by MHE, we are eliminating it and just doing Big Ideas and Math Minutes.  

    2. English: Oak Meadow 8, mixed with our homegrown book list/essays. OM uses Writing for 100 Days for formal writing and Strunk & White workbook for grammar. I will add some creative writing (maybe NaNoWriMo again; maybe some shorter pieces... not sure yet). Also, Evan Moor Proofreading, Spelling Power. Maybe some Spelling Wisdom to improve the speed of writing / cursive and 4-6 selections from Movies as Literature to break things up. Adding How to Read Literature Like a Professor. Update: Oy vey. I had high hopes for OM but it is so very slow and scattered. I didn't feel it was concrete enough and DS was annoyed with all the page flipping and shortness of the assignments. We are moving to Plan B: Lively Art first, then some Kilgallon and After the End. We are keeping S&W and doing one rule/day, plus grammar as needed. Keeping Spelling Power and occasional proofreading. Keeping How to Read Lit Like a Prof and dropping all OM reading titles and doing our homegrown book list. 

    3. History: History of American Pop Culture, 1950s-present, using the "Exploring America in the XXXXs" series. Update: Super happy with this. Only complaint is we spend too much time in this rabbit hole. 

    4. Civics: iCivics. Oak Meadow Civics I have OM on hand but I think I like iCivics better (+ for games!). Reading parts of Changing Tomorrow 2; skipping the essays. Update: iCivics is great. DS is not a huge fan of the worksheet format and busywork, but he is coming around. Lots of great discussion. 

    5a. Health: Homegrown (one semester). Mishmash, based on PBS's In Defense of Food curriculum plus readings from YOU: The Owner's Manual for Teens and Health: Making Life Choices plus other ad hoc resources. Also going to do Operation Fit Kids (three weeks). Update: Very happy with this; no plans to change. 

    5b. Finance: Stock Market Game (one semester). Planning to participate and use their lesson plans. Should be about 20 lessons plus time spent "playing." I think we have to play during their official season, which lasts 8-10 weeks. 

    Geography: Zombie-based geography (one semester). Going to lighten the load and do S&V World Geography & You books, along with Maps & Charts instead.  Dang it! Not enough hours in the day. Hoping to assign some of this as independent read / worksheets but we won't get through it all.

    6. IT: If we can fit it in, we are going to try Code for Teens (javascript). I like the sounds of the Photoshop course CrazyForLatin listed, though. Might do a Flash class; might do a computer-based Creative Workshop. Taking a computer class at public school instead.

    6. Music: Continuing guitar.

    1. Science: Local public school. Might do an engineering and science co-op or Exploration Education at home if we have time.

    2. German 1: Local public school.

    3. PE/Art/Digital Media: Local public school (one semester each)

    Edit: Made some decisions... 

    Edit 2: Made some more decisions, but still too much liberal arts...

     

    ####

     

    • Like 1

    What *is* critical thinking?

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    Great question. I often see "critical thinking skills" categorized as an offshoot of math on this forum. I suppose I can see a bit of that in terms of problem-solving and logic puzzles at a younger age, but I see it as teaching kids to be skeptical; to analyze meaning and intent; to define subtext, to evaluate details and how they relate to broad strokes; to scrutinize facts, opinions, media; to recognize agendas, spin, credibility, consistency, etc.

     

    I teach these skills mainly through history; sometimes literature and often in writing.

    Larson math: surely you don't assign all problems?

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted · Edited by dori123

    Just discovered Larson's prealgebra. I love the conciseness, the clear language and the layout (rarely happens!) But there are so many problems (up to 75). What do you all typically assign per section, and is there any pattern to the questions? Seems like those relating to the examples are noted in the margin, but I can't find a pattern to the rest. Anyone have this figured out?

    Khan Academy math vs homeschool favorites

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    So good to get the feedback. It's hard to change programs -- especially when your students have to invest several hours in Khan's evaluation before you get to the right level. 

     

    I think we are going to try it. One of my students is not AOPS-mathy; she is more Key-To mathy. Sounds like Khan might be a good fit; she likes to do math independently (ie not taught by mom!) but still needs verbal instruction. 

     

    Here's hoping this one sticks!!

     

    Thanks again.

    • Like 2

    Khan Academy math vs homeschool favorites

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    Wondering how the Khan Academy pre-algebra level compares to some of the homeschool standards out there (Foerster's AOPS, Saxon, TT, etc.)

     

    Is it as rigorous and are there enough practice problems?

     

    These are the two weaknesses that people seem to note, but I wanted to hear from actual Khan users (and recent users at that!). 

     

    Seems the comments and criticisms I find about Khan are from several years ago and I know they have made great improvements since then. 

     

    Thank you!

    • Like 1

    Adaptive Spelling online?

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted · Edited by dori123

    Looking for the perfect spelling tool. 

     

    I can make Spelling City work, but I am looking for an online (or pc-based) spelling quizzer for middle school. My nitpick is that I want to eliminate words that are spelled correctly during a pre-test. Bonus is to display the spelling rule for words spelled incorrectly. 

     

    Seems a reasonable request, but I can't find anything like this anywhere!

     

    Help!

    Preliminary eval at home before formal full eval?

    in The Learning Challenges Board

    Posted

    All noted. 

     

    I need to take a deep breath myself, and organize my thoughts. So I'm fine with waiting a 2-3 weeks before I submit a formal letter / request for eval. He will see both his pediatrician and a vision therapist in that time, so we'll have some more professional input by then. 

     

    For ST, I got the Social Fortune or Social Fate graphic novel -- he loves graphic novels. Also got the Thinksheets for Tweens & Teens, plus the Social Success Workbook for Teens. Will start flipping through those this week. 

     

     

     

    Preliminary eval at home before formal full eval?

    in The Learning Challenges Board

    Posted

    Thanks for all the responses. I am modifying my plans based on the excellent advice I am getting here. 

     

    -I have set an appointment for an ADD / ADHD eval with our pediatrician in a couple of weeks. I don't think DS has either of these, but I want a medical opinion on possible LDs and this is all they've got at our office. It's probably good to bring our doctors into the loop.  

     

    -I went back to the school and requested the formal eval through them. Our assistant principal used to be a school psychologist so he is very helpful. I agree with him that we need to monitor and observe DS for awhile (a few weeks) in the school setting. I think the social will improve a bit as he settles into a routine, but the organizational / academic issues will persist. I am in close contact with his academic teacher and we are comparing notes. I have told (emailed) the school that if the pediatrician advises it or DS doesn't seem to progress over the next few weeks, then I will be pressing for an immediate (before Christmas) eval. Storygirl, your round-up of the kinds of testing I should request is very, very helpful -- thank you. I would not have requested half of what you suggested. Now I'm going to check all those darned boxes... 

     

    -I have started writing up my observations and concerns so I don't leave anything out as we visit various doctors. I will include this in my formal letter to the school when that time comes. 

     

    -I started a list of accommodations I made during homeschool last year and I continue to be surprised at the number of modifications that, looking back, are pretty clearly accommodations rather than customizations, which is how I had been thinking of them.  

     

    -Got the SocialThinking workbook yesterday so hoping to flip through that today and start working it into our day. I have been taking note of his social behavior at home and he is definitely aware of many social cues ("Mom, you're getting tired of hearing me talk about that, aren't you?"). He is thoughtful and responsive to our family's facial and body language, so that's a good sign. I'm wondering if his social deficiency is more an anxiety issue.  

     

    I think that's it for now. I have been on the roller coaster where one second I am convinced there is some kind of disorder and the next second I am equally convinced I am over-reacting. Either way, I am getting more comfortable with the idea of seeking outside help, and I am both eager and reluctant to find out more...

     

     

     

    • Like 2

    Preliminary eval at home before formal full eval?

    in The Learning Challenges Board

    Posted

    Wow, I feel like I really hit the jackpot asking you all about this. Thank you, I am making furious notes. 

     

    Hilltopmom, no, I have not had a basic eval yet. There is some hangup at the school -- something about them having to prove what has been done for remediation first, before testing can be ordered. Of course, they can't prove remediation efforts because he was homeschooled last year. They are willing to figure it all out for us, but I told them not to bother because we are already on the waitlist at the university center. Maybe I'll circle back on this conversation and push a bit to see if they can get a basic eval done prior to the university's four-six month timeframe. 

     

    Having read more about LDs, my best guess is his deficiencies are likely NVLD, executive function and anxiety. And yes, Storygirl, it seems to be getting worse with age, not better. I find myself looking back and noticing that I have made accommodations through the years without realizing what I was doing. Things like buying Vans shoes (tying shoes has always been hard), avoiding large crowds, allowing more screen time than what I probably should, looking past his limited and not-excellent diet, gravitating toward curricula / books that are not "busy," etc. I am trying to make a list of peculiarities for our upcoming evals and it's surprising how many there are. But since DH and I both dealt with many these when young, I figured none of them were unusual. We both ultimately grew out of them; I really hope that's the case with DS. 

     

    The good news is that the psych eval is only $80 and the neuropsych eval is about $400 at our local university. At least that's the initial cost. I will look into the SLP today, too. And excellent reminder to bring our pediatrician into the loop. They are so general I often forget they might have some resources available to us. 

     

     

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