AuntPol Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 Can someone link me to a sample lesson or tell me basically how long and what a lesson is like? I know I can get sign up for a 30 day trial on United Streaming but I don't want to do that right now as I can't take full advantage of it with vacations, camps, etc. I just want to be able to put it in okay pile or dismiss it and look for what I need. School starts in 2 weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennefer@SSA Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 I just saw this and noticed you had no responses. We have used Elementary Spanish on Discovery Streaming for 2 years now and we are very happy with it so far. I have a degree in Spanish but I just don't have time to teach it all with a 3 and 4 yo in the mix as well or they would never get any mommy time! Basically each lesson is about 20-25 minutes I would say. Never timed them to be honest! :) There is a worksheet that goes along with almost every lesson as well. Typically the teacher starts the students on it towards the lesson as a review and they finish the rest once the lesson is over. Sometimes they complete the entire thing together. There is a teacher's manual that goes along that has all the worksheets as well as materials to make a bulletin board if you choose. The bulletin board is of course geared more towards a classroom setting but could definitely be used in a homeschool. I have never done it but ds sure would love it if I did! :D The teacher for 1st grade is Sra. Cano. Ds liked her but for 2nd grade it switched to Sr. Morris and ds really loves him! He is great. Each level (1/2, 3/4, 5/6) has 10 units with 10 lessons per unit. Each level is designed to take 2 years but you could certainly accelerate or slow down. How we schedule it into our school is that we do the lessons 2x a week. He watches while I prepare lunch then we review the vocab he learned at lunch. The other two days we play Spanish games I've collected over the past few years. I am linking the two blog posts I did that shows them if you are interested. We basically do 50 lessons per year although at some point I want to accelerate. When I was teaching ps the district I was in used a similar model but this program is sooooo much better then what was used back then. I really like the amount of review built into the program as well. It has been a really good fit for us. How I organize the year...I spend a few hours one day and get everything ready for the entire year. I create 10 new folders in my "Bookmarks" file labeled Unit 1- Unit 10. I go through each unit and locate all 10 lessons. That way when it is time for Spanish I don't have to hunt the lesson down. That is the only real downside I have found to this program: when you are locating one certain lesson they are not organized that well in the system and can be tricky to find at times. For example when you want the 1/2 level, unit 8, lesson 4 sometimes it's typed in as "Elementary Spanish 1/2, Unit 8, Lesson 4" sometimes they used words rather than numerals and sometimes it's just typed in a completely different way. :001_huh: I just get all the frustration over with in one day rather than sprinkling it out throughout the year! I also go ahead and print the entire teacher's manual too. I 3-hole punch it and get it ready to go. There is a TON of extra stuff in the TM I don't use like intro sheets that tell the teacher what each lesson is about and what vocab will be introduced. Since I already know Spanish I skip these but they would be a help to a non-speaker. Okay, let me know if there is anything else you need to know! Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 We are using ES and we do one lesson per week. On Monday the kids watch the video. On Wednesday we complete the worksheet or activity. On Friday I go over the vocabulary used that week and review previous vocabulary. This is *not* an intensive program by any stretch of the imagination, but my kids are enjoying it and they retain a lot. If you are looking for a program with scheduled lesson plans and worksheets for every day, this is not the program for you. You'll have to plan it out and provide supplemental activities. Tara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AuntPol Posted July 10, 2009 Author Share Posted July 10, 2009 Thanks. Where do you get the teacher guide? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 You can download it from the Discovery Streaming site. Tara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoPlaceLikeHome Posted July 11, 2009 Share Posted July 11, 2009 I could be wrong but I think that Elementary Spanish offered on Discovery Education is comprehensive since it has 304 lessons from k-8. DE also has other spanish programs for older highschool kids. I admit we have only worked up to unit 3 in the k 1-2 level, but so far I am happy with it.:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tohru Posted July 11, 2009 Share Posted July 11, 2009 I am not search savvy. How do you find the Elementary Spanish on the United Streaming? I have considered getting a subscription just because I've heard great things... but what else do you use the subscription for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoPlaceLikeHome Posted July 11, 2009 Share Posted July 11, 2009 I love discovery education plus. We have used the following: 1. Liberty Kids 2. Planet earth 3. Bill Nye the Science Guy 4. Many different ancient history shows with most geared toward K-5 5. Phonics shows 6. Spelling shows 7. Horrible Histories 8. Build it Big 9. german language shows 10.Cyber Chase 11. Math shows 12. geography and map shows 13. grammar shows 14. Many different science shows I simply love discovery education plus. You can find just about any show related to the topic that you are doing that is geared to the age group you are looking for:) Also, we have our computer hooked to both computer monitor and TV. DH has it set so that videos will show up on the TV. I recommend the 30 day free trial:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoPlaceLikeHome Posted July 11, 2009 Share Posted July 11, 2009 To find elementary spanish on DE, I just do a search for elementary spanish. Even better do a search for spanish. Then to narrow down search, I select full video on side bar and grade level that I am looking for:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AuntPol Posted July 22, 2009 Author Share Posted July 22, 2009 ugh. I finally got the trial version working. So far I am not impressed. It takes FOREVER just to find the lesson you want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 They have actually made it easier in the past few weeks. All of the lessons are now titled with the same format. I'm doing this from memory so I may be slightly off, but I think that if you wanted the first lesson of the first unit of year 1, you would search for: Elementary Spanish: Grades 01-02, Unit 01, Lesson 01. It won't give you that link and that link only, but since they standardized the titles, I am now getting only one pages of results, and what I am looking for is always on that page. It used to be a real nightmare of scrolling through page after page after page. I don't understand why they don't catalog them properly. But anyway, that's a Discovery Streaming problem. The actual Elementary Spanish program is excellent. And you can buy it directly from NAU on disc if you like. Tara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TraceyS/FL Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 With the paid version you should be able to save those lessons too. The naming issues were a pain in the behind, i'm glad to hear they have fixed it. This is on my "purchase" list at some point this fall (post divorce), i don't plan on having cable or sat - and this coupled with Netfilx should fill about any TV needs they come up with :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AuntPol Posted July 29, 2009 Author Share Posted July 29, 2009 So far so good. They like it so much better than Rosetta Stone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jplain Posted July 29, 2009 Share Posted July 29, 2009 A little OT, but is there a way to get full screen video on DE without excessive pixelation? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted July 29, 2009 Share Posted July 29, 2009 Our plays in Windows Media Player and we watch it full-screen with pretty good clarity. Tara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamamoon Posted August 16, 2009 Share Posted August 16, 2009 united streaming, how much is it? do they have a homeschool rate? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jplain Posted August 16, 2009 Share Posted August 16, 2009 The best pricing I know of is available through Homeschool Buyer's Coop: link. Their website appears to be down until tomorrow, but once it is up, search for Discovery Education. They offer a significant discount off the price listed on DE's website. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamamoon Posted August 16, 2009 Share Posted August 16, 2009 thanks!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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