Please help me plan for a co-op class

[tjo]

I have been asked to teach at a co-op this coming year. This board has been a great help to me over the years and I'd love your input as I plan for these classes.

 

Here are the details....

I will be teaching a 1st/2nd grade and a 3rd/4th grade reading/writing class.

The classes will meet for an hour, twice each week.

Parents are expecting me to work on reading and writing skills.

Homework will be assigned for students to complete with parents.

I am still homeschooling my own children (12 and 15), so the program can't require a huge amount of prep time.

It must be secular.

 

How difficult would it be to use LLATL or McGruffy in a multi-age co-op situation? I haven't used either and absolutely am open to any suggestions you may have.

 

Thank you!

Tracie

[krisperry]

I would try Igniting Your Writing

 

But for 1st/2nd, I'm at a bit of a loss. Stick with copywork for the writing part? Focus more on phonics/reading for them.

[krisperry]

For the younger set, you might could just do story starters and they share their stories. Dollar Tree has story starter books for a buck each. The 1st/2nd graders that can't write much yet might could narrate to a 3rd or 4th grader who could write the stories for them.

 

 

These are free and secular:

http://www.sfreading.com/resources/ghb.html

[Tina]

I second the Ignite the Writing book for the 3rd/4th graders. There are also lots of ideas for even playing with words in If You're Trying to Teach Kids to Write You Gotta Have This Book.

 

I would also play word/letter games like Boggle, Scrabble, Hangman, bantering with rhyming words, etc. Most anything to do with words just to revel in the variety and sound of words. Play charades acting out verbs.

Pair off and add adjectives/adverbs to a subject-verb such as 'the dog barked' til you can't add more. Tongue twisters, palindromes, etc. Have fun with words!

 

Bravewriter.com has some free writing ideas and other thoughts. Check them out.

 

They could all write a 'book' with that lined paper that has room for illustrations on top, and they could sew/bind the pages together.

[strawberry]

For the 1st/2nd graders: you might look into Phonics games (ideas online?), make a phonics lapbook? (homeschool share.com), or another lapbook(s) based on stories you read (see previous website for ideas). Keeping a writing notebook and writing a poem (some in class, some at home) would be cool, too, for the writing part.

[mathmom]

I'll agree that the Story Starters from The Dollar Tree have been a huge hit at my house. We have gotten the most elaborate stories from my reluctant narrator using those books. I'm actually going back for more today.

[tjo]

Igniting Your Writing looks great and I will check out the Story Starters. I like the lap book idea and activities/games as well.

Thanks for the direction!

[tjo]

Kris,

I LOVE the free grammar and writing download! Thank you!

[coffeefreak]

ACK! I misread the ages in the beginning :). So, my earlier suggestion is not right. For the younger kids, I really like Drawn Into the Heart of Reading. You can use it as a secular curriculum if you skip all the "Godly Character Trait" lessons. I am a Christian Homeschooler, but I actually don't cover those lessons. It's my FAVORITE reading/ pre-writing curriculum.

Blessings!

Dorinda

Edited July 28, 2010 by coffeefreak

[tjo]

Thanks, Dorinda. I will check it out!

[tjo]

Dorinda,

Do the student workbooks refer to religion? I will have a variety of religions in class, thus the need to stay secular.

Thanks,

Tracie

[coffeefreak]

Dorinda,

Do the student workbooks refer to religion? I will have a variety of religions in class, thus the need to stay secular.

Thanks,

Tracie

 

Yes, but not like A Beka or Bob Jones (a random verse on a page). The "Christian" activities are an individual assignment. I was thinking you might be able to purchase 1 and photocopy for the whole class depending on the class size. The Copyright says, "Permission is given to the original purchaser to reproduce patterns and reproducibles for individual classroom use or personal use only and not for resale or distribution." I guess you'd have to contact Heart of Dakota to find out if this falls in those guidelines, or whether they would want you to purchase a separate workbook for each child.

 

Here's an example of a Biography unit:

 

http://www.heartofdakota.com/pdf/d2.pdf

 

And here's the Instructor's Guide info. On page 8 it explains how the lessons are broken down. Godly Character trait lessons are on days 4, 9, and 14, so you would skip those days.

 

 

I am sitting here thumbing through our workbooks and there is one problem I hadn't thought about. At the beginning of each genre, she has a worksheet that lists the definition of the genre, common characteristics, and the story element emphasis you're going to talk about. The bottom of the worksheet has the "Godly Character Trait" that you're going to talk about too. If you were able to buy one workbook and reproduce only the activities you're going to do, you'd be able to edit that out, but if every kid needs a workbook, DITHOR won't work for you. :(

 

I hope that helps and I didn't waste your time! It's so hard to find co-op curriculum, isn't it? I belong to a Christian co-op, but even we have a hard time making curriculum "work" for everyone. I have no problem crossing out, skipping, or telling my kids to ignore things in texts, but I forget that not everyone feels comfortable with that.

 

Blessings!

Dorinda