Does anyone her outline their kids textbooks in order to teach from them?

[Mommyfaithe]

I am finding myself having a hard time teaching what I have not read...LOL! I have been outlining dd's science book in order to help show her HOW to outline a text and also so I can know what it is she should be learning. I am finding that once my kiddoes are past 7th grade or so, I really need to up the teaching and prep time. My older 3 were very independent, but now I think they may have missed out on quite a bit of learning. Thank Gid it didn't effect them too badly. This takes forever...but at least I will have it for the next 2 kids:D

 

Does anyone do this or am I just nuts?

 

Faithe....

[elegantlion]

I usually buy two copies of a text. Fortunately, most of what I've needed have been able to purchased cheaply on amazon or other used book sites. I try to find the TE if affordable. I'm just beginning this stage and use my copy to highlight and make notes in the book. I do this with a lot of novels as well, making my copy the "teacher's copy".

 

Yes, I find it time consuming. Most of my self-ed over the next few years will involve what I need to teach down the road. In fact, I just got a biology book in the mail today and I'm not sure when we'll cover biology.

 

It sometimes feels like I'm carving a path through the jungle with a machete, but it makes for richer discussions with ds.

[StephanieZ]

There are outlines of many highschool & college texts available online . . . so if that would help you, be sure to google for outlines before you do it yourself! :)

[regentrude]

My kids are 11 and 13 year old . If they have a textbook, they teach themselves - they can read as well as I can. If they get stuck and have questions, such as DD last year with cellular respiration, I'll go through the section and figure things out so I can explain. But most things are clear from the reading, they do not need me.

I only teach things where I have expertise that goes beyond the text: math and physics. For those, I do not need to read the text.

[ABQmom]

I decided this year that I needed to do just that. I read my 7th graders General Science text and outlined it this summer. I showed her how to outline like I did, and she's doing great. I haven't made it through dd's biology text and probably won't. I wish I would've started this earlier, so I would only have one text a year to read. I do feel it is helping because if they have a question, I can better answer it.

[angela in ohio]

Yes. I don't necessarily outline in detail, but I create an outline to teach from. Then, after they have done the reading, I can lead a discussion on the text using my outline. It really does take a lot more time to teach high school here. :) Dh has been helping out, I've outsourced some things I used to do, and so forth. I need a larger amount of "teacher prep" time.

[Kates]

Yes, I do; partly because I pretty much never use a text as-is ;), so I generally combine at least two resources and this helps me know when to do what, and partly because it's how I learn best.

 

Ds, not so much...he'll work on an outline to be obedient, but he doesn't get much from it - he learns best from discussion and projects. So yes, I outline his books, but I don't make him do so. He knows how to...but if it doesn't help him learn, IMO it's busy work for him, and I'd rather he spend his time on what will cause him to learn.

[Nicole M]

Yes, I do; partly because I pretty much never use a text as-is ;), so I generally combine at least two resources and this helps me know when to do what, and partly because it's how I learn best.

 

 

I use multiple sources, too, for history and literature mostly. I don't necessarily outline, but I do make notes, and find other resources, primary sources, articles, essays, etc., to read aloud to my son which we then discuss. I learned the hard way, letting my oldest son just read the text and not following closely along, that he did not retain what he did not discuss with me. (He just left for college this fall; I'm trying not to perseverate about all the things I did wrong, but this is one thing I regret.) So with my next kid, I'm learning ahead/along, so that I can teach these subjects.

 

I am also using more Teaching Company lectures with this child, watching with him, because I think it is helpful to hear someone talk about big ideas, rather than just having them rattle around in your own head. Textbooks, I've found, in many cases, are not much more than the bare outline. I don't think a text, even a really good one, is going to be adequate to teach the subject.

 

I'm glad you asked this, because I think now I will outline, to teach my son how to do this. I'm not big on outlining, but it's a skill that is nice to have in your toolbox.

[teacalm]

I did with ds when he was in 5th grade and we used Rainbow Science. However, Rainbow Science lessons are short, and so, it was very easy to outline. We did that on a regular bases, and was very helpful to ds in remembering the lesson.

 

After outlining, I taught ds Cornell notetaking.

 

With my dd11, outlining came naturally. I did not have to teach her. I was just surprise to browse through her science notebook. She studied on her own for her 5th gr CA STAR Science testing, and did very well. Very, very different from my son.

 

I'm doing it again with ds who's now a 9th grader. But I have the advantage of using Kurzweil 3000, which has a very efficient way of outlining. Or it could be that my son's brain is catching up and finally found its way back to his head.

[MIch elle]

at his high school (3yrs now) - it's part of their homework/grade. It's HORRIBLE on his hand!