Ann.without.an.e Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 If you feel at all uncertain about how to outline, outline your BJU Science book. OhElizabeth, I am so glad you clued me in on this. I can't imagine a resource that outlines more beautifully. I can imagine that the ease with which it outlines would give confidence to a student who is unsure of the process. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom22ns Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 I am going to start this with my dd next year. I too am so glad OhElizabeth pointed it out! I think it will really help her understanding and her ability to get the most out of other text books in the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 (edited) I'm glad it's going so well for you! I have to admit the idea wasn't original to me. I was lambasting the texts to a friend (who just happens to have a Ph.D. in education), and she's the one who pointed out how they were meant to be used. I had just totally missed the structure they had built into it, seeing lots of trees (outline labels and points, more wordiness than what I would have wanted, etc.) and never really the forest. It's good because the dc gets to think about the text on a lot of different levels: overall structure, how the points build in sections, how info develops within the paragraphs or between paragraphs. To me it's more sophisticated outlining than what we did with the history encyclopedia. In the BJU writing things will change up, and they really have to be on the ball to catch it. Sometimes the most important point is the topic sentence. Sometimes the intro paragraph in a section gives a list. Sometimes the most important thing is a quote at the end of a paragraph or section. There's just lots of variety to it, giving them lots of practice in reading carefully. I really like the tests btw, because they give the dc an objective measure to gauge how well they're handling the text. Today we went over her test from Friday and were able to discuss why she had missed certain things and how she could change her approach. It has just been a really good process for us. To me the SKILL is even more important than the content. We're adding on writing about a scientist each week. I needed some more writing across the curriculum, and it was a way to get it. Just a thought, in case anyone is looking for something like that. I want to increase her comfort with turning out a moderate quality product QUICKLY (vs. having lots of time to delay, feign writer's block, etc.). She reads the bio Monday and the writing is due Tuesday. That way it doesn't clash with our CW stuff later in the week. This week I think I'm going to have her read a short bio from "Men of Science, Men of God" by Morris (I think? I'd have to go look) and then do a bit of research to pull together her paragraph from sources. Earlier we used some of the Trailblazers biographies. (I know, not astounding, but adequate for my purposes.) It's just another way we can use the material. There are so many scientists mentioned throughout the curriculum, it really fits. I keep the topic pretty flexible, but I'm usually encouraging her to look for the faith of the scientist and how it affected his work. Edited January 31, 2011 by OhElizabeth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted February 1, 2011 Share Posted February 1, 2011 Just wanted to add a little funny today. I've been trying to decide how we'll handle GB for this fall, as I had been planning Omnibus, so I showed her Kagan's western civ text (like Spielvogel). My child looks at it, reads a while, and goes "Oh, I can handle this! It has sections, just like the BJU Life Science! I can work through this amount each day and get through a chapter in this amount of time. I can either type or handwrite my notes..." THAT is why we're outlining the BJU Life Science. She's learning skills that give her access to content she had wanted but couldn't handle before. What a hoot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom31257 Posted February 1, 2011 Share Posted February 1, 2011 Thanks for pointing this out. I hate to say this, but I haven't even been having dd outline much this year. We made the switch to BJU's textbook for American history, so it would work well there, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted February 1, 2011 Share Posted February 1, 2011 Yes, never too late to start! The textbooks are so conducive to it and give them a good mental workout. I suppose one can do *too* much textbook outlining, hehe. I showed dd the BJU world that I was thinking about using for next year, and she groaned, hehe. But then with Kagan (Western Civ, a college level text) she got totally excited. So the thought process carries over and opens new doors for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wee Pip Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 What age do you think a child could start outlining with BJU Science? I just so happen to have a 10yo dd, and I also just so happen to have a 5th gr BJU science book that is sitting on the shelf because I wasn't 100% happy with it. But lately I've been thinking about ditching the workbook altogether and just using the text, and having dd write from it (we're writing wimps here, so need to build up a bit to writing). I have been thinking lately about having her read a section and then write a 1/2pg summary. But I do want to get to outlining eventually, too. She might even like outlining better (she's a short, direct person that doesn't like a lot of frivolous words). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jlynn Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 Not OhElizabeth, but we do the same thing she does. We're currently using the BJU 6th grade book this way, but we could easily have done it last year. I simply wouldn't have required him to outline as much of it. We tried the whole encyclopedia outlining thing and it simply didn't work. Textbooks just seem to be made for outlining and as Elizabeth mentioned it really helps the book come alive for the child. My son's test scores in science have improved quite a bit since we've started outlining this year. Test scores aren't everything, but on the other hand it does show that he's at least comprehending the material. Just look for the topic heading at the beginning of their reading assignment, then find subheadings that are bolded. Usually within those headings you'll also find bolded words...I think that's the easiest way to begin! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 That's an interesting idea! Certainly try and see what happens. Remember, WTM suggests in 5th gr the outlines can be as simple as a single sentence for each paragraph. I agree with you the workbook gets kind of cumbersome. It seems to go on interminably with fill-in-the-blanks... Alternately, have you seen the writing assignments at the end of each chapter in the chapter reviews section? I think that was the level where they started. I would be inclined to do the oral discussion using the prompts in the tm and then have the writing be from that chapter review task or a rabbit trail she would like to read about. My dd likes nothing more than to be on the computer (haha), so anything that involves getting on to research is a big hit, even if it means she has to make notes and write a paragraph at the end. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 Not OhElizabeth, but we do the same thing she does. We're currently using the BJU 6th grade book this way, but we could easily have done it last year. I simply wouldn't have required him to outline as much of it. We tried the whole encyclopedia outlining thing and it simply didn't work. Textbooks just seem to be made for outlining and as Elizabeth mentioned it really helps the book come alive for the child. My son's test scores in science have improved quite a bit since we've started outlining this year. Test scores aren't everything, but on the other hand it does show that he's at least comprehending the material. Just look for the topic heading at the beginning of their reading assignment, then find subheadings that are bolded. Usually within those headings you'll also find bolded words...I think that's the easiest way to begin! :iagree: What Josie said! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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