walkermamaof4 Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Forum friends, I need you! I think maybe I need super fun social studies and general science programs or books, sort of on the line of CLP Nature Readers or something. We loved them and we do Apologia but it is our first year doing science and we are doing Flying Creatures. In way of background: My dc were just tested. I actually really am thankful for the results. I always think I know my kids' strengths and weaknesses, and then am enlightened by the testing! I sat on the stairs and listened, unbeknown to my dc. It was Woodcock Johnson, so for those who don't use it, much is oral answering or written replies to oral questions. My dc did well, and the switch to Math Mammoth had remarkable pay-offs! But I digress... all 3 kiddos did below grade in... General Knowledge! I listened. The questions were worded in a fashion that sometimes they knew the answer but didn't know it based on the wording. All 3 kids know the names of all of the oceans, but she asked what the name of the bodies of water which cover the largest area of the earth are. None of my dc got this right!!! Even though they could name them all. One answered "the Great Lakes" and one said they didn't know and one said "the Pacific Ocean". Hmm... She asked them to name an animal that hibernates. 2 of the 3 said birds and thought hibernate was migrate. Ugh. She asked them to name the system in the body which is made up of bones. They didn't know! But they know what a skeleton is... She asked them to name the organ which pumps blood through the body. They acted stumped and when she pressed them to guess, one said the heart. She showed them a picture and asked them to name the type of art. They couldn't. So, I think the issue is that we don't use the library and we never did science until this year. The library is too far and I am not faithful to return things. But I will buy any books you suggest. None are avid readers. I give them required reading, we've done Sonlight history and SOTW1 and this year did BF Early American. We own thousands of books. This year I added in a 30 minute free read and put out books they had to choose from and rotated them. I included Magic School Bus and history fiction and such. They can name every bird in our yard and tell you who painted some paintings. They can tell you how a wasp builds its nest. But they don't have a general awareness of how the world works and what things are called. This year I bought Your Story Hours and think that will help a bit. My friend says Adventures in Odyssey tapes actually cover some of this type of info. We don't watch tv, but do have netflix instant play. I did compile a list of science shows on it that we can start to watch. We live next to cousins now so cousin time is precious to them and they don't watch netflix unless I require it of them, just like reading. Even playing games means I have to require it or cousins must be busy and can't play. One final issue is that 1 has significant special needs although they wouldn't affect this area but did mean hours of daily math and handwriting and reading just to learn the essentials to survive, and another has mild special needs and still does hours of daily math just to keep up. This is why I thought science and history needed to be on the back burner until 4th grade. But now it has caught up to me. Any advice? I'd love some input on fun things to get/do to help! You all have been more source for everything we do! I love this forum. THANKS!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delaney Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 :lurk5: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walkermamaof4 Posted March 23, 2011 Author Share Posted March 23, 2011 :confused: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VBoulden Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 I wouldn't worry. Just buy good books and read, read, read and talk, talk, talk... You mentioned The Magic School Bus books. We love those. I also like anything from the Let's Read and Find Out Series and anything Usborne. I also have several of the 100 Things You Should Know About... series. I have a link to an Usborne book seller, if you need one. You will have to send me a personal message and I can send it to you that way. :001_smile:I wouldn't be too worried about your kids. In my mind, their mistakes on this test were pretty minor. The fact that they confused hibernate with migrate is evidence that they have been taught about migration... at the least, right? I'm not sure my kid would do as well as yours did. I know she doesn't know the oceans, for example. No worries. Maybe you could also start purchasing trivia type books or toys or games... with interesting facts that are good to know, etc. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudoMom Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 What about the What your __th Grader Needs to Know series? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In2why Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 I don't think the knowledge they have is the problem, it is thinking about the questions in a different way and being able to apply what they know to the questions. If you are looking for something fun, I would look at Trivial Pursuit for kids or something like it. Apples to Apples Jr is also good. I would also think about adding fun logic pages like "Primary logic" to encourage looking at problems from different angles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joyofsixreboot Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 What about the What your __th Grader Needs to Know series? u Yes! We use those as filler, car reading, evening reading. They hit the high spots pretty well and my kids like them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wapiti Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 How are they doing with reading comprehension? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrissySC Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 I am in agreement with another reply. You need to read more. :) You cannot possibly imagine the multitude of ways that something can be communicated; however, you can become familiar with analyzing the words or interpreting meaning. You may want to consider introducing vocabulary for language development (word exposure). I have dd work through WW and VFCR. I do not do a written test, but she is required to complete all exercises and be able to tell me in her words what each word means verbally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 I second the What Your __th Grader needs to know books. Start with the K book as these build on themselves and do not work well jumping in mid-stream. I would invite cousins to watch Netflix with you. Cousin play time may be precious but learning must come first. Read,Read, Read...aloud listen to books, alone....READ! Usborne and DK Eyewittness books and DK Eyewittness DVDs/VHS are excellent! We have probably watched every one made...repeatedly. They are excellent. NOVA and National Geo DVDs are great, too. Be carefull, though, with Nat. Geo. Some of them are very political. Bill Nye, The Science Guy vids are a big hit here, as well as the Magic SchoolBus DVDs. Most are available on NetFlix. The History Channel vids are awesome, as well. But I would suggest previewing some as they are not made for kids particularly. I would also require longer, maybe 45 to 1 hour assigned reading time daily along with short narrations for every (yes, every) book they read. We have a chart with 25 books at a time I want them to read and their names which they mark off as they finish books. We have a reward for completing sets of 25 books. I also think the wording of those questions was intentionally vague sounding to confuse a child. My oldest has auditory processing disorder and there is no way he could possibly have figured out what those questions were asking even though he, too, knows those answers. I hate tests that seem designed to trip a child up. HTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walkermamaof4 Posted March 24, 2011 Author Share Posted March 24, 2011 Thanks for the replies! Astute question - reading comprehension is a weak spot, especially for one. The tester had suggested logic books as well but I haven't looked into which are considered the best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wapiti Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 (edited) The questions were worded in a fashion that sometimes they knew the answer but didn't know it based on the wording. This is why I asked about reading comprehension - the same can apply to oral comprehension. Working on vocabulary, as well as reading comprehension - especially things like making inferences and visualizing, if they are a struggle - might help. Just my two cents :) (I have kids with language processing issues that involve the above; we are finally embarking on a little narration a la WWE). As for logic workbooks, we are using this series http://www.amazon.com/Logic-Liftoff-Bonnie-Risby/dp/1593630883/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1300926523&sr=1-1. I don't know about others. ETA: other than that, if the test results in that section do not accurately reflect their knowledge, another possible issue that comes to mind is auditory processing. Edited March 24, 2011 by wapiti Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halcyon Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 What about the What your __th Grader Needs to Know series? I second this. Great for a general overview of "things your kid should know or at least be vaguely familiar with" :D We started using the Core Knowledge Science guidelines (the entire guidelines are available for free right here--a wealth of information for general knowledge, IMO) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walkermamaof4 Posted March 24, 2011 Author Share Posted March 24, 2011 Wapiti - I know that my dd11 does better if she reads aloud rather than if she reads quietly or is read to. Does that line up at all with your thoughts on there possibly being a processing issue? I do think there is an overall issue of gaps in their learning that I need to address, but want to make sure I am not missing something deeper here. Thanks for the What your __th Grader Needs to Know series recommendation. I had no idea they were worthwhile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walkermamaof4 Posted March 24, 2011 Author Share Posted March 24, 2011 If anyone else wants some of the 100 Things to Know about series, there are some on paperbackswap. woohoo! thanks for the recommendation! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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