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My dd is (well, she was) enjoying this history curriculum until it's time to take the quiz and/or test. The quizzes and tests seem to be very detail oriented and even I had a hard time answering the questions.

 

For those of you who did not use the quiz/test booklet, how did you grade the subject? Did you make up your own quizzes and tests?

 

Thanks so much! this has really become a sore subject for dd, her frustration over the testing is causing her to no longer like history.

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For those of you who did not use the quiz/test booklet, how did you grade the subject? Did you make up your own quizzes and tests?

 

 

We discussed aloud as we went, so "participation" was part of the grade; that also gave me the bonus of immediately seeing whether or not they were absorbing the material (and isn't that the point of tests?). They also did weekly time-line entries, and a few research papers during the year.

 

Some people incorporate a sort of "oral board" exam as part of their testing; that might be a possibility -- ask a few questions that require using the chapter material as support of the answer (and that doubles as public speaking practice at the same time!).

 

While I did not do it for the Notgrass, I have made my own quizzes for other coursework. It's a pain, but if you just plan on spending 20-30 minutes on it each week, you can easily keep up.

 

BEST of luck, whatever you decide! Warmest regards, Lori D.

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I find the quizzes and tests have questions that are difficult for ds to comprehend. I re-write them so that they suit me - the information that he has to know is the same, but the way he demonstrates it is different. He is just not ready to answer 10 + short answer questions every day. I've only done this for one unit so far, but it worked out very well. I couldn't see continuing with things the way that they are - it was frustrating to both of us.

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My guys loved Notgrass, but yes, the tests/quizzes can be detailed. To a large extent, I considered that a "plus" as it helped my guys learn to adapt to a more detailed understanding of the topic. I think it will help in the future for college... If they get a tough prof/topic, they will have some experience learning to adapt.

 

That said, a couple of the questions that were really too detailed (and not that important IMO) we dropped for youngest son. He was able to "try" it all, but without worry that some of those would affect his grades. He also wasn't yet in high school, so his grades don't count for college. Therefore, "I" didn't worry about making that decision.

 

Middle son (my perfectionist doctor wannabe - so details come naturally to him) never had any trouble with the questions.

 

All three of my boys enjoyed history more after Notgrass, but youngest only had one year due to returning to ps. He's easily acing his ps history class (World History) as it's far too easy for him.

 

We also have always supplemented history (any source) with appropriate videos and discussions. A book alone, any book IMO, is never enough.

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