9th grade English credit + ?

[Renaissance Mom]

I plan to have dd do the following for English in 9th grade next year:

TOG y1 R lit (Egyptian poetry, Gilgamesh exerpts, Illiad exerpts, Odyssey, Aztec/Maya myths, Agamemnon, Libation Bearers, Eumenides, Oedipus Rex, Aenid, Confessions by Augustine)

2-3 lit papers/essays/analysis

write a play

weekly timed essays

additional polished essays

research paper (?)

Stobaugh's SAT Prep (following 1st yr of 3-yr plan)

Our Mother Tongue

Words of Delight (Ryken)

Megawords 7 & 8

 

This seems like waaaay too much for one credit in 9th grade. According to the Tapestry materials, you can award a credit for EITHER English OR Lit, not both. She needs the last round of grammar reinforcement and to finish Megawords to be set for the rest of her high school work. I've already employed the trimming/cutting chart they provide to the lit list. When all is said and done, this looks to me like it will be at least 2 hrs/day, 5 days a week.

 

Can I count this as one credit of English PLUS one credit of lit? Could I divide it another way? (one credit English, one credit of ____?) How about one credit of English for everything except Words of Delight then adding a half credit for a course called "Bible as Literature"?

 

What says the hive?

 

BTW, This is in addition to the rest of her 9th grade subjects:

 

1 credit - TOG y1 R history & geography

1 credit - Algebra 2

1 credit - Biology

1 credit - Bible Survey (TOG)

1`credit - Latin II

1/2 credit - Photography elective

1/2 credit - Logic

___ credits - English*

 

Many, many thanks for any insight!!!!

[Caitilin]

I am doing a similar Ancients trajectory with dds in the fall. They are going to be reading many of the same things as your dd, plus reading HOAW and doing all of MCTLA Magic Lens level 2. I will give an English credit, a history credit, and a philosophy credit for their Ancients work, taken all together.

 

For reference. we will also have a biology credit, a math (Geometry) credit, 2 language credits (Latin II and German I), 1/2 credit for US Government, 1 fine arts credit, and a religion credit.

[JanetC]

I plan to have dd do the following for English in 9th grade next year:

TOG y1 R lit (Egyptian poetry, Gilgamesh exerpts, Illiad exerpts, Odyssey, Aztec/Maya myths, Agamemnon, Libation Bearers, Eumenides, Oedipus Rex, Aenid, Confessions by Augustine)

2-3 lit papers/essays/analysis

write a play

weekly timed essays

additional polished essays

research paper (?)

Stobaugh's SAT Prep (following 1st yr of 3-yr plan)

Our Mother Tongue

Words of Delight (Ryken)

Megawords 7 & 8

 

Many, many thanks for any insight!!!!

 

 

This looks like more than one credit to me. (For contrast, my 9th grade DD will read 4 novels, assorted short stories and poems, 8 writing assignments, and some vocabulary work. I guess that seems like too few novels, but she'll read plenty of other books for fun, and I'll put them on her reading list. She will do research for her History and Archaeology classes, but not for English.)

 

Is there some reason you are piling so much on? Before giving 2 credits for this class, I'd consider taking some things off the plate. It looks like a very full year!

 

If you decide to do it all, you can count up the hours throughout the year and call every 120 to 180 hours of work as one credit.

 

--Janet

[Renaissance Mom]

I do feel it's "piled on." I have several priorities that have led me to create my own problem. First, I want to solidify the foundational skills of grammar and spelling -- dd has struggled with both over the years, has shown great improvement, and has asked to continue working on them. Second, she is more than ready to read these foundational works and begin to analyze them. Since we follow a 4-year rotation of history, this is her last opportunity to encounter these works in high school. She reads and thinks at a high level. She writes well for her level but needs to start practicing timed essay responses. (I admit that it certainly doesn't need to be every week, however.) Finally, TOG has Ryken's Words of Delight integrated into their lit assignments. I see this as a unique opportunity to learn more indepth lit analysis skills and apply them to the Bible. It will never mean as much if we waiting and did it with another history period.

 

So, that's why I have built my list by "piling it on." I'm seeking advice from others -- it's so helpful to have all of you ask these kinds of questions and offer insight. It forces me to re-examine my thinking and be certain about what I seek.

 

So, do I try and rename some of this and call it more than one credit? Do I trim the list? If so, I am wondering how others with similar priorities have done so.

 

:confused:

[Jenny in Florida]

So, do I try and rename some of this and call it more than one credit? Do I trim the list? If so, I am wondering how others with similar priorities have done so.

 

As a general rule, I am uncomfortable with giving more than one English credit in a single year. Most high schools cover grammar, composition and literature in their English classes, after all. Since college admissions people know this, I suspect they may look askance at a homeschool transcript that includes multiple credits in the same subject in the same year. I never, ever want anyone to think we padded my kid's transcript. So, even when I know perfectly well that my student did much more than would justify a single credit, I still assign just the one.

 

The exception to this is when there is an obvious way to tease out something distict. For example, my son will get his regular English credit next year but will also get half a credit for Creative Writing. That will be an entirely separate class, with its own set of teaching materials and lesson plans. At some point in the future, he may also get half a credit in Shakespeare, because we read and see at least a couple of plays each year that don't always fit neatly into the English "bucket."

 

But, if it's just a question of doing more of the same -- reading 12 novels instead of four or writing 10 papers instead of six -- I personally would not feel good about spreading that work over more than one credit.

[Sherry in OH]

I plan to have dd do the following for English in 9th grade next year:

TOG y1 R lit (Egyptian poetry, Gilgamesh exerpts, Illiad exerpts, Odyssey, Aztec/Maya myths, Agamemnon, Libation Bearers, Eumenides, Oedipus Rex, Aenid, Confessions by Augustine)

2-3 lit papers/essays/analysis

write a play

weekly timed essays

additional polished essays

research paper (?)

Stobaugh's SAT Prep (following 1st yr of 3-yr plan)

Our Mother Tongue

Words of Delight (Ryken)

Megawords 7 & 8

 

This seems like waaaay too much for one credit in 9th grade. According to the Tapestry materials, you can award a credit for EITHER English OR Lit, not both. She needs the last round of grammar reinforcement and to finish Megawords to be set for the rest of her high school work. I've already employed the trimming/cutting chart they provide to the lit list. When all is said and done, this looks to me like it will be at least 2 hrs/day, 5 days a week.

 

 

It looks like a lot of writing for 9th grade. Could you move some of the writing assignments to other subjects? For example, instead of weekly timed essays in LA, rotate through LA, History, Bible, and possibly Biology. You could do the same with the polished essays. Teach the mechanics of the research process in LA but use content from another subject. (Alternately, work on shoring up basic skills in 9th grade and cover the research process in 10th.)

 

Consider moving the test prep material out of LA and either giving a partial credit for it or no credit at all.

[Ellie]

As a general rule, I am uncomfortable with giving more than one English credit in a single year. Most high schools cover grammar, composition and literature in their English classes, after all. Since college admissions people know this, I suspect they may look askance at a homeschool transcript that includes multiple credits in the same subject in the same year. I never, ever want anyone to think we padded my kid's transcript. So, even when I know perfectly well that my student did much more than would justify a single credit, I still assign just the one.

:iagree:

[Renaissance Mom]

Good advice, thanks! I don't want to raise any questions about the legitimacy of her transcript.

 

I will probably postpone a full-fledged research paper until 10th grade and work on enforcing fundamental skills in 9th.

 

So I'm looking at a very full English credit with everything except the research paper. I do still wonder if I could split off the Words of Delight (plus a Teaching Co. course I have on the Book of Genesis as lit) into a separate half-credit elective on the Bible as Literature. I know that is a common course offered at many colleges. Would that still look like I was trying to pad the transcript? That's not my intention at all. I just want to award credit where legitimate effort is expended.

 

I'm sure all you BTDT moms are tired of the annual angst coming from those of us with our oldest kids as rising freshmen! Many thanks for all your patience and insight.

[Kate in Arabia]

Hmmm.. we were planning to follow the wtm recs for next year (9th grade), and she has an hour for literature, an hour for history, and close to an hour for grammar/writing skills. I spoke with our umbrella school adviser about this, and whether to combine English language and English literature and she recommended to keep it separate. Maybe the literature part will count as an elective, and not a core English class..

Edited May 22, 2012 by Kate in Arabia
typo

[mjbucks1]

I plan to have dd do the following for English in 9th grade next year:

TOG y1 R lit (Egyptian poetry, Gilgamesh exerpts, Illiad exerpts, Odyssey, Aztec/Maya myths, Agamemnon, Libation Bearers, Eumenides, Oedipus Rex, Aenid, Confessions by Augustine)

2-3 lit papers/essays/analysis

write a play

weekly timed essays

additional polished essays

research paper (?)

Stobaugh's SAT Prep (following 1st yr of 3-yr plan)

Our Mother Tongue

Words of Delight (Ryken)

Megawords 7 & 8

 

 

Hi, Sherry (i'm in Ohio, too :D)!

 

My ds is doing TOG year 1 this year (we are currently on week 25...yes we are behind:tongue_smilie:). It is a great deal of work. We have not cut down much (maybe skipped a paper here and there), but otherwise we have done it all. And while I would love to give 2 credits, I don't think it will be looked on favorably by most colleges. I am planning on listing English I as honors. With a good course description and a list of books read, I think most admissions officers will see it is a rigorous course. And if not, so be it. My primary concern is my child's education.

It sounds like both you and your dd want to keep Megawords and Our Mother Tongue. I wanted to continue with R&S, but we just did not have time. We will be hitting it hard over the summer (but ds only missed 2 out of 70 questions in the ACT English section last year, so I think he is pretty solid :D).

I would do the research paper, but move it over to history (or science). My son researched the weapons of ancient Greece this year. But really the work load is staying the same, you are just moving it to a different subject.

As far as weekly timed essays, did you know that the weekly TOG quizzes always have two essay questions from which to choose?? You could alwyas time your dd on these (they are typicaaly history related). Although I would still occassionally throw in an ACT/SAT writing promt as they are typically asking for an opinion on some social issue.

Unless your daughter loves to write, I would take out the play. But if she loves creative writing you might want to leave it in.

 

TOG has Ryken's Words of Delight integrated into their lit assignments. I see this as a unique opportunity to learn more indepth lit analysis skills and apply them to the Bible. Finally, It will never mean as much if we waiting and did it with another history period.

 

You will LOVE this!!! It is also a helpful booking when analyzing ALL literature.

 

Finally, I never consider test prep as part of a course. That is extra. My ds is prepping for the ACT now, and will prep this summer for the SAT in the fall, but all that is extra :tongue_smilie:.

 

I probably wasn't a lot of help. TOG is a lot of work. But, my science loving ds LOVES it and wants to continue with it throughout high school.

 

Blessings,

Michelle

[susie in tx]

Hi, Sherry (i'm in Ohio, too :D)!

 

My ds is doing TOG year 1 this year (we are currently on week 25...yes we are behind:tongue_smilie:).

 

I had to respond to this. We are in week 23. <sigh>

 

I think we can get finished through Unit 3 by the end of June. No telling how much of Unit 4 we will get done in July/August. We have two weeks of swim lessons for the littles, a week of church camp, speech camp and debate camp the first week of August.

 

We'll see how it goes...

[Candid]

We just finished year one and it does appear you've add onto what they provide. There aren't weekly timed tests for instance. Also, I like the idea of shuttling some writing assignments to other subjects. I follow SWB's writing recommendations and she suggests that.

 

As a general rule, I am uncomfortable with giving more than one English credit in a single year. Most high schools cover grammar, composition and literature in their English classes, after all. Since college admissions people know this, I suspect they may look askance at a homeschool transcript that includes multiple credits in the same subject in the same year. I never, ever want anyone to think we padded my kid's transcript. So, even when I know perfectly well that my student did much more than would justify a single credit, I still assign just the one.

 

This is why I will attempt to not provide a standard transcript unless absolutely forced too. I'd much rather give verbal descriptions of classes and not fret about do I have enough or too few credits. I'll provide a list of works read along with the verbal descriptions. The nice thing about Tapestry is there will be real meat for this approach.

[mjbucks1]

I had to respond to this. We are in week 23. <sigh>

 

 

 

Susie, this make me feel better :D!