Gamom3 Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 as stated on Stanford results History...covering this Geography...covering this Political Science Economics App. of Knowledge/CompOrg. Summ. & Interp. of Info Determination of Cause/Effect Thinking Skills My kids scored Average and Below Average in this area. I want to find something to help being them up to par. I have the history and geography taken care of. They will be in 5th and 7th grade this year Thanks!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gamom3 Posted July 20, 2008 Author Share Posted July 20, 2008 :blink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plaid Dad Posted July 20, 2008 Share Posted July 20, 2008 Forgive me if I missed some background here, but are you required by your state to give this particular test? I ask because I can't imagine expecting a fifth grader to answer questions about political science and economics beyond some very basic questions on U.S. government. In other words, I would not be concerned about teaching to this test. Were their scores in this subject wildly different from their scores in all the other areas? I wouldn't necessarily be worried about an average or even below average score unless there were a significant discrepancy between this subject and others. I'd need to know more about what was actually on the test to know what to recommend, but two things that come to mind are reading comprehension exercises and logic. For people who follow the Sayers Trivium, fifth and seventh grade are in the range for studying logic. If you think that perhaps your students are just learning things in a different order from what's typical in the public schools, you could also get copies of the Core Knowledge series ("What Your ___-Grader Needs to Know") and have your kids read through the social studies sections. I'd go a grade or two down from their current levels. I'm sorry this is causing you to worry, and I hope this doesn't come across as my just telling you to get over it! That's not my intention. I am just unwilling to teach to tests created for public school students. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted July 20, 2008 Share Posted July 20, 2008 :iagree: I can't get worked up over "social studies" scores, especially not for dc this young...possibly never. I would expect, say, a senior in high school to be right up there with history and geography in general, and U.S. government and economics in particular, but 10 and 12yo...not so much. And if you're following TWTM, you will probably find those scores to be "off" pretty much every year, don't you think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kim in ks Posted July 20, 2008 Share Posted July 20, 2008 I agree w/ the others, The items your children scored low in sound like Highschool items? Those tests are geared for a Public School Setting, in which the EXACT same thing is being covered each year by THEIR text books. So the test is to show the SChool district how the Students are retaining what their taught in their classroom? does that make any sense? App. of Knowledge/CompOrg. Summ. & Interp. of Info; Narration does a good job of reinforcing comprehending what you've read, Determination of Cause/Effect; Science can help w/ this, doing simple labs, If we do this, What will happen? Thinking Skills; Wow? This one involves so many aspects of life? I know there are books you can buy to help w/ this; Brain Benders, etc... This is just my very simple 2 cents! My Oldest never tested well, So I learned early not to put to much stock in them. kim As far as the above items; Comprehension is remembering what you've read and being able to retain what is learned/ Narration does a good job of reinforcing comprehending what your've read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Academy of Jedi Arts Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 Check out the history books from The Critical Thinking Company. That might be the supplement you are looking for. If you search the net, especially now at election time, you will find a ton of resources for teaching elementary kids about the structure of government. For economics you can also search the net or get some books from your local library. Every test I've seen for elementary grade social studies covers the very basics, not much more. Law of supply and demand, what capitalism is, that kind of stuff. My daughter would bomb a 4th grade social studies test probably. However, in a year or so, she might be able to pass a US History CLEP. :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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