mymonkeybug Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 Could anyone out there that uses and enjoys using TRISMS for High School please share your thoughts with me? My son will be entering 9th grade in the fall and we feel it is more than appropriate for him to be using a curriculum more independently at that level. Pros/Cons??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SailorMom Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 We're on our fourth year of Trisms use. 6th grade was the History Makers (it's called something else now), 7th and 8th were DAW, and now 9th is EOC. I have very few complaints: The maps are so/so, and we tend to print new blanks off the internet Some of the resources (videos, fiction and non-fiction books) can be hard to track down so I've had to come up with my own The unit history quizzes, imho, are way too vague at times and some of the questions can have many answers. Also - depending on the resources you find, your kid may or may not have run into the information they are asking for. The best way to deal with this is to make sure to look over the quiz questions and be aware of whether or not the student is finding that info. Other than the above, we really like it. Very easy to personalize, in-depth, etc. I do highly recommend you invest in IEW WSS if you have not done so. I did HM and DAW without it, and wish I had just caved and invested the money back in 6th grade, lol. We are using it now, and the language arts lessons are so much easier to accomplish. Without IEW, you'll kinda have to come up with a lot of your own - although all the reading selections can still be used. My son enjoys it and is pretty independent with it all. I just have to make sure he does the work and grade everything. It isn't teacher intensive at all, imo. We haven't used a "spine" per se, but SWB's History of the Ancient World would work very well. I recommend also investing is these: Atlas of World History A REALLY GOOD dictionary A REALLY GOOD thesaurus the Time-Life Timeline books - on Amazon used for really cheap The Story of Art The Story of Architecture Joy Hakim's Story of Science books (you can buy these as you need them - they are a little young for high school, but are still very interesting) ETA: I was interrupted, so now I'll finish.... I'm sure you've already read this, but I'll put it here anyway... Science - you need a good lab science curriculum. The science in Trisms is mostly historical. Some can be similar t a regular science writing assignment, but it is no where near enough to be a complete science credit - maybe an elective? We did HS level biology last year with DAW, and are doing Conceptual Physics this year with EOC, but really - there is no correlation between Trisms and whatever science you do. Math - also need a good math curriculum (no math in Trisms) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mymonkeybug Posted January 28, 2013 Author Share Posted January 28, 2013 I appreciate the reply. I am also on the TRISMS Yahoo Group and have asked the IEW question of them...do you have to use it or can you incorporate a diff. writing curriculum? They all say you can do something different if you wish. I will have to weigh this one. I just really liked the independent work required in TRISMS. Being able to master that skill is a good thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SailorMom Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 You can absolutely use something else for the writing assignments. Some of the Language Arts assignments don't even use IEW. Until this year I used a different writing curriculum and only assigned the Trisms assignments I thought were especially good or really relavent to the topic we were on. I say to get IEW if you can because I think getting it has made the Language Arts part of Trisms easier for me to really do - more streamlined. If you want to use IEW, stalk the curriculum sale boards here and you'll eventually hit upon a used set that is reasonable. I got the basic set (nothing specific to grade leve, or that included reading material) and actually really wish I had started using it back in 4th grade :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jessicamcc Posted February 9, 2013 Share Posted February 9, 2013 We're on our fourth year of Trisms use. 6th grade was the History Makers (it's called something else now), 7th and 8th were DAW, and now 9th is EOC. I have very few complaints: The maps are so/so, and we tend to print new blanks off the internet Some of the resources (videos, fiction and non-fiction books) can be hard to track down so I've had to come up with my own The unit history quizzes, imho, are way too vague at times and some of the questions can have many answers. Also - depending on the resources you find, your kid may or may not have run into the information they are asking for. The best way to deal with this is to make sure to look over the quiz questions and be aware of whether or not the student is find that info. Other than the above, we really like it. Very easy to personalize, in-depth, etc. I do highly recommend you invest in IEW WSS if you have not done so. I did HM and DAW without it, and wish I had just caved and invested the money back in 6th grade, lol. We are using it now, and the language arts lessons are so much easier to accomplish. Without IEW, you'll kinda have to come up with a lot of your own - although all the reading selections can still be used. My son enjoys it and is pretty independent with it all. I just have to make sure he does the work and grade everything. It isn't teacher intensive at all, imo. We haven't used a "spine" per se, but SWB's History of the Ancient World would work very well. I recommend also investing is these: Atlas of World History A REALLY GOOD dictionary A REALLY GOOD thesaurus the Time-Life Timeline books - on Amazon used for really cheap The Story of Art The Story of Architecture Joy Hakim's Story of Science books (you can buy these as you need them - they are a little young for high school, but are still very interesting) ETA: I was interrupted, so now I'll finish.... I'm sure you've already read this, but I'll put it here anyway... Science - you need a good lab science curriculum. The science in Trisms is mostly historical. Some can be similar t a regular science writing assignment, but it is no where near enough to be a complete science credit - maybe an elective? We did HS level biology last year with DAW, and are doing Conceptual Physics this year with EOC, but really - there is no correlation between Trisms and whatever science you do. Math - also need a good math curriculum (no math in Trisms) THANK YOU for such a detailed review!!!!!! I just have one question. On the TRISMS site they say-"All nine units of the IEW Teaching Writing Structure & Style are used in the writing assignments--Monologues, Semester Projects, Creative Writing, Writing from Pictures, Short Story, Essays, Compare and Contrast, Critiques, Paraphrase and Summary Do I still need to but something seperate from IEW? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SailorMom Posted February 10, 2013 Share Posted February 10, 2013 No, you shouldn't need anything else for writing unless you still need specific grammar instruction. My son is dyslexic (among other things) and has a horrible time with grammar, so we're still diagramming sentences, but most high school kids won't need it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam L in Mid Tenn Posted February 10, 2013 Share Posted February 10, 2013 I had TWSS and used it... then sold it several years ago. Do you need specific parts of TWSS to use with Trisms OR do you only need to understand the IEW method? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SailorMom Posted February 10, 2013 Share Posted February 10, 2013 I'm using the TWSS binder/resources, and I watched the DVD's because I was unfamiliar with the curriculum. My son watched the high school level DVD as well. But - we haven't bought anything else offered (grade or subject specific kits). I think someone familiar with IEW would be fine without any of it. The lessons do refer to specific pages in the manual, but they also explain which concepts those pages refer to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
staceyd71 Posted February 10, 2013 Share Posted February 10, 2013 Hi, My name is Stacey and I have been looking at Trisms for months now. I finally ordered RON 5 min. ago! I have decided to try the 30 day money back lol. I have not ordered any resources yet. So I was wondering if you could tell me what resources worked best for you. I was thinking if I like what I see after I get it in my hands, I would order my resources. My list I have is History of the world (My fathers World sells), World Book Encyclopedia software, Rand Mcnally Atlas, The Story Of Architure,The story of Art, and A Writer's Guide to Trasitional Words. I already own IEW TWSS. I looking for resource book for Music(composer), World Religion, and a good spine. For a spine, I was thinking Human Odyssey(K12) or Streams of Civilization vol.2. Any recommendation would be very helpful! Thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SailorMom Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 Stacey- looks like you'll barely need anything, really :) I've listed some good resources above, and I think out of those you'll really want to look into a good historical atlas. I have the Oxford Atlas of World History and it has been well worth every penny. We use a few books as 'spines' I guess, but they aren't textbooks of any kind. Right now, for example, we're using A Short History of the World by J.M. Roberts, SWB's History of the Ancient World, For Good and Evil: The Impact of Taxes on the Course of Civilization by Adams, and multiple specific history books (i.e. - books on the history of Rome, or Greece, etc.). The Columbia History of the World has really come in handy :) In middle school we made weekly trips to the library, but so far I've been able to use a lot of my college books for high school which has come in very handy. For world religions - really depends on how in depth you want to get. We have The Everything World Religions Book when we only need snap-shot type info, but I have much more detailed books on Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, etc. You shouldn't have any problems getting those at the library when you need them. The Story of Art is really good, but there will be times when what you're looking for isn't in there. The internet works well then :) As for composers, we usually depend on the library and internet for that as I haven't found a book that I thought covered enough on each person. That said - composers really aren't emphasized until RON, and we haven't gotten there yet. Timelines are really encouraged, and I finally ordered the timeline book Trisms offers on their site. It's perfect for what we are using it for, and I didn't have to put any effort into it :) They offer timeline software as well, but I wasn't impressed and never really used it. Oh! For high school, I really recommend Philosophy: 100 Essential Thinkers by Stokes. It's only a 'snapshot' again of philosophers, but it is good baseline information, and if a student is interested, it's a jumping off point. Not sure if Rise of Nations puts emphasis on philosophy, but EOC sure does :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orthodox6 Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 I hope this thread is ok from which to swivel to a related TRISMS question. My dd will be in the ninth grade next year, and is lobbying for TRISMS. (In her case, it would be the ancient history set.) I have the impression that, even though the company pays lip service to the use of other writing programs, IEW really is what is expected. I have not used IEW with any of my children. Abortive attempts to discuss the product with vendors at curricula fairs have helped not one bit. My insurmountable (yes) difficulty is that I will not be able to learn successfully from a batch of DVDs. I am extraordinarily "print-bound" in my learning style. I love to watch movies; however, they are entertainment. Just this morning, as followup to the news about the meteorite in the Urals, I pulled up an excellent twenty-four minute video about asteroids, comets, and meteorites. I retained 0.000001% of the information, were it possible to measure my comprehension. Books and articles carry on-and-on about working with a student's learning style. Time is long overdue to pay equal attention to a teacher's learning style. TRISMS is a costly avenue for failure, if the program truly cannot work well without the IEW program. Thank you, very much, in advance for your all's thoughts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 I looked at Trisms for high school a long time ago, and at the time I had the impression that it relied on excerpts from literature rather than whole works. I don't know if I was correct and whether this is still the case, but I wouldn't choose a course that didn't expect analysis of whole works. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SailorMom Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 Laura, the students are expected to read historical novels/biographies/non-fiction at the same time and write reports on them. Also - you can absolutely use full length versions - and we frequently do - but the excerpts are there just in case. Some really are entire works - they just happen to be short ones. As for IEW, you can certainly use any other writing program. The assignments can, for the most part, be done without IEW. For me - IEW is helping my son, and I do find it a bit easier to implement their language arts assignments understanding where they are coming from. IEW is not just from DVD's. There is a very large teacher's manual/binder with everything in written form as well. In fact - I almost didn't bother with the DVD's, but I am glad that I got them and watched them. Lastly, I buy Trisms used. I can't imagine buying it new at the prices they charge.... ouch!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orthodox6 Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 SailorMom, Thank you ! This is the help I was hoping to receive! It took you no effort to answer a question that always set an IEW vendor to mumbling and shuffling his/her feet. Thank you again! IEW is not just from DVD's. There is a very large teacher's manual/binder with everything in written form as well. In fact - I almost didn't bother with the DVD's, but I am glad that I got them and watched them. Lastly, I buy Trisms used. I can't imagine buying it new at the prices they charge.... ouch!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SailorMom Posted February 17, 2013 Share Posted February 17, 2013 Anytime! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ereks mom Posted February 17, 2013 Share Posted February 17, 2013 I've used TRISMS for about 10 years now... first with my oldest and and again with my youngest. This is my youngest child's senior year, so I've been through the whole sequence twice now. Here is a link to a thread you might find helpful. http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/4252-can-anyone-tell-me-about-trisms/page__hl__ereks%20mom%20trisms?do=findComment&comment=35153 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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