Daily lesson planning

[Parrothead]

How tight a schedule or lesson plan did/do you follow in high school? For 1-8 I've had a really tight schedule of dd learning X number of pages, problems or definitions per day. It has been pretty rigorous.

 

What is high school rigor supposed to look like? Not knowing this has me at a stand still with planning.

 

Thanks,

[bobbeym]

For us it depends on the curriculum we're using. Math, science, and writing are all X number of lessons, grammar is X sections, and reading is X chapters per day. Electives are however much he gets done in 30-45 minutes.

[regentrude]

No schedule here, and no curriculum that uses set lessons, except for outside classes. My kids work on whatever subject they want for however long they want. It averages out in the end (I remind them of neglected subjects). I require time on task, 5.5+ hours daily in 9th and 10th grade, which was sufficient for rigorous credits in the five core subjects plus some time for electives. Now in 11th grade, DD spends insane amounts of time on her two outside classes, and the rest gets squeezed in as it can.

[Jane in NC]

My son needed some structural framework from me although he became more independent as high school went on.

 

Initially I gave him a list of expectations for the week. The problem was that he would do everything he liked (reading, TC history lectures) immediately and drag his feet on the rest. So we rewrote the script.

 

He had daily math and Latin assignments. He worked on his French most days too. I refused to put him into slots based on the clock. There are days when a teen aged boy can do a reasonable number of math problems in an hour--there are days when his brain has been lost. With backtracking and dillydallying, an hour would fly by without a lot of productive work.

 

My son would sometimes spend an afternoon with his nose in Tacitus or Melville. The next day he would have to pick up the slack in other things neglected in order to meet the weekly expectation.

 

This system seemed to work for us although some days were certainly better than others. Also, things changed with CC and online classes or AP expectations. (His first AP exam was in Biology which he did on his own. The quantity of material involved required following a pretty tight schedule.)

 

By the way, I would not define rigor in terms pages or number of problems. It is more of a quality over quantity thing.

[Mommyfaithe]

No schedule here, and no curriculum that uses set lessons, except for outside classes. My kids work on whatever subject they want for however long they want. It averages out in the end (I remind them of neglected subjects). I require time on task, 5.5+ hours daily in 9th and 10th grade, which was sufficient for rigorous credits in the five core subjects plus some time for electives. Now in 11th grade, DD spends insane amounts of time on her two outside classes, and the rest gets squeezed in as it can.

 

We tend to do this as well....it does all even out in the end as long as I remind them of those neglected subjects....

[elegantlion]

We've struggled with that this year. His reading amount has increased, he's a slow reader. It's been hard to gauge how long a certain assignment might take. I break down all of our subject at the beginning of the year, so I know where we need to be by this week. I also tweak that about every 6 weeks to make sure we're on task, or if something has changed.

 

For the weekly, we've done a few things. I tried the weekly only schedule, you pick. He's not mature enough to see how much needs to be broken down daily. Now I do a daily schedule. It's working better for him.

[TheApprentice]

I made syllabi for all his courses that explain weekly requirements, my 9th grade ds plans his weekly schedule on Monday mornings. He makes his lighter days Monday and Friday and his heavier days for the middle of the week. This has really worked out for him and we will continue this way in the fall.

 

I my work is very front loaded in that I have to make a syllabus for each course before we start. I made them for the entire year except for World Geography, which I made for each semester. I then check his work daily/weekly to make sure he has accomplished everything I had assigned for that week.

 

He likes the freedom, independence and it has greatly helped him learn time management (although we are still working on doing work and studying for a test in the same week).

[bobbeym]

I wanted to add that we tried the weekly expectation, set your own schedule with DS this year but it didn't work. ADD brain + zero time management skills = major disaster. We switched to daily 1.5-2 hr blocks for core classes, with daily times for each course and breaks in between.

[In The Great White North]

Depends on the child. I have one on Regentrude's schedule and one that needs daily assignments in each subject.

[Parrothead]

Okay, thanks everyone. It is interesting to see how differently it is done across the board.

[Pam L in Mid Tenn]

I try to set daily goals per subject. A certain number of pages to cover, or certain lesson to do.

I have a set assignment per subject from the beginning of the year or semester. So the assignment does not change unless I tell them a change.

I type up and print out a "lesson plan" every week. (or at least I make a valiant attempt to do so).

[Nscribe]

Looking at your sig, you Dd is similar to mine with the added challenge of theatre, music and dance. Dd and I have found that although she would sometimes love to have less structure in her daily work, she needs it. Meeting the demands of time and scheduling adjustments performing arts impose is a different animal.

[bugs]

My son needed some structural framework from me although he became more independent as high school went on.

 

Initially I gave him a list of expectations for the week. The problem was that he would do everything he liked (reading, TC history lectures) immediately and drag his feet on the rest. So we rewrote the script.

 

He had daily math and Latin assignments. He worked on his French most days too. I refused to put him into slots based on the clock. There are days when a teen aged boy can do a reasonable number of math problems in an hour--there are days when his brain has been lost. With backtracking and dillydallying, an hour would fly by without a lot of productive work.

 

My son would sometimes spend an afternoon with his nose in Tacitus or Melville. The next day he would have to pick up the slack in other things neglected in order to meet the weekly expectation.

 

 

 

This is my son.

 

For both my kids, I start the year by providing the amount of work I require during the week. In an effort to develop their own time management skills, they are suppose to plan out their days. I tend to be a little more involved in ds's day than in dd's. It's getting better though. I also adjust work loads throughout the year based on outside activities, hormones, etc.

[Parrothead]

Looking at your sig, you Dd is similar to mine with the added challenge of theatre, music and dance. Dd and I have found that although she would sometimes love to have less structure in her daily work, she needs it. Meeting the demands of time and scheduling adjustments performing arts impose is a different animal.

Yes, it is. I think this is where I'm finding my problem. Each day has to have practice, practice, and more practice built in on top of lessons, lessons and still more lessons. I believe I'm going to have to stick to a strict schedule to be able to get it all in.

[Candid]

When I switched from Sonlight to Tapestry I loosened up and allowed children to get their readings done on their own pace. With my oldest this has worked superbly, he'll be ready for college and zero oversight except the course deadlines My younger (seventh grade) needs more supervision, left on his own he'd do nothing and lie about it, sigh.

 

So I guess my general take is as much freedom as possible, but you are still responsible for their education so those with less ability to govern their time will need more guidance,

[TammyS]

So I guess my general take is as much freedom as possible, but you are still responsible for their education so those with less ability to govern their time will need more guidance,

 

 

I agree with this idea, mostly. I would say that the older the student gets, the closer to college/work, the more they need to be given freedom in their scheduling - even, and especially, if they are not ready for it. They need to struggle and fail at home with their scheduling. If they are managed all the way through high school, it is an expensive and exceedingly painful lesson to learn freshman year or in the first real job. Better, IMO, to let them experience that failure at home while there is time to recover. Then, they will KNOW, from their own experience (instead of from mom reminding/nagging at them), that they have a time management issue that they need to get serious about dealing with, or that they are going to have to adjust their expectations for college/work if they cannot. Also, if I were going to be paying for a substantial portion of their college, I would want proof BEFORE they go that they can handle themselves when I'm not there.

[regentrude]

I would say that the older the student gets, the closer to college/work, the more they need to be given freedom in their scheduling - even, and especially, if they are not ready for it. They need to struggle and fail at home with their scheduling. If they are managed all the way through high school, it is an expensive and exceedingly painful lesson to learn freshman year or in the first real job. Better, IMO, to let them experience that failure at home while there is time to recover. Then, they will KNOW, from their own experience (instead of from mom reminding/nagging at them), that they have a time management issue that they need to get serious about dealing with, or that they are going to have to adjust their expectations for college/work if they cannot.

 

 

Great advice. I am seeing this currently with my very organized, motivated daughter who, despite good work ethic and time management is working hard to juggle her two homework intensive classes. I have thought a great deal about how much I should help her manage her time, and to what degree I need to let her muddle through - and have come to the realization that it is a great lesson to learn now that time dawdled away on the computer mid day will have to be made up writing French literature analysis essays late a night. Nothing I could SAY could teach this lesson as well as letting her figure it out - while still living at home and being supplied with tea and snacks and encouragement by mom.

 

ETA: To clarify: I would feel it necessary to step in if assignments did not get completed on time, or if her grades would suffer, but as long as she accomplishes everything she needs to finish on time and is doing well in her classes, she is free to experiment with time management strategies as she pleases.

[Mom22ns]

Parrot,

I wouldn't dramatically change what you have been doing. Your child will not suddenly become a different person because they have entered high school. If she is used to a schedule, I wouldn't take it away. You might loosen the reigns a bit though. Pick the classes that she does independently and give her broader goals, maybe weekly if she is used to daily. Don't suddenly pull the supports out from under her if she isn't prepared for that. Even in college, kids have scheduled class times and homework that must be done between those classes (so only 1-2 days to complete). They will also have longer term projects and things they need to schedule for themselves. My own college experience required less time management and scheduling ability than many parents here require of their high schoolers. I'm not saying one or the other is better.

 

Ds is ASD and needs and likes a schedule. He is also great at working on projects with more distant deadlines and not leaving them to the last minute. We work toward both goals, but I didn't suddenly take away the rigid schedule we had through middle school just because he crossed an imaginary line into high school.

[Parrothead]

Thanks.

 

I'm trying to figure out how to fit everything into our day. I have just enough room for core courses, I'm not sure how to schedule electives on top of that. In order to get credit I have to have 250 minutes per week in each course. There is only so much time in a day.

 

I think I'm making myself crazy or over thinking this

 

And we need to have a fairly rigid schedule so at 3:30 school is over (we don't normally start until 8) so dd can make it to late after noon dance and other PA lessons.

[regentrude]

I'm trying to figure out how to fit everything into our day. I have just enough room for core courses, I'm not sure how to schedule electives on top of that. In order to get credit I have to have 250 minutes per week in each course. There is only so much time in a day.

 

I think I'm making myself crazy or over thinking this

 

And we need to have a fairly rigid schedule so at 3:30 school is over (we don't normally start until 8) so dd can make it to late after noon dance and other PA lessons.

 

I answered you in the other thread, but really, that's not too hard:

five core courses a 50 minutes daily for five days a week = 250 minutes, or 4 hours and 10 minutes of school time. With short breaks, starting at 8, you can be done by lunch time! Then you have plenty of time for electives after lunch until 3.

 

Alternatively, you can plan for some educational time on the weekends.

[Nscribe]

Sometimes a book should just be read, it need not be dissected. Some chapters in science can be treated lighter than others (40 questions on biomes and habitats?? --maybe not entirely necessary.). Does your child thrive on quizzes leading up to a bigger tests? If yes, then maybe you need them. If not, then a lot of time can be saved in eliminating them or doing them orally in the car. I help my very busy daughter by culling out what matters and what may not need as much emphasis ahead of time.

 

Even if Dd had none of the extra's in the evenings she does, I would not want her working beyond about 3pm. Her path is not going to be made by being by logging the most academic hours worked. If she really wants the balance of her love for her arts and academics, she is going to have to learn to juggle and manage or compromise.

[TammyS]

Thanks.

 

I'm trying to figure out how to fit everything into our day. I have just enough room for core courses, I'm not sure how to schedule electives on top of that. In order to get credit I have to have 250 minutes per week in each course. There is only so much time in a day.

 

I think I'm making myself crazy or over thinking this

 

And we need to have a fairly rigid schedule so at 3:30 school is over (we don't normally start until 8) so dd can make it to late after noon dance and other PA lessons.

 

 

I think you've already got your electives. Dance and PA lessons! I would count those as your electives and just stop worrying about it. If she wants to do other things in whatever free time she has, fine, but I wouldn't worry about making them formally counted schoolwork.