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What your ... grader needs to know


Guest mommiss
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Guest mommiss

Hi everyone,

 

Are these books useful for planning a curriculum? There are mixed reviews on Amazon. I borrowed the 1st grade book from the library, and have read lots of useful information.. but I am not sure if it is the best approach to a balanced education.

 

I have a 5.5 year old. We are currently using AAR Level 1 , unit studies, and lots of books!

 

Thanks!

Kelly

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I also like to browse in them, but have never used them to plan anything. Actually I did refer to them recently for my 4th grader hoping for a concise explanation of related fractions for her math lesson. Didn't really find it. I do like to see what a typical child would be learning in the grade my children are in, so I think they are helpful in that way.

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I bought kinder and pre recently thinking there would be some sort of useful information to help plan. at least in those grades it was just a collection of poems, fairy tales and some short "history" stories. no scheduling, scope, sequence info of any sort at all. I returned them.

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I prefer the older early1990s version, to the current revised edition. The older version is more concise and complete in 6 books. There are 8 books in the revised edition and it is not complete; the 7th and 8th grade books were never written.

 

The old version is not lined up with current grade level topics and is somtimes a bit advanced. It's an OCD scope and sequence that really works well for me, though.

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I prefer the older early1990s version, to the current revised edition. The older version is more concise and complete in 6 books. There are 8 books in the revised edition and it is not complete; the 7th and 8th grade books were never written.

 

The old version is not lined up with current grade level topics and is somtimes a bit advanced. It's an OCD scope and sequence that really works well for me, though.

 

 

ITA that the older books are better.

 

OP you may enjoy other books by E.D. Hirsch, since his are the ideas CK schools are based on. There is a Dictionary of Cultural Literacy that lays out lot of the material from the "what your x grader needs to know" books, a checklist of sorts of what is supposed to be included in CK which is the body of knowledge he believes is important for modern-day US children to know in order to be well-educated.

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They might be good for reference but I know that the older Editions at least have some false information in them. I remember reading through their Cultures/Religion for one of the early elementary level books, I think it was First Grade section and being a Muslim kid at the time, I was pretty annoyed and offended by how wrong they had Islam presented. It was blatant crap.

 

I wouldn't trust those books for anything more than a very loose guide of what to cover when.

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I'm actually using the CK sequence to plan out the next few years for art, music, and geography... some science and history (I have "older" kids), not the books. Having said that, I really like the older editions of the books, and I think they are pretty thorough! I have a friend using the sequence, and the Teacher's guides, here's a link to her blog: Only Small Things

 

You might also want to look at the CK Recommended Trade Books List (pdf), very helpful in planning out great booklists!

 

Some other threads on this topic:

http://forums.welltr...ledge-sequence/

http://forums.welltr...nowledge-books/

http://forums.welltr...-needs-to-know/

http://forums.welltr...ull-curriculum/

http://forums.welltr...nowledge-books/

 

Hope this helps!

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They might be good for reference but I know that the older Editions at least have some false information in them. I remember reading through their Cultures/Religion for one of the early elementary level books, I think it was First Grade section and being a Muslim kid at the time, I was pretty annoyed and offended by how wrong they had Islam presented. It was blatant crap.

 

I wouldn't trust those books for anything more than a very loose guide of what to cover when.

 

When I have time, I supplement topics with library books, DVDs, encyclopedia articles, Youtube, etc., but when I'm crunched for time, I just use the NtK books for better and for worse. Time is so short. Not every topic can be taught fully and correctly. No one author can get it all right, and when too many people added all their input, the revised series lost it's way.

 

I always appreciate when someone points out something from the original series that could have been written better, so I can make a note to give that topic a little extra TLC. Thanks mom2bee!

 

My pet peeve is the lack of instruction on color in the original series. My favorite supplement is Using Color in Your Art. It's probably overkill for most families, but color here is an important topic that I weave into lots of other lessons. When I'm able to afford it, I like to give every student a pack of 64 Prang Crayons. When I'm broke I just teach the color concepts that can be taught with a 24 pack of Crayolas.

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