Is there a way/curriculum to review history facts and science facts?

[walkermamaof4]

Any ideas? We've used Apologia for Science and have what I consider a pretty amazing home library. Yet, dd13 (not an avid reader) often seems to be missing some pretty important details about these subjects and vocabulary too. I think Apologia may have been a mistake; studying birds for a year certainly limits general knowledge of science! We've done Early American, Modern Times, Ancients and Medieval were covered when she was quite young. Next year we are doing Ancients again. She has read many fun books about American history like the If You Were There When and even some ones on Ancients like the You Wouldn't Want to be series.

 

Is there a way to get her up to speed with some overall general knowledge? Anything fun? I don't want drudgery. She is such a hard worker and her days are long. I think her memory might be poor.

 

Thanks!

[Mom0012]

Well, you could use ANKI for vocab. It is a free software download. It isn't really very user friendly, but once you get the hang of it, it is wonderful. It is "smart" software, so if you have a stack of 1,000 flashcards, you don't review them all every time. You review the ones you don't know well frequently, and others might not be reviewed more then once every 4 months if you know them well. It has been wonderful for our Spanish and Latin studies. I plan to start a deck with my son's science vocab now that he is beginning General Science. I will just keep on adding to it through the years.

 

Lisa

[Arcadia]

Has she done note-taking? For a quick way, there are middle school study guides for math, science and history. Those are convenient for a quick refresher for state testing.

For better memory retention, making her own notes for science and history on loose leaf paper would help more. Since she like drawing, it is possible to make notes on blank paper and draw mind maps, diagrams, timelines. Studying birds for a year can build up understanding of categorizing, bird anatomy and observation skills. Plenty of chemistry in cooking and physics is everywhere too. Flashcards works for some children and they are easy to make using index cards.

[walkermamaof4]

Thank you! I really appreciate the input. We have been using Study Stack for flash cards. Anki might be better as I don't believe Study Stack is "smart."

 

Pastel - Does Anki have vocab built in? Or did you create your cards? Can I set up an account for each child and then can I transfer cards from one child to another?

 

Arcadia - she does so well when doing flash cards. I really need to apply that to history and science! She uses them for math, latin, etc. And she does best with R&S math because of the mastery approach and tremendous amount of practice and repetition. So your input is so helpful.

 

Would there be a way to get her fact database jump-started with some resource?

[lauracolumbus]

Have you considered looking at the Classical Conversations material? You could just purchase whatever materials you wanted--either the flash cards or the cds. My kids know their history facts from the history songs. They have science facts, but not put to music. There's also Lyrical Science for more science facts.

[Sleep-Deprived]

I'm not an advocate of his books but Ed Hirsch has a series of books What your (Kindergartener, First Grader, Second Grader, Third Grader etc.) Should Know. If I understand correctly that you are trying to get an idea of what you may have overlooked, one of his books might be helpful to you. I would guess they would be available at most libraries.

[Mom0012]

Thank you! I really appreciate the input. We have been using Study Stack for flash cards. Anki might be better as I don't believe Study Stack is "smart."

 

Pastel - Does Anki have vocab built in? Or did you create your cards? Can I set up an account for each child and then can I transfer cards from one child to another?

 

Arcadia - she does so well when doing flash cards. I really need to apply that to history and science! She uses them for math, latin, etc. And she does best with R&S math because of the mastery approach and tremendous amount of practice and repetition. So your input is so helpful.

 

Would there be a way to get her fact database jump-started with some resource?

 

 

There are shared lists that you can download with ANKI. So, if you are using a popular text, it may be that you can get the cards already made for you. Otherwise, you'll have to input them yourself.

[Mrs Twain]

For history memory work, I have been using Everything You Need to Know About World History Homework. It is written with sections that start with a short text overview and then conclude with a summary of most important points (to memorize). I am planning to do the same thing with Everything You Need to Know About American History Homework.

[walkermamaof4]

For history memory work, I have been using Everything You Need to Know About World History Homework. It is written with sections that start with a short text overview and then conclude with a summary of most important points (to memorize). I am planning to do the same thing with Everything You Need to Know About American History Homework.

 

Perfect! I was able to order 3 of these on the scholastic site. Thank you!