Jump to content

Menu

How do *you* use "What your ______ grader needs to know"??


Ecclecticmum
 Share

Recommended Posts

I have the 2nd Edition of Preschool, Kindergarten & 1st Grade, and the 1st Edition of 2nd & 3rd Grade.

 

I have problems figuring out how to use them :confused1: I understand if you were using it as your "base" to build from, it would be easier to do this.

 

For those who use it *other* than a building base, why do you use it, and most importantly HOW?

 

(I'm trying to figure out whether to keep them or not)

 

Thanks!!

 

:hurray:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I mostly skim through them and take a look at what they figure my child "should" know vs what we are covering. Some things don't line up, like science (we do the WTM approach of one topic per year) and history/social studies but I am okay with those areas. I do pay closer attention to math and LA. If there are stories they say a child should know I make note of them and try to include them in our year. I found the earlier years helpful with the nursery rhymes and such. I would bring out the book and would read several of them to the kids during quiet afternoons. I never stressed about it but was aware of what was in the books and did try to adapt where I could.

 

One book I have found very valuable is The Educated Child by William J. Bennett. It relies heavily on the Core Knowledge Series of books but has all the information nicely condensed into what he believes makes up a solid education. I especially appreciate the sections where he notes things like: "A good grade 2 classroom will include..." or "A good 6th grade teacher will have their students..." "A good fifth grade class will be reading these books..." (these are rough examples, not exactly what is in the book).

 

I read this book over every single summer to get some inspiration before I start my planning for the next year. :)

 

I hope this answers your question a bit. :o

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here's my "replay" answer from this past thread on "How do you use Core Knowledge Books (What Your ____ Grader Needs to Know)?" (Also check out these old threads, "Anyone Here Use Core Knowledge?", "What Your ___ Grader Needs to Know", "What Your ... Grader Needs to Know", and, "?s about What Your X Grader Needs to Know"). Cheers! Lori D.

___________________________________

 

We used the "What Your ... Grader Needs to Know" books by Core Knowledge in an informal way here. They were older editions (c. 1999 and early 2000s). We read through about 1-2 books per year, maybe a page or two at a sitting, several times a week as part of a family "together time". We had the grade 2 through grade 6 books, and we dipped into various books at different times in different ways over the course of several years.

 

For example, we took about 5 minutes 2 times a week to read the poetry and literature selections during our morning "together time".

 

After lunch a few days a week, we did the famous sayings/adages as a fun "Wheel of Fortune" game (fill in the blanks for the letters of the saying on the white board like Hangman, used dice instead of a wheel), and then read about the saying/discussed it.

 

We read the art and music sections for about 10-15 minutes once a week whenever we did art or music.

 

We read a history or science section whenever it fit in with whatever history or science we were covering at the time.

 

We never really used the math section -- although, I sometimes would read through it on my own to make sure we were covering all the math topics for that grade level, or to get an idea of a different way to present a math topic that a child was not getting.

 

We really enjoyed the series, and were sad when we finally outgrew them. Overall, we found the books to be a great additional resource to schedule in whenever various topics in the books fit in. Warmest regards, Lori D.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...