Need some TOG help/tips

[LAmom]

I am starting TOG Year 2, Unit 1.  I did not feel like I had much of a fog as I was going through things and getting it ready to use.  Since it is the middle of the year I just jumped in and did not worry too much about student notebooks, etc.

 

Now that I am on week 2 I am feeling a little bit of the fog.  I have been use to a spine for history, having used SOTW and MOH.  I enjoyed sitting down with all my kids (that are students) and reading with them and then doing coordinating activity.  Now using TOG I feel a little scattered.  With the younger 2 LG boys, we just read a little out of Usborne Medieval Book and for my UG dd I give her the assigned reading for history and she goes off on her own and reads it.  

 

It all seems very disjointed to me.  I switched to TOG in hopes of getting used to it by the time my dd is dialectic (next year?) and so I could implement the discussion questions, etc.  I feel like I need the hand holding for high school years.

 

So, any tips on how to make my weeks flow better.  I don't have a good routine yet and can't really figure one out.  I do have my kids listen to the corresponding SOTW but don't want to only use that--what would the point be of TOG then....I could just buy SOTW.  I also have not liked the first 2 weeks of literature for the LG.  

 

I want TOG to work.  Maybe if you can let me know how your week looks with various ages.  Maybe I should just stick to a spine?  Maybe I will understand full benefits once I have D and R stages?

[blessed3x]

:bigear:

Bumping.  

 

We are going to be starting ToG, so I am listening in.

[boscopup]

I always liked having a spine, but I'm actually doing ok without one in TOG. We've only done one unit so far (Y4U1 - we start U2 Monday), but here's how we do it with kids 9, 7, and 4 (UG/LG/Tag-along):

 

1) I printed out what the kids needed and stuck them in half inch binders. I went ahead and did the whole unit at once. That way, they can just pick up their binder and see what they need. The maps are there, etc.

 

2) On Monday, we get together, and I read aloud the intro to the week. I then briefly go over reading assignments with my UG student, then I read aloud the LG books to my little ones. The 4 year old may or may not hang around. :D The UG student often listens in for fun. I spread the LG readings out so that we spend about 3 days between history and literature. The literature assignments in Y4U1 were spot on for my first grader. The UG literature assignments have sometimes been a little meh (my son could NOT get into The Wind and the Willows, and we've tried it as an audio book before and none of us could get into it, so I set it aside... We also thought Winnie the Pooh was a bit young for my 9 year old who reads LOTR and other such things for fun, yet he's not ready for D level lit). I think the upcoming ones look better. I'm ok with subbing books or dropping a lit assignment here and there. So just look ahead and pick and choose, check out the alternates, etc. My UG student does all his reading on his own throughout the day. He has the reading assignments and breaks them up however he wants to to have them done by Friday.

 

3) I try to read the teacher notes on Sunday before our week starts. That helps tie things together for ME. My kids don't seem to mind not having a real spine (though my UG student kind of has the Hakim books as a spine in Y4). Between reading the student threads and the teacher notes, it gives me that sense of, "Oh, we're learning about this, this, and this."

 

4) Sometimes I'll ask my UG student to tell me something about xyz that he read about (and I know something about that person or topic because I read the teacher's notes). This is my intro to discussion later on when he's D. ;)

 

The LG level is definitely here and there and everywhere, not following one long thread of a story like the other levels are. I think that happens because the LG students focus more on certain aspects of history rather than dealing with the nitty gritty what happened. For example in Y4, rather than spending all their time learning about the how and why of WW1, it touches on WW1 and also talks about inventions that occurred during that time period. So it is a bit disjointed at that level, but again, my kid doesn't seem to care. The UG level seems much less disjointed, as he is clearly following what happened as each president took office, what they did, what was happening around the world, etc. So that's where reading the teacher notes straightens things out for me, who as an adult needs a linear thread of what's going on - the big picture, but my first grader is more interested in the fact that airplanes were invented in the early 1900's, kwim?

 

Hope that helps!

 

[TracyP]

Our schedule looks something like this: We start the week by doing the intro to the week, reading a chapter from CHOW, and doing geography. I schedule CHOW to match TOG myself, and I guess it does give me that spine to some extent. My 8yo and 10yo do the assigned reading on their own. I discuss this with them daily and have a longer discussion at the end of the week with my oldest. For my oldest two, this works really well. I don't like to sit down and do history as a group. It is too difficult for me to take the time for that and have time to teach my younger kids. This comes down to one of those personal preference things. TOG really encourages independence.

 

I have had a love/hate relationship with the LG level over the years. It is often disjointed and I haven't loved all the book choices. (Year 4 LG lit is absolutely the best, fwiw, boscopup) I don't know when my younger kids will start TOG, but they aren't officially joining in yet.

 

You want TOG to work, but you also wonder if you should just stick to a spine. Using some of the tips in this thread, I would make a plan and try to stick it out for the unit; things might fall into place. "Just do it" seems to be very good advice for new TOG users. If it turns out that you do prefer a spine, go back to that. You may find that TOG works better when your oldest is actually in the D or R stage. That would mean revisiting TOG when your oldest is 12 or so. Don't worry, it won't be too late. :)

[coffeegal]

 

I want TOG to work.  Maybe if you can let me know how your week looks with various ages.  Maybe I should just stick to a spine?  Maybe I will understand full benefits once I have D and R stages?

 

I started TOG when my oldest started high school; I suspect it makes a big difference.

 

My teens do the readings and map work over the week independently. One answers accountability questions and does the TOG writing assignment. One prefers to write a history report each week on a topic that interests him. His discussions have improved dramatically since we switched from accountability questions to reports so I'm thrilled with the result. My 8th grader completes the dialectic evaluation as a worksheet instead of accountability questions. They cover similar material... We have discussions on Friday.

 

My 11 yo, UG 5th grade, does the weekly readings himself. On Fridays we complete the lapbook together. It gives me a good idea of what he's learned. I don't have him joining in the discussions this year. Next year he will.

 

My plan for my youngest 2 is to use SOTW as our main text even though they're scheduled for UG instead of LG. We'll just run through the series twice using the TOG assigned reading as a supplement. We will be working through the literature and worksheets each week.

[fourcatmom]

We started TOG this year with my 7th grader (12yo) and I am using primarily UG and D books. Mostly I liked the books better in UG so I just use a combination of what I like and what I thinks she will enjoy. We just finished up Y2, Unit 1 and start Y2, Unit 2 on Monday. I have experienced a little bit of the fog that people talk about but we just keep going and each week seems to get better. I have heard that Year 2 is the biggest year and might be a hard year to start on but so far we are enjoying it. I I use STOW and Streams of Civilization as her core right now.

 

Mondays - Introduction with core reading (STOW and Streams of Civilization). If she has time she can put down some information in her History Sketchbook about what she read.

 

Tuesdays - Geography and STOW video's and Literature for the week. Have also added some 3D maps

Wednesday - Fine Arts (Sketchbook) or other activities she might like for the week and Literature if time allows

Thursday - Sometimes writing and/or Literature reading and working on her sketchbook

Friday - Discussions with me and or quiz and Timeline (every two weeks), Literature

 

On Fridays we also take a look at the following week to pick out the books (I usually have a few to choose from and she picks which one she likes) and outline any activities and or projects that she might be interested in doing. That way I have the weekend to prep if she needs anything. She was doing more craft type projects at the beginning of the year but now she works on her sketchbook most of the time. This way she is combining art and recording as she goes. It is also a great piece to have during discussions so that she can show me what she has done all week and tell me about what she learned.

 

I also purchased project passport and will pull activities from there for her to do as they relate to what she is learning and she includes those in her sketchbook.

 

Here is a link to the post about their Sketchbooks (TOG is the 2nd half of the page)

History Sketchbooks

 

For the week that she was reading Beowulf, she would draw after or take notes about her reading. I need to update with some more pictures!

 

With Geography my DD really likes to draw maps and doesn't really enjoy the printed one's. We did use them for Unit 1 but I did not purchase for U2. i am going to add drawing maps on Tuesdays for Geo that she can draw into her sketchbook. Here is a map she drew free hand for the salt dough activity. She will often just draw maps on her free time so I think this will something really fun to ad to the program for her.

 

I think this is what I love most of TOG is the ability to bring things together that interest you and that you are not just following along in a dry textbook. I love all the choices and the creativity it allows for but I also couldn't have planned to use it this way from the beginning, it has just evolved into this. She also seems to appreciate all the choices. She also loves working independently so that is a bonus.

 

 

[LAmom]

Thank you everyone for your helpful responses.  I definitely plan to keep to it for units 1 and 2.  I bought unit 1 and have unit 2 as a free trial.  So I want to figure out how to best use TOG and see if it is something I will like as my oldest moves up to D and R.  She would be my primary focus.  I will work on establishing a better schedule for the week and I like the advice about reading the teacher's notes to help get the whole picture of what they are to be learning for the week.  I will keep using SOTW as it lines up for my younger kids.  Then love listening to Jim Weiss and then at least things will seem less disjointed for now.  

 

I appreciate the details given how you all use it!  I'm sure I will have more questions as I tweak throughout the next few weeks.