Can I get feedback on our 9th grade plan?

[Indygirl]

My ds13 will turn 14 the end of July and start 9th grade in the fall. He's our first to hit high school, so we've really tried to think this through. He thinks he would like to go into engineering. Here's what we've got:

 

The Great Conversation 3 with Wilson Hill

US History. 1.0

Literature. 1.0

Theology. .5

Fundamentals of Expository Writing with Wilson Hill. 1.0

Apologia Biology w Labs 1.0

Hopefully finish Algebra this Summer and continue the sequence using Saxon 1.0

Spanish ( not sure which curric yet). 1.0

PE. Swim Team, Scouts, YMCA. .5

 

Total 7 credits

 

He is also very active in Boy Scouts and volunteering in the community.

 

Anything I'm missing, or need to keep in mind? Thanks for your thoughts.

[Paula in MS]

I don't think you are missing anything.  My daughter is signed up for GC3 as well.  I am trying to keep it at 6 credits.

   GC3 1 credit for history and 1 for english/lit ( I will probably assign some additional writing assignments to go along)

   Logic I @ WH--1 credit

   Latin 2--1 credit 

   Some kind of science--1 credit (was supposed to be bio @ WH, but they've switched things around and put me in a bind)

   Either Geometry or Alg 2 if I use Saxon--1 credit

 

I think that's it, but I'm considering adding a geography elective depending on what I do about science.  I'm thinking 7 credits may be too much.

 

 

 

 

[Indygirl]

I don't think you are missing anything. My daughter is signed up for GC3 as well. I am trying to keep it at 6 credits.

GC3 1 credit for history and 1 for english/lit ( I will probably assign some additional writing assignments to go along)

Logic I @ WH--1 credit

Latin 2--1 credit

Some kind of science--1 credit (was supposed to be bio @ WH, but they've switched things around and put me in a bind)

Either Geometry or Alg 2 if I use Saxon--1 credit

 

I think that's it, but I'm considering adding a geography elective depending on what I do about science. I'm thinking 7 credits may be too much.

Our schedules look similar. TGC3 is considered 2.5 credits. I didnt think adding PE would be too much. That's how I came up with 7 credits vs your 6. I'm really wishing he didn't need Spanish. I was thinking if he is too overloaded, I would drop Spanish until next year.

[Paula in MS]

Our schedules look similar. TGC3 is considered 2.5 credits. I didnt think adding PE would be too much. That's how I came up with 7 credits vs your 6. I'm really wishing he didn't need Spanish. I was thinking if he is too overloaded, I would drop Spanish until next year.

 

 

I don't really think it is worth an extra half credit, but I will probably wait and see next year.  With dropping some of the books, GC2 hasn't really been that much of a work load, but I know that Wilson Hill awards the 2.5.  It could be that it ramps up in 9th grade.

 

I may end up counting this year's science (BJU physical) as high school science since it is a high school course.  That way, I could skip science next year and do an elective.  I feel like I am kind of loading her down with humanities courses when she is going to major in some kind of science field.  Not sure what I would add, though.  I just have no idea how to proceed with science because I don't want to move to chemistry yet.

[JadeOrchidSong]

Indygirl,

Ds13 also signed up to do WHA FOEW. What are you using for the one credit literature? Does it include writing? I thought FOEW is literature and writing. Am I wrong?

With that said, ds13 is going to do America the Beautiful for US history.

[Indygirl]

Indygirl,

Ds13 also signed up to do WHA FOEW. What are you using for the one credit literature? Does it include writing? I thought FOEW is literature and writing. Am I wrong?

With that said, ds13 is going to do America the Beautiful for US history.

He's taking The Great Conversation 3 with Wilson Hill which is basically Omnibus. It is 2.5 credits. 1 Lit, 1 History, .5 Theology. There is some writing in the class.

 

FOEW does have literature in it. I emailed with Ms. Lange about placement, and she was very helpful. She even read samples of my son's writing. She didn't see him having any problems with taking both classes.

[DebbS]

Looks good. If you find that 7 credits is too heavy, you could dial back on the Spanish by taking 1.5 or even 2 years for a credit instead of the usual 1 year. Just count the credit in the year that he completes it. This works better than stopping a foreign language and then trying to pick it up where you left off after a half year gap.

[Starr]

Check the requirements of colleges he's interested in attending. Some schools require more foreign language than others. You don't want to get caught short.

[JadeOrchidSong]

He's taking The Great Conversation 3 with Wilson Hill which is basically Omnibus. It is 2.5 credits. 1 Lit, 1 History, .5 Theology. There is some writing in the class.

 

FOEW does have literature in it. I emailed with Ms. Lange about placement, and she was very helpful. She even read samples of my son's writing. She didn't see him having any problems with taking both classes.

Has he been taking Great Conversation 1 and 2? I just looked at Omnibus Table of Content. Looks very intense. I think FOEW is pretty heavy for my son already. Let me know how it goes with your ds. I might consider GC for my son another year.

[Lori D.]

Just 'cause it helps me to see it in "credit/subject" order:

1.0 credit = English (Lit.)

1.0 credit = English (Fund. Expos. Writing)

1.0 credit = Math (Saxon)

1.0 credit = Science: Biology (Apologia)

1.0 credit = Social Science: US History

1.0 credit = Foreign Language: Spanish

0.5 credit = Elective: Theology

0.5 credit = Elective: PE

7.0 credits = total

 

If a student is not used to online courses or the rigorous load of Omnibus, this might be a lot to bite off for a new high school student. If that turns out to be the case, I note that you could cut back either in the Lit. and Writing loads to bring that down to just 0.5 credit *each* of Lit. and Writing, for a total of 1.0 credit of English. Or, you might push back starting Spanish to a later year.

 

It's also nice for that transition into high school, esp. if planning 7.0 credits, to have 1.0 credit be a lighter/fun/personal interest Elective, so you might push Spanish back a year to let DS explore something fun, which also gives you more time to decide how you want to handle Foreign Language. (One option would be dual enrollment at a local community college or university for 11th and 12th grades -- that would give your student 4 semesters of college credits, which equals 4 credits of high school foreign language completed in just 2 years of high school, AND it knocks out in advance any foreign language requirement that a college DEGREE would require. woot!)

 

Not at all trying to say your plan won't be great for your student -- it's just nice to think through any potential options, and also to look ahead and have a "backdoor" option in case things don't work as smoothly as planned, or in case some fantastic local opportunity pops up that your student wants to take advantage of -- it's good to know where you can flex and bend a bit. ;)

 

Have a great transition into high school with a fabulous 9th grade year! :) Warmest regards, Lori D.

Edited March 20, 2016 by Lori D.

[Lori D.]

I don't really think it is worth an extra half credit, but I will probably wait and see next year.  With dropping some of the books, GC2 hasn't really been that much of a work load, but I know that Wilson Hill awards the 2.5.  It could be that it ramps up in 9th grade.

 

I may end up counting this year's science (BJU physical) as high school science since it is a high school course.  That way, I could skip science next year and do an elective.  I feel like I am kind of loading her down with humanities courses when she is going to major in some kind of science field.  Not sure what I would add, though.  I just have no idea how to proceed with science because I don't want to move to chemistry yet.

 

JMO: If going into a STEM field, skipping a year of science would not be recommended. Colleges want to see that the student continued to progress each year into more rigor, rather than counting a "lighter" science (Physical Science) as high school credit in order to skip a year of Science. Your DD's competition will be students who took Biology in 8th, and then completed Chemistry, Physics and 2 Advanced Sciences in grades 9-12.

 

re: science progression: She wouldn't be doing Biology next?

Conceptual Physics might be an option (very little math required) -- and then she could do an Advanced Physics later on, if interested. Or, Earth Science or Astronomy.

 

If the schedule was heavy on Social Science / Humanities credits this year, perhaps skip that instead and replace with an Elective??

 

Disregard my 2 cents here, esp. if I am misunderstanding! :) Wishing you the best in your planning! Warmly, Lori D.

[GoodGrief]

LoriD has good advice, as always :-)

 

I think your schedule looks pretty good, though the Language Arts may become a little heavy, particularly if there is a lot of writing embedded in the Great Conversation courses (I am not familiar with the program, so not sure.) Definitely hang onto your foreign language. Depending on his college admission goals, you may want to think about possible science/math extracurriculars, and consider prepping for and doing an SAT subject test (like US History) at the end of 9th grade so that the testing load is not so heavy later.

[Paula in MS]

JMO: If going into a STEM field, skipping a year of science would not be recommended. Colleges want to see that the student continued to progress each year into more rigor, rather than counting a "lighter" science (Physical Science) as high school credit in order to skip a year of Science. Your DD's competition will be students who took Biology in 8th, and then completed Chemistry, Physics and 2 Advanced Sciences in grades 9-12.

 

re: science progression: She wouldn't be doing Biology next?

Conceptual Physics might be an option (very little math required) -- and then she could do an Advanced Physics later on, if interested. Or, Earth Science or Astronomy.

 

If the schedule was heavy on Social Science / Humanities credits this year, perhaps skip that instead and replace with an Elective??

 

Disregard my 2 cents here, esp. if I am misunderstanding! :) Wishing you the best in your planning! Warmly, Lori D.

 

I had planned to use Wilson Hill for science.  Wilson Hill has moved biology to 11th grade to really beef up the course.  They do physics I in 9th.  Because my dd used BJU physical science which is really an intro to physics and chemistry in 8th, she has already covered the conceptual physics I information according to the instructor.  I'm  really not interested in repeating the same course for 2 years.  BJU physical is not like apologia.  There is no earth science included because it is a high school course intended for 9th grade.  The next class in the sequence is chemistry, which I don't really want to begin in 9th.  She is really planning to stay somewhere in state for college, so admission is really not going to be a problem.

[Lori D.]

I had planned to use Wilson Hill for science.  Wilson Hill has moved biology to 11th grade to really beef up the course.  They do physics I in 9th.  Because my dd used BJU physical science which is really an intro to physics and chemistry in 8th, she has already covered the conceptual physics I information according to the instructor.  I'm  really not interested in repeating the same course for 2 years.  BJU physical is not like apologia.  There is no earth science included because it is a high school course intended for 9th grade.  The next class in the sequence is chemistry, which I don't really want to begin in 9th.  She is really planning to stay somewhere in state for college, so admission is really not going to be a problem.

 

Got it. :)

 

But just because I enjoy brainstorming ;) ... Here are a few more ideas:

You can create your own high school level of Earth Science -- or special focus on Geology, Meteorology, Astronomy, etc. -- and it can be a full credit or just 0.5 credit. Another option is that it looks like the Wilson Hill Biology does not include Anatomy, so that's a possibility, too -- do a 0.5 credit of Anatomy next year. Or a do-it-yourself Marine Biology full or partial credit. Anatomy or Marine Biology could be great "intro" to Biology courses so that DD will already have some exposure to some terminology and concepts for going into the beefed-up Wilson Hill version of Biology in 11th grade, which would make that an easier Science...

 

And my favorite idea: what about Engineering and/or Robotics? While usually counted as an Academic Elective rather than a Science credit, it's stilll a STEM area, keeps your student still loosely connected with Science and Critical Thinking, and it's definitely a lot of fun!

 

Just some thoughts! Have a great 9th grade! :) Warmest regards, Lori D.

Edited March 20, 2016 by Lori D.

[Indygirl]

Thanks so much for the feedback! I like the idea of pushing back the foreign language for now. It would really give him some more time to concentrate on those heavier subjects. I want him challenged, but not frustrated.

 

He is very interested in auto mechanics. He already has his own car (an '84 VW rabbit) someone gave him. He and his Dad are rebuilding parts of the engine. I had picked up a high school level course called Auto Upkeep focusing on basic car care, maintenance, and repair. If he would work through that, maybe I could count that as a half credit elective. He would love that. How would that look on his transcript though?

[Paula in MS]

Got it. :)

 

But just because I enjoy brainstorming ;) ... Here are a few more ideas:

You can create your own high school level of Earth Science -- or special focus on Geology, Meteorology, Astronomy, etc. -- and it can be a full credit or just 0.5 credit. Another option is that it looks like the Wilson Hill Biology does not include Anatomy, so that's a possibility, too -- do a 0.5 credit of Anatomy next year. Or a do-it-yourself Marine Biology full or partial credit. Anatomy or Marine Biology could be great "intro" to Biology courses so that DD will already have some exposure to some terminology and concepts for going into the beefed-up Wilson Hill version of Biology in 11th grade, which would make that an easier Science...

 

And my favorite idea: what about Engineering and/or Robotics? While usually counted as an Academic Elective rather than a Science credit, it's stilll a STEM area, keeps your student still loosely connected with Science and Critical Thinking, and it's definitely a lot of fun!

 

Just some thoughts! Have a great 9th grade! :) Warmest regards, Lori D.

 

I was actually online yesterday looking at marine biology textbooks, but there are not a ton of choices out there.  What she really wants to do is study botany or horticulture, but I would probably have to go with some kind of introductory college textbook for that.  Unless you have some ideas along those lines?

[Lori D.]

Thanks so much for the feedback! I like the idea of pushing back the foreign language for now. It would really give him some more time to concentrate on those heavier subjects. I want him challenged, but not frustrated.

 

He is very interested in auto mechanics. He already has his own car (an '84 VW rabbit) someone gave him. He and his Dad are rebuilding parts of the engine. I had picked up a high school level course called Auto Upkeep focusing on basic car care, maintenance, and repair. If he would work through that, maybe I could count that as a half credit elective. He would love that. How would that look on his transcript though?

 

That's awesome! Super idea!

 

You might do it as an extracurricular activity, which would look fantastic in college and scholarship applications -- rebuilt an engine! Sometimes an activity stands out better as an activity than as a credit. What you might do is track hours and consider doing the Auto Upkeep book, and decide later which way this "shines" best for DS (credit or extracurricular). Maybe the further into high school you go you'll also see what other activities or Electives he's taking, to help you decide. So if you keep records now, you can decide later. :)

 

You might also look around for some local opportunities of clubs, school programs, classes, or summer programs run through the local university or community college on Robotics, Engineering, Mechanical Design, etc. Or possible dual enrollment with Vocational-Tech coursework in CAD (Computer Assisted Drafting), Electronics, etc. If DS takes several courses in these areas, then you could put the Engine Rebuilding as a credit under Engineering Electives for a nice subset of coursework. :)

 

Just brainstorming! Warmest regards, Lori D.

[Indygirl]

What a lot to think about! I appreciate all of the great ideas! With the area we live in, we really have to think outside the box. We are in Southern Indiana and there aren't any big cities or colleges around so we have to dig for opportunities or drive long distances. I'm willing to do what what we need to do, it's just a matter of figuring things out. I will definitely start scoping out the nearest community colleges and looking at summer programs.

 

Thanks for the great ideas. I'm feeling much better about starting high school!

[Lori D.]

I was actually online yesterday looking at marine biology textbooks, but there are not a ton of choices out there.  What she really wants to do is study botany or horticulture, but I would probably have to go with some kind of introductory college textbook for that.  Unless you have some ideas along those lines?

 

Why not? Many introductory college texts are very accessible to high school students, so that shouldn't be a problem. :) Go for it and enjoy! :) Perhaps combine with some lectures and projects. Ideas:

 

teaching sources / texts / information sources

- local garden/horticulture lectures

- local university gardening/agriculture extension dept./office

- Kaneland High School: Intro to Horticulture Curriculum Map -- outline of 1-semester course, topics & labs to be covered each week

- Bismarck Public Schools: Curriculum Map: High School Horticulture -- outline of course topics, materials, terms, to be covered

- Boulder Valley School District: High School Botany Essentials -- detailed outline of topics to be covered for a high school Botany course

- Palomar College: Botany 115 course syllabus -- great list of topics covered in an intro college level Botany course

- The Internet Science Room: Botany Class -- overview, Botany topics and introductory teaching info

 

curriculum

- MN Nursery & Landscape Association: High School Curriculum - Botany

- Oregon State: Master Gardner -- online short course series

- Study.com: List of Free Online Horticulture Courses and Training Programs

 

hands-on / labs and experiments / projects

- 4-H gardening/horticulture group and project

- participation in community gardens or local university horticulture project

- Botany Adventure (Wright) -- gr. 6-12 curriculum unit study -- useful for labs/experiment ideas

 

online courses / local courses

- Coursera: What A Plant Knows -- free online MOOC, here is the Course Talk sample -- useful as a supplement

- short course series from local university horticulture/agriculture extension dept. or community Gardener group

- dual enrollment Botany course with local Community College

 

texts

- Botany: An Introduction to Plant Biology (Mauseth) -- spine text

- Botany Illustrated: An Introduction to Plant Biology (Limn-Lacy) -- supplemental text

- Botany for Gardeners (Capon) -- supplemental text

- An Introduction to Plant Structure and Development (Beck) -- supplemental text

- Introductory Horticulture (Reiley) -- spine textbook and matching lab manual

 

video / tutorials / documentaries

- Vimeo: The Private Life of Plants (David Attenborough)

- San Luis Video Publishing: Botany series

- YouTube: Botany

- YouTube: Horticulture Videos

Edited March 20, 2016 by Lori D.

[JadeOrchidSong]

Indygirl, has ds taken online classes before?

[Indygirl]

Indygirl, has ds taken online classes before?

Yes. He has taken Exp 1 and Exp 2 with The Well Trained Mind Academy.