MBTP 7th Grade

[Paige]

I like the looks of the literature units that I see on Rainbow Resource from Moving Beyond the Page, but I am unsure what exactly they are supposed to cover and how many units would comprise a full year's worth. Does anyone have experience?

 

I would like to use them for literature guides for 7th graders because I am not good at coming up with my own stuff and I like their selections. I also appreciate that they appear to include other language arts practice, like writing, grammar, spelling, etc., but I can't tell from the samples how much space is devoted to those areas vs the basic literature guide and discussion questions. I want to use Writing With Skill and don't want both to be overkill or take too much time.

 

How many units would we need for the year if we used it as our main reading/literature rather than a supplement here and there? Also, how independent is it? I would prefer something that is about 50% independent and 50% face to face.

 

 

[HomeAgain]

We've used various units from them.  Each lit unit took us between 4-6 weeks, so it can get pricey, but you can stretch it out as much as possible. There is no day-by-day guideline, but each lesson packs a few different activities.  I just grabbed a 10-12 unit from our closet, and lesson 1 includes the following:

Reading

Comprehension questions

Vocab cube game

Journal/writing activity

Timeline

 

The rest of the lessons also have 5 components usually following the same format (read, answer, 2 activities (usually a hands on, plus a literary element/grammar/writing lesson), wrapping up activity).  A lot of the work is written directly to the student.  There were 10 lessons plus a final activity (that's an additional week of work).  If you do one lesson a week, that's nearly 3 months and you can buy 3 guides to get you through the year.  If you do a lesson every 3-4 days, it shortens it a bit.  You might do best by ordering one guide from Rainbow Resource, seeing how long it takes (or if you even like them), and then making a second order after that.

[sewingmama]

Have you been to the MBTP website..it explains and outlines it all there. I haven't used that level yet but they are all pretty similar in style. They units are meant to build on each other so the optimum is to use them in the specific order they are listed but you don't HAVE to. Its just that as the year progresses each unit is a little harder as it builds their skills.

 

The younger levels are very parent intensive but the older levels are pretty independent. I'm prety sure there is still lots of parent interaction in them.

 

MBTP is very writing intense. It isn't really a literature guide and discussion questions as such. It involves a lot of writing activities, explorations etc. Its more a unit study then a discussion guide. Each lesson has a few discussion questions but then it also has 3-4 activities of which it is encouraged to do them all to get the most benefit. You can skip some activities though if it becomes too much or is more then you want. MBTP is intended as a full language program rather then just a discussion guide so it does provide a ton of other language arts such as grammer, spelling and a huge focus on writing skills. You will not need another writing program if you use it or it will be overkill.

 

If you buy just the language part for a full year there are about 12 units. This is because there are 4 concepts a year and three units under each concept.

 

You can buy each unit online from the main website which may make it cheaper then a paper version from Rainbow Resource..each online unit is around $13.

[Paige]

Have you been to the MBTP website..it explains and outlines it all there. I haven't used that level yet but they are all pretty similar in style. They units are meant to build on each other so the optimum is to use them in the specific order they are listed but you don't HAVE to. Its just that as the year progresses each unit is a little harder as it builds their skills.

 

The younger levels are very parent intensive but the older levels are pretty independent. I'm prety sure there is still lots of parent interaction in them.

 

MBTP is very writing intense. It isn't really a literature guide and discussion questions as such. It involves a lot of writing activities, explorations etc. Its more a unit study then a discussion guide. Each lesson has a few discussion questions but then it also has 3-4 activities of which it is encouraged to do them all to get the most benefit. You can skip some activities though if it becomes too much or is more then you want. MBTP is intended as a full language program rather then just a discussion guide so it does provide a ton of other language arts such as grammer, spelling and a huge focus on writing skills. You will not need another writing program if you use it or it will be overkill.

 

If you buy just the language part for a full year there are about 12 units. This is because there are 4 concepts a year and three units under each concept.

 

You can buy each unit online from the main website which may make it cheaper then a paper version from Rainbow Resource..each online unit is around $13.

 

Thanks. I didn't spend much time on the website before because I was only interested in a few pieces of the program. I looked at their getting started page, and it all makes sense now. If I understand correctly, if I'm only interested in the language sections I could just pick up those pieces for the year and skip the science and social studies days? So instead of doing 3 MBTP lessons a day, we'd do one. 

 

 

[Syllieann]

Thanks. I didn't spend much time on the website before because I was only interested in a few pieces of the program. I looked at their getting started page, and it all makes sense now. If I understand correctly, if I'm only interested in the language sections I could just pick up those pieces for the year and skip the science and social studies days? So instead of doing 3 MBTP lessons a day, we'd do one.

Yes, that's correct. The top two levels only have 10 units rather than 12 like the others. I wouldn't personally choose these for literature only if you are already doing another writing. I agree with pp that it will be too much.

[sewingmama]

Thanks. I didn't spend much time on the website before because I was only interested in a few pieces of the program. I looked at their getting started page, and it all makes sense now. If I understand correctly, if I'm only interested in the language sections I could just pick up those pieces for the year and skip the science and social studies days? So instead of doing 3 MBTP lessons a day, we'd do one.

Yes..you can buy the LA units seperately from the others. If you wanted SS and Science you would buy them as seperate units..they don't all come as one.

 

Each unit is designed to take three weeks ...its paced at one lesson a day. So each concept take roughly 9 weeks with three units included in each.

 

If you really want to know what its like...just buy one unit at a time and try it. Thats what I do. I'm in Australia so I don't use the units which are all heavily American history based. By buying only the units I need I don't waste money and can skip what I dont need.

 

The counsel we usually give if you are unsure about commiting to such expense then buy one unit only and try it out. If you don't like it then you've only wasted $13 and not a couple hundred buying a years worth at a time. The other advantage is that you can find which level is right for you... most people start one level down from what they think they should be because of the writing involved...but if your kids are good writers then no need to worry.

 

I'm not sure what age level Grade 7 is...maybe 10-12? So you would go to Purchase Individual Items to buy... then scroll to the first concept 1 Enviroment and Cycles. Click on table of contents and look at the units marked LA..which for this would be Unit 1 The Wanderer. Unit 2 The People of Sparks and Unit 3 Short Stories Then page back and scroll down the options to buy till you hit the The Wanderer/online $12.93. This is the cheapest option to use but there are others as well. You can buy the paper version with or without the book as well as the online version with the book. Since I live in Australia I just purchase the online version without the book and borrow it from my library to avoid shipping.

 

I outlined it for you as there are so many choices and packages to choose from it can be overwhelming at first to know what you need...but its easy once you get how it works.

 

Hope that helps.

 

Oh and the customer service is excellent...beyond excellent even. Ask a question and you will always get an answer.