What are your LA plans from K-12

[LauraClark]

I stumbled upon this old thread:

For fun: What are your plans for English/Lang. Arts from K to 12?

I thought it would be interesting to see what y'all are planning 10 years later.

[LauraClark]

Here's mine-only up to grade 8:

Reading:

K-2- OPG plus whatever books are reading level appropriate

3-?: We just read books

 

Grammar

1-2: FLL 1-2

3-5: discussion/my own stuff, Maxwell's grammar for elementary, Plain and Not so Plain

6-8: Analytical Grammar

 

Spelling

1: spelling lists based off of OPG

2-8: Dictation Day by Day

 

Writing

2-8: Writing Strands

[mathmarm]

I don't know that we have a plan for K - 12, but we have a plan that definitely meets our needs for the elementary stage. So far this path ends around 4th grade.

PreK-1 Learning to Read and Penmanship
Phonics and Morphics:
Phonics taught from any program with an extensive scope and sequence.  We extend the "learning to read" phase by making reading lessons using lists of multi-syllable words from the internet up to 8 syllable words.
We also use WordBuild (the 2-level series) to work with morphographs and expand vocabulary.
As they progress phonetically, we add in leveled books and library books. They read a ton of books and magazines.

Penmanship:
Kumon pre-writing books, (mazes, tracing, coloring books)
teach letter formation by "letter families"
Home made handwriting practice and drills in Manuscript and Cursive
Copywork

1st - 3rd Spelling and Composition
Spelling:
We continue with handwriting drills but they become more based on spelling patterns. Spelling by Sound and Structure. We love the whole series. Once the handwriting foundation is solid, we teach 2-6 sans student workbooks at an accelerated pace to edit out the religious stuff. Copywork.

Vocabulary and Etymology:
We use Spelling by Sound and Structure 7 and 8 for vocabulary and etymology.
Reading widely - the children read aloud and silently every day.
 

Elementary Composition:
Reasoning and Writing C - E/F. So far, we really love the series. It works so well for our home school. We enhance it some by teaching sentence patterns and folding in some explicit lessons on word choice, but the amount of tweaking we do is minimal.

Writing Across the Curriculum - they write about the things we're learning about or that they hope to learn about.

 

This path is definitely working for us to develop the language and literacy skills that we want. This only gets us to about 4th grade, but they're definitely literate when they are done with this.

[HomeAgain]

Our plan is called "what's next?" 😂 I don't know, it's always a surprise!

K-2: practice reading aloud, dictation w/Dictation Day By Day, good, appropriate literature books.  Handwriting practice in chunks.  Grammarland for introductory grammar.

3-5th: practice reading for information, begin learning to write narrations, outlines, and organize information.  Learn to type.  Continue using a reader (Elson) for exposure but also literature books read more independently.  Grammar is diagramming and morphing from the color based GLand system to a more standard form.

6-8th: holding pattern.  Deeper dives into literature, continue Elson readers with more emphasis on the discussion questions, grammar is both diagramming (3x a week) and editing(1x).  Writing consists of learning how to use MLA format and edit drafts according to a rubric.  Every week produces one piece of writing.

9-12th?  No clue. 

[Slache]

Reading Lessons Through Literature for phonics and handwriting. Institute For Excellence in Writing for writing, grammar and lower literature. Old Western Culture for upper literature. Lots of miscellaneous throughout including Brave Writer, NaNoWriMo, Adventures in Fantasy, several poetry curricula, Greek and Latin.

[hollyhock2]

In general, my plan goes like this:

K-2: Learn to read with The Reading Lesson or Progressive Phonics, and then Pathway Readers when ready, written phonics with Explode the Code or Spectrum, handwriting practice with HWT or miscellaneous colourful workbooks for K, and then start WWE in 1st.

3-6: WWE 3-4 and then continue summaries and outlines across curriculum. R&S Spelling, and pick an English. I've used R&S, Climbing to Good English, Easy Grammar and LLATL. Next time through with my daughter I might use Language Lessons for Today. It depends on the kid.

7-8: I really like LLATL Green and Gray for junior high, but one of mine does better with Easy Grammar. Continue writing summaries, outlines and rewrites across curriculum.

9-12: Read books from a book list, discuss with me, write a few literary essays. Write essays and summaries across curriculum. Grammar review with Easy Grammar Ultimate if needed. Learn to write research papers. Two weeks each of short stories and poetry study (mostly read and discuss and identify lit. terms). This is all homegrown. I don't follow a curriculum for high school LA.

[Clarita]

My first kid. LA is probably my worst subject. 

Learn to read. AAR seems like a good fit so far. I just have to be sure between levels that my kids are fluent enough for the next stage. Even though I think reading can come easily to both my kids I need all the hand-holding.

Seriously after that I could easily be convinced to outsource. Spelling I suppose I could do AAS. Grammar and literature, it's a shame it isn't rocket science, because then it would be less daunting. 

[Janeway]

I know that sometimes, people try to imagine what they will be doing 12 years later, but I do not think those plans usually pan out. Even for the crowds that use boxed programs, they usually seem to change things up by high school. 

[Slache]

4 hours ago, Janeway said:

I know that sometimes, people try to imagine what they will be doing 12 years later, but I do not think those plans usually pan out. Even for the crowds that use boxed programs, they usually seem to change things up by high school. 

Agreed. My current plans are nothing like my original plans. I had to understand my student before I could make decisions like that, and while I loved my 5 year old I did not understand the person he was becoming. I still have no high school plans for my 8 year old.

[Lori D.]

When that original thread was posted way back in 2011, I had already graduated DS#1, and DS#2 was a senior, BUT... I'll play. 😉 

Because different students respond better to different curricula, AND because students change so much over the years, I think it's not the best idea to lay out a K-12 plan of what specific programs or resources you will use. New stuff is always coming out. Also, because students vary so widely in their developmental timetables, a very broad guideline of the different LA topics and when they are generally best touched on for the typical student is often more helpful. And then from year to year, research and readjust as needed for each individual student.
 

Overview of Language Arts / English Skills by grade

GRADES K-1
- Reading -- phonics, learn to read program; progresses to simple readers = student reads aloud to parent
- Read Alouds -- parent reads aloud and/or usesaudio books, from quality books above student's reading level
- Handwriting -- penmanship/copywork; learning to print letters and numbers
- Phonics -- in support of Reading

GRADES 1-2
- Reading -- beginning to learn/solidifying reading skills; student reads quality books at grade level, some as "buddy style" -- "you read a page, I read a page"
- Read Alouds -- parent reads aloud and/or usesaudio books, from quality books above student's reading level
- Handwriting -- penmanship/copywork; manuscript / printing instruction and practice
- Phonics -- in support of Spelling and Reading
optional:
- Solo Read -- 10-20 min., "book basket" choices to aid fluency and/or support other subjects
- Free Read -- books, magazines, etc. of personal interest to student
optional:
- Spelling -- basic word families and Dolce/sight words, phonics patterns
- Writing -- simple sentences; beginning oral narration, optional creative writing
- Grammar -- capitalization, punctuation, what is a sentence

GRADES 3-4
- Reading -- build reading confidence, practice for fluency and stamina, begin to read for content subjects
- Read Alouds -- as above
- Handwriting -- cursive instruction and practice
- Writing -- sentences; narration, beginning free writing/journal writing, short book reports, etc.
- Grammar -- parts of speech, grammar mechanics, beginning grammar usage
- Spelling
optional:
- Solo Read -- as above; 20-25 min.
- Free Read -- as above

GRADES 5-6
- Reading-- build vocabulary and stamina, "stretch reading muscles", read various genres, read for content, read for fun, beginning appreciation of language
- Typing -- if Handwriting practice is no longer needed, learn "touch typing" to facilitate writing future papers
- Writing -- narration, single paragraphs, variety of types of writing & assignments, optional creative writing
- Grammar -- parts of speech, grammar usage & mechanics, types of sentences, more complex sentence structures
- Spelling
optional:
- Solo Read -- as above; 25-35 min.
- Free Read -- as above
- Vocabulary

GRADES 7-8
- Literature -- beginning to read some classics as well as quality YA books; beginning/gentle literary terms, discussion, and analysis with a few works
- Writing -- introduce short (1-5 paragraph) essays of various types, and some beginning expository (factual/research) writing
- Grammar -- complex grammar concepts; introduce diagramming, if desired
optional:
- Spelling -- if still needed; if NOT, can combine Spelling & Vocabulary, OR switch to just Vocabulary, OR drop
- Vocabulary
- Read Alouds
- Solo Read
- Free Read

GRADES 9-12 --> "LA" becomes the English credit
- Literature -- read, discuss, analyze, write about classics — novels, novellas short stories, poetry, plays, essays
- Writing --  multi-paragraph & multi-page essays of various types, research papers with citations, Science lab report, business & real-life writing, create/give a power point presentation, using MLA and/or APA format
optional:
- Vocabulary -- from the Literature; possible Greek/Latin roots-based program, or vocabulary for ACT/SAT test prep
- Public Speaking -- research/write/prepare/give different types of oral presentations in front of a group; presentation with a power point, visual aids, demonstration, etc.
- Grammar -- possible light review, if needed, in support of strengthening Writing and proof-editing, and/or Foreign Language support
- Read Aloud -- do some Literature together; enjoy family "reader's theater" of classic plays; share enjoyable or important books

Edited December 19, 2021 by Lori D.

[LauraClark]

3 hours ago, Lori D. said:

When that original thread was posted way back in 2011, I had already graduated DS#1, and DS#2 was a senior, BUT... I'll play. 😉 

Because different students respond better to different curricula, AND because students change so much over the years, I think it's not the best idea to lay out a K-12 plan of what specific programs or resources you will use. New stuff is always coming out. Also, because students vary so widely in their developmental timetables, a very broad guideline of the different LA topics and when they are generally best touched on for the typical student is often more helpful. And then from year to year, research and readjust as needed for each individual student.
 

Overview of Language Arts / English Skills by grade

GRADES K-1
- Reading -- phonics, learn to read program; progresses to simple readers = student reads aloud to parent
- Read Alouds -- parent reads aloud and/or usesaudio books, from quality books above student's reading level
- Handwriting -- penmanship/copywork; learning to print letters and numbers
- Phonics -- in support of Reading

GRADES 1-2
- Reading -- beginning to learn/solidifying reading skills; student reads quality books at grade level, some as "buddy style" -- "you read a page, I read a page"
- Read Alouds -- parent reads aloud and/or usesaudio books, from quality books above student's reading level
- Handwriting -- penmanship/copywork; manuscript / printing instruction and practice
- Phonics -- in support of Spelling and Reading
optional:
- Solo Read -- 10-20 min., "book basket" choices to aid fluency and/or support other subjects
- Free Read -- books, magazines, etc. of personal interest to student
optional:
- Spelling -- basic word families and Dolce/sight words, phonics patterns
- Writing -- simple sentences; beginning oral narration, optional creative writing
- Grammar -- capitalization, punctuation, what is a sentence

GRADES 3-4
- Reading -- build reading confidence, practice for fluency and stamina, begin to read for content subjects
- Read Alouds -- as above
- Handwriting (cursive instruction and practice)
- Writing (sentences; narration, beginning free writing/journal writing, short book reports, etc.)
- Grammar -- parts of speech, grammar mechanics, beginning grammar usage
- Spelling
optional:
- Solo Read -- as above; 20-25 min.
- Free Read -- as above

GRADES 5-6
- Reading-- build vocabulary and stamina, "stretch reading muscles", read various genres, read for content, read for fun, beginning appreciation of language
- Read Alouds  / optional: Solo Read  /  optional: Free Read
- Typing -- if Handwriting practice is no longer needed, learn "touch typing" to facilitate writing future papers
- Writing -- narration, single paragraphs, variety of types of writing & assignments, optional creative writing
- Grammar -- parts of speech, grammar usage & mechanics, types of sentences, more complex sentence structures
- Spelling
optional:
- Solo Read -- as above; 25-35 min.
- Free Read -- as above
- Vocabulary

GRADES 7-8
- Literature -- beginning to read some classics as well as quality YA books; beginning/gentle literary terms, discussion, and analysis with a few works
- Writing -- introduce short (1-5 paragraph) essays of various types, and some beginning expository (factual/research) writing
- Grammar -- complex grammar concepts; introduce diagramming, if desired
optional:
- Spelling -- if still needed; if NOT, can combine Spelling & Vocabulary, OR switch to just Vocabulary, OR drop
- Vocabulary
- Read Alouds
- Solo Read
- Free Read

GRADES 9-12 --> "LA" becomes the English credit
- Literature -- read, discuss, analyze, write about classics — novels, novellas short stories, poetry, plays, essays
- Writing --  multi-paragraph & multi-page essays of various types, research papers with citations, Science lab report, business & real-life writing, create/give a power point presentation, using MLA and/or APA format
optional:
- Vocabulary -- from the Literature; possible Greek/Latin roots-based program, or vocabulary for ACT/SAT test prep
- Public Speaking -- research/write/prepare/give different types of oral presentations in front of a group; presentation with a power point, visual aids, demonstration, etc.
- Grammar -- possible light review, if needed, in support of strengthening Writing and proof-editing, and/or Foreign Language support
- Read Aloud -- do some Literature together; enjoy family "reader's theater" of classic plays; share enjoyable or important books

It is particularly helpful to see the overall plan for those whose children have graduated. Thank you!  I've seen handwriting mentioned a few times. We've never done that as it's own curriculum part-I kind of just assumed it would improve on its own...might have been a mistake on my part since his handwriting is awful.  I think I'll adjust that with the younger kids coming up.

I'm also seeing that some of the writing and reading is a lot more of a gentle approach than I feel like I'm taking, but still fits it all in in an age-appropriate way.  @Janeway I think that is why this is a helpful and fun exercise. It can be stressful to look at the big picture and try to plan highschool when our kids are still in elementary; BUT, it can be helpful to step back and see what others have done in the big picture and what the overall goal is. 

[Janeway]

1 minute ago, LauraClark said:

It is particularly helpful to see the overall plan for those whose children have graduated. Thank you!  I've seen handwriting mentioned a few times. We've never done that as it's own curriculum part-I kind of just assumed it would improve on its own...might have been a mistake on my part since his handwriting is awful.  I think I'll adjust that with the younger kids coming up.

I'm also seeing that some of the writing and reading is a lot more of a gentle approach than I feel like I'm taking, but still fits it all in in an age-appropriate way.  @Janeway I think that is why this is a helpful and fun exercise. It can be stressful to look at the big picture and try to plan highschool when our kids are still in elementary; BUT, it can be helpful to step back and see what others have done in the big picture and what the overall goal is. 

Well..if we are talking exercise....then I can tell you what my long term plan sort of looks like. But I have already graduated kids so I can say this morphs all the time. BUT, currently, my plans for high school involve dual enrollment for 11th and 12th grade. Also, I already have math I like...Dolciani/Jacobs for algebra, Jurgensons for geometry, Dolciani for algebra 2, ...and I would like to do some book studies. I want to try SWB writing for middle school and high school. I already have used her history for those levels but then largely just relied on a variety of resources I have around. I am still determined to have the kids take Jetta's physics course. Someone here has a biology that was supposed to be great, maybe it was fundafunda? I let the kids pick their own language for high school. My oldest did Latin with Henle and the next one did French (an outsourced class). 

[Janeway]

I want to say though, nothing I have actually been using for the older grades was even around back when I started. In fact, nothing I am using this year is something I was that interested in or aware of two years ago. 

[LauraClark]

10 hours ago, Janeway said:

I want to say though, nothing I have actually been using for the older grades was even around back when I started. In fact, nothing I am using this year is something I was that interested in or aware of two years ago. 

I've had that happen too just in these elementary years. Things that I thought looked terrible and I would never use suddenly seem the perfect fit a couple years later. 

[8filltheheart]

I'm copying and pasting this reply that I wrote back when my now college graduated dd was in 2nd grade: (It is part of this thread which is still available: https://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/239259-bringing-karens-mention-of-essay-writing-to-a-new-thread/?do=findComment&comment=2363522

 

This is an explanation I wrote a long time ago as a post. It is long and rough, but maybe someone will find it helpful. I spent a few minutes skimming it and updated it slightly b/c I wrote this when I hadn't been all the way through high school before. Now that I have been teaching high school non-stop for almost 8 yrs, I have a better grasp on the "end."

 

Anyway, when I wrote it, I entitled it Incremental Writing b/c that is the way I approach writing, incrementally.

 

This is too long for 1 post, so I am going to divide it into 2. I deliberately did not include grade levels b/c skill level is the only level that matters.

 

*******************************************

Part 1

 

Pre-independent writing skills:

 

At some point after my kids are reading confidently and are ready to move beyond copying simple sentences for letter practice, I start using their copywork as a teaching tool. The key here is that the children don’t have to focus on sounding out words or on letter formation. If they have not mastered those 2 skills, they need to work on those before you progress. My approach is that it is expecting too much for children to learn anything from reading/writing until they no longer have to focus on the reading itself.

 

I begin by selecting copywork that is very basic and we focus on mechanics (capitalization, punctuation) and grammar. Then we play with the structure of the copywork. For example,

 

The dog ran.

 

I teach subject, verb, as well as capitalization and punctuation. Then we spend time coming up with parallel sentence structures and identify the parts of speech.

The baby crawled.

The cat climbed.

The pig snorted.

 

Once that concept is mastered, I add in another part of speech for focus….adjectives or adverbs, for example. (I don’t have any set pattern….basically, it is whatever I am in the mood for.  )

 

The baby crawled quickly.

The cat climbed high.

The pig snorted loudly.

 

After mastery, I add other parts of speech. (I do not use the same base sentences with my kids. I am only doing that for the sake of illustrating my point. I don’t want them to learn the parts of speech from memorization, but from context.)

The chunky baby crawled quickly. (I would not use that as an example unless they were struggling and we needed to go back for a refresher. I would actually use a unique sentence…..The rambunctious child twirled rapidly.)

 

I continue this process adding more and more parts of speech: possessives, direct objects, indirect objects, and pronouns.

 

Julie’s baby wanted more food.

Henry threw the Frisbee.

Henry threw Jack the Frisbee.

He threw him the Frisbee.

 

I work with them to come up with about 10-15 similarly structured sentences.

We work on this for about 10-15 minutes a day until they master the concept. Some concepts they master quickly (subject + action verb). They may do it in a day or a week. Some may take longer. Just work where they are.

 

After they have conquered the basic parts of speech, I assign copywork from their reading, our read alouds, or some other source. We take these sentences (eventually progressing to paragraphs) and study them. I ask them to identify all the nouns, verbs, etc. Can they identify the function of the nouns? Some they will already know (subject, DO, etc….some they won’t: appositives, complements, obj. of prep. etc) We don’t worry about the words they haven’t studied yet. We just focus on the ones they do. Gradually we start incorporating more and more complex grammar.

 

For example, this was my 2nd graders copywork today: (From the Family Under the Bridge…..

 

Nikki raced down the narrow streets and shouted insults at pedestrians and cars that got in his way. His own car sputtered and rattled and clanked as if it would fall apart any moment. But it didn’t.

 

My daughter had no trouble identifying any of the parts of speech except for that and as if.

 

Learning them in the context of their work makes grammar, mechanics, and writing all connected and not isolated concepts that don’t have intertwined applications.

 

 

Paragraphs for copywork:

 

We start analyzing paragraph structure from copywork in the same way we began our study of grammar. We discuss what the paragraph is describing. What is the main idea? What do we learn about the main idea? From that, they learn about topic sentences and supporting details. We do this for weeks!

 

We play games with paragraphs. I print up logically ordered paragraphs that I have typed into individual lines and cut them apart. I mix them up and they have to unscramble the sentences and put the paragraph back together correctly. This is an enormous skill to master. It means they understand topic sentence and logical sequencing. We continue working on this until they are able to do it fairly easily. (Some paragraphs are easier than others….how-tos are the easiest, descriptives are harder, etc. Gradually increase the difficulty level. The key is to let them experience success while still learning.

 

After basic paragraph reconstruction is mastered, I start to add a twist….I will add “misfit” sentences into the mix. For example, if the paragraph is about a bear stealing a cake from a camper’s picnic table, I might add a sentence like, “I love to eat cake.” This skill helps them learn to focus on the topic sentence and make sure the information belongs. This is an essential writing skill that is really better developed in the pre-writing skill phase. If they can identify misfit sentences in other people’s paragraphs, it makes it easier to help them find them in their own.

 

Using the early grades to focus on developing pre-writing skills enables children to move into the writing stage with the tools they need in order to progress with confidence. You wouldn’t give a child a bunch of word problems in math to complete without giving them a foundation in basic arithmetic. Writing is similar. You shouldn’t expect them to start writing independently without understanding the fundamentals of how writing is structured.

 

Independent how-tos, re-tells, or parallel writing:

 

What type of paragraphs I start my children on is really child dependent. I have had at least one child that could not write any “re-tells” in logical order. This child and I spent a considerable amount of time on how-to paragraphs. (Updating this: Yrs later, this child still has trouble with logical order. Writing an outline is a must for her. If she doesn't, her writing meanders. When she takes time to write an outline, her writing is usually solid.) Most of my kids have been able to start with “re-telling.” Do whatever works.

 

How-to paragraphs are wonderfully non-threatening paragraphs. Every child knows how to give directions on some task, whether it is baking a cake or making their bed. Creating a list of logically ordered steps, developing a topic sentence, and using transition words are very “visual” or “concrete” in how-to paragraphs. Write a couple together. Take them apart. Study how they work. Then help them write their own. The child I described above wrote NUMEROUS how-tos. But they worked. The idea of logical sequencing started to flow into her writing.

 

Re-tells are another way to learn to write in a non-threatening way. Give your child a short example….a fable, a definition paragraph (like a very brief encyclopedia article), etc. Have them make a key word outline. Help them organize their ideas and create a topic sentence. Then have them re-tell the information in their own words in a paragraph. Then, using all the skills that you have learned together from pre-writing, edit/revise the paragraph…..is there a topic sentence? Does all the information belong? Are your sentences complete thoughts? Do all your verbs stay in the same tense? Etc.

 

We spend months on re-tells or in parallel writing. (Parallel writing is taking a story and re-telling it in similar story line…..the boy who cried wolf becomes the mouse who cried cat, etc)

 

We also begin studying grammar independently. Yet, we continue to study grammar in the context of their writing. We spend as much time on our revisions/edits as we did on our pre-writing skills and as on the initial writing itself. Our editing time becomes a time for studying grammar, mechanics, as well as content. From editing their own work, grammar/mechanics show their inherent value because the children see them in context.

 

[8filltheheart]

Independent writing across curriculum:

 

This stage begins when re-tells and parallel writing have been mastered and the child is ready to start synthesizing greater amounts of information. Because of their ages (meaning concrete vs abstract thinkers) and the need of the child to still concentrate on the writing process itself, etc., I try to keep these assignments purely factual in nature. This is a great time to start writing research books or reports. I usually start out with research books because there is no need for a formal introductory paragraph, body, conclusion, and all the transitions that go along with them.

 

I let my children choose a broad topic of interest and we make a trip to the library. I look through the books before they start reading them and then I point out different topics that they might encounter in their reading. We discuss how to take notes on note cards by giving the cards a common heading for common topics, etc. We discuss which subtopics within the topic they might want to write about. I let them spend about a week reading information and taking note cards. After they have collected their note cards, we sit together and organize all their information. Some topics they may have to eliminate b/c there simply isn’t enough info. Others may need to be broken into further sub-categories b/c they have too much info. I do not expect them to be able to do this by themselves when they first start. Just like all the other writing skills….they need guidance in the beginning. This is a skill that they need to learn with your help.

 

After the note cards are organized, I have them write a paragraph on each sub-topic and compile them altogether in a chapter book complete with title page and table of contents. Some of my kids like art and I let them illustrate them. I don’t make them do this if they don’t want to. 😉

 

This project may take a few weeks. We review each paragraph together just like we have been all along. Over the course of this year (or two years….depends on how the child’s skills progress), I do expect them to start doing an initial edit/revision on their own.

 

After a few chapter books, most kids are able to start writing reports quite painlessly. Creating a topic paragraph really isn’t a big deal when you know how to write the body…..isn’t that all the “chapters” in their books are?? Transitions are easily taught because the foundation is there and all they need to do is incorporate them. The same goes for a concluding paragraph.

Updating: They spend the rest of elementary school (or middle school, depending on the child) writing across curriculum. I give one paper assignment per week. I pick a topic from either history, science, or lit. They follow the pattern I posted earlier in this thread:

Monday- gather info on topic and organize

Tuesday- write 1/2 rough draft

Wednesday- write 2nd 1/2 rough draft'

Thursday-meet for revising and editing

Friday-final draft due

 

Analysis and essay writing:

 

Once children have mastered basic report writing, essays analyzing literature, scientific processes, etc are the next logical progression. I like to start my kids on analytical essays where the analysis is easy. Writing about allegories like Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe are easy analytical papers for beginners. Finding supporting ideas for Aslan representing Christ, etc is simple. Once they are at this point, I start asking them to incorporate supporting quotes and I start teaching MLS documentation.

 

I assign progressively more difficult types of analysis. A simple essay on an allegory is much easier for the child to develop than a comparison/contrast paper on the lives of two different political leaders. Cause and effect papers are more concrete, so for a child teetering on the edge of concrete vs abstract thought, a cause/effect paper might be a good compromise for an assignment. (For example….how did the crash of the stock market impact world economies….this is more factual than having to form their own view on 2 different world leaders and then taking those opinions and comparing them to each other.)

 

These are ideas for the advanced late middle school student and for typical high school students. As they move toward senior status, the child should be encouraged to write papers that require multi-stages of development. Back to the examples that I have used….the comparison paper is a multi-stage paper. I would not ask my young analytical students to write a paper comparing democracy to communism. It requires too much analysis for them and then you must factor in the difficulty of incorporating those ideas into a paper.

 

I hope you find this information helpful. I learned from my children that writing is not really that difficult to teach. The difficulty comes from expecting too much without the proper foundational instruction. Teaching writing incrementally allows children to shrug “ok, no big deal” when asked to complete an assignment. Just expect to actually be there as teacher.

[8filltheheart]

FWIW, I have used that approach with all of my kids.  They have gone on to be very strong collegiate writers.

[Zoo Keeper]

Thanks, 8, for linking your writing plans.  Your advice is so good.  🙂  It was especially good for one of mine who floundered with a more traditional textbook approach. 

[Lori D.]

22 hours ago, Slache said:

Agreed. My current plans are nothing like my original plans. I had to understand my student before I could make decisions like that, and while I loved my 5 year old I did not understand the person he was becoming. I still have no high school plans for my 8 year old.

😄 Very wise. I can not imagine even trying to write out a high school plan for an early elementary aged child! 😉 

I'll just add: it's entirely possible to wait until the summer after 8th grade to make high school plans -- and STILL have your plans change radically while in the midst of high school, due to students growing, changing, and maturing so much during the high school years. And also to unexpected opportunities -- or life circumstances -- that pop up throughout those years that mean making shifts to your plans.

So write future plans in pencil, and don't hold on too tightly, because no one can predict the unexpected, nor know exactly how the child will develop that far ahead, to know what the needs, interests, and goals will be years down the line. 😉 

[Gil]

So far, I can't see the need for a K-12 plan for ELA skills. I am still not completely sold on doing 4 Years of  English at the High School/Undergraduate Level.

For birth to K grade range vocabulary and oral/aural language skills are Ruler Supreme. Lots of talking to and with the child, describing things to the and helping them to speak and understand spoken language clearly.

If I had a do-over, I'd emphasize vocabulary and language development--preferably bilingual--over Early Reading. I'd offer reading and handwriting every couple of months starting in PreK but it'd be ok if we didn't get around to reading until 1st grade so long as the language skills were developing well.

Once hand-eye-coordination is established we'll work on pre-handwriting skills and/or handwriting skills daily, while we're waiting for the reading to kick in.

When they're ready to read, they learn to read via phonics and read for practice. Once they're reading foundation is set, build on it for about 3-12 months (depending on the kid), then begin teaching more sophisticated vocabulary--morpheme based stuff has worked really well for me as a teacher.

I'd do spelling via phonics, morphemes and controlled dictation.

Weekly presentations begin pretty much in 1st grade as a vehicle to tackle a combination of language skills.

We never work on grammar as a stand-alone subject. For better worse, teaching Composition is an intensive, 1-1 coaching process for which I don't prefer any substitutes. But that's how I'm able to teach my students to use grammar, spelling, figurative language and and word choice reliably.

With a Do-Over I'd introduce Shorthand as early as the student demonstrated readiness and ability with reading, writing and penmanship--I'm thinking somewhere between mid-3rd and 6th grade.

I can't imagine continuing ELA through high school.

[UHP]

9 hours ago, Gil said:

I can't imagine continuing ELA through high school.

Why not?

I was a poor writer, or poorly trained one, in high school. I only suffered for it a little in college and not at all after — until now. Now I wish knew more about school writing for my 7-year-old's sake.

[Gil]

3 hours ago, UHP said:

Why not?

I was a poor writer, or poorly trained one, in high school. I only suffered for it a little in college and not at all after — until now. Now I wish knew more about school writing for my 7-year-old's sake.

If The Boys were poor writers, I'd absolutely do something different and go a different way.

But as it stands,I can't imagine going another 4 years with ELA (at the highschool level) because
1) The Boys are really darn solid with ELA currently--wonderful vocabularies, strong writers, capable speakers, really good conversationalists and very widely read.

2) Opportunity Cost. ELA for ELA's sake is a time consuming subject and I'm not convinced that there is much Return On Investment to be had to keep moving higher/farther down the continuum as opposed to spending that time and energy on other subjects or concepts.

There are a few niche skills that they'll need to learn but I can't justify stretching out the list for 4 more years when it is likely that one more year will do the trick and if it doesn't, oh well. It doesn't really matter to their future.

For what it's worth, you don't need a high school writing level to teach/guide your elementary school student to write. Also, you have no idea idea how many English and Lit Majors I know whose grammar and writing foundation does not actually surpass The Boys.

That's not me being boastful--a few of them have said it out of their own mouths.

That piece of a paper is a Degree, not a Guarantee.
 

[UHP]

47 minutes ago, Gil said:

The Boys are really darn solid with ELA currently--wonderful vocabularies, strong writers, capable speakers, really good conversationalists and very widely read.

I'd be interested to hear you boast about this in more detail, if you're game. Especially about writing. What are your sons capable of writing, and how did you teach them to do it?

This is interesting:

14 hours ago, Gil said:

Weekly presentations begin pretty much in 1st grade as a vehicle to tackle a combination of language skills.

 

[Lori D.]

17 hours ago, Gil said:

So far, I can't see the need for a K-12 plan for ELA skills. I am still not completely sold on doing 4 Years of  English at the High School/Undergraduate Level... I can't imagine continuing ELA through high school.

The only tricky part is that most colleges require 4 credits of English for admission eligibility. That and 3-4 credits of higher Math are the credits that colleges are real sticklers about. (Also, some states have regulations for homeschoolers about how many credits and of what type must be accomplished in high school to be "legal".)

Colleges are typically expecting Literature + Writing as the English credit -- but the Writing portion does NOT have to be Composition (learning the foundations of Writing) -- if that is already accomplished, the Writing can be about producing output in a wide variety of types of writing (essays of various types; research writing; business/real-life writing; etc.).

Or, the English credit can be focused on creative writing, such as creating a novel/short stories/poetry/play. It could be a year of journalism, or of learning and practicing technical writing. You can also create a credit from your student doing newsletter or blog article writing.

Or, the English credit can also include focused study of Literature with analysis/deep discussion. Also accepted is up to a semester of Public Speaking, Speech & Debate, or Rhetoric. Or a study of Linguistics.

Or, the English credit can be accomplished via dual enrollment, so that the student earns 1 credit on the high school transcript for each 1 semester college-level Writing or Literature course... Or even the possibility of "testing out" of the English credit requirement through the college you know the student will be attending... Etc.

I know that is not what you mean, @Gil, when you are talking about *learning* ELA skills 😉 ... My post is really more of a "tip" for those with young elementary ages who might be reading along in this thread, and who may not realize that there will be requirements outside of the homeschool having to do with working with English in some way, done roughly each year of high school. 😉 Thankfully, there is a lot of flexibility and options for DIY. 😄

Edited December 20, 2021 by Lori D.

[LauraClark]

On 12/19/2021 at 7:22 AM, 8filltheheart said:

FWIW, I have used that approach with all of my kids.  They have gone on to be very strong collegiate writers.

I've stumbled across that original post a couple years back and it was so helpful (still is 😉). It helped give me the confidence to put together some of my own grammar stuff. Thank you!

Edited December 20, 2021 by LauraClark