Congrats to
the winners of our previous book giveaway! Each of you will receive a
children’s book with suggestions for using to teach writing skills. Thanks for
participating!
With the new
year, you’ll begin to see a number of changes with Classes by Beth,
all of which are designed to make your homeschooling experience with us more enjoyable
and successful. So check out:
Our updated website
now lists the 2nd Semester courses currently available for registration until January 22nd. There are limited seats so you’ll
want to act soon to take advantage of these courses. Be sure to let friends
know that we’re offering 2nd semester classes. It’s a great way to try out CBB
classes for the first time.
We will be posting at least three
blog topics per week, featuring some amazing guest bloggers including current CBB
high school students. If you have any particular topics you’d like to see
discussed, please comment on this post or shoot us an email.
Keep up with updates and special
offers for the upcoming school year by liking CBB on Facebook and following us
on Twitter.
In preparation for the some new parent workshops that I am offering this year, I've been examining specific writing skills that I teach using literature and children's books. With years of teaching behind me, I realize that I do this rather naturally now and sharing it with other moms requires breaking down the "how." So, as I was gathering my thoughts, I decided to give you a preview of writing skills you can easily teach using whole books! As well, comment on this blog and you'll be entered in a drawing for a children's book with directions on how to use it to teach your child. I will give away one book with teaching instructions for each of my blogs on the various grade levels (K-2, 3-5, 6-8 and high school) for the next two weeks. The drawings for all of the books will be at the end of July.
Starting with K-2, or pre-writing skills, my belief is that children shouldn't be pushed to create original written work before they're ready, which seems to be around 3rd grade for most children. However, pre-writing skills and copy work provide a solid foundation for when that original writing begins. Consider the following example as you teach your child using whole books:
PRE-WRITING (K-2) What is a sentence? Use basic sentences from your child's favorite books to point out the essentials:
Sentences start with capital letters.
Sentences form a complete thought.
We know they end when there is specific punctuation (start with periods, then add question marks and exclamation points).
Sentences have a subject and then explains what is happening to or about the subject.
Select several sentences from your child's favorite books. The sentences should be basic and easily understood on their own. Some examples include:
On Monday he ate through one apple. (The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle)
Snow had fallen during the night. (The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats)
People called her Miss Rumphius now. (Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney)
Have your child use these sentences for copy work. When preparing for copy work, you might want to neatly print or type up the sentence in a large font for your child rather than having him copy from the book.
Discuss how points 1 and 2 are evident in each sentence. Point out the punctuation marks. Activity idea: As a next step for point 3, change the ending punctuation for each sentence and discuss how that changes the meaning the sentence.
Introduce the concept of "subject" and ask your child to tell you the who or what of each sentence (he, snow, people). Make sure your child differentiates between who and what, as this prepares him for the specific definition of noun which is taught later.Activity idea: Have your child underline/circle or highlight the specific subject. Have him use a different color or different method (underline or circle) to differentiate between who or what.
After determining the subject, discuss how the other words in the sentence explain the actions and give details about the subject.Activity idea: Have your child highlight in a new color or put a square around the words that show what the subject did (ate, had fallen, called).
Discuss the structure of the sentence: most often, although not always, the subject will come before the action in the sentence.Activity idea: Write each word of each sentence on note cards. Mix the note cards up. You can do this for each sentence for beginning students or mix up the sentences for more experienced students. Have your child organize the word cards into the sentences. Initially, your child may need to look at the copy work in order to recreate the sentences, but the goal is for your child to complete the activity without the aid of seeing them.
You might feel compelled to jump into more challenging ideas (adjectives, phrases, etc.) too quickly. One of the greatest weaknesses that I see in homeschooling is that parents assume their children have knowledge and skills based on limited exposure, particularly learning skills in isolation. That is why I am not a big fan of workbooks for teaching writing.
Remember that mastery is your goal. You want to do this type of teaching with your child until you feel confident that he has the concepts. Once these basic types of sentences have been tackled and accomplished, use more challenging sentences. If you're interested in learning more about using whole books to teach writing concepts to your K-2 child, check out my upcoming workshops for parents at the CBB website. God bless you as you teach your children! In Him,
I'm an organizer, but I am not super creative. The first time I saw a lapbook, my mind traveled to the many different ways they could be utilized with my children. I generally utilized other people's ideas and I've found so many! Check out the links at the end of this blog for some of my favorite sites for lapbooking and mini book ideas.
As my children created lapbooks from parts of speech to Victorian America themes and beyond, I realized how much the process was encouraging them to write. Now that my children are grown and I teach full time, I continue to appreciate the value of lapbooks. Even in my online courses, lapbooks provide a creative outlet for my students to practice writing, editing and higher level thinking skills. Consider these reasons to use lapbooks to improve your child's writing skills:
Fun, fun, fun while learning! My younger students enjoy creating the mini books representing the various parts of speech. Older students often like the opportunity to be creative and write outside of ordinary assignments.
They even work for reluctant writers! Lapbooks allow for shorter writing assignments making the process less stressful for reluctant writers. Using shorter, more specifically focused writing assignments more often can help every writer improve.
Every mom can evaluate them! We love, as homeschoolers, to assign reports and papers, but we don't necessarily enjoy evaluating those assignments. I have had moms confess to having a year full of writing sitting in a box ungraded. Children need immediate feedback on their written work, otherwise what is the point? Most moms find that evaluating a paragraph at a time makes their job easier.
Watch the writing grow! As your child writes for each section of the lapbook, he can see his writing grow into a full-fledged project. This often encourages children to write more.
Lessons and editing opportunities abound! Since writing assignments with lapbooks tend to be shorter, they offer multiple opportunities to have your child learn writing and self-editing skills integrated with the history, science or literature that you're already learning. For example, if your child struggles with using commas, one writing assignment may be edited together with you demonstrating how to properly use commas. With the next short writing assignment, have your child edit his own writing and then edit together. Use one of the last written portions of the lapbook as mastery or evaluating whether your child is using commas (or any skill you choose) properly. No tests needed!
Provide lots of organizational thinking practice! Organizational thinking, particularly with writing, does not come easily for all children. Often, parents assume their children have these abilities and don't focus on this type of instruction. Lapbooks naturally lead to organizational thinking as long as you work through the process with your child and don't just organize the lapbooks yourself. Discussing the information that should be included and how that information would be best organized provides profound thinking skills. You may soon find your child organizing and planning lapbooks independently!
More and more, I discover children who don't know their parts of speech or the relationships between words in writing. Many children can recite the definitions of the parts of speech and maybe even recognize them in isolation, but relating them to writing seems less obvious.Those of you who know me understand that I don't like to teach children skills just for the sake of teaching. I am all about the "why" do we need to teach or learn this? As a writing teacher, it's apparent to me that a full understanding of how words relate to one another creates a stronger writer. I came across a picture book this week that is ideal for teaching the relationship between nouns and adjectives. It's simple enough that you could use it for a younger child and fun enough to use with an older elementary student. Who knows? I might use it in my high school classes. :) I have used Dr. Seuss books in high school history and literature! The book, The Woods, reflects a boy's imagination at bedtime. The adjectives are obvious enough that even younger readers can recognize them. They're so vital to the story that the value of adjectives in our language becomes a lesson in itself. I used this book with one of my tutoring students. Using a simple chart I created, we pulled out the main nouns (bear, giant, cave, etc.). Then we went back through the book to find the adjectives that described each of the nouns. One wonderful aspect of this book is that there are several adjectives for each of the main nouns and the adjectives stand out in large and decorative fonts. Although a couple of the adjectives are repetitive, such as scary, we took the opportunity to discuss other words that we could use in place of the repeated adjectives. So, we dipped into synonyms while studying adjectives! Another way to use this book to teach about adjectives is to reread the story without any of the adjectives. Almost immediately, you realize why we write with adjectives. The imagination of the main character appeals to many children and in the end, all of the scary creatures go to bed. The scariest character expresses how lonely he is and how he doesn't want to sleep alone in the cave. It provides a sweet story that is not commonly found in modern children's books. Obviously, you can use any book to teach adjectives, but this book seems to be designed for just that job! If you'd like me to email you the chart I designed, just comment on this blog and make sure I have an email address for you. If you do use The Woods to teach your child adjectives or if you have another book that has worked for you, please share! Happy Reading! God bless,
What would you do with an extra $100? Refer your friends to Classes by Beth and for every family you refer who signs up for at least one full year course, you'll receive a $25 discount up to $100. With the CBB registration deadline extended to the end of July, you still have time to save money! Easy ways to share CBB:
Let your FB friends and Twitter followers know that you use CBB classes.
Share CBB with your homeschool group via email or at meetings.
Post a CBB avatar or link on your website.
Like CBB on FB.
Recommend CBB on forums and chat boards, such as The Homeschool Lounge.
Also remember, every family that signs up for CBB classes reduces the technology fee for everyone!
Homeschoolers are more likely to utilize classes and curriculum recommended by family and friends! Thank you for all of your support as CBB grows and improves.
I know many of you are planning for the coming school year! God gave us the most amazing opportunities and responsibilities when He blessed us with our children. He also provides everything we need to raise our children in a way that pleases Him. Every year, I am inspired by the work that God does in the lives of my children and the children I teach. He is so good! Read on to discover how, working together, we can offer your child a blessed learning experience.
1. VIEW TEACHERS AS PARTNERS Whether you utilize the services of multiple teachers or just me, working together offers the greatest opportunity for your child's success. Specific ways you can work with me to make this a wonderful year for all of us include:
Maintain Contact: While I think it is most beneficial for students to be responsible for their classes, especially high schoolers, it is helpful to know how to reach parents when needed. If your contact information changes, especially your email address, please let me know. Also, be sure that the email address you provide is checked regularly. As well, if I do email or call, please respond in a reasonable amount of time. Of course, I will do the same in respect to contacting you.
Keep Me Updated: While I certainly don't need details, it's better to let me know if there's a family issue that could be affecting your child's work. The earlier I know, the more support I can provide for your child. It's more difficult for everyone if you wait until an academic problem presents itself.
Be Supportive: Your attitude toward the class will reflect in your child's attitude. The more supportive you are in your tone and actions toward my classes, the more confidence your child will have in me.
2. GUIDE YOUR CHILD Many parents enroll their children in my courses to encourage them to become more independent learners. It's a great side effect of utilizing an outside teacher to work with your child. However, most students need some direction outside of class, especially if it's their first class online course. Ways that to help guide your child include:
Make sure your child has all books and supplies before they're needed. It's not unusual for my literature students to attend class without a particular book because a parent didn't order it on time. It's a very uncomfortable situation for the student and disrupts class. Please plan ahead to have the appropriate books ordered before they're needed.
Assist your child with time management. Online students, in particular, may need help planning out their work schedule each week. Help your student develop a daily work schedule for my classes and others, then follow up randomly throughout the year for accountability. Few students naturally develop their own work schedule. Many procrastinate and end up rushing through work the day before class causing stress for you and them. Most of my courses include multiple components and the literature courses require time to just quietly read.
Encourage your child to contact me, as needed. I encourage my students to email or call me the moment they struggle with an assignment or understanding material. I am always willing to assist students and stress that they should never wait until an assignment is due to let me know there's a problem. If your child comes to you with an issue, please suggest that he contact me for assistance right away rather than waiting.
Follow the calendar. One of the benefits of homeschooling allows us to be more flexible with our schedules. However, being aware of the school calendar, which may be easily downloaded and printed on the CBB website, can spare us all misunderstandings. Families take spontaneous vacations and when there's a family emergency, homeschoolers are often more available to help. If you do find that your child needs to miss class, please give advance notice and if possible, assist your child in staying on top of assignments. I tend to be very gracious in these situations because I appreciate the flexibility that we enjoy as homeschoolers. However, keeping me updated makes it easier on everyone.
3. PRAY I am committed to praying for your children regularly throughout the school year. Praying for classmates and the teacher provides all of us a greater opportunity to truly succeed!
God bless you as you plan for the coming school year!
I have strong opinions about mastery. I struggled as a classroom teacher as I watched administrators direct teachers to push children through the system without focusing on what those children would take with them when they left; not considering what those children needed to make the most of their lives. Our responsibility, as classroom teachers, for educating precious children was often shoved aside because of budgets, government funding and standardized test scores. Even as I write this, I feel my blood pressure rising as I remember the battles I fought knowing that I would never defeat the system. It is one of the reasons that I homeschooled my children. I wanted them to have time for spiritual mastery, time for academic mastery and time for God to instill His mark on their character before the world invades.
One of the greatest reasons to teach mastery is that students develop a habit of learning as they master different concepts. The habit of learning provides a lifelong skill valued for many years beyond grades or test scores.
What is Mastery?
One definition of mastery states that it is thefull command of a subject of study. What is the point of studying academically or spiritually if we aren’t ultimately going to be in command of that subject? Commanding a subject means more than memorization and regurgitation of information. It means a knowledge that can be deeply discussed, applied to other studies and thoroughly understood to the point that one can teach it. While this intense definition may not seem to apply to an elementary student’s grasp of the parts of speech, the general idea behind mastery enables us, as homeschool moms, to establish significant goals for our children and to evaluate exactly how much they have learned.
A simple example of mastery is the difference between memorizing multiplication facts and demonstrating an understanding that multiplication means repeated addition. Another example might be applying scripture to the heart rather than just memorizing the words.
Recently, God gave me an amazing gift. I teach high school Sunday school at my church and my son, John Paul, is in that class. One Sunday, we arrived early and were waiting on the other students when we began discussing how a wealthy man that we both know professed to be a Christian, but his daily behavior isn’t indicative of a believer. After a slight pause, my son quoted Matthew 6:24 –
No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other;
Or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.
You cannot serve God and wealth.
As a mom, to hear my teenage son quote relevant scripture in the middle of a conversation brought a moment of sweetness that I will never forget. It may seem a small thing to many, but the fruit of God’s Word should always be sweet. This spiritual mastery of an important Biblical life concept is one of my goals for my children. I look forward to seeing more and more of it! J
How Does Mastery Apply to My Classes?
One year, I taught science in a private Christian middle school. It didn’t take much time in the classroom to realize that that the students had been basically trained to read, memorize and reiterate the facts laid out in the dull, lifeless curriculum. They were missing essential concepts and really had no idea how to even explain what they were learning. I took the paperback textbook, ripped it apart by chapter (middle school students truly enjoy dramatic effects) and told the students that we would use those chapters as reference materials as we learned. All tests went from being multiple choice to essay (they loved me for that!) and honestly, I was not a favorite teacher of parents or students at first. However, by the end of the year, those students could clearly articulate essential science concepts in both writing and verbally. We had awesome discussions. Parents and their Composition teacher appreciated my efforts. The kids never did truly fall in love with the essay tests, but they knew their stuff!
I teach my classes with mastery goals in mind. I don’t expect my students to just read the literature and complete the assignments, but my expectations extend to the display of a fuller understanding of the material, whether demonstrated verbally or written. For some students and even parents, this can be frustrating. The world often teaches us to accept the mere act of learning rather than aspiring to fully understand the knowledge and wisdom that God has graciously given to man. I have seen this played out in the education of the parents and home school students who previously attended public or private school. They come to me with primary concerns of earning credits and completing courses. Please don’t misunderstand…there is a practical need for our high school students to earn the appropriate credits, but their education should not be focused on that achievement. It should be focused on mastery of what they are learning.
How Can We Determine if Mastery is Achieved?
Let’s say you’re teaching the steps of the water cycle to your 3rd grader and you want to evaluate whether he understands the concept. Various methods can be utilized to determine mastery, depending on your child’s learning style. Your child may draw a representation of the water cycle or verbally explain the process to demonstrate mastery.
It’s important when determining mastery to make sure that your child has more than one option for demonstrating what he knows. Some of the most common ways to determine mastery include:
Verbal explanation – more an older student, this may be a more formal speech rather than just a casual explanation.
Graphic rendition – this may be hand done or on a computer. Graphic organizers such as charts, Venn diagrams, plot maps, outlines etc may be used. Lap books allow students to organize information and then share what they learned using the lap books as a visual reference.
Written assignments – writing as a demonstration of mastery is actually a higher level skill because it requires not only written expression but also organizational thinking skills.
Kinesthetic model – physical models also assist some students when explaining specific concepts.
Sometimes a combination of methods works best. Examples include a lapbook and a verbal explanation or an outline and a written assignment.
The ultimate test of mastery is whether a student can teach the concept to someone else using whatever method works best. That someone may be a younger child, a peer or an adult. I often ask students to lead discussions online and in class if I feel that they can share their mastery of a subject with the rest of the class.
Mastery takes time and patience, but the rewards are beyond measure. There’s a tremendous joy in knowing that a student truly understands what has been taught and that he will benefit from that learning experience for his lifetime.
