The Homeschool Post- 2012/13
Wednesday, August 1, 2012 at 9:16AM 
Grace's favorite class....photo credit: Seattle Times I've been writing learning plans for this upcoming school year, for my 8yo son and my 13yo daughter. These detailed plans are required for the type of homeschooling that we do (parent partnered/enrolled in a school district). Throughout the school year my kids will send weekly reports to an advisor about what they're doing and I will send monthly reports that explain how we are working towards their goals, along with what has been accomplished. The benefit of being in this program is that we receive money, that we then use towards homeschooling expenses. I'm not convinced that these types of plans are for everyone, or necessary for a successful school year, but they are something that I find I useful and would probably write anyway- even without the requirement. What I like about them is that they require me to organize my thoughts and state the purpose for the class, a timeline, measurable goals, learning materials and activities, and methods of evaluation. The performance objectives in this following example were not written by me. They were taken directly from the Washington state performance objectives for all eighth graders. Because my daughter will be attending public high school next year and taking standardized tests, I wanted to be sure that she was on the same page as her peers. The road we take to meet those goals however, is entirely up to us. Here is an example from Grace's learning plan:
English
In this English class Grace will study English literature and writing. Literature will be used as the base upon which to build speaking, thinking, listening, vocabulary, and composition skills.
Learning Materials: Houghton Mifflin English Level 8, Shirley Haley-James
Assigned Readings:
Sept.
¦After the Dancing Days—Rostowski
¦The Ramsay Scallop—Temple
Oct.
¦Bloomability—Creech
¦The Remarkable Journey of Prince Jen—Alexander
Nov.
¦The Last Unicorn—Peter S. Beagle
¦A Girl Named Disaster—Farmer
Dec.
¦The Devil’s Arithmatic—Yolan
¦Belle Prator’s Boy—White
Jan.
¦The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963—Curtis
¦Good Night Mr. Tom—Magorian
Feb.
¦The Eternal Spring of Mr. Ito—Garrigue
¦Come a Stranger—Voigt
March
¦Number the Stars—Lowry
¦The Blue Sword—McKinley
April
To Kill a Mockingbird-Harper
May
Year Down Yonder-Peck
Rules of the Road-Bauer
June
Out of the Dust-HesseLearning Goals/Performance Objectives: Reading-
1.2.2 Apply strategies to comprehend words and ideas.
2.1.3 Apply comprehension monitoring strategies before, during, and after reading: determine importance using theme, main ideas and supporting details in informational/expository text and/or literary/narrative text.
2.1.4 Apply comprehension monitoring strategies for informational and technical materials, complex narratives, and expositions: use prior knowledge.
2.1.5 Apply comprehension monitoring strategies for informational and technical materials, complex narratives, and expositions: predict and infer.
2.1.6 Apply comprehension monitoring strategies for informational and technical materials, complex narratives, and expositions: monitor for meaning, create mental images, and generate and answer questions.
2.1.7 Apply comprehension monitoring strategies for informational and technical materials, complex narratives and expositions: determine importance and summarize text.
2.2.3 Understand and analyze story elements.
2.3.3 Evaluate the author's use of literary devices to enhance comprehension.
2.4.1 Analyze informational/expository text and literary/narrative text to draw conclusions and develop insights.
2.4.5 Analyze text to generalize, express insight, or respond by connecting to other texts or situations.
3.4.2 Analyze traditional and contemporary literature written in a variety of genres.
Writing-
1.1.1 Analyzes and selects effective strategies for generating ideas and planning writing.
1.3.1 Revises text, including changing words, sentences, paragraphs, and ideas.
1.4.1 Edits for conventions (see 3.3).
1.5.1 Publishes in formats that are appropriate for specific audiences and purposes.
1.6.3 Uses knowledge of time constraints to adjust writing process.
2.2.1 Demonstrates understanding of different purposes for writing.
3.1.1 Analyzes ideas, selects a manageable topic, and elaborates using specific, relevant details and/or examples.
3.1.2 Analyzes and selects effective organizational structure.
3.3.2 Spells accurately in final draft.
3.3.4 Applies punctuation rules.
3.3.5 Applies usage rules.
3.3.6 Applies paragraph conventions.
3.3.7 Applies conventional forms for citations.
4.1.2 Analyzes and evaluates own writing using established criteria.Learning Activities: Grace will study English using her text- Houghton Mifflin English, reading the lessons, answering the questions, and completing the writing applications (to be kept in a notebook), spending 1-2 wks. on each unit. There are 14 units in the book. She will also read 1-2 assigned books, (covering a variety of literature genres) per month, writing or speaking short narrations about each. She will cover the topics of sentence structure, personal narratives, nouns, comparison and contrast, verbs, story, modifiers, description, capitalization and punctuation, persuasive letter, pronouns, research report, phrases, and clauses. Total time per week spent on English will be around 5 hours.
Progress Criteria/Methods of Evaluation: Grace's mastery of learning goals will be evaluated throughout the school year. Each unit completed will be evaluated by parent teacher for neatness, accuracy and understanding of the topic. Daily written questions and writing application will be scored on a rubric of 1-4, with a score of 2 or less requiring the completion of extra practice questions. Oral narrations on the assigned readings will take place once a week, as a way to evaluate comprehension and progress towards reading goals. At the end of each unit, Grace will complete the "unit check-ups" in her text, consisting of approx. 50 questions. A score of 80% or better will be required to move on to the next unit. Grace will take the state assessment in May to fulfill her annual assessment requirement.
The literature chosen for the year was taken in large part from a list that was created by a trusted friend and author, Kristen Randle. Other trusted sources that I use for book recommendations are Sonlight and Serendipity.
Other subjects that Grace will be studying this year are: ballet, Geography(Introduction to Geography McGraw Hill Press), Math (Kahn Academy), Spanish (Rosetta Stone), and Geology/Physics/Biology(Sonlight).
a big plus for homeschooling: time to pursue special interests
Here is an example of a learning plan for my third grade son. This time, I needed to write the performance objectives myself, because Washington state doesn't have any history objectives for third graders. I purposefully made them "big picture" objectives because I wanted to have a lot of flexibility with the plan.
History
In this history class, Trent will study ancient world history up through the fall of the Roman empire through listening to history books read aloud.
Learning Materials: A Child's History of the World-Hillyer(Calvert Press), Archeologists Dig for Clues, Houses and Homes(Usborne), Usborne Encyclopedia of the World, Usborne Time Traveler, Tut's Mummy, People's of the World(Usborne), The Greek Myths, The Viking Adventure, The Great Wall of China, Roman Diary
Learning Goals/Performance Objectives: 1. Understand that history is a story of the world and it's people
2. Know how to find different countries, water bodies, and major land features on a map or globe.
3. Know and be able to talk about several important figures and movements from ancient history that have been instrumental in the direction societies have taken in areas such as independence, civil rights, economics and justice for its citizens.
4. Know and be able to explain what anthropologists and archeologists do.
5. Understand what a timeline is and how it helps us understand history.Learning Activities: Trent will study ancient world history for 20 minutes a day, four days a week, listening to read alouds, analyzing pictures, map study, museum visits, projects, and narrating information. An example of a typical day would be...
1. Listen to ch. 1 Child's History of the world
2. Retell what he learned
3. Find the middle east on the map and talk about where we think the world's first people might have lived.
4. Begin a timeline bookProgress Criteria/Methods of Evaluation: Trent's mastery of learning goals will be evaluated throughout the year. He will orally narrate the reading he listens to and I will keep a record of what he narrated, when, and if he demonstrated understanding. He will also be given map worksheets to complete throughout the year, to be kept in a portfolio along with any related projects he completes and his timeline.
The book list that I used is directly from Sonlight. I did this same history program with my daughter when she was a third grader and we loved it. I'm looking forward to doing it again with Trent. Other subjects that Trent will be studying this year are: piano, Spanish(Rosetta Stone), Math (Teaching Textbooks), Science (Sonlight), Language Arts(Sonlight) and tumbling/trampoline.
Both kids will also be taking a weekly class through a local homeschool co-op- the main reason being, a chance to be around other kids.
doing school at a coffee shop
That's it, our upcoming school year in a nutshell!
Reader Comments (8)
WHEW!! Glad I never had to do that - but then, They were never even tempted to give me money. I love the reading list. May and June I don't know,but the rest I know and love. I'm getting the review site ready. It's slow, but I'm working on it. So I'll love to have your homeschooling lists - and reviews if you have any. Your year all laid out - and all that wonderful time with the kids-
Dawn, you are way ahead of me! Thanks for the inspiration to get organized for September. Love your map of next year.
Wow, so comprehensive! I get money for homeschooling too, but don't have to do anything for it. I know I'm incredibly lucky!!
Interesting booklist for Grace. My dd has been trying to read The Blue Sword after loving Robin McKinley's other books, and she simply can't get into it. I'll be interested to learn if Grace likes it.
all I can say is WOW.
What a blessing to have monies available through the school district. Nothing here -- I couldn't even get a microscope on loan during the summer. As always, you make very lovely lesson plans. I think it would be fun to school two different children through the same plan a few years apart, as you'll be doing. I'm sure it will be a different but equally fun experience.
Tara- It is a blessing. There are plenty of people who don't like public funds going anywhere but traditional public schools, who would love to see these parent partnered programs go away. That's why there are so many regulations and why the documentation is so important.
Sibella- The only reason that I got organized so early is because I'm looking forward to vacation! ; ) These next few weeks are going to be about pure relaxation.
Sarah- I haven't read The Blue Sword yet myself. This was case of trusting the person who recommended it. You're one of those people that I trust book recommendations from too.
Kristen- It's pretty much your reading list, so you better like it! ; ) I'm looking forward to reading these books too.
That is a really good book list! Your plans leave a lot of room for freedom and I like that.
Dawn, I just stumbled upon your lovely blog while researching curriculum (I'm knee deep and feeling a tad overwhelmed). This is just our second year hs (and possibly the last) so I still feel like I'm wandering in the dark a bit. I love your literature list for Grace and will likely incorporate some of the titles into our curriculum. I was curious if you are doing geography in lieu of history for her? Coincidentally, I also live in the Seattle area and my kids are 13 (girl) and 9 (boy).