Book of Time

 Elementary, History, Middle School  3 Responses »
Sep 292010
 

Eldest girl was browsing her Tapestry of Grace notebook. “So it says here I’m supposed to keep a time line.” Then she saw the light bulb floating above my head.

The Book of Time from our early Sonlight days. The book I set aside for later. I pulled it from the long-forgotten section of the History shelf.

She was intrigued.

Her enthusiasm drew a crowd. “Aw, you got Joseph. I wanted Joseph!” “George Mueller. You know there is more to the story than the Veggie Tale version, you should read the book.” “Look Mama, Theodore Roosevelt.” “You know what I think is neat? God made sure all the best presidents in history were Christian presidents.” Eldest boy shared the observation his Daddy had shared with him.

We pondered.

So pretty soon we’ll be ordering a set specific to the 20th century. I’ve had fun clicking through all the Timeline Figure sets. And am looking forward to more afternoons with our Book of Time.

-Tricia homeschools five children from preschool to middle school, mixing up a classical and Charlotte Mason style. You can find her facing that daily dose of chaos at Hodgepodge and sharing habits at Habits for a Happy Home.

Adam and His Kin

 Bible, History, Living books  1 Response »
Sep 272010
 

As a supplement for studying ancient history this year, my children and I read Adam and His Kin.

Ruth Beechick has done a fantastic job retelling the Biblical story of Creation through Abram as he leaves Ur (Genesis 1-11.) Reading like living literature, the author fills in some of her own imaginations about how the characters of the Bible might have felt and what they might have said. This may turn some people off as they decide she has “added” to Scripture, but I wasn’t turned off at all. The additions come from a well-researched background (and make for a very powerful story!)

I certainly would put the book in the category of historical fiction, though. It wouldn’t be right to read this rather than the Bible. We read this as an extension after a very solid instruction in what Genesis actually says. 

I was amazed to understand several things I never had before!  For instance, the Seed line (those who would directly fall into the geneology of Jesus later) is explained so that you see not simply a timeline of when each person was born and when they died, but you watch them walk together, teach one another and encourage generation after generation.  As the story unfolds, you see Adam living even into the time of Methuselah – they knew each other, learned together and preached together. 

I know I could’ve looked at a simple Bible timeline and seen that Adam and Methuselah lived some time together, but the story builds a picture in your mind that a simple timeline most likely doesn’t.  And this is true for so many other aspects of the book!  

I highly recommend adding this to any Bible or ancient history schedule – it was fantastic!  In fact, I’m even going to say you really SHOULD add this to your schedule – no homeschooling family should miss it!

(I read it with a 5th and 8th grader.  I wouldn’t recommend it for children younger for the simple reason that you really want the depth of the story to be able to sink in powerfully.)

Written by Cindy, eclectically Charlotte Mason mom of 3.  You can find her blogging at Our Journey Westward and find her nature study curriculum at Shining Dawn Books.


The Key To… Math Curriculum

 Elementary, Mathematics, Middle School  3 Responses »
Sep 242010
 

As a physicist, I understand, somewhat, the nature of mathematics.  It’s actually a language, and children can benefit from being taught it as a language.  Among other things, this means using many different resources rather than just one curriculum.  One wonderful resource, the Key to… Math Series, has been a part of our math program for eight years now.

Many people think of the Key To… Math curriculum as a remedial aid.  We use it in a completely different way:  to increase the children’s ability to understand mathematical concepts on their own. Naturally this also increases their confidence and reduces my workload.

Summary

Key to… Math is a series of teaching workbooks covering Fractions, Decimals, Percents, Measurement, Metric Measurement, Geometry, and Algebra. It spans several years of math instruction and provides a wonderful introduction to each of these topics.

Description

Each Key To… topic is made up of a series of workbooks and a teacher’s book containing student pages with all the answers written in.  The booklets teach the concepts so simply that my children rarely have to ask me for help.  Instead, they learn independent study skills and gain confidence in their ability to teach themselves.  There is a lot of practice for each concept, so that by the time a child has finished a series of booklets, he has mastered the concept.

This series is, thus, not a spiral approach to mathematics, but a mastery approach.  Obviously, math concepts build on each other so some review is inevitable, but it is not a focus in these books.  The lack of review could be a challenge for some children, but mine like learning a topic well, being able to use it, and then moving on.

Each booklet is about 30-40 pages, except for some of the geometry booklets which are combined volumes.  Each page is simple, black and white, with space for the answers to be written in.  There is no clutter and no distracting color or silliness. (View sample pages by clicking on each workbook here.)  Math history is illustrated on the covers of the booklets and explained in detail so that children learn the background of mathematics as well as its substance.

How We Fit Key To…Math into our Homeschool

After our children have finished Miquon Math, we let them begin the Key To Fractions series.  Since we have the children write the answers out in a scribbler rather than in the workbooks, it is a difficult transition at first, but by fourth grade our children have been able to manage this.  When they begin the series, they occasionally need me to explain the workbook’s explanations.  The explanations themselves are clear, but at that age the children have a hard time slowing down enough to read them, and often they don’t really believe that they can figure the problem out by themselves.  So I generally just read the workbook’s explanation out loud, slowly.  Occasionally I’ll also work out the problem on paper.  Rarely, I make up a few extra practice problems just to verify that the children understand the concept.

I mark the work as soon as possible, and the children redo each incorrect answer.

Because our children use overlapping curricula as well as various drill programs, they occasionally want to challenge a booklet.  I allow them to study it, and then take the end of booklet practice tests just as usual.  Although we do not use the available test booklet, we do use the practice tests at the end of each booklet.  If our children score over 90% they have completed the booklet, are rewarded, and move on.  If their mark is between 80% and 90%, they have to restudy problem concepts, and if they score below 80% they have to buckle down and actually do (or redo) the booklet.  In mathematics it’s no use moving on to more difficult concepts if earlier concepts are not mastered.

Each year the children study several workbooks, and we aim to finish Fractions, Decimals, Percents, and Metric Measurement by the middle of grade 6.  Metric Measurement is a treat that gets divided up over the three years, because it is hands-on and full of simple projects.

After that, the children take a break from the Key To… Series and review it all by whizzing through Singapore Math 3a to 6b almost entirely on their own.   Then I have them struggle through the Singapore PSLE book.  By that time they are well into grade 7 and ready to work through Key to Geometry and start Key to Algebra.  After the fifth algebra booklet, they do Singapore’s NEM 1, and then return to Key to Algebra before finishing the NEM series. Singapore math is known to be advanced and teacher-intensive, but after using the Key To… Series my children are able to learn Singapore math almost entirely on their own.

What We Think

If your child does not do well with the spiral approach to learning mathematics, try the mastery approach.  In these booklets, each concept is taught thoroughly until a child knows it.

Our children needed more drill and more practice with large number multiplication and division than was provided in this series.  Other than that, the elementary Key To… Series is a wonderful curriculum.  Our children do well at math, understand it, and are not afraid of it.

Key to Geometry is an amazing hands-on course, but it does not meet the geometry needs of a high school student.  It gives an intuitive understanding that helps with a later logic-based geometry course, though.

Key to Algebra is a great introduction and confidence booster, but it is not a final algebra course.  It really helps students understand the concepts as opposed to just telling them what to do.

I love the Key To…Series booklets.  They give my children confidence, teach them math rather than techniques, and reduce my teaching load.

Disclosure: We have been using the Key To…Series for many years.  I received nothing from Key Curriculum Press in order to write this review.

-Written by Annie Kate, a Christian homeschooling mom of five great children, who blogs at Tea Time With Annie Kate.

My Access! Vantage Online Writing Course

 Elementary, Hands On, High School, Language Arts, Middle School, Writing  No Responses »
Sep 222010
 

My Access Home Edition is an online interactive writing program designed to be added to any curriculum seamlessly.  You can purchase the program for three students for $99.95 HERE. From about first grade through high school this program will help your child develop valuable writing skills at his or her own pace.

My Access is designed to take a central role in helping your child achieve writing goals. The program will give feedback as well as help you keep track of your child’s progress.  The program will grow with your child so as your child progresses the program will continue to challenge your child.  The program says it takes stress off the homeschool mom and allows her more time to focus on other educational goals.

This program does not have to be confined to homeschooling.  If you want to challenge your child beyond school or if your child needs tutoring in this area My Access can help you with those needs.

The program is easy to navigate and offers a variety of topics for your child to write about. As a parent you are kept in the know yet you will have the back up of the system and feedback from teachers to help your child grow as a writer.

During my review of this product I allowed my 12 and 10 year old to have access to this program.  I am a writer yet teaching writing is not so easy for me. I often struggled with being too critical or not knowing if they were writing on the proper level. I welcomed the opportunity to have the back up for My Access.  The student can pick from topics to write about and get feedback on the writing.  The feedback is somewhat detailed so the student is clear on what changes to make.  This also provides the parent with an overall picture of the child’s writing level. This is a great tool to include in your homeschooling.  I always stress that the ability to write is a form of communication so it is important to write properly.  Words can be misused or misconstrued if you are not careful on how you communicate through your writing.  I want my kids to be confident about word choice and sentence structure as well as styles of writing.

Are there cons? While this program does fit into any curriculum it will add to your child’s workload.  This is only a con if your child is responsible for quite a few writing assignments in English or History already.  My children have reports in almost every class so this program had to be added in carefully.  My older child found the program monotonous and preferred to work on her assigned writing.  My 10 year old does not like to write but enjoyed working on the computer and having topics provided for him.  I loved the idea of the program and much of how it was run.  However, I sometimes questioned some of the feedback and upon further research found some flaws in the feedback.  The flaws were minor and for the most part everything was handled great.

Simply Grammar

 Charlotte Mason, Elementary, Grammar, Language Arts  1 Response »
Sep 202010
 

Simply Grammar by Karen Andreola has been simply wonderful for my 5th grade son! The subtitle of the book is: A Revised and Expanded Edition of First Grammar Lessons by Charlotte Mason, Founder of the Home Schooling Movement.

Charlotte Mason’s teachings tell us that formal grammar lessons are not intended to start until the age of nine, or around 4th grade, which is the age for which this curriculum is intended. And since Mrs. Andreola has updated Charlotte Mason’s own work with complete integrity, these grammar lessons are simply perfect for the CM homeschool classroom (as well as other styles!)

The lessons:

  • are short and sweet, lasting only 10-15 minutes.
  • teach one grammar rule per lesson.
  • allow mother (or other teacher) and child to work together in a loving exchange.
  • can often be completed orally, but offer opportunities for transferring lessons to paper as well.
  • are living, as opposed to dry and dull.
  • are interspersed with black and white Victorian era drawings meant to spur ideas when a child is asked to come up with their own examples within the lessons.

My son DOES NOT thrive on mindless work. He will dutifully complete a worksheet full of practice exercises and do fairly well, however the concepts don’t seem to stick after the fact. He also DOES NOT thrive with written language – yet. It’s very time-consuming for him to write sentence after sentence when he’s more focused on letter formation and correct spelling than content. Giving him the opportunity to learn grammar without the added written pressures allows him to actually learn the grammar, which is simply marvelous!

I will admit that occasionally I feel like the words used to describe a concept are a tad difficult for my son to understand.  For instance, instead of telling my son directly what the eight state of being verbs are, there is a rather vague explanation that left my son scratching his head.  Once I re-worded the explanation and gave him a simple chant to memorize the state of being verbs, he did fine.  So, in short, mom probably ought to have at least a decent understanding of early grammar in case she needs to re-word once in a while.  (Or at least have the internet nearby to type in “state of being verbs” or other key words if you need a list.)

I almost missed out on this fantastic curriculum. I approached Karen for a review copy of Story Starters and she graciously included Simply Grammar and Lessons at Blackberry Inn as well. She already knows how indebted I am for opening my eyes – and my son’s – to the wonderful lessons found in Simply Grammar! By the way, you’ll see the review of Story Starters before long!

-Cindy is an eclectically Charlotte Mason mom of three. You can find her blogging at Our Journey Westward and find her NaturExplorers units at Shining Dawn Books.

Hooked on French Program from Hooked on Phonics

 Elementary, Foreign Language, Preschool  5 Responses »
Sep 172010
 

Hooked on French language programHaving taken French in high school and college, I couldn’t help but want to work on French with my children once we started homeschooling.  Urged by many people to focus on Spanish instead, we spent a gross amount of money, bought Rosetta Stone, and started working on Spanish.

After six months, when my kids only seemed to be able to use about as much Spanish as they had learned on Dora (apparently the program just didn’t mesh well with us), I decided that we were going to start on French instead.  I was thrilled to find a great price on Hooked on Phonics’ French program called Hooked on French.

What We Like About Hooked on French:

  • Cost – Hooked on French can currently (as of this writing) be purchased on the Hooked on Phonics website for under $15.
  • Variety of Materials – The kit includes workbooks, flash cards, interactive CD-Roms (with games and lessons), story books, and a progress chart.
  • Appeals to a Variety of Ages – Hooked on Phonics has this program listed as being for ages 4 – 6, but even my boys (ages 9 and 11) enjoy it and are learning from it.
  • Works on the Basics – One thing that didn’t work for us with Rosetta Stone was that I wanted a program that worked on the basics – numbers, colors, object names, etc.  Hooked on French works on these, and my kids are having fun walking around counting objects in French.
  • Not Just French – Okay, so our program is just French.  But I like that for just  bit more money, we could also get Hooked on Spanish.
  • Independent Work – Kids can work through the interactive CD-Rom part independently.  I have taken to sitting with them and brushing up on my French.  However, when I got an important phone call while putting in the CD-Rom the other day, the kids were able to use it without me.

What I Would Change/Issues:

  • Not for Older than Elementary Age – It would be great to have an inexpensive, interactive program for older children, but since Hooked on Phonics is a company that makes products for younger children, this makes sense.
  • Story Books We’ve Used Are Not in French.  I was surprised when we got to a story book that we were supposed to read and it was in English only.  Apparently we were supposed to count items in French.  However, I do like the workbook, as it gives us a chance to not only hear the words on the CD-Rom, but actually see words written out in the workbook.

Would I Recommend It to a Friend?

I would definitely recommend it to a friend whose children were not older than mine.  (Mine range from kindergarten to 5th grade.)  It is definitely for younger kids, but it is a fabulous price and really works on the basics.  It is a fun introduction to a foreign language.

Angie can be found writing on her blog, Many Little Blessings, about faith, family, and household management.  She is also the founder of The Homeschool Classroom and Catholic Mothers Online.

AlphaTales are Fun for Phonics

 Elementary, Language Arts, Phonics, Preschool, Reading  No Responses »
Sep 152010
 

One of my favorite book series to read to my younger children is the AlphaTales set by Scholastic.  I found mine at a yard sale one summer and we have had lots of laughs and phonics fun since then.

Each book focuses a letter of the alphabet with an animal main character who begins with that letter.  The silly stories and cheerful illustrations draw your child through many words that begin with the highlighted letter sound.  A few titles include:

  • Vera Viper’s Valentine
  • The Yak who Yelled Yuck
  • Fifi Ferret’s Flute
  • Detective Dog and the Disappearing Doughnuts

After each story is a two page illustration asking “How many things can you find that begin with the letter __?”  This illustration uses the characters and items from the story, so they are already familiar to the child.  It is like a built in game, which is great.  The last page of the book is a letter cheer.  For example, here is the cheer from Seal’s Silly Sandwich:

“ S is for spider, snake, snail and seal.  S is for a super-sized sandwich meal.  S is for sailboat, smile, and swing.  S is for spaghetti, seesaw, and swing.  Hooray for S, big and small – the most sensational letter of all!”

These books have one more neat feature. The inside back cover has reading tips, quick, fun ways to use the story with your child and build their letter recognition ability.  You could literally read one letter book each week with young preschoolers, reading the same story each day, and focusing on a different reading tip every time.  I know that having the ideas right there has been a wonderful thing for me, I don’t have to be creative every moment of the day.

My children each have their favorite books from the series, ones they will take with them to quiet time over and over.  Once a story is familiar they are also able to tell me the story using the illustrations as a reminder.  As their reading ability develops the books become a fun way to practice those new skills.  Even my 9 year old will grab a stack of these books to read to a sibling.

You can find AlphaTales and a few related series for numbers, word families, and more on Amazon.

Written by Tristan, mom to 5 going on 6 children, homeschooling through unit studies with a side of lapbooks.  You can visit her at her blog, Our Busy Homeschool.

Writer’s Inc and Write for College Writing Handbooks

 High School, Junior High Language Arts, Language Arts, Middle School, Writing  3 Responses »
Sep 132010
 

The GreatSource Education Group, a Houghton Mifflin Company, has produced a variety of academically useful and reliable handbooks.  Chief among them are the writing handbooks, including Writer’s Inc. and Write for College.  Both books are intended for high school students.  They present writing in an orderly manner, complete with lots of examples.  These two handbooks contain enough writing information for several years’ worth of writing instruction and guidance, making them an excellent choice for a home education library.  Choose one and start writing!

Writer’s Inc.

Writer’s Inc. officially targets high school students.    The nine major sections present the writing process, the basic elements of writing, searching and researching, forms of writing, writing about literature, reading and study skills, speaking and thinking, proofreading, and an almanac.  Writer’s Inc. covers the areas of writing beginning with words and progressing from sentences to paragraphs to essays.  It discusses how to get ready to write a paper, how to start a paper, continue a paper, review a paper, and publish a paper.  It includes explanations of writing forms and details the processes of creating different types of writing.   There are lots of examples.  It is an extremely useful tool.

Write for College

Write for College is for upper-level high school students.  As the name suggests, the goal of this handbook is to prepare students to write in college, and is a level above Writer’s Inc. It provides a comprehensive overview of the writing process, discusses the basic elements of writing, contains a list of level-appropriate writing forms, includes a research center, and various other relevant informational sections.  Basically, in one volume your student will find pertinent, well-written advice about a variety of writing forms, including analysis, learn how to research and document in MLA and APA, discover the secret to style, figure out how to proofread, edit, and revise, how to use the library, and how to read a variety of texts.  Plus, they can look at examples of everything!  It is fabulous.

The Best Part

The best part of both handbooks (in my humble, English-teacher opinion) is the layout used for presenting different types of writing.  First, the general type of writing—persuasive or personal, for example—is introduced.  Then, guidelines for each particular kind of writing within the general type are presented with a “Quick Guide.”  So, in the persuasive category of Write for College there are sections for an editorial, a personal commentary, an essay of argumentation, a position paper, and an explanation of thinking through an argument.  In addition to the “Quick Guide” is an example paper for each type.

The handbooks assist students as they delve into different kinds of writing by explaining the differing purposes, audiences, and nuances of each type using language that is accessible.  The examples seal the deal, making these handbooks the emerging writer’s best friend.

Writer's Inc.

Of course, they have to open them first.

If your student is anything like the high school students that I work with, they will need a bit of gentle prompting.

My Method

Currently, I have all of my students (I teach home educated students one day a week), freshmen through seniors, purchase Write for College.  I want them to be able to buy one book that will be useful for all four years of high school; this one nicely carries them through.  When I teach middle school students or lower high school students without much writing experience, I use Writer’s Inc.

For my English classes, which are traditional in nature, I use the handbook as a supplement and reference.  I periodically choose a writing topic from the handbook, we examine it, look at the examples, and then give it a try.  I build the writing concepts naturally and then give my students the opportunity to use them.  Writing assignments are also gleaned from the writing handbook, allowing students to read examples and providing step-by-step instructions for preparing, writing, and revising each piece.

Writing Course

It would be easy to use either handbook to develop a writing course for middle or high school students.  By breaking the reference pages into lessons a course could discuss the writing process, style, and particular types of writing.  The course could be repeated with higher standards for several years.

Handbook

It is, of course, possible to simply use these books as handbooks.  Make them available to your students and remind them to use them when they write.  Because they are designed as handbooks, Writer’s Inc. and Write for College are easy to navigate and explore.  Gently prod your student in the direction of the bookcase when writing questions and needs arise.

Write for College

Which One?

If you have upper-level high school writers, I prefer Write for College for its emphasis on literary analysis and research.  It is prepared for a more mature student, but is accessible to less developed students.  If your students are middle school or very inexperienced writers, Writer’s Inc. is probably the better choice.  I realize that many families will fall in the middle of these two levels.  Remember that Write for College is intended to prepare students for college, while Writer’, Inc. is for the emerging high school writer.

In short, both are useful and efficient; each is a good choice.

Writer’s Inc. and Write for College are only two books from the line of writing handbooks offered by GreatSource.  The line begins with a first grade handbook and progresses to one intended for college students with many other products in between.  It is absolutely not necessary to have all of the handbooks in the series, as they contain much of the same information at slightly varying levels.  It is also not necessary to purchase all of the other materials.  The handbooks are stand-alone resources.

All of the handbooks are discussed at thewritesource.com and sold at greatsource.com.  Used copies abound:  check the internet and your local used bookstores.   (I should note that if you purchase a used edition of either book, the MLA discussion may not be current.  A copy of the 7th edition of the MLA Handbook or a website like Purdue University’s OWL will bring you up to date, though.)

For your middle and high school writers, I recommend Writer’s Inc. and Write for College.

Happy writing!

-Most days find Susan on the couch reading to her children, in the floor “playing” math, and generally in the middle of a good-sized mess.  A love for the Lord, a love for her little ones, and a love of learning have led Susan and that  wonderful man she married to an educational philosophy that is Well-Trained Mind-inspired classical and Charlotte Mason, with a touch of the traditional.

Logic and Reasoning with the Bluedorn’s

 Highschool, Logic  2 Responses »
Sep 102010
 

We love logic in our homeschool! I’ve used logic puzzlers with my children as early as 1st grade with such materials as Mind Benders, Prufrock Press books, and Logic Links. Now that my oldest is moving into upper middle and high school level courses, we’ve begun some more formal logic/reasoning instruction.

Brothers, Nathaniel and Hans Bluedorn, have written two very easy-to-understand and fun books for students in middle and high school – The Fallacy Detective and The Thinking Toolbox. Both books are excellent and offer 35-38 lessons including:

  • simple, solid teaching about reasoning/logic skills.
  • short lessons that only take 10-15 minutes to complete.
  • tons of pertinent vocabulary.
  • fun illustrations and cartoons to help you visualize the concept.
  • an attractive layout.
  • lots of conversational examples to explain the concepts being taught in each lesson.*
  • exercises with answer keys to practice the reasoning skills from each lesson.*

To help you see the simple and sensible explanations within the lessons, here’s a conversational example from The Fallacy Detective, Lesson 12: Straw Man. In teaching the student about a straw man in an argument, this simple conversation is given.

“POLITICAL CANDIDATE A: Due to this year’s budget problems, I think our state should decrease the amount of money going to the schools. This would solve the problem. We could bring the amount of money back to normal next year.

POLITICAL CANDIDATE B: My fellow citizens, is this what you want in a candidate? Someone who is against our schools, against our children’s education, and against our future?”

The authors use plenty of examples such as these as part of their explanations of reasoning and logic that help students begin to question and think through all the rhetoric and influential arguments in our world.

At the end of each lesson, your student is given exercises to practice distinguishing arguments. From The Thinking Toolbox, Lesson 11: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Evidence, this is one of the exercises.

“In the examples below, choose which piece of evidence seems especially strong or especially weak when compared to the other evidence.

1. Bonnie thinks that Robey’s excitableness stems from something in his diet.

a. Robey loves to eat.

b. Robey eats a special dog food made with organic meatballs.

c. Every morning, before Bonnie takes him for a walk, Pringle’s instructed her to give Robey his special treat called a “Zip and Zaz Cookie” made for older dogs that need more energy.”

Your student is expected to determine which statement logically makes the most sense.

We have loved these books so much and they are really preparing my children to think logically! They are confronted daily with advertisements, worldview arguments, political arguments, peer pressure and so much more.  These books are training their minds to look past the glitz and glamour to get to the real truth of the matter.

As Christians, we especially need these truth seeking logical skills to help us keep our eyes on the Lord and not be swayed by the devil’s wily tactics!

-Written by Cindy, eclectically Charlotte Mason mom of three.  You can find her blogging at Our Journey Westward and find her nature study curriculum at Shining Dawn Books.

Flat Stanley Unit

 Elementary, Language Arts  1 Response »
Sep 082010
 

Often in our schooling, I find myself working hard to remember and actively teach our “middle” students!  This year, we have worked together with another family once a week to join forces on several subjects we wanted to teach our different aged students, and I loved having some focused time with our “middles.”

To have a direction of study, we chose to use the Flat Stanley unit study published by Blackbird & Company.  We’ve enjoyed the Flat Stanley books with our older kids, and when we discovered this study we thought it would be fun to do with our early elementary students.  My son is seven, and we taught the unit with him and his friends, siblings 5 and 8.

I loved Blackbird’s Exploring Poetry unit, and was looking forward to exploring this one.  At the same time we received it, we discovered the Flat Stanley project, which involves kids sending letters and pictures to far away places and sharing his adventure.

The book itself is recommended for grades 1-3, so it was right on for readability and subject appropriate for the group we worked with.  To be honest, though, I found the literature guide to be a bit off-putting for our students in this age.  It’s primarily a workbook that includes literary analysis (which I firmly believe in as important), but the repetition and dryness of the format left us doing much more oral discussion as our younger students weren’t up to the amount of writing required.  Instead, I used the questions as a discussion guide, and our students did a hands-on scrapbook of Stanley’s adventures using cameras and the custom Stanley figures they created (along with that of Salvatore, the made-up cousin grandma took on her Vegas trip!).

In addition, I felt the level of analysis attempted and the length of study expected was stretching it a bit for the length and content of the Flat Stanley book.  It could have easily been read aloud to the students in one or two sittings, and it felt like it was more than stretching it out to keep them waiting through the number of assignments in the curriculum.

In all, I am impressed greatly with Blackbird, but felt that this particular unit tried to do too much with the level of book that is Flat Stanley.  It would be a great several-page discussion starter, but for our personal use, at $16 for the study and $20 for the study with book, it is not a cost or time-effective investment for this age of student or “literature.”  Rather, I would have preferred to see a more streamlined selection of analysis questions combined with hands-on activities so needed for this age group.

-You can find Angela blogging at Dancing with my Father.

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