Beautiful Feet History of Classical Music Curriculum Review

 Charlotte Mason, Music  3 Responses »
Jan 062010
 

The History of Classical Music is published by Beautiful Feet Books, a long-respected homeschool curriculum provider.

The 75 lessons in this curriculum move through classical music starting with Corelli in the Baroque Period and going all the way to Stravinsky in the Modern Era. Here is a list of the many composers studied:

    violoncello

  • Corelli
  • Vivaldi
  • Bach
  • Handel
  • Haydn
  • Mozart
  • Beethoven
  • Schubert
  • Berlioz
  • Mendelssohn
  • Chopin
  • Schumann
  • Grieg
  • Tchaikovsky
  • Wagner
  • Verdi
  • Brahms
  • Dvorak
  • Strauss
  • Mahler
  • Foster
  • Sousa
  • Debussy
  • Stravinsky

A study of the instruments and structure of the orchestra is also interspersed throughout the curriculum.

Features of this curriculum:

Included in the set are a composers card game, five living books, 18 Audio CDs, 2 coloring books, a timeline, and a schedule/teacher’s guide.

Don’t be fooled by the term “coloring book.” They are full of text and information, complemented by black and white drawings.

The VOX Music Masters audio CDs are narratives of composer’s lives sprinkled with relevant musical selections throughout. A single narrator tells the story. There is no dramatic dialogue or sound effects. These are more straightforward than say a Jim Weiss or Your Story Hour audio. That is, they are not as entertaining in a humorous or exciting way. But they are well made and full of facts about the composers.  We do enjoy them; my daughter has never complained that they are boring. For younger students, you may want to use the Classical Kids CDs instead.

A timeline with beautiful images is part of the complete package. Besides the line drawings, there are even  two strips of cardstock for making the actual timeline. (Or the figures could be but onto your own pre-existing timeline.)
The composers card game is basically a matching game like Go Fish with composers on the cards. It’s a fun way to reinforce the names and works of the music masters you study.

About the Guide

In the guide, all reading assignments are scheduled clearly, lesson by lesson so that you could hand the guide over to your middle schooler (or high schooler) and let him do the study basically on his own.

Notebooking suggestions and tasks are included in the lessons. These are varied and open-ended. Examples include mapping, sketching diagrams and labeling them, writing definitions, taking notes on a certain historical topic, coloring and pasting in an image from the coloring book. (There are no printable notebooking pages, just tasks to complete in your blank notebook.)

Occasionally websites are listed for additional study. And there are short research projects integrated into the curriculum.

Most lessons include a culminating or key question that is answered in the reading assignments. You can choose how to handle it, either discussing it orally with your child or having him write the answer in his notebook.

Materials needed in addition to the set:

  • An atlas
  • A composition book (or other format for notebooking)

How to use History of Classical Music

BF History of Classical Music is truly a history of music and not of history in general. Thus I consider it insufficient for a year’s history curriculum. Instead I suggest BF History of Classical Music could be used in a Charlotte Mason homeschool in two ways:

1.  As an in-depth unit study covering the span of a few months.

BF History of Classical Music  has only 75 lessons. So if you completed two lessons each day (very doable if this is your base curriculum) you could finish it in less than forty school days (9 weeks on a five day school week; 10 weeks with school four days a week). Because of the heavy emphasis on reading and writing, BF History of Classical Music would make a good language arts curriculum.

2.  As a guide for composer studies.

The BF History of Classical Music could supply almost all you need for several years of composer study if you spent a term on each composer in the materials. Instead of doing two lessons each week as the publisher suggests, you could stretch out all the Bach assignments, for example, over the course of a 6-12 week term. By adding daily music listening to the routine, you would have a very rich composer study.

Although the curriculum states it is for 5th – 8th graders, I see no reason why high schoolers couldn’t benefit from these lessons and living books. Fifth and sixth graders may need to have some of the more challenging reading assignments read aloud to them.

Random House Book of Poetry for Children

 Language Arts  No Responses »
Dec 092009
 

poetry bookThe Random House Book of Poetry for Children: A Treasury of 572 Poems for Today’s Child
Selected by Jack Prelutsky
Illustrated by Arnold Lobel

This large, hardback volume is a wonderful investment in your language arts curriculum and in your general reading library. With 572 poems, this single book could last you three years if you read one poem each day. In fact, that is the approach we’ve taken with this book, savoring one poem each day in a Charlotte Mason style. We’ve ended up using this volume for third, fourth, and fifth grade poetry study. And we’re still not tired of it; my daughter consistently looks forward to poetry time.

I really like The Random House Book of Poetry for Children because of that last phrase, “for children.” These poems were especially chosen with children in mind. They are funny, gentle, spooky, silly, and happy. The poems are arranged in chapters according to loosely organized themes. Here are a few examples:

poem illustration

  • Nature Is…
  • The Four Seasons
  • Dogs and Cats and Bears and Bats
  • The Ways of Living Things
  • Home! You’re Where It’s Warm Inside
  • I’m Hungry
  • Some People I Know
  • Nonsense! Nonsense!

You can see the topics are wonderfully appealing to children – foods, children, animals, unique personalities, and nature.

One of my main considerations in choosing a volume of poetry was that it be engaging. I wanted my daughter’s earliest introduction to poetry to be positive so that she would always have an appreciation for verse instead of a fear of it. Other poetry collections I looked at seemed dry and too mature for young children, but The Random House Book of Poetry for Children is suitable for the earliest of students.  You could use this from Kindergarten up to fifth grade. Most of the poems are short and nonthreatening even to poetry haters.

Jack Prelutsky understands what children like to read. He has the honor of being named the first Children’s Poet Laureate by the Poetry Foundation in 2006.  In The Random House Book of Poetry for Children, he has chosen some outstanding poems for young readers. Of course, there are many of his own poems in the volume, but there is also a wide assortment of styles and authors ranging from classic to modern. Besides the poems themselves, the illustrations by Arnold Lobel, such as the one above, are delightful! (Remember Owl at Home and Frog and Toad? Those are illustrated by Arnold Lobel.)

poetry notebooking ClickbeetleThis is how we use The Random House Book of Poetry for Children. Although we occasionally vary our pattern, usually I read the poem outloud and my daughter narrates it back orally. Once a week she copies a poem onto a notebooking page. It’s a very simple and enjoyable way to incorporate poetry into your homeschool.

We also used The Random House Book of Poetry for Children as the basis for a more in-depth poetry study which is available at Homeschool Share. It includes many figures of speech such as personification, imagery, and onomatopoeia.

Next year when my daughter moves to sixth grade, I will switch to a slightly more mature poetry collection. But I feel sure that The Random House Book of Poetry for Children will continue to be a well-loved volume on our shelf.

Earth Logic Curriculum Review

 Science  2 Responses »
Nov 252009
 

Our Dynamic Earth CurriculumFinding a good science curriculum for middle schoolers can be a challenge, and Makita has created another option for homeschoolers. Makita is a former public school science teacher, and has quite a resume, so she knows how to write effective lessons with creative experiments. Her Science Logic curriculum is a collection of secular lessons and activities for middle school students. There are three themes — Life Logic, Earth Logic, and Physics Logic. Eva gave me a free ebook copy of Our Dynamic Earth (part of the Earth Logic theme) to review.

Our Dynamic Earth is a ten week course, with two lessons for each week. It appears to be a very flexible program; there is no daily schedule or checklist. Instead, there are lesson plans and hands-on activities to demonstrate the science being learned. Each lesson begins with objectives, a list of needed materials, and an overview. Then Makita jumps right in with the science. You’ll find lots of scientific vocabulary and diagrams in the lessons. Then there is some type of activity. These vary greatly from complex backyard projects to kitchen table experiments to paper models. Some of the activities require specialized items, and Eva gives suggestions for where to find them.

Most lessons have additional websites to explore for further information. Some lessons have a list of good living books to read and extension activities. Other lessons have diagrams to label, a webquest, or flow charts. Each lesson is quite different from the other. Eva has done a good job of tailoring the activities to the information rather than following an arbitrary pattern.

As a secular curriculum, Our Dynamic Earth is based on evolutionary science.  There are two entire lessons devoted to this teaching – “Earth’s Beginnings – Timeline of the Earth” and “The Fossil Record.”  And of course, the evolutionary terminology and assumptions are evident throughout the curriculum.

Who will like this curriculum:

  1. Secular homeschoolers
  2. Hands-on homeschoolers who crave complex experiments and demonstrations
  3. People with a backyard (at least two projects require a large open space outdoors) and access to specialized materials (ammonium dichromate, ammonium nitrate, zinc dust, sand samples, rock samples, for example)
  4. People who enjoy variety
  5. People who want the facts laid out quickly and clearly so they can quickly move on to the fun experiments and their own explorations (versus living books or textbook approaches)

Each course comes in an ebook format for $14 and two different print formats for $17 and $20. Visit the Science Logic site for more details. I’m sure Makita will be happy to answer any questions you have.

What’s the Big Deal? Book Review

 Science  4 Responses »
Nov 112009
 

what's the big deal Why God Cares about SexFast Facts

  • Complete Title –What’s the Big Deal? Why God Cares About Sex, Book 3 in the God’s Design for Sex series
  • Authors –Stan and Brenna Jones
  • Publisher –Navpress

Although I was really pleased with my purchase of It’s So Amazing, since it is a secular book, it didn’t give the whole picture of what I wanted to teach my daughter about human sexuality.  (Read my review of It’s So Amazing here.) To supplement it with a Christian perspective, I also bought Almost 12 by Kenneth N. Taylor and What’s the Big Deal? By Stan and Brenna Jones.

I felt that Almost 12 was dry and made sexuality seem almost boring!  It was too scientific and too preachy for my taste. It felt as if an old maid, retired biology teacher was teaching a Sunday school class to a group of middle schoolers.  There was no sense of wonder or feeling.

But I was delighted to find What’s the Big Deal much more contemporary and far less technical. Instead of handing it over to my daughter, I read it outloud to her so we could discuss each chapter.

The book is laid out like a dialogue among a dad, a mom, and two children – Sam and Amy. The kids ask really good questions, and the parents answer them, thoroughly and with Biblical truth.
Here are a few questions from the book:

  • Why do people talk and joke so much about sex?
  • Do people have sex when they aren’t trying to have a baby?
  • What if all your friends are doing it?
  • How come girls start liking boys so much when they are teenagers?
  • What do they mean when they call a person gay?
  • Is HIV the only disease you can get from sex?
  • If God will forgive us, does it really matter if we break His rules?

See? There are some deep topics. When you read this book, you’ll be speaking some sentences that really need to be said but are rather hard to get express. Having the book helps you verbalize those realities! The entire book is written from a Christian worldview, so it constantly refers to God’s love and God’s commands.

Another beautiful thing in this book is the emphasis on clear communication among family members. I love how the whole structure of the book is parents talking with their children. We all want our children to feel free to discuss sex with us, but to be honest, it can be very uncomfortable for them and for us. This book really helped me say things that needed to be said but under the “cover” of a book. And once the things were out in the open, it didn’t feel so awkward to discuss them anymore. So really this book is as much for parents as it is for their children. That theme of family dialogue is reinforced with the black and white photographs in the book featuring a family talking at the dining room table or on the sofa.

As I did with It’s So Amazing, I didn’t omit anything in reading this, but I did stop and discuss some areas I felt the authors didn’t address adequately.  Because of the nature of the topic, you don’t want to have to edit on the fly. Be sure to pre-read the book and identify any trouble spots. Decide how you’ll handle them before reading. This book is designed for ages 8-11, but it’s almost impossible to assign an age range to this kind of topic. You just have to see for yourself. I was thrilled that it was just right for my ten year old daughter.

There are no illustrations or diagrams in What’s the Big Deal. It’s completely text. That’s why I feel that It’s So Amazing and  What’s the Big Deal are perfect complements to each other. One is visual and funny. The other is text based and Biblical.

It’s So Amazing! Book Review

 Science  5 Responses »
Oct 282009
 

It's so amazing!Fast Facts

It was time! The questions were coming, and I was totally unprepared. I had not even one book that explained the “facts of life.” Does every parent think that this time comes far sooner than expected? I sure did!

I did my best to research online and made some book selections from Amazon. A couple of weeks later, I was armed with some top notch books to answer my daughter’s questions about human reproduction. I’ll be reviewing two of the best ones here at The Curriculum Choice.

I am a fan of It’s So Amazing! I’m so glad I bought it despite some of the negative reviews at Amazon. The comic book format is lighthearted and inviting and perfect for my highly visual learner. There’s no scary feeling; instead the emphasis is on the wonder of relationships, conception, and new life.  Sexuality is approached from the very age appropriate question, “Where do babies come from?”

Colorful drawings illustrate the book and provide factual diagrams of body parts with quite a dose of humor. For example, the sperm talk as they rush towards the waiting egg. I really like the lively tone. It helped to relieve some of the tension inherent in this delicate topic.

Harris wrote this book to reach children ages seven and up.  I handed this to my ten year old daughter to read on her own. At age seven, she would not have been ready for this book, but now at ten, it’s just right. Of course, each family situation is different, so closely preview the book before handing it over to your child. You may find it’s appropriate for your eight year old, or you may feel your ten year old is not yet ready for it. I would place it in the tween category, for children who are beginning to go through puberty and are starting to ask more questions.

bird and beeThe narrators are two mascots – a bird who is fascinated by the topic and a bee who is uncomfortably embarrassed about it. I really appreciate this honest portrayal of how a discussion of sex can make people feel. It can be uncomfortable! And laughing at the bee is a way to laugh at ourselves.

The book has a secular, “value free” perspective.  That is, there are no judgments made about a behavior being right or wrong. Things are simply stated as “some people do this; some people don’t.” The value of this kind of book is that there is plenty of room for the parent to offer the family’s value system, sharing truth that isn’t discussed in the book. I didn’t feel anything in the book was offensive to my own Christian faith, so there was nothing I edited from the book. But I did add a lot as far as Biblical perspective.  (In two weeks, I’ll review another book that I paired with It’s So Amazing, specifically to add a Christian worldview to our discussion.)

This lively book is written with a sense of humor but also with correct vocabulary. More colloquial terms (pee or poop, for example) are sometimes used to clarify meanings, but there is no profanity or vulgar talk. If you think human reproduction is not something to laugh about, you won’t enjoy this book. You’ll find it silly or possibly even irreverent. But I enjoyed the upbeat tone and colorful, accurate illustrations. I felt it gives just enough detail without being overwhelming for tweens. Be sure to click on some of the links in the Fast Facts section to see some page views.

Possible trouble spots in this book –

  1. What’s Love section includes a simple explanation of heterosexual and homosexual (“straight,”  “gay,” and “lesbian” are also used). These two lifestyles are stated objectively without condoning or condemning.
  2. Talking About It is a section on HIV and AIDS.
  3. Keeping Safe discusses sexual abuse– “okay touches and not okay touches” and includes a paragraph on masturbation.

Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH)

 High School  5 Responses »
Oct 142009
 
sprite reading OOH

Sprite reading the OOH

The Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH) is a publication of the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.  Are you wondering how in the world a boring statistical book made it onto a homeschool review site? Keep reading.

The OOH is not boring, and it’s very helpful for middle school and high school homeschool students and their parents. My daughter is only ten but I’ve already bought a copy (from Amazon for $10) for our home library. Actually, you can access the OOH without spending a dime. For younger children, visit this version.

The primary use of the OOH is to guide students as they consider future career paths. It’s called an outlook because the BLS projects which jobs will be in greater or lesser demand in the next ten years.  But besides looking at employment growth, the OOH is an incomparable reference on careers.

What other volume could answer all of these questions:

  • How much education do I need to be a court reporter?
  • Where do most psychologists work?
  • Does a loan officer need a license or certificate?
  • What job opportunities are available to chemists?
  • Can you learn to be a computer software engineer solely through on the job training?
  • Where can I write for more information about being an aircraft mechanic?
  • What exactly does a mathematician do?
  • Will the next ten years see an increase in the need for building inspectors?
  • How many hours a week does a power plant operator typically work?
  • What’s the average salary of a graphic designer?

researching RN job

The OOH can answer these types of questions because it’s amazingly comprehensive. And thankfully, the 890 page book has a detailed index to make research easier.

So the burning question is really how can the OOH be used in homeschool?

1.  A Reference About Jobs

OOHTeens and tweens will enjoy browsing the OOH to learn about potential job fields. I promise you that your child will find jobs he didn’t even know existed!  Jobs are organized by type, and each job features a list of related occupations. This is really helpful for the child who is interested in a general field but knows little about the specific jobs within that field. There’s more to education than being a school teacher and more to medicine that being a doctor or nurse. The OOH will show all the facets of a field.

Some of your child’s more romantic notions of a particular job may be dashed as she reads about the long years of education or long working hours. But that realism is needed when preparing for a future career.

2.  Research Projects

researching and taking notesBecause of the depth of information available, the OOH can serve as the basis of a challenging research project. A student will have to read carefully to identify key facts and then summarize them in her own words. (Or if your child is like mine, she simply enjoys browsing the OOH and making notes just for fun!)

Look at this lesson for a printable notetaking page (DOC) especially for the OOH.

3.  A Guide for Mom

If your child is leaning towards a specific field, you can use the OOH to learn which academic subjects are emphasized in training for that career. Then  you can design your high school curriculum accordingly.

4.  Academic Tie-ins

To expose your child to various careers, consult the OOH as it is relevant.
Here are some examples:

  • You are studying a famous Greek mathematician. Look up what a modern mathematician does.
  • You are studying chemistry. Research a chemist’s job.
  • You just learned about the respiratory system. Find out the differences between a respiratory therapist and a respiratory nurse.
  • You are working on American geography. Read what a cartographer does.

Discover 4 Yourself Inductive Bible Studies for Kids

 Bible  5 Responses »
Sep 302009
 

If you’re looking for a Bible study that your 8-12 year old can do alone, the Discover 4 Yourself Inductive Bible Studies for Kids are  a good choice. Written by Kay Arthur of Precepts Ministries, these studies are solid introductions to forming a lifelong Bible study habit.

discover 4 yourself bible studies
There are many titles in the series covering the gamut of Old Testament and New Testament books, people, and big ideas. My daughter has already completed the God, What’s Your Name? and the Joseph, God’s Superhero titles. She enjoys writing her answers and thoughts in the consumable workbooks.

Because each book has from 25-30 lessons, it generally it is a five to six week course. And each day’s lesson can be completed within 15 minutes. Since the books are not terribly expensive and they cover only a short period of time, they are easy to try out. If you like the format, then you can buy more titles. Although you can see some chronological progression, you don’t have to do them in any particular order. They are each a stand-alone Bible study.

  • How to Study Your Bible for Kids
  • God, What’s Your Name?
  • Genesis 01-02: God’s Amazing Creation
  • Genesis 03-10: Digging up the Past
  • Genesis 11-25: Abraham God’s Brave Explorer
  • Genesis 26-36: Extreme Adventures With God
  • Genesis 37-50: Joseph, God’s Superhero
  • Wrong Way Jonah
  • Daniel 01-06: You’re a Brave Man, Daniel!
  • Daniel 07-12: Fast-Forward to the Future
  • John 01-10: Jesus in the Spotlight
  • John 10-16: Jesus: Awesome Power
  • John 17-21: Jesus: To Eternity and Beyond!
  • James: Boy, Have I Got Problems
  • Revelation 1-7: Bible Prophecy for Kids
  • Revelation 8-22: A Sneak Peek into the Future

Each Bible study has a narrative theme that ties the book together. For example, in the Joseph, God’s Superhero study, the theme was creating a comic book and having it published in New York City. The theme of God, What’s Your Name ? was a secret agent mission. The daily lesson opens with the narrative and leads into the Bible study. My ten year old daughter finds the theme a bit childish and a distraction from the meat of the Bible study. In fact, she says the themes have too many characters that are hard to remember. Despite that criticism, overall she enjoys these Bible studies. Sometimes she just skips the story part and jumps right to the Bible part.

There are a few black and white line illustrations in the books, some related to the theme and others to the Bible stories. The student is meant to write his answers directly in the book. In fact, one of the things I really like about these studies is how it teaches students to study the Bible by marking up Bible passages. For example, in one lesson Genesis 22 was printed in the Observation Worksheets at the back of the book, and the instructions were to mark key words accordingly:

  • The LORD Will Provide – underline in blue
  • Love (draw a red heart around)
  • Obey (circle in orange)
  • Worship (circle in purple)

Once the passage is marked in this way, it’s easier to see the principles in the text and then answer the fill in the blank questions about the passage. These marking assignments are quite common in the Discovery 4 Yourself Bible studies.

discover 4 yourself bible studies puzzle pageSometimes there are puzzles to work such as crosswords, scrambled words, or ciphers. Other times the assignment is to sketch an illustration. Many of the questions are open ended applications to the student’s life, “When have you felt this way?” or “What does God want you to do?”

Despite their being many Bible passages printed in the book, you will still need a New American Standard or New Inductive Study Bible to complete the studies. We tried with other translations and found it most frustrating. So make sure that you’ve got one of those versions before buying a Discover 4 Yourself Bible study. Besides colored pens or pencils, there’s nothing else you need to complete these studies.

Mathematicians are People, Too

 Charlotte Mason, Living books, Mathematics  3 Responses »
Sep 162009
 

There are actually two Mathematicians are People, Too books – a volume one and a volume two. They both have the same format and style and are written by  Luetta Reimer and Wilbert Reimer.

mathematicians are people too 2 volumes

Recently on a forum, someone asked if these books are math books or history books. Well, that’s a great question. They are living books for sure. And because they are living, they are multi-faceted. They are math and history; you can certainly call them math history. But they also are good biographies. And they incorporate science and geography as well. So like any quality living book, they are hard to pin down to one particular label. This is the kind of book a Charlotte Mason educator loves – a book full of ideas to digest.

mathematicians are people too layout

Each book has 15 chapters, and each chapter is a biographical sketch of a mathematician. Where each chapter begins, there is a full page black and white illustration on the left. Those images are great for photocopying onto notebooking pages for your math journal. The mathematicians are arranged chronologically within each book and include men and women from many nations. The chapters don’t try to capture every detail about the mathematician, running from birth to death in a boring list of facts. Instead they focus on one or more key narratives from that person’s life which illustrate his discoveries or his character. A real effort has been made to select humorous, exciting, and inspiring stories. Here is a complete chapter from volume 1 — Pythagoras.

Mathematicians in Volume 1

Thales, Pythagoras, Archimedes, Hypatia, Napier, Galileo, Pascal, Newton, Euler, Lagrange, Germain, Gauss, Galois, Noether, and Ramanujan

Mathematicians in Volume 2

Euclid, Khayyam, Fibonacci, Cardano, Descartes, Fermat, Agnesi, Banneker, Babbage, Somerville, Abel, Lovelace, Kovalevsky, Einstein, and Polya

These are math books with words, not numbers. So math concepts are the focus, not arithmetic functions. Of course, if you want to use Mathematicians are People, Too as a jumping off point for a study of geometry or algebra, for example, you certainly could! In fact, that’s exactly how I see these books. They are engaging narratives that encourage further investigation. As you read, you’ll see lots of tangents you can choose to explore.

mathematicians are people too book and notebookHow can you use these books? Well, if you’re already using a living approach to math, these volumes fit perfectly with a study of math history. If you desire to shift towards a living math approach but aren’t there yet, this book is also a good choice. You could choose any mathematician and read just one chapter. Your children could see that mathematicians really aren’t boring guys and gals! And math is actually much more than multiplying and dividing. Or these books could add a mathematical facet to a history study. Just read the chapters as you reach the time periods in your history lessons. If you need biography genre for literature, these short one chapter stories will serve you well.

For more ideas and lesson plans to go along with these books, visit the Ohio Resource Center volume 1 & volume 2. And for free notebooking pages for volume one, I’ve put together Printables for Mathematicians are People, Too.

Opal Wheeler Composer Biographies & Companion Discs

 Charlotte Mason, Literature, Living books, Music  4 Responses »
Sep 022009
 

The composer biographies written by Opal Wheeler are a great complement to a Charlotte Mason style composer study. I say complement because studying the biography of a composer is not essential to enjoying his music which is the core of a composer study.

wheeler biographies and discs

Composer biographies by Opal Wheeler

Composers in the series include

  • Bach
  • Beethoven
  • Handel
  • Haydn
  • Mozart
  • Schumann
  • Chopin
  • Brahms
  • Foster
  • MacDowell
  • Schubert

The biographies cover both the childhood and adulthood of each composer. In fact, they generally span all the way from birth to death. These books are not a dry list of dates and accomplishments but an entertaining narrative written especially for children. The books were written 1930s and 40s, so the style is a wholesome and quaint. You’ll be relieved to know that there is nothing questionable to edit from the content. However the author sometimes talks to the reader such as, “Aren’t you glad that Father Mozart wrote it all down for all the world to play?” It feels a bit condescending, but not all of the books have this same tone.

wheeler biographies companion discs

companion CDs

You can buy companion discs to go along with the books. (One disc covers two of the composers, so plan your purchases accordingly.) Those are wonderful for two reasons. First, as the book references various pieces or snippets of music, the CD will have an audio file to listen to. No more skipping over the music, wishing you had a way to locate the tune or play it yourself. (Note, these music selections are generally very short. They are usually parts of larger pieces. These CDs will not suffice for all the music you’ll need for a composer study.)

bach coloring pages from wheeler bio

Secondly, the illustrations from the book are in PDF format on the disc so that you can print them as coloring pages or as notebooking graphics. I thought the CDs added a lot of life to the reading of the books and kept the focus on the music which is the goal of a Charlotte Mason styled composer study.

We have used Opal Wheeler biographies and companion discs in our composer studies of Bach, Mozart, and Haydn.

Of the four titles we have, each book has four to five chapters, so it’s easy to read the book in a week’s time. Competent readers could use the books are independent readers too. I estimate them to be written on a fourth grade reading level.

The biographies are published by Zeezok Publishers and can also be found at Rainbow Resource and at Christian Book Distributors.

Daily Paragraph Editing by Evan Moor

 Language Arts  3 Responses »
Aug 192009
 

Why should you give your children regular editing and proofreading exercises as part of their language arts studies?

  1. Editing exercises teach them how read critically for errors. Hopefully, those skills will  carry over into their own writing as they go through the drafting, revising, and editing steps of the writing process.
  2. Editing exercises are the best way to teach grammar and usage – in the context of real writing, versus the forced situation of a textbook activity.
Daily Paragraph Editing

Daily Paragraph Editing (Grade 5) by Evan Moor

In an ideal world, mom would select a literature passage from something her child is studying, make some changes, and have the child find the errors. But few of us have time to do that each day. That’s why I love Daily Paragraph Editing by Evan Moor.

Daily Paragraph Editing is available in printed format or ebook format. (I get mine from CurrClick and download it immediately. Then I print out the pages I need each week.) You also have the option of a less expensive student workbook if you feel confident that you don’t need the answer keys. There is a book for each grade 2-6.

Each book has 36 weeks of lessons, each week with four paragraphs, all centered on a certain theme. The themes vary from academic to daily topics, for example baseball, eating pizza, George Washington Carver, or John Muir.  Each paragraph takes up half of a page, and the suggested corrections are on a separate page. On the student’s portion, there is a hint telling them what type of corrections to especially watch for. But the errors are not limited to that one thing. If you want to know exactly what errors to look for, refer to the Skills Scope and Sequence chart offered in each Daily Paragraph Editing volume. On the fifth day of the week, the student can use the list of weekly writing topics, each of which is a continuation of the weekly theme.

Because you’re doing a short editing practice each day, even these toughest punctuation rules are going to finally sink in through the repetition. And for some reason, students find it more enjoyable to look for capitalization problems in some one else’s work rather than to learn a capitalization lesson. But you can use the editing practice as a springboard to those types of mini lessons.

Suggestions for Using Daily Paragraph Editing

  • Give the child the passage, and have him read it. Reading aloud is preferable, because doing so often helps him catch errors, especially with punctuation, fragments, and run-on sentences.
  • Make sure he understands the passage before making the corrections. Take time to discuss any new terms or ideas.
  • Give him time with a “red pen” and the passage, using standard proofreading marks to indicate his corrections directly onto the passage.  (The book even includes a chart of proofreading marks  at the front of the book.)
  • Check his corrections against the ones on the answer key. I actually go sentence by sentence, making my daughter tell me what correction she made and why. If she doesn’t know why, then we refer to a writer’s handbook for the grammar or usage rule. The book itself includes a short language handbook with rules for writing and editing. This is a great opportunity for a mini grammar lesson.
  • You can record any errors that were missed on the Skills Scope and Sequence chart. As you see patterns emerging, you can stop and do more intensive grammar or mechanics lessons.

Remember that the corrections are not always written in stone. English is flexible, and there are often many ways to correct a problem. So be willing to consider alternative corrections. As long as the passage is free from error, the student has successfully edited it.

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