I wanted to thank everyone in advance for their assistance. This site has been tremendously helpful in deciding which curricula to purchase. I think my biggest obstacle to overcome will be how to assess certain types of analytical/critical thinking skills in Language Arts. Spelling, grammar, etc., is pretty straightforward -- no issues there. I'm concerned about reading and writing skills. Is there a curriculum that gives a significant amount of assistance/guidance to the parent educator? Thanks again!!
I'm not sure exactly how to go about answering your question. I find that the Christian Light reading series (and presumably the high school literature as well, but I haven't gotten to use it yet) has exercises that really challenge the students I've used it with. Several have had difficulty because it asks questions that require lots more than the "what color was the boat?" type questions they had been used to in public school. My students who have used it have scored above their grade level in the "thinking skills" part of their achievement tests, even if they were working "a level below". If that's any help to you... ? The series teaches literary analysis stuff I didn't get until high school (of course, that was back when dinosaurs roamed the earth! LOL)
Thanks, Lindina. I will look at CLE. It's easy to assess spelling, grammar. It's either right or wrong. Writing and literature analysis isn't so straightforward. There can be many responses. It's harder to determine of the child has made all of the appropriate inferences, etc. I know what to expect from an adult, but not a fifth grader. Thanks again!
Oh! At fifth grade, we usually just discuss orally. About seventh/eighth, if my curriculum (I've used all of CLE through 8th, some of Abeka, some of BJU, some of R&S that do this) suggests writing assignments to go with the literature (or even essay questions on tests), they usually have some sort of scoring rubric or some suggested answer-parts in the TG. For example: "An adequate answer would include these ideas:...", "An excellent answer might include:...", or "The answer should include some or all of the following thoughts...". Writing that is "just writing" (like for English, not related to a specific reading selection or passage) on "pick a topic" is SO much harder for me to determine quality. I found some good suggestions in a small book called On Teaching Writing which is put out by CLE.
With Sonlight they provide questions to ask about the various books you are reading. With writing it depends on the age but most curriculums do give you some guidance on what you are looking for. We have used Sonlight for grades 1-3 but this year we are going to give IEW a try. While at our hs convention this year I saw Tom Clarke give a great talk on critical thinking. He talked about how you can see critical thinking develop through how the kids are using the material. One of the best ways to promote critical thinking is to just have the kids retell what they have learned or heard in their own words. A great way to do this is to get into the habit of having them tell dh at dinner what their favorite part of (fill in the subject) was that day.
I like The Critical Thinking Company's Reading Detective for language arts: http://www.criticalthinking.com/getProductDetails.do?code=c&id=01507 The student reads an excerpt from a book and then answers a variety of questions about the excerpt. The types of questions cover factual to intuitive; some are multiple choice and others require the student to write out an answer.
mschickie, Shelley, Lindina, Thanks again! I think I should pre-read the books that my son will read. That way I can map out some of the appropriate responses. I think retelling will be useful. I was going to order some of the critical thinking books now. My kids swim year-round, and they need something to keep them busy during swim meets. I was looking at the Red Herring Mysteries and some of the other stuff. Thanks for the referral to IEW. I saw the website previously, but I didn't drill down too far. I've been looking at a lot of stuff. I'll look at it in more detail today. Has anyone used Writing A-Z?
For what you are talking about our boys (10 & 12 years old ) did Christian Light for reading it was excellent. The stories were very interesting for boys. The questions they asked really made the boys think! For writing and grammar we have been using Essentials in Writing. The boys love it! It has really worked out well for them.
I found this, not sure if this is what you are trying to figure out. OK.. I found a rubric for elementary writing, but I am not yet allowed to post links. I just googled 5th grade writing rubric and there is one under the teachervision listing.
@Cally and WildOnesMama, Thanks. I will check out CLE. I feel competent in most areas. Literary analysis and writing scare me. I will be homeschooling under a charter school. I will be expected to adhere to state standards. I'm fine with that because it gives me a structure and goals. I'm okay with comprehension, spelling, etc. My kid's an awesome reader with great comprehension and spelling skills. I think I need a guide with examples of what to expect for a fifth-grader for stuff like: Reading with "appropriate pacing, intonation, and expression." "Discern main ideas and concepts presented in texts, identifying and assessing evidence that supports those ideas." "Draw inferences, conclusions, or generalizations about text and support them with textual evidence and prior knowledge." There's more, but those are good examples. These things aren't like spelling or grammar, where I can just look at the completed material and know if it's right or wrong. This requires some judgement on my part, and I have no idea how to judge a fifth-grader. The 6 traits rubric is useful but only if I am clear on what my fifth-grader should be telling me. Thanks, though. I appreciate all of the feedback. I think I need a teacher's manual that gives examples, if there is such a thing. I will see of the CLE offers that. I glanced at their LA material, and I like that they have a reference chart. I also glanced at samples of the books, and I like the way that they're structured. A little bit of everything in each workbook. I would probably add a bit of spelling and vocabulary (greek and latin roots), and cursive. My kid really likes spelling and cursive. It's kind of sad that cursive ends around fifth grade Thanks for all of the help. And, it really helps to know what works. There's just so much material out there, and it makes a difference in evaluating that material.
I understand your concerns but I think you will find that these things are alot easier to judge when you are one on one with a student. With the books he is reading if you sit and discuss what is going on and just ask questions like what do you think will happen next, or how do you think so and so feels...you can easily tell if they are thinking about it. As the year goes on you will see him getting better and better at it. That is all you really need to see, judge him against himself not some other generic 5th grader. If you do not worry about how he measures up against others and you just challenge him to give you maybe a little more information than a month ago he will develop just fine and you will not stress yourself out. If you are looking for something to lay out these types of questions for you then you might want to check out some literature guides like Progeny Press or Novel Units. The guides ask these types of questions and provide answers for the teacher so you can see if they are going in the right direction or maybe they have another creative idea (which can be a good thing too)
CLE also carries Pentime handwriting instruction books that carry on through 8th grade. It's very similar in style to what's taught in the CLE LA (like traditional Zaner-Bloser with the curls and loops). The exercises are interesting - one page of practice and one page of copywork. Some things are easier than they sound. "Appropriate intonation and expression" -- if he reads without stumbling most of the time, and his voice rises and falls somewhat according to the meaning of the sentence, it's appropriate. "Discerns main ideas" and "identifies evidence that supports those ideas" - He can tell you the main ideas and details. He can tell you (for example) how the character was feeling about the outcome of something because of how he looked, how he walked, what he did after it, what he was thinking. "Draws inferences, or generalizations" -- He knows it was winter because somebody said it was cold, they were wearing coats, and the sky was grey (looked like snow), or that it was summer because they were harvesting corn, or whatever's appropriate to the story. He can tell how the author felt about this event or that character by what was said about them. Describing someone as a "rugged individualist of a day gone by" would be a lot different that describing him as a "stubborn old man". He can tell you, "Well, it didn't really say, but you can tell... because of ..." Don't forget that those are end-of-year goals, and whatever he doesn't do now, you'll teach him to do along the way. And don't kid yourself -- not all the public school kids are going to do ALL these things just the way it sounds like, and they'll still pass the grade.
You might try making a list of books you would like them to read and check to see if there is a study guide available for it. Let them help you work on the list to choose books what would interest them. That is what I will be doing for my 8th grader next year. We are working on the book list now.
Thanks again, everyone! I think that I've got the literature and writing material selected. I called Rainbow Resource, and they suggested that I get the Write Source because both Write Source and Write Shop have a lot of teacher support. The Write Shop is ungraded, and the Write Source is graded. I don't know if I'll continue homeschooling my kid after one year, so I think I should go with the graded. I will buy the unit studies from Progeny Press and Memoria Press. Each publisher has some great selections for a fifth grade boy. I can see why the purchase of a multi-subject curriculum is so attractive. It's a lot of work trying to assemble an entire curriculum package. I'm close to finishing. I will be posting my selections for everyone's review (probably next week). Again, I want to thank you all for your advice. I'm starting to feel a little more confident.
