Week One
Wow!! We made it through week 1! Thanks to all of you for your support & prayers. It means to much!
The kids were such troopers today. I really enjoyed them! I hope their first day was a positive experience.
Okay - onto the recap of the day ( let me know if you have any questions)..... (PLEASE SEE THE GUIDE FOR HOMEWORK DUE FOR WEEK 2)
Logic/Math
The kids were such troopers today. I really enjoyed them! I hope their first day was a positive experience.
Okay - onto the recap of the day ( let me know if you have any questions)..... (PLEASE SEE THE GUIDE FOR HOMEWORK DUE FOR WEEK 2)
Logic/Math
Each week in math, we will do four things:
1)Practice mental math skills with 10 mental math problems
2) Review previously learned math vocabulary terms
3) Introduce new math vocabulary terms
4) Work through each example problem brought to class by your students
As time permits, we will also play assorted math review games.
This week, as I handed out our first list of math terms, together with their correct definitions, I told the students that math has its very own "language." Just as we must memorize our Latin vocabulary words in order to be able to translate Latin, we must also know the language of math in order to translate and solve math problems. We discussed the importance of knowing math terms. I cannot stress this enough! We will be using proper math terminology when we discuss the problems that your students bring in, so they need to have a solid understanding of the vocabulary words. If you
don't know the terms, you won't know what to do with the numbers (i.e.
if you don't know what the term "sum" means, you won't know to add
numbers together when asked to find the sum). You
will decide at home if you'll make flashcards or write in a "math
dictionary" (spiral notebook) & how often you review or drill math
terms. I will let the students know in advance when we will play a game or "quiz" math terms.
In class today we reviewed concepts through defining some math terms. We looked at the difference in expressions & equations and what it means to "evaluate". We worked some problems identifying the math rules and laws that applied to each. Then, we quickly reviewed concepts for factors & divisibility, lines & angles, as well as fractions & percentages. I handed out a "Basic Math Laws"/Properties of Equality" sheet. I would advise putting it in a page protection & then putting in the math section of their binder for quick reference.
Be sure the students bring in the completed lessons you assign to class (even if they are not doing Saxon).
**Students should bring in a problem from their math lesson to share (can be one they struggled with; one they think will stump the class or anything they found interesting & would like to share & explain).
Grammar/Latin
We previewed each book & how they work together. We reviewed nouns & their "jobs". We analyzed sentences in English to identify the nouns & their function in the sentence. Next we observed the same sentences with the English noun replaced with a Latin noun and charted the ending differences.
I explained that Latin is an inflected language meaning the endings tell you what the words do in the sentence. Then I defined what it means to decline a noun. We reviewed the first declension endings - even singing the CC 1st declension song!
We previewed our first lesson's vocabulary and made a vocabulary flash card for reference on how to do the rest. We also spent time setting up our Latin notebook by dividing their binders into different categories for each of the declensions, adjectives, and verb conjugations. This notebook is meant to be a HELP to your students. By compiling the information into an easy-to-access binder, they can add new information as they learn it, and they can continue to "grow" their Latin notebook as they progress through the 6 levels of the Challenge program. Please encourage your students to take good care of their binders and to use their neatest handwriting!
In class today we reviewed concepts through defining some math terms. We looked at the difference in expressions & equations and what it means to "evaluate". We worked some problems identifying the math rules and laws that applied to each. Then, we quickly reviewed concepts for factors & divisibility, lines & angles, as well as fractions & percentages. I handed out a "Basic Math Laws"/Properties of Equality" sheet. I would advise putting it in a page protection & then putting in the math section of their binder for quick reference.
Be sure the students bring in the completed lessons you assign to class (even if they are not doing Saxon).
**Students should bring in a problem from their math lesson to share (can be one they struggled with; one they think will stump the class or anything they found interesting & would like to share & explain).
Grammar/Latin
We previewed each book & how they work together. We reviewed nouns & their "jobs". We analyzed sentences in English to identify the nouns & their function in the sentence. Next we observed the same sentences with the English noun replaced with a Latin noun and charted the ending differences.
I explained that Latin is an inflected language meaning the endings tell you what the words do in the sentence. Then I defined what it means to decline a noun. We reviewed the first declension endings - even singing the CC 1st declension song!
We previewed our first lesson's vocabulary and made a vocabulary flash card for reference on how to do the rest. We also spent time setting up our Latin notebook by dividing their binders into different categories for each of the declensions, adjectives, and verb conjugations. This notebook is meant to be a HELP to your students. By compiling the information into an easy-to-access binder, they can add new information as they learn it, and they can continue to "grow" their Latin notebook as they progress through the 6 levels of the Challenge program. Please encourage your students to take good care of their binders and to use their neatest handwriting!
We also discussed how to make
flashcards for the grammar rules (blue book) by putting the rule into
the form of a question. We made the first grammar rule (#14) flashcard
for a reference on how to do the rest. Vocabulary flashcards should be kept separate from grammar rule flashcards.
I modeled on the white board how to complete exercises 1 & 2 (we did the first one or so in each exercise so they should have that written down).
**We covered a lot of information, so there was some confusion - just remind them that every time they have a new vocab word, they will do 2 things - make a flashcard & then decline (nouns) or conjugate (verbs) that word in their Latin notebook under the appropriate tab. (i.e 1st declension nouns will go under "1st declension tab").
Note: When the guide says "GRAMMAR: Memorize no. 14-33" that means make a flashcard. There is a lot this week (we won't have more new ones until week 4), so they can do them all this week, then start reviewing/drilling or spread them out over the next 2 weeks. The sooner they are able to do them the sooner they can start to review & learn them.
You may want to copy p 241 in the blue book (pronunciation guide) & put in page protector for quick reference.
I modeled on the white board how to complete exercises 1 & 2 (we did the first one or so in each exercise so they should have that written down).
**We covered a lot of information, so there was some confusion - just remind them that every time they have a new vocab word, they will do 2 things - make a flashcard & then decline (nouns) or conjugate (verbs) that word in their Latin notebook under the appropriate tab. (i.e 1st declension nouns will go under "1st declension tab").
Note: When the guide says "GRAMMAR: Memorize no. 14-33" that means make a flashcard. There is a lot this week (we won't have more new ones until week 4), so they can do them all this week, then start reviewing/drilling or spread them out over the next 2 weeks. The sooner they are able to do them the sooner they can start to review & learn them.
You may want to copy p 241 in the blue book (pronunciation guide) & put in page protector for quick reference.
BONUS POINTS: Find one word this week that is derived from a Latin root and bring it to class next week to share.
Suggestions for parents @ home: Drill student on vocabulary & grammar rules. Check daily assignments (or have students check). Continue to have students focus on memorizing endings for declensions - sing the songs & work those charts.
Research
I reviewed our 1st semester topics. & what they will be doing each week. I reviewed how to complete a fused KWO (gave handout that showed example & also handed out blank fused outline form). We discussed that they will gather 2-3 sources, and following the IEW "steps", KWO each source (w/ 5-7 "facts"), then fuse those into 1 outline. They will then draft their paragraph and revise & edit using IEW stylistic techniques (use that SRN & create an interesting & well-written report!). They will also be drawing their topic to the best of their ability (it should be colored). They need to provide the taxonomy & complete a bibliography (APA or MLA format - I emailed this to you). As I mentioned before, I will be doing an evaluation for each presentation.
I introduced our topic Planets and they took notes on what we discussed. This week at home, they are free to choose ANY TOPIC relating to planets/our solar system to present on. Have fun with it!
Suggestions for parents @ home: Help students locate sources from Internet or library. Assist in editing rough draft; listen & provide feedback for oral report (eye contact, etc). & check drawing.
Expo/Comp
Each week in Exposition and Composition, we will be addressing one of the five canons of rhetoric. For our purposes in Challenge A, we will only be learning the first 3 canons: Invention, Arrangement, and Elocution. Each time we read a new book, we will spend three weeks discussing that book in class, applying what we have read to our studies across all 6 strands, and using the book to create new ideas (Invention), arrange our ideas in outline form (Arrangement), and correctly and eloquently convey our ideas in written essay form (Elocution.) Each subsequent book that we read will follow this same 3-week format. This allows for a tremendous amount of predictability in our schedule. Each week, we will also add one new skill to each of the three canons, and we will learn how to apply and execute that skill through classwork at home.
Today was our first Invention lesson and the introduction of an issue,a thesis, and an ANI chart. We began by listing some interesting
characters & their actions from the Lion, the Witch & the
Wardrobe. We chose one character & one thing they did in the book. We
created a "should" question - Should Edmund have followed the White
Witch? Then converted that to our "issue" by adding the word "whether"to the front of our should question - "Whether Edmund should
have followed the White Witch" (not a question). We discussed the ANI
Chart & filled out one in class.
As a reminder, your student may use the ANI chart provided in the LTW student workbook, or you may fold a piece of paper in thirds and create your own. Just be sure that you label each column appropriately: A (Affirmative), N (Negative), and I (Interesting.)
Your students MUST choose a new issue that is interesting to them and separate from the class issue that we chose together. I explained that they will complete
an ANI chart w/ 10 items in each chart & bring back into class next
week.
Suggestions for parents @ home: Check ANI chart for min 10 items in each column.
Debate/Geography
In debate this year, your children will be learning how to draw the ENTIRE world by hand and from memory. After introducing Canada and coming up with a silly sentence for helping them to remember the provinces in order, we spent much of the remainder of class "exploring" Canada through our atlas and our shared experiences. Your students also spent about 30 minutes free-hand drawing Canada. This is a skill they need to continue practicing each and every day at home. I CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH: PLEASE DO NOT allow your child to trace the countries that we are studying straight from the atlas. This may seem counter-intuitive, but I promise it is not. If you allow your child to begin learning how to draw the country by tracing it, then their completed map will be perfect(or very close to perfect.) When you remove the crutch of tracing paper, the quality of their maps will almost certainly go DOWN, because they are now drawing freehand. This is almost universally discouraging to the students and promotes a feeling of "This is too hard!" and "I can't do this!" within themselves. Nothing could be further from the truth! THEY CAN DO THIS!! We want them to see growth and progress in their work and to be encouraged by it. At home this week, they should be drawing at least TWO maps DAILY! As we progress through the year, we will add review maps into the mix, but for now, please have them draw and label Canada TWICE each day. This can be done on scratch paper or in the black bound notebooks that they received during orientation, but they should bring their BEST map to class each week to share with their classmates.
In class, your child also received a composition notebook which will act as their geography dictionary for the year. Each week, they will have 6 geographical terms to define, illustrate, and locate on a map. HOW they find the definitions is up to you as the parent teacher, but all definitions are listed in the appendix of your Challenge A guide,and it is these definitions that we will be referring to in class when we review.
To create a baseline, I also had each student draw the entire wordl from memory. I collected those papers and will keep them until the end of the year. On the last day of
class, after our Blue Book Final Exam, I will give the world maps back so that they can compare their very first drawing with their
final. They will be amazed at the difference!
Here is the silly sentence that we used to practice the Canadian provinces:
Billy and Sally make our queen nervous playing near needles. (which stands for:)
British Columbia
Alberta
Sasketchawan
Manitoba
Ontario
Quebec
Nova Scotia
Prince Edward Island
Newfoundland and Labrador
New Brunswick
This is an impressive video of
Senator Al Franken drawing the US from memory. It' s set to music, so
there's no political agenda! Students might follow his approach to
drawing (where to start and end, and everything in between!)
While the classical model of
learning is reading, writing, and drilling, it's okay from time to time
to use websites to review memory work. Websites such as http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/web_games.htm offer games to help with reviewing geography. Another site is http://www.ilike2learn.com/ilike2learn/CapitalUnitedStates.html
Suggestions for parents @ home: Drill student on states & capitals as well as geography terms. Check daily drawings for accuracy & labeling.
Rhetoric
In seminar, I introduced It Couldn't Just Happen and showed them how to complete the study guide. Each week, please have them bring their bible, their ICJH book, and their study guides. We will be using these as the catylyst to drive our conversations, centering them around the truth of Scripture and the Five Common Topics.
I also began introducing the highlighting system that they need to be using at home as they read their ICJH books. This week, we focused on the color green, which should be used to highlight nouns and names.As we progress through the year, the highlighting in their books will begin to replace the need to complete a study guide.
I also introduced the first 3
catechism cards. While the questions remain the same this year, the answers have been changed slightly. The answers are now direct quotations from ICJH, which should reinforce the information that they read throughout the week. Each week, we will spend time reviewing the catechism questions and introducing the new ones. As you are studying with your child this week, please remember that each of the answers to the catechism questions must be stated WORD FOR WORD. Verbatim.
If you find that your child is flying through the rhetoric work at home, try breaking down their workload in this manner:
DAY ONE: Skim the assigned chapter, reading ONLY the chapter title and section subheadings. Make a flashcard for catechism question #1 and practice repeating it aloud.
DAY TWO: Skim the assigned chapter, looking at the pictures and reading their captions ONLY. Make flashcard for catechism questions #2 and practice repeating it aloud. Review catechism question #1.
DAY THREE: Read the entire chapter, highlighting in green the nouns and names you read. Make a flashcard for catechism question #3, and review questions #1 and #2.
DAY FOUR: Complete the rhetoric study guide and practice all 3catechism questions. Continue to drill the questions throughout the weekend.
Suggestions for parents @ home: Discuss chapter 1 in each book. Check that student is filling out study guide for ICJH. Drill catechism questions (remember they must be able to state word for word).
I pray that you all have a wonderful week of study. I am so proud of all the hard work that you put into our seminars this week. Please contact me if you have any questions!
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