Home Learning Year by Year

by RUPP, REBECCA

• ISBN13: 9780609805855
• ISBN10: 0609805851
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 2000-11-14
• Publisher: Three Rivers Press

Summary

Finally, homeschoolers have a comprehensive guide to designing a homeschool curriculum, from one of the country's foremost homeschooling experts. , Rebecca Rupp presents a structured plan to ensure that your children will learn what they need to know when they need to know it, from preschool through high school. Based on the traditional pre-K through 12th-grade structure,Home Learning Year by Yearfeatures: The integral subjects to be covered within each grade Standards for knowledge that should be acquired by your child at each level Recommended books to use as texts for every subject Guidelines for the importance of each topic: which knowledge is essential and which is best for more expansive study based on your child's personal interests Suggestions for how to sensitively approach less academic subjects, such as sex education and physical fitness From the Trade Paperback edition.

Author Biography

Rebecca Rupp, Ph.D., has homeschooled her three sons for more than ten years. The author of <b>The Complete Home Learning Sourcebook</b>, <b>Getting Started on Home Learning</b>, and <b>Committed to Memory: How We Remember and Why We Forget</b>, Rupp writes a monthly column for <i>Home Education Magazine</i> and produces and hosts a local homeschool television program. She lives in Shaftsbury, Vermont.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	xiii
The Truth About Curricula---Or, There Is No Such Thing as a First-Grader	1	(6)
Preschool	7	(12)
Early Childhood Resources	8	(11)
Catalogs	8	(1)
Magazines for Parents	9	(1)
Magazines for Preschoolers	10	(1)
Books for Parents	11	(1)
Books and Resources for Kids	12	(2)
Best Reading	14	(5)
Kindergarten	19	(35)
Language Arts	19	(10)
Reading	19	(7)
Writing	26	(2)
Listening and Speaking Skills	28	(1)
Study Skills	29	(1)
Mathematics	29	(7)
Patterns and Classification	31	(1)
Numbers and Number Theory	31	(1)
Operations	32	(1)
Money and Measurement	33	(2)
Geometry	35	(1)
History and Geography	36	(5)
American History	37	(2)
World History	39	(1)
Geography	40	(1)
Science	41	(5)
Physical Science	43	(1)
Life Science	44	(1)
Earth/Space Science	45	(1)
Foreign Language	46	(1)
Art	47	(2)
Music	49	(1)
Health and Physical Education	50	(1)
General Kindergarten Resources	51	(3)
Grade One	54	(53)
Language Arts	54	(13)
Reading	54	(7)
Writing	61	(4)
Listening and Speaking Skills	65	(1)
Study Skills	66	(1)
Mathematics	67	(12)
Number Theory	69	(4)
Operations	73	(2)
Money and Measurement	75	(2)
Geometry	77	(2)
History and Geography	79	(13)
American History: General	81	(3)
American History: Chronological Survey	84	(3)
World History	87	(4)
Geography	91	(1)
Science	92	(8)
Physical Science	93	(2)
Life Science	95	(3)
Earth/Space Science	98	(2)
Foreign Language	100	(1)
Art	101	(2)
Music	103	(2)
Health and Physical Education	105	(2)
Grade Two	107	(39)
Language Arts	107	(8)
Reading	107	(3)
Writing	110	(3)
Listening and speaking Skills	113	(1)
Study Skills	114	(1)
Mathematics	115	(11)
Number Theory	116	(3)
Operations	119	(3)
Money and Measurement	122	(3)
Geometry	125	(1)
History and Geography	126	(8)
American History	127	(4)
World History	131	(2)
Geography	133	(1)
Science	134	(6)
Physical Science	135	(2)
Life Science	137	(2)
Earth Science	139	(1)
Foreign Language	140	(1)
Art	140	(2)
Music	142	(2)
Health and Physical Education	144	(2)
Grade Three	146	(39)
Language Arts	146	(8)
Reading	146	(4)
Writing	150	(2)
Listening and Speaking Skills	152	(1)
Study Skills	153	(1)
Mathematics	154	(8)
Number Theory	156	(3)
Operations	159	(1)
Money and Measurement	160	(1)
Geometry	161	(1)
History and Geography	162	(11)
American History	163	(5)
World History	168	(4)
Geography	172	(1)
Science	173	(7)
Physical Science	174	(1)
Life Science	175	(2)
Earth/Space Science	177	(3)
Foreign Language	180	(1)
Art	180	(2)
Music	182	(1)
Health and Physical Education	183	(2)
Grade Four	185	(30)
Language Arts	185	(6)
Reading	185	(3)
Writing	188	(2)
Listening and Speaking Skills	190	(1)
Study Skills	190	(1)
Mathematics	191	(6)
Number Theory	192	(1)
Probability and Statistics	193	(1)
Fractions and Decimals	193	(1)
Operations	194	(1)
Money and Measurement	195	(1)
Geometry	196	(1)
History and Geography	197	(9)
American History	198	(3)
World History	201	(3)
Geography	204	(2)
Science	206	(4)
Physical Science	206	(2)
Life Science	208	(1)
Earth Science	209	(1)
Foreign Language	210	(1)
Art	210	(2)
Music	212	(1)
Health and Physical Education	213	(2)
Grade Five	215	(31)
Language Arts	215	(6)
Literature	215	(3)
Writing	218	(2)
Listening and Speaking Skills	220	(1)
Study Skills	220	(1)
Mathematics	221	(7)
Number Theory	223	(1)
Probability and Statistics	224	(1)
Fractions and Decimals	225	(1)
Operations	225	(1)
Money and Measurement	226	(1)
Geometry	227	(1)
History and Geography	228	(7)
American History	229	(2)
World History	231	(3)
Geography	234	(1)
Science	235	(7)
Physical Science	235	(3)
Life Science	238	(2)
Earth/Space Science	240	(2)
Foreign Language	242	(1)
Art	242	(1)
Music	243	(1)
Health and Physical Education	244	(2)
Grade Six	246	(27)
Language Arts	246	(6)
Literature	246	(3)
Writing	249	(2)
Listening and Speaking Skills	251	(1)
Study Skills	252	(1)
Mathematics	252	(7)
Number Theory	254	(1)
Ratio and Percent	255	(1)
Fractions and Decimals	256	(1)
Operations	256	(1)
Measurement	257	(1)
Probability and Statistics	257	(1)
Geometry	258	(1)
Prealgebra	259	(1)
History and Geography	259	(5)
American History	259	(2)
World History	261	(2)
Geography	263	(1)
Science	264	(4)
Physical Science	264	(2)
Life Science	266	(1)
Earth/Space Science	267	(1)
Foreign Language	268	(1)
Art	268	(1)
Music	269	(3)
Health and Physical Education	272	(1)
Grade Seven	273	(24)
Language Arts	273	(5)
Literature	273	(2)
Writing	275	(2)
Listening and Speaking Skills	277	(1)
Study Skills	277	(1)
Mathematics	278	(6)
Number Theory	280	(1)
Ratio and Percent/Fractions and Decimals	280	(1)
Operations	281	(1)
Measurements	281	(1)
Probability and Statistics	282	(1)
Geometry	282	(1)
Prealgebra	283	(1)
History	284	(6)
American History	284	(2)
World History	286	(3)
Geography	289	(1)
Science	290	(3)
Physical Science	291	(1)
Life Science	291	(1)
Earth/Space Science	292	(1)
Foreign Language	293	(1)
Art	293	(1)
Music	294	(2)
Health and Physical Education	296	(1)
Grade Eight	297	(23)
Language Arts	297	(4)
Literature	297	(2)
Writing	299	(1)
Listening and Speaking Skills	300	(1)
Study Skills	301	(1)
Mathematics	301	(3)
History	304	(3)
American History	304	(1)
World History	305	(1)
Geography	306	(1)
Science	307	(4)
Physical Science	308	(3)
Foreign Language	311	(1)
Art	311	(1)
Music	312	(2)
Health and Physical Education	314	(1)
High School: An Overview	315	(5)
Grade Nine	320	(21)
Language Arts	320	(5)
Literature	320	(3)
Writing	323	(1)
Listening and Speaking Skills	324	(1)
Study Skills	325	(1)
Mathematics	325	(5)
History and Geography	330	(3)
Science	333	(4)
Earth/Space Science	334	(3)
Foreign Language	337	(1)
Art	338	(1)
Music	339	(1)
Health and Physical Education	340	(1)
Grade Ten	341	(17)
Language Arts	341	(4)
Literature	341	(2)
Writing	343	(1)
Listening and Speaking Skills	344	(1)
Study Skills	345	(1)
Mathematics	345	(4)
History and Geography	349	(3)
Science	352	(3)
Biology	352	(3)
Foreign Language	355	(1)
Art	355	(1)
Music	356	(1)
Health and Physical Education	357	(1)
Grade Eleven	358	(16)
Language Arts	358	(4)
Literature	358	(2)
Writing	360	(1)
Listening and Speaking Skills	361	(1)
Study Skills	361	(1)
Mathematics	362	(2)
History and Geography	364	(4)
Science	368	(3)
Chemistry	368	(3)
Foreign Language	371	(1)
Art	371	(1)
Music	372	(1)
Health and Physical Education	373	(1)
Grade Twelve	374	(15)
Language Arts	375	(3)
Literature	375	(2)
Writing	377	(1)
Listening and Speaking Skills	377	(1)
Study Skills	378	(1)
Mathematics	378	(2)
History and Geography	380	(3)
Science	383	(3)
Physics	383	(3)
Foreign Language	386	(1)
Art	386	(1)
Music	387	(1)
Health and Physical Education	388	(1)
Appendix A: Technology	389	(4)
Appendix B: Textbooks and Resources	393	(4)
Appendix C: Lesson Plans	397	(3)
Appendix D: Book Lists	400	(3)
Appendix E: Distance Learning	403	(6)
Index	409

Excerpts

"Don't panic.
"-- Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Kids, as any parent knows, are determinedly individual. Interests, learning styles, attention spans, growth rates, developmental progress, and food preferences vary wildly from child to child. One learns to read at five, another at seven, a third at ten. One is a natural athlete; another falls flat while walking across a room. One is fascinated by rockets, a second by insects, a third by Greek mythology. One thinks math is cool; another loathes the very sight of a number. So where do standardized curricula fit in here? What course of study can possibly fit all?

The answer is a resounding none. There is no effective one-size-fits-all mode of education. The public school system, which has to cope with some fifty million school-age children annually, does the best it can to meet the needs of the many, targeting its content and goals at a hypothetical average child. On a large scale, it's unfeasible, inefficient, and downright impossible to create curricula tailored to meet the needs of fifty million idiosyncratic individuals. In large-scale education, therefore, kids have to adapt to the decreed norm.

One of the primary advantages of homeschooling is the ability to bypass the decreed norm. Homeschoolers can design their own curricula, assembling resources and using approaches that best suit their own children's needs. Your child is enthralled by marine biology? Invent a curriculum that builds upon this interest. Read books, fiction and nonfiction, about the oceans; play ocean-related games; collect seashells; conduct experiments on water pressure, temperature, and salinity; visit an aquarium; adopt a whale. Your child is fascinated by ancient Egypt? Read ancient Egyptian myths; build a model pyramid; experiment with hieroglyphics; locate Egypt on the map; visit a museum to view ancient Egyptian artifacts. Find out how to make a mummy; read a biography of archaeologist Howard Carter; learn about the Rosetta stone.

When it comes to curricula, kids should always come first. It's not what teachers teach that's important; it's what children learn--and what children learn best is what interests them, what they want and need to know. This, in a nutshell, is the prime source of discord among teachers, children, and standardized curricula. The curriculum says Johnny should be studying long division; Johnny doesn't want to. Now what?

Homeschoolers, given this situation, have a wide range of options. No curriculum is written in stone. Perhaps an alternative math program will do the trick--or math games and manipulatives rather than workbooks; a computer software program; or real-world math exercises involving cooking, carpentry, and other hands-on projects. Perhaps the best course is to drop math altogether for the time being and concentrate on something that sparks Johnny's interest--say, space travel, rock collecting, or raising tropical fish--all of which, willy-nilly, eventually involve math. Our long experience in homeschooling has shown, time and again, that an intense interest in anything inevitably leads everywhere.

On the other hand, almost all homeschoolers, at some point or another, run into the puzzling question of sequence. Where do we start? How do we assure that our kids have an adequate grounding in the basics? What are the basics? What comes first? What should we tackle next? While public school curricula vary somewhat from state to state, all have similarities in that they attempt to present an appropriate developmental sequence of skills. Kids learn the letters of the alphabet first, then letter sounds, then the art of blending letter sounds into whole words. Addition and subtraction precede multiplication and division; studies of holidays and famous people prepare beginners for more structured studies of world and American history. Invented spelling precedes conventional spelling and grammar; basic algebra is a prerequisite for chemistry and physics.

Many states require that homeschoolers keep step with the public school curricula and demand proof--in the form of written assessments or tests--to ensure that they are indeed doing so. Colleges, though increasingly enthusiastic about accepting homeschooled students, often require a specific battery of high school background courses. For all of these reasons, it's to homeschoolers' advantage to be familiar with the general course of the standardized educational curriculum. The basic curriculum, however, should be used as a reference point and a guideline rather than a set of predetermined assignments. In many cases, there are equivalents and alternatives to the courses described here; and parents should adjust and adapt to best meet the needs of their own children.

Finally, no parent should view the standardized curriculum as cause for worry. Children vary, and homeschoolers inevitably will find that their more-or-less first-grader isn't quite standard. He or she may be reading at an advanced level but lagging in such essentials as arithmetic, time-telling, and the competent tying of shoes. Or, alternatively, he or she may have whizzed confidently ahead in math but be struggling with the awful process of grouping letters into words. As needed, move forward or back in the curriculum for lists of concepts and suggestions. The standardized curriculum can indicate academic areas in which kids need extra help and support--or creative substitutes and alternatives, or stress-reducing periods of being left alone. Variation, though, is normal, and our many individual differences are what make the world the interesting place it is. Kids are natural learners, and each will find his or her own best way to learn. There are many roads to an educational Rome.

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Excerpted from Home Learning Year by Year: How to Design a Homeschool Curriculum from Preschool Through High School by Rebecca Rupp
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.