Books vs. Movies

 Update: The Composition class is reading The Bridge to Teribithia and watching both the Disney version and the 1985 version.  I just did a marathon of reading and watching Teribithia, which I had been pronouncing incorrectly!  I think it will appeal to both boys and girls.  I felt that the 1985 film version better portrayed the book; however, the Disney movie has broader appeal and is more engaging.  We’re going to look at several questions and templates to assemble the lesson for next year’s class.

My Co-op Composition class is working on lessons for next year.  We had another idea; let’s read a book and watch the movie adaptation, in order to write a comparison.  Here are some combinations, such as Little Women or Matilda.  On this list is The Princess Bride, which my kids this year want to tackle for the next assignment.  We looked at this template; the kids will write the rubric on Tuesday.  Here is another template; this one also has students write why they preferred the book or the movie.  Lastly, here are discussion questions for a book-movie comparison.  This is going to be fun!

Write an ABC book!

 My Composition class is working on lessons for next year’s class.  Several of the kids in next year’s class are reluctant writers.  Today, we came up with the idea of writing a children’s book.  Later we refined the idea to an ABC book.  Here are a few ideas.  Rhyming is optional.  We think reluctant writers would like this project because it can be tailored to individual interests.  A teen might write an ABC book about golf and fishing.  Another might select horse breeds or tack.  Kids could use a template and illustrate their book.  If the child adds pictures from the internet, it is a good opportunity to show how to insert the link to credit the source for the image.  The teens in class were excited by the idea.  I hope next year’s group is equally enthused.

College Recommendations

 In another life, I taught at both private and public schools.  I wrote many, many recommendation letters.  Below is a generic recommendation letter.  When I write recommendations, I try to add details about the teen.  Does she love to swim?  Is his dream to be a pilot?   Perhaps he acts in the local theatre or shadows a local vet.  My husband, Rob, hadn’t written many recommendation letters before.  I gave him a template to use.  Here is the template he used.  This template is brief, but can help to organize your thoughts.   Scroll down the site for sample letters.  College counselors read hundreds of recommendation letters.  The more you can personalize your letter, the more it will stand out to the admissions representative reading it.

Picture Prompt Writing

 The teens are writing Formation papers.  So for the next three classes, they are helping me write lessons for next year’s class.  Here is one Picture Prompt Lesson.  We decided to have the kids answer who, what, when, where, why before reading the news article.  We decided the picture should have substance, something news worthy or controversial.  Here is the link for the news article pictured below.

We talked about the police officer trying to remove the activist’s hand glued to the asphalt. We thought it would be fun to write the scene from his perspective.   What does gluing your hand to the street accomplish?  Do the photos influence the way we perceive the news?  Our class has animated discussions before every writing exercise.  You and your family should, too!

Apps

 I gave up Social Media for Lent.  No more scrolling Instagram for knitting ideas until after Easter.  Consequently, I have more time to focus on my classes and write for my blogs.  (Here is my science blog.).  In another life, the school where I taught hosted Tech Week, which I attended several times.  Tech Week allowed me to try Weebly.  What I learned was that I wanted one login and a way to manage loads of apps.  That’s one reason Google products or apps are so popular.  You have one login to access a suite of apps.

One Tech Week was devoted to Google.  The main Google apps I use regularly are Meet, Calendar, Drive, Gmail, Docs, Sheets, and Classroom.  (One popular app, Jamboard is being discontinued.  Booo!!!  Jamboard is a virtual whiteboard.  I’m in the process of testing other free whiteboard apps to use when I have kids meet for class remotely.)  Here is a training website to help you learn about different Google apps.

What are some useful apps for English or Composition?  Try Grammarly, an AI writing tool.  One of my prior students is dyslexic.  She wrote all of her papers for British Literature in the Grammarly app.  Another useful app is Prezi for presentations along with  Google Slides.  (Watch that your teen invests time in developing content for her presentation rather than creating a colorful template.).   

I taught at both private and public schools.  Schools use Learning Management Systems or LMS.  Schools frequently change LMS.  I’ve used several.  LMS, like these usually organize grades and allow teacher to post assignments.  Many schools used Google Classroom; now, many districts are switching to Canva.  Because both private and public schools switch LMS systems often, I used to save all my docs on external hard drives.  I made that a practice after the school where I taught switched LMS during the first month of school.

I use Google Classroom because it’s free and easy to navigate.  I can upload documents from Google Drive to Google Classroom.  I can archive classes from prior years into Drive.  Homeschoolers should consider using Classroom to help organize material for a Digital portfolio at the end of the school year. I use several Google apps because they are free, even if some of them are clunky.  I was tired of paying hundreds of dollars for Microsoft products.  Select apps which reduce your workload.   Regardless of the app, back up your documents to use when the system folds.

I’m testing in an unusual way.

 I’m trying something different this year in my Genetics unit.  Each student is doing a different test according to his or her interests: poultry, horses, or humans.  Each student has different problems.  I asked the teens to give all of us some background on equine genetic factors, or topics such as Achrondoplastic dwarfism.  I’ve advised homeschool families to let their children’s interests help shape their education.  Now, I need to apply my own advise.

 This year, I’ve been tailoring my assignments in Composition to each student.  Let me tell you about the Formation paper.  One teen is discerning to the priesthood.  He’s writing a paper comparing different college programs which help prepare men who are discerning to the priesthood.  He’s evaluating different programs such as minor seminary or pre-theologate programs at colleges.  Another teen is researching studies conducted about college students who have kept their faith, while over 70% of college students lose their faith.  One teen, a senior, is writing about factors to consider when choosing a college, in terms of formation.  Lastly, a teen who is ambivalent about college is writing about life-long formation in faith: selecting the right friend group, going to Mass, receiving the Sacraments, etc.  We work together to edit papers and have had engaging discussions.  But each student is writing about formation differently.  I’m excited for every class.  I don’t know how I could use this approach with a large class.  But, this course has been so enriching, I’m excited to try!

Media Literacy Update

 Wow!  My Composition class is small this year.  The kids are in the middle of a paper on formation of the faith.  The teens are enthusiastic about Media Literacy, but not about another paper.  We had a great discussion about bias in the media and the difficulty of finding reliable news sites.  We decided to work on a series of lessons for next year’s class.  My plan is to teach a group of younger kids Composition next year.  Next year’s class will need focused lessons.  That’s the advantage of homeschooling—even in a Co-op setting.  We know the kids!  We are aware of their learning styles or learning differences. I plan to have this year’s class help with Picture Prompts and Writing Prompts.  We’ll work on lessons in class to give the teens time to revise their Formation papers.  

Geography Lesson

 Do you have an old globe or atlas?  Perhaps, your parents have an old globe at their home.  Look up the names of countries.  For example Burma is Myanmar.  Zimbabwe was Rhodesia at one time.  Bombay, India is now Mumbai.  Research the time period and circumstances which led to the change.  What were the geopolitics involved?  Which countries were part of the former Soviet Union?  The older the globe or atlas, the livelier the lesson.  Here is a lesson about the standardization of different countries’ names.

Media Literacy: Pauline Media

 The Daughters of St. Paul specialize in media.  This order has many, many Catholic Bookstores, including one just outside the Vatican.  They have produced Our Media World, a guide for K-8 students to teach our faith and media.  Scroll down to see the critical thinking questions, such as ‘What is this program trying to tell me? Why? or ‘What information is missing and why?’

By all means, look at Pauline Media Center website.  (Keep in mind, our Co-op is Roman Catholic.)  You may want to read Inter mirifica, written in 1963.  Media, like Bioethics, is a huge topic.  My goal is to whet my teens’ appetite to learn more and to seek to uncover bias in the media.  We’ll start with a few good questions.

Media Literacy

 I ran across a news article about bias in an media educational program.  This year, I’m crafting the Composition class.  Media Education is an excellent unit.  When my son was in high school, he wrote his senior thesis on bias in the print media.  His English teachers told him the topic was too narrow; he should examine bias in media.  Josh tried to explain that bias was so rampant, he had to limit his topic to the print media.  

As many of us know, media bias is a significant topic.  I’m going to start by showing my kids several media educational units to evaluate.  Common Sense Media has this unit about Digital Citizenship, which I plan to use.  Look at these lessons for high school students. We’ll start with Hoaxes and Fakes.  I’ll keep researching to find an unbiased source to teach Media Literacy.  I feel strongly that Media Literacy and recognizing bias in the Media is important.

Picture Prompts

 Okay, here is a great idea when you are stumped for a writing topic: Picture Prompts!  Here are questions to use with the images.  There are questions such as ‘What happened right before the picture was shot?’  Sometimes you need an idea for a writing exercise.  Bingo!  Here are 144 more picture prompts from the New York Times.  Here are more tips from Homeschool Adventures.  I can’t wait to see how this exercise is received.

Writing Ideas

My Composition class just had an excellent Bioethics discussion.  The kids are writing about faith formation; I got the idea from a writing contest.  Now I’m stuck for an idea.  Edutopia suggests writing reviews.  I’ll ask the kids to write a movie or song review.  I’m going to write a travel review.  We’ve done product reviews before.  (My philosophy is that kids should engage in all types of writing.). Another idea is to make a social media post.  I think the kids would like this idea.  Which posts generate more interest?  How can one make a post more engaging?  What do the teens hope to gain through social media?  We’ve had some terrific discussions.  Let’s hope this topic engenders another lively class.

Bioethics links

 I’m preparing myself psychologically for this blog to be buffered again.  Below is the Bioethics presentation we had today.  My son, Fr. Josh, provided these references.  Keep in mind, the Bioethics webinar is from a Catholic world-view.  Here is the video link for the webinar.  I have one more outline to post when I receive it.

Algebra 2 Textbook and Graphing Exercises

 My husband, Rob, teaches math for our local Co-op.  Rob tried Saxon math textbooks.  He was teaching Algebra 1 to our friend’s daughter, Lacie.  She just couldn’t get Algebra I with Saxon.  Rob tried Glencoe’s Algebra I textbook and had greater success.  He reviewed both Saxon’s  and Glencoe’s    Algebra II textbooks.  He uses Glencoe and likes it.  Generally, Glencoe is pretty middle of the road, not too hard, not too easy.  The older editions of Glencoe math editions have graphing calculator exercises.  Rob loathes the TI 83/84 graphing calculators.  I have to work through the exercises with his students because I think kids should know how to use the graphing calculator before they go to college.   Usually, the textbook instructions are clear.  However, I do have to research some operations.  Here is an ebook with clear instructions and graphing exercises for Algebra 2.  When I get stuck on a graphing exercise, I just Google the problem.  Yes, the YouTube videos are very useful!  When I first learned how to use a graphing calculator, I watched hours and hours of instruction.  Now, I find the websites with screenshots to be the most helpful because I have some experience with the TI 84.  Below are the textbooks we use.  These are extremely old editions.  Math doesn’t change significantly.

Formation

My husband forwarded this essay contest for my Composition class.  The topic is Catholic formation.  We had a terrific discussion about College and Catholic formation.  My Protestant brothers and sisters may want to consider Christian formation and the choice of college or university.  The kids are examining which factors are key to formation in faith as young adults and in terms of college selection.  This topic can be applied to military service.  Based on our discussion, the kids think one’s friend group, church attendance, and community all influence faith formation.  Since over 70% of teens lose their faith in college, formation is a serious subject.  The kids are writing volumes.  I’ll share excerpts soon.

I’m planning on being more faithful posting here.  Why?  I’m giving up Social Media for Lent.  I should have more time available for useful activities instead of cute knitting patterns.   

Coding with Scratch!

 We have a software engineer in our family.  Unsurprisingly, Paul likes to code.   He started with Scratch—which is free!  My knowledge of coding or programming is nil.  I found the books shown below to be helpful.  Our local library has several elementary programming books available.  We started with the ‘Code Your Own Games’ book.  Paul and I found the kitty in Scratch to be easy to understand once we used the step by step guide in the book.  Paul and I never learned how to incorporate images from the public domain into Scratch.  But, we did encoding the programs needed to make a simple game.

Let’s learn binary code!

 Is this idea random, or what?  I’m working with a small, Montessori school.  Montessori education is frequently student-led.  Right now, the elementary students at the school are interested in knitting, crocheting, and weaving.  You can connect STEM + Knitting.  Marly Bird has a pattern for a Binary Code Knit Super Scarf.  (If you sign up for emails, you can download the detailed patterns.  It has ASCII for letters, numbers, and symbols.  The instructions are quite clear.). My thought was that kids could also weave their names in binary.  Basically, just use two colors for the ones and zeros.  Marly Bird recommends using a third color for spacing between the letters.  I’m knitting  a binary scarf, now.

Paul and my husband, Rob, made Valentine Twizzler Binary Codes.  They made coded messages instead of a necklace.  The two of them have a strict ‘no crafts’ policy.  Secret codes are fun!  Your kids might like to learn Morse code, too.  Here is an article from Popular Science with a little history of spies Knitting secret codes.  Fun, right?  I think the Twizzler Binary Code activity or weaving beads in binary code might unleash some enthusiasm to research a little history about spies and codes.  Here are some books about spies and coding.

Bioethics

The kids began presenting their Bioethics projects.  The first two have restricted access.  I took a few screen shots to share with you below, to gauge the caliber of the submissions.  The kids are passionate on the topic.  We had an outstanding discussion.  As Roman Catholics, the Church calls for the respect for life from ‘conception to natural death’.  These teens embrace the Catholic faith fervently.  My son is a Catholic priest.  He and a friend, Mary, are experts on Bioethics.  They are planning a presentation for the kids.  I’ll record and post it in a couple weeks. 

Black History Month: Scientists

 Do you need an idea for a composition?  Consider a biography of a scientist.   I taught in both private and public schools before I taught at Co-op classes.  Public schools are more apt to celebrate MLK day or Black History Month in February.  For my money, it’s never a bad idea to celebrate success and encourage all of my students.  Science Buddies has a list of 38 Scientists.  Here is NSTA’s list.  Lastly, is ACS Honors African Americans in the Chemical Scientists.  When I taught in Prince William County, I learned about the success HBCUs have preparing young men and women to be doctors, scientists, and engineers.  Additionally, HBCUs ´Lead Nation in Black Baccalaureates Who Later Earn Doctoral Degrees’.  Let’s celebrate and inspire all of our students!