Composition: First Writing Prompt

My plan is to document the Composition class here in the blog and share snippets from class.

The first writing prompt is ‘Describe your family’s birthday celebration.’  The kids will have 15 minutes to write.  Next, the class will read and discuss their paragraphs.  Let me share an opening paragraph I wrote for class.  I plan to use this an an introduction to expand on their stories after the 15 minute exercise.

My son’s classmate brought grapes to share to class.  Josh studied in Italy; the students originated from many countries.  The day his classmate brought grapes uncovered a cultural difference among the students.  Students from the United States all asked if the grapes had seeds.  Classmates from The Philippines or India asked if it were his birthday or his feast day.  How are birthdays celebrated differently? 

 

Doodle Notes and Scribble Notes

The first time I taught a Co-op class, my friend, Diane, introduced me to lapbooks.  Many home-school families use interactive notebooks, especially for science topics.  I think Scribble Notes or Doodle notes arose from the Cornell Note Taking System. I like to use a huge variety of resources; but, I’m always open to new strategies.  In the past, coloring pages are useful for some topics.  I want to try some of Matthew Simmons’ Scribble Notes.  Open the website’s home-page for links to social media.  Mr. Simmons posts his scribble notes to the Facebook Group, National Biology Teachers, with pdf links for student work.  Below is a screenshot of a sample of Mr.Simmons’ work.  Astounding.  

Day One: Composition

Next week starts the new Composition class.  Here is a copy of my Day One plans.  I want the kids to experience many forms of writing: youth group newsletters, lab reports, English essays, Etsy shop descriptions.  Here is 5 Paragraph Essay.  Our first task is to edit the slideshow.  Numbers ten or fewer are written.  5 should be five.  However, the contents of the slideshow outline a bare-bones essay.  The first writing assignment is to describe their family’s birthday celebration.    I have links listed for more ideas.  My goal is to introduce Claim-Evidence-Reasoning to use when writing lab reports.  Here is an older blog post about discrepant events in science, using a Poly Density Kit.  Here’s hoping we have a blast!  

Teach Writing

 I’m teaching a Composition class this fall.  (I had to look to see if seasons are capitalized.). Here is a topic list for the class.  Here is my first day’s lesson.  I created another class in Google Classroom.  The Co-op met last night and requested a writing course.  The families have given me suggested topics.  I’m planning to learn a great deal—including to avoid using contractions!  I ordered a copy of Write Better Essays because I gave away my copy.  I plan to order extra copies of Warriner’s, Elements of Style, and MLA handbooks.  I’m excited for a new challenge.  One of the first assignments is to critique my blog posts.  Fun!

Lessons Learned

While a veteran teacher, this month marks four years home-schooling for us.  My friend teaches in Alaska and asked me to home-school her stepdaughter, Lacie.  Gladly.  My husband and I home-schooled our grandson during COVID and last year we helped with Lacie’s sister, Mary’s schooling.  Mostly, my husband, Rob, and I work with Co-op, review portfolios, and  tutor friends and neighbors.  But, we’ve learned a few lessons.  

1.  Keep a digital record.  Create a digital portfolio.  (See below.)  I started keeping records I. A slideshow for Lacie and Paul.  Lacie kept her own records her senior year, which I reviewed and edited.  When I home-schooled Paul, I took photos and scanned work samples every week.  Lacie saves work, scans, and assembles the slideshow to submit to an online school at the end of the semester.  Show labs, work samples, labs, projects, tests, field studies, dioramas, etc.  

2.  Work hard all morning.  Get up, eat breakfast, and start Math.  It’s a win when your kid tells you, ‘Well, I might as well get started.’  Have a daily core: English, Math, History, Faith, Science.  Make a plan for extras.   Paul did a week’s worth of Geography every Monday.  He did short Faith lessons daily and had a weekly appointment with our son, a priest.  We did the same thing this past semester with Mary.  She completed a week’s worth of Faith lesson before her weekly meeting with Fr. Josh.  We mixed up English lessons.  We had daily reading writing assignments.  We did Grammar or Vocabulary twice a week. We scheduled longer labs for the afternoon.  

3.  Evaluate your goals.  Is it reasonable to finish the entire textbook?  Mary and Paul both liked Geography and managed to complete their workbooks without any fuss.  I tutor a young friend, Jacob, in Latin.  We aren’t concerned about any timeline for completion and are working our way through the textbook a lesson or two each week.  Paul is strong in Math.  Rob and I knew he could finish the textbook in one year and schedules tests and quizzes accordingly, despite the textbook being a bit advanced.   Mary became overwhelmed with a literature program.  We scaled back the number of questions; this made for a better fit.  

4. Prioritize the fundamentals: Math, English, History, Faith, and Science.  There are always activities and events competing with school.  Carve out mornings from 9-noon for school. When all of the work assigned  is finished and checked, school is over for the day—except for Reading.  Read after lunch for a half-hour.  (It’s not cheating to listen to an audio book as a family after lunch instead.)  

5. Use incentives liberally.  I did reading notes, and quizzes in Science most days, with a fun experiment on Friday afternoons.  We did any number of candy experiments!  Check out the Incredible Edible Aquifer, Paul’s favorite.  I’ve offered puzzles as incentives to finish hard novels.  A visit to the pool, especially with friends, is always a top incentive—particularly if you teach year round.    If your child loathes Grammar, add a bit to lessons Monday to Thursday, and let her off the hook on Fridays.  The library may have incentives, too.  Our local system has a Badge program.  Would your child like to learn how to use a 3D printer?  Make the badge an incentive.  Does your Co-op have fun clubs or field trips?  Make them incentives to complete the week’s lessons.  

Most of what Rob and I have learned is to be flexible while maintaining

 high, yet realistic goals.  It’s always a balance.  Every child is different.  BTW you can do this!

Free Courses

 Did you know there are free college-level courses?  Start here with a look at Hillsdale College’s free online courses.  The courses are are series of videos with quizzes.  Look at the C.S. Lewis classes.  Here are ten more sources.  These courses are great as electives, especially for seniors in high school. They do NOT replace a literature or civics class, but are great supplements, from a different perspective.  Take a look!

Christian Speech and Debate

 One of my students asked me to judge a speech tournament.  I was surprised by the professional nature of the club, the NCFCA Christian Speech &Debate League.  Check your area to see if a group already exists to join.  You can start your own group.  Being able to deliver a speech is an excellent life skill.