Using the Newspaper as a Learning/Teaching Tool

Having your child read the daily newspaper is a great way to encourage them to read authentically!  I found this great calendar that can be used to extend the learning opportunities.  The calendar gives ideas for language arts, math, science, social studies, and life skills.

Learning calendar

My Book About Winter Holidays

Scholastic is offering a great holiday freebie for your older kiddos (third -fifth grade)!  You can print out this Winter Holiday Booklet for your child to read and complete as they learn about the various winter holidays.  Great for both reading and social studies!

Curriculum 2011-2012

Here are a few of the items we will be using in our homeschooling efforts for the upcoming year:

Reading:

Luke decided he needed to be in all the pictures, so I appeased him : )  - Just know that the materials are not all for him - he is bright, but not yet reading novels!

Daily 5 and The Cafe-

I love the fact that the "sisters" researched solid based reading practices to develop their system, and I will be incorporating it into our reading curriculum.  The Daily 5 consists of :

1. Read to Self

2. Read to Others (to Mom, Dad, or Brothers)

3. Listen To Reading

4. Work on Writing

5. Word Work (See Spelling/Words Their Way Below)

For read to self books, the boys will self-select books from either our home library, the library, or purchase that we make from Amazon using our SwagBuck earnings.  The books will be at their independent level (books they can read on their own with no assistance.

Luke is 5 and in Kindergarten so he will be working on various emergent readers, some store bought, some I make, and some printed off the internet based on letters and sight words he is focusing on each week.

Cody and Tyler are 9 and 10 and in 4th and 5th grade respectively.  They both read at about the 5th -6th grade reading level, and will be reading novels they choose. 

For Read to Others Books, the boys will read books that are at their instructional level (where they may need help with a few words).  I will select these books based on skills they are currently working on.

Tyler and Cody will also work on novel studies together.

Listen to Reading will be books on our Nook, books that we have on cd, and books that we have mp3s of.  It will also include Mom read alouds.  The purpose of listening to reading is for them to hear a fluent reader, and what good reading sounds like.  It also allows them to access and understand books that they may not be able to decode yet.  For example, Luke is not yet reading, but he loves to listen to Magic Tree House books.  I ask him questions as we are reading to help build his comprehension.

Work on Writing will include them writing in their journals, and working on writing lessons.  I plan on using some Lucy Calkin ideas (still need to purchase that book) and a book on using Non-fiction as mentor texts that is also on my wish list.

Word Work - Will include various activities using their spelling words from Words Their Way.  I will have hands- on activities such as shaving cream writing, scrabble spelling, using magnetic letters, wikki stick, this magnetic writing toy, etc, as well as games included in the Words Their Way Curriculum.

Spelling:

As I stated before, we will be using Words Their Way for our Spelling Curriculm.  I like that you assess the student to see what level they are currently working at, and then move from there.  I have a link to the assessments here if you would like to try it with your child. 

I also was lucky enough to have studied with Dr. Bear, one of the book's authors, while working on my Master's Degree, so I am very familiar with the program.  If you ever have any questions about this program feel free to ask, and if I don't have the answer, I can always ask him!

We have the main book which gives lessons and ideas for all of the ages, but I also have the various levels so that I can just copy a week's worth of words rather than having to think them up on my own.  I do have some word sorts that I have made which are posted here, but it is less pressure on me each week to use these.  They are not necessary, I just chose to use them. 

Luke age 5, Kindergarten - Letter Name-Alphabetic Spellers

Cody and Tyler 9, 10 4th and 5th grade - will start in Syllables and Affixes Spellers and later on in the year will move to derivational relations spellers. (They are almost done with the Syllables and Affixes lessons).

(And ignore my messy corner there - trying to get ready for the upcoming year and BlogHer and I am in a bit of dissary!)

Math

For math we will be using the Balanced Math Program which involves the following components:

1. Computational Skills (Daily Math Review and Mental Math)

2. Problem Solving

3. Conceptual Understanding

4. Mastery of Math Facts

5. Formative Assessment

For the Daily Math Review, I will make these up using the skills that the boys are working on and need continued practice with.  I will also include past skills they have learned to make sure that they are retaining what they have learned.  This is a blank template of the math review page that you can print out and fill out by hand, or pre-type problems in before printing.  An example of a completed third grade math review is here.  I will be sharing the ones I use for the boys throughout the year, but the idea in the book is to include skills based on your own child's needs.

For mental math we will use a variety of math challenges and games such as: hundreds chart games, Number Ninjas, and Number Tile games.

For Conceptual Understanding, I will use lessons from the Mini-lessons for math practice books above.

Mastery of Math Facts will involve flash cards, games, and timed "Math Mad Minutes".

Formative Assessments - are basically just tests to see what the kiddos still need to learn to drive their instruction. These will be based on the daily math review and daily lessons.

Social Studies

Luke age 5 Kindergarten - Community, Family, All About Me Units
Cody age 9 - 4th Grade - State History - We live in Nevada, so that means all about Nevada
Tyler age 10 - 5th Grade - US History

We will use a mix of resources - a few novels that follow the time period, internet, encyclopedia, research, etc.  Especially with Tyler and Cody, I want them to work on self-learning and researching skills.

Science

Will also be a mix of resources, but this will be my main text and go to resource for the units we work on.

Handwriting
Almost completely forgot this!  So I am using some OLD pics of Cody with our choice of Handwriting Without Tears.  We have used this for years and we all love it!  The boys love using the chalkboard to "wet, dry, try".

I am writing this post as part of the Not Back To School Hop.  If you would like to share your curriculum plans, be sure to hop along!  I would love to see what others are using!

Current Events

I think that it is very important for my kiddos to be up to date on the current issues facing our country. The best way I have found to do this is by showing my older kids a 10 minute daily news program called CNN Student News.

You can stream the program straight from the internet, or use iTunes to download the daily podcast. It's simple to download: Open up your iTunes, go to the iTunes Store, type in CNN Student News, and download the current episode. It's completely free!

I recommend this program for all students  4th grade and above. It helps kids become more aware of their country and the events that are taking place each day.

State Lesson Plans

If your kiddos are learning about your state, here are some great resources to use:

• My State Symbols
• Organize Your Research
• Plan a Trip to a Historical Society
• Plan an Interview  
  

  Unit 1 Geography

• Geography Where You Live
• Where is My State?
• What is My State Like?
• Why Are Certain Landforms in My State?

Unit 2 Government

• Government Where You Live
• Executive Branch
• Legislative Branch
• Judicial Branch

Unit 3 Culture

• Culture Where You Live
• People and Language
• Traditions
• Food and Recreation

Unit 4 Economy

• The Economy Where You Live
• Manufacturing
• Mining
• Agriculture

Unit 5 History

• History Where You Live
• The First People
• The First Settlers
• Important Events

Unit 6 Connect to the World

• Your State and the World
• Imports
• Origin of Imports
• International Business in Your State