Now at the end of the first semester of Zack's junior year of high school, I am reflecting once again on the advantages of our technological age. Zack's subjects this semester were: English 3, U.S. History, Health, Drama, Cartooning, PE 3, and Driver's Education. We are continuing with the Pearson Literature program. I bought the textbook for Zack and the All-in-One workbook as well as the Reader's Notebook- Adapted Version. Pearson has a wonderful on-line platform where you can access the digital text which includes an audio read of all the selections. Most of the lessons pertaining to Literary Analysis and Reading Strategies were also available with an audio playback. The audio is in a "real" person's voice, as opposed to a computerized voice. This feature helps speed up his lessons. The on-line program also has vocabulary definitions and games for each unit and grammar tutorials. It also contains worksheets, graphic organizers, tests, and answer keys. I could've opted to print all Zack's materials instead of buying the All-in-One workbook, but decided it would cost more for ink than the cost of the physical workbook. The Adapted Version of the Reader's Notebook is not part of the on-line materials.
The U.S. History program I went with is Prentice Hall United States History: Reconstruction to the Present. I went with this program for the same reasons as above. There is wonderful on-line support with an audio read of the textbook, videos, and tests. If you purchase the textbook with on-line support, you don't need to purchase the Teacher's Edition or test booklets and answer keys. Everything you need is on the website! While Zack listens to the audio playback, he follows along in his physical textbook and I have the Teacher's Edition pulled up on a seperate computer. I can answer the questions that are embedded in his textbook. This is true of the Language Arts program as well. (Pearson and Prentice Hall are both divisions of Pearson Education) The glossary can be accessed on-line, which is quicker for Zack than leafing through the pages of the glossary in the back of the book. He doesn't have to go through the alphabet in his mind when trying to look up a term. He just clicks on the letter of the word he is looking up, and then scrolls through the words to find the one he is looking for.
I was also able to find a digital version of his health book on-line. It too had an audio playback feature. All I bought for this course was the workbook and the answer key. This was a one semester class, but Zack had a great deal of information to cover. It got to be rather overwhelming, so I interspersed videos from www.brainpop.com to break up the monotony. Brainpop is a fantastic website with hundreds of animated videos covering Science, History, Social Science, Math, Technology, English, Arts and Music. After Zack watched the video, he would then take the corresponding quiz provided by the site. It was a fun, wonderful way for Zack to learn. He loved Brainpop and often preferred to watch three videos with quizzes rather than complete a lesson from the textbook.
Speaking of videos, another great website is www.learn360.com. Our school has a subscription to this website and I am able to access it for free. It contains an enormous amount of videos covering all subjects related to academic learning. Although Zack didn't like these videos as much as Brainpop because they aren't animated, it had proven to be a helpful supplement to his history studies. As a matter of fact, to get a temporary break from the textbook, we are currently using history videos on www.learn360 from the publisher Media Rich Learning. Zack is studying The Roaring Twenties right now. Media Rich Learning has a 30 minute video on this subject. Their website, www.mediarichlearning.com, has corresponding lessons that include vocabulary, website activities, quizzes, and answer keys. You need to register on the site, but it is free.
One more place where audio playback was crucial, was on the Driver's Education website. Our school uses www.driveredtogo.com. The lengthy reading was really getting Zack down in the dumps. He almost dropped the course, but I found an option to add audio playback for $5.00. Again, a person's "real" voice read the material for him as he followed along in the text. What a life saver! Zack finished the course and passed the final exam. He is now eligible to go to DMV to take the test for his permit.
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Highlights of 10th Grade
Summer break was just what we needed after the tumultuous school year. My health returned and my husband was doing fine with an improved diet and exercise. A better option didn't show itself, so we marched on with our homeschooling charter school.
10th grade was a quick year, a satisfying year, a well organized year, and a year of accomplishments. It was our last year of math (Geometry) and our last year of science (Biology). We had an English class, a World History class, drama, and PE.
Helpful technology included MP3 audio files for our Biology textbook, online virtual labs, KhanAcademy.org for Geometry, Pearson Prentice Hall online textbook for literature and grammar, and Steck Vaughn online quizzes and interactive activities for World History.
Zack had a fun and informative time with the vendored science teacher for his Biology labs. His favorite labs were dissections! He dissected a frog, a snake, a sheep's heart and a turtle.
His love of drama continued in a class at Sutter Street Theatre which he took once a week for several months. He memorized several short scripts and perfected improvisation. He had two performances in February that he nailed. He then went on to Studio 24 where he began learning how to audition for various roles in acting. He continued to practice improvisation techniques and memorization of short scripts.
Some of the curriculum we used for English was Expressive Writing and Sequential Spelling. They both use incremental teaching strategies. They are for special needs students. For our drama unit, Zack really enjoyed No Fear Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. This wonderful series gives the original play alongside a modern version. I read the original text out loud, and then Zack would read the modern interpretation. We had a lot of fun with this!
In February, Zack took the CAHSEE (California High School Exit Exam) for the first time. It took two months to get the results back, but it was worth the wait. He passed! We were all ecstatic with the good news! He will now receive a diploma upon graduation instead of a certificate of completion. This should make a big difference when he applies to college and when he applies for employment.
I think one of the reasons Zack had such a good year is because of the nutritional and emotional support we provided him. Every morning he did a meditation called Kirtan Kriya that harmonized his left and right brain hemispheres. It's a meditation that has been tested on Alzheimer's patients to help with cognitive functioning. I think doing it every morning got Zack's brain ready to receive the lessons of the day. It certainly brought down his overall anxiety, not just in school, but in all areas of his life. He also began taking 1 mg of melatonin at bedtime and Magnesium Citrate which helped him sleep better. The other new supplement was D3. I began giving him 2500 mg per day.
10th grade went by quickly and smoothly. All of his toughest classes are done. I'm looking forward to a more relaxed 11th grade experience.
10th grade was a quick year, a satisfying year, a well organized year, and a year of accomplishments. It was our last year of math (Geometry) and our last year of science (Biology). We had an English class, a World History class, drama, and PE.
Helpful technology included MP3 audio files for our Biology textbook, online virtual labs, KhanAcademy.org for Geometry, Pearson Prentice Hall online textbook for literature and grammar, and Steck Vaughn online quizzes and interactive activities for World History.
Zack had a fun and informative time with the vendored science teacher for his Biology labs. His favorite labs were dissections! He dissected a frog, a snake, a sheep's heart and a turtle.
His love of drama continued in a class at Sutter Street Theatre which he took once a week for several months. He memorized several short scripts and perfected improvisation. He had two performances in February that he nailed. He then went on to Studio 24 where he began learning how to audition for various roles in acting. He continued to practice improvisation techniques and memorization of short scripts.
Some of the curriculum we used for English was Expressive Writing and Sequential Spelling. They both use incremental teaching strategies. They are for special needs students. For our drama unit, Zack really enjoyed No Fear Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. This wonderful series gives the original play alongside a modern version. I read the original text out loud, and then Zack would read the modern interpretation. We had a lot of fun with this!
In February, Zack took the CAHSEE (California High School Exit Exam) for the first time. It took two months to get the results back, but it was worth the wait. He passed! We were all ecstatic with the good news! He will now receive a diploma upon graduation instead of a certificate of completion. This should make a big difference when he applies to college and when he applies for employment.
I think one of the reasons Zack had such a good year is because of the nutritional and emotional support we provided him. Every morning he did a meditation called Kirtan Kriya that harmonized his left and right brain hemispheres. It's a meditation that has been tested on Alzheimer's patients to help with cognitive functioning. I think doing it every morning got Zack's brain ready to receive the lessons of the day. It certainly brought down his overall anxiety, not just in school, but in all areas of his life. He also began taking 1 mg of melatonin at bedtime and Magnesium Citrate which helped him sleep better. The other new supplement was D3. I began giving him 2500 mg per day.
10th grade went by quickly and smoothly. All of his toughest classes are done. I'm looking forward to a more relaxed 11th grade experience.
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