Mini-Offices

I've never tried to make a lapbook...much less a mini-office - although I've always had the intention of trying it! (Hey, I did make some file folder games a few years ago! That's something, anyway!) I've always wanted to be one of those time-lining, scrapbooking, journaling, lapbooking, mini-office-making kind of homeschool moms. Things like this on the web make it look so easy! If we do get around to making anything creative, you can be sure I'll post it on this blog, because it will probably be extremely rare! (H/T to Lapbook Lessons and The Homeschool Classroom!) These look like a great way to reinforce concepts in just about every subject.

Here's a video showing how to make a language arts mini-office. There are other YouTube videos about how to make lapbooks for other subjects as well.

Recipe for a book report!

Thanks to The Homeschool Classroom for cooking this one up! This was originally in a Scholastic magazine. The Homeschool Classroom found it at The Teacher's Desk. The recipe is as follows:

1 cup of plot - Tell briefly what the story is about, but don't give away the ending.

2 teaspoons of character - Who are the main characters? Describe them briefly.

2 tablespoons of excitement - Select a short passage from the book that describes something exciting that happened. Try to find a passage with the main character in it.

Mix thoroughly and bake.

When cool, frost with this special icing:
1/2 cup of opinion - What did you like about the book? What didn't you like?

1 teaspoon of recommendation - Whom do you think would enjoy this book? Why?

Finally sprinkle on the following information:
Title of the book
Name of the author
Name of publisher
Number of pages
Literary genre

Looks good enough to eat to me!

"Essay Vs. Multiple Choice Thinking"

The homeschooling blog called Education Conversation by Tammy Drennan is one of my favorites. I've read all of the posts she has up so far. She doesn't really post very often - I suppose that's just the busyness of life getting in the way.

There is a post from January 12 of this year that I thought was particularly good. It compared "multiple choice thinking" to "essay thinking" - the premise being that many tests given in schools that supposedly test knowledge - especially those state tests - really are poor measuring sticks for what students really know. I used to have a teacher that used to use the phrase "multiple guess" instead of "multiple choice" - which I have always thought was an accurate description.

Tammy Drennan gives her take on multiple choice tests and says that, if it were up to her, she would give essay tests. Here are some of the questions she would ask:

1. How did America become such a land of growth and opportunity in the 200+ years it existed before mass compulsory schooling became common?

2. Read over the journals or diaries of some American young people who lived from the 1600s to the mid-1800s. What do you think about their writing and the level of maturity in their thinking?

3. Thomas Paine’s long pamphlet, “Common Sense,” written in 1776 to convince Americans that they should choose freedom from England, was a runaway best seller when it was published. It was written at a time when there was very little government involvement in education; almost all schooling was a private matter. It sold more copies per person than the Harry Potter books ever did. Read it and summarize Paine’s main points.

4. Before the government takeover of schooling, education was a growing concern among citizens, and options for schooling were expanding at every level of education and society. Who were some of the major historical figures who were unhappy with this state of affairs and what reasons did they give for wanting to impose their own education ideology by way of government compulsion?

5. Nazi Germany, Communist Russia and Communist China, among other tyrannies, all considered government control of education essential to maintaining power over citizens. If a country finds itself in danger of losing its freedom and most children already attend state schools, what do you think are the odds that parents will remove their children before it’s too late? Support your answer with reasons.

6. Many people believe that education and values cannot be separated. For instance, if history is taught without judgments about the right or wrong of events or actions, children will come to feel that there really is no right or wrong. If science is taught without exploring the ethics of certain practices (i.e., cloning), children grow up with the risk of using science for harm. If literature is an exploration of the human condition, conclusions – and judgments — must be drawn about the authors’ world views. In other words, education has a purpose beyond simply knowing facts and gaining skills to make money. Do you believe this is true? If so, do you believe the government should make the decisions about what values should be taught in relation to the subjects being studied? Why or why not?

If my test-takers were short on time, I would ask them to answer, at length, just the last question.

If it were me, I would also add after every math problem on the test the word "why?" or "how do you know this is true?" - but I'm sure there would be a lot of failing grades. :)

Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival

The Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival is up at Rose Cottage. (Thanks to Henry Cate at Why Homeschool!)