books Archives - Page 10 of 12 - Dr. Marie-Claire Moreau

Aug 13 2011

What is “scope and sequence”?

We often hear the phrase “Scope and Sequence” when talking about books, courses and curriculum products.

What exactly does it mean?

In a nutshell, a scope and sequence is a list of all the ideas, concepts and topics that will be covered in the book, or in the course, or in the lesson plans assigned within a curriculum.

a scope and sequence is a list of all the ideas, concepts and topics that will be covered in the…

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So, for instance, the scope and sequence for a course about geology would be a list of all of the geology concepts covered in the course. The scope and sequence for a curriculum in high school writing would list all of the concepts taught in the writing course. And the scope and sequence for a middle school math text would list everything covered in the math book.

Usually, scope and sequence comes in the form of a list, and usually the topics are listed in the order that they appear in the book/curriculum/course. But, sometimes, scope and sequence is written in narrative form, and sometimes it is indexed a little bit differently, too.

Nevertheless, no matter how scope and sequence is written, it’s purpose is always the same: to indicate what material is covered in the book, and what the author/publisher has intended to teach during the course. In other words, what successful students will have learned after finishing the book.

The value of reading the scope and sequence — particularly for homeschool parents – is to determine whether a particular product is appropriate for the student, and will cover the material they want to teach. A quick glance down the list should easily help parents determine whether the concepts have already been covered in an earlier grade, are too advanced for the student this year, or seem to be appropriate for the age/grade level child being taught.

Examples of scope and sequence can be found online.

One example, which lists topics in a yearly format, is available HERE.

Another example, one which ties scope and sequence to individual lessons, and provides more in depth information about what is covered, and when, can be found HERE and HERE. These are especially helpful since they give parents a glimpse of what the actual lessons look like to a student.

And though scope and sequence is usually available at no cost, some publishers/vendors make parents work for it, either requiring a download and print version (example) or having them purchase it separately (example).

In summary, scope and sequence is helpful because:

it helps determine what will be taught in the course;
it helps parents decide which level is best for the student; and,
it [usually] provides a list of topics in the order they will be taught that year.

Additionally, for those on the fence about using a particular product, the scope and sequence can also be helpful for:

deciding whether to use the product alone or combined with something else;
comparing it against other, similar products to decide between several different treatments of the same subject; and,
giving parents (and sometimes students) a feel for whether they like the entire product line or not.

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Aug 07 2011

So, where do I get the books?

When parents first start thinking about homeschooling, one of the first things they ask is,

“So, where do I get the books?”

I cannot tell you how often I am asked this question.

Particularly when parents have little or no homeschooling background, there is often the assumption that either: 1) the school district provides a stack of books to use each year; or , 2) that there is some place locally to go and pick up whatever books are required.

Not so.

Not unless a student will be enrolled in a home study program where books are provided and shipped directly to the home, that is. But that is not the way the most families homeschool their children. (In fact, it may not really be homeschooling at all.)

The truth is, in MOST cases, homeschooling families DO NOT receive books for homeschooling. Parents must choose their own books — and pay for them, too.

And, for many, that is exactly the reason they homeschool – to make their own curriculum decisions – some even choosing not to buy books at all.

For others, however, like some of the parents who ask the book question, this comes as a great disappointment.

In fact, when families make the decision to homeschool children, they become separate, independent education programs all their own. They must not only decide what to teach, and how; but they must also decide which materials to purchase. Or not to purchase. The choice is entirely theirs to make. And, unless state homeschooling laws dictate which subjects to teach or what tests will need to be passed (some states do, check your laws HERE), families can decide exactly which books to buy, and where to get them.

So, where do homeschooling parents get their books? This is where a little bit of research will come in handy. Asking friends and acquaintances who are homeschooling is one way. Joining local or online support groups and finding out where people buy their books is another. Going to homeschooling book sales and conventions is still another idea. Or, scouring the Internet to find the web sites of reputable sellers of homeschooling materials will work, too. And lest the prices scare families away, parents needn’t worry, as they are many inexpensive ways to homeschool that do not involve purchasing costly textbooks at all. My book has a list of resources that can help.

Regardless of how the books are ultimately obtained, it is important for homeschoolers to realize that book choices are theirs to make, and that they remain in complete control of all purchases made for the purpose of home education. And as for tax breaks for these kinds of purchases? Read this post for answers.

Aug 03 2011

Think about it: Kids reading to kids

This is the beginning of a little series of posts here on Quick Start Homeschool. Each post will contain a single idea to consider trying this year. I’ll keep posts short, so that you can move on to the next quickly. Perhaps these ideas will inspire you to try something new…or help you realize that something that you’re already doing is okay. There will be no particular posting schedule, but you can look for Tags & Titles that begin with the words, “Think about it”.

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Think about it — Kids reading to kids

How much fun is it to read to children? Most everybody enjoys time spent reading aloud or listening to a good book.

On the other hand, reading takes time — something that some parents don’t have that much of.

How would it be if you asked another child in the household to read aloud?

Just look at all the benefits:

the reader gets practice, maybe even learning something new himself (or herself) along the way
the recipient still gets to enjoy a good book
mom or dad has a little time off to do something else
a new relationship or bond may be formed (or reinforced) between the reader and his/her audience

Kids reading to kids is a definite win-win! It can happen any which way you like: spontaneously, at your suggestion, or scheduled into the homeschooling day.

Jul 30 2011

Course placement — where your child should begin

What grade is my child operating at?

Which level of the program should I buy?

How do I know if a homeschool book is too easy or too hard for my homeschooler?

These are just some of the many questions that parents ask when trying to determine which homeschooling products to use. Particularly when a family hasn’t used a certain publisher or product before, it can be difficult to gauge exactly where the child should “drop in” to the program. When starting a new set of books, a packaged all-in-one curriculum product, or even just choosing books off the shelf at the local retailer, how do parents know which ones to buy?

Fortunately for modern homeschoolers, there are many placement tools now available. Some come in the form of general testing. Better still, others come from the makers of the products themselves.

In a nutshell, the word “placement” refers to figuring out at which level a child should begin. That is, which grade, what step, which level or even what book, depending on the product, is most appropriate — for a particular child, given that child’s readiness to do the work.

Placement is different for different products. Not all speak the same language.

Sometimes, products are developed with grade levels in mind. Grade 4 students would typically use the 4th grade book. Students in 11th grade would use the 11th grade book. And so on.

Other products are offered in levels (think: stages or tiers). For instance, after a child completes the first level, he or she simply moves on to the next. And then the next. Until the program has been completed. The publisher may make a recommendation about the range of ages that might fit within a particular level. Other times, no age or grade is ever mentioned, leaving it up to the parent.

Still other products are advertised for any age. In fact, you’ll sometimes find a resource labeled, “All ages” or “Ages 10 to adult”. Some general electives, foreign language systems and online learning options are written this way.

So how should parents decide which ones to use? There are basically two ways that parents can go. The first is using intuition combined with trial-and-error. With this method, parents (or students, if old enough to help) use good judgement to select materials and then give them a try. If they work, great. If not, it’s back to the drawing board. Though trial-and-error may not always be the most efficient or least expensive solution, it works. That is, it works as long as parents aren’t stubborn about getting their money’s worth and using the materials anyhow. Or, if parents simply don’t notice the clues from their children, allowing a bad situation to continue.

The other way is placement testing. And lest anyone worry about the word “testing”, be aware that placement testing is easy and painless, and nobody but parents ever need to know the results. With placement tests, students and parents work together to choose the right resource. Either the parent reviews a set of benchmarks, or the child completes a series of questions, and then a recommendation as to the correct level immediately becomes apparent.

Placement tests from product makers come in many shapes and sizes. To get an idea of what one might look like, just a couple of these are linked below. Note these do not comprise an exhaustive list of placement tests. These are merely offered to show an example of the kinds of placement offered by the makers of different homeschool materials:

Placement Center from Calvert School

Saxon Mathematics placement tests

Math U See competency exams

Thinkwell Math placement tests

Learning Language Arts Through Literature (LLATL) placement tests

Connect the Thoughts reading placement for Lower School

Alpha Omega placement tests

Singapore Math placement tests

There are many others that can be found by calling manufacturers or visiting product web sites.

Placement testing can also come from testing agencies. Tests offered by these groups are designed to place children, no matter what curriculum products are being considered. It is beyond the scope of this post to list them all and comment upon the practicality of using tests for this purpose; however, visiting either one of these pages:

Test Prep Review

Internet4Classrooms

will offer a quick glimpse of just a few of the kinds of tests (placement and other kinds) that are available for free download or purchase.

Keep in mind that no placement test is ever fool-proof. Many things come into play when children are being tested for course placement, some having nothing to do with the subject being tested at all. However, when taken correctly, in an ideal setting, these tools should offer at least a general result that parents can then take a look at, seeing if the placement sounds right to them. And there is never any harm to taking additional placement tests, either at a level above or below from the same publisher, or from another developer altogether, just to be sure. Or not taking a placement test at all, and just using judgement and observation, as described earlier.

For more about this topic, watch for future posts about testing and placement. You are also invited the search this site to see what else has been written so far.

Jul 21 2011

Summer reading & book lists

Many families — homeschoolers and non – use summer as a time to catch up on reading. Parents and kids like to take advantage of the extra hours at the beach, curled up on the porch swing or in a fluffy chair near the air conditioner to read a good book. Of course reading occurs during the school year, too. It’s just nicer sometimes to spend long, lazy periods of reading without having lots of other work going on at the same time.

Some parents like to allow children to choose their own books for pleasure reading. In cases like this, a quick trip to the library or the neighborhood book store is all that is needed to make a book selection, and then the reading can take off from there.

Other parents like to set parameters for the kids, letting children pick their own books, as long as the books fit some general set of criteria. In this way, kids still have the freedom to choose, knowing that mom or dad will approve of their selections. Criteria might be about choosing only books at or above the child’s reading level, choosing books only from Christian publishers, or steering clear of books about anything the parents don’t approve of, whatever that might be.

And still other parents prefer to let kids choose from “approved” book lists, feeling that since the books have been pre-screened, are family-friendly, haven’t been “banned” anywhere, or meet some other set of requirements, they’re okay for the kids to read. There are many places to find these book lists, as just about every library organization, school district, online book vendor and publishing company has at least one list to check out — often several. Some homeschool book catalogs (think: Rainbow Resource and Chinaberry, for instance) offer book summaries and reviews that help with the selection process. Sometimes families will keep wish-lists of their own, jotting down book titles throughout the year, saving those choices for when the children have more free time to get around to reading them. Even mom bloggers post book lists online, many coinciding nicely with certain curriculum products or that fit well with some particular homeschooling method or philosophy. It’s all a matter of finding a list you like.

For an idea of what book lists look like, start with a couple of these, and then find others on your own:

Newbery Medal and Honor Books from Association for Library Service to Children

Young Adult Library Services

International Reading Association

Great Books Foundation

Oprah’s Book Club for Kids