Christian Home School Hub

(Reviewed by Janice Campbell) I love the study of words. Words are the building blocks of communication, and the more of them you know, the more likely it is that you will be a good writer and speaker. In addition, words are just plain fascinating!

For many years, I used and recommended vocabulary programs based in Latin and Greek roots, and I still like those programs. I realize that roots-based programs seem inaccessible to some people, so I’ve found an alternate program that’s amazingly user-friendly, highly effective, and fun. It’s WordBuild: A Better Way to Teach Vocabulary, and the entire program is contained in two comprehensive levels. WordBuild is “based on morphology, the study of the units of meaning in words. Just as phonology is the study of the sounds that make up words, morphology is the study of the meaningful pieces of words. A mastery of phonics helps students “sound out” unfamiliar words; a mastery of morphics helps students “mean out” unfamiliar words.”

The first series, Foundations, contains two levels and is designed to be used anytime after phonics have been taught. This level focuses on building words by adding prefixes and suffixes to words the student already knows. The second series, Elements, contains three levels and moves into the teaching and manipulation of Greek and Latin root words. After five years of study, the student should have not only a vast vocabulary, but also the tools to decipher virtually any word they encounter in the future.

Each week the learner is presented with a morpheme (word piece) such as “mob,” which means “to move.” There is a page of Word Fun Facts and a 15-minute activity for each day of the week to help the student learn and retain all the variations of the word. The very helpful teacher’s guide provides objectives and examples, as well as talking points, suggested dialog, and extended learning activities.

On Day 1, the student is presented with a Root Square, which provides more morphemes and challenges the student to combine two or more word parts to make as many words as possible. In the “mob” square, choices include four other forms of the root, plus “ive,” “auto,” “ize,” “com,” “im,” “ion,” “re,” and “ile.” If you play with those for a few minutes, you’ll get an idea of how many possibilities there are.

On Day 2, the student breaks apart words and matches them with their definitions, placing the number of the answer in the corresponding square of the Magic Box. When the box is correctly filled, the sum of the numbers is the same both across and down.

On Day 3, the student will use another visual aid, the Stair Steps to fill in words they discover from provided definitions.

On Day 4, the focus is on using newly acquired vocabulary in context. Students use an optional Comprehension Booster worksheet to choose the correct word to fill the blank in a sentence.

On Day 5, there is a 10-question multiple-choice assessment. I’m not usually a fan of multiple choice, as it’s just too easy, but when all the possible answers are based on the same morpheme, it boosts the challenge level. For example, one question asks the student to choose “Which word means to cause to be able to move?” The answer choices include “mobilize, mobile, or motile.” It’s clear that the student will need to have a good understanding of the morphemes in order to satisfactorily complete the questions.

The Foundations level would work very well in the elementary years, while Elements (from which the “mob” example was excerpted) would work well for middle and/or high school students. Students who complete the five years of WordBuild study early may wish to move into a root-based program for further study, or simply take Latin or another foreign language along with a solid literature program such as Excellence in Literature to build vocabulary naturally.

Each level of WordBuild comes with

• Individual softbound Student Activity Books covering a full year’s curriculum
• Complete Teacher’s Manual with Answer Keys (written so that it can be used in classroom, co-op, or homeschool)
• Customizable software to quickly create additional exercises
• Access to online printable exercises

In addition, the Elements levels come with a free CD of WordBuild The Game®. This CD-based game installed easily on my computer and was an entertaining way to practice word building. There are several choices of accompanying music, from Vivaldi to techno, or the music can be turned off entirely while playing. The CD is compatible with both Mac and Windows.

Overall, this is a sound, comprehensive program that will provide a good vocabulary foundation. The Teacher’s Manual is an integral part of the program and makes teaching the units absolutely simple. The short daily lessons are compatible with Charlotte Mason’s belief that short lessons result in better retention of knowledge. WordBuild is well-done and visually appealing, and is a great option for vocabulary study.

Visit DynamicHomeschool.com for more information.

Janice Campbell, author of Get a Jump Start on College! A Practical Guide for Teens, Transcripts Made Easy: The Homeschooler’s Guide to High School Paperwork, and the Excellence in Literature series, has been writing and speaking in central Virginia since the late 1980’s. She homeschooled her four sons from kindergarten into college, using the principles she now shares in her books, blog, workshops, and her free e-newsletter.  Sign up for it today.

Our next history unit will be VIKINGS!!! Fun!!
Here is a list of resources that I have come up with.

Viking Study Theme

An upcoming science unit for us will be electricity! Here is list of resources that I have pulled together. I hope they help you out!

Study Unit for Electricity

Are you looking for some fun winter downloads? If so, check out these...

	Snowman Skip Counting Unit by 2, 5, 10 (20 pages)		Snowflake Shape Book (Preview)
	Snowman Shape Book (Preview)		Winter Read, Draw, Write Unit (33 pages) Level:1st-2nd Preview
	Antonyms & Synonyms Centers & Games (79 pages) Level: 2nd-5th		Word Play: Snow (8 pages) Preview
	Mittens, Mittens, Mittens Literacy Unit (66 pages) Level: K-2nd (Preview)

These downloads are all available here on the Hub to all Download Club members @ http://www.christianhomeschoolhub.spruz.com/winter-downloads.htm

Looking for some cool Fall units and/or activities? Check out these:

	Poetry Unit Acrostic, Diamante, Haiku, Limerick, Monorhyme, Cinquain, Minute, Tanka and Shape		Fun with Numbers (1-10) Level: PreK-K		P is for Pumpkin (20 pages) Variety of skills! Level: PreK-K
	S is for Scarcrow (40 pages) Variety of skills! Level: PreK-K		Autumn Leaves (34 pages) Contains: Notebooking, Lapbooking & Identification pages Levels: 1st -8th		Bats Unit (41 pages) Notebooking & Lapbooking pages centered around the study of Bats Levels: 3rd - 8th
	October Candy Math (53 pages) Level: K-3rd		October Themed Self Checking Math Activity Cards (1-10)
	Elections Unit (85 pages) Contains research, Notebooking & Lapbooking pages Level: 3rd & up		November Coloring Book (50 pages)

Go to: http://www.christianhomeschoolhub.spruz.com/dc-general-fall.htm

UNIT STUDY

I'm Not A Nemo Fish, I'm A Clown Fish!
I'm guilty myself of seeing a clown fish and calling it Nemo.

Clown Fish and Sea Anemones Work Together by Martha E. H. Rustad is a great book with large colorful pictures for little ones wanting to learn about clown fish and their anemone home.

Fun fact! Clown fish have mucus on their bodies that help protect them against the anemones sting.   

 

Coral Reefs Are Awesome!

Click HERE to watch a coral reef video with some cool sea animals in it!

Save Over Half of  Your Preparation and Teaching Time!

Unit studies are especially beneficial if you are teaching more then one child. If you are teaching three children each seven different subjects using textbooks and workbooks – that’s a WHOPPING twenty one subjects to prepare and teach.

A family with three children using textbook methods might have one child study the Civil War another learning about Ancient Rome while another is studying the American Revolution in history. In Science one child may be studying plants, another the planets and another reptiles.

In Bible, one child may be studying Moses, another studying Joseph and another studying Paul. With unit studies, history, geography, art, music, science and Bible can all be taught together to all ages. Each child studies the topic at his level.

All children can go on field trips together, many projects can be done together, writing assignments vocabulary words will be about the same topic, just on different levels.

For example, while studying animals a younger child may be able to classify birds, mammals and insects. While an older child would classify animals in much more detail such as: Arachnids, crustaceans, etc. The older learns and helps to teach the younger while the younger learns from the older child.

Delight Directed: Planning

Delight-directed learning, with a set plan like Heart of Wisdom unit studies, begins by allowing children to be a part of the planning process. During the planning phase, allow the student to participate in choosing the resources for that unit (fiction novel, colorful reference book, video, Internet site, interactive multimedia, etc.). It’s very possible that a child might balk at the unit as a whole but later find a spark in one of the individual lessons.

To continue with the food analogy, a child might, say, groan over something he sees cooking, but after a taste, finds it pleasing to his palate.

Teaching Multi-Ages:  Sample Day

Mother is teaching Jenny (fifteen), John (thirteen), and Joseph (ten) a unit on the Middle Ages.

During the unit planning the three decide together on the resources. They look through the resources at Homeschool-Books.com or in the back of The Heart of Wisdom Teaching Approach book at the Middle Ages Resources. The three choose Kingfisher Illustrated Encyclopedia, and Eyewitness Medieval Life from their home library. Mother orders a novel,The Door in the Wall (from the library or a vendor) to read aloud during the unit.

While reviewing the lessons the children show the most interest in knights, castles, and medieval feasts. Before the unit begins they will pick up books on these topics from the library. Several opportunities will occur during the steps in each lesson to bring into play the delight-directed methods. Let’s look at an example of how each of the three children might discover their own level of interest in the lesson on knights.

The sample below is a lesson based on Heart of Wisdom teaching methods (combination of organized 4-Step unit study, Charlotte Mason approach, teaching to all learning styles).

Unit: Middle Ages. Lesson: Knights

In Step One (Excite), Mother is watching each student for a spark.  Step One activities evoke feedback which shows how interested each child is in the topic and suggests the possible duration of the lesson. As they brainstorm to make lists,John and Joshua both show an intense interest in this topic.

In Step Two, Mother reads the provided text in the unit, and then turns to the resources chosen during the unit planning phase. She reads aloud from the suggested pages in the Kingfisher Illustrated Encyclopedia and Eyewitness Medieval Life. John and Joseph spend time reading through the suggested web sites and library resources,and print out several illustrations of a knight’s armor and weapons.  Jenny also browses the Internet sites and chooses an image of a knight to add to her portfolio,but she leaves the boys to explore the sites as she moves on to Step Three assignments.

In Step Three, Mother allows each child to choose an activity:

• John (13) chooses to complete a writing assignment. Mother encourages this assignment because he needs more writing practice and he enjoys this topic. John writes a separate draft paragraph for each of several topics: tournaments, jousting, suits of armor, crossbows, and the Crusades. He searches or uses the Internet to find illustrations for each summary.

• Joseph (10) chooses to create a shield with a coat of arms. He uses colored pencils to design a coat of arms similar to those he viewed from the resources. He the makes the shield from cardboard and pastes or glues the coat of arms onto the shield.

• Jenny is not as interested in this topic so she copies a paragraph from Eyewitness Medieval Life and moves on to a math lesson (more about Jenny later).

In Step Four, the students choose how they will share their work.

• During this step,Mother and John are busy revising and correcting John’s drafts .After the corrections John glues illustrations to the summary pages and includes them in his portfolio. He chooses to add more on this topic to his portfolio and shares it with his grandparents.
• Joseph shows his shield to his father and explains his coat of arms.
• Jenny adds her writing and illustrations to her portfolio and shares the work with her brothers.

In this example, all three children have learned about knights. John has obviously learned the most. We know all three have learned significantly more than they would in a typical school where the children would read perhaps one boring paragraph about knights.

John and Joseph will continue on this topic in the coming weeks by choosing a novel and/or illustrated reference books from the library on knights ,or by learning more from the Internet. Their wise mother will continue to fan the flame as long as the fire burns (weeks or months). If no spark had appeared during this lesson, the amount of time spent on this lesson would have been dramatically different.

Jenny did not do a lot with the lesson on knights because she did not have a spark of interest. Later, however, Jenny’s spark shows up in the “Food in the Middle Ages” lesson. She ends up spending several hours researching and planning an authentic medieval feast for her family. She designs an elaborate menu for her portfolio and reads the library book Medieval Feasts to Joshua.

Four-Steps Summary

1. During Step One, look for the spark.
2. In Step Two, the spark will be your signal to encourage your student(s) to go on to more resources. If the lesson ignites a spark for one child and not another (which will probably be the case) don’t force all the students into spending time on further study. Take a trip to the library, or order books, or allow computer time for Internet search.
3. In Step Three, allow each child to choose the activity in which to do something with what he or she just learned. This could be anything from simple copy work or an involved project.
4. In Step Four, allow each child to choose how to share the material.

Teaching is much more than providing facts — real teaching means causing to learn. The delight-directed methods work when we provide opportunities for meaningful experiences,and then wait and watch for moments when children’s eyes light up. Then they’re off and running, determined and motivated to learn!

Robin Sampson is a homeschool mom and author. Her titles include The Heart of Wisdom Teaching Approach, What Your Child Needs to Know When, Wisdom: An Internet-Linked Unit Study, A Family Guide to the Biblical Holidays, and Ancient History: Adam to Messiah. See all her books and discount packages. For homeschool encouragement and tips go to HeartofWisdom.com