Probably most of us have had days when we think it might be better for us as homeschooling parents if we just had a set of twins. Then we could do one lesson for all our kids, instead of hopping back and forth from one to another.

On most days, though, we realize that it’s a blessing to have all the different ages together. Mixing up the ages helps our kids have the natural socialization of the family instead of being segregated into age groups. It gives the younger children the opportunity to look up to the older ones, and it gives the older children the chance to show care and tenderness for the younger ones. It lets children see how far they’ve come in their skills and learning, and look forward to where they’re going.

Can we have all those blessings without exhausting ourselves? We can, with a little planning. Here are some tips for homeschooling when you have a range of ages in the family:

Dovetail the work.

Work with the younger children while the older ones work on their own, and then settle the younger ones with play or a project while you check in with the older ones. It’s a sensible approach, but we have to plan ahead in order to accomplish it. Otherwise, we find ourselves getting one child started while the others wait, then starting the next one, and then the next one – and finding that the first child needs us again before we have the last one settled into work. This is a recipe for feeling frazzled by the end of the day!

As long as we get each child’s first activity of the day organized and set out before the day begins, we will be able to start everyone at once, with only one activity at a time needing us.

Get the older children involved.

Older siblings’ reading skills can benefit from the chance to read to the younger children. A six year old can cement his understanding of counting by explaining it to a five year old. A teenager learns from helping younger siblings plan and produce a play on the subject they’re studying.

Again, it takes planning to make sure the older child’s involvement in the younger ones’ lessons fits into the older child’s lessons, too. It helps to list an objective for each of the lessons. When our seven year old reads a story to the three year old, the three year old is practicing listening and the seven year old is practicing reading aloud. It will be a cherished memory for both of them.

Take time for yourself.

With all the planning and thought this requires, you need to be sure to build time for yourself into the day. The kids’ reading time could be your recreational reading time. Their time with online lessons could be your quiet prayer time. Nap time for the children should be nap time for you, too, and the kids who are too old to nap can spend that time in quiet play.

Once our family was driving to the nearby botanical gardens for a visit to support our lessons on plants. As we drove, we were talking about the history lesson the older children were working on: the Renaissance. In a break in the conversation, our baby spoke up: “Ty-renaissance rex,” he said confidently.

We all laughed. We figured he had put together snippets he’d heard from our study of dinosaurs with the history discussion he was listening to, and made up his own new word.

Over the years, we’ve seen how the younger kids’ enjoyment of family lessons has made it easier for them when they get ready to study, and encouraged the closeness of our whole family. It can be hard, but it’s certainly worth it.
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Mimi Rothschild is the Founder of LearningByGrace.org the nation’s leading provider of online PreK-12 online Christian educational programs for homeschoolers.

Are you looking to increase your homeschool child’s level of reading comprehension?  If you are then read the first part of this informative article about activating prior knowledge. 

What Is It?

Call it schema, relevant background knowledge, prior knowledge, or just plain experience, when students make connections to the text they are reading, their comprehension increases. Good readers constantly try to make sense out of what they read by seeing how it fits with what they already know. When we help students make those connections before, during, and after they read, we are teaching them a critical comprehension strategy that the best readers use almost unconsciously.

Ellin Oliver Keene and Susan Zimmerman in Mosaic of Thought (1997), have identified three main types of connections students make as they read:

• Text to self

• Text to world

• Text to text

Why Is It Important?

Explicitly teaching strategies that proficient readers use when trying to make sense out of text helps to deepen understanding and create independent readers. Activating prior knowledge, or schema, is the first of seven strategies that Keene and Zimmerman identify as key for reading comprehension success.

“Teaching children which thinking strategies are used by proficient readers and helping them use those strategies independently creates the core of teaching reading.” (Keene and Zimmerman, 1997)

These strategies, identified through research based on what good readers do when they are reading, help students become metacognitive. They learn to think about their thinking as they are reading.

When students learn to make connections from their experience to the text they are currently reading, they have a foundation, or scaffolding, upon which they can place new facts, ideas, and concepts. As good readers read, they think about what they are reading and consider how it fits with what they already know. In this way, they build upon the schema that they already have developed.

When Should It Be Taught?

This comprehension strategy should be taught on an ongoing basis so that students learn independently to use it as they are reading. It should be taught explicitly and systematically over an extended period of time, moving from modeling the thinking process out loud by the teacher, to students using the strategy as a natural part of their comprehension process.

Prior knowledge should be discussed before reading the text to help set the stage for what is coming. During reading, students should be encouraged to make connections to the text from their experience and the teacher should model this process using his or her own connections. After reading, the discussion should center on how the connections helped students to better understand the text and how the text helped them to build their foundation of prior knowledge.

What Does It Look Like?

At the early stages of teaching students the strategy of making connections to their prior knowledge, the teacher models “thinking aloud.” The teacher reads a text to the class and talks through his or her thinking process in order to show students how to think about their thinking as they are reading. Slowly, after students have seen and heard the teacher using the strategy, they are given the opportunity to share their experiences and thinking. Finally, students make connections to texts independently. Teachers can check in periodically to have students articulate their thinking, in order to track progress, spot difficulties, and intervene individually or conduct a mini-lesson to reteach or move students forward.

As students are activating their prior knowledge and making connections, they use graphic organizers, such as a concept map, a flow chart, or a , to help map their thinking. Often students keep reflection or response journals where they record thoughts, feelings, insights, and questions about what they read. Students, in large and small groups, discuss and write about the connections they are making to texts. (For examples of these and other graphic organizers, click the link.)

Here is part two of the visualizing article I posted yesterday.  Let me know what you think!  Have you tried a visualizing strategy before with your children?  Did it work?  If it didn’t then what has worked for your child’s reading comprehension?

Taking Visualizing to the Next Level

Visualization activities lend themselves to follow-up lessons. For example, the few sentences suggested in the “Starting Small” activity lead the way for deeper discussions about making inferences. Students can discuss not only what they visualize when they hear or read given text but also the questions that the text suggests, such as, “Why do you think Joan received all of these gifts?” or “What do you think Joan will do next?” You can take this particular discussion further by allowing students to personalize the experience by answering questions such as, “What would you do if you were Joan?” or “How would you feel if you were in Joan’s place?”

When Can You Use It?

Reading

Students can sharpen their visualizing skills as they read independently, participate in small group reading activities, or listen to a text. To encourage visualizing, turn out the lights and ask students to close their eyes as they listen. Pause frequently to allow students to share their images and mental pictures with the class. The ability to generate visual images from texts becomes increasingly important as students move from richly illustrated storybooks into “chapter books” with relatively few pictures. Ease the transition by explaining that skillful writers use descriptive language designed to generate imagery in their readers’ imaginations. Encourage students to create their own mental images, thereby illustrating the books themselves-filling in the pictures that the author paints using only words.

Writing

Text that is easy to visualize is often filled with vivid descriptions or strong verbs. Watch for sentences or paragraphs in students’ writing that lend themselves to practice with visualization. With students’ permission, share these examples with the class, encouraging discussion not only of the images created by the text but about why the chosen text allows for visualization. And encourage young writers to use language that generates images-this is when writing really sparkles!

Math

Visualization is a helpful skill in mathematics as well. Students often use manipulatives to make math concepts more concrete, and visualization is a way of internalizing the concepts the manipulatives reinforce. For instance, a class that has been studying fractions and using fraction bars can segue into a discussion comparing the sizes of fractions using common images. A question such as, “Would you rather have 1/2 or 1/3 of a pizza?” is more easily answered if students can picture a pizza (or at least a circle) and what 1/2 versus 1/3 looks like. At the beginning of such a conversation, you can draw two pizzas on the board, shading in 1/2 of the first and 1/3 of the second. As the discussion continues, (1/4 versus 1/8, 2/3 versus 3/4, and so on) challenge students to picture the pizzas in their minds or to draw their visual images.

Social Studies

As students study history, they are sometimes presented with a list of dates and names. For students to really visualize historic events, they need sufficient details to create rich pictures. Allow students opportunities to listen to or read personal accounts of an event or time period they are studying. When available, pieces written from a child’s perspective are helpful in forging personal links between students and the time period in question. For instance, Sarah Morton’s Day: A Day In The Life of a Pilgrim Girl and Samuel Eaton’s Day: A Day In The Life of a Pilgrim Boy, both by Kate Waters, provide context to help young children understand colonial life.

Science

Visualizing is sometimes a good challenge with some of the more abstract concepts studied in science. For instance, many classes study plants, and students are told that plants need water to grow. While students can memorize the fact that water travels from a plant’s roots through the stem to its leaves or buds, putting a white carnation in a vase filled with water that has been tinted blue with food coloring provides a vivid example of this process as students witness the flower eventually turn blue.

Lesson Plans

Visualizing: Following the Drinking Gourd
This lesson is designed to establish the skill of visualizing for primary students. In this lesson, students use clues from the text to be able to create their own images and imagine how characters are thinking and feeling.

Visualizing: Hill of Fire
This lesson is designed to expand the skill of visualizing for primary students.

It is crucial that homeschooling children perceive and understand what they read, no matter if they’re in first grade or twelfth grade.  The ability to comprehend text is an absolute necessity for students in the current fast-paced competitive digital world.  One way homeschoolers can improve their reading comprehension is by visualizing.  Read all about visualizing below in this great article I recently discovered.

What Is It?

Visualizing refers to our ability to create pictures in our heads based on text we read or words we hear. It is one of many skills that makes reading comprehension possible.

Why Is It Important?

Visualizing strengthens reading comprehension skills as students gain a more thorough understanding of the text they are reading by consciously using the words to create mental images. As students gain more deliberate practice with this skill, the act of visualizing text becomes automatic. Students who visualize as they read not only have a richer reading experience but can recall what they have read for longer periods of time. (Harvey & Goudvis 2000)

Visualizing text as it is being read or heard also creates personal links between the readers/listeners and text. Readers who can imagine the characters they read about, for instance, may become more involved with what they are reading. This makes for a more meaningful reading experience and promotes continued reading.

How Can You Make It Happen?

Visualizing is a skill that can be helpful in many domains, and while it is often associated with teaching early readers, even experienced readers can benefit from practice with this skill. When selecting a text for a visualizing activity, start with a piece that contains descriptive language and strong verbs and that lends itself to conjuring vivid images. It is not necessary to start with an entire book-even a well-crafted sentence or short paragraph can provide a rich springboard for a visualizing lesson.

Starting Small

To begin a series of lessons that will focus on improving visualizing skills, you might choose to start with a short passage taken from a text or of your own creation. For instance, the following sentences could be used to spark discussions:

Joan could barely believe her eyes. All these gifts were for her! She had never seen so many packages, not even on all her birthdays combined!

After listening to or reading the sentences once or twice, students can discuss the mental images created by the sentences. Students will likely differ in their descriptions of the scene. For instance, some may picture a small child surrounded by stacks of gifts. Others may imagine an older girl in front of a table piled with presents. There is no single correct answer, and those three simple sentences, though not particularly rich in detail, do offer enough information for the reader or listener to begin to form a mental picture.

Group Activities

Students can work on their visualizing skills as a whole class or in small groups. One way to challenge young students to improve their visualizing is to read a picture book aloud, sharing only portions of the illustrations. Then ask students to create their own illustrations based on the text they heard. More advanced readers might listen to a selection from a novel that the class has been reading and create a picture or written description of a character or setting based on the information in the text.

Independent Reading

Students can also practice their visualization skills as a follow up to independent reading. Ask young students who keep track of their reading in reading logs or journals to respond to prompts regarding the images created by the text they have read: “Does the main character remind you of anyone you know?” “Have you ever been to or seen any place that is like the setting of your book?” Very young students can also draw images in their journals, recording their mental pictures in response to their reading. You can discuss these drawings during one-on-one reading conferences.

Older students who are reading novels can think about questions such as, “If you were going to make a movie based on your book, who would you want to play the main characters?” “What would the scenery look like?” and “Where would you want to do the filming?” These questions get at the imagery created in the mind of the readers and encourage those readers to share their mental pictures in their responses.

Are you thinking about creating your own homeschool co-op or are you unfamiliar with what a cooperative is?  If so then please read this fantastic article I found while surfing the web this morning.  If you are in a co-op let me know how it’s going?  What are the benefits and what sort of unique things is your co-op doing this year? 

What Is It?

Cooperative Learning, sometimes called small-group learning, is an instructional strategy in which small groups of students work together on a common task. The task can be as simple as solving a multi-step math problem together, or as complex as developing a design for a new kind of school. In some cases, each group member is individually accountable for part of the task; in other cases, group members work together without formal role assignments.

According to David Johnson and Roger Johnson (1999), there are five basic elements that allow successful small-group learning:

• Positive interdependence: Students feel responsible for their own and the group’s effort.

• Face-to-face interaction: Students encourage and support one another; the environment encourages discussion and eye contact.

• Individual and group accountability: Each student is responsible for doing their part; the group is accountable for meeting its goal.

• Group behaviors: Group members gain direct instruction in the interpersonal, social, and collaborative skills needed to work with others occurs.

• Group processing: Group members analyze their own and the group’s ability to work together.

Cooperative learning changes students’ and teachers’ roles in classrooms. The ownership of teaching and learning is shared by groups of students, and is no longer the sole responsibility of the teacher. The authority of setting goals, assessing learning, and facilitating learning is shared by all. Students have more opportunities to actively participate in their learning, question and challenge each other, share and discuss their ideas, and internalize their learning. Along with improving academic learning, cooperative learning helps students engage in thoughtful discourse and examine different perspectives, and it has been proven to increase students’ self-esteem, motivation, and empathy.

Some challenges of using cooperative learning include releasing the control of learning, managing noise levels, resolving conflicts, and assessing student learning. Carefully structured activities can help students learn the skills to work together successfully, and structured discussion and reflection on group process can help avoid some problems.

Why Is It Important?

The authors of Classroom Instruction that Works cite research showing that organizing students in cooperative learning groups can lead to a gain as high as 28 percentiles in measured student achievement (Marzano, Pickering, and Pollock 2001).

Other researchers report that cooperation typically results in higher group and individual achievement, healthier relationships with peers, more metacognition, and greater psychological health and self-esteem (Johnson and Johnson 1989).

When implemented well, cooperative learning encourages achievement, student discussion, active learning, student confidence, and motivation. The skills students develop while collaborating with others are different from the skills students develop while working independently. As more businesses organize employees into teams and task forces, the skills necessary to be a “team player” (e.g., verbalizing and justifying ideas, handling conflicts, collaborating, building consensus, and disagreeing politely) are becoming more valuable and useful…

In 2007 it seems as if everyone is close to a child that has been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, but what exactly is ADHD/ADD?  How do you know if your child is suffering from this disorder?  How do you teach a child with ADD/ADHD, especially if they are homeschooled?

Learn the answers to all these questions and more in the helpful article below which I came across last night.  Please let me know what you think! Thanks!

ERIC EC Digest #E569, September 1998

Defining Attention Deficit Disorder/Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADD/ADHD)

Attention deficit disorder is a syndrome characterized by serious and persistent difficulties in the following three specific areas:

1. Attention span

2. Impulse control

3. Hyperactivity (sometimes)

ADD is a chronic disorder that can begin in infancy and extend through adulthood. It can have negative effects on a child’s life at home, in school, and within the community. It is conservatively estimated that 3 to 5% of our school-age population is affected by ADD.

The condition previously fell under the headings “learning disabled,” “brain damaged,” “hyperkinetic,” and/or “hyperactive.” The term attention deficit disorder was introduced to describe the characteristics of these children more clearly.

Diagnosing ADD/ADHD

According to the criteria in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed., rev., American Psychiatric Association, 1994), to arrive at a diagnosis of ADD/ADHD, the clinician must note the presence of at least six of the nine following criteria for either Attention Span or Hyperactivity/Impulsivity.

Attention Span Criteria

Pays little attention to details; makes careless mistakes.
Has short attention span.
Does not listen when spoken to directly.
Does not follow instructions; fails to finish tasks.
Has difficulty organizing tasks.
Avoids tasks that require sustained mental effort.
Loses things.
Is easily distracted.
Is forgetful in daily activities.

Hyperactivity Criteria

Fidgets; squirms in seat.
Leaves seat in classroom when remaining seated is expected.
Often runs about or climbs excessively at inappropriate times.
Has difficulty playing quietly.
Talks excessively.

Impulsivity Criteria

Blurts out answers before questions are completed.
Has difficulty awaiting turn.
Often interrupts or intrudes on others.

Establishing the Proper Learning Environment

• Seat students with ADD near the teacher’s desk, but include them as part of the regular class seating.

• Place these students up front with their backs to the rest of the class to keep other students out of view.

• Surround students with ADD with good role models.

• Encourage peer tutoring and cooperative/collaborative learning.

• Avoid distracting stimuli. Try not to place students with ADD near air conditioners, high traffic areas, heaters, or doors or windows.

• Children with ADD do not handle change well, so avoid transitions, physical relocation (monitor them closely on field trips), changes in schedule, and disruptions.

• Be creative! Produce a stimuli-reduced study area. Let all students have access to this area so the student with ADD will not feel different.

• Encourage parents to set up appropriate study space at home, with set times and routines established for study, parental review of completed homework, and periodic notebook and/or book bag organization.

Giving Instructions to Students with ADD/ADHD

• Maintain eye contact during verbal instruction.

• Make directions clear and concise. Be consistent with daily instructions.

• Simplify complex directions. Avoid multiple commands.

• Make sure students comprehend the instructions before beginning the task.

• Repeat instructions in a calm, positive manner, if needed.

• Help the students feel comfortable with seeking assistance (most children with ADD will not ask for help). Gradually reduce the amount of assistance, but keep in mind that these children will need more help for a longer period of time than the average child.

• Require a daily assignment notebook if necessary:

  1. Make sure each student correctly writes down all assignments each day. If a student is not capable of this, the teacher should help him or her.

  2. Sign the notebook daily to signify completion of homework assignments. (Parents should also sign.)

  3. Use the notebook for daily communication with parents.

Giving Assignments

• Give out only one task at a time.

• Monitor frequently. Maintain a supportive attitude.

• Modify assignments as needed. Consult with special education personnel to determine specific strengths and weaknesses of each student.

• Develop an individualized education program.

• Make sure you are testing knowledge and not attention span.

• Give extra time for certain tasks. Students with ADD may work slowly. Do not penalize them for needing extra time.

• Keep in mind that children with ADD are easily frustrated. Stress, pressure, and fatigue can break down their self-control and lead to poor behavior.

Modifying Behavior and Enhancing Self-Esteem

Providing Supervision and Discipline:

• Remain calm, state the infraction of the rule, and avoid debating or arguing with the student.

• Have pre-established consequences for misbehavior.

• Administer consequences immediately, and monitor proper behavior frequently.

• Enforce classroom rules consistently.

• Make sure the discipline fits the “crime,” without harshness.

• Avoid ridicule and criticism. Remember, children with ADD have difficulty staying in control.

• Avoid publicly reminding students on medication to “take their medicine.”

Providing Encouragement:

• Reward more than you punish, in order to build self-esteem.

• Praise immediately any and all good behavior and performance.

• Change rewards if they are not effective in motivating behavioral change.

• Find ways to encourage the child.

• Teach the child to reward himself or herself. Encourage positive self-talk (e.g., “You did very well remaining in your seat today. How do you feel about that?”). This encourages the child to think positively about himself or herself.

Other Educational Recommendations

• Educational, psychological, and/or neurological testing to determine learning style and cognitive ability and to rule out any learning disabilities (common in about 30% of students with ADD).

• A private tutor and/or peer tutoring at school.

• A class that has a low student-teacher ratio.

• Social skills training and organizational skills training.

• Training in cognitive restructuring (positive “self-talk,” e.g., “I did that well”).

• Use of a word processor or computer for schoolwork.

• Individualized activities that are mildly competitive or noncompetitive such as bowling, walking, swimming, jogging, biking, karate. (Note: Children with ADD/ADHD may not do as well as their peers in team sports.)

• Involvement in social activities such as scouting, church groups, or other youth organizations that help develop social skills and self-esteem.

• Allowing children with ADD to play with younger children, if that is where they fit in. Many children with ADD have more in common with younger children than with their age-peers. They can still develop valuable social skills from interaction with younger children.

References

American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed., rev.) (DSM-IV-R). Washington, DC: APA.

Suggested Reading

Bender, W. (1997). Understanding ADHD: A Practical Guide for Teachers and Parents. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill/Prentice Hall.

Fiore, T. (1993). “Educational interventions for students with attention deficit disorder.” Exceptional Children, 60(2), 163-73.

Gardill, M. (1996). “Classroom strategies for managing students with attention deficit/ hyperactivity disorder.” Intervention in School and Clinic, 32(2), 89-94.

Hallowell, E. (1994). Driven to Distraction: Recognizing and Coping with Attention Deficit Disorder from Childhood through Adulthood. Tappan, NJ: Simon & Schuster.

Hartmann, T. (1993). Attention Deficit Disorder: A Different Perception. Novato, CA: Underwood-Miller.

Reeve, R. (1996). A Continuing Education Program on Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Reston, VA: Council for Exceptional Children.

Rief, S. (1997). The ADD/ADHD Checklist. An Easy Reference for Parents and Teachers. Reston, VA: Council for Exceptional Children.

Robelia, B. (1997). “Tips for working with ADHD students of all ages.” Journal of Experiential Education, 20(1), 51-53.

Schiller, E. (1996). “Educating children with attention deficit disorder.” Our Children, 22(2), 32-33.

Contact your local school psychologist, examiner, or personnel in charge of assessment and diagnosis in your school district for specific information and local programs.

Copyright ©1996-1998
ERIC Clearinghouse on Disabilities and Gifted Education
http://www.teachervision.fen.com/go/http/www.eric.ed.gov/