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Author: Debra Bell

  • The Best of the Web for Teaching Writing

    Aim Academy Pre-AP English teacher, Lauren Bailes, has compiled a list of the best interactive writing tools on the web you can use to help your kids learn to love the process of writing.  We’re making it available as a free PDF file you can download here.

    Here is a snippet you will find inside:

    Select & organize
    https://www.exploratree.org.uk

    There are thousands of graphic organizers out there, but
    some are a little stale. Exploratree is the next generation of graphic
    organizer. With dozens of templates plus customizable shapes, colors, and the
    possibility for collaboration, this site is actually capable of capturing
    thinking as it happens – and as it changes. (Bonus tech tool: use this teaching guide
    for additional pointers with many graphic organizers.)

     

  • AAO Creative Writing Class

    A review by Carmen Paddock

    Mrs. Serbicki’s Creative Writing class is a must not only for those students interested in fiction and poetry, but for any student wanting to expand their writing horizons beyond the research paper (and have a great time while doing so!). As a writer, I fell into both categories. The main reason I signed up for this particular course, instead of the myriad others offered for homeschooled high school students, was the scope of subjects covered. The first semester was spent analyzing different elements of fiction, from characterization to dialogue to setting and beyond. The second semester delved into different types of fiction and storytelling, from point of view and tone to science fiction, poetry, realism, and drama. Covering both the elements and forms of fiction made it unique and well-rounded among the other online creative writing classes that I’ve seen.

    While there was some variation in the structure, we read and discussed a famous piece of fiction one week and then worked on a related fiction project the next; while prompts were (thankfully) often provided, there was a lot of leeway to pursue our own ideas and plot lines! We also had weekly Skype chats which were wonderful for that jolt of inspiration – chatting with Mrs. Serbicki and classmates was a great way to free a writer’s block! Over the course of the year my favorite projects were the character study, the dialogue study, the speculative fiction assignment, and the poetry weeks. The most challenging to me were the setting study, the realist retelling of a classic fairytale/myth, and the drama assignment.

    I feel that Mrs. Serbicki’s instruction helped me get past my fear of writing fiction – under her guidance I actually finished stories – and fine-tuned my narration and plot development, steering me away from melodrama into honest, engaging tales. I highly, highly recommend this class to any high school student interested in honing storytelling skills or just looking for a fun alternative to traditional English courses.

    You can find out more here.

  • The Scientific Method Ain’t What It Use to Be

    by Vicki Dincher, guest blogger & Aim Academy Science Teacher

    We all remember the 5 steps of the scientific method: observe, hypothesize, experiment, analyze, and repeat.  While science still involves hypotheses-testing,
    it is so much more.

    First, it might help to get the bigger picture of what science is and what it is not.  Science is not a collection of facts.  It is not
    boring, nor purely analytical. Science is not done by solitary, middle-aged men in laboratories. It is not absolute and unchanging, nor can it prove or disprove
    ideas.

    The goal of science is to explain the natural world around us. Every parent of a toddler or elementary school-age child knows that the desire to make sense of the world around us is innate.  Ever hear questions like:  “what’s that?”, “why is the sky blue?”, or
    “what make a marshmallow so puffy?” This is where true science begins.

    Yes, science involves exploration and discovery, but the process of science is nonlinear, unpredictable, and ongoing.  Its critical thinking and problem-solving at its
    best, or it should be. The study of science and the process of understanding the natural world around us known as the scientific method is better labeled as “active learning” IMHO.

    Learning that does not involve thinking is nothing but the memorization of facts not understood, resulting in the formation of
    mere opinions; not the possession of genuine knowledge and understanding. (Adler 1987, p.11)

    So what can you do? Make sure the science that you “do” with your children–their activities and assignments– are designed so that they need to think their way through them.
    As your child explores new topics in science give them opportunities to observe, hypothesize, contemplate, generalize, create, test, evaluate and talk about they are thinking.  Help them identify
    and solve problems or questions they come up with as they study science. Take your time. Let ideas percolate. Don’t be in a hurry to tell them the right answer or explain – let them practice reasoning from the evidence of what theysee.

    Then you’ll be using the scientific method.

    And the next time you’re asked what makes a marshmallow so puffy, go to the Popular Science website, https://www.popsci.com/diy/article/2008-11/anatomy-marshmallow
    and learn how to make some marshmallows with your children!

    At Aim Academy, our science classes use active learning strategies designed to aid students in gaining genuine knowledge and understanding of science concepts.

     

    Adler, M.J. 1987.
    “Critical thinking” programs: Why they won’t work. The Education Digest  52(7): 9-11.

     

  • What is Academic Writing?

    Academic writing is the type of writing students are expected to produce in response to content they learn about in an academic setting; i.e. school. It’s how they formally join the “scholarly conversation.” And it can begin at a very young age, when a child writes a report about a book he has read or a topic she has learned about. It is not a personal experience, nor a story, nor merely a description. (more…)

  • The Independent Learner: Tip No.1

    Give them a choice…

    When are you most motivated?

    I’ll bet you find yourself more motivated to complete tasks you’ve chosen, rather than those tasks someone else requires of you. ( Think: reading the book you brought home from the library vs. doing your income taxes, for instance.)

    Why is that?  We have a will and we like to use it.  So do babies, toddlers, kids and teens.  It’s human nature. We want to be autonomous in our actions.  It explains the compelling attraction of democratic ideals. It also explains why most kids eventually disengage from school in a traditional setting. Years and years of being directed, managed and controlled by others takes its toll: It is demotivating.  Think about it. Is it even possible to be an independent learner in a traditional context?  I don’t think so — and I tried.  I taught gifted teens in a public school eons ago. That experience shaped my educational philosophy. Why did I have the students with the most academic potential facing me, and so many could care less about learning? I did everything I could think of to get those kids engaged. I chose books I thought they would enjoy, my lectures were entertaining and my assignments creative. You know when I got the greatest signs of life? When I let my students choose what to read, what to discuss, or what projects to complete.

    I tried to give them choices whenever possible.  But there were standards to meet and requirements to fulfill. When I started homeschooling, I vowed to go another route. I wasn’t going to let my kids become those dependent, sullen teenagers in the first place. I wanted to preserve that independent quest for knowledge I saw in my toddlers if at all possible.  Giving them choices was always the secret key to unlock their motivation to learn.

    Here are 5 ways:

    1. Let them choose what book to read. Guide their selection by limiting the range.  One mom I know required her kids to read at least 5 books a month: one biography, one nonfiction, one historical fiction, one Newbery award winner and one free choice.

    2. Let them decide the order in which they complete their schoolwork. Set a deadline ( end of day, for instance) but they get to manage their time.

    3. Let them decide what time their day begins and ends. If kids want to get a late start, fine. Most teenagers will elect this option, but they still might be at it come midnight. Is that really a problem? Some days maybe but not always. We want to set parameters — those are important, but don’t make the parameters any tighter than necessary.

    4. Let them choose the topics they wish to study.  Consider history as an example. Yes, it’s important that kids eventually understand the chronological progression of history, but that doesn’t mean you have to then study history in chronological order. They can figure out chronology with a few study aids. We had a homemade timeline-in-progress for years hanging up on the perimeter of our schoolroom walls.  As we studied a new historical person, event or era; we just added it to the timeline we all could see at a glance. Our brains do not build knowledge sequentially, our brains build a web of interconnected knowledge. You can approach any subject in this way as well.  They’ll be fine. Raising an independent learner is what is most important — having a few historical facts out of place is of secondary concern.

    5. Let their interests direct the curriculum. When your child is interested in a subject, that’s an indication of readiness to learn that subject. Get behind their passions. Show them how to find out more about their interests. Join them in their pursuits. Give them some of your homeschool funds to invest in tools, books and field trips related to their passions. What we are learning is not as important as learning how to learn. Use your child’s interests to facilitate this.

    The independent learner is your friend. That is how you will survive long-term in homeschooling. So where you can give choice, you will find motivation, and where you find motivation, you will find independence.  That’s the road you want to take.

    Hey, there are a lot more ways you can give your kids opportunity to make decisions and choose what to do.  What has worked in your home?

  • The Independent Learner: Tip No. 2

    Build on their interests…

     I want to pick up where I left off last post — If you want to raise an independent learner, then build your program around your child’s interests. Independent learners are intrinsically motivated to learn. And interest is the fuel of that intrinsic motivation. You want to keep that fuel in abundant supply.  If you don’t build on your children’s interests, then they will lose interest; and you will be dragging your kids through the curriculum, instead of greasing the rails of independent learning. 

    Here’s an idea for building on interest.  First, make a list of topics your child finds interesting.  Then brain storm ( with your child if he or she is old enough) about all the possible lines of investigation to pursue in each subject area.

    Let’s use animals as a common area of interest in many young children. How many places in your daily studies can you leverage that innate curiosity about animals to get your kids engaged?

    • Math – solve problems related to caring for animals, stablizing the animal population or predicting the developmental growth curve for your family dog.
    • Science – bring veterinarian science into your science studies or center your science fair project around a favorite animal.
    • Literature – plenty of quality fiction in each age group that features an animal as a central character.
    • Language arts – let your kids write stories about pets or reports on issues related to animals.
    • Music – listen to Saint-Saëns The Carnival of the Animals and Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf for a start.
    • History – investigate the origins and domestication of horses, cats, dogs, etc. Or study the development of zoos or the military history of animals. 

    In all these examples, what matters is kids are engaged in learning how to learn.  They are developing their skills in math, science, reading, writing, music and history. The content they are working with to develop those skills is what is very flexible ( in this example, animals).  In skill work, what is important is plenty of practice. And kids are only going to practice repeatedly skills they find meaningful and rewarding — that’s why skills need to be used to satisfy a child’s natural curiosity.  You want to be working with your child’s inner timetable for learning, not against it. ( Unless you like misery.) 

    Once you’ve hooked them into the learning moment through their expressed interests, then use that momentum to make connections to other important concepts you need to emphasize.  Because you are drawing your kids into the learning experience through their interests, you will be able to build curiosity for those things they don’t yet know are intriguing. 

    Next time I’ll talk about how to promote curiosity and interest where there isn’t any.