My fifth grade son (and I) just finished reading two books: "A View From Saturday" and "Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy". It was a struggle for him because they use a common literary technique of telling a tale assuming that you know what's going on, but never giving you enough facts, or they explain things much later. "A View.." also jumped back and forth in time and changed the person who was "speaking". I suppose it's good for him to see common literary techniques, but to me, it seems like they are the only points to these books. The story gets lost.

In "Lizzie Bright..." there is also a heavy moral tone and lots of fuzzy "meaningful" ideas, like touching the whale. There are also a lot of racism, bullies, death, and bad grownups. Real life, and the teacher is bound and determined to use these novels to make her points. Books that English teachers love - not fifth grade boys. How about an autobiography of Jackie Robinson?

-- SteveH - 05 Dec 2006

-- BarryGarelick - 05 Dec 2006

-- KDeRosa - 05 Dec 2006

Mr. Woodhouse was resigned. The time of year lightened the evil to him. May was better for every thing than February. Mrs. Bates was engaged to spend the evening at Hartfield, James had due notice, and he sanguinely hoped that neither dear little Henry nor dear little John would have any thing the matter with them, while dear Emma was gone.

For all you sentence diagrammers out there, is it James hoping that neither Henry or John get ill while Emma is gone, or is it Mr Woodhouse, or is the sentence badly written?

The full chapter is chapter 37 of Emma.

-- TracyW - 05 Dec 2006

-- RobynW - 18 Nov 2006

Check Saxon (Hake) too. Catherine and I have the one that starts at 6th grade. It is very specific about how to approach writing assignments. I'm sure they have something for the younger grades.

I also went to my local teacher store where they have a ton of writing stuff for every grade. I found a pretty decent book for my eldest. Those stores also sometimes cater to homeschoolers.

-- SusanS - 17 Nov 2006

-- RobynW - 17 Nov 2006

-- KathyIggy - 17 Nov 2006

The school also doesn't send writing home on a regular basis, so parents are often not even aware that there's a problem. Writing homework is almost never assigned. My kids' problems with writing surprised me.

I will follow your suggestion and try to generate ideas at home with them. However, I would love to find an alternative curriculum, like a Saxon-type, incremental approach to writing. I guess it doesn't exist. I know this has been discussed before on this site.

-- RobynW - 17 Nov 2006

I suspect that to be the root of the problem. It is generally much harder to "write about something interesting" than it is to write about a specific topic. Perhaps, if your kids are likely to continue to have open-ended writing, you could work with your kids to figure out a few ideas at home and list them on cards for the next writing assignment.

-- DougSundseth - 17 Nov 2006

It doesn't help that the writing program is very unstructured and open-ended. My kids are shy and don't always like to share their thoughts. My son in particular is self-conscious. I think this contributes to his problems.

Catherine, you once said you needed a KUMON type program for writing. I wonder if you ever found anything. I would appreciate any advice.

-- RobynW - 17 Nov 2006

I've actually seen something like this in my Blog travels but I'll be dipped if I can find it again-

Thanks Dee Hodson

-- DeeHodson^? - 16 Nov 2006

--PV

-- PaulaV - 03 Nov 2006

-- KtmGuest - 01 Nov 2006

The reading homework...each indivdual page corrected or the whole booklet?

My director was quite busy so I couldn't ask him. Last night was my son's first lesson and I'm wondering if I graded them incorrectly.

Thanks!

--PV

-- PaulaV - 01 Nov 2006

This is a long video, but it is excellent. My state desperately needs a group like this.

-- LoneRanger - 25 Oct 2006

-- KtmGuest - 13 Sep 2006

My question is this: does anyone have any thoughts about constructive ways to approach the individual teacher, or the school as a whole, to discuss moving on to something new, and not wasting time doing basically the same thing for the Nth year in a row? I'm so frustrated I want to scream, but I don't think that will get us anywhere.

-- DaleA - 07 Sep 2006

"Mathematics for the profoundly gifted in middle school and high school"

"Advanced summer program for students who love math and entering grades 7 - 9 after the program"

This year's MathPath is already over, but you can read about it for next year, and take the entrance exam [pdf].

-- GoogleMaster - 08 Aug 2006

On a typical school tour, you are shown all the modern classroom buildings and shiny computers, you're told the school has an award from the federal department of education (eh?) and you get a nice, firm handshake from administrators. But none of this tells you anything about whether your child will learn how to decode unfamiliar words, how to multiply two-digit numbers without using a calculator, or to state the year the Civil War started.

Here are just a few suggestions on evaluating schools for your children.

The School Tour In how many classrooms did you see actual teaching taking place, as opposed to seeing the kids working on a project, meeting in small workgroups, writing stories, doing a web search? Actually keep a count. You shouldn't expect (or want) to see teaching all the time in every class, but it should be a strong part of the children's day. Score extra points if you see teaching punctuated with lively teacher questions and student responses.

Make a note of how desks are arranged in each classroom. Is every child's desk facing the teacher? Or, are desks bunched together so that children are in groups facing each other? Beware of schools that diminish the role of the teacher as the leader and instructor, and arrange classrooms so as to make group projects the principle activity.

Look critically at the decorations in the classroom. You certainly expect that a classroom should be an inviting, welcoming place. But is it also reassuring, calming, and designed to assist children on focusing on the teacher and on their lessons? Or, are postings, decorations, colors, etc., so startling that distraction is a certainty?

School Brochures The school will probably have a "Mission Statement" or a sheet such as "Our Philosophy." Usually, such documents tell you almost nothing useful about a school. Every once in a while, though, there is an exception (such as Flossmoor, Illinois).

Get a copy of the school's curriculum outline, which should tell you what specific topics your child actually will be learning, for each individual grade and for each individual subject. (To get a sense of what a complete curriculum outline should look like, it's worthwhile to invest the $20 or so to get a copy of the Core Knowledge Sequence.) Reading Ask about the school's approach to teaching reading ... see if they mention phonics without your prompting. If they are enthusiastic about their "literature-based" program and don't mention phonics, you probably are at a whole language school. Also be cautious if they immediately start emphasizing their "balanced" approach. Look for "word walls" and other whole language hallmarks. What you need to know is the school's specific program for phonics. Which phonics technique is used? Is there a spelling workbook, and does it emphasize phonics letter-groups, or only thematic groups ("words about transportation")? Are all teachers expected to emphasize phonics, or does implementation depend on the tastes and experience of individual teachers? Writing Take note of displayed writing efforts. Do they have substantive topics or do they indicate an emphasis on "me" reflections? Is there a clear structure, or do they ramble? Do opinions stand alone, or are they supported by facts? Are grammar and spelling errors corrected? Literature Are assigned books challenging, uplifting and enriching? Or, does there seem to be an excessive emphasis on gritty, dire social problems and politically-correct heavy issues? Have your heard of the assigned books, or are they mostly less challenging books with recent copyright dates? Is a healthy mix of non-fiction included in assigned reading? Look to see if books are available that have strong, positive characters of the same gender as your child. Math First, check our Math-By-District page. At the school, ask to see the math textbooks used, and write down the full name of the publisher and the specific name of the program (publishers often sell several very different series). If there is no textbook, there will be worksheets or other materials: you can get the publisher and program names from these, often written in small text on the bottom or along the side. Then, back at home, go to our web page on math to find reviews of that program.

Consider whether the emphasis in these books or materials is on political correctness and flashy graphics, or on math. Visit the local Kumon center, or other afterschool tutoring service, and ask them about the district's math program.

Science Do the school officials emphasize learning content in science, or do they only talk about "hands-on experiments" and "discovery"? Active involvement is good, but it always should be designed in support of educational content goals. What is the school's guiding document on what science content is to be learned? Are a broad range of science areas covered in depth, or is there an unbalanced skew towards just a few areas, such as animals or rainforests? Social Studies What topics are taught in history and geography in grades 1, 2 and 3? A progressivist school offers very little substance in these areas before grades 4 or 5, offering instead such limited topics as map-reading skills, "my neighborhood", pioneer and Indian life, and a mere handful of disconnected historical figures. A good school will teach kids how to learn and feed their natural desire to learn by giving them substantive, interesting content in both history and geography.

In upper grades, look to see how they cover the history of Europe and western civilization. Many schools suffice with some thin coverage in a single year, and a startling number of schools jump from ancient civilizations directly to American history, with scant coverage of anything in between.

As one quick but powerful measure, try The Napoleon Test, which many schools will fail! Scheduling Does the school use any double-length periods (block scheduling)? This almost guarantees that the school is run by progressivists. The long periods make it all but impossible for a teacher to use traditional instruction, and all-too-often the time gets filled with movies, projects and activities rather than learning. "Technology" The link between learning and having computers in a school is tentative at best. Do not be easily swayed by dazzling, "curb-appeal" attractions like computer labs. (Conversely, do not be dismayed if a school seems to be more committed to teaching than in loading up on expensive hardware.)

Instead, ask what the kids are actually doing with all these computers. Are they learning about the technology itself and about how a computer operates, perhaps going so far as to dissassemble old computers to study their workings? Or, is there a lot of vague talk about web "research", creating presentations, or "infusing" classwork with "technology"?

And while you're being shown all the new computers, check for proven past "technology" as well: does every classroom have a TV and VCR? If a school has shiny computers in every class but a teacher needs a special requisition for a TV to make a point with a short video, then something is wrong with the priorities. Choice You'll start your child in a school with the best of hopes. But suppose that someday you find that the school is not what you hoped for, or just in general, that your child isn't prospering. Or, you might discover that your two children have quite different learning styles and need schools with differing approaches. Would you have to move just to get a better school? So, find out what choices are available. What is the district's policy on registering your children at another school in the district? Do they use "open enrollment", or are you required to send your kids to the school they assign you to? Are there any charter schools? If choice is allowed, it is a meaningful choice: are curriculum decisions made by individual schools, or by the district? Is it possible to register at schools in adjoining districts? Values, Character and Discipline Pay full attention as you tour the school. Are children corrected when they interrupt? Is swearing tolerated? Do you see anyone holding doors for anyone else? Do students seem to be wandering the hallways between classes? Are lower grade classes chaotic free-for-alls, or does it look like learning is occurring? Look into the junior high level classes: are students actively engaged but also courteously and attentively listening?

What is the penalty for not doing homework? Is there one?

Look at posted artwork -- is it generally in good taste? How are students dressed: appropriately, or anything goes?

Consider visiting at least one Catholic, Lutheran or other values-centered private school if only to calibrate your expectations.

Copyright 2006, The Illinois Loop. All Rights Reserved. Home Page Site Map Contact Us

-- LoneRanger - 12 Jun 2006

The response was entirely an ad hominem and didn't address your argument at all. I might suggest that this is because the responder had no ability to address your argument. ("If the law is on your side, pound on the law. If the facts are on your side, pound on the facts. If neither is on your side, pound on the table.")

Also, there are certainly schools with very high percentages of Hispanic kids that do well, and the evidence points to the school's curriculum. See Joanne Jacobs's book for a case study. Nor is that school alone; one school we thought about putting our son in* would also qualify as a case study. Both the school and the district are heavily Hispanic, but Valley View was teaching those kids.

* Valley View Elementary in Adams County, Colorado. Take a look at the "Free and reduced lunch" numbers and compare that school to the state average or the district average. (In the end, we chose to go with a different school because the principal was changing and the new principal was spending her time talking about all the things she was planning to change at the school.)

-- DougSundseth - 15 May 2006

I don't really have a snappy comeback, but wouldn't you profit more as a tutor by saying absolutely nothing? I would think just sitting back and letting the school continue to shoot itself in the foot with all of its excuses would be the way to go if you were truly motivated by money.

By offering up a way for the school to reform itself it seems more likely that you could very well put yourself out of business.

-- SusanS - 15 May 2006

HELP!!!! I need the great minds of KTM to come to my rescue and help me write a clever come back to our local paper. You see, I wrote a letter to the editor in a response to said editor’s opinion that our district’s poor showing on the recently released state reading exam for third grade were due to the Hispanic students in our district. This editor and our district love to place the blame on the kids, especially the hispanic children, instead of looking at poor instructional practices. Our district has 47% Hispanic kids. In my letter I highlighted a study just published by the Center for the Future of Arizona & Morrison Institute for Public Policy titled, "Why Some Schools with Latino Children Beat the Odds and Others Don't". (www.asu.edu/copp/morrison/LatinEd.pdf). My letter included this quote: “No Excuses: Don't even think about playing a blame game when students aren't learning. Have strength to look at the problem and take responsibility.

-Accountability

Don't think the solution is "out there." If students aren't learning, the school needs to change. -Bottom Line: No one is allowed to lag behind. If every student in every classroom isn't learning, the school isn't doing its job.” I ended my letter contrasting a successful district in my state with ours. I used statistics pulled from the state departement of education website to show that this other district has more challenging demographics than ours yet are successfully educating more children. I mentioned using proven successful programs and this other district uses Lindamood-Bell district-wide as their reading program. (My district only uses trendy fad-driven curricula and have been whole language driven for 20 years.)

Now someone has responded with this, “With regard to Lone Ranger’s comment about our School District, Lone Ranger, it should be noted, tutors kids in the district for money. Children who are pulled out of schools by their parents to do private tutoring, so she does profit from finding fault with the district, and I wish she had mentioned that in her letter. Not that her complaints are all completely wrong, but it's important to know somebody's motivation when writing a letter and that she earns a living when schools don't do well and students come to her for help, so that's important to state when writing a letter to the editor complaining about something. You need to be honest about your motivation. Thank you” My motivation for writing the letter had nothing to do with my tutoring. I tutor very part time and currently have a waiting list. My motivation in writing the letter was to educate the editor and other people of our town. I would love your help in creating a great response. Thanks in advance.

-- LoneRanger - 15 May 2006

Hello, your e-mail address [my address deleted] , has been taken from the open sources. My name is [spammer's name deleted]. I am the main manager of Web Click Company. We are engaged in software developing and design. The main office of our Company is located in Lithuania. We are searching for employees to work in our company worldwide. If you wish to have additional income from 4000 to 10 000 dollars a month, working from your house this offer is for you. The choice of vacancies is huge (designers, managers, auditors, financiers). We will offer you the best conditions to work. Also if you own a company or if you are managing director of the company we offer you to cooperation with us.

Please do not reply to this letter. Send your contact data and your CV to this e-mail: [throwaway spammer address deleted] - it is our temproary e-mail.

[my address deleted] sorry for possible disturbance

-- GoogleMaster - 10 May 2006

I want it for a book review, where the author just tosses off a reference to under-funded American schools. The idea that all schools need is more funding is a problem in NZ too.

-- TracyW - 27 Apr 2006

i've completely missed the conversation here!

off for the weekend - back on Monday, & will read!

-- CatherineJohnson - 14 Apr 2006

Did you see this?

The Wright Group:

Growing With Mathematics

http://www.wrightgroup.com/index.php/programlanding?isbn=L000000002

This is interesting because The Wright Group used to publish MathLand - the worst of the worst and banned in California. Even The Wright Group dropped it and wiped it off the face of their web site.

It's also interesting because they have been bought out by McGraw^?-Hill who also pushes Everyday Math. Growing With Mathematics (Pre-K - 5th grade) overlaps with Everyday Math. I would have to search around a little to see if they distinguish between the two programs.

From their web site:

"Growing with Mathematics is a core mathematics program that is appropriate for all PreK^? - 5 student populations. The mathematical content and sequence of the program, and the teaching methods it promotes, were determined through extensive field testing and in-depth research. Growing with Mathematics equips students with a variety of thinking strategies they can use to solve problems effectively and confidently. The program addresses NCTM standards and is recognized by the National Science Foundation as a research-based curriculum. The U.S. Department of Education recognizes Growing with Mathematics as a promising program."

Need I say more?

How about this from their 3rd grade course:

"Facts and Basic Skills In third-grade, students are introduced to the meanings of and relationship between multiplication and division. Students develop a strong conceptual understanding of multiplication and division as they model problems with pictures, arrays, and manipulatives."

They are: "introduced to meanings of and relationships between" "develop a strong conceptual understanding" "model problems with pictures, arrays, and manipulatives"

They apparently don't learn to DO anything. They are introduced, but not taught, They develop concepts, but don't use them. They model problems, but don't solve them.

This sounds like a renamed MathLand that is even worse than Everyday Math.

This is from the other part of their web site:

"Everyday Mathematics is a rigorous PreK^?-6 curriculum used across the country. It is scientifically research-based and proven to build students' mathematical knowledge from the basics to higher-order thinking and critical problem solving."

I guess Growing With Mathematics is NOT RIGOROUS. I would have to agree with that. However, Everyday Math is adequate ONLY IF it is carefully supplemented. And, if you have to supplement it, then why not use something better in the first place? By the way, one of the developers of EM says that it is not for the elite. I would extend that to any child who wants to get on the college prep math track in high school. Of course, this means that one can tell who is elite or not when they start one of these programs in first grade.

-- SteveH - 14 Apr 2006

My disrtict, and the neighboring distric, in Connecticut uses Growing with math. I can't seem to find any reviews or info about this curriculum- Ive tried many of the usual places (Illinois loop, Mathematically Correct, NYCHold) but come up dry. Have you, or you posters come across any more info on this program?

Thanks Dee

-- DeeHodson^? - 14 Apr 2006

-- TracyW - 05 Apr 2006

As Susan noted, Strunk and White is excellent; solid, practical advice in an unintimidating short book. The first subject in my edition is, "Form the possessive singular of nouns by adding 's". Rule 17: "Omit needless words". I'd recommend it as a basic guide.

For a more-English take, you might try The New Fowler's Modern English Usage, 3rd Ed). It's longer, and denser, but still solid, practical advice. Some prefer earlier editions, which run to the more prescriptive and idiosyncratic, but I disagree. I can't find my copy around for quotes, sorry.

I rather like Theodore M. Bernstein's Dos, Don'ts, & Maybes of English Usage. More of a reference than a teaching tool, though.

I wouldn't recommend Lynne Truss's Eats, Shoots & Leaves as a general reference. It's an entertaining, book-length rant, and I don't mind having bought it, but it's a bit weak when as actual grammar advice.

-- DougSundseth - 05 Apr 2006

Thanks. I was freaking a bit because of the level of problems. No human being can write a paper while explicitly thinking about the sheer number of things my coworker is getting wrong.

It's really brought home to me the importance of teaching and correcting grammar, punctuation and word use in stages so a lot of this becomes automatic.

I think I might also resort to telling my co-worker to run the grammar checker on the papers. It's bad, but at least it will pick up on seriously incomplete sentences.

One, they are technical people; two, for many of them, English is their second (or third or more) language.

We're talking about someone with a arts degree who is as Kiwi as me.

-- TracyW - 05 Apr 2006

-- SusanS - 04 Apr 2006

-- GoogleMaster - 04 Apr 2006

With great effort. (Sorry, I really don't mean that to be flip.)

What's worked for (and on) me is good editing, and the gradual identification of systematic errors. Each time you work with a new document, identify the one or two biggest systematic problems in the writing and point them out as systematic problems at the same time as you are correcting all of the other, lesser, problems. With luck, the incidence of those problems will drop in future documents and you can then move on to correct less important problems.

(I intend to address your earlier posts here today, but I don't have some of my grammar and writing books with me at work. I'll try to get to the questions when I get home tonight.)

-- DougSundseth - 04 Apr 2006

I keep thinking of the old Strunk and White Element's of Style that has been updated. It's tiny, but it's all there. Or a good used college freshman text.

We talked earlier about the Air Force Writing manual. My dad had an old one, but it looks straightforward, simple and to the point.

-- SusanS - 04 Apr 2006

How do you train a co-worker how to write?

-- TracyW - 04 Apr 2006

-- GoogleMaster - 04 Apr 2006

-- TracyW - 04 Apr 2006

-- TracyW - 04 Apr 2006

Brains Of Very Smart Kids Mature Later

All about the thickening of the cerebral cortex in very smart kids vs smart kids vs average kids.

-- GoogleMaster - 30 Mar 2006