11th grade curriculum

[angnia864]

Hello, After reading the forums I feel like I am the only one that has a
child going in to high school (11th Grade). I think that I am going to be
lost
this year. We have been using abeka, and Bob Jones. This year the 11th
grade
courses appear to be a little more complicated than before. Does anyone
have
any suggestions for a new curriculum for an 11th Grader?
Thanks ahead of time.
Angie

[Dianna]

Does anyone have any suggestions for a new curriculum for an 11th Grader? Thanks ahead of time. Angie

Angie, there are others here, they just haven't had time to get involved with the forums yet. Can you tell us which subjects you want recommendations for? That would help us narrow our recommendations. Also, do you want religiously-oriented resources, secular, or either one? My oldest just graduated and I'd be happy to share recommendations of what worked for us and what I've heard has worked for others, but I could be more helpful if I knew what subjects you're planning on first. :smile2:

Dianna

[angnia864]

Could you share recommendations of what worked for you and what you've heard has worked for others. We will be taking English, Math Science, History, and Spanish. We have been using textbooks. I guess what I need to know is which way can I go if I chose not to use textbooks? Thanks Angie

[Dianna]

We will be taking English, Math, Science, History, and Spanish. I guess what I need to know is which way can I go if I chose not to use textbooks?

Angie, for English, are you looking for writing, or literature, or both? That's usually the two main areas that high school-age students are focusing on in a typical English course. For writing, I really like the Wordsmith books. If your child is a reluctant writer, start out with Wordsmith, then go on to Wordsmith Craftsman. I have a review of this series and a link to samples on my reviews page at www.carolinahomeschooler.com/reviews.htm (http://www.carolinahomeschooler.com/reviews.htm) and on my links page at www.carolinahomeschooler.com/links.htm (http://www.carolinahomeschooler.com/links.htm) A non-textbook method would be to take an online writing course, or hire a local writer or teacher to help your student learn writing skills. (But the Wordsmith books are not textbooky and user-friendly.)

For Literature, I like for my children to read literature from a wide variety of genres, authors, and periods. In high school, I like to coordinate literature with the period in history they're studying. If they're studying the Great Depression, then I'll choose a book that focuses on that era. If they're studying World History, I'll choose books that coincide with the topics they're studying with that. Then we'll discuss the books, or write an essay about a theme in the book. We sometimes use book notes found on different online sites to find good discussion and essay questions. Links to some sites are on my links page.

For Math, a lot of people like the texts by Margaret Lial. You can read more about this series by a link on my Links page (look under mathematics), but don't buy directly from the publisher. Instead, look at used books sites like eBay, half.com, and Amazon Marketplace to find older editions for a fraction of the cost. They're just as good, but a lot cheaper. There are also CDs you can get for most of the texts (Digital Video Tutor, I think that's what they're called), and it will tutor the student step-by-step through the text. I can't make recommendations for completely non-textbook methods for math because I just found it easier at the higher grades to use textbooks. If these texts don't seem suitable, yell and I'll talk about alternatives.

For Science, a lot of people like the Apologia texts (link on my Links page, again). We used these for my older son, but I think I'll use a non-textbook method for my next son. He's a reader and really enjoys science-related magazines and books. He's already learned so much this way that I'd like to continue with the same method (at least that's what I'm planning on doing... it'll be a couple of years before he'll be in high school). I'm planning on just using a table of contents from a standard high school- or college-level text, and encourage him to cover the topics listed in the contents, and conduct experiments on the concepts he learns. I think he'd get so much more out of learning science this way than out of a text. However, my oldest son preferred textbooks for science and did very well with Apologia. He really enjoyed the author's conversational style.

For World History and US History, we used very good college-level texts for my oldest, not because they were more difficult than high school, but because they covered so much more than a typical, watered-down, passed-through-a-committee high school text. He used them as a "spine" to make sure he learned the scope of history, and then augmented his study with good literature and movies that brought the time periods to life. With my next son, we'll probably approach these subjects the same way we're planning on learning science -- use a table of contents as a guide, and read good literature, magazines, watch movies, do research papers, and use various other resources (museum visits, oral interviews, etc.) to learn the various time periods listed on the table of contents. He can focus more on the periods that interest him more, less on the topics that he's least interested in.

For Spanish, if you have Dish Network, there are free Spanish classes on the University Channel for elementary through Spanish I. I've heard very good things about these programs. Other people like Rosetta Stone products (computer-based), or the Learnables (cassettes or CD-based), both of which are linked on my Links page, or Madrigal's Magic Key to Spanish (check on Amazon for reviews) in combination with workbooks by... hmmm... I can't remember her name, but they're workbooks that review pronouns, verbs, and other Spanish grammar points (if you read the Amazon reviews about Madrigal's book, a lot of people will mention these other workbooks). Out of all of these, I think I'd go with the Dish Network series, if possible, because it's free, and visual plus auditory, and has a very good reputation. If you don't have Dish Network, I'd go with Madrigal and the workbooks. The absolute best approach to Spanish, however, would be to interact with the Spanish-speaking community and hire a native speaker to teach/tutor your child. It would be more expensive, but that's the only way to become fluent, in my opinion (besides living in a country which speaks your target language).

Okay, I guess I've rambled long enough. Are you sorry you asked? :biggrin2:

Let me know if you have any questions or would like other recommendations.

Warmly,
Dianna

[angnia864]

Dianna Thank you so much. I don't feel as lost as before. Now I really look forward to getting school started.
Thanks
Angie

[Dianna]

Angie, you're very welcome! :smile2: Let me know if you have any other questions as you go along. Also, I just started a high school group in the Special Interest Groups area. Please join us and we'll really delve into the high school years more.

Dianna