Archive for category Personalized Homeschool Curriculum
“Classical Skills, not Stages” – podcast episode 1
Posted by Diane in Personalized Homeschool Curriculum on May 29th, 2009
A brief explanation of the purpose of the classical trivium, content taught, and possible methods for accomplishing mastery. Click on the player below to listen now. (5:33)
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (10.2MB)
It’s Party Time!
Posted by Diane in Personalized Homeschool Curriculum on May 27th, 2009
It’s homeschool party time, at least in the Lockman home! Have you ever had to postpone a celebration? Well, I have had BIG news that I’ve been wanting to share with you, but my semester has been so busy with “extreme education” and speech and debate tournaments that I haven’t had time to announce the publication of my new book, Trivium Mastery: The Intersection of Three Roads! In fact, my author’s copy arrived in mid-March while I was running the tabulation room in the Indianapolis NCFCA qualifying tournament, and in the frenzy of hosting that event then moving on to Louisville and Cincinnati tournaments, I was only able to tell a few friends and send a few copies to family members.
Here is a photo that Meredith took of me the day that my author’s copy arrived. As you can see, I am beaming. The publication of this book is truly a dream come true for me, and I praise God for inspiring me and blessing every step of the way from the first draft to the final edits. My greatest desire is that He should be glorified in the content, presentation, and application of the ideas gathered in Trivium Mastery. Secondly, I pray that He will provide me with spiritual “daughters” to encourage in the homeschooling journey.
While the book was still in the galley phase, I sent copies to several home school authorities for their comments. Take a look at what Andrew Pudewa and Rebecca Kochendorfer have to say about Trivium Mastery. I am humbled by their support and praise. In fact, Andrew’s wife absconded with his copy (it was on his desk), and she loved it! That meant so much to me because as you know from my interview with Andrew, the older Pudewa children attended a private school with a traditional classical method, so I know that she is very familiar with the recent renewal movement. You can read their comments and watch a quick video by me if you want to learn more about the book.
Now, it’s time for you to open your presents!
Usually when you go to a big party, you are expected to bring a gift to the birthday girl, graduate, or couple celebrating years of marriage. Well, I want to turn that idea on it’s head and give YOU a gift to celebrate my exciting news! I intentionally decided to sell the book through amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and other online retailers just so that I didn’t have to deal with shipping and handling, BUT for the next week, I am going to offer Trivium Mastery: The Intersection of Three Roads directly to the first 300 buyers with THREE special celebratory gifts! Here’s the offer:
Purchase a copy of the book FROM me by using the link to paypal below before midnight on Wednesday, June 3 and receive:
a 10% discount off the retail price, PLUS
free shipping and handling, PLUS
the link and password to my new “Classical Home Education 101” parent workshop
This offer is limited to the first 300 buyers (the kids and I will be stuffing envelopes!), so act quickly. You can have your own copy of Trivium Mastery: The Intersection of Three Roads and start raising your own classical scholars. Are you ready to order? Click on the order button below, and you’ll be transferred to a secure payment page at paypal.
I hope you enjoy!
P.S. If you have already purchased a copy of Trivium Mastery through amazon or another online retailer, please contact me for the link and password to “Classical Home Education 101.”
Curriculum Road Map to Mastery of Speaking Skills
Posted by Diane in How to Teach Homeschool Skill 3: SPEAKING, Personalized Homeschool Curriculum on December 31st, 2008
My three homeschool curriculum road maps for mastery of reading, thinking, and speaking skills are meant to provide a framework for assessing mastery of the three skills of the classical trivium. The following checklist represents my personal homeschool curriculum goals for helping my children master writing and speaking skills. Use this road map to assess your child’s communication abilities as you plan your own personalized strategic plan for the semester. This road map will really help when it comes to creating your homeschool curriculum!
I believe there are five primary communication abilities, both oral and written, that every literate homeschool child needs to master: (1) how to maintain a conversation, (2) how to write a paragraph, (3) how to take notes, (4) how to write advanced compositions, and (5) how to give a speech.
Under each “how to,” I have listed some basic homeschool curriculum ideas, but the list is certainly not all-inclusive. Homeschooling gives you the freedom to customize the content and methods to your own child’s needs. Here is my complete Home School Curriculum Road Map to Mastery of Speaking Skills:
How to Maintain a Conversation
- Look at people when conversing
- Shake hands firmly and repeat their name
- Listen intently
- Answer the telephone and take a message
- Draft personal, business, and email correspondence
- Follow manners, etiquette, and protocol in social situations
How to Write a Paragraph
- Write a topic sentence
- Support the topic in remaining sentences
- Vary sentence structure
- Add stylistic elements
- Incorporate transitions
- Clinch the title from the final sentence
- Imitate classic authors by substituting words
- Practice using thesaurus
How to Take Notes
- Outline main points of text and lecture
- Annotate in book margins
- Construct an abstract or summary from notes
- Narrate understanding
- Reduce notes to main ideas
How to Write Advanced Compositions
- Develop a hook to gain attention
- Draft introductions and conclusions
- Vary paragraph style
- Learn basic three point essay
- Develop a thesis statement
- Research and gather evidence to support thesis
- Cite authorities via footnotes
- Create bibliography
- Present and defend oral dissertation
- Proofread and edit every composition
How to Give a Speech
- Memorize, recall, and recite stories, scripts, and speeches
- Punctuate points with eye contact and body language
- Gain platform experience (expository, persuasive)
- Gain interpretive experience (dramatic, humorous, duo)
- Gain limited prep experience (impromptu, apologetics, extemporaneous)
- Acquire team policy debate experience
- Analyze famous historical speeches for form and style
Please feel free to tailor my speaking skills road map to the needs of your own homeschool child. Add or subtract according to your personal homeschool curriculum objectives. Teach out of a position of rest instead of anxiety by keeping your communication goals simple. Remember your vision for raising excellent communicators!
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Check out my other checklists for teaching the three skills of the classical Christian trivium:
Homeschool Curriculum Road Map to Mastery of Reading Skills
Homeschool Curriculum Road Map to Mastery of Thinking Skills
Curriculum Road Map to Mastery of Thinking Skills
Posted by Diane in How to Teach Homeschool Skill 2: THINKING, Personalized Homeschool Curriculum on December 26th, 2008
Transforming the theory of authentic classical homeschooling into reality requires a pragmatic outline or a precise plan of attack. Navigating any trip requires planning the course to reach the final destination. The following checklist represents my personal homeschool curriculum goals for helping my children master thinking skills. Curriculum is defined as a program of study, and you can use my road map to assess your child’s abilities as you plan your own personalized course of study.
There are at least seven specific thinking abilities that every literate homeschool child needs to master: (1) how to arrange data according to systems, (2) how to solve problems, (3) how to structure and analyze arguments, (4) how to use the scientific method, (5) how to analyze literature, (6) how to research a topic, and (7) how to listen.
For those of you who want more detail on how I assess mastery of the basic skills, I have listed my minimum requirements under each “how to” skill, but the list is certainly not all-inclusive. The beauty of homeschooling lies in the fact that you get to personalize the content and methods to your own family’s needs. Here is my complete Home School Curriculum Road Map to Mastery of Thinking Skills:
How to Arrange Data According to Systems
- Classify into categories
- Describe attributes
- Recognize similarities and differences
- Recall and relate patterns
- Reorder elements in a set
How to Solve Problems
- Identify and complete sequences
- Explain steps to creation or solution
- Associate and interpret analogies
- Memorize mathematical operations
- Understand and apply mathematical concepts
- Answer puzzles, riddles, and mysteries
How to Structure and Analyze Arguments
- Identify claims and determine validity
- Distinguish difference between fact and opinion
- Build affirmative and negative positions
- Learn the deductive syllogism (if a & b, then c)
- Recognize common fallacies
- Practice inductive reasoning (observe, interpret, apply) with historical texts
How to Use the Scientific Method
- Achieve familiarity with the general laws of science
- Understand difference between theory and fact
- Perform and document experiments
- Verbalize steps to observe, predict, and conclude
How to Analyze Literature
- Discover literary elements in whole works
- Identify literary techniques in portions of the whole work
- Diagram a narrative story chart from exposition to disposition
- Compare and contrast characters
- Identify and interpret themes
How to Research a Topic
- Select debatable idea
- Learn to use the internet and other hard reference works
- Determine credibility of experts
How to Listen
- Focus on the live or recorded speaker with full attention
- Organize thoughts via outline or mental map
- Narrate understanding by asking questions or repetition
- Interpret meaning
- Answer questions precisely
Please adapt my thinking skills checklist to the needs of your own homeschool child. I have tried to condense my thoughts to the basics which may seem overly simple, I believe simple goals allow us as homeschooling parents to teach out of a position of rest instead of anxiety. Keep your eyes on the big picture and be creative in achieving the goals of your homeschool curriculum. You want to raise a thinker!
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Check out my other checklists for teaching the three skills of the classical Christian trivium:
Homeschool Curriculum Road Map to Mastery of Reading Skills
Homeschool Curriculum Road Map to Mastery of Speaking Skills
Curriculum Road Map to Mastery of Reading Skills
Posted by Diane in How to Teach Homeschool Skill 1: READING, Personalized Homeschool Curriculum on December 16th, 2008
Home education theory is an interesting discussion, but we need precise instructions for turning the idea of an authentic classical Christian home education into reality. Navigating any journey requires planning the course from start to finish. That’s why I have prepared my road maps for mastery of reading, thinking, and speaking skills. These checklists represent my personal goals for my children. You can use them as a springboard for developing your own homeschool curriculum goals.
In my opinion, these are the six specific language abilities that every literate homeschool child needs to master: (1) how to read, (2) how to spell, (3) how to write, (4) how to punctuate and capitalize, (5) how to use proper grammar, and (6) how to decipher unfamiliar vocabulary.
If you are one who needs more detail in achieving and assessing the skill, I have listed some basic abilities that I look for in my own children, but the list is certainly not all-inclusive. The beauty of classical education lies in the fact that you get to customize the content and methods to your own family’s needs. Here is the complete Home School Curriculum Road Map to Mastery of Reading Skills:
How to Read
- Read aloud (from/to)
- Inflect voice
- Decipher phonetics
- Recognize sight words
- Read independently
- Narrate and predict content
How to Spell
- Apply rules in context
- Find and correct errors
- Divide syllables and hyphenate
- Record dictation and correct errors
- Play spelling games
- Participate in spelling bees
How to Write
- Learn lower and uppercase alphabet
- Create ABC book
- Refine print and cursive handwriting
- Copy classic authors
- Learn to type
How to Punctuate and Capitalize
- Learn rules of usage
- Add missing marks and capitalize
- Find and correct errors
- Learn proofreading marks
How to Use Proper Grammar
- Memorize the eight parts of speech
- Substitute eight parts in context
- Learn gender, case, and declension of nouns
- Learn comparative and superlative rules of modifiers
- Learn conjugation of verbs
- Apply syntax rules
- Diagram sentences
- Familiarize with verbals
How to Decipher Unfamiliar Vocabulary
- Interpret contextual meaning
- Practice dictionary usage
Please feel free to tailor this road map to your own needs. Simple goals allow us to teach out of a position of rest instead of anxiety. Keep your eyes on the big picture and be creative in achieving the goals of your homeschool curriculum.
* * * * *
Check out my other checklists for teaching the three skills of the classical Christian trivium:
Homeschool Curriculum Road Map to Mastery of Thinking Skills
Homeschool Curriculum Road Map to Mastery of Speaking Skills
