What we're really doing for school? Revisions to Crayons' fall plans

CRAYONS' GRADE FIVE BOOKLIST AND SCHEDULE, 2011-2012
ADAPTED FROM AMBLESIDE ONLINE YEAR FIVE – Changes as of July 2011

(Changes are in italics)

DAILY LESSONS

Penmanship or Copywork  

Learning Language Arts Through Literature, Tan Book (first half of book only). Reason: I wanted this year's language arts to be very self-contained and clearly laid out. Reason for the Tan Book (Grade 6): I already had the teacher's guide and the level seemed appropriate for Crayons. Reason for scheduling only half the book: it's huge.

Math: Math Mammoth Light Blue Grade 4/Grade 5. Calculadder drills. Various math supplements and manipulatives. Pocket Posters.
Math Pet Store, by Simply Charlotte Mason. Key to Fractions, Book 4 of 4. Other books such as Family Math, Math Detecitve (Critical Thinking). Reason for change: Grade 5 is always a difficult year, math-wise; we already had the download of Math Pet Store and decided to try it.

Foreign language: French curriculum to be decided; probably Mission Monde Grade 5.
We have bought Mission Monde Level 3, which is the grade 5 level. I think this will be a great program.

WEEKLY LESSONS

Art Appreciation: follow AO rotation, possibly incorporating Canadian art as well. Possible artists: Winslow Homer, Mary Cassatt, Jean-Honoré Fragonard. There are "Artists' Specials" DVDs about Mary Cassatt and Winslow Homer.

Art Instruction: Artistic Pursuits Grade 4-6, Book II. Includes study of American paintings.

Grammar, other English studies: emphasizing more writing this year, transitioning to written narrations and longer dictation. Supplement with dictionary, Thesaurus, spelling resources.
Learning Language Arts Through Literature, Tan Book (see notes above).

Correspond history readings with a timeline or century book and map.

Handicrafts, homekeeping, life skills. Include books such as All-Girl Crafts by Kathy Ross, or Mothers and Daughters at Home: 35 Projects to Make Together, by Charlotte Lyons.

Music Appreciation: Mozart, Brahms, and Stravinsky.  Leonard Bernstein’s Young People’s Concerts book and record set; Opal Wheeler series biographies; Igor Stravinsky by Mike Venezia.
We lucked out this summer and found two older boxed sets of Brahms and Stravinsky—yeah!


Folksongs: Follow AO rotation, using printouts, book of Canadian folksongs

Hymns: Follow AO rotation.  Mennonite Hymnal, printouts from Hymntime.com, You-tube videos.

Plutarch’s Lives: Follow AO rotation, use printouts for Poplicola and Dion. For variety, use Stories of Alexander (Grimal) in Term 3.

Shakespeare plays: Either The Tempest or Two Gentlemen of Verona; Romeo and Juliet; possibly a third. We are going to skip Shakespeare in the first term—Plutarch is enough to start with.


SPECIFIC SUBJECTS


BIBLE AND CHRISTIAN STUDIES

Bible books to be studied: Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Book of Revelation (as recommended in Teaching Children). Lives of David and Solomon.
This seemed to be too much; I scheduled readings and discussion questions from the book Search the Scriptures instead.

Memory work: Term 1, Ten Commandments (with questions and answers) from Luther's Small Catechism. Term 2 & 3, passages from the Epistles. Term's Psalm.

Church history: Makers of the English Bible, by Cyril James Davey (8 chapters).

Resources:
Bible
New Testament in Modern English for Schools (Phillips)
Luther’s Small Catechism (section on the Ten Commandments)
Search the Scriptures
Reference books: NIV Bible Dictionary, Bible atlas, Bible Book of Lists

HISTORY (1800-1914)

Canada: The New Nation, by Edith Deyell (covers 1800-1900, incorporates some U.S. history)
***Story of the World Volume 4, by Susan Wise Bauer (chapters 1-20)
*** Story of Canada, by Janet Lunn, chapter on the Laurier era (1896-1914)

Term One: War of 1812 through Lord Durham (approx. 1800-1845). Emphasis on the settlement of Upper Canada (Ontario), including local history.

Term Two: Fur trade through the American Civil War and Confederation (approx. 1845-1870).

Term Three: Opening the West through 1914 (approx. 1870-1914).

Supplements: The Kids Book of Canada's Railway and How the CPR Was Built, by Deborah Hodge. Occasional DVDs from Canada: A People’s History. Professor Noggin’s History/Geography of Canada card games. Everything You Need to Know About Canadian Social Studies Homework, by Anne Zeman and Kate Kelly. Canada map puzzle. Learn the provinces and capitals, and geographic features of Canada (rivers, mountains).

HISTORY TALES AND/OR BIOGRAPHY

* The Trail of the Conestoga, by Mabel Dunham
* "Sisters in the Wilderness" (DVD), about Susanna Moodie and Catharine Parr Traill
** *** Passion for the Impossible: The Life of Lilias Trotter by Miriam Huffman Rockness
***Story of My Life, by Helen Keller

GEOGRAPHY

The Book of Marvels: The Occident and/or Second Book of Marvels: The Orient by Richard Halliburton
I had this scheduled, but it seems like we have a lot of history reading, so I took it out again; we'll probably read it next year. The French study is based on a missionary family in Burundi and includes a lot of cultural information and geography; Story of the World has bits from all over the world as well.

NATURAL HISTORY / SCIENCE

The Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock; for variety, use How Nature Works, Kids Can nature guides, Canadian Wild Flowers (Catharine Parr Traill).
Our main book will be The ABC's of Nature (found at a rummage sale).


Supplies for Nature Study:
Nature notebook and pencils or paint for each student
Begin to build a library of regional field guides
Plenty of time to allow Nature Study to be a fun learning experience for both parent and child

* ** Madam How and Lady Why by Charles Kingsley, second half of book
*** Wild Animals I Have Known by Ernest Thompson Seton OR one of the William J. Long books from other AO years, OR The Lovely & the Wild, by Louise de Kiriline Lawrence (about birds of northern Ontario)
I have scheduled Seton for the last part of the year, but I know some of the sad endings may bother Crayons, so it could change.

All Terms:
The Story of Inventions by Michael J. McHugh and Frank P. Bachman
Physics Lab in a Housewares Store by Robert Friedhoffer
Supplements for study of inventions: Canada Invents, by Susan Hughes; I Wonder Why Zippers Have Teeth, by Barbara Taylor; The Inventors’ Specials DVDs; Switched On, Flushed Down, Tossed Out: Investigating the Hidden Workings of Your Home, by Trudee Romanek.

I have changed this a bit. We are going to use The New Way Things Work along with Physics Lab in a Housewares Store and Physics Lab in a Hardware Store. The last part of the year will focus on electricity.

SCIENCE BIOGRAPHY

* Dr Beaumont and the Man with a Hole in His Stomach, by Sam Epstein, Beryl Epstein and Joseph Scrofani
***Destination Moon, by James Irwin

Choice of other biographies: Alexander Graham Bell, Michael Faraday, Marie Curie, George Washington Carver, Thomas Edison
The only science biography I have scheduled is The Canadians: Alexander Graham Bell. Crayons read Eleanor Doorly's book about Marie Curie last year, and she learned about G.W. Carver at Sunday School (of all places). Some of the other books may go into the free reading basket.

HEALTH AND HOME STUDIES

Christian Liberty Nature Reader, Book 5 by Worthington Hooker, edited by Michael J. McHugh (mostly about the human body) (Supplement with relevant sections from How Nature Works)
I had scheduled this in, but took it out again; there's a lot of overlap between it, the nutrition book, and the ABCs of Nature. We have other anatomy-type supplements (books and models) to go along with the body studies.

Nutrition 101: Choose Life!: A Family Nutrition and Health Program, by Debra Raybern, N.D., M.H., C.N.C., I.C.A.; Sera Johnson, B.MU; Laura Hopkins, B.S.; Karen Hopkins, B.S. (selected chapters)
We are going to do two units from this book, spread throughout the year.

Book on girls’ health
Crayons jumped the gun on me and read the book this summer.

Cooking: Little House Cookbook; The Busy People's Naturally Nutritious, Decidedly Delicious Fast Foodbook, by Sharon Elliot; Nutrition 101 recipes

Sewing group with friends, crafts at home.

Organized Kidz, by Debbie R. Williams and David P. Williams (we've used this before but it's time to review)
I was going to schedule this in, but can't find space...we may just do some of it when we have time.

POETRY

Poetry anthology / individual poets: possibly Poetry for Young People: Robert Browning; Poetry for Young People: Walt Whitman.
I chose two anthologies and we will be reading a poem each day from those.

LITERATURE

* Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens, or another Dickens novel
I've scheduled Great Expectations, one of my own favourites.

** Little Women (Part One, 23 chapters) plus  Barron's activity kit

*** King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table, by Roger Lancelyn Green. For reference: The Search for King Arthur, by Christopher Hibbert.

All terms: stories from My Book House, e.g. Cuculain, Rustem, Song of Roland, Norse legends.

ADDITIONAL BOOKS FOR FREE READING

*Laura’s Choice, by Connie Brummel Cook (about Laura Secord)
**Invincible Louisa (biography of Louisa May Alcott)
** Thee, Hannah! by Marguerite De Angeli, and other books about the Underground Railroad, e.g. Underground to Canada by Barbara Smucker, The Last Safe House by Barbara Greenwood
***Pioneer Girl, by Maryanne Caswell
Canadian Crusoes, by Catharine Parr Traill
Hitty: Her First Hundred Years, by Rachel Field
Eight Cousins, by Louisa May Alcott
Captains Courageous, by Rudyard Kipling
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
Lad: A Dog (or another book in the Lad series; many are online) by Albert Payson Terhune
The Treasure Seekers by Edith Nesbit
The Wouldbegoods by Edith Nesbit
Caddie Woodlawn, by Carol Ryrie Brink.
Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm by Kate Douglas Wiggin
Hans Brinker by Mary Mapes Dodge
Crystal Mountain, by Belle Dorman Rugh
Re-read the Narnia books or The Princess & the Goblin.

FOR FUN:

Alvin's Secret Code, by Clifford B. Hicks, and others in the same series (if available)
The Trolley Car Family, by Eleanor Clymer (if available)
Father's Big Improvements by Caroline D. Emerson (if available)
Stories by Stephen Leacock (how could I forget those?)