46 of 52 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
You'll need an additional book..., September 21, 2000
By A Customer
This review is from: Learn at Home: Grade 4 (Paperback)
Let me begin by introducing myself: I homeschooled my two children from K-12. In other words, they never went to school until they went to college. My son (who is 23) was honored for his academic accomplishments in Who's Who in American High Schools, received many scholarships to go to his first-choice college, and graduated, three years ago, from college with honors. My daughter (who is 17) is a sophomore at college and active in the national and state college honor societies. So I write this review from the perspective of someone who has homeschooled children who are now successful, well-educated adults. I presume that most parents who homeschool have this goal. So, let me tell you:
Grade 4 was the toughest year. And to successfuly homeschool Grade 4, you (the parent/teacher) need a book that will be a good transition from the learning of skills (grades 1-3) to the application of those skills (grades 4-12). This isn't the book. It's a good resource, as are all the books in this series, but don't think this is the only book you will need. Frankly, I don't know if there is just one book that will meet your needs, but here's what to look for in the books you will buy:
Clear explainations: It's easy to teach subtraction and I think that the average parent can manage that by being told "Teach subtraction!" But by grade 4, the children will be mastering long division, decimal fractions, multiple step problems, and mixed numbers. If your child doesn't "get it" the first time, you will want a book that approaches the learning situation from several angles.
Up-to-date sources: Grade 4 students need to master the use of study materials and that is increasingly becoming using the Internet. Find a book that teaches your child how to find reliable, ruputable resource material on the Net.
Accomodating different learning styles: Not all children learn the same way and that becomes evident in Grade 4. Find a book that involves the child who learns from hearing, the child who learns by doing, as well as the child who learns by reading. If you are an experienced teacher and curriculum writer, it's enough to be told to teach colonial life in the US, but if you are not, it's great to have the book give ideas on different ways to present this material. It's challenging to teach older children, but also great fun. Grade 4 was the hardest year, but also the most rewarding. Good luck with your homeschooling!
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48 of 57 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
OK curriculum outline, not complete, wacky organization, November 19, 2003
By A Customer
This review is from: Learn at Home: Grade 4 (Paperback)
First, let me describe the overall structure of the curriculum.
There are six subjects: language skills, spelling, reading, math, science, and social studies. The "school year" is divided into 4 9-week periods. The last week of each period is pretty much for review.
There are many problems. Let me list some of them by subject.
Social Studies: Be scared! The second lesson/day of the first week in social studies tells the instructor, "Introduce the well-known ancient explorers (before the 1300s). Gather information from the library on Vikings, Zhang Qian, Marco Polo and Alexander the Great. Discuss their various achievements. Help your child create a chart showing the explorers, their countries of origin, where they explored, the years they explored and other relevant information. Post the chart for reference." Wow, I challenge anyone to do this lesson in just one day let alone a portion of the day (permitting the rest of the day to go to the other five subjects). The book doesn't give the instructor any help -- you have to research this all yourself. This is typical of both social studies and science. The first 9 weeks of social studies are spent in study of explorers, mostly post-1300s. The last 9 weeks are spent studying the Middle Ages. I don't think this is an appropriate order. To make a long story short, we've ditched the entire social studies curriculum and have replaced it with Susan Wise Bauer's _The Story of the World Vol 2_. It's very logically laid out, and if you get the activity book, it's rich.
Language Skills & Reading: We think that each subject was written by a different person, and they never talked to each other. How else can you explain "prefixes and suffixes" being taught in the 4th week of Reading and "affixes" (meaning pre- & suffixes) being taught in the 8th week of Lang Skills? In week 11 of Lang Skills, the student is to write about a volcano using vocabulary introduced in Science. Problem is that volcanoes are not really studied until the 12th week!
Math: Difficult concepts like multi-digit multiplication get less time than simple single-digit multiplication. This sort of unbalanced approach is throughout.
Overall:
If you are using this book, you will need to do a fair amount of prep work to come up with examples and explanations (ex: story problems to solve, research on Native American tribes, space station Mir). Most of the books suggested for Reading are too easy for our child, so we have to craft different lessons. I don't know how anyone can use this book without a color copier or scanner nearby, because the curriculum lesson layouts are on the backs of worksheets. Also, there are many mistakes in the answer key. Finally, I wish the publisher would list all the areas studied for each subject in the beginning of the book.
Why do we still use this book? Because it is a good skeleton for us to follow. Do not buy this book thinking it be, as it says on the back of the book, "everything you need to teach your child at home." Use it as a tool, not as a toolbox.
Good luck. Homeschooling is not for the faint of heart.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Homeschooling Book!, November 14, 2005
This review is from: Learn at Home: Grade 4 (Paperback)
Three years after buying the book and using it for 4th grade, we are still using it! My daughter likes to look through it occasionally and find projects to do or re-do. Everything for each week of the year by subjects is scheduled out. I chose things from the book that were geared toward my child and supplemented some subjects with worksheets (online) and our own projects. This book was great to keep us on task each week, mostly because of the outlined schedule. I would definitely recommend it!
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