Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Learning Environments Lofty Curriculum for '14/'15

So I have the curriculum for next year and it seems loosely divided into a continent per month plus one month on the universe and one month on our solar system specifically.

For each month there is art, art appreciation, cooking and music to go with that continent (a few from Asia = origami, Katsushika Hokusai, pot stickers, Zum Gali Gali)

There is going to be an emphasis on learning lots of maps and matching flags to countries.

There is also a year long focus on geometric shapes. DS6 scoffed at this and said he was too old for shapes. I suspect he'll be surprised.

I already talked to his teacher and because he can read now, he is going to start working in a language arts type curriculum learning grammar.
He has been doing four digit addition and subtraction and they'll be starting him on multiplication soon. I think there will be a lot of measurement too this year.

So overall a pretty cool plan. Heavy on geography, art and culture this year. Aside from the two months on space, a bit light on science. Although I am sure the wildlife and any particularly interesting plants on each continent will be covered.

For those that are familiar with the more traditional subject divisions, what do you think of a set up like this long term? We really like the school and it goes through eighth grade. Each year is set up like this. Last year was divided by biomes. The cool/weird thing is that this is the curriculum for the whole school. DS3 will be in preschool there. So when he might be finger painting a sun the kids in elementary/middle are learning about the life cycle of stars.

The traditional subjects of reading, writing and math are almost self taught in closely measured packets of progressively harder work.

Does anyone have familiarity with how a kid who is educated in such a way might do once they get in high school where the subjects don't have any coordination?

I have learned that you have to go with the best fit for now and not worry about the future but I still find myself at least thinking about it.

That sounds exciting and productive to me. Wish we were there...

My only concern would be that there could be gaps. If the kid was in K the last time the learning cycle was on stars, and then it doesn't return to it before HS, that kid would have much less knowledge of stars than the kid who did that in 6th grade.

I am fascinated by what to appears to be a no-ceilings approach. Some may say that a child in this education model through 8th grade would deeply learn to make connections. These may be connections to slices of information in other high school classes, or (better yet) connections to news, history, current events, displays at local museums, topics coming up in conversations, etc... connections to lived experiences... internal locus of control, owning one's education. Children educated in this way may also clearly grasp that there is MUCH to be learned about any subject, and that they are empowered to strive to reach for as much knowledge as they can get in each moment.

While this may be true, there may also exist the exciting possibility that the teachers possess the knowledge and the curriculum from having taught the thematic years... and may be more likely to entertain student questions and encourage student learning in areas of interest, even outside the thematic years... than an educator in a typical classroom who may be used to teaching one slice of knowledge repetitiously over the years throughout his/her career.

There's a part time homeschool charter near us that uses this same school wide model. They do project based learning on a school wide theme, about one a month. We were definitely interested but DD was way down the lottery list, but made it into a sister school that is more GATE focused. Honestly, this is how we've homeschooled, by theme. It's worked nicely this summer with my 7yo and 3yo, and for years before DD entered school but was begging for school. I think it's a great model.

I think it depends heavily on the child and teacher. Good coverage of history by geographic region should touch on scientific and mathematical discovery and allow your son to learn whatever he wants. Of course, the teacher can gently guide students to topics that are core to standard classes.

The school is very into the concept of nurturing lifelong learning. There are a lot of books in all the classrooms. Part of his school supplies are a library card and small backpack for trips to the nearby public library.

Sounds great! This approach replaces passive learning of what others set in front of a student, with a sense of seeking knowledge, personalizing one's fund of knowledge according to one's strengths, interests, and curiosity, and learning without limits. This approach can reinforce that the whole world is the child's classroom.

Parents may wish to keep a list of books read. A paper note book or computer spreadsheet are both common ways to do this. Items tracked may vary widely and may include the current date, book title, author(s), publisher, date published, ISBN, number of pages, reading level (for example, lexile level), and notes or comments from the child about the book. When kids are older, they can track their books as they see fit.

But then I was at school for 10 years and was never taught any geography or about any stars. If the kids can be taught to learn and encouraged to be curious they will fill in any gaps they are concerned about. I am envious we simply have no variation in schools here.

Unfortunately some may like it that way world-wide. Meanwhile others debate what vast stores of knowledge would be left on the shelf if all schools taught the same selection from the many past centuries of accumulated knowledge. Some individuals work very diligently and at great personal sacrifice to keep options like homeschooling, charter schools, magnet schools, selective public schools, private/independent schools, and parochial schools viable. As long as variance in education exists and benefits may be seen, there is hope that educational freedom will not be extinguished but may be adopted in other areas.

NotsoGifted, I have had that worry. I think if we stay with this school, later on as he gets closer to high school, we might supplement his school work with a more traditionally structured cirriculum.

For now I think it is a pretty good fit. Similarities was one of the WISC subtests he hit the ceiling on last year so a program that gives him a chance to make connections among ideas is playing to his strengths.

Indigo, I feel so fortunate we have a choice. Our local public doesn't allow any sort of working ahead of grade level.

It will be interesting to see how this works out for our kids.

This is a private b+m school, right? Sounds fascinating. Is there a post/thread where you've explained more about it? Or would that be too identifying?

I keep reading the OP and I'm not understanding what is being described.

Yes it is a private Montessori inspired b&m school. It is the only school DS6 has ever attended so any previous posts about his school are about this school. There are probably plenty of good and bad posts. He is 2e so not easy to parent or educate. We've all improved with time. The tuition is very reasonable ($600 a month) compared to other private schools in our area.

Each week he gets an individualized assignment sheet.
A week this year might look like this:

Spelling:
Write words once
Write in alphabetical order
Type words five times each
Spelling test

Math:
Packets #54, 55
Place value activity
Fractions activity

Reading:
Reading comprehension packets #12,13
Read aloud to parent volunteer

Geography
Trace, color and label map of Africa

Science
Watch documentary on African wildlife
Write a "My favorite African animal is..." report

Art/cooking/music
Lesson on African masks
Make a replica mask
Make peanut soup (help teacher do it and try some)
Learn an African song

So that is what it looks like in practice.

Also, there are lots of field trips and presentations. If there is something nearby that relates to the study of the month, they'll go see it. They also have people come to the school. Like this summer they studied simple machines and had a fire truck visit the school to point out all the simple machines at work.

The numbered packets are the basics. Some kids are way ahead of others. They seem to try to keep them moving along in packs of 3-4. So if one kid is ready to learn how to carry and the other two need to work a bit more, the ahead kid might work on something else a few weeks before the other two catch up. We are lucky in that there are a couple of really bright kids in his class.

I would love to see what the middle school looks like. Sounds great.

I have even more information on the coming year -

Heavy focus on memorization of math facts for all operations this year - flash cards, timed test (teacher decides if it is written or oral). Also story problems with fractions, graphs, measurement, decimals, geometry and algebra.

Weekly computer skills, sign language and Spanish.

Several lessons in writing skills a month.

They'll be using Open Court Reading Series.

Homework will be practicing math facts, spelling words and memorizing poetry.

Science, history and geography might be combined with upper grade levels so that is cool. There will also be a first person narrative piece to the history as well.

They'll be using Raz Kids and spellingcity.com in class too.

Anyone have experiences to share about the reading curriculum or websites?

Any ideas on how to make math fact memorization less painful for young dyslexic?

Open Court has a decent research foundation. It's relatively strong in terms of phonics, but only adequate wrt comprehension, IMO. There are some options for upward and downward differentiation that are no worse than most other reading curr. I think it's a reasonable choice for the primary grades, but there are better choices for upper elementary. Of course, this all depends on implementation fidelity. I used an old edition of first grade with my dyslexic/dysgraphic-flavored child, and was satisfied with the reading aspect of it, without being wowed. I did end up having to switch to an OG-type spelling curr (All About Spelling) for the spelling aspect.

Oh, and there are tons of free or low-cost fact apps for iPhone/iPad or Android. Find one he likes to play. Mine have enjoyed the relatively stripped-down Multiplication Genius, as well as Factor Samurai (not exactly math facts, but in the neighborhood). My little one currently is in love with King of Math (comes in Junior and standard levels), which increases the social status of your avatar as you earn more points by amount and accuracy of gameplay.