Ever wonder how to teach students to write from a source you give them? Do you get confused teaching students about Major Works and Minor Works (when to cap what and how to distinguish majors from minors)? And did you know that color can be an integral part of story writing? If you want to know more about any of those things, watch the video below and follow along with the free lesson I am including! I think you’ll enjoy it. (I loved teaching it!)

Click here to download the full lesson!

The post High School Color Essay–Major Works and Minor Works, Color Words and Phrases, and More! (Teaching Video & Free Lesson!) appeared first on Character Ink.

The class: Senior High Composition. The place: Union City Community High School. The teacher: Mr. Leahey. The year: 1981. The student: Me….formerly straight A student for the last two years of high school…on the brink of breaking that perfect streak.

Until….it snowed.

Yep, it snowed and snowed and snowed and snowed.

And this girl, who had let herself get behind on creating two hundred index cards of information for her senior paper on Robert Kennedy, had a chance for redemption.

I can still remember the back ache at the end of the day.

But more importantly….I remember that at the end of eight hours of a “day off” due to inclement weather, with dozens of books strewn around me on the floor, I got caught up.

My 4.0 for the last two years would remain intact….because I had gotten caught up on my snow day.

Through that experience, I developed an incredible empathy for my future curriculum users and “book-testing” students.

I know first hand how difficult writing a research paper can really be for students. I understand how impossible it can feel to get caught up when you fall behind in the research process. And years later, I knew that I wanted a better way, an easier way, in my books.

(Thankfully, I had a terrific English teacher who truly helped us through those dozen sources and two hundred cards with compassion and lots of hand holding.)

Teaching research writing is not for the faint of heart. That is why I have detailed my Overview Source, Color-Coded Research, Bibliography Cards (with MLA Citation spots), and Notetaking Cards so fully in my books.

And tested, tested, tested these methods, tweaking the books (don’t ask my husband how much THAT cost me in editors and typesetters!) until I knew the approaches worked.

So where can you find these lessons (besides the two videos below of me teaching them to upper junior high/beginning high schoolers)?

Well, lots of places!

Specifically, Books IV and V of Write On, Beauty and Beast; Write On, Mowgli; and Write On, Peter Pan usually have at least one research report in them. (See the Tables of Contents and Projects Included at our store.)

There are also research reports in every first semester Meaningful Composition book (along with many other types of writing). You can find these at our store too—Meaningful Composition 5 I; Meaningful Composition 6 I; Meaningful Composition 7 I; Meaningful Composition 8 I; and Meaningful Composition 9 I. (There are two week samples of each MC book available to download, print, and “try before you buy”!)

For incremental, detailed learning of these skills throughout an entire semester, however, you will likely want one of my research-report only books:

Meaningful Composition 8 II: Junior High Research Reports

Meaningful Composition 10 II: Four Research Reports

Meaningful Composition 12 II: The BIG Research Report (Very challenging—do not start with this book!)

I hope you enjoy watching the teaching video (FB Live video) as much as I enjoy teaching these amazing kids! And as much as I enjoy teaching “the color-coded research” method!

Save

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Now on to Junior High and High School!

The concept behind the Independent Work List is that it helps a student become, well, independent. In that way, the chart/list/planner should grow with the child—more independence/less neediness.

More responsibility/less spoon feeding from Mom.

These will be in no true order–just some things that I want to re-emphasize from the younger ages as well as things that pertain only to olders.

1. Consider the document or chart that works best for your age child now.

Most kids in junior high and high school no longer want cutsie charts. Once you decide you want a genuine paper document, then you have to decide how you want it filled in:

a.  As he goes, he lists what he does each day, sort of a daily school journal.

b. You write in a planner each week for him for the following week (page
number, number of pages, lesson number, etc.).

c. You have a standard daily Independent Work List that you create in your
scheduling program or Excel—that you can customize when something
changes, etc. You print this off, put it on a clip board, and have him highlight
or mark off as he does things each day.

2. Consider if you are going to make his Independent Work List for him completely or if
you will have his input.

We liked to choose our high schoolers’ materials, schedules, lists, etc., with them, so that they have some input in the process–and to help model for them/teach them how to organize, prioritize, etc.

3. Still use some of the elements from the earlier suggestions (for younger kids) that are
universal, such as:

a. School is your child’s occupation. It is what he should be about during the
day.

b. Put the daily tasks in sections according to time of day or importance–and also in order according to when they should be done.

c. Have a system that works for you every day. Have his list on a clip board that he carries with him/keeps in his school area. Have him highlight as he does things. Have him leave it on your desk when he is done, etc.

d. Develop a “no exceptions” approach to daily independent work. A student doesn’t go to basketball, girls group, youth group, etc., until his daily independent work list is done.

4. Have blanks on the chart to add in any work from outside classes, music lessons, Bible quizzing, etc.

5. Put things that are not dailies where ever they go. This was always a little bit difficult for me.

a. Do twice weeklies go on Tuesday and Thursday (but Thursday is our lesson and
errand day…)?

b. Do three times weeklies always go M-W-F, even though Wednesday is our “cottage class day” and extras do not get done on that day?

c. This might take a while to get in the groove, but it is worth it to tweak things and make it work.

6. For junior high kids, consider that you might need smaller chunks (maybe two math
sessions at 30 minutes a day, etc.).

Again, you know your student and your family situation, so do whatever works best for you.

7. Consider if you want this Independent Work List to be his total chart/list for all aspects of his day at older ages:

a. Do you want to put his devotions, music practice, and outside work on there
too?

b. Do you want it to contain meetings/tutoring sessions with you?

c. Do you want it to also be his chore list?

8. There are some definite advantages to a junior high or high schooler having his day right in front of him in one spread sheet. However, this can also get overwhelming to some kids.

9. If you are using a “time” planner in which the time slots for each subject are written in, you might want to include times in which he meets with you, does chores, does lab with a sister, etc., so that he can see the big picture for how time fits together.

10. Consider switching to a start time/finish time approach and having him total up his time spent on school if he is having a lot of trouble with time management.

Seeing how much time actually got spent on important things and how much time got wasted can be invaluable in teaching older kids independence.

I hope that these posts have been a help to you. I can’t tell you how worth it, it is to implement independent lists!

LINKS

For a downloadable product with a dozen charts to use with various ages, check the store here!

Video: Independent Work Lists

Audio: Independent Work Lists

Audio: Using Your Planner to Get More Done

Audio: Overcoming Parenting Obstacles

Video: Using Consequence Pies

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Eleventh Grade: Guide your student in editing his papers.

I always advise homeschooling moms to use grading time wisely in all subjects. For example, in math, rather than grading your student’s math separately and giving him back a paper with a score on it, grade it with your student right by your side—and point out errors and use grading time as teaching time. (This will be some of the most valuable teaching time that you can ever find! What better way to learn than from our mistakes immediately.)

Some suggestions for editing with your student (for parents and teachers and homeschoolers) include

(1) Have your student read his paper aloud and both of you “listen” for errors.

(2) When helping him learn where to put in commas, especially if the missing comma can be heard with voice inflection, read the sentence in question aloud to your student, emphasizing where the comma goes, and have him tell you where he “hears” it should be.

(3) If the errors you are finding are paragraph break mistakes, read the portion to him that you believe should be one paragraph and ask him what that paragraph is about. Write that “topic” along the side of that portion. Read the next portion and ask him what that part is about. Continue doing this, drawing lines where a paragraph break should be (based on your and his discussion and dissecting of the text).

(4) If the error is that of subject-verb agreement, find the incorrect sentence and ask him what the subject of the sentence is. Then ask him what the verb is. Ask him if they agree. (Again, read them aloud {without the intervening material that might be stumping him} so that he can “hear” the error.)

(5) If he has not learned to find errors very well, consider using an editing program (like the book Editor in Chief) so that he can hone his editing skills in a manner that is “checkable” with the answer key. These skills really do carry over to a student’s own writing!

(6) If your student is fairly good at finding errors, but you still find many more than he does, make a note in the margin of each line or so that says the number of errors that are in that sentence. Let him look for errors one line at a time with your oversight.

(7) Finally, do not underestimate a student’s ability to learn from your edits on his paper. If you mark his errors then review them with him (“A comma should go before the ‘and’ because you have a complete sentence on the left and a complete sentence on the right”), he will gain great editing skills.

Note: Check out the Editor Duty assignments that are in each weekly Character Quality Language Arts sample for some editing passages (with the Answer Keys) for your student to practice with. There are also editing passages in the back of Meaningful Composition 11 I: Timed Essays and The Three P’s of Persuasion

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Tenth Grade: Work on whatever type of writing is needed for your student next.

Usually at this level, a student has decided whether or not he will go to college. For the student who is planning to go to college, the writing pressure is really on by tenth grade—because of the dreaded SAT/ACT Essay (and the verbal part in general).

It is obvious that a college-bound tenth grader needs to work on the SAT or ACT Essay and the portions of an SAT/ACT preparatory book that will help him with the verbal parts of these exams.

So what types of writing should a trades student or non-college-bound writer work on? It is sometimes thought that if a student isn’t going to college, he doesn’t need that much writing instruction. However, there is so much writing that an adult needs in order to be an adult! Regardless of future plans, we want all graduates in our care to know how to write business letters, persuasive essays (and how to spot poorly-supported ones online), how to write/create stories for their own children or for those who might work with children in the future; how to write/give instructions (for those who might have employees some day; for those who might be parents someday; and for those who might want to write out recipes or other instructional types of writing); and much more.

These types of writing require many of the skills that college-bound students need to learn: persuasive writing, quotation inclusion, story plot and character development, proper paragraph formation, etc. When I think of “consumer writing,” I think of recipe, instructional, story, blog, retelling (Bible lessons), devotional, research (original documentation and studies—not blog reading!), letter writing. And more! Detailed writing lessons are not only for the college-bound student!

Additionally, there is the possibility that the student might change his mind/occupation goals in the next couple of years. So there is no reason to stop writing!

Note: The trades type student will need to touch on many different types of writing projects (as opposed to spending a great deal of time on one or two types). Check out my first semester books up to and including Meaningful Composition 9 I. These books have various types of projects (and many “how to” lessons) as opposed to second semester books, which often focus on a certain type of writing. Go to here to see (and print/use) two week samples of my Meaningful Composition series.. Also, keep your eyes on my stores (Teachers Pay Teachers, CurrClick, Teacher’s Notebook, and our own store, Character Ink Press) as I put up various writing project downloads that are in my longer books.

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Tenth Grade: Work on whatever type of writing is needed for your student next.

In high school, writing demands should be based, in part, on what the student needs at that time. I often have students who are writing for me in class as well as writing college entrance letters, SAT essays, contests projects, and more. If at all possible, we should focus on the type of writing that the student needs next. These tips explain this further..

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Ninth Grade: Teach pre-writing skills that are needed for the type of writing your student is doing.

Besides the aforementioned “writing idea” problem we sometimes create when we do not direct our students in their writing, another difficulty is that of not equipping the student with the skills necessary in order to write what we are asking him to write. It is so difficult for a student to complete a project if he has not been given/taught the skills that are needed in order to write that project well.

Just like we teach our child how to pass, dribble, and shoot before we send him out to play a real game of basketball, so we should teach our students (especially high schoolers) the skills they need before we send them out to write the paper.

For example, various types of writing require various skills that we should give them:

1. How to write quotes before they are asked to include them in a research report

2. How to craft a descriptive setting before we ask a student to write a story

3. How to write dialogue before they write a story in which the characters speak to each other

4. How to gather evidence for writing persuasive essays

5. Much, much more!

While it is often advantageous to go through a grammar book in the order that the book is laid out, you can certainly jump ahead (or backtrack) to a certain skill that might be needed in his essay, report, or story assignment this week. Grammar handbooks (like Write Source) can also be amazing sources for the various skills that your student might need to know in order to write well in each writing type.

If you are using my writing or language arts materials, these mini-lessons will often be indicated with labels “Pre-Writing” or “Write On!”

Note: Go here to see (and print/use) two week samples of my Meaningful Composition series. These samples have, for the most part, complete writing projects. Thus, you can see sample papers of most projects there. Note the various types and how each one has its own outlining type and the various pre-writing and “Write On” lessons will give you an idea of how to introduce some of these skills for various writing project types. Also, keep your eyes on my stores (Teachers Pay Teachers, CurrClick, Teacher’s Notebook, and our own store, Character Ink Press) as I put up various writing project downloads that are in my longer books.

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Listen to the podcast here!

TWO CHOICES in “CLEP-ping”

(1) ALL (or nearly all) of a degree earned through CLEPs
(2) CLEP in lieu of taking courses in your degree (to save time and money)

ALL CLEP (or Nearly All) Considerations

1. Super great study skills/tester
2. Doesn’t mind having a less “distinguished degree”
3. Is getting a less specialized degree (more liberal arts/humanities/social
work/history/psychology, communications, etc.)
4. Can save TONS of money (especially over living on campus and getting a degree)

NOTE: While one consideration is a great testing/outstanding study skills, oftentimes the students who have those skills do not enjoy CLEPping as they love to go to school, take classes, etc.

ALL CLEP (or Nearly All) STEPS

1. Research degrees available thoroughly (Thomas Edison College or College Plus Program)
2. Hone study skills
3. Make a plan (College Plus does this for you—week by week, test by test; Thomas Edison College has the degrees laid out, but you determine your study schedule/testing schedule)

CLEP Some Classes Considerations

1. The CLEPped class does not affect GPA
2. Great way to get some courses behind you (especially while still in high school)
3. Save some money (potentially one year of college?)
4. Have to really know where you’re headed for this to save time and money (otherwise you might CLEP a class that your college will not accept or that is not needed for your
degree, etc.)

CLEP Some Classes STEPS

1. Choose potential majors and list all courses each major requires (print these off from
the college you might attend)
2. Venn diagram or highlight the ones that merge
3. List all potential colleges
4. From the merged list of classes, see which classes are able to be CLEPped from
the colleges you are considering.

Sources

1. Accelerated Distance Learning by Brad Voeller (affiliate link)
2. Thomas Edison College—college that offers alternative degrees
through CLEP tests, DANTES, T-CEP, credit for experience, and/or portfolios
(all distance degrees)
3. College Plus—complete college testing program to earn a degree

Download these notes here!

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Donna Reish, of Character Ink Press and Raising Kids With Character, brings you this episode about CLEP testing for college credit. Donna describes the two primary reasons for taking CLEP (College Level Equivalency Program) tests: (1) To test out of an entire degree (or most of it); (2) To earn college credit towards a degree that the student will be pursuing or is pursuing. She explains the steps her family has gone through to use the CLEP for both approaches (as some classes toward a nursing degree, for 3/4 of a degree, and for all of a degree except for two classes for which there were no tests available). She then details the steps you will want to go through to get the most out of this college testing option, focusing on how to decide if a student would be a good CLEP candidate, how to choose the exams to take, and how to prepare for the exams.

Download the podcast notes here.

Listen to previous podcasts here.

Do you have a question you would like answered in an upcoming podcast episode?  Email me here! -Donna

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We have a lot of new books coming out this spring! And we would love to introduce them to you in this space! And we would really love for you to click on the Projects Contained, Tables of Contents, Samples, etc., to check them out and see if they are what your homeschool needs next year to get your kids writing—and writing well.

This book uses our simplified research method: Color-Coded Research and Outlining.

This week we bring to you one of our new high school books, MC 10 II: Four Research Reports. This book has been tested with dozens of students over the past three years—and has passed our inspection with flying colors. (Okay, it passed after three years of rewrites and edits and quite literally fifty hours-plus spent by yours truly on the quotation citation portions alone!)

Here is what you need to know:

Meaningful Composition 10-II: Four Research Reports

Our MC 8 II: Junior High Research Reports, as well as projects in other junior high first semester books, all point to and lead up to this challenging high school research reports book. This book brings all research and citation elements together in four incremental projects laid out in weekly lessons.

Report I: Five or Six Agriculture Products is a two to three source ten paragraph paper that includes bibliography cards, outlining cards, Works Cited, quotation inclusion, our “Overview Source Method” of research, our “Color-Coded Research” method of merging sources, and MLA source citation for quotes.

Report II: One Agriculture Product is a three to four source project of ten to twelve paragraphs that includes bibliography cards, outlining cards, Works Cited, Major Works and Minor Works instruction, “Overview Source Method” of research, our “Color-Coded Research” for merging sources; MLA parenthetical citation for quotation inclusion; our “Section-Paragraph-Sentence Approach to Note Taking” and beginning formal outlining.

Report III: A Biography of One Who Contributed to Society is a five to six source project of sixteen to twenty total paragraphs that includes all of the above elements from Reports I and II and adds Redundancy/Synonym Brainstorming; parenthetical citation for paraphrased material; advanced content-based speech tags for quotes; cover page development; and advanced Checklist Challenge tasks.

Finally, Report IV: Topic of Choice brings all of the previous skills and techniques introduced in the first three projects in a multi-week, lengthy paper that shows your student’s research and citation skills at their best. This project utilizes six to nine sources and twenty to twenty-four information-packed paragraphs. You and your student will be extremely proud of the final products he or she has at the end of this high school book.

Read the Table of Contents for this book here.

Get a look at the projects contained in this book here.

Check out the two-week samples here.

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