Every year we end our summer science lessons with the study of the ocean. This year we are studying Marine Biology. We are going to be using the The Good and the Beautiful Marine Biology unit study for grades K-5 as our guide, but we will be using other hands on and interest led activities.
The best part of our Marine Biology study is the new Magic School Bus Rides Again Exploring Oceans kit sent to us from The Young Scientist Club. We are both super excited about diving into this kit. My son has been bouncing off the walls since it’s arrival and has been begging to open it.
One of the things I felt was important to include in this unit study for my son was marine biologist. I have chosen Roger Arliner Young, Ernest Everett Just and Ayana Elizabeth Johnson. I had him pick out a few books about coral reefs and animals of interest from the ocean.
We are fresh off from shark week and so he still has sharks on the mind, so the transition won’t be hard. This year for shark week I decided to just let him do his own thing and I just set out resources and let him explore.
As a special thank you to our followers the The Young Scientist Club is offering 30% discount when you use SCIENCEFUNcode at checkout on any of the following subscriptions:
Pre-pay 12 months of Magic School Bus science club
The teaching guide is a comprehensive and easy guide to follow. I recommend making yourself familiar with the upcoming chapter lesson and read beforehand but this is not a requirement in order for you to do the lesson. The good thing about the literature guide is that you can customize it to best fit you and your students needs. There is a Preparing To Read at the beginning of the both teacher and student guide that is used as guideline how to best prepare for each chapter discussion. You can read the novel to your student aloud, independent read or tag team read. In the teachers guide each lesson and answer key is within the teacher guide so you can follow along.
The student guide is broken down into these areas of study:
Reading Notes
Vocabulary (words within the novel)
4-5 Comprehension Questions ( older students own or younger students orally then as copy work)
Quotations and Discussions Questions
Enrichment (variety of activities)
Unit Review and Tests (test varies within guides in the Charlotte’s Web Guide every 7 chapters)
At the end of the book there is biographical sketch about the author and reference material about spiders, poetry and a diagram of a spider. Each guide is divided by each chapter in the book and each lesson is 2 pages long.
We used the curriculum during our morning time meeting. We read the chapter for the following days meeting. During our morning meeting we go over the reading notes, vocabulary and comprehension questions. Before we move on I let him watch the original movies clip for the corresponding chapter and then move on to the discussion questions. I always have him point out the differences in the book and the movie which he loves to do. We end with the enrichment activity. This takes us all of maybe 30-40 mins but I like this time with him because have in-depth conversations about the book.
Now here is the breakdown of my review of the Third Grade Literature Guide Set from Memoria Press. I really do like this program it works well if you have morning basket or read aloud routine with your kiddos. You can use the guides as is or you can use it as an oral discussion guide. It can be used to cover vocabulary, grammar and handwriting. I appreciated the no pressure to do a lot of busy work or prepping. If you would like to incorporate hands on activities while reading you can add some farm themed toys, coloring sheets and crafts. The Charlotte Web literature guide can be used as unit study about farm animals or spiders…now you have covered science in your homeschool for a few weeks.
This is a great set and I think it would be a great add on for your homeschool. Memoria press offers literature guides sets for 1st – 10th grade. Be Sure to check out the the other crews reviews of the other literature guides sets.
Matific is multi awarding winning company. The company is geared towards grades K-6. The curriculum is fully aligned with national math standards. Matific is unique because it’s designed to reduced anxiety math and build confidence. Kids move at their own pace so their is no pressure to hurry and master a skills.
We have tried many online platforms in the past and the all were lacking in some areas and eventual my son lost his interest. With Matific Galaxy my son has continued to ask to sign on, there is a interactive parent and student dashboards. The student dashboard has several different planets. Each planet concentrates on target skill level such as money, geometry, counting, addition and subtractions. The child will engage in 6 activities on each planet they must show mastery of each skill before they are are allowed to move on to the next planet skill. There is a bad guy alien that shows up and gives the kids that competitive edge to keep playing.
The company recommends that students play a minimum of 45 minutes a week 3 days a week. My son has been playing on average 45mins-60 mins a week. The parent dashboard is one of the best I have ever seen in a learning platform. The platform offers parents a clear diagnostic of what my son has been working on and exactly what he needs more practice. The Parent zone breaks down each area the of skill and assigns a percentage for each skill and then an overall percentage for all area assessed. The company gave us subscription that allows me to be able to have my son work at multiple grade levels. For the summer I decided to have him work the 1st grade level 2 days a week and 2nd grade 1 day a week. Having him do this and using the parent dashboard has allowed me to see what I need to concentrate on more this summer to help him be prepared for his 2nd grade math curriculum.
One the areas I know my son needs improvement is counting money and making change. One of the planet games has area where the kids are at a movie theater and they are buying snacks and other treats my son really loved this activity. I loved the fact that it was combining real life lessons in a fun way. I have defiantly seen an improvement in my son money skills while he has been playing Matific Galaxy. This would be a great resource for parents to use year round because it really helps your students to stay on top of their math skills and improve them.
So lets talk cost for a single grade is $19.99 for 70 plus activities for a full K-6 access (I recommend) the cost is $39.99 for 500+ activities this cost is per student for the year. There is sibling discount of 25% for larger families. The platform is available on desktop and Apple Store and Google Play. This is a great math program for your student, you can also try out it for free with limited game access as well. I highly recommend you try it out today!
Today on the blog I am reviewing the language arts curriculum Grade 2 Lightning Lit Set from Hewitt Homeschooling Resources. The company sent us the teachers manual and student workbook. One of the things I have enjoyed about reviewing this curriculum is that it is literature based. We are a homeschooling family that integrates literature based learning in all aspects of our lessons so this curriculum fit right in with our flow.
The curriculum uses a variety of classical books and some new books to help children to develop skills in reading literature and reading informational text. Children are introduced to grammar and composition in weekly lessons. The teachers manual gives very detailed instructions and the ability to modify lessons to best fit your students need. At the beginning of each week you are are given a “week at a glance” to help you prepare for the upcoming week. There are optional materials suggested as well as the grammar and mechanics to be learned in the weeks lesson.
The lesson flow for the week is broken down into 5 days and each day covers the following areas of study:
Literature
Grammar and Mechanics
Composition
Reading Journal
In the teachers manual you will find the reading comprehension questions to ask your student after reading the weeks literature book. The Grammar and Mechanics will introduce the concept to practice and learn for the week. The composition portion section each day will work on the creative writing assignment for the week. The reading journal gives the student the opportunity to journal about their thoughts about this weeks. On Day three students will work on vocabulary building and sentence puzzles. Keep in mind this curriculum is versatile and can be easily modified to your learners pace and tolerance levels. There is no pressure to follow the layout, but to make this lesson as frustration free for you and your learner.
We used the curriculum as laid out in the book and my son really enjoyed this new way of learning language arts and writing. I went through the teachers manual and there is an in depth amount of grammar that will be introduced to the student. There are two chapter books that the curriculum uses for read aloud or for independent reading. On day 4 students are asked a question about what they have read.
The curriculum covers 36 weeks of lessons for 5 days a week. In the back of the book you will find an alphabet, handwriting and writing lines resources that can be photocopied for using with the weekly lessons. The course can be tailored to your students needs which is a huge plus. In my opinion you really don’t need to purchase a separate writing curriculum if you are using this curriculum because it covers this area every week. Students will also increase vocabulary and learn how to diagram sentences. The cost of the Grade 2 Lightning Lit Set is $93.50 plus applicable taxes and shipping the pack will also include Random House Book of Poetry for Children.
Be sure to check out the other Crew Review of Hewitt Homeschooling Resources there are many great reviews ona varitey of products.
I highly recommend this curriculum if you are literature based homeschooler or if you are looking for something a little lighter for learning grammar and composition. We will continue using this for the upcoming school year and for the rest of the summer.
Little Learner and Mom 