flynn057

Dear friends, In my English class at our home school co-op, I have been teaching a series on the vocabulary and concepts of major world religions, including Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Atheism, and Judaism.  We covered Judaism last week, but didn't have time to discuss the Holocaust so I told them we will do it tomorrow (April 12).  This is actually providential timing, since Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) is tomorrow.  Please note that this is not a full treatment of the Holocaust -- I am only introducing the terms and concepts.  I will bring along and introduce several books about the Holocaust -- some from the library and some that I own -- mainly focusing on fiction and biography.  I have included a short list of some of these after the vocabulary list.  I will also read a picture book, The Harmonica , by Tony Johnston.  I can never make it through this book without crying.  That is as it should ...

Dear friends, In my English class at co-op, I have been teaching a series on World Religions, explaining the vocabulary and concepts behind Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Atheism, and Judaism so far. This is the vocabulary word list for Judaism. The words with open bullets (o) were spelling words, too. My son-in-law Ryan, who is a Messianic Sephardic Jew, helped me with this list and loaned me a menorah, tallit, Torah scroll, matzah crackers, and other Judaica for my class presentation. I did not have time to discuss the Holocaust, so we are saving that for Holocaust Remembrance Day (Yom HaShoah) on April 12. I have put the vocabulary list for that here:  http://continuewellhomeschool.blogspot.com/2010/04/holocaust-vocabulary-and-concepts.html I will try to upload my other world religion lists soon, too. Shalom, Virginia Judaism Vocabulary & Concepts The Bible & Beliefs: o Judaism: monotheistic religion whose adherents worship the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as d...

Dear friends, This spring in my English class at our home school co-op, I assigned for each of the students to read a full-length biography of someone who was a Christian missionary (such as Hudson Taylor, Gladys Aylward, William Carey or Mary Slessor), pastor (such as Charles Spurgeon), author (such as C.S. Lewis), hymn writer (such as Fanny Crosby), etc.  Most of these are from YWAM's Christian Heroes Then & Now series , which most of my students prefer, or the Heroes of the Faith  series, which are more complete but not as kid-friendly. The corresponding writing assignment is to summarize each chapter in at least one paragraph. As they proceed throughout the book, they are answering most of the following questions in their paragraphs, as appropriate for their subject.  Then they will compile their writing into a final report and oral presentation. Questions for Christian Biography Reports 1. What is this person's name? Was it the ...

Dear friends, Here is the newest audio version of my workshop "The Real 3R's of Literature: Read, Reflect & Respond." This is from my presentation at the Books & Beyond 2010 conference in Orlando. Read, Reflect & Respond Life has a purpose! Reading has a purpose! Down with ignorance and apathy! The discipline of reading, reflecting and responding helps us learn to think more deeply and relate to others more wisely. We are less likely to be duped and more likely to engage in real life. We will have something worthwhile to say in a conversation. We will be prepared to meet life challenges. Reflecting and responding increases long-term retention of information, beyond the test. Our response often includes practical application and action to transform our lives and culture. Reading improves comprehension, logical thinking, creativity, writing skills, grammar, spelling, etc. Reflective reading feeds the spirit and inspires our souls. Readers become leaders! The ...

Dear friends, In the 7th-8th grade home school co-op English class that I teach, I try to incorporate Biblical themes as often as possible. We have done literature studies on the lives of Joseph, Daniel, and Esther. We learned about Psalms and Proverbs for a week or two each. We usually do integrated literature/art/music/Scripture units for Christmas and Easter. And we often study books that highlight Biblical themes, such as The Bronze Bow, which is set in Bible times, or The Witch of Blackbird Pond, which is set in Puritan America. Here is the audio version of the workshop I presented a week ago at the Books & Beyond literature conference in Orlando. I am pasting in my workshop handout text below. I spoke about some things in the workshop (especially letting the Bible launch our children into life rather than holding them into a mold) that aren't in the handout, and visa versa. I know the handouts are pretty sparse. Below the handouts are a whole bunch of web links, not onl...

Dear friends, In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, my home school co-op English class is listening to his "I Have a Dream" speech and answering study questions on it.  I thought you might like to join us.  I have split the speech text into three sections to make it more manageable.   You will find a persuasive paragraph writing assignment at the end of this post. For peace and justice, Virginia Knowles Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. "I Have a Dream" Speech August 28, 1963 (Section 1) I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation. Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity. But one ...