Elementary Language Arts (2nd to 4th grade)
NOTE: I cover early elementary topics under my Beginner section (alphabet, penmanship, reading fluency, beginning comprehension exercises).
I really think Language Arts is the best place to start experimenting with The 5-Minute Homeschool by streamline learning tasks and avoiding the burdens of working under a curriculum. In summary, language arts skilled are learned and practiced with key repeating exercises using easy-to-understand content from everyday life or another subject. In grammar, writing and reading comprehension, learning objectives build in complexity. Each step is thoroughly mastered before moving on to the next. In spelling, the goal is to master the top 1,000 words of the English language that make up 90% of usage. Keeping tasks very short is important to not wearying the student, so the 5-Minute Homeschool principles are applied.
I really think Language Arts is the best place to start experimenting with The 5-Minute Homeschool by streamline learning tasks and avoiding the burdens of working under a curriculum. In summary, language arts skilled are learned and practiced with key repeating exercises using easy-to-understand content from everyday life or another subject. In grammar, writing and reading comprehension, learning objectives build in complexity. Each step is thoroughly mastered before moving on to the next. In spelling, the goal is to master the top 1,000 words of the English language that make up 90% of usage. Keeping tasks very short is important to not wearying the student, so the 5-Minute Homeschool principles are applied.
Reading Comprehension
Below is a file with story reading comprehension objectives for the elementary years. Steps 0 and 1 really align with Kindergarten and 1st grade objectives. BUT, if a student has not mastered them, then it is best to start wherever the student is at, as each step builds on successful mastery of the previous steps.
Things You Will Need:
Things You Will Need:
- Notebook or Word Processor
- Folder which will hold...
- Primary Treasure church magazine (or mission quarterly)
- and laminated versions of the following instructions
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Within each step, do the following.
- Always model how to perform a learning objective within each step. Do this over many sessions until a student begins to interject with answers. Then, start allowing a student to practice with your supervision. Finally, give the student many opportunities to do it independently with your review at the end.
- Introduce one or two objectives at a time. Continue to add objectives as a student masters previous ones.
- Perform reading comprehension exercises only using content that the student can easily relate to or understands well. We like to use our Bible stories and our church magazine (Primary Treasure and or Children's Mission Quarterly) that contain true stories about children.
- Feel free to do reading comprehension orally while a student is still working on spelling. If a child is a good speller, they can write out their exercises or type them up if they have mastered typing (I recommend the AlphaSmart 3000 word processor for offline typing).
To stay organized, keep a folder for reading comprehension. On one side, keep a laminated version of the objectives list and student exercises. On the other, keep the magazine in use for practice.
Spelling
The object of spelling is being able to write fluently the most commonly used words in the English language. To accomplish this, I recommend Dr. Fry's List of Words. The top 100 will give you 50% fluency! The top 300 words will give you 60% fluency. The top 1,000 will give you 90% fluency! The goal of elementary years is to get all 1,000 words under one's belt. Since spelling is mostly a visual and muscle memory function, it's important to utilize good memorization techniques.
Writing
Learning to write in complete sentences, to use proper punctuation, to structure paragraphs, and to make good word choice is the object of writing time. Here are some important rules to follow.
**I love the resource, Four Square Writing Method: A Unique Approach to Teaching Basic Writing Skills by Judith S. Gould, Evan Jay Gould, and Mary F. Burke. It has a step-by-step (objective-based) way of preparing students to write paragraphs and essays necessary for the content subject areas.
- First start with dictation when students are still working on spelling.
- Then, as students put more spelling words under their belt, you can insert blanks in their writing for them to write in those words they are familiar with.
- To keep writing within the confines of everyday life, so a student can focus on learning the art of writing, I recommend the following activities.
- Pen Pal Letters - start in Kindergarten (may only be able to sign their name)
- Special Days Journal* - start in 1st grade
- Reading Comprehension Exercises Steps 2 to 4 - start in 3rd grade
- 4-Square Writing Activities** - start in 1st grade
- Use the files below to guide your student towards objectives. I recommend laminating them.
- Remember to not move forward till each step is mastered.
- To keep writing smooth and meaningful, you as the teacher should fill in the areas where a student is not actively working, as it is so important for a student to see good writing modeled for them. Again, insert blanks in the sections that represent active objectives your student is on.
**I love the resource, Four Square Writing Method: A Unique Approach to Teaching Basic Writing Skills by Judith S. Gould, Evan Jay Gould, and Mary F. Burke. It has a step-by-step (objective-based) way of preparing students to write paragraphs and essays necessary for the content subject areas.
Drawing
Being able to draw may not seem like a language arts topic, but it is essential to effective future note-taking skills in science and social studies. It also enhances written assignments. The goal of drawing is to master the art of stick figure drawing in the realm of people, nature, buildings, transportation, etc. You only need to spend 1 minute on this important topic, but it will pay your student back in dividends sooner than later. Drawing then can be incorporated in reading comprehension (drawing out the steps to the story), writing in one's special days journal (drawing a personal experience), diagramming a Bible verse (doodling observations), and recording nature findings (drawing specimens). As I mentioned, later on, especially in the middle school years when study skills are perfected, a student can then learn a wonderful technique for memorizing science or social studies information - drawing out a summary of the information, thus keeping a photograph of it in the mind.
Grammar
Identifying the function of various words in sentences and knowing how to properly use different kinds of words is Grammar. Thankfully, elementary grammar is very light. Students can master identifying nouns, verbs, and adjectives. They can master identifying present, past, future, and command tenses. Finally, they can master identifying statements, questions, exclamations, and commands. I like to create grammar exercises from a student's Bible stories or reading comprehension stories (church magazine stories) or social studies or nature topics. As with all skills, it's essential to practice a new skill with content that is familiar to the student.
Typing
Once a child has mastered spelling the most common 500 words of the English language, they can now spell well over 60% of the words they will use on a regular basis. It is time to learn to type! This will likely be sometime between 3rd and 4th grade. I recommend taking 1 month in the summer to do the free beginner and intermediate courses of Typing.com. Here are some important things to keep in mind as your student works through the course.
- Whenever they finish a major step (which contains like 10 sub-steps), have them redo that section before proceeding on to the next one to make sure they are really comfortable with it.
- Since this is a muscle memory task, allow them to do more than 5 minutes of practice if their stamina allows - up to 15 minutes.
- Do not let them do more than 1 major step a day. Remember the brain needs to sleep on new information!
- Your student only needs to finish the intermediate level. The advanced level utilizes vocabulary that is not realistic for an elementary student and is not necessary.
- Your goal is for your student to finish the course typing close to 30 WPM (words per minute). This is a perfect functional speed for a beginner to proceed incorporating typing into learning tasks.
- If your student is not at 30 WPM by the end of the course, then encourage your student to play typing games each day till they get there.
- Going forward, once your student is typing, feel free to keep them OFFLINE by investing in a cheap word processor. We like the AlphaSmart 3000, which is only available used and costs between $15 and $50.