CC Cycle 3 Week 7 Tutor Plans

Well, we were out of town and then sickness struck and the fog is just lifting.  So, please forgive my lack of posting Week 5 and 6.  Here are plans for Week 7.  

HISTORY

As I write the history sentence each week, I write the nouns in a particular color.  After we sing the sentence through a few times, I erase the first noun and we make up a hand motion to take its place.  We then sing, 'mmm mmm' instead of the noun and do the hand motion as we sing the entire sentence.  We continue in this way until we've replaced all nouns with hand motions and the sound, 'Mmmm mmmm.'  By the sixth or seventh time, we are singing almost all 'mmm's' and it is quite funny.  It's quite funny and it works!  

SCIENCE

The excretory system is a funny one to recount.  We used hand motions and different voices to display these.  

First, we made a train sound for the 'chh, chhh, chhh, chh' 'Urinary Tract.'  

Then we breathed in deeply and out for 'Lungs.'  

We rubbed our arms and pretended to be sweating for 'Skin.'

We pretended to smell something stinky as we said, 'Intestines.'  

We did this slow and then faster and faster and faster.  

ENGLISH

We will be using the same hand motions for these irregular verb forms throughout the semester.  I hope to put up a video to help you.  If you'll recall, we defined each of these parts: infinitive, present participle, with particular hand motions and songs.  Now, we are just filling in the particular verbs.  So, we'll use the same hand motions we used in the definitions and now place the verb part to match.  Sounds confusing but I'll try to link to a video to clear it up.

TIMELINE

We are drawing the timeline again.  We use the cross for anything relevant to Christianity.  You can make a timeline grid by printing a grid that is 7 columns across and 6 rows down.  By the end of the year, there will be four pages for the timeline.  Below is one of my students' drawings for this week.  

LATIN

We just used hand motions and voices to define these words, first memorizing the Latin words.  Then we added the English definitions.  These are much more concrete terms than pronouns and conjunctions and are much easier to memorize.  

Vita-sign language for life

Lux-hands make shape of a sun

Homo, hominum-hands out to show shape of human body

Nomen-American sign language for name

GEOGRAPHY

We looked at the shape of these states and noticed the squareness of some of the states this week. Drawing the states separately first helped us recognize them in their context on the map.  

MATH

We used this number chart to color in the 13's.  The song goes to Yankee Doodle tune so I told the children to remember the 13 colonies and the fact that Yankee Doodle was in London and probably riding over to the 13 colonies.  Perhaps this is a good way to recall the tune.  The children began to see the pattern of down one line and over 3 as they drew out the 13's.  

TIN WHISTLE

We focused on playing only with our left hand on the top three notes.  This helps the student realize they can balance the whistle with only one hand and also simplifies learning the notes.  Start with just balancing the whistle between the left thumb (under the whistle) and the left pointer finger (on top of  the whistle) and blow lightly for a C#.  Practice holding for 4 beats (a whole note in 4/4 time), then playing twice, 2 beats each (2 half notes in 4/4 time), and then playing four times with 1 beat each (4 quarter notes in 4/4 time).  Eventually we added one hole closed (B), two holes closed (A) and three holes closed (G).    

We ended with learning the song, 'Hot Cross Buns.'  

I'll list the notes here with the number of beats behind each note.  This is a great song to begin with as it only uses one hand and helps the student feel a sense of musical accomplishment.  Here's a link to the song for tin whistle

B (1)  A (1)  G (2)

B (1)  A (1)  G (2)

G(1/2) G(1/2) G(1/2) G(1/2)

A (1/2) A (1/2) A (1/2) A (1/2)

B (1)  A (1)  G (2)

Thank you for grace with my lack of posts. I hope your week 7 goes well.  

Presentation Ideas for Younger Elementary Students

Whether your child is in a Classical Conversations class, a university style school or a public school setting, making a presentation in front of your entire class can be scary.  

Watching my children grow in this skill over the last few years has taught me more than I expected.  Growing up with a dad orating before large crowds each week,  talking in front of a bunch of people was as natural to me as was eating several large bowls of Frosted Flakes. 

Not so for my children, at least some of them.  (Neither the naturally wanting to talk to a bunch of people nor the indulgence of Frosted Flakes.)

There's more to say here that I'll save for another post, but one lesson I've learned is that content is critical.  If a child is excited about the content of their presentation, they are much more likely to be excited about presenting, even if they feel a bit shaky in the knees.  If they're not too thrilled with the topic, well, they'll find a good excuse to stay in their seat, thank you.  

As a parent, I try to help my children think through things that they would be excited to share with the class each week.  As a tutor, I try to give a suggested schedule to my class each semester that they can use a springboard for new presentation ideas. 

Here's my list for the first semester.

Week 1: Tell the class about yourself, your family, and a little about your summer.

Week 2: Tell the class about one of your hobbies, sports, or activities and explain how to do that particular activity.  An example would be explaining the game of soccer or telling about how to play the violin.

Week 3: Share a favorite story or book with the class.  Students are welcome to dress up as a character in the book, bring props or do anything creative that would help the child explain the story. Please have the child summarize the story rather than read it in its entirety.  

Week 4: Tell us how something works.  Bring in something from the home and tell us how it works.  This could be something as simple as a spatula or a Lego block to something more complicated like a circuit board, a light bulb or a can opener.  

Week 5: Interview with the Tutor.  No preparation necessary.  I will interview each student and we'll practice interview skills.  

Week 6: Bring something that you've found in your yard.  Do a bit of research on it and tell us more about it.  

BREAK

Week 7: Tell the class a little more about anything you've learned in CC thus far.  An example would be giving more information about Columbus, explaining skip counting four's with car wheels, or showing a body diagram to tell more about a body system we've studied. 

Week 8: This is laughing day.  Tell the class a joke, a list of jokes or a funny story that will give us a chance to giggle.  

Week 9:  Grab bag with the Tutor. No preparation necessary.  I will allow each student to pull an item out of a grab bag and I'll ask questions of the student regarding the item.  These will be everyday items and the questions will be simple and easy to answer.  

Week 10: As we are in the middle of the Tin Whistle unit, students are invited to bring a musical instrument (if portable) to share with the class or just tell the class about something related to music.  The student is welcome to share a favorite song, composer, or musician if they are not interested in a particular instrument.  

Week 11: Show us what you've learned thus far.  Pick one or more subject matters in CC and share what you have memorized in 3 minutes.  

Week 12: Thankful day!  Tell the class about some things for which you are thankful.  Students are welcome to bring a well loved object to class or any other props that would help them share about their gratitude.  

However and wherever your children are learning to present to their peers this year, help them enjoy it more by finding ways to endear them more to their subject matter.  It's so much easier to talk about something you love to talk about.  Don't you think?  

I'd love to hear ways you motivate your children in their public presentations in the comments.          

Classical Conversations Cycle 3 Week 4 Tutor Plans

Week 4!  This is one of my favorite times in the classroom as routine has been established but the newness has not yet worn off.  I hope these tutor plans are of help to you if you are Classical Conversations tutor or perhaps they can be a springboard for you if you're reviewing or introducing these things at home.

Timeline
Read Week 3 or Week 1's plans for more details on Timeline. 
These are the symbols we'll draw this week.
Card 22-an Indian headdress
Card 23-a capital 'I' with a break in the middle
Card 24-H and H
Card 25-R and R
Card 26-a bow and arrow (Assyria) on top of an 'I' (Israel)
Card 27-a tablet of law (Babylon) on top of the bow and arrow (Assyria)
Card 28-a big question mark for the philosophers 

History
For this week, I thought I'd give little signs to each student a little sign with a few words from the History sentence written upon it.  We'll learn the sentence together and then have the students prepare to come and get in the correct order as we sing, facing the parents.  We'll sing it several times through, with the student holding up their portion of the sentence when it is sung.  

Latin
This week, we'll do this cheer squad style, 'When I say ___', 'You say ____.'  But instead I'll say, 'When English says _____, Latin says ____.'  We'll do this a few times altogether and then break the class into teams, one being English and the other Latin.  The English side will go first and the Latin side will then answer.

English
We'll do a rap for this sentence as well.  I'll post a video of the rap so stay tuned or follow my Youtube channel here.  


Science

We'll use Missy Wilson's song for this week and stand in a circle, with everyone turned to the side to march.  We'll act very 'nervous,' and point to our head first, our back second, and run our hands down our arms for the last part.  

Math
For skip counting 7's, we'll talk briefly about how there are 7 days in a week and that counting by 7's is great for counting down weeks for something fun like Christmas!  We'll stay in the circle and pass a ball around, each child saying the next number before passing.  I may use a scarf instead of a ball as I have lots of boys who might desire to do some baseball pitching instead of gentle passing.  

For skip counting 8's I'll have a little plastic spider that we pass around and say each number.  We'll review the song and then pass it around the circle a few times.  

Geography
We'll continue tracing the states onto our one piece of parchment paper and labeling them with abbreviations.  

Fine Arts
We'll warm up by drawing a few things upside down.  

For Abstract art, I'll bring in a few books to display some abstract artwork such as Jackson Pollock's, Kandinsky, or Klint.    

We'll do this rendition of Kandinsky's Color Studies for Class.  I'll bring in oil pastels for the kids to use which should be fun change from the more intensive drawing we've been doing in prior weeks.  

Review
Dart gun game.    This is so simple and so fun.  I make a bullseye on the board with 100 in the center, then 80, 60, 40 and the outside of the circle is 20.  I divide the class into two teams.  One student answers a question and then takes a shot with the dart gun.  If they answered their question correctly, they get to add 20 points to their shooting score.  This game provides lots of time for many questions and keeps most of the class engaged.    

 This post was included in the wonderful linkup at Half a Hundred Acre Wood. -

Classical Conversations Cycle 3 Week 3 Tutor Plans

I was thinking this afternoon that 1/12 of the semester is already over.  All three previous years when we've participated in CC, I've found that the year goes very quickly.  A sober view of the semester's brevity helps give me perspective when things get busy.  God uses the shortness of time to wake me up to the wonder of the moment and to try and take time and really love the students around my breakfast table as well as those circled up in my CC class.  

When I was 23, a verse in Psalm 39 woke me up to time's quick pace.  'O Lord, my life is a mere handbreadth...'  Now 12 years later, my hand seems smaller than it did back then.  

When your days feel like more than you can handle, take a look at your hand, remember the shortness of these days and ask God for grace to 'live to the hilt' the moment in which you find yourself.    

To hopefully make the most of your brief moments, perhaps these plans for Week 3 will save you a bit of time this week.  

Timeline
I always start the class with Timeline.  For the first few years tutoring, I taught hand motions.  But over time, I've found that the students were focusing so much on the gestures that they missed the overall picture of the timeline and the actual wording.  So, this year, we're slowly filling in a grid (7 columns down and 6 rows across, providing for half of the semester).  You can easily do this in a Word document table.  

So far, drawing symbols each week has gone well. But I do have to keep my class moving as some want to draw an entire scene in one grid.  

Card 15-I'll see if they can draw this symbol for Hinduism.  Otherwise, just a swastika
Card 16-ABC
Card 17-O
Card 18-A fire and cloud
Card 19-A gavel
Card 20-Greek symbol for Omega
Card 21-crown
History
We'll review the sentence about three times and learn it by 'chunking' the material.  This is a key skill in memorization: learning to break large parts of information into smaller chunks.  

I don't want to type the full sentence here for copyright purposes.  But, these are the final words of each phrase:
1773, Mohawks, Company, Harbor.
  
Then I'll hand each student a tea bag.  They'll line up in a straight row facing me.  The students will take turns and tell me the sentence in a relay, each student saying a phrase of the sentence, tossing their tea bag and then retrieving their tea bag and running to the back of the line to go again.  

With four phrases within the sentence, four students will recite their phrase and then we'll start the sentence again.  With 8 students, we'll probably rotate through the class 2 or 3 times, singing the song about 6 times. We'll move quickly.  

My students loved relays like this last year and it provides a great opportunity to practice 'chunking' and repetition without becoming monotonous.  

Latin
Latin is more difficult this week with six definitions.  I'll teach them quickly and have index cards with one English or Latin word on each.  I'll divide the class in half and give the Latin cards to one group and English to the others.  Then we'll recite the list as each student finds their partner.  There are six words, so I'll either involve parents if they're in the room or I'll give one or two students two cards, making sure to give a student on the other side the two matches so that they're still a pair.  


English
The students are starting to love the English raps, a previously dreaded subject.  So, we'll keep doing.  If you've missed the previous weeks' raps, they're here.  

Science 
Science is a fun one to do away from the table.  My favorite way is to have the students form a circle and either sing together, motion together, or pass items in a relay.  

This week, we'll likely use Missy Wilson's Science song and first stretch out for skeletal, step in and make a wave form with our hands for smooth, and then pound our chest for cardiac.
We'll start slow and go faster and faster until it's ridiculous. 

Math
For fives, we'll first sing the song a few times through.  Then we'll get partners and give high 5's to one another and sing the song.  Then rotate partners and do it again.  
For sixes, we'll first sing the song about 3 or 4 times and then pretend to be insects and crawl or buzz around and sing a few more.  

Geography
I always finish New Grammar with Geography.  The setup for Geography changes the flow of class and so I find it is a good activity with which to end New Grammar.  

We'll keep adding to our parchment paper maps this week.  We started this in Week 1 and we'll work until we complete the entire US.  I've started having the kids label the abbreviations on each state as well.  We sing the Geography song and review the capitals as we go.  

Fine Arts
We will warm up with a mirror image review.  I'll give the class paper and ask them to place it in portrait position (short side on the top and bottom) and fold it in half and then in half again.  I'll challenge the class to draw as many mirror items along those folds as they can think of in a few minutes.  Then, we'll do some of these together.  I took all these from the Usborne'What Shall I Do Today?' book that must be out of print.  But, you could find ideas like this in any drawing book.  Or, just use mine!

Then, I'll teach upside down drawing with a few simple images like a bug, a chair or a car.  
After the simple introduction, we'll get into the larger project as this is what they enjoy most. 
I'll have pre-folded paper, horizontally (landscape) in half and then in half again, giving me four columns horizontally.  I'll then fold the paper vertically (from portrait position) into 2" sections, which should give me five rows vertically.  Look at the picture below if this seems confusing.  This will give us blocks to work in so that I can direct the students where to place each item on the page as we draw upside down.  I'll then start at the top of the paper but the bottom of the image and instruct the children to draw one item at a time.  We'll work through the picture together and then flip it over for a fun reveal.  
We'll do either or both of these pictures below.  George Washington's profile comes from Draw Write Now book 5 and the Mayflower comes from Book 3.  

Review Game
Our first week of class, we played BINGO and the students really enjoyed it.  I printed up 50 states Bingo cards for free here.  

You can print State Capital BINGO here.  
I used stones for BINGO markers and the kids took turns answering a question from Grammar and then dropped a stone over the map.  If it was on the line, the students could place markers on all states surrounding the line.  It's a great way to reinforce geography, ask new Grammar questions and add a bit of competition for interest all at once.  

After this week, we'll be 1/8 of the way through the semester!  Let's pray for grace to live each moment to its fullest, learning more about God's love for us in Christ and finding more opportunities to share that surprising love among those who He brings to our table.  

I'd love to hear your ideas or questions for Week 3 in the comments.  

Classical Conversations Cycle 3 Week 2 Tutor Plans

If you're new to tutoring or just desire some fresh ideas, I hope the plans I've made for Classical Conversations Week 2 will help.

Timeline-We'll continue to fill in the grid this week for cards 8 through 14.
Card 8-a number 7
Card 9-3 faces for the Patriarchs
Card 10-H and C
Card 11-a block of gold
Card 12-a bow and arrow
Card 13-a tablet with scribbles on it
Card 14-the Chinese symbol for Middle since China calls itself the 'Middle Country'

Here's a very poor snapshot of my board with the symbols.  Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, please forgive my depiction!

History-We're going to act this story out.  First we'll practice the sentence about three times.  Then, we'll pretend to be Pilgrims, start in Europe and make our way across the Atlantic.  I'll have a piece of paper for them to sign before we land in Massachusetts.  Chaos is certain to ensue.  But hopefully we'll make a memory.

Science-We'll sing the parts of the axial skeleton to the tune of 'Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes' replacing, 'Cranium, Vertebrae, Ribs and Sternum, Ribs and Sternum.....These are the parts of the axial skeleton.'  We'll point to each part of the body as we sing and use different voices as we go through it seven times, beginning with baby going through different characters and finally to an old man.

Math-We'll use jingle bells to sing the 3's to remind the students that the tune of Jingle Bells is used for this number.  We'll use matchbox cars to rev with each 4 we sing, reminding ourselves that we're counting four wheels on each car.  I'll be certain to quickly show the kids the pattern of 4, 8, 2, 6, 0 in the 4's ones digit.

Latin-We'll do Missy Wilson's Latin song again, using the right hand for English and the left hand for Latin. The pointer fingers will point toward one another for 'and,' toward something else for 'that,' and point upward for 'but.'

English-We'll do a rap again for the definition this week since the class enjoyed it so much last week.

Geography-We'll keep tracing the states and capitals on parchment paper as we did last week, continuing to fill in New England.

Fine Arts-  We'll use the OiLs method to warm up, drawing a tree together.  We'll do a simpler tree than the one above.  There are straight lines for the edges of the tree, angles for the Y's of the branches, a circle for the hollow in the trunk, and dots along the trunk for a line of ants.

We'll do some mirror image exercises and then put our skills to the test by drawing the pilgrims and Squanto.  Hopefully we can make it through a male and female character as well as Squanto.  These characters are basically from the Draw Write Now Book 3.
If you look closely, besides Squanto's hand of corn, the individuals are all mirror images.  Fold a landscape paper in half and then in half again.
Here's how to use it as a Mirror Image art activity.
Have the class flatten out their paper, draw half of the Pilgrim woman on the left edge of the far left fold, one half of the Pilgrim man on the left edge of the center fold and the left half of Squanto on the right fold.  Then have your class finish the other side of each character, changing only Squanto's left arm.

Wherever you are, I hope these plans are of some use to you if you're using Classical Conversations this year.  I'd love to know more of your ideas in the comments.

Classical Conversations Cycle 3 Week 1 Tutor Plans

If you're a CC tutor and anything like me, you've spent your share of time searching the internet for new and creative ways to teach the new grammar each week.  I hope to share my tutor plans with you for each week in this cycle.

Here's Week 1.

Timeline-This year, we created a grid that is 7 x 6 for the students to fill in a space for each timeline card with a simple symbol or drawing to depict that event.  My hope is that this will give the students a better picture of the timeline in its fullness and greater ability to understand the years and their placement.

This week we drew:
Card 1-A cane to depict 'ancient'
Card 2-A world
Card 3-A boat and a tower
Card 4-Two rivers divided by a piece of land
Card 5-A pyramid
Card 6-A rough sketch of the country of India
Card 7-A bar of gold and a simple bull face

We wrote the numbers 3000 BC between card 5 and card 6.

History-I call this game, 'mmm mmm' replacement.  We sing the song through once and then sing it again and again, each time replacing a new noun with 'mmm mmm' instead.  Eventually all the nouns, common and proper are replaced and the song sounds like, 'In mmm mmm, mmm mmm made the first of four mmmm, to the mmmm, on three Spanish. mmm...'  Everyone has a great laugh and we get to sing the song many, many times.  The conscious effort to replace the noun helps the student reinforce the actual word.

Latin-We are using some of Missy Wilson's Latin chants found here.  We sang the Latin preposition song, using our right hand to motion for the English and our left hand for the Latin.  We made hand motions, sang the song and slowed it way down and then sped it way up.

English-I made up a simple rap for this definition and hope to do so for the following definitions.  I taught the rap and hand motions and we did it quieter and louder.

Math-We simply counted 1 to 12 and then for 2's, we quickly discussed all the pairs of things on our bodies and clapped the 2's using various voices (baby, giant, princess, and robot).

Science-Again, we will be using Missy Wilson's songs for science.  I used a scarf for tissue, a rubber band for connective, a handweight for muscle, a rough sponge for epithelial and a cord for nerve.  We stood in a circle and I gave these out in order.  We would repeat the question and answer with each individual raising their item and saying it in turn.  Then everyone would pass the items to the right and we would repeat.  We did this until all items had been touched by everyone in class.

Geography-I handed out parchment paper and the class traced the first five states.  We'll work on this parchment paper all semester until we've filled in all the states and capitals.

Fine Arts-We warmed up by making a zoo of animals made entirely of the specific elements.  We made an owl out of circles, a turtle out of dots, a fish out of angles, a giraffe out of lines and a snake (of course!) out of curves.  For our main project, I lead the class in drawing a house utilizing all elements of shape.  We drew straight lines for the walls, door and window, dots on the sidewalk and driveway, angles on the roof, curves over the doorway and in clouds and birds above the house, circles in vents in the roof and on bushes in front, etc.  The children really enjoyed it.

If you haven't had your first day of CC yet, I hope this is of help to you.  Or perhaps you're at home and ready to review.  If so, may this give you a bit of inspiration.  What did you plan for Week 1?

Goals for the Classical Conversations Tutor

This is our family's fourth year in Classical Conversations and my third year as a tutor.

I had the privilege of leading tutor training this summer in my area and this was my challenge to new and returning tutors.

K-Know the material yourself.  The best thing you can do as a tutor is to know the material backwards and forwards.  This keeps you from looking back at your notes again and again in class and allows you to more fully interact with the material and the students.  The past two years, my daughter and I have worked toward the goal of Memory Master together which has really benefited me both as a teacher at home and a tutor at CC.

I-Involve the other parents.  Send out a weekly email to communicate what you're doing in class.  Have the parents present join you at the table for all the activities, in circles, chants, whatever.  If you've ever sat in a class that someone else is tutoring, you know it can be a bit on the boring side.  Overcome boredom with staying busy and encourage the other parents in your class to be Memory Masters as well.

T-Transition smoothly.  Transitions are the most difficult part of a fast paced CC morning and can make the difference in finishing the material or not.  Plan out your day so that you're up and moving and then down and working and think through the way you'll transition from one thing to the next.

C-Change it occasionally.  Our memories work best through repetition but also through surprise.  A great tutor creates a reliable routine in class while providing enough surprise to maintain interest and keep students and parents on their toes.

H-Have fun.  Nothing is always fun but fun can be found in almost anything.  Find ways to make your class laugh and enjoy learning by being silly at times, providing drama, or exaggerating a point.  When you can affect students' emotions, memories are made that are difficult to forget.  

KITCH....I couldn't think of goals that started with E and N.  But if you'd like to fill in the blanks for a perfect acronym (KITCHEN), go ahead.

If you are tutoring in a CC community, what are your goals?