BookShark’s Subject Overlap Makes For Better Learning
I am a BookShark Brand Ambassador and did receive curriculum in exchange for sharing details of their product.
There are so many things I love about Bookshark, our homeschool curriculum. The science is fun and we have learned a lot. The 4 day schedule allows us a lot more flexibility, which is why we homeschool in the first place. But today I want to tell you about the overlap.
Wikipedia definition for active recall:
Active recall is a principle of efficient learning, which claims the need to actively stimulate memory during the learning process.
In teaching our kids a new concept or idea we all know that repeating what they have read a few times we give them a greater opportunity to learn it. If we had heard that Alexander Graham Bell had invented the telephone only once in our lives we likely would not be as able to recall that information. But this one fact we have heard countless times in our lives. It is even in the lyrics of an old country song Reba’s “Why Haven’t I Heard From You” tells us in the opening lyrics “Back in 1876 an old boy named Bell invented a contraption that we know so well”. Repeating information wins! But since we don’t have a popular song to remember all of history’s important events we must be able to rely on good ole repetition.
BookShark Overlaps The Subjects
We have used BookShark curriculum since my son was in Kindergarten and not only because it comes in a box and is planned out for me making my life easier, but also because my son is learning. He is learning quite a bit, and I have to point to the overlap. When we purchase BookShark curriculum we purchase the entire set for the level we are working on. We get the science, language arts, and history.
BookShark does a great job giving the highlights when they overlap because each subject is still a stand-alone. Meaning, even if you don’t buy all the other subjects or buy different levels of each subject you will still be able to do the lesson. But a huge advantage of doing so is the opportunity to recall information you have already covered.
Language Arts
This week in our language arts lesson we are talking about inventors. My son will put on his inventor’s cap and invent something and write about how he solved a problem or how he could take a current product and improve it some way. It will be a report on his invention, but while we are discussing inventions we are recalling inventors we studied just a few weeks ago when we talked about Alexander Graham Bell. We will talk about others that we will soon be reading about; Thomas Edison and the Wright Brothers. Language Arts doesn’t just have to be about commas and adjectives; it can be an extension in our history lesson also.
In with our Language Arts we have spelling. We use the Spelling You See, and have most recently finished Americana. There are short stories that relate to the period of history that we are currently studying. (This was just good luck with his level of spelling.) I highly recommend using the readiness guidelines to see which level Spelling You See is right for your child.
In Language Arts we also have readers. This is the book that your child will read. The reader we are currently working on is Old Yeller. Old Yeller is post Civil War, which is where we are in our history lessons as well. Reading a story that is taking place during the same time period that our history is in is a great way of continuing to relate with the times.
Science
I have kept it no secret how much I LOVE BookShark Science. From the colorful science books that we cover 3 days a week to the awesome science experiments that we get to do once a week I feel like no only are my kids getting a great education, but I am learning with them.
Our science experiments are currently about electricity. I was sure we would cover it all in a couple of lessons, but we keep building on each experiment each week. I am impressed how deep we are able to go by building on what we have learned each week.
My son won’t forget that a circuit must be complete in order to work. Each week we have to check our wires to be sure they are properly connected and that everything is lined up as it should be. With each experiment we learn more and build more on the knowledge from the week prior. With BookShark’s science curriculum we also get a DVD. We took a few breaks not long ago, so it was quite awhile between science experiments. We were able to sit down and watch the lessons we had studied already on the DVD to refresh our memory on what we are learning. The ability to sit down and watch the science experiements that we have already done in just a few minutes allows us to review quickly and keep recalling the information we have already taken in. (The DVD also comes in hand when science experiments aren’t quite working like they are supposed to, more than once I have had to use the DVD because the Biology in Level 3 relied on my ability to grow corn.)
Reading with History
BookShark is well known as a literature based curriculum. It includes books that you may have read from your childhood, Old Yeller & Little House on the Prairie to name of a few; while also introducing new authors and books in Reading with History I had never heard of until unboxing day when our BookShark box arrived.
This week in history we will be reading some out of three different books; The Landmark History of the American People, Children’s Encyclopedia of American History, and The World Wars. All three books will be covering some of the same information with different insights in each book. It is great as when the information overlaps my son will always point it out to me. Such a great oppportunity for recall.
With History this year we also received the Wee Sing America CD. The kids are learning old songs that relate to the period of history. We just read about how the railroad caused us to have to come up with a Standard time, and now we are singing about working on the railroad. The railroad was such a huge part of history in this time period.
With history/geography there are also colored maps and a timeline with your curriculum. The map included will be more detailed in the areas that will be covered in the year’s studies. It makes a great opportunity to tie history and geography in together. Telling a story about a place while also pointing at it on a map certainly makes it more relatable.
When we first ordered our curriculum from BookShark in Kindergarten we received The Timeline Book. This book has stuck with us through every year and we just keep adding new events and people to our timeline. Each year we receive a set of stickers to relate to the history we will cover that year. From time to time my kids love to look back and see the old stickers we have placed from years past and recall what they had learned about that event or person.
We have read-aloud books with our curriculum. These books are a favorite part of my day. I will sit down on the couch with my son and young daughter and we will read. We take these books with us on road trips or when we know we will be waiting somewhere. They are normally paperback and fit easily into my purse as a great way to fill our time when we are out and about. I will also read them at bedtime most nights so that my kids have a chance to lie in their beds and wind-down from the day while hearing stories that interest them. The read-alouds we are reading this year have tied very closely with our period in history. While studying the Civil War in history we were reading books that we were set during the Civil War. Also, another selling point on the read-alouds… they usually have children that are in similar age to my kids as the main characters. Reading the viewpoint of a child during the Civil War really makes the fears and worries that these children had more real.
The Readers that we cover in Language Arts are also a part of History. With the history curriculum you will get a brief synopsis of the book as well as questions that you can ask your child after they finish their daily reading assignment. This is great as the readers are meant for your student to read them. There have been times I haven’t had a chance to read the book at the same time, but I can still ask questions to ensure he is getting the most out of the book.
My son is learning a lot with Level 4 of BookShark and I am loving that there is a lot of recall, while also having the ability to keep it interesting.
