At Homeschool Journey Guides, we often get asked about academic standards. State content area standards reflect the knowledge and skills students are expected to learn at a given grade level. These standards sometimes include language that is challenging to interpret. Nonetheless, they can be a helpful resource to homeschool families. Ways to Interact with StandardsA common thread in homeschooling families is the desire for freedom. This may include freedom from a rigid schedule, freedom from testing, and/or freedom to teach our children what they need as individuals. As a result, some families choose to ignore state standards. However, some homeschoolers (either by choice or because of state regulations) weave standards into their homeschool plan. If you choose to incorporate state standards, you can interact with them in multiple ways: Standards as a Map: If learners intend to transition back to public school in the future, it is a good idea to keep an eye on the standards so that they learn the same topics at the same pace as their peers in the public schools. Standards as a Menu: Some families visit state standards at the beginning of each year to set goals. They peruse the standards and choose some to add to their learning objectives for the year. Standards as a Ruler: Some families use standards as a ruler to determine whether or not a curriculum has an adequate scope and sequence. Home educators may compare a curriculum’s table of contents against state content standards to decide if it is a fit. Standards as an Inspiration: Standards have been thoughtfully curated by professional educators in each state. They may have some ideas about what to teach in a certain subject that we just haven’t considered. The standards use a lot of words that correlate with higher level thinking skills (visualize, appraise, formulate, compose, discriminate, etc.). These words can spark ideas for activities or projects which will allow our learners to engage with topics on a deeper level. Making Standards Accessible
Helpful LinksContent standards are relatively similar from state to state. Most states (although not all) have adopted Common Core Standards for math/ELA and NGSS standards for science. If one state provides more accessible language for the same standard, feel free to adopt it!
For support integrating state standards or developing your own customized learning objectives, contact us!
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorJenny and Sara Jo help families fi nd joy and academic success in the journey of K-8 secular home education in Central Oregon and beyond. Archives
March 2021
Categories |