Archive for category Curriculum Reviews

The Master Ruler by Master Innovations

Posted by jlsgrant in Book & Product Reviews, Curriculum Reviews on December 1, 2010

We are all accustomed to using manipulatives for math, but Master Innovations has taken this concept to a new level with the introduction of The Master Ruler. 

For this review, members of the TOS Homeschool Crew were given The Master Ruler (both Standard and Metric), The Master Ruler Workbook, and a Marvels of Measures Poster. 

According to the Master Innovations website, “The Master Ruler is the most revolutionary, unique, creative, and effective product teaching measurement to come on the market today.  The Master Ruler is actually SEVERAL rulers in one.  It is the only ruler of its kind that makes learning to measure easy and fun!  Ideal for learning equivalent fractions, scale drawings, area, and perimeter easily too!  It’s colorful design appeals to students instantly while teachers love the way it simplifies and compliments their teaching methods.  The high quality packaging with “easy to use” instructions is visually stimulating and adds excitement to the classroom.”

But you don’t just have to take their word for it!   You can view the results of their scientific research studies on the website.

Watch this video to see how it works:

We really enjoyed using The Master Ruler!   The Standard Ruler has five separate layers on a hinge, with each layer representing different fractions of the inch.  Each layer is printed with a different color making it easy to distinquish between the fractional parts.  The Metric Ruler is layed out the same way, with just three layers; one for decimeter, one for centimeter, one for millimeter.   The back of the rulers have handy measurement keys for reference.

The Master Ruler Workbook contains 21 pages of practice exercises, with everything from measure by inch to measure by millimeter.  It also has a section on using the rulers to add and subtract fractions, find equivalent fractions, reduce fractions, and determine improper fractions.  My daughter thought that concept was very helpful and wished she had learned fractions using that method!  The workbook also contains some mapping exercises where 1 inch = 1 mile and 1 cm = 800 km to learn distance conversions.   One of our favorite parts of the workbook is the Measuring Chart on the first page.  It uses pictures to represent metric concepts.  For example, a picture of several city blocks are used to represent a kilometer, a guitar to represent a meter, and the thickness of a dime for a millimeter.

The Marvels of Measures! poster is another helpful visual for comparing length, capacity, and weight.  If it was a little smaller, I would be tempted to hang it in the kitchen so that I would remember how many pints are in a quart! 

 We really enjoyed reviewing this product and plan to continue using it.  For that reason, we would award this product Four Rocks.  (The product fell a little short of perfect due to typos on their website and materials provided.  Other than that, we thought it was a wonderful tool for learning measurement!)

 

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Purchase from:   Master Innovations, LLC

Price:  Master Rulers $9.95 each, Workbook: $15.95, Poster: $10.00

Age/Grade: Elementary through High School

Other Products Available:

Master Clock, Master Fractions, Master Angles

 

Disclaimer:  Members of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Homeschool Crew were given access to this product free of charge in exchange for their honest review.  No other compensation of any kind has been received. 

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The Write Foundation: Essay Writing

Posted by jlsgrant in Curriculum Reviews on November 10, 2010

   

Here is how the fine folks at The Write Foundation describe this product:

“The Write Foundation is a teaching system designed to equip students with writing tools which they will use repeatedly as they learn to use them effectively. Writing is fun when students are silly or write on topics where they have a high interest level and the more they enjoy writing the easier the task.  This is not a literature course and the example brainstorms, outlines and paragraphs are written on the student’s level.  Students will learn the writing process, organizational structure, as well as various grammar and descriptive tools.”  
 
 “Many writing curricula focus on the different types of writing, such as creative writing, story writing, poetry writing, persuasive writing, argumentative writing, informative writing, descriptive writing, book writing, fiction writing, novel writing, but the basic foundation of writing is assumed. The Write Foundation begins with the writing process, how a student formulates a topic, then a thesis, then supporting points, and by incremental teaching drills in the basics. In most grammatical subjects, we have found that failure is almost totally because the basics have not been learned.”
 
For more information on how it works, visit the Information page on The Write Foundation website.   You can also download samples of their lesson plans and worksheets.  

 

The teacher’s manual includes sample lesson plans to complete each lesson with either a five day schedule or ten day schedule.  A sample five-day schedule would look like this: 

Day 1: Sentence Structure & Practice (For example, practicing 3rd person, transitions, using adjectives, clauses, etc.)

Day 2:  Teacher Writing Instructions

Day 3:  Student works on Paragraph Writing Assignment

Day 4:  Student completes Paragraph Assignment

Day 5:  Poetry & Literary Concepts (similes, alliteration, hyperpole, etc.) and MindBenders, by The Critical Thinking Company

We found this curriculum to be very thorough in its content, but a little difficult to follow in the beginning.  As a visual learner, I love the idea of using colored highlighters in reviewing literary samples.   For example, in the first lesson the story of the Prodigal Son is used.  The introductory paragraph is highlighted in pink, situation encountered is highlighted in blue, rising action is colored yellow, solution is green, results are colored orange, and finally the conclusion is colored pink again.   The student then uses that as part of their brainstorming to come up with their own original story. 

This curriculum goes beyond just writing instruction.  It also incorporates grammar, critical thinking, and includes a list of required reading which will give the students great examples of many of the concepts they are learning.

  

  

  

Product Classification:  Writing Curriculum (Christian Based)

Where it can be found:  The Write Foundation

How Much?:  $65 – $100 plus shipping and tax**

Who would benefit:  14 – 17 year olds

Other Products Available for younger students:

Level 1:  The Sentence to Paragraph 

Level 2:  The Paragraph

**Uses Mind Benders, a product of The Critical Thinking Company, sold separately

 

 

 

Disclaimer:  Members of the TOS Homeschool Crew were given copies of The Write Foundation:  Essay Writing, Lessons 1 – 15  in exchange for their honest review of this product.  No other compensation has been received.

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