TenMarks: A Homeschool Math Solution
Posted by jlsgrant in Curriculum Reviews on January 28, 2011
“TenMarks curriculums are designed with the help of experienced math curriculum specialists and mapped to state and common core standards. The appropriate curriculum is arranged in a personalized “playlist” for a child, made up of albums (concepts), which in turn are made up of tracks bite-sized topics.”
- Personalized Learning Makes All the Difference.
- On-Demand Instruction Provides Help When You Need it.
- Practice Builds Confidence and Improves Achievement.
Watch this short video to get an idea of how it works:
We found TenMarks website easy to navigate and nicely laid out. The kids enjoyed completing their work online in this type of format. While we did not add “rewards” to the system, it is a nice option to have if you’re so inclined. I loved that when you log in as teacher/parent, you can see your child’s progress, both what they completed and what subjects are ahead. There is also the ability to customize their curriculum to fit your needs, or do practice sets from another level. You may also “pause” their assignments if you are going out of town or taking a few days off.
The student interface not only has access to current and upcoming lessons, but also has an area to complete different practice sets, take tests, review progress reports, and play games (provided that they have achieved the required worksheets. :))
Overall, I think this is a great product with only a couple of caveats. We had a little difficulty trying to determine the correct level for us. I think, however, this was probably due to the fact that we’re reviewing this in the middle of the year and TenMarks curriculum may not necessarily line up exactly with where we were in our regular curriculum. If your child is a math wiz, that may not even be an issue. I’m fairly certain that starting at the beginning of the year would alleviate part of that. The only other concern I had, was that the video lessons did not always correlate directly enough to all the individual problems in the worksheet. We were generally able to figure it out by using the “Ask for Hints” feature.
Why not give it a whirl? They offer a Free Trial!
Pricing: “TenMarks is affordable for everyone and offers a money back guarantee.”
Options (per student):
$10 a month, $49 for 6 months, $89 for 12 months
Levels Available: Grades 3 – 8, Algebra I & II, Geometry
Disclaimer: Members of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine’s Homeschool Crew were given free access to this website in exchange for their honest reviews of this product. No other compensation of any kind has been received.
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Apologia Biology: Module 10 – Ecology
Posted by jlsgrant in Apologia Biology on January 23, 2011
Wow! After Modules 1 – 9, Module 10 seems like a bit of a walk in the park, doesn’t it? If you’ve made it this far, congratulations! You are in the home stretch!!
For this co-op session, we planned to do Experiment 10.1, but there was no sun to help out, so that didn’t work out! 😦
Most of our time was spent creating a Florida Food Web, a little bit of a twist on the typical Food Web project. We used local species to create our web. The students were paired off and used “Florida’s Fabulous” series of books and the internet to gather information regarding their chosen group. They only recorded information related to the project; habitat, diet, and an interesting fact about each. Pictures and info cards were then attached to color coded paper (Green: Producers, Yellow: Primary Consumers, Blue: Secondary Consumers and Red: Tertiary Consumers. Once all this was completed, we built our web on a wall to visualize this complicated eco-system and learn how it is inter-connected. Each creature has its own role in providing energy to the whole. It one species fails, it affects the whole group. (Sorry I didn’t get a picture this time!)
Here’s a list of the producers and consumers we used:
Our Producers: Strawberry, Orange Tree, Grass & Weedy Vegetation
Our Consumers:
Insects: Aphid, Potter Wasp, Ladybird, Black Widow Spider
Reptile/Amphibian: Gopher Tortoise, Black Racer, Anole, Alligator
Fish: Tilapia, Catfish
Birds: Florida Scrub Jay, Mockingbird, Osprey, Bald Eagle, Black Vulture
Mammals: Pocket Gopher, Marsh Rabbit, Wild Hog, Bobcat
It took quite a bit of time to gather all the information and put it together, but it was a very interesting project. (Note: Some of our creatures fall into more than one group, depending on the food source du jour! So you may put them in a different group.) Another project I considered, was having each student make a Favorite Food Web, with the ingredients to their favorite meal shown in their personalized web.
Occassionally in nature, something strange and totally unexpected happens! Ask yourself, if a tertiary consumer eats another tertiary consumer, what does that make him?
Check out the #2 post on Mindful Ramblings for 2010!
Food Web:
Animal Planet once had a series called, Top 10 Odd Animal Couples. (Thanks to Applie for bringing this one to my attention. Be sure to check out her Apologia Biology section, for lots of good ideas. She also has pictures of their Everglades Food Web.)
Great photo gallery on MSNBC.com, “Unlikely Friends”
We did not have time to cover the other topics in the module at Co-Op, but here are couple other resources:
Water Cycle:
Southwest Florida Water Management District, referred to by most as “Swift Mud”, has a treasure trove of information on Florida’s water resources. While some a regional-specific, there are more generic resources available too and all of them are FREE!! There are educational materials for every level. Check your state for similar products.
Study Link: Flashcards & Games at Quizlet.com
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