This is another quality, standards-based curriculum that is now available to homeschool families. If you want to be sure that your child is covering material found on standardized testing or your goal is to keep pace with grade-level classrooms or put your child back into the classroom without gaps, Scott Foresman covers the necessary information at each grade level.
Students will be able to build on knowledge from previous grades as each progresses – grades 1 and 2 deal with what is most familiar in “All Together” and “People and Places; grade 3 is “Communities;” grade 4 expands to “Regions;” and grades 5 and 6 deal with American history in “The United States” and “Building a Nation.”
Homeschool bundles include the necessary student and teacher information at each level. Grade 1 includes a hardcover student text, workbook, and teacher resource CD-ROM that includes planning suggestions and printable workbook pages and answers, vocabulary pages and answers, assessment pages, activity sheets, “Test Talk” pages and answers, and transparencies. The CD-ROM can be used on either PC or MAC with an Adobe Acrobat Reader. Grade 2, 3, & 4 bundles include a spiral-bound teacher book (also includes pouch cards for vocabulary and reading along with a plastic pouch), hardcover student text, and a workbook that includes vocabulary practice, lesson reviews, reading skills practice, skills worksheets, and project pages. Grade 5 & 6 bundles include 2 volumes of the teacher edition with pouch cards and pouch, hardcover student text, and workbook.
The Teacher Edition includes small-format student text pages with teaching notes in the margins, reproducibles, reference lists, skills handbook for citizenship, research, and geography. Strategies for teaching vocabulary, planning guide, answer keys for the workbook, and other resources are included in the overview of the curriculum and for each unit. You will see some resources mentioned that aren’t included in this bundle, but are not necessary for the completion of the course – transparencies, quick studies, posters, etc. Suggestions for family and calendar activities, writing rubrics, reading suggestions, and graphic organizers are also found in the teacher edition. Online resources can be found at the publisher’s website, sfsocialstudies.com – library, current events, atlas, activities, and biographies, along with live links to learning partners for this curriculum – Smithsonian, Colonial Williamsburg, and others.
Student Texts provide grade-appropriate reading opportunity along with a plethora of visuals – diagrams, timelines, photos, illustrations, and maps – ideal for those who need a little more than just the reading. Units are divided into chapters and further divided into lessons. Each lesson includes a preview, vocabulary, review, and “think and apply” questions. A review section provides summary at the end of each chapter, and can be used as an assessment opportunity (answers provided in the teacher edition).
The Workbook included in each set includes reinforcement activities – vocabulary practice, lesson reviews, reading skills practice, skills worksheets, and projects. Multiple choice, short answer, fill-in-the-blank, reading graphs and maps are all used to enhance and strengthen the students understanding of textual content.
We all want quality products for the education of our children, and Scott Foresman provides just that for your Social Studies curriculum.
