Thursday, July 19, 2018

Homeschool Review Crew: The Green Book eGuide from Progeny Press

Progeny Press

This summer we added the review product, The Green Book - eGuide, from Progeny Press to our Language Arts curriculum studies. This downloadable digital PDF-formatted literature study guide is available immediately after placing an order. I wanted to focus on reading comprehension and vocabulary using high-quality literature over summer break. Progeny Press was the perfect answer for our light schooling summer reading adventures.
Green Book

Progeny Press offers a conglomeration of study guides to meet your child's needs which are organized into four broad categories: Lower Elementary (K-3), Upper Elementary (3rd-5th), Middle School (5th-8th), and High School (9th-12th). It'll take you approximately 8-10 weeks to complete each study guide if you are only working on one page a day. The eGuides make scheduling flexible.

This 57-page literature study eGuide was written by Rebecca Gilleland. It is geared towards upper elementary aged students in 3rd-5th grade. It is designed to be utilized with The Green Book written by Jill Paton Walsh. This 84-page chapter book is NOT included with the study guide but is required, therefore you will NEED to purchase the book separately. There are 7 chapters in this short science fiction book.

Let's get back to the study guide. A Short Biography about the study guide developer is found in the eGuide before the Table of Contents. There's a two-page Note to the Instructor which explains how to use the Progeny Press study guides. The company recommends that you have a dictionary, thesaurus, NIV Bible, a Bible concordance, supervised access to the Internet on a computer, and a set of encyclopedias to refer to while utilizing the components of the guide.  

The next section in your eGuide is the Synopsis which is basically a book summary. The story is about a family boarding the LAST ship leaving a dying Earth. They travel for 4 years on an old ship with little fuel in order to land on a distant planet (later known as Shine) which will become their new home. They must learn how to survive and live on this unfamiliar planet with the other refugee families. Shortly after they begin to settle and form a colony, they realize that nothing on the planet is edible and they wonder if they will be able to grow plants on the new planet. Each person was allowed to bring one book. What book would you bring? Pattie records her adventures and life changes in her blank little green book covered with gold-leaf tooling. To find out what life is like on this new planet and if they'll survive - you must read the book while using the eGuide. A blurb about the book author follows the synopsis.

The 3-page Pre-Reading Activity section contained four activities that will surely get your kiddo in the mood to read the book. A bulleted supply list is provided for the journal activity and the step-by-step directions are outlined with lowercase letters. Other activities such as drawing and discussion opportunities are listed.  

The majority of the eGuide consists of the Chapter sections. Each chapter is numbered and contains activities for following categories: Vocabulary, Questions, Think About the Story, Dig Deeper, and Optional Projects and Activities. Each is clearly indicated in the eGuide. There's a wide variety of activities provided.
  • Contextual Vocabulary activities are offered in addition to matching, word searches, identification, fill-in-the-bank activities, and multiple choice question formats. Dictionary skills are necessary. Students will write their own definitions for some terms before looking them up in a dictionary. 
  • The Question section offers the student blank space to write their responses using complete sentences. Both literal and inferential types of questions were asked.
  • The Think About the Story section dives in deeper into the text and applying it to your life. This is also the section where you'll find literary techniques defined and practiced such as similes, foreshadowing, idioms, mood, metaphors, and so much more. She did a wonderful job identifying similes and choosing which sense evoked a picture in her mind. She analyzed the character's traits and feelings better when she was asked why she thought Pattie's father was sad when she didn't know what the words "cloud" or "daffodil" meant.  

 

  • The Dig Deeper section contains referenced Biblical verses for the student to read and write about. This section helps them formulate opinions and back them up with reasons. The author invites the child to relate and apply the verse to their life or to the story. For example, after Alyssa read 2 Thessalonians 3:10-13, she thought about and discussed what the Bible says about those who do not work and how Christians should respond. Furthermore, she shared the rules she would implement on planet, Shine, and explained her reasoning for them after reading Exodus 20:3-17.   


  • The Optional Projects and Activities include Writing and Reading extensions, hands-on projects, Internet research, field trips, nature connections, recipes, discussions, physical activities, and so forth. This was one of Alyssa's favorite sections! 

Researching Jellyfish and Whale Oil Lamps

An Overview section adds in more fun with crossword puzzles, Venn diagrams, mystery messages,  and teaches her about other story element components like Conflict and Theme. This section asks the child to think deeply about and analyze the whole story. Moral lessons and character values are weaved throughout the story such as teamwork, trusting in God, courage, and friendship. Her favorite activity was figuring out the mystery message.     

The 3-page After-You-Read Projects section is jam-packed with hands-on excitement. There are ten activities to choose from. You can do one or do all of the activities depending on your schedule. Bulleted supply lists and detailed directions are provided for specific projects. A few of the activities listed include growing a mini crystal garden, making dinner muffins, or learning how to spin thread. Check out all the hands-on activities found in the study guide!    

A one-page list of Additional Resources is added to the eGuide for your convenience. Numerous books worth checking out are listed by title and the author is stated. Most of the books are organized by grade level ranges. They also include an educational link to the Progeny Press Pinterest board where you can find more possible projects and activities related to the book. 

The eGuide includes a 6-page detailed Answer Key in a separate file. I appreciated the fact that the company separated the answers from the interactive guide so that students aren't tempted to check their responses before they are finished forming their own thoughts. The answer key is organized by chapters which are indicated in bold print. Each section is in italics. For example, you'll notice in the screenshot below the words Vocabulary, Questions, Think About the Story, and Dig Deeper are italicized. You can click on the screenshot to enlarge it. The font is smaller than the font as seen in the interactive eGuide. Mini-versions of the crossword puzzle and word search with the correct answers are found in the answer key. 


How We Used The Green Book Study Guide
I used The Green Book eGuide with my 10-year old daughter, Alyssa, who is going into 5th grade as her core summer Literature curriculum. We utilized the study 3-5 times per week for approximately an hour a day. Some days it took longer to complete the assigned pages. My daughter was going to her father's house this summer so in order to finish the book and study guide before she went she completed multiple pages a day. We also worked almost every day. 

Your computer will need access to the Internet so that you can download the FREE Adobe Acrobat Reader program which enables you to open, read, and interact with the file. The eGuide link was sent via e-mail. The process of accessing the study guide was very simple and easy. The eGuide was immediately downloaded so that I could check out the activities. I printed out single pages as Alyssa completed them on the computer. We wanted to have a printed copy of her work for her portfolio. This study can be utilized on a PC or MAC computer. We accessed the study on a MAC OS High Sierra 10.13.5 computer using Chrome as our preferred browser.

First, we skimmed the information about the study guide creator and novel author. We learned that Mrs. Gilleland is the co-owner AND associate publisher of Progeny Press. She also homeschooled her seven children. We also learned that The book author, Ms. Walsh, wrote over 30 young reader books in addition to books for adults.
     
Then, we read the four Pre-Reading Activities before beginning the book. My daughter glanced through our pioneer book collection searching for books related to the topic of traveling to a distant land. We talked about which book and personal item she would bring on the trip if she were in Pattie's shoes. These activities really helped get her prepared for what's to come in the story and ignited a sense of curiosity. All of the activities were fun and incorporated other subjects into the assignment such as Reading, Writing, and Art. What a great way to start before you begin reading!

Each day Alyssa would receive her chapter reading assignment from me. As the parent, you have a lot of flexibility with what you want to assign. After she completed the reading and corresponding activities for the day, we thoroughly discussed her work. She definitely strengthened her writing, dictionary, and typing skills. I used the answer key as a guide during our conversation. She was allowed to use the novel as a reference while working on questions. In the beginning we read aloud together, but she ended up reading most of the chapters silently. I wanted to foster more independence at this age. Since this was summer school, I also wanted to keep things light therefore no grades were given. Look closely and you can see her typed answers in the pages below.  She was not able to circle her responses fo the Imagery Senses activity.

One of the activities my daughter enjoyed from the After-You-Read Projects section was making Dinner Muffins. They were delicious and she plans on making them again in the future. They had a hint of sweetness. The recipe reminded us of cornbread but they called it pan bread.

Another activity she adored from Chapter 2 listed as an Optional Project was the Wind Water Bottle & Balloon Experiment. This activity still fascinated my daughter even though we did it three years ago. 

Price
You can purchase the E-Guide for $17.99 through the online Progeny Press store. The Green Book, which is the corresponding text, can be purchased for $6.99 from their online store. The study guide title is available in three different formats: CD Format, E-Study Guide, and Printed Workbook. The advantage of purchasing the downloadable digital format is that you can get started immediately. You can make copies for your classroom or homeschool.

Overall Experience
The Green Book Literature E-Guide has definitely improved my daughter's level of comprehension. She was asking herself more thought-provoking questions about the story's plot enabling her to dive deeper into the themes.

She really appreciated the interactive feature of this eGuide. This was our first time using one a Progeny Press literature e-Guide with the interactive feature. She had a blast typing in answers rather than writing them on the lines. This feature was a huge motivator this summer. It's a lot easier to require complete sentences when your child can type them.

The study guide offered activities that could be done before, during, and after she read. The pre-reading activities sparked her curiosity about the book's themes and topic. Every once in awhile she would stop and I could see the wheels turning in her mind. The book's plot really encouraged her to use her imagination. Not to mention, she was constantly making connections to a show she was watching. Shout out to the author of the novel. My daughter absolutely LOVED this story. A parent or educator could easily have children write their own endings to the story as a way to integrate Writing. 

What We Liked
  • Interactive Feature - Perfect for Struggling Writers or Those Who Dislike Writing
  • Detailed Answer Keys are Provided
  • Applicable Themes and Message
  • Various Subjects Integrated Within the Study
  • Complete Study
  • Answers Can Be Written or Typed
  • High-Quality Literature Selection
  • Variety of Activities Included
  • Comparable Price to Other Study Guides on the Market
  • Christian Perspective
  • Make Multiple Copies and Reusable for Many Years
  • Immediate Availability
  • Contextual Vocabulary
  • Analytical and Inferential Comprehension Questions
  • Flexible Usage
Possible Cons
  • We had a few issues with answers deleting when she scrolled down and there were a few pages that did not print answers properly. The same answer would be listed for each question even though she typed different answers.
  • More typing space was needed for responses.
Recommendations
I highly recommend this eGuide to Classical, Eclectic, and Christian educators utilizing a Literature-Rich approach. The study guide is complete for it purpose and is jam-packed with a variety of activities. It will help develop your child's analytical and critical thinking skills. This is great for students who dislike writing intensive curricula, because the interactive feature allows the user to type their answers directly on the pages. The eGuide also encourages the child to dig deeper into the Bible while making personal connections. This is a wonderful Christian-based study for your upper elementary student. About 3 years ago, we reviewed the Miss Rumphius E-Guide if you want to check out that review.

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Visit the Homeschool Review Crew blog to read the Progeny Press reviews for The Green Book eGuide and other study guides such as The Josefina Story QuiltThe Scavengers, and Perelandra.  
New Study Guides for Literature From a Christian Perspective {Progeny Press Reviews}
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Saturday, June 23, 2018

The Green Book

My daughter is finishing up a new science fiction book titled, The Green Book written by Jill Paton Walsh. This short 84-page book is suitable for upper elementary grade level students in 3rd-5th grade.

The story is about a family boarding THE LAST ship leaving a dying Earth. They travel for four years on an old ship with little fuel in order to land on a distant planet which will become their new home. They must learn how to survive and live on this unfamiliar planet with the other refugee families. Shortly after they begin to settle and form a colony, they realize that nothing on the planet is edible and they wonder if they will be able to grow plants on the new planet. To find out what life is like on this new planet and if they'll survive - you must read the book.

We made a connection while reading the book. The parts of the story reminded us of the Netflix show Lost in Space. So if your children are fans of this popular show, then you may want to consider having them read this book over the summer.

I also just wanted to let you know that I will be posting a review in July for an accompanying Progeny Press e-Study Guide for this book. Keep a lookout for it!
Hopkins HomeschoolHomeschool Coffee Break




Saturday, June 16, 2018

Flubber: A Summer Bucket List Activity

Alyssa made Flubber in a Mason Jar on Friday. It was a pretty light blue color. Sta-Flo liquid starch contains sodium tetraborate which acts like boric acid and baking soda making it into a slime that is squishy and stretchy. Kids just love making homemade flubber or slime! Be sure to add this activity to your family's summer bucket list. Click on the word Flubber above to find a recipe to try.

Saturday, June 9, 2018

Eastern European Firebird Art Project

Today I am sharing my daughter's art project from this week. She used colored pencils, markers, and oil pastels to create her masterpiece, the Eastern European Firebird. She's thinking about creating a new one using just oil or chalk pastels next time in hopes to make the feathers glow and stand out more. She listened to and read the folktale about the Eastern European Firebird's glowing feathers that light the way through darkness before working on the project. The Firebird is a popular folktale in Ukraine and Russia. 

Thursday, June 7, 2018

Homeschool Review Crew: New American Cursive 2 - Famous Americans from Memoria Press

Memoria Press

We requested New American Cursive 2 (Famous Americans) from Memoria Press to review this year after completing Workbook 1 years ago. I wanted to build on what my daughter was taught in the first book. Furthermore, I believe that children should learn cursive. Research states that children who are fluid writers and have learned handwriting tend to do better in Reading, Spelling, and Grammar. They also have improved written communication skills, fine motor skills, and memory skills.

Product Description
The New American Cursive series is an innovative penmanship program that eliminates 26 unnecessary strokes as seen in other traditional cursive approaches. This simplified letter formation method with fewer strokes was developed by Iris Hatfield, an experienced handwriting specialist with over 35 years of experience. 

We received a physical copy of the 145-page consumable penmanship workbook in the mail. This is NOT a reproducible book; it is meant to be completed by one student. The pages are printed in black and white with an easy-to-read font. This secular spiral-bound book is intended to be used with elementary-aged children in 1st-4th grade. The landscape binding at the top makes it easier for students to write especially if they are left-handed. 
New American Cursive 2 (Scripture)

A Reference Chart showing the alphabet (uppercase and lowercase) and numerals written using New American Cursive is printed on the back of the front cover. The workbook begins with an Introduction which discusses the importance of children learning handwriting. It also mentions the benefits of teaching penmanship at an early age. Children gain a sense of accomplishment and learn self-discipline when learning to write fluidly in cursive.

The Table of Contents lists the titles for the lessons and indicates the page numbers. The book consists of 125 instructional lessons. There's usually only one or two lessons per page to complete. The lessons are categorized as follows: Instructional, Practice, Fun Exercises, Journaling, and Artwork. The 8-page Teaching Guide that is included in the book discusses the 3 P's of Penmanship: Posture, Pencil, and Paper Position. It also mentions that the focus should be on the 3 S's of Penmanship after students have mastered letter formation. The 3 S's are Size, Spacing, and Slant. Furthermore, the book discusses the purpose for each type of exercise. For example, Instructional pages are meant to review and reinforce letter formation and learning. Alyssa traced and wrote letters as she compared her formations. The Quotations were selected in order to develop character and penmanship. The Art and Fun Exercises were chosen to develop the child's imagination and fine motor skills. The short words utilized on the Practice Pages were designed so that children could focus on writing neatly and legible. Students are taught how to evaluate their own writing. The book not only presents handwriting practice pages, but it contains creative writing and journal prompts. The Journal pages were created as special "free writing" assignments to increase the child's imagination, develop better penmanship skills, and develop a love for creative writing habits. The guide also lists additional ways to teach children writing, offers assessment ideas, lists teaching tips, and shares information about their Penmanship Contest.   

The author provides the teacher with a reproducible Handwriting Evaluation Checklist on page 132 to check the student's progress throughout the year periodically. She also encourages children to listen to classical music while working on practice pages. It is highly recommended that students work on a lesson for 15-20 minutes on a daily basis.

There's a alphabet chart on the back cover that utilizes arrows are to show the directional steps for writing lowercase letters, uppercase letters, and numbers. Reproducible practice pages with line heights of 18, 24, 30, 36, and 42 are found at the back of the book. The author also provides the user with reproducible journal pages for extra practice.
Alphabet Reference Chart
Size 42
Size 18 Lines

How We Used New American Cursive
New American Cursive 2 (Famous Americans) was utilized 3-5 times per week for approximately 15-30 minutes each day by my 10-year-old daughter, Alyssa, who is about to complete her 4th grade year. She has a lot of experience with different cursive writing programs over the years. We worked through the workbook in sequential order. She completed 2-5 pages per day. Younger children with some cursive writing experience could easily complete one page a day.


The book begins with a review of letter and number formations, the pencil holding or grip position, types of letter connections, proper paper placement, posture, slants, neatness, and spacing. She reviewed the three main letter connections: Grins, jumps, and smiles. She even had the chance to read a letter written in cursive. The book also covers different writing styles and provides the child with practice pages. The lines gradually decrease in size as her writing skills develop over time.  
Reviewing Alphabet
Reading Cursive

Consistent Slant Exercise 

Test Pages
 and Dictations were also included in the book. In the first photo, Alyssa was writing all the uppercase and lowercase letters on her Test Page. She also wrote a quote from her Holes book that I dictated to her on her Dictation page.  
Test Page: Letter Formations
Holes Dictation
Two letters at a time are taught on the Instructional and Practice Pages. As you can see in the photo below, Mr. Meerkat used direction arrows and starting dots to show her the correct letter formations in the top-right corner. Then, she traced and wrote each letter about 6-8 times. Next, my daughter practiced letter connections within a word and wrote the word several times each. Lastly, she would indicate her best cursive letter and word by circling it. The icon at the bottom of the page shows her the correct pencil position. The Practice Page gave Alyssa the chance to write words that begin with the letters Q and R while practicing letter connections. The student is frequently reminded to use correct form, spacing, posture, and pencil positioning.     
Instructional Page for Q and R
Letters I and J
Correct Posture
Practice Page Q and R
Correct Spacing 
Practice Page K and L
Correct Letter Form

The quotations added to the book are famous words from a variety of well-known Americans such as Abraham Lincoln, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, John Wooden, Theodore Roosevelt, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. There weren't as many quotations as I had expected. The Quotation exercises were my favorite part of the program. Several different activities were presented such as writing the quote several times in a row, drawing a related illustration, and even explaining the meaning of the quote in your own words. This gives the child time to really think about the quote they are writing. The photo below is an example of a Benjamin Franklin quote Alyssa wrote twice, "Do good to your friends to keep them, to your enemies to win them." She drew a picture of a friend helping another person. She also evaluated her own work by placing a checkmark next to the neatest quote. Then, on the next page, she was asked to describe and write how she could be kind on smaller size 18 lines.   

Alyssa read an excellent biography about Benjamin Franklin this year so she was happy to learn several new quotes by him mentioned in the book. She has plenty of drawing space. The quote shared was "A place for everything, everything in its place." My daughter had the task of drawing things she liked to organize. As you can see she listed Shopkins, tea bags, and Hatchimals. 

Alyssa explained the meaning of the quote, You cannot win if you do not begin." She wrote her response in cursive. Notice that the placement guidelines have disappeared and the line size is much smaller.  

My daughter wrote about a pet cat we used to own named Gypsy on one of the Fun Pages. Plenty of drawing space was given for a matching illustration. The Fun Pages and Journal Pages provided variety in her routine so she didn't get bored with lessons.    

Write About Your Favorite State

My daughter truly enjoyed the Journal writing assignments in the book. The prompts were simple and short. Alyssa wrote about several things she was thankful and focused on evenly spacing out the words. This prompt did not provide her with white space for an illustration.    

The book consists of three evaluations. She completed Evaluation One found in Lesson 12 shortly after we received the book. It asked her to "Write a page about why handwriting is important and what you would like to improve about your handwriting. Use your best cursive handwriting. Sign and put a date at the end." An evaluation grade can be given if desired.   

My daughter will complete Lesson 85 (Evaluation Two) which is found on page 93 this week. She'll be writing on size 18 lines. The lesson states that she must "Write a page about your favorite subjects in school. Use your best cursive writing. Sign your name and put the date at the end. Check Evaluation One to see how much your handwriting has improved." I can't wait to see the progress she's made in such a short amount of time. I can already tell that Alyssa is writing neater and not rushing through her work.

Our Thoughts
Alyssa was excited about using the New American Cursive workbook series again. We both still prefer this book's cursive writing approach. She'll continue to utilize the book next year and in her free time. Her cursive writing has definitely improved, her speed has increased, and she is also writing letters and words with more accuracy. Beautifully, legibly written letters, words, quotations, and passages are weaved throughout the pages of this workbook. The process seems easier and smoother since she's gained experience over the years writing in cursive. She's definitely a more confident writer.

My daughter can read cursive writing with more accuracy as well. She can't wait to write letters in cursive to family members over the summer with hopes that they'll respond back in cursive. It is an exceptional penmanship program emphasizing an easy-to-follow, gentle approach to writing!

Alyssa's Thoughts
I like how you can illustrate your writing. They also reviewed and reminded me about smiles, grins, and jumps. The book slowly works its way from letters to paragraphs. The lines also get smaller. Mr. Meerkat is a cool mascot! It has test pages and other ways for me to grade myself that teach me to be honest with myself about my work. My favorite part of the program is that it lets me test myself and teaches me different types of cursive. The creative writing prompts were fun!    

Different Writing Styles Introduction

What We Liked
  • Simplified Approach with Fewer Strokes
  • Writing and Grammar Integration
  • Grade Levels Not Indicated 
  • Spiral-Bound Format
  • Variety of Writing Exercises
  • Self-Evaluation Built-In
  • Multi-Sensory Approach
  • Usage Flexibility 
  • User-Friendly
Possible Vendor Suggestions
  1. Add More Famous American History Quotes
  2. Only One Writing Prompt Per Page with Drawing Space Included


Price
The New American Cursive 2 (Famous Americans) workbook costs $22.95. There are two versions of Book 2: Famous Americans and Scripture. It can be purchased at the Memoria Press website. No teacher's guide is required to teach the lessons. The price may be a little more than other penmanship programs on the market, but this unique handwriting program offers more than just a copywork book. Your child can flourish while they practice their creative writing skills. 

Note: Price subject to change without notice.

Recommendations
New American Cursive 2 (Famous Americans) could easily be utilized in a homeschool environment or in a private school classroom setting. I highly recommend the book to individuals implementing a secular or classical education approach. If the traditional workbook approach appeals to you, then you may want to consider using this book with your children. If you have children with some background knowledge or experience with cursive writing, then New American Cursive 2 might be a perfect fit for your child. Furthermore, if your child enjoys writing, then this book would be an ideal program to try. I suggest that the first New American Cursive book be completed prior to attempting the second book so that the child can familiarize themselves with the technique. The concepts taught in the second book build on the previously learned skills and methodology of the first book.  

Memoria Press offers several workbooks within this series for you to choose from depending on your child's background experience with cursive writing.    
New American Cursive

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You can check out the other Crew member reviews for the New American Cursive 2 (Famous Americans) book and other products offered through Memoria Press on the Homeschool Review Crew blog. The following programs were recently reviewed:
New American Cursive & Traditional Logic {Memoria Press Reviews}
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