Free Printable Download - One Year Vocabulary Book for Homeschool Middle School!

I am most please to have just completed and uploaded a complete one-year (school year!) grab-n-go Vocabulary Book 1 for middle school homeschoolers.  You can download your free copy now at:
http://www.kidlearnonline.org/gram_index.php.

Your student will learn a new vocabulary word each day, that they can research online or with a dictionary, and complete a worksheet about that word, including synonyms, part of speech, root, etc... After 4 days, a cumulative review is given for the week. After every 20 lessons, a larger cumulative review is offered, and a final 5 page review can be studied for and completed at the end of the year.

This is a great and effective vocabulary course to add into your English plans! This is the new one for this year, but if I have enough interest, I'll put up last year's course as well. My son enjoyed his "Word of the Day" each morning, and had an amazing retention by the end of the year for the final review! It took only about 10-15 minutes each morning, but the results beat another course we did previously by miles, and in fact, he specifically asked to do the same style this year, hence the new Vocabulary Book 1 available on my kidlearnonline.org website!  So feel free to download, and if you would like to share, please link back to http://www.kidlearnonline.org/gram_index.php.

Here are some samples pics from Vocabulary Book 1, including a sample of the word of the day and the corresponding printable worksheet:

 Hope you enjoy!
- Professor Bananas

3 Best Websites for Teaching Punctuation

Punctuation ... yes, not the most exciting topic, but one that is necessary for proper writing.  If you're kid is anything like mine, there may seem to be a perpetual battle against certain punctuation marks.  It's almost as if they just get in the way of the thought stream, and should not be bothered with!
If you are looking for some more motivating resources besides bland paper worksheets, these three websites might just be the ticket to turn your home school writer into a punctuation master!

1. Punctuation Rules!

First, let me say that I found the Curriculum Pathways website by shear accident one day, and they have many things that are worth looking at. However, their Punctuation Rules! online app (it can also be gotten from the App Store or Chrome Web Store) is an amazing little gem for really getting kids to think about proper punctuation and where it is appropriate to use such things as colons, dashes, hyphens, and so forth.  Interesting lessons are followed with an interactive quiz, and I highly recommend checking it out! 

2. Grammar Galaxy - Paintball Planet

This game is a fun "shooter" type from Discovery Education where you have to fire your paintball laser gun to not only add in punctuation, but capital letters as well. It definitely appeals to boys, but I can imagine girls would have just as much fun.  One thing I found helpful is that the game can become boring if you are not actually "playing" it, thereby leading the child to really engage in the learning aspect, which is a big plus.

 3. Quill.org Proofreader

Not just for punctuation, the Quill Proofreader really helps your student see errors in text, and correct them.  I like the fact that it tells the student how many errors there are, and as they make corrections, it tallies them. Granted, all the corrections may not be correct, but the feedback of knowing your not looking for an infinitesimal amount is helpful!  The website is free to sign up with, and full of awesome resources!

Hope those can help point you in a punctuation progressive direction!

-Professor Bananas

Third Grade Chemistry Lesson Plan

 Plan is for: 63 lessons, 4 reviews, 4 tests, 1 field trip.

Includes:

• written lesson instructions, including links to experiments.
• experiments materials sheet
• 4 tests.
• lab sheets for each Lesson lab (about 1/2 the lessons)

Books that we used:

Richard Spilsbury's
Atoms & Molecules
Mixtures & Solutions
Elements & Compounds
Chemical Reactions

Basher's
The Periodic Table

Usborne Science encyclopedia

Feel free to download and use for personal homeschool use. Can adjust for different grade levels, or books, possibly could even use with just the links. Please link back to this site if you want to add to your blog .. thanks!

Download 3rd Grade Chemistry Lesson Plan