Monday, October 29, 2018

7th Grade Homeschool: Week 2

Math and Chinese are being done independently with her Chinese textbooks and supplementary books. If she has any questions she can ask a friend or one of my coworkers.


Science: Chapter 1 lesson 3 Cells and Energy (Lesson 3 Quizlet)
Chapter 2 Cell Reproduction Lesson 1 Review/Test Watch Mitosis Crash Course
Lesson 2 Review/Test  
Math: Chinese Textbook
Geography: Continents, Rivers, Mountains
PROJECT: Make a salt dough topography map of the US.
How to Make a Salt Dough Map – Salt dough maps are a family favorite
and easily adaptable to a wide student age-range.
Reading:  #1-10 More Writing techniques (write definition and example: 1). Flashback
2.) foreshadowing 3.) symbolism


  1. Short Story: The Tell Tale Heart (by Edgar Allen Poe)
A narrator shapes a story's viewpoint. When Poe chose one of his story's
characters as the storyteller, he was using a technique called first-person
voice. In "The Tell-Tale Heart," the narrator is the central participant.
  1. Who is Poe?
  2. Foreshadow: A writing technique that the writer uses to hint that something wrong will happen.
  3. What were the ways Poe uses foreshadow? List some of them.
  4. What does the sound of the ticking foreshadow?
  5. What does the heart symbolize?
  6. What does the old man’s eye symbolize?
  7. What does the vulture symbolize?
  8. What is the story’s climax?

2. Poem: The Raven (by Edgar Allen Poe) Video
First published in January 1845, the poem is often noted for its musicality, stylized
language, and supernatural atmosphere. It tells of a talking raven's mysterious
visit to a distraught lover, tracing the man's slow fall into madness. A symbol is
something that represents something else. ... In 'The Raven' the symbol is obvious.
Poe himself meant the Raven to symbolize 'mournful, never-ending remembrance.'
Our narrator's sorrow for his lost, perfect maiden Lenore is the driving force
behind his conversation with the Raven.


Social Studies: Westward Expansion Exploring the Colorado River,



Spanish: Listen to the days of the Week + months of the year.
Practice the months and days + Count from 50-100.


Wednesday, October 24, 2018

ESL Unit 2: Understanding Paragraph Basics

October/November

WEEK 1 Practicing Adjectives and Paragraphs
Class 1: pg. 37-38
Class 2 pg. 39-42

WEEK 2 Paragraphs: Titles and Topic Sentences
Class 1:pg. 43-45
Class 2: pg.

WEEK 3 Topic Sentences
Class 1: pg. 46-49
Class 2 pg. 50-52

WEEK 4 Body of Paragraph
Class 1: pg. 53-55
Class 2 pg.  56-58

WEEK 5 Self -Editing and Concluding Sentences
Class 1: pg. 59-60
Class 2: pg. 61-64

WEEK 6 Original Student Writing
Class 1:pg.65
Class 2: pg. 66-69

MIDTERMS

Friday, October 19, 2018

Body Image and the Media Group Activity

Still in our Fashion Industry Unit, with the second part focusing on Body Image, we will do a fun group activity. We will look at several advertisements and try to "decode" the ad (understand the motive's behind the ad). Teacher will break up students in groups give them an ad from a fashion magazine and a worksheet. At the end of class, each group will present their findings.

Introduction (7 Minutes):
Body Image is Affected By the Media (Video 2:44)
London Mayor Sadiq Khan banned ads that promoted unhealthy, unrealistic body images. (Video 1 minute)


Here are some of the ways that advertisers use to attract吸引 consumers:  


  • Sex Appeal 性魅力,性感
  • Homestyle Traditional 傳統的
  • New & Improved改進  
  • Name Brands商標 & Logos標誌  
  • Health & Safety
  • Gender Stereotypes 性別刻版印象
  • Join the Bandwagon羊群效應: “Everyone is getting one”!  


Group Work (20 Minutes)

Presentations (15 Minutes)

7th Grade Homeschool: Week 1

Math and Chinese are being done independently with her Chinese textbooks and supplementary books. If she has any questions she can ask a friend or one of my coworkers.
Art: Impressionist Movement Watch videos: 1, 2
Weekend Project: Impressionist Self Portrait
Math: Chinese textbooks + 1.1- 1.6 Whole Numbers + Game
Geography: US State capitals, rivers, mountains + U.S.A. Geography (Game)
Science: Science: Chapter 1:The Cell + game/ Video1: Crash Course #4  Chemistry of a Cell: (Lesson 1 Quizlet) , Structure of Cell (Lesson 2 Quizlet), Cells and Energy

Video3: Photosynthesis: Crash Course Biology #8
My daughter decorated her parts of a cell cake with her homemade marshmallow fondant



PROJECT: How to Make an Edible Cell Model (Cell Cake)



Spanish: Class 1: Practice the alphabet a few times (no need to remember)
Listen and count along. Colors + Greetings



  • Who was Emily Dickinson?
  • Define the words: gale, sore, abash, chillest and extremity
  • Metaphor: What is the poem about and what metaphor/image does it use?
  • What does the last stanza mean? (lines 9-12)  
  • Select one abstract word and determine an object or living thing to compare it to.

Example: Fear is the thing with teeth (perhaps comparing fear to a bear).


Emily Dickinson’s poems were about nature, bees, flowers, butterflies, etc., and
reveal Emily’s love of nature and her fun sense of humor about things.
Most of Emily Dickinson’s poems are written in Iambic meter.
Shakespeare was also a fan of Iambic meter.
Extra: Other Dickinson poem #383 “I like to see it lap the Miles” (Video)
#387 “The Brain – is wider than the Sky”
Writing Techniques: Write the definition and Example for each: 1.)metaphor 2.) simile 3.)idiom 4.) personification 5.) hyperbole                                               
Watch: The Art of Metaphor (TED Kids)


Homeschooling in Taiwan and Junior High Resources

October 31 is the due date for the application to the MOE to homeschool your child for the next semester. The application is found on the county website. This does not apply to foreign children with foreign passports, who can leave the Taiwanese education system at any time with just filling out a simple release form. From there its between you and your home country, and for Americans, you state's laws. [Yilan County application  and plan here]

I've had people privately contact me about helping them construct a curriculum for their child, so I am posting that for a 7th grader in this blog. I use my home state's readily available database, so it's no shirt off my back to help parents.

Resources for parents in Taiwan:
Why Homeschool in Taiwan?
Facebook Group: Learn@Home in Taiwan

Resources for Homeschooling with American Curriculum:
20 Best Homeschool Resources
8 Best Online Curriculums (Secular and Christian)
Schoolhouse Teachers ($139 annual fee)
Time4Learning ($20 monthly fee)
Easy Peasy (free)
Bridgeway Acadamy (accredited but expensive $ 950-1200 USD annually)
Discovery (free 60 Day Trial, but expensive with options)
Study (free account and 30-day free trial with a credit card number, Highschool GED, college credit, $45US monthly)






6-8th Grade Resources:
Writing: finish Great Writing Book 2: Great Parapgraphs to Essays + Book 3 Essays (500NT each at Caves Bookstore, ebooks also available)
Reading: poems and novels following LPS curriculum
Chinese: own textbook book
Art: Incredible Art

Other Middle School Resources:
LPS Curriculum Guide.   You can also look at some of our curriculum resources by using this link

Language Arts (Literature and Writing)
6th Grade:
Students apply critical thinking skills and comprehension strategies.  They learn to notice author’s style, purpose, and structure and practice applying these skills to their own writing. Through the use and study of mentor texts, students learn to vary sentence structures, integrate style techniques, expand vocabulary, and revise and edit their writing for clarity.  Students integrate grammar and writing conventions into daily reading and writing lessons.

7th Grade:
Students will demonstrate command and conventions of standard English grammar, usage, capitalization, punctuation and spelling.  Seventh grade students will study Greek and Latin word parts in order to determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words using context clues and other reference material.  Students will demonstrate an understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances within word meanings.

Elements of Language, Elements of Literature, and Image Grammar, as well as district-approved fiction and nonfiction texts, support learning in the seventh grade language arts classroom.

8th Grade:
Writing focuses on the development of a sophisticated five-paragraph essay. Special emphasis is placed on an introduction that includes a hook, bridge, and thesis statement. The structured use of textual evidence, the development of sophisticated and embedded transitions, and the creation of an effective conclusion paragraph including a restated thesis, summary ideas, and significant parting thought are additional areas of writing instruction.

Elements of Language and Elements of Literature, as well as district-approved fiction and nonfiction texts.
In addition, the structured vocabulary program Sadlier-Oxford Vocabulary Workshop (Level C) is an integral component of the Accelerated Language Arts Program.

7th Grade American Poetry (Harlem Renaissance)

Science
6th-7th Grade:
Physical Science (physical properties of matter), Life Science (cells and cellular energy, body systems, evolution and natural selection), and Earth Science (geology).
8th Grade:
Nature of science (lab writing, lab skills and metrics), Physical science (atoms, molecules, the periodic table, waves, light, sound heat and electrical energy, motion, work and chemical changes), Life science (reproduction, heredity and genetics) and Earth science (environmental issues, astronomy and space exploration)

Social Studies
6th Grade:
Focuses on the Western Hemisphere starting with the Aztecs, Incas, and Mayans.  We will study the Major Explorers, Countries in the Western Hemisphere, and the Columbian Exchange.
7th Grade:
For economics students will explain basic principles of supply and demand, the functions of a market economy, explain patterns of trade, and compare/contrast relative value and different resources. Personal Financial Literacy is one component of the economic standard.  In Geography, specific skills emphasized include interpreting maps; collecting and analyzing data to make geographical inferences. The civics standard will compare how various nations define rights, responsibilities and roles of citizens; discover different forms of government and international organizations and their influences in the world communities. Key periods in history standard include the Eastern Hemisphere including Greece, Rome, Ancient China, Ancient Africa, and Medieval World including world religions while analyzing primary and secondary sources from those regions and time periods.
8th Grade:
United States History from 1763 to the end of the Reconstruction era (1877). Specific skills emphasized include personal finance literacy,  detecting and understanding bias, analyzing and differentiating primary and secondary sources, understanding propaganda and distortion, sequencing events in chronological order and interpreting political cartoons.