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DominaCaeli
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| Posted: May 14 2013 at 12:31pm | IP Logged
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AmandaV wrote:
Celeste, I just have to tell you how impressed I am by your complete immersion in and implementation of the CM methods! And your write ups on some of CM's writings are great - I don't have time to get through them right now but try to book mark. Anyway, mainly, on topic  I have found your posts on exams helpful and inspiring and sort of a kick in the behind to get to them myself with my 3rd and 1st grader. :) |
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Oh, thank you so much, Amanda! I'm very glad to be able to be helpful as I have gained *so* much inspiration from CM blogs and forums over the last few years. 
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Celeste
Joyous Lessons
Mommy to six: three boys (8, 4, newborn) and four girls (7, 5, 2, and 1)
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Barb.b
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| Posted: May 16 2013 at 8:51am | IP Logged
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OK I have an admission and a question! I admit - I have never really done end of year exams - I wimp out - . And my question - do you have kids study for these - or do you not really have them study and want the exams as a confirmation of where your students are at the end of the year? This question really addresses elementary and middle school level. But even for my high schoolers I never really did comprehensive finals. I know I should. They get it in their science class (I out source this). Next year I am getting curriculum that comes with finals so I won't have to feel guilty!
Barb
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Barb.b
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| Posted: May 16 2013 at 10:08am | IP Logged
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Well, you see you got me thinking! Anyway for my 4th grader I think I will do some assessment just for my own peace of mind. So, For grammar - I am using the couple pages of review at the end of the book as his test. For history - we will do oral assessment - just 2 questions for each chapter (we did chapter 1-10 from Seton's US history 5th grade book). Math - not finished with the saxon 5/4 so am finishing with test 9 and using that and the few others we took this year to get his grade and I'll pick up the book where we left off come fall) Religion - taking about 2 questions from each baltimore catechism lesson and orally assessing.
Barb
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DominaCaeli
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| Posted: May 16 2013 at 10:14am | IP Logged
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Barb.b wrote:
| do you have kids study for these - or do you not really have them study and want the exams as a confirmation of where your students are at the end of the year? This question really addresses elementary and middle school level. |
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No, I definitely don't (and wouldn't) have the kids study beforehand. Part of the goal of the test is to determine whether the readings and narrations are working as they should--encouraging the child to engage with the material in a way that cements it in the mind and to form a relationship with it. So for example, if I were to get an unsatisfactory narration from a particular topic, I think over what needs to be done to change that: do we need to slow down our reading? narrate in smaller chunks? encourage connections with other reading? work on the habit of attention? scaffold their reading through more discussion? adjust our expectations? and so on. If the student "crams" beforehand, it defeats the method, which says that one attentive reading should be enough.
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Celeste
Joyous Lessons
Mommy to six: three boys (8, 4, newborn) and four girls (7, 5, 2, and 1)
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Barb.b
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| Posted: May 16 2013 at 11:29am | IP Logged
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Oh thanks! That is what I want to do today and tomorrow - each subject just think of what we do together to get a feel if what we did this year is sticking and working. Thanks. Barb
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Mackfam
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| Posted: May 16 2013 at 11:40am | IP Logged
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1) End of term exam questions are not necessary. They ARE good, and can provide (a sometimes necessary) marker for parent/oversight authority to illustrate the depth to which learning occurred in a Charlotte Mason based education, which by definition defies measurement (which most in education circles today deem so necessary).
2) In order to answer your questions, Barb, it's important to point out that the context of this thread speaks to those that seek to execute a Charlotte Mason education - with living books, narrations, etc. - and are considering end of term exam questions in that light. The style and type of question for an exam would be impacted, and so would the goal of the exam. The goal of an end of term exam is exactly the same as a narration after one reading: to show what the child knows RATHER than identify what the child doesn't know or didn't learn from that subject.
DominaCaeli wrote:
Barb.b wrote:
| do you have kids study for these - or do you not really have them study and want the exams as a confirmation of where your students are at the end of the year? This question really addresses elementary and middle school level. |
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No, I definitely don't (and wouldn't) have the kids study beforehand. |
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Celeste's summary of the reason and method behind a Charlotte Mason exam question is excellent. I don't ask for or allow my kids to study for an exam question either - for the same reasons Celeste articulated.
In an end of term exam in a CM education, (which would be entirely different from textbook work, quizzes, book reports) there would never be any studying of any kind. A CM end of term exam question is really an extension of the narration process. It's a simple, "tell me all you know about..." A child wouldn't study for it, and it would not be graded.
Now, when I test in two concrete subjects, like math and Latin, I do provide time for the student to study, and the test looks more like a standard paper test. Question --> answer.
Barb.b wrote:
| Well, you see you got me thinking! Anyway for my 4th grader I think I will do some assessment just for my own peace of mind. So, For grammar - I am using the couple pages of review at the end of the book as his test. For history - we will do oral assessment - just 2 questions for each chapter (we did chapter 1-10 from Seton's US history 5th grade book). Math - not finished with the saxon 5/4 so am finishing with test 9 and using that and the few others we took this year to get his grade and I'll pick up the book where we left off come fall) Religion - taking about 2 questions from each baltimore catechism lesson and orally assessing. |
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The kind of tests you're talking about, Barb, are more of the standard test questions. If you're looking for a way to wrap up the year, and need to provide something for oversight for legal purposes, this could really wrap things up nicely!
Barb.b wrote:
| Next year I am getting curriculum that comes with finals so I won't have to feel guilty! |
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You certainly don't need to feel guilty. I didn't do any end of term exams this year, and won't wrap up with exam questions for the year this year. It's just how the year went. I don't feel one bit guilty about it. The end of term exam questions are good, but not necessary, and not accomplishing them will not make or break our education for the year. Consider the goal you seek in testing at the end of the year, and then consider an end of term/year test in that light.
:: Why do you feel an end of the year test/exam is necessary?
:: Would you submit it to anyone?
:: Is this for your peace of mind?
:: Have you been administering regular quizzes/tests all along?
:: Will this be redundant if you've been testing all along?
:: Are you taking on an unnecessary burden? Assuming that this is something that "every good homeschooler does" so you should do it, too.
:: Is this something that is a true priority for you and your children?
:: Will this be a rapid and unannounced departure from your normal end of year routine which may extend your year (likely to result in great angst expressed from the children when you test)?
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Jen Mackintosh
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SuzanneG
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| Posted: June 08 2013 at 11:38am | IP Logged
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Amy at Fisher Academy posted her CM Exams for this year. There are more posts linked at the bottom of this post for past terms/years.
I'm finalizing ours this weekend, as next week is Exam-Week here.
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Suzanne in ID
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SuzanneG
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| Posted: June 08 2013 at 11:42am | IP Logged
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And, love how Amy uses RECORDING narrations....I think Lindafay talked about this too. My girls will think this is so fun. Especially since we have all kinds of recording devices on laptops, phones, etc. So easy and convenient.
Has anyone else done recordings?
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Suzanne in ID
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DominaCaeli
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| Posted: June 08 2013 at 5:59pm | IP Logged
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Yes, I record some of their narrations using my phone, then save them onto my computer in their schoolwork files. And I transcribe a few for posterity. :) My kids *love* being recorded AND hearing their recordings played back to them. They especially like when I played a couple of their recorded narrations to Daddy at the end of exams, since he isn't here during our school time. And he really liked it too--he was able to get a feel for the kinds of things they're learning and reading about even though he's not actively involved in their lessons.
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Blessings,
Celeste
Joyous Lessons
Mommy to six: three boys (8, 4, newborn) and four girls (7, 5, 2, and 1)
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SuzanneG
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| Posted: Dec 06 2013 at 5:10pm | IP Logged
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I know none of us are probably in the mood for talking about this right now, but wanted to post here for the future when it is NOT December 
Here were the questions/topics for my 6th and 7th grader.
Religion
:: Describe the Temple built by Solomon in as much detail as you can.
:: Describe the building process of the Temple in as much detail as you can.
:: Recite catechism questions for Dad.
Writing/Penmanship
:: Write 2-4 lines of a poem that you memorized this term in your very best handwriting.
Composition/Literature
:: Describe your favorite scene from one of your literature books.
:: Narrate one of these stories: Apollo and Daphne, Pyramus and Thisbe, Cephalus and Procris, or Diana and Actaeon.
:: Recite your William Blake poem for Dad.
Grammar
:: Write sentences to show that the following words are sometimes nouns and sometimes verbs: box, draw, cut, look, run, shake, station, round, stone, hand.
U.S. History
:: What do you know about the founding of New Amsterdam?
:: Write about one of Benjamin’s Franklin’s roles in his life. Printer, Writer, Inventor, Entrepreneur, Patriot or Diplomat,
:: Tell about the witches of Salem.
:: What do you know about Lord Baltimore or William Penn?
:: List as many places and people as you can from your reading of George Washington’s World and This Country of Ours.
:: "Do you wonder that a boy of seven who witnessed this scene should be a patriot?" Tell the story. Or, tell about John Adams' appointment as commissioner to France.
Nature Study
:: Write what you know about the Tamarack tree.
Chemistry
:: Write about one of the elements you’ve learned about.
Astronomy
:: Lunar Landing Module Competition with the Simpsons.
Geography
:: Write what you know about Washington D.C., Popocatepetl or Niagara Falls.
:: Show/explain to dad about your maps from Book of Marvels
Math
:: Cumulative Exam - in basket
Picture Study
:: Describe a picture from this term's picture study.
:: Write as much as you can about the life of van Gogh
Recitation
:: A passage will be chosen to recite. You will be given 10 minutes to read through it, and then recite it in front of mom and dad. You will be graded on reading fluency, enunciation, and appropriate emotion.
Music Appreciation
:: Tell as much as you know about the life of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
:: Write about a Rondo and give examples.
:: Play your most-recent polished piece for a family recital.
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Suzanne in ID
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4Real Forums : Living Learning
Topic: End of Term Exams CM Style
