Welcome to the third year of Learning through Literature’s Homeschool Co-op Curriculum. If this is your first time here, this book: The Raft, is the first of 13 books that will be covered as part of our homeschool co-op year, Learning through Literature: Explording the United States. The class has been created for 1st – 4th graders, and is the culmination of three years of Learning through Literature together. If this is your first time looking around, please check out our first year, Learning the ABC’s through Literature. Or the second year, Learning through Literature for Homeschool Co-op.
Each year was inspired by Jane Lambert’s Five in a Row Curriculum, and uses many of the same books, but with lessons, discussion questions, and printables reworked to be more useful for a homeschool co-op.
For this third year, Learning through Literature: Explording the United States, we will take TWO classes to cover each book. If you are using this for a co-op, you will find “Class One” and further down the page, “Class Two”.
Thanks for stopping by!
The Raft
by Jim Lamarche
Class 1
Things I Need:
- Map of the United States
- Map showing the 5 Major Regions of the United States
- Five in a Row Volume 4 Student Journal – the Raft and Journal Starter**
- The Raft book
- Something fun! (It’s the first day of class!)
- Any props, games, toys, etc that you will be using this year.
Before Class: Set up a map of the USA, write the copy work on the chalkboard
Homework: Write about something special you did this summer, and be prepared to share it with the class. If you have a prop (a shell, a toy, etc) to help explain what you did better, bring that too.
**Because the Learning through Literature Journal is so long, you may want to direct the parents to this site to preprint the journal themselves. Have them punch it with a 3-hold punch and load it into a 3-ring binder. Otherwise, you could have a classroom assistant do this part if you print it at home.
Welcome the class:
It’s the first day back to co-op! Have fun! In our class, we baked cookies and greeted the kids at the door with balloons and blowers. (maybe a bad idea, because then we had to promptly ask them to stow they away for the rest of class?) But have fun, welcome the kids in, and introduce yourself.
As the kids begin to get settled, begin with the question:
- Did anyone do anything fun this summer?
Hopefully this will get the class relaxed and talking. You can share a little about your own summer, but the entire reason that we chose to read The Raft first is because it is the story of how one boy spends his summer. Getting them to start thinking along these lines will also help with the homework assignment at the end of class.
Since this is the first class of the year, you may want to begin by explaining what the year is going to look like. If you have any props, prizes, stickers, special games – this is the time to bring them out and show the class. Get them excited about learning. If you’re not sure how to make learning the USA exciting, stay tuned. We’ve got buzzers, songs, and lazer pointers to jazz things up a little!
These are the things I explained to my class:
- We’re going to be reading through a new book every two weeks together
- The first week, we’re going to read the book together and learn some US Geography
- The second week, the class is going to share something for show and tell
- We’re going to try to learn the names and locations of all 50 states – but don’t worry – it’s going to be fun! We’ll use games, songs, buzzers, lights, etc in the process
- Every other week we’re going to have homework. Fun homework. Part of your homework is to find something to bring in for show and tell. Part of your homework is going to write something that has to do with the book. (In our class, we have asked them to write 1 sentence per grade level; so the first grader only needs to write 1, the 4th grader 4, etc.)
- We will have a prize box for rewards, and stickers, etc. If you complete the assignment, you can choose a sticker. If you write extra, you can choose a prize.
- We will have a packet that we are working on every week. A lot of it we will do in class, if we don’t finish … it will be your job to take it home and do it there.
Introduce the Story, Discuss the Setting, and Find it on the Map:
Our first story takes place during the Summer, in the Midwest (point out the midwest section of the map, or use a dry-erase marker to outline the mid-western states).
The setting (ask if anyone knows what a setting is) takes place on a river in Wisconsin (point to Wisconsin on the Map)
Our main character is Nicky. This is the story of how he spent his summer.
Read the Story:
As you read, point out:
After the Story Discussion:
- Did Nicky end up liking the River?
- What made him change his mind?
- Have you ever been upset about a situation, but then realized it was not so bad after all?
- What did Nicky’s Grandmother call herself? Do you have a Nickname you want us to call you? Does anyone have a nickname that their parents – even if you don’t want us to call you that?
Pass out the Journal Pages:
The first time, it will take a little bit of time to get the journal set up. Hopefully, the class has brought in 3-hold binders. If you have an assistant, get the helper to use a 3-hold punch out the journals/lapbook.
Go through the Journal together. Have the class:
Write their name on the first page
Page two: Explain that we are studying the Midwest this month. Both books we will read take place in the Midwest. Can they find Wisconsin) (next page)
Page three: This is our book of the week, The Raft. If they want to add any notes or drawings to the page, feel free. (or doodle while you read)
Page four: Encourage younger to trace, older ones to trace and copy from the board.
Page five/six: Where does The Raft take place? (since it is the first time, fill out these pages together.) If you are low on time, save the 2nd page for the next class.
Page seven: this is their homework
Page eight: pictures of books covered this year. Sometime during class 1 or class 2, cut out the picture of the book you are working on and glue it to the large USA Map at the end of the journal that the book takes place in (page 11)
Page nine: The flags can also be used throughout the year and glued either onto their states or into the Journal
Page ten: These states can be cut out and attached to the regions
**USA maps come from www.MrPrintables.com, which has some really neat printables – all available for free! Used according to site regulations**
Complete the Copywork, Some Geography Work
Go over the Midwest States together. We used the acronym: “No sir, no kind man I meet when I march in Ohio” (When some of the kids suggested they could do better, I offered a bonus for anyone who could come up with a way to remember the Midwest states.
(from left, top to bottom, to right, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Minnesota, Illinois, Missouri, Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan, Iowa, Ohio)
This time the focus is only on introduction. Memories will get solidified after 4 weeks of practice.
Cut out “The Raft” and Glue it onto the USA, on the state of Wisconsin.
Cut out the Wisconsin Flag
Homework:
- Summer Story
- Tell Me Something about Wisconsin
- Come up with a way to remember the names of the Midwest States
Class 2 – The Raft
Things I Need:
- Map of the United States, preferably showing the 5 main geographic regions
- The Raft Handwriting Verse Worksheet (Romans 8:28)
- Student Journals
- Your own show and tell item or essay (if you are participating in the show and share exercise with the students)
Before the Class: Copywork Bible verse set out on desks, students are encouraged to work on the copywork verse, either by tracing or copying, as they come into the class. Make sure you have a map, showing the regions of the USA on the board.
Homework:
We keep a class prize box as an added encouragement to do some of the “optional” homework. You can handle homework any way you’d like, but these were the assignments we assigned as “optional”. The prize box has been a nice motivation to turn “optional” become a little more “
- Memorize Romans 8:28
- Be able to name the states in the Midwest region
- Write down one interesting fact about the Midwest region
As students are coming in:
Place the The Raft Handwriting Verse Worksheet (Romans 8:28) on the desks. Encourage the students to trace (youngers) or copy/trace and copy (olders) after they get settled.
Possible Review Questions:
As the class is finishing up their sheets, help them add it to their binder (we placed it right behind the first handwriting sheet from last week) Then, lead them into a brief discussion on the book
We used our book review time to review the 5 W’s
Who – were the main characters?
What – was the book about? Can anyone give a brief summary?
When – did the book take place? What can we look at to determine the time frame (in general, we determined this was present day. The car was a little older, but most people are dressed similarly, and there was a car, so the kids determined it was close to our time)
Where – we discussed the setting, and different “places”: the Midwest, Wisconsin, on a river, Grandma’s house, etc
Why? / How(come) – this story was written? There are many possible answers, we had several discussions about:
- appreciation for the outdoors / Gods creation
- How our perspective can change if we try to be content and look to accept Gods will in a certain situation (ref. Copywork verse, Rom 8:28)
- Current tablets and cell phones, how we can miss the beauty of what is going on around us if we get caught up in our phones. Sometimes we can see new beauty or a new perspective if we set them aside.
Other questions you can use if you didn’t use them last week:
- What was the name of the book we read last week? (The Raft)
- Does anyone remember the names of our main characters? (Nicky, Nicky’s Grandma.)
- Does anyone remember his Gramma’s Nickname? (River Rat) Did her nickname fit her?
- What was your favorite part of the book?
- Nicky was disappointed at having to spend the summer at his Grandma’s house. Can you think of a time when you were disappointed? Does anyone have story about a time they thought something was going to be bad, but it turned out okay?
- Where did the book take place (the setting)? (Wisconsin)
- Who can find Wisconsin on the map? (Let them come up and point)
- Can anyone name the states that make up the Midwest region?
Geography Review:
Go through the Midwest States again.
- Did anyone come up with a way to remember all of them? (If so, give them a bonus prize!) let the class take turns sharing.
Point to each of the states, state by state, saying the names outloud, and asking the class to repeat after you.
Remind them of the mneumonic device, “No sir! No kind man I meet when I march in Ohio.” Ask if they can/have come up with anything else to help them remember
Find the colored map at the back of their journal/binder. Encourage them to cut out the block of states that make up the Midwest region (youngers may need help). Then glue the colored states onto the blank United States Picture in the Midwest unit (there was some confusion in the class about this. There are two maps of the United States. One large in the back, this is for the books, and one small in with the rest of their work, that one is for the cut out of the states.)
after this is done, play one of these songs together
Watch one of these videos together. I’ve skimmed through YouTube, and these are a few of my favorites. It doesn’t matter if they’re not catching the whole video or where every state is. At this stage, the focus is introducing. Many still need to just hear the names of the states to get familiar with how they are said.
After you have watched one or two of the videos, review the states with your class. If you have extra time, you could fill in a few things in their Geography Journals that you didn’t get to last week. Otherwise, it’s time for …
Show and Tell!
If you have a lot of kids, you may want to split into smaller groups. Have the kids read and show what they wrote from last weeks homework outloud. Then let them elaborate a little more and have the kiddos ask questions. This is a perfect opportunity for public speaking in a non-threatening way, and a great way to wrap up summer.
Thats it! Assign the homework, and tell the class to look over a state map and try to memorize the names of the states this week.
Homework:
- Any unfinished geography questions in the journal that you want to send home.
- An optional homework assignment could be to memorize Romans 8:28
- Look over a state map or watch one of the videos to try to learn the names midwest states – games next week!
