This is one of the first questions new homeschoolers ask. How are we supposed to know what to teach? Some homeschoolers will turn to the public school system and some systems are very happy to lend texts and materials. Other districts are not so accommodating to homeschoolers, but I have to posit that if what the public school was doing, was working, then perhaps one wouldn’t be homeschooling.
In any case, there are several places to look for information on standards and what you should be teaching. Remember that in the younger grades, it is better to look at the process as a whole rather than compartmentalizing where your child should be year by year. There are also several subjects, like history and science and social studies, where it really doesn’t matter when you teach them as long as you get to them. (Some would say that history should be taught chronologically; I am more referring to when you cover world history vs your own country’s history vs citizenship vs your state or local history.) In any case, here are a few ideas to use for an informal scope and sequence:
Worldbook’s Typical Course of Study
This is a great resource for a variety of reasons but I like their typical course of study. It is listed by grade all the way up to high school. I think that if you’re putting together your own curriculum, this is a ‘must use’ resource. Another thing that I like is that it enables you to quickly and easily see long term. While you don’t have to plan everything out right now, having a long term plan is never a bad idea.
What Your ________ Grader Should Know
If you ask many homeschoolers what is a ‘must have’ book–this title is often near the top of the list. One thing that I like about it is that it is more advanced than what you’ll typically find in your local school. Many people who are putting together their own curriculums find that this particular series can be used as the backbone of what they do. It makes pulling resources together a lot easier for busy moms!
Your Local Public School
If your local public school has a website, chances are good that they have a scope and sequence posted. If not, your state department of education will most definitely have a scope and sequence or some type of learning standards set on their website. I often find that parents who have come out of the school system, find it helpful to check here. Believe it or not, the United States Department of Education also has some helpful information.
National Teaching Associations
Just about every subject you can possibly imagine has its own National Teaching Association. (To find them, just google national teacher’s association for. . .and insert the subject.) Every single one of these associations puts forth learning standards. While occasionally, you’ll find that these standards are similar to your local public school, I’ve often found these standards to be higher than what our local schools are doing.
Hopefully this gives those of you who are looking for standards, a few places to look.
Valorie Delp shares recipes in the food blog, parenting tips, breastfeeding advice, and current research in the baby blog, and insight, resources and ideas as the regular guest blogger in the homeschooling blog. To read more articles by Valorie Delp, click here.
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