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Lee Binz

Friday, 17 August 2018

Book Lovers Guide to Vocabulary Building

HS English

We used the Kaplan SAT Score-Raising classics to improve vocabulary in our homeschool. If you have never seen those books before, they are a great way...

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english reading high school homescholar homeschool

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Lee Binz

Thursday, 05 July 2018

How to Grade English Papers over Summer

HS English

Staring at a pile of English papers that need a grade? Here is how I suggest that you grade right now, during summer, so you can get the job done and ...

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summer english high school homescholar homeschool

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Lee Binz

Monday, 24 October 2016

Essential Writing Skills for College and Beyond

HS English

Right now, I'm guessing that your focus is essential writing skills for high school. Once your child can write reasonably well, your next worry is a simple one. Make sure they have the essential writing skills for college and career. This post contains affiliate links. If you click and buy I may make a few pennies, but not enough for a latte. Essential Writing Skills for College and Beyond I have a book recommendation for you!...

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college english writing skills

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Lee Binz

Tuesday, 20 January 2015

Finding College Application Essays for Practice

HS English

Junior year is a great time to take advantage of college application essays for practice. Use each of them as an English writing assignment. Have your child practice how to brainstorm and polish a technically perfect, self-reflective essay. But how do you go about finding college application essays? Finding College Application Essays for Practice Hi Lee - I've been perusing the sites of the schools my high school junior is interested in applying to, wanting to see...

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college college application essays english

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Lee Binz

Monday, 08 December 2014

Holiday Writing Prompts for Homeschooling Christmas

HS English Christmas

My favorite Christmas school project was our yearly creative writing assignment based on Norman Rockwell art. Have you seen some of his holiday paintings? Amazing creative holiday writing prompts! I asked my boys to choose any picture in Norman Rockwell's Christmas Book. Their assignment was to write a story behind the picture. They came up with some GREAT creative writing ideas, and the pictures really helped to get those creative juices flowing. This tradition of creative...

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Lee Binz

Tuesday, 18 November 2014

Struggling with Writing?

High School HS English

I quit "teaching" literature in 5th grade and let my daughter pick books (from a list of classic literature) to read with no formal instruction. She enjoyed this approach and has been a voracious reader over the years. After reading Hamlet, she decided she enjoyed Shakespeare's tragedies and comedies and read several of them. At 16, she just took the Analyzing and Interpreting Literature CLEP exam and scored very well. She now has 6 English college credits! I...

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english struggling with writing writing

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Recent Comments

Guest — Lee

Hi Lois, I'm so glad it helped! Blessings, Lee

Thursday, 30 December 2010 07:47

Guest — Lois

Awhile ago I wrote to ask your advice on different writing programs. I chose Write At Home this year, and it is the best academic ... Read More

Thursday, 30 December 2010 06:03

Guest — Tweets that mention Online tools that will help #homeschool kids to learn English writing - #homeschool -- Topsy.com

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Bethany LeBedz and Lee Binz, Lee Binz. Lee Binz said: Online tools that will help #hom... Read More

Thursday, 16 December 2010 10:07

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Lee Binz

Saturday, 25 October 2014

Am I Teaching Too Much English?

HS English YouTube tip of the day

Am I Teaching Too Much English? It can be tempting to double up in your homeschool, but is that a good idea? Are you teaching too much English? Click on Lee's video, below, to find out!Have you ever tried using more than one English curriculum at a time? What is your favorite English curriculum? Please share! Subscribe to my YouTube channel. You will be notified when I create new videos on homeschool high school topics!If you...

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english youtube tip of the week

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Guest — Dana Snowden

I am and secondary English teacher gone home school mom. I think Easy Grammar at http://www.easygrammar.com/ is the best and eas... Read More

Thursday, 30 October 2014 06:23

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Lee Binz

Tuesday, 14 October 2014

Finding Freedom in Homeschool Language Arts

HS English

Are you allowing yourself enough flexibility for delight directed learning or are you putting your Enlgish credits in a box? Do you feel insecure because you aren't sure what "Language Arts 10" means? How many books do your children read each year in high school? Finding Freedom in Homeschool Language Arts I was fascinated by an opinion column in the Seattle Times, Seattle Sacrifices Monster Lit, which stated:"We should allow principals and teachers to select the curriculum...

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english homeschool language arts public school

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Guest — Laine

Actually, I found it at homescholar.org. She even has sample lesson plans available on the web site. Hope you enjoy it! Laine... Read More

Wednesday, 25 February 2015 18:19

Guest — Lisa

I was wondering where Laine was able to find Literary Lessons from Lord of the Rings? It sounds like something I would like to try... Read More

Wednesday, 25 February 2015 12:15

Guest — Laine

I used Literary Lessons from The Lord of the Rings for a co-op class, and it was fantastic! The kids loved it, and even enjoyed th... Read More

Monday, 16 February 2015 18:10

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Lee Binz

Thursday, 10 July 2014

Are You Qualified to Teach High School English?

High School HS English

Are You Qualified to Teach High School English? You are totally, completely, and 100% qualified to teach high school English! It's not because you know everything there is to know about literature, or even because you know how to grade perfectly, but because you are your child's parent - the one who knows them and loves them best. Remember that some public school English teachers don't have an English degree. They may not even have the...

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english homeschool homeschool high school teach high school English

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Guest — Anita

English is not one of my greatest concerns, with the possible exception of grammar, because the girls and I all love to read and w... Read More

Saturday, 07 March 2015 06:37

Guest — Assistant to The HomeScholar

Dear Anita, That's right! Your standards are perfect for them! Robin Assistant to The HomeScholar

Saturday, 07 March 2015 18:37

Guest — Nancy Lueckhof

Dear Lee, I just read this post from a friend. It is written by a Prof. from Hillsdale College. I edited a bit here and there, bu... Read More

Thursday, 25 September 2014 01:59

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Lee Binz

Monday, 08 July 2013

Is Logic a Math Course or English?

High School Keeping Records

Course descriptions are an important part of your high school student’s records, but sometimes it’s easy to get stumped about what to call certain courses, or what to count them as. Audrey recently asked me,“What category is ‘Logic’? Math or English? I want to know where to give my son credit. Our math course (Geometry: Videotext) has logic in it, but I always thought logic was an ‘English’ subject. I also will be using ‘Introductory Logic’ by Wilson...

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course descriptions credits english high school homeschool logic math stumped

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Guest — Deb

We are also using Introductory Logic by Nance. I too was going to give 1/2 credit and use as an elective. Thank you for the clar... Read More

Tuesday, 09 July 2013 08:17

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Lee Binz

Tuesday, 08 January 2013

What is Your High School Graduation Rate?

Featured graduation High School

Great news! In The Great State of Washington, 24 kids out of 100 don't graduate high school! Oh, wait... that's not good news! When you really think of it, a 24% drop out rate is amazingly high! What is YOUR graduation rate? What is the rate for your local high school? What is the rate for your own homeschool?I know a LOT of homeschoolers, representing a huge variety of kids and educational styles, and I haven’t...

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balanced education educational styles english graduation rates high school homeschool individual level math Nevada science Seattle Times social studies succeed in college transcript Washington

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Guest — Beth

"The state with the highest on-time graduation rate was Iowa, with 88 percent. The lowest was Nevada, with 62 percent. All of tho... Read More

Tuesday, 09 June 2015 09:51

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Lee Binz

Tuesday, 11 September 2012

How to Document Homeschool Co-op Classes

Co-ops Course descriptions Grades & Credits Homeschoolers Curriculum HS Electives Keeping Records specialization

Have you ever struggled to document your students co-op classes? I’ve had a few questions lately from homeschool families who are struggling to do this very thing. All co-ops have particular elements that make their classes unique and it can be hard to develop a class description for these classes when you weren’t the one teaching your student, but you want to make sure and get all of your students credits on their high school transcripts....

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AP physics class descriptions classes Communication computer science coop classes documenting electives english grades high school homeschool Speech transcript

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Lee Binz

Thursday, 06 September 2012

Quick Essay vs. Perfect Papers

High School Tests HS English

The SAT requires a 25 minute hand-written essay. What about brainstorming, outlining, revising, editing, and proof reading? It can't all get done in just 25 minutes!Writing a good essay is an important skill, and it can be frustrating to “teach to the test", but you want your student to be successful at it. On the other hand, the SAT essay teaches a completely different kind of writing - and it's just as important as a polished...

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brainstorming Christmas letters editing english essay writing homeschool impromptu writing letters to the editor newsletter outlining polished paper proof reading revising Sat

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Guest — J W

Yep. Have the grandmother, who has a BA in English, teach it, hee hee hee!

Thursday, 06 September 2012 20:20

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Lee Binz

Tuesday, 14 August 2012

Determining Homeschool English Credits

Consulting HS English Uncategorized

Are you ever unsure about how many English credits to give your students? Does your student spend more time on English assignments than they do on any other subject? These are common conundrums and you are not alone! Can composition and literature be documented as two separate credits?My student spends an hour on composition and an hour on literature each day. In answer to this I will tell you that there are some classes that simply take...

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credits documentation english grammar high school homeschool reading Sonlight specialty writing classes standard curriculum writing writing a novel

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Lee Binz

Tuesday, 07 August 2012

Homeschool Summer Credits

Grades & Credits Homeschool Records Summer School Transcripts Uncategorized

Summer is the perfect time for fun miscellaneous activities like summer camps, swim teams, home improvement projects and family vacations! I understand that is a lot to balance, but have you ever wondered if your students can receive high school credit for any of these activities? It’s possible! Both of my boys earned their P.E. credits during the summer months through a swim team they participated in.You can count credits even though they’re over the summer...