My son is in 5th grade for this coming year, and it will be our first year in TOG (year 1), so I am giving him UG work, which I think will be appropriate for him. I've also designed a study guide for him to use to take notes while he is reading by using the UG student threads, vocabulary, and important people. We'll have weekly Thursday meetings to discuss what he's read and I'm planning on giving him the evaluation each Friday (he is wanting to have a test, by the way).

As I'm fleshing out our plans for the next few years, I'm curious to know when and how you moved you UG student into D level work.....since 6th grade can be either UG or D level, how do you choose?

I could be just thinking out loud here....and perhaps as we go through this year I'll figure it out, but I was just curious to know how others make the transition.

TIA

Hi there TIA,
I was reading through the posts and noticed that no one has answered you yet, at least online. I would love to know the same thing! I have a 5th grader, and we are using Yr. 1 as well. This is our first year with TOG.

If you get any information on when/how to make the transition, would you mind sharing?

Thanks, and God bless you. I hope this year is going well for you.

Blessings,
Lucinda

Hi Lucinda,
What I've decided to do this year is gradually increase my expectations for my 5th grader in a couple of ways: I will introduce him to the logic stage by using some of the Dialectic literature books (we used The Golden Goblet over the past two weeks -- a serendipitous error in ordering left me without A Place in the Sun, but I had the other in my possession), and by having weekly accountability meetings with him. I have been trying to read the D level accountability questions and information in the teacher's notes and tailoring them to what we've been stuyding. Some weeks it has been easier than others.

I am not doing this every week, but it is my intention use 5th grade to prepare him for more D level work in 6th grade. I am putting the expectation on myself that I will gradually add in more D level expectations as the year progresses.

I don't know if this helps you -- it helps me to write it out, since all this has just been floating around in my head.

Thanks for your quick reply 3boysforme. (BTW, I have three sons as well...but they are grown now and on their own. We are hs'ing our youngest child - a dd, but did not hs the older ones.)

I appreciate your input on this transition subject. Your method seems like a very good approach. I was thinking that I would also start adding in literature here and there since dd is now actually reading at about 7th grade level. I was so focused on learning about TOG that I just grabbed the lists for UG and ran with it, than I forgot to consider things like introductory logic and critical thinking. So my plan is to add some puzzles and exercises in (i.e. The Mind Benders Books 1 & 2 or Grid Perplexors from Mindware) after we complete Unit 1. By then, we should be comfortable enough with TOG to include something else.

So perhaps between your suggestion of bringing on more challenging literature and including more advanced discussions and the pre-logic excercises -- I think maybe we'd be ready to deal with 6th grade next year and then formal Logic in 7th.

Thanks again! I feel better already. :~)

Blessings,
Lucinda