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Retrieving Item Details 
Many language arts skills are integrated into history/science/Bible activities in the curriculum including:
- Narration, copywork, dictation, and memorization
- Informal handwriting practice
- Read-aloud literature in Deluxe Packages
- Extensive library lists for read-alouds and readers
- Vocabulary (Exploring Countries and Cultures, Creation to the Greeks, and Rome to the Reformation)
- Letter writing (Exploring Countries and Cultures)
- Composition in science and/or history
- And more!!
You will need to add grade-specific resources as a supplement to assure a well-rounded, complete language arts program. We recommend:
Grade 2 – Primary Language Lessons - first half of the book - and Spelling by Sound and Structure
Grade 3 – Primary Language Lessons - last half of the book - Spelling Power, and Cursive Connections
Grade 4 – Intermediate Language Lessons - first third of the book - Writing Strands Level 3, and Spelling Power
Grade 5 – Intermediate Language Lessons - middle third of the book - Writing Strands Level 4 (see note below), and Spelling Power
Grade 6 - Intermediate Language Lessons - last third of the book - Writing Strands Level 5 - first half of the book (see note below) - and Spelling Power
Students who are academically strong may use All-in-One English Series in 6th grade and Applications of Grammar in 7th grade.
Grade 7 – two literature guides from Progeny Press, All-in-One English Series, Writing Strands Level 5 - last half of the book (see note below) - and Spelling Power (if needed)
Grade 8 – two literature guides from Progeny Press, Applications of Grammar, Writing Strands Level 6 (see note below), and Spelling Power (if needed)
Note: Writing Strands levels in the above chart are for students who begin Writing Strands in 4th grade. 5th – 7th graders new to Writing Strands begin at Level 3 and complete one level each year. 8th graders new to Writing Strands begin at and complete only Level 4.
| Consider adding age appropriate God's World News magazine for each child. We recommend parents order World magazine for themselves as well. |
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Our high school curriculum covers all needed language arts; no other supplementation is required. However, if an incoming student has not had formal grammar instruction, he should complete Applications of Grammar. If a student is weak in composition skills, he should complete Writing Strands Level 4.
| Consider adding World magazine for each student. We recommend parents order World magazine for themselves as well, or read along with their children. |
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God's World News, PreK-9th grade, is a monthly current events magazine with a Biblical worldview. For more than 25 years, hundreds of thousands of students have benefited from focus on news, knowledge, wisdom, and action found in God's World News.
Available in six different reading levels, purchase God's World News through the My Father's World discount link (gwnews.com/mfw2011) or call 800-951-5437 and ask for the MFW discount using code N1AC1MFW. You receive a 10% discount AND a donation is made to Bible translation (God's Word for the Nations). In addition, discounts apply for multiple subscriptions (PreK-9th grade) shipped to one address (multiple issue discounts only available by phone).
Pricing Reflects 10% Discount
| • PreK-K | $22.45 |
| • Grades 1-2 | $22.45 |
| • Grades 3-4 | $25.15 |
| • Grades 5-6 | $25.15 |
| • Middle School | $26.95 |
| • High School | $26.95 |
*Orders of 7+ receive a flat rate of $17.45 each
Purchase through the My Father's World discount link (www.gwnews.com/mfw2011) or call 800-951-5437 and ask for the MFW discount using code N1AC1MFW.
World Magazine is a news magazine written from a Biblical perspective. Published every other week, select from:
- 6 month subscription (13 issues) - $29.95 (no discount available)
- 1 year subscription (26 issues) - $39.95 (reflects a 74% discount off cover price)
Purchase through the My Father's World discount link (www.worldmag.com/mfw2011) or call 800-951-6397 and ask for the MFW discount using code W1ACNMFW.
You receive the discounted price AND a donation is made to Bible translation (God's Word for the Nations).
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For 7th and 8th Graders
As part of a complete language arts program, MFW recommends literature guides developed by Progeny Press. Select two per year, based on the student's reading level and interests. The following titles are recommended by MFW. They are listed by the MFW curriculum they most closely match. However, any of these books may be used with any of the MFW programs.
| Exploring Countries and Cultures |
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| Creation to the Greeks |
- No specific recommendation - select any two from the books listed.
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| Rome to the Reformation |
- The Bronze Bow (Book | Study Guide)
- Select a second book from any of the other listed books.
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| Exploration to 1850 |
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| 1850 to Modern Times |
- No specific recommendation - select any two from the books listed.
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The above choices have been reviewed and selected by MFW as most suitable and they are available from MFW. If these titles do not meet your needs, information about other literature guides are available on the Progeny Press website. |
 | When do students begin book reports? We do not schedule book reports during any of our curriculum years. We summarize stories and write about people, places and events we are learning about in history, science, and the Bible. My Father's World recommends language arts that include dictations, copy work, creative writing and formal composition. We believe that book reports often have a negative effect. Reading becomes more of an assignment to complete a report than for the enjoyment of reading a quality book. In 7th and 8th grade, we recommend Progeny Press study guides to help students further develop skills in critical thinking, comprehension, literary analysis, and Christian application while reading quality literature. | | We are having difficulty with Writing Strands. What should we do? Before you decide that Writing Strands is definitely not working for you, please assess the amount of time you spent with the program as the parent. In many cases, kids will try to get away with writing only as much as is needed. Please don't just hand the book or assignment to the child. Read it to the child and then make sure to check up on his work.
Writing Strands is a program that can be used with all levels of writers. If your student is a struggling writer, don't expect him to catch up to "grade level" in just one year. Just like a sport or instrument, writing improvement happens through continuous, scheduled, monitored practice. If you sense that your student is behind when it comes to writing, have a tender heart with your expectations. When you see a skill being performed naturally, that is a sign to start to have higher expectations. However, it is very important not to expect too much out of a struggling writer. Even intermediate level writers need not be pushed too hard. Consistent, continual, ongoing writing projects will produce more improvement in the long run, than intense, advanced-level expectations. Writing confidence is built through positive recognition, so be sure to find many ways to include that!
As you watch your student's progress, it is not unusual to have questions on the proper way to assess his/her work. Is the student using adjectives, adverbs, verbs and nouns appropriately for his writing level? Is he or she being descriptive, clear and fluid? When looking through your student's Writing Strands book, take special notice of the hints found at or near the bottom of each page (levels 3 & 4). These are things you can look for when assessing your student's work.
Writing is a process that proceeds with regular, monitored practice and can be analyzed under six different traits: organization, structure, word choice, clarity, style and mechanics. Remember that grammar (mechanics) is just one of the keys to good writing, so don't let that be the only area where you give your analysis. If you know of someone in your community who is a writing teacher or writing professional, seeking expert analysis of your student's work can be very beneficial to fostering improvement. | | How do I purchase God's World News and World Magazine? God's World News and World Magazine can be purchased directly from the publisher through a special MFW discount link or by calling them with our discount code. View the details from our language arts magazine tab. | | When is it best to teach parts of speech? Respected home school expert Ruth Beechick advises parents to wait until junior high to teach parts of speech. Students don't need to diagram sentences or formally learn about prepositions, adverbs, etc., when they are young. Why teach the same concepts, year after year, at the elementary level? These concepts are learned more easily at an older age when students are able to think more abstractly. Parts of speech are taught informally in Primary Language Lessons and Intermediate Language Lessons, and you may not even realize it. In the last year of Intermediate Language Lessons (6th grade), when children are old enough to retain it more easily, parts of speech are covered more directly. Older children understand abstract concepts more easily than 3rd and 4th graders.
We have found that 7th grade is an ideal time to begin formally teaching parts of speech, and it is taught thoroughly at that point. For 7th graders, All-in-One English Series is an excellent, simple-to-use, first-year course that teaches all eight parts of speech and reviews capitalization and punctuation. For 8th graders, Applications of Grammar thoroughly covers parts of speech, diagramming, and more. | | Why does My Father's World recommend Primary Language Lessons, Intermediate Language Lessons , Writing Strands, and Spelling Power? - When you combine the above books with the practical language arts skills already in My Father's World curriculum, the coverage of language arts is very thorough. This combination follows a Charlotte Mason approach better than any other program we know.
- The moral content is excellent. Primary Language Lessons and Intermediate Language Lessons are reprints of public school books from the early 1900s. Intermediate Language Lessons even begins with a story about Moses.
- The programs are very efficient and quick to teach. They teach skills without a lot of "fluff" and "extras" that really aren't needed. Spelling Power takes 15 minutes, scheduled four times per week. Primary Language Lessons takes about 15 minutes and is only taught three times per week.
- They are very flexible. You can adjust lessons to your child's needs or a particular day's responsibilities. If a child has already been writing a lot in one day, you can often give the Primary Language Lessons or Intermediate Language Lessons assignment orally. This REALLY speeds up the lesson, too!
- They are cost-effective. These books may be reused with any number of children. Primary Language Lessons is only $10.95 for two full years and can be reused with younger siblings! Spelling Power is a one-time purchase to teach spelling to all of your children from 3rd grade through high school.
- Minimal parent preparation time is needed. Writing Strands provides specific, step-by-step instructions; parents simply open the book and read it to the student. In addition, Writing Strands is recommended because students are guided through complete compositions, not just sentences or isolated paragraphs. The amount of weekly work is very reasonable. It is written for the individual student, not a classroom. It doesn't assume or rely on knowledge of parts of speech—which we believe should be taught at a later age.
- This is a gentle approach, less stressful for children or parents. We are concerned that so much energy goes into language arts that children are worn out for the day, before you even get to the "good stuff" in home school.
| | How Is Literature Included? My Father's World is a literature-rich curriculum that strives to provide the best choices for literature while keeping annual curriculum costs at a minimum. All required books are included in the curriculum packages. In addition, an extensive list of highly recommended, but optional, library books—organized by week, theme, and reading level—is included with each year of our curriculum. This list allows My Father's World to provide excellent literature options for children of all reading levels.
There are four types of reading in our programs for grades 2-8: read-alouds, reading on theme, independent reading, and reading for comprehension.
Read-Alouds
Each year of curriculum for 2nd-8th grades provides a core set of books scheduled in our Teacher's Manuals for Bible, history, and science. These books are read aloud together as a family. Reading time is followed by parent/teacher-led discussion, narration, and other activities designed for retention. Engaging literature for the entire family, including missionary biographies and other life-impacting classics, is also scheduled in our Teacher's Manuals and included in the Deluxe Package.
Thematic Independent Reading
Book Basket is designed to develop a love for reading using "living books." Each of our Teacher's Manuals recommends hundreds of colorful picture books, chapter books, fascinating biographies, videos, and DVDs related to the history, geography, music, and science being taught each week. Some of these books may be borrowed from the library and placed in a simple basket (or box) at home. Students are then able to choose those titles that most interest them, exposing them to a wide variety of literature, while enriching their learning experience. Children who love to read also love to learn.
Independent Reading at Grade Level
Independent reading from chapter books is scheduled daily for 20-30 minutes. Books may be selected from a list of over 100 classic books organized by grade level, the Book Basket recommendations, or other chapter books of your choosing.
Reading for Comprehension
Customers choosing to follow My Father's World's recommendations for language arts complete activities by grade level that provide both written and oral comprehension activities in response to various reading assignments. These activities are found in Primary Language Lessons, Intermediate Language Lessons, and Progeny Press Study Guides. |
MFW Homeschool Curriculum FAQs
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Primary Language Lessons |
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A Charlotte Mason-style approach with short, easy-to-teach lessons cover English usage, composition, punctuation, poem memorization, oral language skills, letter writing, and dictation. Fables and writings by famous authors such as Robert Louis Stevenson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and William Shakespeare are included. Prominent paintings are included, and used to develop observation and discussion skills. It is not a workbook, but contains a wide variety of oral and written activities that may be used exactly as written or adapted to a child's specific needs and learning style.
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10.95
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Intermediate Language Lessons |
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A Charlotte Mason-style approach with short, easy-to-teach lessons cover English usage, composition, punctuation, poem memorization, oral language skills, letter writing, and dictation. Fables and writings by famous authors such as Robert Louis Stevenson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and William Shakespeare are included. Prominent paintings are included, and used to develop observation and discussion skills. It is not a workbook, but contains a wide variety of oral and written activities that may be used exactly as written or adapted to a child's specific needs and learning style.
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15.95
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Spelling Power |
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Give your child individualized spelling instruction in just 15 minutes a day. This is a thick book with helpful information for the parent, as well as pages and pages of spelling lists for students. In this fourth edition, the program itself has not changed, but the instructions have been rewritten. Spelling Power now comes with a Teacher’s Resource CD-ROM with printable forms and activities. It also includes a Quick Start DVD with step-by-step instructions, helping to make this an easy and effective spelling program. You only need one book per family.
Spelling Power Activity Task Cards (available separately) are not required, but they will make it easier for you to use the Spelling Power program.
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64.95
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