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Free Homeschool Resources

How to Put Together a Homeschooled High School Writer’s Notebook & Free Resources

February 8, 2016 | 12 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

How to Put Together a Homeschooled High School Writer's Notebook and Free Resources

With two move overseas in the last two years, we have been slowly catching up on subjects. Tiny is still straddling middle and high school, but his writing has been at high school level. Because we had to set up his high school writer’s notebook after our move back, I am sharing it with you today along with some free resources.

WriteShop

I have used many writing courses with my boys through the years and I have genuinely enjoyed each one. One that we really enjoyed which was created by homeschool moms because it worked and made teaching writing easy is WriteShop.

In another post, I will be sharing some things we liked and didn’t like so much about writing programs because today I want to stick to showing you an easy set up for a writer’s notebook.

Really, this set up would work for a middle school kid too.

I. Outside Cover

Notebooks can be made out of anything, like a file folder, composition book or even a binder.



Your teen can design his own cover and coloring is cool now even for adults and young teens, which is why at the bottom, I listed some free and cool looking coloring pages.

I ask Tiny if he wanted to color or design his cover and he rolled his eyes. I took that as a no.

Instead, he found this handsome and dare I say elegant, houndstooth-ish looking Divoga black and gold notebook in late December when we arrived back in the states.

Handsome looking notebook 1

I believe it may have been seasonal, but you can look at this picture below to see the other ones they have.

They are pretty impressive looking if you have a teen boy or girl that wants a more professional look.

And it helps if the binders are on sale because a teen can change their mind often when it comes to expressing their individuality in their writer’s notebook.

II. Superb Writing Tools Equals a Master Writer (okay, well maybe, but it doesn’t hurt)

Next, the pen zipper pouch is important because I make sure Tiny has a variety of pen colors to work with.

When they boys were younger, we used the skip line method when writing so that there is a line to write on under the first draft and to rewrite the next draft or to change a word.

It keeps a child from erasing, which should be completely ruled out in writing, but kids have a hard time  doing that.

WriteShop Junior


If they learn to eradicate erasing when they are young, then as they grow to a teen writer, it helps them to learn the writing process faster because writing is the culmination of many mark ups and deletions.

superb writing tools 2

As the boys get older, they get the choice of whether they want to keep skipping lines and/or use different color pens to identify the different stages of writing like initial draft, revise and final draft.

Tiny likes black ink for writing and red ink for correcting. If it is needs to be completely rewritten as a draft, he can choose another color, like blue or green. I think Tiny keeps the pencil in his zipper as a good measure.

Tiny and I both tend to like the Zebra z grip, medium point.

And Z grip has the other colors too.

He also likes keeping highlighters in his zip pouch because when he has finished his thoughts, he can return later and substitute a more colorful adjective or word. At the time, I encourage him to keep his ideas flowing. He will highlight real quick and keep moving.

He loves the Yoobi highlighters like I do and grabbed mine, but we have been eyeing these mini yoobi highlighters.
A few paper clips  for keeping his pages together and some post it notes and he is set up for referencing his pages the way he wants to.

How to Help Your Teen to Find the Best Words for His Ideas

Next, I keep a heavy duty top loading protector page with fresh paper in it. It is by Wilson Jones.

This just keeps fresh paper in the front and he can easily see when he needs to fill it up again.

Then,  we set our tabs up in a variety of ways.

So we set up some of the tabs the same way, but not all of them. Remember, your teen still needs your help in organizing their notebooks.

III. But It’s the Inside That Matters.

We have five sections and they are:

One| Outlines/Compositions.

This is where Tiny keeps his outlines and drafts. He likes keeping his final compositions at the very end of the notebook. He also likes to keep the model he is working on here under this tab and not under a separate tab.

Two| Structural Models.

At this point, I want you know how important the order of the tabs are because it helps your teen to go through the writing process in a logical order.

For example, some teens like to correct spacing and grammar before they are finished writing their content. This is not only exhausting to do, but can be both stressful and a waste of time when their focus needs to be first on content.

This is an important part in helping a teen organize his thoughts. Your teen needs to understand that before he focuses on the mechanics of writing, he has to clarify his thoughts.

Put models in this section which you want your teen follow.

Three| Style Charts.

Put words or lists here that help improve his technique of writing. We like list of adjectives and adverbs.

Again, these three tabs helps a teen writer to not forget the very basics of writing like having a beginning, middle and an end, that writing using noun and verb is solid writing and wordiness is a waste of good writing.

Four| Banned Words.

Though this section for me could be part of Writing Helps, it is a section that Tiny needs to focus on this year. Keeping it a separate tab reminds him to narrow down his word choice carefully. Banned words, however, could easily fit into the Writing Helps too.

Five| Writing Helps

Tiny needed help with the details of his writing so we named this part Writing Helps. Placing this at the end of the notebook he is reminded that punctuation and grammar helps can now be focused on after he has made his choice of ideas.

That is the strength of making each writer’s notebook to fit their unique and immediate needs.

Because we have had many interruptions with our writing, I need to be sure that he has some of the basics like parts of speech that he learned in his younger years.

In addition, he needs to expand the way he connects thoughts so I have printed off a transitional words list.

parts of speech 3

Instead of constantly reminding him about them, it is his job now to check his work for that.

These helpful sheets that are free and that I list at the bottom are nifty for shoring up any weakness of a teen writer.

Free Homeschool Writing Helps

  • Free Writing Printables for All Ages.

This is just an awesome site. I have referred to it often throughout the years. It has a number of free printables and helps for kids ages 3 to 13, but I think some of them can be used as a reference for older kids too.

  • 13 Free and Helpful Downloads for Teen Writers.

Then I love this site because we have used some of her printables and they are especially for teen writers. I like the story brainstorming questions and it helped my boys to hone some of their thoughts.

  • Wrighting Words

A plethora of free helps and downloads here. I like the 475 Writing Prompts (be aware I have not read all of them, but a lot of them) and the templates for printing.

If you want to make your own notebook, your child can color a picture for the front of their notebook and glue it on a composition notebook or print the character sketch template.

  • Freeology

Check out the wonderful graphic organizers and journal topics.

  • Education Place Graphic Organizers

Then this site has been around for years and I have used it at various stages of my boys’ writing to help them visualize and organize their thoughts. It works fine for an older student too and especially if they are a visual learning.

  • Worksheet Place

The Worksheet Place, under the category Writing Worksheets, also has very helpful sheets. Under persuasive worksheets is where I found the transitional words worksheet, which I printed off for Tiny.

As I mentioned before, each one of my sons had things they struggled with or needed help remembering. I want their notebooks to be a place that not only helps creative thought processes flow, but to be especially helpful.

A writer’s notebook should reflect each writer’s personality and making the notebook feel personal helps.

The grading process stays with me, but as Mr. Senior 2013 did more writing he wanted to see how the paper was graded and so I added helpful rubrics for writing to his notebook. You can grab them here.

Right now, Tiny is not interested in that as he is beginning high school and he has different goals for this year.

Does this give you a good starting point for your homeschooled teen writers’ notebook?

You’ll love these other helpful tips:

  • How to Teach Cursive and Composition With A Fresh Perspective
  • 3 Beginner’s Tips: Homeschool High School Literature 
  • 3 Ways to Choose the BEST Writing Curriculum (for a Growing Homeschool Family)

What else do you like to include?

Hugs and love ya,

12 CommentsFiled Under: Free Homeschool Resources, Homeschool Teens _ From Teen to Graduation, Teach Homeschool Language Arts Tagged With: homeschoolhighschool, teachingwriting, writing

3 Fun History Sites for Homeschooled High School Teens

December 31, 2015 | 6 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

3 Free History Websites for Homeschooled High School Kids @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Earlier I shared 5 Free History Websites for Middle School Kids and today I am sharing 3 fun history sites to kick off the new year for your highschooler.

You know how easy it is to find activities for your kids in Kindergarten. And then it seems like when they hit the upper grades and especially highschool that learning is suppose to somehow get less — well– fun.

No way, if I have something to say about it. Look at these three websites below, which I rounded up for high school teens.

1. ARTIFACTS & ANALYSIS
artifacts

I am excited about finding this site because I had shared a post earlier, 7 Things to Try When a Homeschool History Curriculum Isn’t Coming Together (Hint: Try a Primary Source or Two) because studying the way people lived and the objects they used everyday is intriguing and engaging.

Leave boring behind when you study primary sources.

The information from the site: This site presents a strategy for incorporating historical artifacts and documents into the teaching of U.S. history. Designed as a companion to the Advanced Placement Program U.S. History course, it is also effective in any instructional setting that emphasizes analytical thinking and writing.

2. CRASH COURSE
crash

This next site is on YouTube and is called Crash Course. It is just what it says. Quick and fun crash course on many different topics.

Though it has all kinds of interesting topics, it has world history and American history that make learning history far from boring.

Tiny likes the fact that it is quick and I love the fact that it gives a sweeping overview and can introduce your teen to history topics he may not be aware of or just to be sure he has been introduced to major events.

3. ICIVICS
civics

This next site is a complete fit for teens, which generally don’t mind arguing. Let them use all their prowess on this site.

From the site:

Our educational resources empower teachers and prepare the next generation of students to become knowledgeable and engaged citizens.

Founded and led by Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, iCivics provides students with the tools they need for active participation and democratic action, and teachers with the materials and support to achieve this. Our free resources include print-and-go lesson plans, award-winning games, and digital interactives.

The iCivics games place students in different civic roles and give them agency to address real-world problems and issues. They are rooted in clear learning objectives and integrated with lesson plans and support materials.

Mark these and grab them. And you know as I find them, I share them with you too.

Also, you’ll love these other ideas:

  • Middle Ages Hands-on History: Make a Codex Activity
  • 23 DIY: free History Guides – Ancient Civilizations to Modern History
  • Day 4. Ancient Greece (Hands-on Science) 3 EASY Activities

Hugs and love ya,

Be sure to follow my Middle and High School Pinterest Board for more tips you don’t want to miss!

Follow Tinas Dynamic Homeschool ‘s board Homeschool Middle & High School on Pinterest.

6 CommentsFiled Under: Free Homeschool Resources, History Resources, Homeschool Teens _ From Teen to Graduation Tagged With: american history, hands on history, hands-on activities, handson, handsonhomeschooling, history, history resources, homeschoolhighschool

15 Top Homeschool Posts, Tips and Ideas of the Year – You Picked Them!

December 28, 2015 | 9 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

15 Top Homeschool Posts, Tips and Ideas of the Year – You Picked Them Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

I love this time of the year because not only is it a time of reflection, but about brand new beginnings.

I have now completed two years of blogging and am loving every minute of it.

Without you, I would not be as motivated to share what I do.

15 Top Homeschool Posts

So thank you first for following because you are my inspiration for writing and sharing what I have learned so far in my journey.

What I did today was round up the posts, inspiration and ideas that rocked your world this year.

It’s true you love homeschool planning, organization and unit studies as much as I do or at least you want to pursue them some more this next year.

Looking Back to Make Tracks Forward

Also, it seams like many of us have strong opinions too on the difference between homeschooling and schooling at home. Be sure to look at each post below by clicking on the link under the image.

And if you’re new to homeschooling, be sure you go through my Free 31 Day Boot Camp for New Homeschoolers.

7 Step Free Curriculum Planner -Not Another Like It! | Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus
7 Step Free Curriculum Planner -Not Another Like It!
50 Free History Unit Studies - History Lover's Round-up | Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus
50 Free History Unit Studies – History Lover’s Round-up
50 Keep me Homeschooling Activities During the Long, Cold, Winter Days | Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus
50 Keep me Homeschooling Activities During the Long, Cold, Winter Days
13 Free Printable History Board Games | Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus
13 Free Printable History Board Games
The Great Homeschool Hoax | Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus
The Great Homeschool School Hoax – Public School at Home?
Winter Craft Ideas for Middle School | Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus
Winter Craft Ideas for Middle School
Homeschool Organization + {Storage Spaces and Learning Places } | Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus
Homeschool Organization + {Storage Spaces and Learning Places }
The Ultimate Guide for New Homeschoolers | Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus
The Ultimate Guide for New Homeschoolers
3 Wrong Ways to Homeschool a Hotheaded Child | Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus
3 Wrong Ways to Homeschool a Hotheaded Child
The Anatomy of a Well Laid Out High School Geography Curriculum
15 Hands On History Ideas for Middle School Kids Studying the French and Indian War
Homeschool High School How to Prepare THE Transcript | Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus
Homeschool High School How to Prepare THE Transcript
Free Middle School Science Curriculum and Magazine | Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus
Free Middle School Science Curriculum and Magazine
How to Turn a House into a Homeschool Space, Pt. 1 | Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus
How to Turn a House into a Homeschool Space, Pt. 1

Hugs and you know I love ya into next year,

Tina Signature 2015c

Linking up @ these awesome places:
Hip Homeschool Hop|Tuesday Talk|Turn It Up Tuesday|Wonderful Wednesday|A Little Bird Told Me|Mom’s Library|Little R & R|WFMW|Think Tank|Hearts for Home|Thoughtful Thursday|The Homeschool Link Up|

9 CommentsFiled Under: 2. My FREE Organizing Printables {Any topic}, Dynamic Reader Question, Free Homeschool Resources, Geography, Hands-On Activities Tagged With: hands-on activities, handsonhomeschooling, homeschoolorganization, organizationalprintables

Winter Homeschooling Activities and Free Downloads. 5 Days of Look Alive. Day 5 – Free Teacher Guides Bliss

October 19, 2015 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

5 Days of Look Alive Winter Homeschooling. Day 5. Free Teacher Guides @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

If you missed any days, grab them below:

Day 1. Look to the Sea.

5 Days of Look Alive day 1

Day 2. Look to the Sky.

5 Days of Look Alive day 2

Day 3. Look to Pokemon.

5 Days of Look Alive day 3

Day 4.Look to Free Unit Studies

5 Days of Look Alive day 4

Moving on along through our series: Look Alive:Winter Homeschooling Ideas & Downloads, Day 5 is Look to Free Teacher Guides.

If there is anything that will get me pumped about homeschooling during the long cold winter days is the thought of planning.

I love to plan anytime of the year. These free teacher’s guides I rounded up are about a variety of subjects and have tidbits of cool facts in each one.

Some of them are from a museum and they talk about tours, but the rest of the pages have great background information on each topic.

Sometimes you don’t want to plan a unit study, you just want to cover something different for the day and these free guides are the perfect bite size pieces.

The first set of guides are at the Field Museum.

Look at a few of the subjects they have:

Gregor Mendel: Planting the Seeds of Genetics.
George Washington Carver.
Plants of the World.
Maps: Finding Our Place in the World.
Nature Unleashed: Inside Natural Disasters.

There are four pages of great freebie awesomeness to look through and a variety of grades. Be sure to download what you want in case it ever goes away.

Then this next site, SunSentinel, is equally awesome and has so many freebies I can’t count them.

Look at a few of the things they have and take your time downloading the overflowing amount of freebies.

ARTS

Opera – It’s for Everyone! Grades 6-Adult
Degas in Bronze-Grades 6-Adult

CHARACTER EDUCATION 

Power of You – Grades 8-12
Your Character Your Choice! It’s Up to You

SCIENCE

Amazing Orchids-Grades 3-5
LegoLand, 4-5
STEAM – Grades 9-12

Then I love this whole page of resources to learn about the winter for the upper grades (6 to 12th). I always strive to maintain the fun and hands-on ideas even in the upper grade.

Look at at just a few of the things on this super page.

From the site:

Lesson Plans

Storm Clouds
Students in grades 6-12 use CERES cloud data and a weather map to explore cloud coverage during a winter storm.

Getting Physical: The Physics and Other Science Behind Winter Olympic Sports
Students in grades 6-12 research, write, and perform sportscasts that explain the physics behind their favorite sports in these cross-curricular activities.

Glacier National Park: “Hibernation-Migration Fascination”
Students in grades 7-12/ compare two different types of hibernation — the hibernation of bears and marmots.

ICS — Energy ( PDF, 901 KB, 21 pgs.)
In this module, students in grades 9-12 investigate how energy absorption and water affect temperature.

Physics and Biomechanics
A learning module for grades 11-12 that uses the sports of luge and figure skating to teach four basic mechanical concepts: linear kinematics, linear dynamics, projectile motion, and conservation of angular momentum.

Games & Activities

Don’t Be Too Flaky
Students measure the relative densities of water, ice, and snow. Data can be submitted to the website and displayed with data from around the world.

I hope you have enjoyed this 5 days series of winter homeschooling and now we have enough activities to keep us planning through the long cold winter days.

Are you ready for winter? Grab the other ideas below!

5 Days of Look Alive Winter Homeschooling. Day 1 Look to the Sea. @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus featured

Hugs and love ya,

Leave a CommentFiled Under: Free Homeschool Resources, Geography, Hands-On Activities, History Resources, Look Alive: Winter Homeschooling Ideas & Free Downloads Tagged With: hands-on, hands-on activities, handson, handsonhomeschooling

Body Part Labeling and Skeleton Quiz Human Body Unit Study

October 9, 2015 | 2 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

The body part labeling and skeleton quiz minibooks are part of the completed human body unit study.

The human body lapbook was free for a limited time.

Body Part Labeling and Skeleton Quiz Human Body Unit Study

Body Part Labeling and Skeleton Quiz

Be sure to grab the other activities we have done so far with our Human Body Unit Study.

Also, make an eazy peazy DIY Stethoscope and a great project for a middle school kid is the Heart Pump activity. Too, do the rigid versus flexible bone activity too.

Today, I have two more minibooks for the Human Body Lapbook.

You already have the heart minibook and the Did You Know heart facts minbook.

One minibook is titled I am Wonderfully Made and it is a labeling of general body parts.

This book  can for sure be used for a younger child and a middle school kid.

Human Body Hands-on Unit Study Ideas

Because we have only read about the human body and not really done any written work, I wanted to be sure Tiny had a good visual placement of the major body parts.

I Am Wonderfully Made

The human body minibook is a triple fold book. Triple fold and put the cover on the outside.

Human Body Unit Study

Too, remember, because I don’t like to waste paper, the cover page for this body labeling book you already downloaded with the heart minibook.

Be sure to grab it and place it on this minibook.

Skeleton System Quick Quiz

This next fun minibook is a 4 question quiz about the skeleton system.

The four questions are:

■ How many bones are in your body?
■How many bones are in your skull?
■What is the largest bone?
■What is the smallest bone?

We generally pull out our file folder at this time and start trying to place the minibooks we have so far on the lapbook. But we don’t glue them yet until we are finished.

Generally though when I have about 4 minibooks or so, I do try to start laying them. Not all the time do I chose portrait position on the lapbook.

This lapbook just feels like it might look pretty hot if we turn the lapbook landscape. But that is generally what I do right now, which is to start looking at the layout.

However, we are still undecided, which is why we also keep the minibooks in a ziploc bag until we’re done.

Completed Human Body Lapbook

  • Dynamic and Fun Human Body Lapbook for Multiple Ages

    Dynamic and Fun Human Body Lapbook for Multiple Ages

    $5.00
    Add to cart
Body Part Labeling and Skeleton Quiz Human Body Unit Study

Lastly, more human body unit study activities coming! (Update: The hands-on activities are all at the bottom of this post. Click on each one for all the fun hands-on ideas.)

Grab all of the lapbook printables and hands-on activities below.

What is blood hands on activity and free blood components minibook for a human body homeschool unit study @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus featured
Making Bloodhttps://www.tinasdynamichomeschoolplus.com/homeschool-unit-study-human-body-4/
Homeschool Unit Study Human Body. Hands-on Activity 5. Edible Skin + Skin and Major Body Systems Minibook @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus Featured
Edible Skin https://www.tinasdynamichomeschoolplus.com/homeschool-unit-study-human-body-5/
Mega List Free Resources for Human Body Homeschool Unit Study @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus featured
Free Resourceshttps://www.tinasdynamichomeschoolplus.com/human-body-homeschool-unit-study/
Body Part Labeling and Human Skeleton Quiz Free Minibooks - Free Human Body Unit Study @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus FEATURED
Body Part Labelinghttps://www.tinasdynamichomeschoolplus.com/body-part-labeling-and-skeleton-quiz-free-minibooks/
Human Body Unit Study. Rigid versus Flexible Bones Hands-on Activity @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus featured
Rigid versus Flexible Bonehttps://www.tinasdynamichomeschoolplus.com/homeschool-unit-study-human-body-3/
Human body unit study DIY Heart Pump @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus featured
DIY Heart Pumphttps://www.tinasdynamichomeschoolplus.com/homeschool-unit-study-human-body-2/
20 Human Body Books for Middle and High School Homeschooled Kids @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus featured
Human Body Bookshttps://www.tinasdynamichomeschoolplus.com/human-body-books-for-middle-and-high-school-homeschooled-kids/
Human body unit study DIY Stethoscope. Hands-on Learning @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus featured
Stethoscope Activityhttps://www.tinasdynamichomeschoolplus.com/homeschool-unit-study-human-body/
Free Human Body Lapbook and Unit Study @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus featured
Beautiful Humanhttps://www.tinasdynamichomeschoolplus.com/free-human-body-lapbook-and-unit-study/ Body Lapbook and Fun Unit Study

Hugs and love ya,

Body Part Labeling and Human Skeleton Quiz Free Minibooks - Free Human Body Unit Study @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

2 CommentsFiled Under: 1. My FREE Learning Printables {Any Topic}, Free Homeschool Resources, Science, Science Based Tagged With: hands-on activities, handson, handsonhomeschooling, homeschool, human body, lapbook, lapbookresources, life science, science, sciencecurriculum

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