WV Homeschool Help

05/29/2024

My 5th grader (and his best friend) are just done with 8th grade now, but I still have the materials left from 3 years ago. We covered WV history from earliest civilizations through the Civil War and US history through early 1900s. If you're looking for something I might have covered, let me know. Also some science and ELA resources that I think were pretty useful.

Send a message to learn more

09/15/2023

02/08/2022

CivilRights1955-1965 is a video that runs a full hour. I compiled it a year ago from various PBS segments (mostly portions of American Experience shows, that are freely available if you know where to look for them), combined with still images from wikimedia.org, text paraphrased from various online sources, and music by the Staples Singers (admittedly from the early 70s but it feels right).

It can be downloaded from:

https://wvhomeschoolhelp.org/grade5group/resources/CivilRights1955-1965_720p.mp4

There is a good stopping place at 35:34, "The Civil Rights Act ..." but it could also be paused at around 29 minutes in.

There are scenes of violence (black and white images, mostly still photos) and racist language. This was intended for a 5th grade audience and may not be appropriate for younger children.

11/01/2021

We've just added a new Halloween game, Batty Vowels! This game encourages faster reading for second graders by quickly identifying vowel teams to decipher words. Children will hear a spoken word and must identify its correct spelling by paying attention to the vowel sounds. Quicker identification awards the player with more points, encouraging responses to be both quick and accurate. Try it now!
http://brainpowerarcade.com/games/batty-vowels/

10/14/2021

This is from 5th grade homeschool last year.

We didn't really have lesson plans past our first few weeks. But I used Edmodo to post assignments, etc., since one student was working remotely. And so, after the fact, I amassed the Edmodo postings and edited them. These are displayed athttp://wvhomeschoolhelp.org/grade5group/resources/SampleEdmodoPostings.pdf as an 87-page document. You have to start at the end and work backward, since that's the only way Edmodo displays postings.

(I recommend trying Edmodo.com if you have students at multiple locations. And I like their quizzes, and it's nice that students can comment/chat. And it's free.)

10/14/2021

I catalogued videos we used last year for 5th grade. As I post lesson plans and textual material, these will have more context, but some of these may stand on their own or fit into things you already have planned.

The 2-page PDF is at https://wvhomeschoolhelp.org/grade5group/resources/VideoResources.pdf.

The screen shots are just to give an idea what is there.

08/26/2021

I am (belatedly) putting together my son's portfolio for 5th grade. When I am done, I will have organized a whole year's worth of postings, quizzes, activities and resources. If you have an interest in receiving links to download this material (a few weeks from now), send me a message from this page.

05/15/2021

As we work at wrapping up our homeschool year, I realize I have many resources that could help others. These are aimed at 5th grade though some of them may be suitable a grade or two above or below.

Having been quite busy with my own work and under time pressure, I often copied rather than paraphrasing and/or did not cite sources or even note which sources are public domain or not, so I am not posting these publicly. I am just posting this list of recent filenames. If something looks of interest to you, message me, and I will do my best to connect you with these materials.

RailroadsInThe1800s.mp4
The Homestead Act.pdf
Emigration AWAY FROM Other Countries and Immigration INTO the United States.pdf
check out https://www.tenement.org/lesson_plans/
Life In The Great Depression.pdf
The Great Depression.pdf
DustBowlEdited.mp4
CivilRights1955-1965_720p.mp4

01/15/2021

Some new resources for history and math available at http://wvhomeschoolhelp.org/grade5group/resources/.

01/11/2021

Added to http://wvhomeschoolhelp.org/grade5group/resources/:

U.S. Government and Current Events

* How the U.S. President is Elected *

- establishment of the Electoral College in the US Constitution
- maps showing how the Electoral College works
- arguments for a national popular vote and for retaining the current system

Relevant to the period between the Senate’s acceptance of electoral votes and the next president’s inauguration.

This was our springboard for a somewhat broader discussion of the U.S. Constitution. Students will be writing essays to argue their viewpoint on the question of whether or not the electoral system should be replaced with a national popular vote.

12/24/2020

Grade 5 Homeschool group will continue in mid-January.