BJU Press Blog

Successful Learning

You want your children to succeed in their education. We do too. We offer practical tips for teaching your children math, science, writing, and more! These tips can be applied to any homeschool curriculum. There are also highlights of our new textbooks with examples of how our curriculum trains your children to have success in their learning.

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Today is Special Education Day

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image of illustrated children holding a banner that says special education day

All of us at BJU Press would like to say “thank you” to the teachers, parents, and administrators who work hard to help students with learning disabilities to reach their full potential. We interviewed Anna Hamrick, a teacher who assists struggling readers, to get her perspective on teaching. It’s my hope that her thoughts will be an encouragement as you continue helping your students.

1. How long have you been a teacher? How much of that time have you been working with students who have learning disabilities?

This is my ninth year teaching full-time. I also was a part-time substitute teacher in Greenville County for six years while I was home with young children. Thinking back, I believe I have worked with students with learning disabilities every year.

2. Where do you currently work?

I currently teach in the Learning Resource Center at Bob Jones Academy Elementary School.

3. How do you help the students at the Learning Resource Center?

I teach the third- through sixth-grade students who struggle with reading. We work on phonics, decoding, expression, comprehension, and many other reading skills. My desire is that the students will take what they learn in my class and apply it to their other reading assignments and to their recreational reading. Ultimately, I want my students to love to read!

4. How do you adapt BJU Press textbooks when teaching your special needs students?

The adaptations I make to the reading curriculum are minor. I definitely move at a slower pace. I also place a much heavier emphasis on oral reading. This gives me an opportunity to pinpoint areas of weakness in rate, decoding, punctuation, and expression. For my younger students, I often read the entire worktext page to them while allowing them to answer the questions independently.

5. Do you have any advice for teachers who teach students with learning disabilities?

Be patient and be flexible! Be prepared to adjust your plans if necessary. Sometimes learning disabled students need extra time with certain skills.

Be aware. Keep an eye on how your students are doing in all their classes. Communicate regularly with the parents and the general education teachers.

Be approachable. Make sure the teachers and parents know they can come to you for advice, help, and encouragement. Be prepared to give the general education teachers suggestions for accommodations in the regular classroom and to give parents advice for how to help at home.

 

A Pilgrim’s Thanksgiving

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When you hear the phrase “the first Thanksgiving,” what are some images that come to mind? You have probably seen enough artists’ renderings of this event to have a mental picture of fall trees, a table loaded with traditional Thanksgiving fare, and an assortment of Pilgrims and Wampanoags enjoying a peaceful meal together. A number of historians have exposed the mythical elements in scenes like that. For example, while there might have been turkey at the feast, there would not have been potatoes. The Pilgrims would have lacked sugar for sweetening cranberries and ovens for baking pumpkin pies. The menu may have even included such nontraditional items as mussels, crabs, and eels. Since furniture would have been scarce in Plymouth Colony, even the table itself is a questionable detail.

Historical errors have also crept into the way Pilgrim clothing is depicted. Large buckles on hats and shoes were not affordable for common people, and Pilgrim men probably would not have worn them even if they had been. Written records of the Pilgrims have revealed that they wore bright-colored garments, especially for festive occasions, rather than mournful black.

It’s also possible that the presence of the Indians at the Thanksgiving feast was not entirely comfortable for the Pilgrims. No doubt there were lingering tensions on both sides, despite peaceful relations on the surface.

But perhaps the one thing most of us lack in our mental picture of this feast is an understanding of the Pilgrims’ state of bereavement. The Pilgrims were undergoing a period of deep personal grief. Only about half of their number who had voyaged on the Mayflower had survived the first winter. Nearly every family had experienced a death. Only four of the married women were still living. Most of the Pilgrims at the feast were men or children under the age of sixteen.

The exact character of the 1621 harvest feast is a subject of debate. Some scholars think it was more of a festival than a serious religious holiday. But whatever the mood of the occasion, the fact remains that even in the face of excruciating personal trials, the Pilgrims took a day to celebrate God’s goodness. The Pilgrims at the first Thanksgiving teach us that giving thanks is an act of faith. A truly thankful person looks beyond the present difficulties to see God’s gracious hand opened, giving what is best. May we be reminded this Thanksgiving Day that we too are pilgrims on a journey planned and guided by an all-wise God. May we have the faith to lift our eyes above life’s barren fields to thank God for His bountiful blessings—past, present, and future.

What are you thankful for this year?

Breaking Out the Lab Coat

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I’m a chemist, and I’ve got a white lab coat to prove it. I love chemistry, and I have loved working with the team at BJU Press to produce Chemistry (4th ed.) I delved into the latest research on education and cutting-edge chemistry and worked with artists, designers, authors, high school chemistry teachers, and university chemistry professors. I investigated new educational strategies, explored new technologies, and broke out my lab coat and dorky goggles to bring my love for chemistry to your home and classroom.

Chemistry is valuable, because it’s all about living—the air we breathe, the clothes we wear, the food we eat, and the materials we use to make our lives safer and better. As students around the world break open this textbook in the fall of 2015, they will see that chemistry is a powerful tool to glorify God and help people by working to solve real-world problems like car accidents, allergies, and the lack of clean drinking water.

My work on Chemistry (4th ed.) began about two years ago. The marketing research department at BJU Press surveyed hundreds of homeschool parents, teachers, and administrators to guide our progress. Our survey research showed that the previous edition was in good shape, both from an educational and scientific perspective, so this revision was a light one.

But you wouldn’t know that from looking at this new textbook. The pages sparkle with fresh design, new photos, and up-to-date topics. Chapter 1 engages students where they live to interact about how chemistry affects people and how we can view it from a scriptural perspective (e.g., using chemistry to develop pesticides and vaccines to fight malaria). New and engaging sidebars, on topics such as search and rescue after 9/11 and substance abuse, are sprinkled throughout the text. Worldview Sleuthing features on subjects such as the Fukushima nuclear accident are modeled after the popular WebQuest activities used by many science teachers, but these are specially designed with worldview-building in mind. They deal with the conflicts between a naturalistic worldview and a biblical worldview—teaching students how to think through common debates among scientists such as the discovery of the god particle, the theory of chemical evolution, and the secular view of the uses of chemistry.

Chemistry Student Lab Manual (4th ed.) gives students a fresh take on classic chemistry labs. Students get hands-on experience with what God has made by using the tools of chemistry in ways that make it applicable to their daily lives. Guided inquiry labs point students into new territory in chemistry with the freedom and support to discover chemistry for themselves. I hope your students will share my joy as they break out the lab coats and goggles and get their hands on God’s creation.

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Rachel is passionate about helping students engage, learn, create, and experience the joy of learning. And she wants this enthusiasm to be contagious. The same sense of wonder that sparked her curiosity in childhood spurred her to pursue a degree in chemistry and a master’s degree in education. She wants to share her passion as she draws from her teaching and writing experience to provide academic oversight for writing teams at BJU Press.

What excites you most about chemistry?

How Should I Teach My Son to Use Technology?

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Recently, my two-year-old son has developed a fascination with devices that glow and beep. And I’ve suddenly realized that I have to decide how I’m going to teach him to use the world of electronic devices that are at his fingertips. My own enjoyment of technology makes this an exciting task, but my knowledge of the pitfalls of using these tools has resulted in careful consideration of how to approach this aspect of parenting. Several ideas come to mind as I think about training my son to use technology wisely.

1. Treating People as More Important

First, I need to teach him that the people he is with are more important than whatever he can do on a screen. Christ taught the importance of other people in Luke 10. After a lawyer confirmed the law’s demand to love one’s neighbor, he asked Christ who his neighbor was. Christ clarified by telling the story of the good Samaritan, showing that our neighbors are those around us. In this area, I need to lead by example.

When I go to the park, I often see parents sitting on a bench, absorbed in their phones, while their young kids yell out, “Hey, Dad, look at me!” or “Hey, Mom, watch this!” The temptation to check my e-mail or even try to get things done just because I always have my phone with me could ruin opportunities to interact with my son or others. If he sees me focused on him or the other people around me instead of my phone, he will learn that the people around him are important.

2. Observing the Real World

I also need to teach him to learn by observing the world around him. Technology can aid in this observation. There’s an abundance of apps that allow us to learn details about the night sky and videos about fascinating aspects of nature. I can use these to assist, but I should also point him to nature off the screen as well. We could go on a nature walk or a hike. I can point out the little details I notice as we’re walking around outside or working in the yard. I can help him develop a lifelong habit of seeing God’s handiwork all around him and praising God for His great creation.

3. Using Time Wisely

Finally, I need to teach him to use his time wisely. Because he’s only two now, that probably means my regulating how much time he spends in front of a screen in comparison to playing with toys that build developmental skills or sitting in my lap reading books. As he gets older and has the ability to choose whether to read or play or use an electronic device, I plan to set some limits on how much time he spends in front of a screen. One good suggestion I’ve heard is to allow him to earn screen time by reading for a period of time; this will help him balance how he spends his free time.

I’m excited about the opportunity to teach my son how to wisely use the fascinating tools available to him. Each of us who works with children has the responsibility to help train them to use technology for the glory of God.

In your experience, what’s another lesson that’s important to teach children about using technology?

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Andrew enjoys helping others use technology in a way that glorifies God. He and his wife help with the children’s ministries at their church. Along with their three sons, they like to read together about other people’s adventures and then go out and have their own.

Count Your Blessings

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Encourage children to count their blessings and share them with others by making these simple table decorations for Thanksgiving.

Materials Needed

The same materials can be used for both table decorations.

  • Patterns:  (centerpiece) double turkey; (placemat) leaves or single turkey
  • Markers, crayons, color pencils
  • Pencil or pen
  • Scissors
  • Glue (glue stick works best)
  • Construction paper (optional for centerpiece)
  • Clear contact paper (optional for centerpiece)

Thankful Turkeys Centerpiece

  1. Download and print out the double turkey pattern.
  2. Have the kids write out what they are thankful for on the turkey’s four feathers. (They can write the same or different things on both sides.)
  3. Let the kids decorate their turkeys by coloring in the body and feathers. (If you decide not to use contact paper, adding feathers, sequins, and fabric to the turkeys might be fun.)
  4. Make sure the kids follow the dotted lines to cut out the turkeys. (If you want to leave the legs, don’t forget to trace and cut around them!)
  5. Finally, have them fold the printout on the solid black line and set it on the table. (Tips: For added firmness glue the printout to a piece of construction paper before folding it; or cut out the optional bottom piece, fold on the solid black lines, and glue the flaps to both sides of the printout. For added protection trace over the dotted lines on both burkeys. Next, lay a piece of contact paper on the front side of the printout. The contact paper should overlap the edge of the printout by half an inch. Cut out the turkeys and fold the printout on the solid black line.)

Blessings Falling Down Placemat

  1. Download and print out the leaves pattern.
  2. Have the kids write out a blessing on each leaf.
  3. Let the kids color the leaves. (The kids only need to color the side they wrote on.)
  4. Make sure the kids follow the dotted lines as they cut out each leaf.
  5. Encourage the kids to write a title for their placemat on the piece of construction paper. (For example: “I am thankful for . . . ” or “My Blessings”)
  6. Have the kids glue the leaves to either side of  the construction paper. (Preferred paper size is 9×12.)
  7. Cut out a piece of contact paper so that it overlaps the edge of the construction paper by half an inch. Place the construction paper onto the contact paper. Repeat the process so that both sides of the construction paper are covered and the contact paper is sealed; then trim the edges. (Optional: A placemat can also be made using the single turkey pattern.)

I hope you enjoy making these crafts. Making placemats was one of my favorite activities to do while growing up. In fact, I still use placemats, notepad paper, and 3×5 cards to help me reflect on the goodness of God. Teaching children to thank God for all things prepares them to trust Him in the future.

How do you encourage children to express thankfulness?