We had a lot of fun reviewing Moving Beyond the Page. We got to check out Amazing Weather (Science Unit) and Tornado (Literature Unit) both for ages 7-9 year olds.
We received the Online Package for Amazing Weather, which included an online Lesson Guide available for 90 days from activation, and physical copies of the Literature, as well as a thermometer. We received the regular package for Tornado, which included physical copies of all materials, including the Lesson Guide.
Moving Beyond the Page is a literature based unit study…therefore it is all encompassing subject wise (with the exception of math). Each unit is based on a book and the Lesson Guide has a wide variety of activities outlined to go with each book. These activities include spelling and vocabulary, as well as hands on experiments, art projects, writing assignments, etc… If you use this program, you only need to add a Math curriculum in order to cover all your educational bases!
The units can be used individually, or are paired together (like Amazing Weather and Tornado) based on topics covered. You can purchase the Lesson Guides alone, or the accompanying items. You can purchase units individually or as an entire year long curriculum. Both online and physical copy packages are available. See the website for more details.
In the units we reviewed, the main focus was weather and weather patterns. We kept a daily weather log (which in Hawaii is not all that fascinating, pretty much 80 and sunny every day), discussed vocabulary words that went with the stories we read, talked about punctuation and main idea, He learned how to read a thermometer, we discussed seasons and what types of activities are appropriate in different temperatures, we looked up average temperatures throughout the year in VA (where my mom lives, since Hawaii stays the same pretty much year round).
A lot of the student pages and other activities require quite a bit of writing, my son HATES to write (it’s a constant battle), so for we did eliminate some of these activities, or else adapted them buying doing them orally or allowing him to draw pictures.
C’s tornado picture
In the book Weather and Climate, which was included with the Amazing Weather unit, it showed how to make a Wind Rose…which we made.
As mentioned these units are designed for ages 7-9 years of age, my son is 6 (will be 7 in August) but reads at a higher level. Prerequisites for each unit are listed on each unit description, I feel they are very accurate and should be taken into consideration before purchasing. Adaptations can be made however, for instance books can be read aloud, and writing assignments done orally.
The only negative I have is that the online versions are only available for a limited time after activation, which means you don’t really OWN them, you are more or less RENTING them…for that reason I think it would be well worth the extra cost to just purchase the physical copy, especially if you are purchasing the other materials (and not getting them from the library).
The books chosen for the unit were very enjoyable, and I would assume the same is true across the board for other units.
The Amazing Weather Package can be purchased for $33.97 (or online version for $29.91). The Tornado Package can be purchased for $24.97 (or online version for $20.91). These are just a few of a wide variety of topics available for ages 7-9 ears old. Visit Moving Beyond the Page to see the other topics, and visit other Schoolhouse Review Crew blogs to see what they had to say about them!
I was wondering how the Amazing Weather and Tornado Units were. They both sound like a lot of fun. My son has a hard time with writing as well.
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