Making the Grade - How to Study at the College Level: A Bentz Bunch Review

Making the Grade - How to Study at the College Level- by Mark Pruitt


What is the hardest thing about college?  Right - the studying part... Are your students ready?  Making the Grade -How to Study at the College Level by Mark Pruitt gives you the tools you need to make sure they have developed the study skills they will need.

Mark Pruitt is the Associate Director of Admissions at Harding University.  He has written this study skills program to help your college students develop great study skill and  "dominate" their college classes with excellent study skills.

The Course consists of three components: 

• The Book - a 200 + page, softcover guide.
• The Student Workbook - 10 days of lessons with worksheets, quizzes, and a final exam
• The DVD - 3 sections.

Let me tell you about each part.  First, the book.  It's really much more than just how to develop great study habits, it's also filled with inspiration on time management and college life skills! A perfect book for your high school or college age student to read.  Mark's book is written directly to the student, broken down into short, easy lessons.  Each short chapter is actually a lesson.  Some lessons are only a page long, making this an easy addition to your student's schedule.  

The basic study skills program is a 4 step system (you'll have to buy the program to learn them).  What I love is how this author relates to students.  His experience with college students shows through in his writing.  Now that I have 2 college students myself, I relate!

The section on time management s filled with bits of wisdom for students.  From daily naps to "spontaneity kills"  these chapters will help your student with practical steps to getting control of their most precious resource and defeating common "time bombs" of stress and discouragement.

The final section - "Pruitt's Course on College Life" is my favorite.  It's basically a pep talk for college - what to expect, how to succeed and an honest look at some "dos" and "don'ts".

The Workbook is a companion with both student and teacher sections.  It takes the lessons in the book and creates a 10 day, self-paced study course with the book and DVD .  This should be a required course for your high school students that are heading off to college! 

The focus is on learning to take great notes, write papers, read effectively, take tests, turn in great projects, manage time, and generally have a great college experience.

The DVD is broken into 3 sections:  How to "Dominate your College Classes", "How to take Great Notes" and "How to Manage your Time so you can have a life".  Mark teaches directly to the student on these recorded lessons.  I enjoyed watching him myself, it's a great introduction to college style learning!

Overall, I was genuinely impressed with Making the Grade.  My two oldest are current college students.  I asked them to read it, and watch some of the teaching.  They both agreed it was filled with practical tips they could easily implement.  Their first semester grades reflected what they had learned... both have 4.0 GPA and made the Provost's List!  

I highly recommend Making the Grade!  It's practical and easy-to-use.  Mark Pruitt generously shares his years of wisdom with your student, it's like getting a personal college counselor.  I think, this book would also make a great graduation gift for those Seniors in your life. If you have students heading off to college, do them a favor and buy them this program!

Disclaimer:

I was given a complimentary copy in exchange for my honest opinion.  All opinions expressed are my own.

Byline from Clear Water Press: A Bentz Bunch Review

 Byline  from Clear Water Press

Byline is an exciting new writing curriculum from Clear Water Press for students in 8-12th grades.  This video-taught curriculum will have your students exploring history and journalism by becoming "chronojournalists" for a 1930's era newspaper and "Giving yesterday's news today".



Along their journey they will learn the art of essay writing, journalism, note-taking, history and plenty of critical thinking skills while earning a full high school English credit, and a .5 History credit (with a few extra assignments)!

The program contains 72 video lessons that are available on DVD or can be streamed from your internet ready device. Each lesson is about 15-20 minutes long, and you can complete the program in a school year by watching 3 lessons per week. You can Watch Sample Lessons » to see for yourself.

The video lessons work together with The Training Manual.  The Training Manual contains lessons and 22 writing projects that correspond with the videos plus additional articles for the student to read to expand their knowledge.  Your student will learn the art of essay writing in • Expository• Descriptive • Persuasive , & • Narrative styles.

The Reporter's Notebook and 2 printed newspapers round out the student portion of the program.

•  The Reporter's Notebook is a spiral bound notebook that is designed to be used by the student.  It helps reinforce the lessons, and encourages them to hone their observation skills.

• The Newspapers - The Retro Metro and The Metropolitan World are included to inspire your students and provide examples of journalism.   

The Teacher's Guide contains everything you need to help your student.  Grading and evaluation, assigned readings, weekly lesson guides, and unit tests and answer keys.

The entire program is broken down into 4-week units that focus on teaching the "six serving men" of Who, What, When, Where, Why and How.

During the year, they will get a chance to explore both journalism and history.  This was our favorite part of the program!  Here a several of the famous personalities we were introduced to:



• Rudyard Kipling
• Mark Twain
• Nellie Bly
• Ernest Hemingway
• Jacob Riis
• James Connolly
• H. L. Mencken
• Jack London
• Joseph Pulitzer
• Damon Runyon
• Lincoln Steffens
• Ida Tarbell
• Ray Stannard Baker
• Grantland Rice
• Russell B. Porter
• Mary Ann Shadd
• William Allen White
• Richard Harding Davis



We used Byline with our high school Co-op.  We had 12 students, grades 9-12th.  It was a great fit for our various ages and grades. If your are looking for a writing program that will inspire your students to want to write, Byline is it.  Our students were ready to be challenged, but not by another checklist.

While this program can be used independently, it works very well in a group setting.  Our students occasionally watched the teaching videos together with the DVD, and occasionally streamed them during outside class time. Coop licenses are available from Clear Water Press.  One benefit of using Byline in our Coop was the opportunity for our students to peer review each other's writing.  We even created our very own "PEACE Pulitzer" prize.

The students loved the historical material included in Byline.  Some of the writing projects included essays on Irena Sendler, the Hindenburg, and Nelly Bly.  Our students really enjoyed exploring the lesser-known events in history. A friend, who is a college journalism professor, was impressed as I told him about Byline.  He told me he, "never gets freshman who knows who Nellie Bly was!"

Many writing assignments were more journalism-themed with various writing projects like scenic leads,  hyberbolic warnings (a class favorite to share),  orchestra reviews, and muckraking.  Our students learned to spot biases and propaganda, a very useful skill for everyday life.

By the time your student completes the program, they will have written over 9,000 words!  If you have a younger student, flex-assignments are included that you can customize to their level.

The videos were very professionally done.  Daniel Schwabauer teaches in a relaxed, easy-to-understand way as their "editor-in-chief".  Along the way, the students get the chance to meet Madge Whitherspoon, the "owner" of the newspaper they are writing for.  Mr. S has put care into creating videos that are not only educational, but also entertaining with attention to every detail!

One of the benefits from Byline was that our students starting reading and evaluating news differently.  My students starting to notice propaganda in new ways.  Not only did they improve their writing skills, they improved their thinking skills!

Daniel Schwabauer is an entertaining and knowledgeable teacher. He varies his approaches in the video lessons, and keeps their interest captured throughout the program.

Byline is so much fun, they don't even realize it's a writing program....shhh - don't tell them!  I guarantee your students will learn a lot and have fun doing it with Byline.


Be sure to check out other products from Clear Water Press:

One Year Adventure Novel - 9-12th grades.  We've done this one too!  Your students write their own adventure novel.

Cover Story - 6-8th grades.  We're doing this one this year!  Students create their own magazine.

Disclaimer: 
I was given a complimentary copy in exchange for my honest and personal opinion.  

Heroes, Heroines, and Tales of Ancient History Digital Version : A Mom of Many Review

Heroes, Heroines, and Tales of Ancient History Digital Version

Bentz Test Academy loves hands-on history - according to Amy Puetz from Golden Prairie Press - "To really understand what life was like years ago, history must go beyond words on a page. Recipes must be cooked, games must be played, historical art must be examined, and crafts must be done." We couldn't agree more!

Heroes, Heroines, and Tales of Ancient History  brings  ancient history to life.


 This package includes:

• Heroes, Heroines, and Tales of Ancient History Part 1 - 75 Lessons for the first half of the year.
• Heroes, Heroines, and Tales of Ancient History Part 2 - 75 Lessons for the second half of the year. 
• Additional Materials CD - This CD has supplemental materials. There are printable timelines, a video, color artwork, audio pronunciations, and much more. 
• Historical Skits - Performing historical skits is a great way to bring history to life. View a sample.
• Sing Some Ancient History CD - This CD contains the songs mentioned in the books. Listen to a sample.
• Listen to Some Ancient History MP3 CD - An audio collection of original speeches, letters, and documents that are mentioned in the books. Listen to a sample.

This is a full 30 week history curriculum.  I was able to preview the downloadable version.  It is divided into 2 parts.  These are HUGE PDF files. I was very impressed with it, so I went ahead and printed out Part 1 and put it into a 3 ring binder.   I like being able to page through a book, rather than scroll :-). You could also use this on your eReader as well. View the table of contents and sample pages.  The lessons are beautifully done,  with full color art and scripture throughout.

This is a very rich curriculum, but easy to open and jump in. There is a beginner section for first and second grades and a more advanced section for third through sixth grades. Included in the text are activities that go along with each lesson: 

• Examining Historical Art
• Games of the Past
• Cook Up Some History
• Sing Some Ancient History
• Listen to Some Ancient History
• Crafts
• Experiments

Weeks are broken into 5 manageable lessons, approx.  30-60 minute each.  You can easily adapt this curriculum to fit your child, include multiple ages and grades too. I think it would be a perfect curriculum for Co-op classes as well.

In addition, writing prompts and comprehension questions are included for you to ensure your student is retaining the information.  Maps and geography lessons are woven in too. I have always found that learning by doing is the best way to make the lessons stick.

This is exactly how we like to do history - by experiencing it. Recipes, games and crafts create a permanent impression on my children. We never forget what we eat, play or create!

Several of the Ancient Historical Skits need only 2-3 performers. My testers loved acting out a skit, rather than just memorizing dates.  The 10 skits included are from the time of ancient Greece and the Early Christian era (more are coming in 2016). They will remember the interactions between the historical characters so much better when they get to "become" the character!

The audio CD's make the perfect companion for your car time. You can listen to the music, hear speeches and more. 

Also available as an online class
Digital edition, also available in a printed edition




I can't say enough about this history - you will want to check it out for yourself!  Don't just read about history this year,  EXPERIENCE it!

Disclaimer

I recieved a free copy of this product in exchange for my honest opinion.  I am disclosing in accordance with FCC regulations.  All comments are my own.

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Shutterfly

Have I mentioned Shutterfly?

I have to let you know that I have been using them to upload/store/print all my digital photos for the last 4-5 years, and they are great! So easy, so fast, and so much fun.

In addition, I use them for our Holiday cards... get yours here -
http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-cards
They have dozens of fun designs - you add the picture and personalize!

I also create a Family Calendar for Grandma - you can too at -
http://www.shutterfly.com/calendars/desk-calendars (personal tip - make it a birthday present instead of the Christmas gift, and you will save yourself headaches!)

And, many more gift ideas are available -
http://www.shutterfly.com/photo-gifts/photo-mugs (shhh... don't tell Matt - but this may be a stocking stuffer...)

Also, they have a great promotion for Bloggers to get 50 Free Christmas cards, check it out! http://bit.ly/sfly2010