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From: ehsjr on 18 Dec 2009 22:52
Friends are home-schooling their son.

I get to teach him 4th grade science: static electricity,
magnetism, complete circuits, that sort of thing. There is
a very general state provided syllabus, which I regard as
a minimum.

Any thoughts, tips, techniques, hints? I haven't taught
4th graders (9-10 years old) before, so I don't have a
feel for attention span, quickness of apprehension, how
much or how long to focus on one point or one subject
before switching to retain the interest, and a whole
host of things I probably haven't thought of.

There are propbably some great attention grabing experiments
or demos, too. I have some ideas along those lines, and
ideas from others would be helpful.

I do plan to discuss these things with the parents to get
their advice, and I will have them determine how long
each session is to run, with a +/- 5 or ten minutes so
we can complete experiments/demos/lessons scheduled
for each particular session. I'll also have them determine
how often we get together. There is plenty of flexibility
available, and I do not think I have the capability of
determining how much structure is best, so that flexibility
might be a two edged sword. Comments along that line
would also be valuable.

So, if you have ideas, I would appreciate hearing them!

Thanks,
Ed
From: Tim Wescott on 19 Dec 2009 00:34
On Fri, 18 Dec 2009 22:52:59 -0500, ehsjr wrote:

> Friends are home-schooling their son.
>
> I get to teach him 4th grade science: static electricity, magnetism,
> complete circuits, that sort of thing. There is a very general state
> provided syllabus, which I regard as a minimum.
>
> Any thoughts, tips, techniques, hints? I haven't taught 4th graders
> (9-10 years old) before, so I don't have a feel for attention span,
> quickness of apprehension, how much or how long to focus on one point or
> one subject before switching to retain the interest, and a whole host of
> things I probably haven't thought of.
>
> There are propbably some great attention grabing experiments or demos,
> too. I have some ideas along those lines, and ideas from others would
> be helpful.
>
> I do plan to discuss these things with the parents to get their advice,
> and I will have them determine how long each session is to run, with a
> +/- 5 or ten minutes so we can complete experiments/demos/lessons
> scheduled for each particular session. I'll also have them determine
> how often we get together. There is plenty of flexibility available,
> and I do not think I have the capability of determining how much
> structure is best, so that flexibility might be a two edged sword.
> Comments along that line would also be valuable.
>
> So, if you have ideas, I would appreciate hearing them!
>
> Thanks,
> Ed

Attention span, quickness of apprehension, all that, is going to vary
widely by kid, by subject, and by how interesting you are.

Fortunately you have a really good teacher/student ratio.

I'd suggest that you try to frame as much of it as you can as 'play', and
to the extent that you can (if he shows any interest at all), let him
guide it. If he says "hey, let's go throw rocks at trees', go throw
rocks at trees, and discuss Newtonian mechanics. Get some flashlight
bulbs and some batteries, and work at completing those circuits.

Expect to be disappointed, amazed, bored, dissed, admired, etc.

--
www.wescottdesign.com
From: IanM on 19 Dec 2009 02:12
Tim Wescott wrote:
> On Fri, 18 Dec 2009 22:52:59 -0500, ehsjr wrote:
>
>> Friends are home-schooling their son.
>>
>> I get to teach him 4th grade science: static electricity, magnetism,
>> complete circuits, that sort of thing. There is a very general state
>> provided syllabus, which I regard as a minimum.
>>
>> Any thoughts, tips, techniques, hints? I haven't taught 4th graders
>> (9-10 years old) before, so I don't have a feel for attention span,
>> quickness of apprehension, how much or how long to focus on one point or
>> one subject before switching to retain the interest, and a whole host of
>> things I probably haven't thought of.
>>
>> There are propbably some great attention grabing experiments or demos,
>> too. I have some ideas along those lines, and ideas from others would
>> be helpful.
>>
>> I do plan to discuss these things with the parents to get their advice,
>> and I will have them determine how long each session is to run, with a
>> +/- 5 or ten minutes so we can complete experiments/demos/lessons
>> scheduled for each particular session. I'll also have them determine
>> how often we get together. There is plenty of flexibility available,
>> and I do not think I have the capability of determining how much
>> structure is best, so that flexibility might be a two edged sword.
>> Comments along that line would also be valuable.
>>
>> So, if you have ideas, I would appreciate hearing them!
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Ed
>
> Attention span, quickness of apprehension, all that, is going to vary
> widely by kid, by subject, and by how interesting you are.
>
> Fortunately you have a really good teacher/student ratio.
>
> I'd suggest that you try to frame as much of it as you can as 'play', and
> to the extent that you can (if he shows any interest at all), let him
> guide it. If he says "hey, let's go throw rocks at trees', go throw
> rocks at trees, and discuss Newtonian mechanics. Get some flashlight
> bulbs and some batteries, and work at completing those circuits.
>
> Expect to be disappointed, amazed, bored, dissed, admired, etc.
>
By that age I was already into electronics. IIRC simple battery powered
audio and radio circuits with a couple of transistors. All
breadboarded (literally - wooden board, steel screws, brass cup
washers). I learnt to solder a couple of years later. Whether I would
have got interested in electronics after home computers arrives is
another issue.

I did a lot better in academic subjects that I needed to support my
hobby . . .

Show him some cool stuff, get him 'hooked' then explain where this
seasons lessons fit in what he will need to learn to do it himself. ;-)

Beware of attention grabbing demos. If it isn't safe enough to permit a
hands on experiment . . . . . .

--
Ian Malcolm. London, ENGLAND. (NEWSGROUP REPLY PREFERRED)
ianm[at]the[dash]malcolms[dot]freeserve[dot]co[dot]uk
[at]=@, [dash]=- & [dot]=. *Warning* HTML & >32K emails --> NUL:
From: Jim Thompson on 19 Dec 2009 10:52
On Fri, 18 Dec 2009 22:52:59 -0500, ehsjr <ehsjr(a)nospamverizon.net>
wrote:

>Friends are home-schooling their son.
>
>I get to teach him 4th grade science: static electricity,
>magnetism, complete circuits, that sort of thing. There is
>a very general state provided syllabus, which I regard as
>a minimum.
>
>Any thoughts, tips, techniques, hints? I haven't taught
>4th graders (9-10 years old) before, so I don't have a
>feel for attention span, quickness of apprehension, how
>much or how long to focus on one point or one subject
>before switching to retain the interest, and a whole
>host of things I probably haven't thought of.
>
>There are propbably some great attention grabing experiments
>or demos, too. I have some ideas along those lines, and
>ideas from others would be helpful.
>
>I do plan to discuss these things with the parents to get
>their advice, and I will have them determine how long
>each session is to run, with a +/- 5 or ten minutes so
>we can complete experiments/demos/lessons scheduled
>for each particular session. I'll also have them determine
>how often we get together. There is plenty of flexibility
>available, and I do not think I have the capability of
>determining how much structure is best, so that flexibility
>might be a two edged sword. Comments along that line
>would also be valuable.
>
>So, if you have ideas, I would appreciate hearing them!
>
>Thanks,
>Ed

Be entertaining, otherwise you will lose his attention.

...Jim Thompson
--
| James E.Thompson, CTO | mens |
| Analog Innovations, Inc. | et |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus |
| Phoenix, Arizona 85048 Skype: Contacts Only | |
| Voice:(480)460-2350 Fax: Available upon request | Brass Rat |
| E-mail Icon at http://www.analog-innovations.com | 1962 |

Help save the environment!
Please dispose of socialism properly!
From: krw on 19 Dec 2009 11:34
On Sat, 19 Dec 2009 08:52:25 -0700, Jim Thompson
<To-Email-Use-The-Envelope-Icon(a)My-Web-Site.com/Snicker> wrote:

>On Fri, 18 Dec 2009 22:52:59 -0500, ehsjr <ehsjr(a)nospamverizon.net>
>wrote:
>
>>Friends are home-schooling their son.
>>
>>I get to teach him 4th grade science: static electricity,
>>magnetism, complete circuits, that sort of thing. There is
>>a very general state provided syllabus, which I regard as
>>a minimum.
>>
>>Any thoughts, tips, techniques, hints? I haven't taught
>>4th graders (9-10 years old) before, so I don't have a
>>feel for attention span, quickness of apprehension, how
>>much or how long to focus on one point or one subject
>>before switching to retain the interest, and a whole
>>host of things I probably haven't thought of.
>>
>>There are propbably some great attention grabing experiments
>>or demos, too. I have some ideas along those lines, and
>>ideas from others would be helpful.
>>
>>I do plan to discuss these things with the parents to get
>>their advice, and I will have them determine how long
>>each session is to run, with a +/- 5 or ten minutes so
>>we can complete experiments/demos/lessons scheduled
>>for each particular session. I'll also have them determine
>>how often we get together. There is plenty of flexibility
>>available, and I do not think I have the capability of
>>determining how much structure is best, so that flexibility
>>might be a two edged sword. Comments along that line
>>would also be valuable.
>>
>>So, if you have ideas, I would appreciate hearing them!
>>
>>Thanks,
>>Ed
>
>Be entertaining, otherwise you will lose his attention.

Fortunately, at that age they're pretty easy to entertain unless
they've already been dumbed down by the public schools.
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