Homeschoolers can make accommodations for struggling learners, just like they do in other school situations. If your child needs extra help learning, then you can provide that help. The important thing is that they learn! Mary had a question about how to accommodate her daughter in biology, and still determine credit.
Good Morning Lee, Thanks for the information on credits that was helpful. My daughter did biology last year and struggled. She did the first part of the book with lab work dissecting and this year she will complete biology but using it as a health book as well to learn about the human body and diseases. We will dissect a pig to see how it compares to the human body. This book is very hard to follow for her. It’s called “Biology A Search For Order In Complexity.” I only have her read, answer question and do lab work and verbally test her because she a struggling learner. Do you have an opinion on that? Thanks Lee,
~ Mary in Washington
Hi Mary,
There are two schools of thought about credit value. For some parents, a completed book is a high school credit. No matter how long (or how short) it takes a student to get through the book, when they are done it’s a credit. For that reason, you could wait until she is finished with the book, and then give her the biology credit on her transcript, putting in a completion date for the month she finished the book. On my own transcript, there were some classes that we finished mid-year, and it’s really not uncommon.
For other parents, they want their child to receive credit for the hours the child has worked. So if you daughter worked a full hour a day or biology, for the entire school year, you might decide to put “Biology 1″ or “Biology 1A” on her transcript the first year and “Biology 1B” or “Biology 2″ the second year. That’s fine too, as long as you aren’t trying to convince anyone that she learned twice as much biology as was in the textbook.
In a public school setting, and even in college, kids are sometimes given the opportunity to verbally answer questions. In a classroom setting, some of the grade may be based on class participation, in which a teacher asks questions for the student to answer. That isn’t much different from what you are doing. I think it’s a great idea to teach her in a way that makes sense, at a rate that keeps her challenged but not overwhelmed, and assess her is a way that truly demonstrates what she has learned in the subject.
Part of me wonders if the textbook isn’t a good fit for your daughter. Have you considered that? I haven’t seen the book, it just seems like that may be part of the problem.
Have you seen my article about college for struggling learners? That may encourage you!
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