Teaching Tips

Course Studies
Video Tutorials and PowerPoint Presentations
From Theory to Practice

Course Studies

Our course studies are a combination of different types of presentations which can be used by students from Pre-K through College. They consist of Study Units, Diagram Activities, Classification Lines, Interactive Programs and Descriptive Writing Activities, as well as online activities at Quia.com. Although some of the items can be purchased individually, we have grouped them in appropriate courses. Templates for making your own activities are included in most of the courses. Download the description of the Vertebrate Class CD .

Course components are:

• Study Units: an extension of the Montessori 3-part card concept. In addition to the three-part cards (picture, labeled picture, and label), our study units have the definitions or descriptions of the parts of the item being studied, and a booklet with names, pictures, and definitions which younger children can complete. By having a number of study units available in the same general topic, you and your students can choose units that are appropriate for their age and academic ability. Older students may make their own study units using the templates included on the CD.

• Diagram Activities: correspond to "pin maps" used in geography classes in Montessori schools. They help students place names, definitions and/or descriptions on a diagram of the item being studied. Older students should be encouraged to make additional diagram activities using the templates furnished with the course.

• Classification Lines: correlate with the study units and provide students with an easy, visual method of classifying animals. Use magazines such as National Geographic, or Audubon Pocket Guides as a source for picture cards. Young students can match these picture cards to the appropriate sections on the classification lines. Older students can find the pictures, and make their additional classification lines of some of the sub-categories. These classification lines are particularly helpful to students studying Biology and Life Science at the High School and College level.

• Interactive Programs and Activities: help students to review and learn the material in a visual-kinesthetic environment which is self-correcting and seldom requires parent/teacher assistance. In addition to the interactive programs on the CD, the activities and quizzes at Quia.com help you to track your students' prograss.

• Descriptive Writing Activities: teach the students to use a template to start their paragraph. A Windows Media tutorial (4 sessions) is included on the disk to help students, parents, and teachers use the process effectively.

To see descriptions of all the courses currently available, click on the Senari Academy button on the left.

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Video Tutorials and PowerPoint Presentations

We hope these downloadable tutorials will help you in your homeschool and/or classroom endeavors. The authors would appreciate your comments. A CD with all of our tutorials and demos is included with the purchase of any of our CD products.

• Slope and Equation of a Line is a tutorial correlated to our Graphing Manipulatives. It is appropriate for any Algebra 1 course or textbook. Other tutorials on the Tutorial/Demo CD are Parabolas and Systems of Equations.

• The Make It Math presentation demonstrates how to create self-correcting math worksheets, problem strips, and individual problems from your worksheets. The objective is to help you and your students become independent learners.

• The screencast Using Study Units describes the use of our study units in a variety of ways for students of different ages.

• The Phonics and Spelling tutorial is designed to help parents and teachers use the Writing Road to Reading for teaching phonics as well as for teaching spelling to older students.

• The Mountain Ranges Worksheet video shows you how your students should use the worksheet materials in our World Geography Course. The worksheet and chart used in the demonstration are available upon request.

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This year my grandchildren are taking over some aspects of the website and development of educational software materials. It is wonderful to see them transition from students to teachers!

• Michael (age 9) has been supplementing his study of Geometry by making study units for Polygons, Quadrilaterals, Circles, Congruent Triangles, and Parallel Lines. If you would like any of them, please send your request to him using the contact link on our home page.

• Daniel and David (ages 16 and 14) have made the Leaves study units and accompanying interactive programs as well as the interactive programs for the Vertebrates Course. They are located on the Science Page.
  
  Their current projects are interactive programs for the Microbiology Course and a Dissection Course with study units, diagram activities and interactive programs.

• Mary (age 11) is reviewing the Algebra and Geometry products as a part of her home-schooling math this year. In addition she fills orders, handles Customer Service and helps to update our web pages.

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