Christian Studies II curriculum problems.

[chaellabird]

I used CSI last year with my 4th grader and we enjoyed the series. This year we are using CSII and have encountered some frustration with the material. It just doesn't seem to be the same quality as we expected from the first book. Here are the following differences and problems we've encountered:

1) Each lesson references on (say question #7 or so) geography locations for that unit. Almost every lesson has locations to find/memorize that are not on that unit's map...and often, not on any map in the book. ARe we supposed to have some other source for maps besides the book..and if so...are these available from Memoria Press? This has made the geographical portion of this text less than desirable as well as frustrating. I must cross out locations for each lesson that my child will not be able to locate! Many of the cities/places would be beneficial to learn...if we only had the maps accurate to allow this. We did not have this inconsistancy in book I.

2) The test format has changed from book I. In book I, the unit test would include a facts to know "fill-in" section, a vocabulary match-up, the mapwork, and comprehension type questions. While this information is included in the review lesson in book II, the test over the unit only includes one page of comprehension questions (we add the map). We have been very dissappointed with this change and would like to see the test format the same throughout all the books. For my child, to go to the work of learning vocabulary and facts to know without ever seeing it on the test seems a waste. It essentially says that the information is not that important to retain.

3) The learning the OT books with their divisions and subtitles is completely dropped from book II (there is review of the names but not subtitles)...and there are no subtitles suggested for the minor prophets. We really enjoyed this is book I and found it very beneficial for getting a theme to remember the books by. We wish this had been continued in book II.

We are very concerned about whether we will continue with CSIII next year, because we don't know what to expect! I would like to assume that the format of the information/etc. would all be the same, but after encountering the problems this year...we might be shocked with what we see in the next book!

[tanya]

Thank you for your comments on CSII. You are absolutely right that there are problems with this book and, honestly, you will find the same kinds of problems with the 3rd book. CSII and CSIII are first editions and we are working to bring them in-line with CSI. Your comments are a valuable help to us, and I apologize for your frustration. But if you would be willing to continue working within this curriculum, adjusting it as you need to in order to meet your needs now, I would like to offer you a free CSIII guide w/teacher to use next year, and to critique for us.
I taught for several years using CSIII and ended up picking and choosing the parts of the book that worked for me. Sometimes, I even used the Review Lessons as open-book tests and skipped the tests in the back. I understand your frustration with the tests not appearing to be connected with the reviews.
I'm sorry this is taking us so long to correct, but you can't imagine how time-consuming a project like this is. Your comments will be helpful to us as we work, and we would really appreciate your willingness to use CSIII in its imperfect format also. Why don't you email me with your thoughts about this? My address is tanya@memoriapress.com.