Does MTMM need the extensions to be appropriate for grade 9?
I have a daughter who will be starting grade 9 next year. We will use Missions to Modern Marvels (MTMM) with her. She is very excited about this guide! I do want to be sure it is enough for high school credit for history. Does MTMM need the extensions to be appropriate for grade 9?
Sincerely,
“Ms. Should We Add the Extensions”
Dear “Ms. Should We Add the Extensions,”
Yes, you should add the extensions so MTMM is appropriate for grade 9 history credit! That is the reason for the Extension Pack. It is meant to raise the level of the study in the guide to be able to include high school students (who are technically outside of the target age range of the guide). The extension books are chosen to show different sides of issues and situations that students are often reading about briefly in the text. This is a different experience than simply reading books for pleasure. Instead, each Extension book holds a purposeful place in the telling of history, adding many facets to the study that require the student to think and assimilate information on a higher level.
The follow-ups to the extensions also make the history appropriate for high school credit.
Additionally, we are assuming that students at the Extension level are also doing the recommended written narration/oral narration/and research follow-ups. This really raises the level of the Extension Pack and makes the student sift and sort through what was read to share about it in a Charlotte Mason way. Without doing the follow-ups, your child is missing the upped level of skills needed for a high school student in writing written narrations, giving oral narrations, and choosing topics of interest to include for research/notebooking (as described fully in the Appendix). I would consider both the readings and the follow-ups to be a necessary part of the readings at the 9th grade level.
Students with reading challenges should make modifications accordingly.
I will mention that for those students who have reading challenges, the response will differ. That is because students who have difficulties reading will flounder under the weight of more reading. In this case, perhaps some books in the Extension pack could be found as audios to listen to and some could possibly be read aloud by a parent. Others who have difficulties in the area of reading may have to omit the Extensions all together, just because school is such a challenge already without adding more. This would definitely be the exception, however.
Blessings,
Carrie
