Showing Progress - especially for QLD and WA but useful for other States too!

In Queensland and WA particularly, you are required to show progress using samples. We suggest you aim to keep comments and photos about your child’s work in the Lesson Activity Comments so that when you choose your Report Samples, you will have comments that you made at the time. With Premium Membership your student/s can also add in their own comments and photos and you can quickly and easily create  Reports for any Core Programs or Just Good Books. These Reports can be submitted to HEU in QLD or the Moderator in WA. 

Tips for Report Samples as below:

1. We sometimes suggest particular lessons to keep samples, but you are not limited to this. Many lessons/activities will provide possible samples.
2. You can take photos of samples when you are ready to create your report.
3. Keep the bar low - it's very tempting to send your child's best work to show progress, but this can actually put unnecessary pressure on you and your child in the future to produce something even more fabulous. Send only regular daily work that shows real and solid (slow but steady) progress rather than moments of brilliance!
4. When you make comments in Lesson Activities, consider the following types of comments:

• Strategies
  • (Name) counted all the separate squares for this activity. He had not realised that he could use multiplication to solve this type of problem. We discussed this strategy today.
  • (Name) copied these words from (book). He copied one letter at a time.
  • The sample from (date) shows that (name) was using base 10 blocks to calculate addition. This sample demonstrates that she is now able to add easily using trading.
  • (Name) wrote this shopping list independently, using spelling rules she has learned.
• Skills
  • (Name) copied these letters from the alphabet chart. He is not forming each letter correctly.
  • (Name) completed these questions independently using addition and subtraction with trading.
  • (Name) shows an ability to perceive and represent perspective in this artwork.
• Understanding
  • (Name) explained to me 'quote' and asked 'quote'.
  • Record comments and questions on small pieces of coloured paper during investigations and then glue them into your Lapbook.
  • If you are in QLD, write comments onto white paper to keep for showing progress, then copy your notes onto coloured paper and cut up to arrange into your Lapbook with the activity. Ask your child to complete the activity on a sheet of paper. Colour photocopy their page for their Lapbook and keep the original for showing progress.
• Complexity
  • (Name) is learning her multiplication facts for the 9x tables.
  • The sample from (date) shows that (name) was learning his 6x tables. This sample demonstrates that he is now able to solve word problems involving long multiplication.
• Time
  • These questions took 25m for (name) to complete.
  • The sample from (date) took (name) about 30 minutes to complete because she was working very slowly through each step. She completed questions 22-25 in about 15 minutes, demonstrating that her problem-solving skills are now much more efficient and so she is not getting distracted and losing focus nearly so regularly.
• Accuracy
  • correct sample
  • 5/12 correct
  • 97%
• Confidence
  • (Name) required my constant attention to work through this page.
  • He completed this revision almost independently, only asking for assurance on three occasions that he was 'doing the right thing'.

In QLD you will be required to send at least two samples for three subjects. The two samples need to be three to six months apart. One of the easiest ways to collect these samples is to ask your child to do the final project from a Core Program BEFORE they do the Core. This provides your base sample. Then you can use the activities throughout the Core to show how you taught these skills and then the final product to compare as the end sample.

In NSW you can just keep your Lapbook and Messy Book. If you want something more structured, you can use the Simply Homeschool Core Program Reports or tick off the outcomes achieved each term. We provide this method on your Registration Document.