BookShark Methodology

BookShark combines a proprietary History, Science, and Language Arts program with a range of math options, including Math-U-See, Saxon, Singapore, and RightStart, to ensure you have everything you need for an entire school year—36 weeks.

BookShark not only builds your children academically; BookShark also fosters close family bonds! As a literature-based program, parents enjoy time alongside their children, reading and then discussing great books.

Levels Not Grades

BookShark uses levels based on age ranges instead of a rigid grade system. We use flexible levels because kids mature at different rates. When you choose a homeschool curriculum to match your children (instead of forcing them into a particular grade level), they can blossom at their own natural pace!

Another perk of levels instead of grades--if your children are within in three years of age, you be able to combine them in a single Reading with History program and customize the Math and Language Arts according to their level. (Read more in the Guide to Choosing.)

Instructor's Guides Make it Easy to Teach

Thanks to the Instructor’s Guides (IGs), BookShark curriculum is easy for parents to teach. All of the planning and preparation is done for you so you can enjoy learning together. Every program is scheduled for 4 days each week, leaving your fifth day for sports, field trips, co-op, or other extracurricular activities.

Once you understand the flow of your IG, your weekly Sunday night preparation will be a breeze. Many moms simply open and go on Monday morning because they don’t even need any Sunday night prep. (See IG samples here.)

Access your lesson plans anywhere with the digital version of your Instructor Guides. Online guides (12 month access) are included with the purchase of any print guide! (Learn more and see a demo here.)

History

Through BookShark's Reading with History program, students learn from multiple perspectives and engage in thought-provoking discussion. We use a variety of academic resources including fictional and non-fictional literature, biographies and illustrative books to deliver an engaging and complete education.

Starting in Level 3, we bring the history content to life by integrating History, Geography, Read-Alouds and Readers, all of which also coordinate with the Language Arts program of the same level.

Through BookShark’s integrated curriculum, your child will make lasting connections between the people, places and events they encounter in the scheduled books. For families who want even more evidence of learning, our hands-on extras add another layer of interacting with the content and demonstrating understanding.

Language Arts

BookShark Language Arts teaches reading, phonics, spelling, copywork, creative expression and writing mechanics. Thanks to weekly overviews and teacher scripts, your Language Arts Instructor's Guide shows you exactly what to teach and how to teach it. And with weekly rubrics, you have confidence that your students are mastering concepts as they progress through the school year. (Download a Language Arts IG Sample here.)

Language Arts for Levels K - 2

When teaching Levels K, 1, or 2 (Reading with History or All-Subject Packages), you have multiple Language Arts options. This selection offers you flexibility to combine children in a single History Level while customizing Language Arts to each child's reading and writing level.

Language Arts for Levels 3 and Above

Starting in Level 3, Language Arts integrates directly with the History content (either in a Reading with History or All-Subject Package). For example, a student studying Thomas Jefferson in History, will also read a biography about Thomas Jefferson as a Reader assignment while writing an editorial about the Lewis and Clark expedition.

Science

BookShark’s Science curriculum combines a hands-on and literature based approach that is engaging and fun! Students will focus on three to four topics per year and gain in-depth knowledge of subjects including Geology, Meteorology, Physics, Biology, Animals, Electricity, Human Anatomy, Chemistry, Astronomy and more!

Loaded with scores of hands-on experiments, our program is completely planned and our Science Kits provide nearly all the materials you need to conduct all of the experiments. (Download Science IG samples here.)

Science Levels K through 4 include an enjoyable DVD that demonstrates every experiment, allowing your student to relive them over and over again!