BJU Press Versus ABeka Curriculum General Approach A Beka The Abeka curriculum is known for its successful early reading program, teacher directed, moral and biblical teaching. BJU Comprehension-based learning, the importance of the teacher’s role, and biblical integration (more on that BJU It is an intensive (or synthetic) phonics approach (learning letter names, sounds, blends, words) with the focus first on learning to read (K–2) and then on reading to learn. BJU Press Language Arts program school education focuses on the building blocks for reading and writing. The Abeka Difference As students begin to grasp what's being taught, newly acquired concepts and skills are fortified time and again using a method often referred to as spiral learning. Finally, students' growing mastery of subject matter is strengthened because of the comprehensive design of our curriculum. History\Foundation Produced by Florida Fundamentalists founded in 1974 by two graduates of Bob Jones University, Arlin and Beka [Rebekah] Horton Philosophy Christian Protestant, and the material is quite patriotic (American) Pedagogy Traditional pedagogy Emphasis in conceptual learning (rote memorization of facts and repetitive drill) Reliance on Phonics, memorization, and authoritarian culture. Core Because Abeka has historically met or exceeded recommended content standards, it is not surprising that when compared to current CCSS, the Abeka language arts and mathematics objectives were found to already meet almost all Common Core content standards. Material and Resouces Carefully prepared educational material. The content is written in a student-friendly design with professional, colorful illustrations, and it written with from a thoughtful, Biblical perspective. A blend of mastery and spiral learning. Believe that building a strong vocabulary, teaching literary techniques with Biblical content, and exposing the student to a variety of cultures will result in an effective writer, critical thinker, and communicator. Produced by fundamentalist educators. Phil Smith, Walter Fremont Christian Protestant Rely on Bloom´s Taxonomy as a guide to improving teaching. BJU approach several ideas shared by secular educators. Differentiating instruction to meet the needs of students (Diverse group of learners) BJU Press is not changing any of its materials in order to be compliant with Common Core State Standards. As a publisher well known for maintaining excellent academics, BJU Press continually reviews all educational standards, state and national. BJU Press (Bob Jones) Homeschool Curriculum provides schools with easyto-implement, rigorous, and biblicallycentered textbooks for grades Prek-12. More user-friendly than ABeka's BJU Press Versus ABeka Curriculum Teacher Role AssignmentsActivities Grammar – Language Arts Abeka Academy's material provide lots of drill and review to help children memorize facts. A Beka repetitive drills promise greater academic success. Evoke a higher order of thinking (Critical thinking skills over facts) Very limited in fact review and drills in the younger grades, so you will need to supplement a good blend of mastery and spiral learning. More Advanced designed materials and labor intensive materials BJU teachers' materials are much easier Uses a multitude of tools like workbooks, textbooks, readers and novels, flashcards, charts Teachers are important, but is the methods used that will give fantastic results Teachers simply implement A Beka´s predetermined curriculum. Teachers can be replaced or substituted without loss of valuable teaching time. Very few teaching resources compared to ABeka Reliance on carefully prepared teachers. Necessity of Empowering a well-trained faculty Encourage teachers to engage students into thoughtful discussions and to be flexible so you can seize ¨the teachable moments¨ Encourage teachers to make learning purposeful solve real life problems More labor-intensive activities and assignments. Assignments are manageable, require less time BJU, on the other hand, treats grammar and writing as an extension of each other. A grammar skill is taught in one unit, reviewed for several days, and then emphasized in a week-long (or several lessons-long) writing unit that follows. In addition, students are taught many different forms and styles of writing...from technical writing such as business letters and short research papers to fictional writing such as tall tales and narrative fiction stories. The writing process is broken down into tangible, smaller increments in order to make the entire endeavor more do-able for a novice writer. ABeka approaches writing as a completely separate subject throughout the elementary grades. It does not infuse writing and grammar into one cohesive whole. In other words, their language program from third grade until around ninth grade simply lacks a suitable writing component and does not afford a child the natural practice needed to become an effective writer. Source: https://www.abeka.com/AbekaDifference.aspx https://www.bjupress.com/ https://www.theunlikelyhomeschool.com/ BJU Press Versus ABeka Curriculum Reviews Pros: Simple Language Cons: Not always Factual Pros: easy of use, engaging videos, customizable Cons: some videos need to be updated Pros: Price Cons: Curriculum too easy Pros: lots of material Cons: disorganized, inconsistent, doesn't live up to their own expectations Cons: expensive, poorly proofread, very disorganized Grades Used: 11 Pros: Less work . Reduces stress allows parent to multitask. Thorough. fun Cons: Expensive Pros: cute illustrations, good stories Cons: ineffective way to teach reading, math not very advanced Pros: Great 10th grade math, and gets you ready for SAT's and college Cons: Too much work, it's hard to keep up with. To strict answers at times. Pros: Easy to follow teacher plans, videos to help teach, advanced work, spiral technique Cons: A lot of seat work, kids answer way to fast in videos Pros: Very educational, good teachings, biblical. Cons: TOO much work. An excessive amount of tests of different varieties and quizzes of different varieties. Homework as well a lot of head aching work. Pros: Starting in K, the kids are reading like 3rd graders in public school. Great education in every subject. Provides excellent baseline for academic excellence. Cons: No Cons; Start your child in K and you will never be sorry.
