It’s time to talk about samples! Each Learning Period, your teacher will collect a sample that demonstrates your student’s best work in a specific subject. In part 1 of Preparing for Your Year I suggested that as you’re breaking up your year, you should take samples into consideration and plan for them. Let’s talk about how to do that!

What is a sample?

Each learning period (approximately 20 school days), we are required to turn in a sample of each student’s work. For TK – 8^th grade, one core subject (Math, Language Arts, Science, and Social Studies) will need to be turned in each LP. Each subject will be turned in twice during the year, making 8 samples total. Exactly which subject and when it’s turned in will come from your teacher. For High School, a sample from each class listed on the Master Agreement (MA) will be turned in each learning period.

Why do we do this?

Each of the schools that are part of the Sequoia Grove Charter Alliance have their own charter—permission from the state of California to function. As part of this agreement, the schools have a responsibility to show that the students enrolled are, in fact, learning. The schools need to show that the state funds they receive are put to good use and the children in their care are receiving a good education. There are two primary methods used to demonstrate this: testing and samples.

Before I get into the nuts and bolts about how to produce a good sample, I’d like to share a little of my own journey about my understanding of samples and my attitude toward them. If you, like me, appreciate the freedom of homeschooling and chaff against the accountability aspect of belonging to a charter, perhaps it will help you have an easier time with this responsibility.

Our family lived overseas in a developing country for many years. Our schooling options were limited, so I homeschooled. I was completely independent (and lonely!). There was no accountability, but also no help. I had to evaluate all of my curriculum options online and didn’t have other families to share with or discuss ideas. There was no switching curriculum mid-year, because nothing was available locally—not even a library! This experience toughened me up as a homeschool parent but also left us wishing for more opportunity for sharing, classes, field trips, music lessons, and more.

When we came back to the States in 2019, we thought it was temporary. For the months that we were going to be here, we decided to enroll in a charter school so we’d be legal, and hey, free money for field trips! But then I was asked for samples of my kids’ work. That felt invasive. That felt like somebody out there didn’t trust me to do what I’d been doing for years. I had a terrible attitude. I turned in my samples, but I wasn’t happy about it.

Why am I telling you all this? Because here’s what I realized. I have enrolled my children in a school. A public school. When my children and I signed the master agreement, we signed a contract that we will abide by the rules that come with those funds. I will provide the school with evidence of learning; they will provide me with the materials I need to educate my children at home in ways that our family budget wouldn’t allow otherwise. And I get to choose those materials! I get to choose the schedule, the activities, and the focus. The more cooperative we all are, the less ammunition those who would fight the charter school system have to argue that it’s a waste of money.

In short, I have had an attitude change. I have the privilege of belonging to a large group of like-minded homeschoolers with lots of resources and staff who are ready to help and advise me. My responsibility is to use it wisely and give evidence that this method is effective. Do I enjoy putting samples together? Not particularly. But that’s ok. I can do it anyway and do it on time and correctly so that I’m not a burden to my teacher. After all, she’s also a homeschool mom trying to do her job well and be helpful to me.

I’ve also come to realize how much easier it is to get samples done when I have planned ahead. I know that I will need to provide 8 samples throughout the year. When I am ready for that, it’s so much easier. When you meet with your teacher, you’ll discuss which samples will be collected each LP (learning period).

What do I have to do?

Now that we’re ready to prepare our samples, let’s get down to the nuts and bolts. The fact is, it’s a simple process. Here’s a basic list of what is required:

• Samples must:

  • be original student work and from a non-religious publisher.

  • be neat and easy to read, including scanned copies.

  • include both questions and answers.

  • handwritten samples must have a handwritten name/date

  • On the top, each sample needs:

    1. the student's first and last name (written by the student if able)

    2. be dated within the requested learning period (month/day/year).

    3. The subject and grade level (for example, Science 3)

    4. An evaluation or grade (happy face for lower grades, percentage or letter grade for upper grades)

That’s it! Now we can talk about what to choose as a sample, and how to turn them in. I want to preface this next part by saying that every teacher has nuances as to what they request, and it can vary by the needs of individual families. I am simply here to help you understand the process and help you with some ideas. Your teacher gets the final say.

How do I put a good sample together?

The simplest way to choose a sample is to choose a worksheet, a story, or a report your child has written. Have your child write his or her name and date, and you’re done. But there are lots of other options through a photo sample.

Photo samples can be a great way to show learning activities. This gives you the opportunity to display all of the non-traditional ways of teaching and learning that we homeschoolers value so highly. A photo sample is simply that—take a picture of a child doing an activity or something they’ve made and then the child either describes what it is they’ve learned or answers some questions about it. You can use the photo sample template or create your own.

Things you can take pictures of:

• Science experiments

• Gardening

• Craft that support a social studies lesson

• A child working on the computer doing a math lesson

• A field trip

• Nature finds

If you are struggling to come up with an idea for a sample, ask yourself, “What are three things we’ve learned recently?” Think through what you’ve read, what educational TV you’ve watched, what places you’ve visited, or what your children have helped you do around the house.

If you are not usually tied down to a particular curriculum, consider putting a calendar in a handy spot to jot down what you do throughout the day—books, games, news, etc. Using your school planner to record rather than plan is also an option! You will have a great reference of all the learning activities that you have done when it’s time for a sample.

Maybe you are struggling with a sample for high school literature. Google the book your student has been reading. For instance, “Scarlet Letter questions” and choose 5 for them to answer. They can type the questions and answers and turn in a great sample!

BrainPop, TeachersPayTeachers, Twinkl, and lots of other websites have helpful options for looking up something you are learning about and helping you put it on paper as a sample. Our family does literature-based history. That can sometimes make coming up with a Social Studies sample challenging. Last year, my son studied ancient history. We were able to find a worksheet about the pyramids to reinforce what he had already been learning about the ancient Egyptians.

Again, all of this will flow naturally out of your school if you remember to plan ahead for it. Has your teacher asked for a science sample for LP 2? Look at your science book or planner. What will you be doing then? What would make for a great sample? Make a note to yourself and you won’t have to worry about it when the time comes.

Do your older students resist samples? Since high school students have to produce a packet of work for each learning period, it’s really important to have their cooperation. Perhaps it would be helpful to have a conversation with them before school begins. Do they understand the responsibility that comes with the privileges they get from the school? What would their education be like if they didn’t have the funds from the school for the lessons and activities that they love? If you homeschooled privately and didn’t have to show evidence of learning, would your family budget still allow for those things? When they understand, perhaps they would be more willing to get on board and do the work necessary.

Turning it in.

Your teacher will help guide you on the specific method for turning in a sample, but often the best way is to download a scanning app like Tiny Scanner or CamScanner. There’s even a scanner built into iPhones. You can snap a picture of the paper you want to submit and email it directly to your teacher. It only takes a few minutes.

Here are a few tips to make sure that your teacher doesn’t have to ask you to re-submit it.

• Lay the paper on a well-lit surface and take the picture from above. Your thumb is not part of the work!

• Evaluate the picture. Is it blurry? Are the name and date clearly visible and legible? Make sure it’s not too dark or too bright to read.

• Samples in pdf format are the easiest for your teacher to manage. The scanner apps can create that.

• For high school samples, make sure the student’s name and date are at the top of each sample and scan the entire packet of work as one single pdf file.

You’ve got this. By learning period 8, you will be a pro. Your kids are doing really cool things and learning a lot while they’re at it. Show your teachers and let’s make our schools proud this year!

-Rebecca LaSavio