kloumc Posted May 30, 2009 Share Posted May 30, 2009 (edited) Would any of you be willing to share samples of "context pages" that your student(s) have written to go with their Great Books study. As I understand from TWTM, a context page is a one or two-page summary of the historical information which sets the Great Book into historical perspective. This information comes from Spielvogel's Western Civilization, DK's History of the World, and The Timetables of History. Some samples would be helpful for my 9th grader! Thanks in advance! Edited May 30, 2009 by kloumc additional thought Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anissarobert Posted May 30, 2009 Share Posted May 30, 2009 :lurk5: Bumping, because I would love to show my dd an example. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elizabeth Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 I await a response as well. Great question. Anyone? Sample please????If we do not get a response I will go back to the chapter and give it a whirl. It sounds brilliant in theory assuming one has a solid foundation to discern what exactly is the context within which the author wrote his/her ideas. Sure there are always events, ideas, wars , great persons that define an age determining what influences shaped an author's point of view is a whole nother can of proverbial worms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kloumc Posted June 1, 2009 Author Share Posted June 1, 2009 Since no samples have been offered, I'm sincerely wondering if the vast majority of home schoolers on this board are not following the plan for rhetoric-level history/literature study as laid out in The Well-Trained Mind. Perhaps others have found other approaches more helpful such as Tapestry of Grace, etc. Would anyone care to comment on this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 My son did context pages in 9th and 10th, then began taking history at the CC while doing suggested GB readings from TWTM in 11th. His context pages and timelines are handwritten and frankly I don't have time at present to type them out. One alone will not demonstrate it. His initial context pages were lists of facts, but they became paragraphs as time went on--not polished papers by any stretch of the imagination, but documents exhibiting more continuity. Sorry not to be more helpful. Personally, I love the timelines. It helps put the arts, history and science in perspective. Jane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SusanAR Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 . His context pages and timelines are handwritten and frankly I don't have time at present to type them out. One alone will not demonstrate it. ....... but they became paragraphs as time went on--not polished papers by any stretch of the imagination, but documents exhibiting more continuity. Sorry not to be more helpful. Personally, I love the timelines. It helps put the arts, history and science in perspective. Jane I agree with Jane. My son wrote context papers last year. i think they are useful. I think there are several people on the boards who require these susan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 My son did context pages in 9th grade, also. The first few were pretty basic. They were not to determine the author's influences, more to show what was going on in the world at the time that *might* have influenced the pov of the author (but even that is pushing it, imo). I had him look up the 10-20 years around the date of the book, using Timelines in History and the encyclopedia, and Spielvogel. We were doing Omnibus, too, and that had some info. I actually think it's easier to write a context page on 20th cent material--so much of the GB's of that time were direct reflections of the world around them. I think of The Jungle, for example--it was a reaction AND it sparked a reaction! When we got to 11th grade and did 20th cent, we were discussing the historical context instead of writing it out. Basically, ds looked up info, and would write something like--- "(Great Book) was published in (date). At that time, many interesting events were happening worldwide. In Europe, (blah blah blah)..." Go thru the continents and the political leaders, or major movements in philosophy and thought--just the surface. I always find the art of the time to contain a peek at the cultural viewpoints, too, so looking at art movements is a good place to go. Sometimes kids can see those sorts of influences in the GB. You get to point them out, too, from time to time. That's fun, for me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kate in seattle Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 I don't know how to link just part of a file. this is a context page I did as an example for my co-op great books class a few years ago. The middle part is a chart in the original. And there are some pictures in the original. I always liked for the students to include maps, a timeline or pictures. Context page for “Epic of Gilgamesh†and “Law of Hammurabi†Gilgamesh author: unknown Origins: oral folk poem, probably first recorded in Sumerian about 2000 BC, the most complete version is an Akkadian one from Ashurbanipal’s library from around 650 BC Law author: Hammurabi was the king who codified and had engraved in stone the set of laws bearing his name. He reigned from 1792 – 1750 BC, re-extended borders to those of Sargon of Akkad Mesopotamia, so called because it lies, for the most part between the Tigris and the Euphrates, gave birth to civilization as we know it. Here, the alleluvial mud was formed and hardened into the mud-brick cities which dotted the plains – Ur, Uruk, Lagash, Babylon. Here the first writing appeared – wedge-shaped cuneiform. And here the first piece written literature came forth – the Epic of Gilgamesh. . The first city-states were independent, focused on the city’s god or goddess and his or her dwelling place, the temple, crowned with a step pyramid shaped ziggurat. Nimrod, the grandson of Ham, may have founded Sumerian civilization. The priests and noblemen, highest of Mesopotamia’s three classes controlled society. The middle class, farmers in the country, artisans and tradespeople in the city, were superior to the slaves. Later city-states warred, merged, formed empires and were vanquished by invading nomadic tribes. Empires in Ancient Mesopotamia Early Dynastic Age 3000 – 2340 BC various cities rose and fell, but no one city controlled all of Sumeria until Lugalzaggisi, king of Umma. Gilgamesh was a real king of Uruk about 2750 – the same time as Zoser was pharaoh in Egypt. Akkadian age 2340 – 2100 BC Sargon was the first leader and conquered all of Mesopotamia, plus lands west to the Mediterranean 3rd Dynasty of Ur 2112 – 2000 BC Ur-Nammu of Ur reunified Mesopotamia. A golden age in Mesopotamia – again fell to nomadic invaders. Abram left Ur about this time. Hammurabi 1792 – 1750 regained control of Sumer and Akkad to nearly Sargon-like boundaries. He established a new capital at Babylon, north of Akkad Life was rich and complex, appeasing the hard to understand and somewhat distant gods. Humans had been created to do the work of the gods. Mesopotamians used divination and later, the interpretation of dreams and astrology as ways of understanding the desires of the gods. Today, we also know that civilizations were emerging along the Indus River on the Indian sub-continent and in China as well. This Indus River civilization built the cities of Harappa and Mohenjo-daro. They were built on streets laid out in a grid-like fashion, had such modern amenities as swimming pools, sewers, forced air heating, and hot showers (only for the rich, however). The poor did have access to public baths. They also have a flood story, with three sons and a father. The names Iyapeti, Sharma and C’harma even seem to correspond to Japheth, Shem and Ham. They were expert weavers and textile makers. Their merchants did business with Mesopotamia, Egypt, and even the cities on the shores of the Mediterranean. By 2500 BC however, they were attacked and completely over run by Aryan invaders, a tall, fair-skinned people from West Turkestan in central Asia These Aryans settled in India. They spoke and wrote Sanskrit, still considered the classical language of India. Religious writings were the Vedas. Subject to a separate context page will be Egypt – developing its own rich heritage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elizabeth Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 Great example thanks much!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MicheleinMN Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 My children's context pages have ended up being more a mini-biography of the author. Not exactly what I wanted, but we're still working on them. (both context pages and the children) ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joan in GE Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 hall of the basement, we would look there if we didn't know what was going on at that time...and then ds would write an author background page.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kloumc Posted June 2, 2009 Author Share Posted June 2, 2009 Thank you everyone for your comments and your insights. Thank you, Kate, for contributing such wonderful examples of context pages! This will be a real help and encouragement to my high school daughter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan P. Posted June 5, 2009 Share Posted June 5, 2009 Hi, I'm having my dd read from Speilvogel's Western Civilization textbook and choosing a topic that she is interested in to write about. She has to write a short paper about different things such as an important event, important person/leader, a war, etc. I gave my dd a choice to write papers or for me to give her traditional tests. The papers won hands down! Jan P. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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