History/Geography? Help!

[HSHS]

DD is very interested in history & geography but is very, very weak in both. She came out of school in January knowing barely anything. She can vaguely identify our city on a UK map and knows the continents and where Italy and France are but she can't do much more. She's done Romans in history for the last few years and a little of WWI but very little else. It's been very frustrating for her considering how much she loves both subjects but now we're confused about where to begin...

 

It'll be DD's first year of classical ed and it'll be entirely her choice to do it so it's sort of unschooled classical ed? Yeah, we're weird. Anyway, should we go back to outlining history from the very beginning and supplementing it as we go along with great books or what? D: DD would hate to miss out on any of the great books and would want to read all of them but will we be able to fit this in? Agh DDD:

[jibaker103]

DD is very interested in history & geography but is very, very weak in both. She came out of school in January knowing barely anything. She can vaguely identify our city on a UK map and knows the continents and where Italy and France are but she can't do much more. She's done Romans in history for the last few years and a little of WWI but very little else. It's been very frustrating for her considering how much she loves both subjects but now we're confused about where to begin...

 

It'll be DD's first year of classical ed and it'll be entirely her choice to do it so it's sort of unschooled classical ed? Yeah, we're weird. Anyway, should we go back to outlining history from the very beginning and supplementing it as we go along with great books or what? D: DD would hate to miss out on any of the great books and would want to read all of them but will we be able to fit this in? Agh DDD:

Why not do a combo of both outlining, with a textbooks such as Spielvogel's World History: A Human Odyssey; a great books study with a list from TWTM rhetoric and/or logic level (depending upon her reading level and interest), and start at the beginning with Ancients. Just skim or skip the part she has already covered.

 

I personally am going through World History with my son over a 2 year period incorporating Beautiful Feet, the textbook mentioned above, and TWTM. After that we will tackle American History for 2 more years.

 

Jennifer

Mother to Noah Age 13

[danielle]

If you just want to give her a fairly quick overview before plunging into a specific period, I'd highly recommend Hendrik Van Loon's book, "The Story of Mankind". This one a Newberry Award many years ago, and while it was probably written for kids younger than high school, I really enjoyed it myself. It's much more Euro-centered than American centered. Also, Mr. Van Loon was highly opinionated--this is very much a personal interpretation, which can make for some very good discussions.

 

If she might want to take a bigger bite, Daniel Boorstin's books, "The Creators" and "The Discoverers" cover history through cultural icons and scientific/exploration, respectively. These are BIG books, but so good.

 

Good luck.

Danielle

[HSHS]

Hi Jennifer,

 

We're hoping to do a lot of British History (I forgot to mention ;D) because it's where we live as well as some american and world history but I've no idea how to fit it all in. We've ordered Kingfisher's British History Encyclopedia and we're hoping to go through a lot of that.

 

I think she's done most of the ancient stuff but didn't have any supplementary literature in (shudder) school so we might just solidify that with some outlining and literature. I only just realised that she has actually covered most of it. I think if she even heard the mention of Romans at the minute she might go running but I think she'd be okay with the literature.

 

We couldn't find any cheap-ish copies of the book you mentioned unfortunately so I don't think we'll be able to use it... oh how I hate budgets.

 

So really I've no idea what to do... our WTM book arrived while we were away at the weekend so now my DD's reading it and quoting the important bits to me before I read it and she says she's just got to the history section. Woo! ;D

 

Jo

[HSHS]

Hi Danielle,

 

DD's told me what she'd like to do is do a bit history overview and then the periods she wants to do into are the Victorians, American FBI and crime history, a bit of concentration on the 1920s jazz era. She wants to do some writing on each of these periods as in fictional stuff or fanfiction or something because these are all eras that have caught her interest but she hasn't managed to learn much about yet. My worry is that she won't be able to wait until she's finished the outlining.

 

She wants to try some forensic science and criminology alongside the American FBI and crime history so a bit of unit studies going on there, I suppose xD She's also a big psychology nerd but she's not so big on going really indepth with specific people in history when she could be missing out on something so I don't know if they second two would work as primary materials. She might appreciate them as supplements though. Do you think they'd suit her? (:

 

Jo

[jibaker103]

Hi Jennifer,

 

We're hoping to do a lot of British History (I forgot to mention ;D) because it's where we live as well as some american and world history but I've no idea how to fit it all in. We've ordered Kingfisher's British History Encyclopedia and we're hoping to go through a lot of that. This should be great for outlining and picking topics for reports.

 

I think she's done most of the ancient stuff but didn't have any supplementary literature in (shudder) school so we might just solidify that with some outlining and literature. I only just realised that she has actually covered most of it. I think if she even heard the mention of Romans at the minute she might go running but I think she'd be okay with the literature. No more Romans, lol. Just pick out some literature, do some context pages on them, and read.

 

We couldn't find any cheap-ish copies of the book you mentioned unfortunately so I don't think we'll be able to use it... oh how I hate budgets. If you already tried Amazon try Alibris and Abe Books. Other textbooks you may be able to use are Streams of Civilization I and II or Western Civilization also by Spielvogel. The earlier the edition the cheaper the price.

 

So really I've no idea what to do... our WTM book arrived while we were away at the weekend so now my DD's reading it and quoting the important bits to me before I read it and she says she's just got to the history section. Woo! ;D Make sure you go over logic stage outlining in the history/geography section and literature lists in the reading section. I would go over the whole rhetoric section.

 

Jo

I am also using Trail Guide to World Geography correlating it with whatever we are studying in history.

 

Jennifer

Mother to Noah Age 13

[danielle]

I never made my dd outline as she hated it. Instead, I think up topics for essays that will make her think about and draw on several works she's read. I think this is most appropriate for high school level, as you just can't get enough essay practice!!

 

I don't know if you can access www.learner.org from the UK, but if so, there are segments of Western Civilization and Biography of America (jazz age, etc.) that she might enjoy watching for the topics she's interested in. The websites for each of these shows give a lot of links and background info to pursue any special interests.

 

Perhaps she can check out the books I mentioned above at the library before ordering them. They're big books, and she might just want to browse the Boorstin ones for the segments she's interested in.

Danielle

[HSHS]

Hi Danielle & Jennifer,

 

First of all thank you so much for your book suggestions :] We'll look at them later on when DD's attention span is back. She's listening to music and trying to 'get her brain to work again' in her words. ;D She's been reading about Jane Austen books and said her head hurts from the language in them. She's not used to reading classics, if I'm honest. I read them in school and assumed she did too. We didn't interfere in her school work and such because she was such a good student up until she was 11 and they went to secondary school.

 

From then she was a strictly bare-minimum student and since she was neither required nor encouraged to read she simply didn't. She wants to get back into reading though and I've told her to just read through the summer. Not do anything in particular but to just read. She's not doing very well so far. Or at least, she's not finishing any books. She's read a few pages here and there but. Eeep. D:

 

We can access the site you gave and I'm sure DD will appreciate that (: Essay-wise DD says she doesn't know how to write an essay so obviously that's something we need to address before we get into any of that. She's actually relatively keen on 'this outlining lark' and thinks it might be useful in college so she actually wants to do that but I'm sure essays in between will be a welcome change for her.

 

I just looked on both sites you suggested for Spielvogel's World History and couldn't find it on either of them nor Amazon so I've no idea what we'll do. xD We're going to look for all the other books and hopefully find some sample chapters then decide what we're doing. DD's going to carry on with TWTM later and now I mention it I might go and see if I can steal if off her when she's not looking...

 

Jo

[jibaker103]

Jo,

 

Here is World History: A Human Odyssey. Some one is selling it for $6 and ships internationally! http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0538423293/sr=8-1/qid=1249930207/ref=olp_product_details?ie=UTF8&me=&qid=1249930207&sr=8-1&seller=

 

Here is Western Civilization starting around $5 http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0534600069/ref=dp_olp_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1249930569&sr=1-1

 

I have no clue how much it cost to ship internationally but it can't be bad when the price of the book is under $6!

 

By the way if your daughter needs help with writing essays and reports I cannot rave enough about the Institute for Writing in Excellence (IEW) http://www.excellenceinwriting.com/ There History Based Writing Lessons are excellent and they also have The Elegant Essay, which I plan to use next year.

 

If I can help in any other way please let me know!

 

Jennifer

Mother to Noah Age 13

[HSHS]

Thanks so much Jennifer (: I'll have to kick myself into shape and put some money into my bank account to order them. We've had a death in the family recently and we're barely getting back to normal now... Ugh.

 

Thanks for the links to the writing curriculums too. I don't know if it's me not being used to curriculum prices but they seem a little expensive? Is it just me? ;D

 

Thanks so much again!

 

Jo

[jibaker103]

Thanks so much Jennifer (: I'll have to kick myself into shape and put some money into my bank account to order them. We've had a death in the family recently and we're barely getting back to normal now... Ugh.

 

Thanks for the links to the writing curriculums too. I don't know if it's me not being used to curriculum prices but they seem a little expensive? Is it just me? ;D

 

Thanks so much again!

 

Jo

I'm sorry for your loss!

 

Yes, curriculum is very expensive that is why I try really hard to use the library or purchase used. Just keep watching this sales board and you can join IEW Families sales yahoo message board for the writing curriculum.

 

Jennifer