World History Map Activities in MFW AHL - what is this like? Also, timeline?

[Hoggirl]

I am wanting to add in some Geography to our Ancient History studies. I am curious about the map activities book that is sold with MFW. Would this publication fit the bill? Is there an answer key? Can someone tell me what this book is like?

 

Also, if you use MFW history can you tell me a bit about their timeline? I have the BIG Homeschool in the Woods timeline book that we worked on ages ago, but I wondered if this was in a different format and if it might be easier to use. I have a hard time seeing the big picture when all the different areas of the world are all globbed together!

[cbollin]

The Timeline is Homeschool in the Woods, plus an MFW timeline book. The MFW timeline book is color coded by rows to help see different events. The color coding is for various regions that will have impact. There's the Bible/Israel, Asia, and a few others. I'd have to sneak into my daughter's room right now to see the rest of them. It also has date guidelines pre written on the top of pages.

 

Map activities. I'll have to sneak in and look again at the book. I think we've use it twice so far. Sorry, I have a head cold and can't think. I know there were blank map outlines, and various questions to go along with the maps. MFW encourages to look up in the Atlas book and transfer the info to the map activities. Answer key? I don't know. I was able to check it without one and didn't look well. I remember in the 2nd map assignment there was some answers.

 

mostly I'm bumping this up to remind me to look it up, or hopefully someone further down the road will see it.

ah choo! I'm only in week 9 and without the materials in front of me, I'm not good at answering anything today.

 

MFW says about geography credit: World History and Literature (year 2) contains 1/4 credit of geography. Year 4, US History 1877 to Present will include an optional, additional 1/4 credit of geography.

 

So, I'm guessing the map activities in AHL may not be enough for full geography credit, but could be a nice way to get some geography in the midst of Ancients.

 

more later :)

 

-crystal

[cbollin]

still ill over here, so I asked my oldest and let her explain it to me. So this is what she said......

 

World History Map Activities book:

there are 35 chapters. 7 of which are used in MFW AHL and the rest are used in MFW WHL.

 

The AHL manual assigns the map sections like this:

2 pages of background reading

then a blank map (copy it from book for ease) and then label it according to the questions on the back side of the map page from the book. There is no answer key for the map labeling. There is an answer key for some of the other questions on the page where you figure out something.

MFW AHL tells you which pages in Atlas book and Encyclopedia book to use to do the specific assignment. You label things like latitude/longitude, rivers, cities, trade routes, and things like that.

 

 

hope that helps.

 

-crystal

[Angel]

I just wanted to throw this out there. I bought the map book and the timeline figures last year. Dd used her own book (I believe it was a SL timeline book) for the timeline pieces. I didn't see the need to spend the extra money when we already had one. Her one complaint was the sometimes MFW wanted her to put a certain number of timeline pieces on the same page and it was a tight fit.

 

Now to be honest, we dropped the timeline work somewhere in the 2nd semester. She felt it was busy work and never, ever took it out to reference. It only came out to glue in a piece. It ended up being busy work and we don't like that around here ;) Many love timelines, though, so YMMV.

 

Now for the second confession, we never used the map book. MFW is quite the load, at least for my dd it was. It was certainly the very first thing that got dropped. Then I realized that, for me, I cared that she was reading and understanding the rest of the curriculum and I didn't really care if she redrew (is that a word) maps from the Encyclopedia of Ancient History onto the maps in the map book.

 

I have pulled it out this week and used a map for the Middle Ages from it and it really is kind of a cool book, but it certainly isn't a priority for the "meat" of the curriculum.

 

Just thought I would share another point of view. We loved AH&L and I counted it a huge success just for the reading of the entire Old Testament, the Illiad, and the Odyssey!

[Hoggirl]

I just wanted to throw this out there. I bought the map book and the timeline figures last year. Dd used her own book (I believe it was a SL timeline book) for the timeline pieces. I didn't see the need to spend the extra money when we already had one. Her one complaint was the sometimes MFW wanted her to put a certain number of timeline pieces on the same page and it was a tight fit.

 

Now to be honest, we dropped the timeline work somewhere in the 2nd semester. She felt it was busy work and never, ever took it out to reference. It only came out to glue in a piece. It ended up being busy work and we don't like that around here ;) Many love timelines, though, so YMMV.

 

Now for the second confession, we never used the map book. MFW is quite the load, at least for my dd it was. It was certainly the very first thing that got dropped. Then I realized that, for me, I cared that she was reading and understanding the rest of the curriculum and I didn't really care if she redrew (is that a word) maps from the Encyclopedia of Ancient History onto the maps in the map book.

 

I have pulled it out this week and used a map for the Middle Ages from it and it really is kind of a cool book, but it certainly isn't a priority for the "meat" of the curriculum.

 

Just thought I would share another point of view. We loved AH&L and I counted it a huge success just for the reading of the entire Old Testament, the Illiad, and the Odyssey!

 

We are not using MFW. I am piecing together our "own thing," and was trying to work out a way to add in a timeline and some map work. I was hoping I could just get these pieces and do this. I thought the timeline might be bigger than the regular homeschool in the woods timeline, and I do like the idea of having separate lines for separate civilizations. I thought this was a feature as well, but perhaps not. :confused:

 

We have tried timelines in the past to no avail, but I really like the idea. Ds has never minded map work. I was just trying to round out what we are doing.

 

Thanks, again.

[Donna A.]

I was hoping I could just get these pieces and do this. I thought the timeline might be bigger than the regular homeschool in the woods timeline, and I do like the idea of having separate lines for separate civilizations. I thought this was a feature as well, but perhaps not. :confused:

 

 

The timeline book is bigger, and it does have separate lines for separate civilizations. :001_smile: For example, at 1400-1301 B.C. you have a purple line for Bible/Israel, an orange line for Asia, a yellow line for the Middle East, a brown line for Egypt, and a green line for Greece. These lines run parallel to each other.

 

Then later, a red line is added for Rome.

 

Each page measures 17" x 11".

 

I do wish the book was bigger (thicker) in order to hold more time and cover the two full years of world history, but it's a pretty nice book nonetheless. Maybe after my dd's completed the rest of world history I'll remove the spiral binding and have the two books bound together. ;)

[Donna A.]

As for the geography book, I think it would be fine to add that to your course of studies. :) You won't use the whole book in one year if you're just doing Ancients, though. There are 35 maps covering most of the world, and many of them show what an area looked like after a major event took place.

 

The author gives a lot of teaching ideas at the beginning of the book for grading, testing, drilling, etc. Then as she approaches each geographical area being studied, she gives a 2-page background information, with the map activity page following. On the back side of the map are directions for the student to complete the map and to answer some review questions about the area. There's not really an answer key, but the answers to the review questions (when they come up) are shown at the end of the 1-2 page background info for that map. Right next to those answers are the # of points (weight) she would assign to the map for grading. But she explains all this in the teaching notes at the beginning of the book.

 

She also gives a bibliography of resources she used to create this book, and where you might look to find out if the information on your student's maps are correct. Or you could just use the internet. We had one map that was particularly difficult for some reason, but between the atlas resource we were using and the internet, we finally got it. ;)

 

The student activity pages are NOT perforated, but they're reproducible, and you have permission to copy them for family use.

 

HTH. :)

[Hoggirl]

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HTH. :)

 

thanks, Donna! It does.