Government Class: Advice needed, please

[Kimm in WA]

Hi,

I'm a former regular, just haven't had much time on these boards this year.

 

Does anyone know of a text or curriculum for teaching government that would 1. be good for a co-op setting (max of about 10 kids),

2. for kids (mostly boys) aged 13+

3. high-school level (so we can count it for HS credit),

3. Christian-based (if possible).

 

Is there such an animal? If not, what have you used for Government?

 

We are wanting to do a semester class prior to going to Teen Pack in late March.

 

Thanks so much!

Kimm in WA

[Linda in NE]

I looked over a LOT of curricula. The best Christian text I found was Bob Jones. However, it's designed to be only a semester-long course. Looking at it, I couldn't see how it could be easily stretched to cover a whole year. I finally decided to use Holt American Government that's recommended in WTM. There's also a very neat website where you can get FREE video and print materials used to teach high school TEACHERS about government. It may be more than you're really looking for, but some of the videos really highlight issues that might lead to good class discussion. Here's the website:

 

http://www.learner.org/channel/courses/democracyinamerica/

[Michelle in AL]

I'm using the book Painless American Government (can be found on Amazon). It has great discussion ?'s in it that may really stimulate group discussion. There's also several good writing assignments in it. I think it's meaty enough to use as a text and definitely not dry, but I'm not sure if there would be enough activities for a co-op.

[Captivated]

I am planning on using Notgrass Government. I think it is great!

[tbmoran]

I have a wonderful program; my kids have thoroughly loved it. It is American Government from Great Source www.greatsource.com/amgov . This is a very thorough American government program written in a style that is very easy to understand. The thing that I like best about it is that you can purchase a teacher's guide that comes with study guides and tests that you just copy for the students. This program is designed for a public school setting, so it should work wonderfully for your coop class. In fact each lesson has 4 different activities to choose from (writing, current events, internet research, and one on special sources). These have been excellent projects that I have assigned to my kids. They have learned so much from this course. There are also discussion and critical thinking questions in the teacher's guide that are excellent for discussion with the kids. I have looked at several government courses Notgrass, Bob Jones, etc. and this one was the best hands down!!!

[Kimm in WA]

Thanks for the recommendations - I'll check them out!

 

Kimm

[DollyM]

We used this. It's a video based program with a student workbook. very conservative and Christian based. The speaker on the video is a little old-fashioned, but I liked him. (Dr. Eidsmoe) You can play the videos to the course, and have them complete the workbook as homework. It worked well for us - I really liked his "worldview" and historical perspective to the origins of US government.