sagira Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 I mentioned in one thread I hate buying used, but it looks like it would be worth it to start up a used collection for Drama of American History. Thanks for the list Bill, that will make it handy to find them. I just started reading The American Story: 100 True Tales from American History by Jennifer Armstrong. With short, engaging stories, it's great for the elementary age as an easy to read aloud or independent reading. I think it's an amazing, interesting resource, especially for us secular homeschoolers. I definitely recommend it as a fun supplement. I really like the looks of Drama of American History, and I love The American Story! We are going to use the latter starting this Fall. Chapters are short and engaging, and great to narrate from. Ds is turning 8 in early September, and I think this with Mara Pratt's American History Stories will be just what we need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zenjenn Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 Unfortunately, as with all things AG.....none of the above are available anymore. It's a shame, really, because the products were far superior to anything they have now. The day they sold out to Mattel was a sad day indeed. Wow, sad indeed. What you describe sounds completely awesome, and my daughter would have loved it. We did some of this on our own but my daughter would have loved something officially "American Girl". I still think the company is solid, as far as things go. Especially the books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 Whoa, that's a lot of books. I'll have to find a way to narrow them down. Or are they really short?There is enough background information in each book for you to be able choose the topics of greatest interest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowfall Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 You all need to stop buying up the DoAH books from Amazon!!! They're ALL on my wish list and I can't order right now because I'm moving. I have 2 and I love them, and I demand that you leave some $.01 books for ME! lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 Where Moira came up with this list is a mystery to me, but I keep re-posting it to keep others from the same fruitless searching I went through.I found a list on the interwebs and corrected it, book-by-book, using Amazon and Bookfinder. It probably would have been faster to compile it myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 Whoa, that's a lot of books. I'll have to find a way to narrow them down. Or are they really short? If you read one chapter per day, you can finish in 141 days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 I was set on Hakim. Now I am reconsidering :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BatmansWife Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 I really like the looks of Drama of American History, and I love The American Story! We are going to use the latter starting this Fall. Chapters are short and engaging, and great to narrate from. Ds is turning 8 in early September, and I think this with Mara Pratt's American History Stories will be just what we need. I had been considering getting this series. The samples look good...and the price isn't too bad. Has anyone used these? Are these any good? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 I don't fault those who would choose to teach this perspective, but it is not some "what your teacher never taught you!" presentation of history. Actually, I would say that it's precisely that. History in schools is really not taught from the point of view of the people who lived through the wars and struggles and effects of political decisions. It is told from a bland viewpoint of "Here is what was done, and here are the outcomes." It's really told from nobody's point of view. Regardless of whether one agrees with Zinn or not, his is one perspective on history that our teachers didn't tell us. Tara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satori Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 I had been considering getting this series. The samples look good...and the price isn't too bad. Has anyone used these? Are these any good? :bigear: I downloaded a Kindle sample (anyone can do this to your computer). The actual Kindle books are only $1.99. I'd buy all four volumes right away if people said they were good (which someone said they were)... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rieshy Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 My youngest son preferred encyclopedia articles to books for history, because the editors are held to much higher standards to provide something as accuarate and unbiased as possible. Not true. Growing up I can remember many roars of rage coming from my father's library. He was a professor/author and often wrote articles for various publications, including encyclopedias. All editors have their own bias, and can change the slant of articles after they are written, even if they are not supposed to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
my2boysteacher Posted July 20, 2011 Author Share Posted July 20, 2011 You can get the Mara Pratt American History series on audio for free at Librivox. My guys love to listen to them in the car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
my2boysteacher Posted July 20, 2011 Author Share Posted July 20, 2011 I mentioned in one thread I hate buying used, but it looks like it would be worth it to start up a used collection for Drama of American History. Thanks for the list Bill, that will make it handy to find them. I just started reading The American Story: 100 True Tales from American History by Jennifer Armstrong. With short, engaging stories, it's great for the elementary age as an easy to read aloud or independent reading. I think it's an amazing, interesting resource, especially for us secular homeschoolers. I definitely recommend it as a fun supplement. I also have that book by Jennifer Armstrong, and just a 'heads up', Some of the stories I won't read to my kids due to inaccuracies. You may want to pre-read them before reading them to your daughter, to make sure you agree with the position the author takes on various events. I know the story of Paul Revere is not correct, and I disagree with her version of the Pocahontas story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Lulu* Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 Thanks for the list Bill. I will have to spend some time with the library search engine tonight. And thank you Moira for compiling it in the first place! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penelope Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 I also have that book by Jennifer Armstrong, and just a 'heads up', Some of the stories I won't read to my kids due to inaccuracies. You may want to pre-read them before reading them to your daughter, to make sure you agree with the position the author takes on various events. I know the story of Paul Revere is not correct, and I disagree with her version of the Pocahontas story. :iagree: I agree with Satori that it would only be supplemental. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justamouse Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 You can get the Mara Pratt American History series on audio for free at Librivox. My guys love to listen to them in the car. Score! that's awesome! I love backing up our reading with listening int he car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tammyw Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 Here is Moira's list (Nmoira) of the books in the Drama of American History series. You may want to check your library system to see if they have the series. I could not be more impressed with the authors' ability to present the tensions and conflicts in American History in ways that present the best case for each side in the conflict. They achieve both a nuanced-depth in important topics AND are able to stream-line the works in a way appropriate to the age without "dumbing down" the discussions. And the writing is very engaging. This is a difficult trick to pull off, but they do it masterfully IMO. Bill Here's a list of the titles in the series: Clash of Cultures: Prehistory to 1638, Benchmark Books (New York, NY), 1998. The Paradox of Jamestown, 1585 to 1700, Benchmark Books (New York, NY), 1998. The French and Indian War, 1660 to 1763, Benchmark Books (New York, NY), 1998. The American Revolution, 1763 to 1783, Benchmark Books (New York, NY), 1998. Pilgrims and Puritans, 1620 to 1676, Benchmark Books (New York, NY), 1998. Creating the Constitution, 1787, Benchmark Books (New York, NY), 1998. Building a New Nation, 1789 to 1803, Benchmark Books (New York, NY), 1998. Andrew Jackson's America, 1821 to 1850, Benchmark Books (New York, NY), 1998. Hispanic America, Texas, and the Mexican War, 1835 to 1850, Benchmark Books (New York, NY), 1998. The Jeffersonian Republicans, 1800 to 1820, Benchmark Books (New York, NY), 1998. The Civil War, 1860 to 1866, Benchmark Books (New York, NY), 1998. Slavery and the Coming of the Civil War, 1831 to 1861, Benchmark Books (New York, NY), 1998. Reconstruction and the Rise of Jim Crow, Benchmark Books (New York, NY), 1998. The Rise of Industry: 1860 to 1900, Marshall Cavendish (New York, NY), 1999. A Century of Immigration: 1820 to 1924, Marshall Cavendish/Benchmark Books (Tarrytown, NY), 1999. Indians, Cowboys, and Farmers, 1865 to 1910, Benchmark Books (New York, NY), 2000. The United States Enters the World Stage: From Alaska through World War I, 1867 to 1919, Benchmark Books (New York, NY), 2000. Progressivism, the Great Depression, and the New Deal, 1901 to 1941, Benchmark/Cavendish (Tarrytown, NY), 2000. The Rise of the Cities, Cavendish/Benchmark (Tarrytown, NY), 2000. United States in World War II, Benchmark Books (New York, NY), 2001. The Changing Face of American Society, 1945 to 2000, Benchmark Books (New York, NY), 2001. The United States in the Cold War, Benchmark/Cavendish (Tarrytown, NY), 2002. The Middle Road: American Politics, 1945 to 2000, Benchmark Books (New York, NY), 2002. So unfortunate they are discontinued! I just placed an order at my library for a few of these. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 Not to start a stampede among germphobes with money to spare, but amazon has 1 copy each of these new: The United States in the Cold War 1945-1989 Middle Road Changing Face of American Society For $35 each And four subsets of the books for $150 each (not only one each, but shipping in 4 weeks so who knows if it would even work) http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_nr_p_76_0?rh=n%3A283155%2Ck%3ADrama+of+American+history+collier%2Cp_n_condition-type%3A1294423011%2Cp_n_availability%3A2245265011%2Cp_76%3A1250218011&bbn=283155&keywords=Drama+of+American+history+collier&ie=UTF8&qid=1311195425&rnid=1250216011&ajr=2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mo2 Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 Here is Moira's list (Nmoira) of the books in the Drama of American History series. You may want to check your library system to see if they have the series. I could not be more impressed with the authors' ability to present the tensions and conflicts in American History in ways that present the best case for each side in the conflict. They achieve both a nuanced-depth in important topics AND are able to stream-line the works in a way appropriate to the age without "dumbing down" the discussions. And the writing is very engaging. This is a difficult trick to pull off, but they do it masterfully IMO. Bill Here's a list of the titles in the series: Clash of Cultures: Prehistory to 1638, Benchmark Books (New York, NY), 1998. The Paradox of Jamestown, 1585 to 1700, Benchmark Books (New York, NY), 1998. The French and Indian War, 1660 to 1763, Benchmark Books (New York, NY), 1998. The American Revolution, 1763 to 1783, Benchmark Books (New York, NY), 1998. Pilgrims and Puritans, 1620 to 1676, Benchmark Books (New York, NY), 1998. Creating the Constitution, 1787, Benchmark Books (New York, NY), 1998. Building a New Nation, 1789 to 1803, Benchmark Books (New York, NY), 1998. Andrew Jackson's America, 1821 to 1850, Benchmark Books (New York, NY), 1998. Hispanic America, Texas, and the Mexican War, 1835 to 1850, Benchmark Books (New York, NY), 1998. The Jeffersonian Republicans, 1800 to 1820, Benchmark Books (New York, NY), 1998. The Civil War, 1860 to 1866, Benchmark Books (New York, NY), 1998. Slavery and the Coming of the Civil War, 1831 to 1861, Benchmark Books (New York, NY), 1998. Reconstruction and the Rise of Jim Crow, Benchmark Books (New York, NY), 1998. The Rise of Industry: 1860 to 1900, Marshall Cavendish (New York, NY), 1999. A Century of Immigration: 1820 to 1924, Marshall Cavendish/Benchmark Books (Tarrytown, NY), 1999. Indians, Cowboys, and Farmers, 1865 to 1910, Benchmark Books (New York, NY), 2000. The United States Enters the World Stage: From Alaska through World War I, 1867 to 1919, Benchmark Books (New York, NY), 2000. Progressivism, the Great Depression, and the New Deal, 1901 to 1941, Benchmark/Cavendish (Tarrytown, NY), 2000. The Rise of the Cities, Cavendish/Benchmark (Tarrytown, NY), 2000. United States in World War II, Benchmark Books (New York, NY), 2001. The Changing Face of American Society, 1945 to 2000, Benchmark Books (New York, NY), 2001. The United States in the Cold War, Benchmark/Cavendish (Tarrytown, NY), 2002. The Middle Road: American Politics, 1945 to 2000, Benchmark Books (New York, NY), 2002. My library has none of them. Not one! :glare: I hate to spend a lot of time and energy tracking down OOP books that I am not even able to preview. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 My library has none of them. Not one! :glare: I hate to spend a lot of time and energy tracking down OOP books that I am not even able to preview. Pick up the cheapest volume of interest for evaluation. Last I checked, there were some used copies of some volumes for two and three dollars at Amazon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 Have you seen the Brown Paper USKids History books? http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_14?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=uskids+history&sprefix=uskids+history Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhapsody Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 What is Ziinn about? Is this the book? "A people's history of the United States : 1492-present" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zenjenn Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 He is a communist/socialist historian who tells history from the narrow perspective of the victims of the wrongs committed by the United States. He wrote for adults but also has a book out for kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 Grrraaagggghhhh! I'm back to having a meltdown. I'm back to using the Drama of American History. Perhaps tomorrow we can discuss middle school life science texts so that I can change my mind about that too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhapsody Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 :iagree: I'm reading Zinn along with Lies My Teacher Told Me and I'm just in shock and dismay. :001_huh: What perspective is "Lies My Teacher Told Me" from? Left again? That review someone posted on Zinn was helpful. Not my cup of tea. At least for now, gonna stick with my US Hx Core 3 Sonlight plan for next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 He is a communist/socialist historian who tells history from the narrow perspective of the victims of the wrongs committed by the United States. My dh was reading over my shoulder and said, "Always telling history from the perspective of the committers of the wrongs is an even narrower perspective." My lefty husband. :D Tara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lillysmom216 Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 My dh was reading over my shoulder and said, "Always telling history from the perspective of the committers of the wrongs is an even narrower perspective." My lefty husband. :D Tara :iagree:with your husband :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 He [Zinn] is a communist/socialist historianWas he? I recall that he had socialist leanings, but identified as a democratic socialist. If you're not sure of the distinction, this would be a good time to Google. :) He always vehemently denied any communist ties, though it's true his FBI file indicated that he was involved with groups they considered to be communist fronts. However, this also pretty much the case other individual who worked for social justice or anti-war causes from about 1945 on. The trick was to get them somehow identified as potential enemies of the state so they could be rounded up without warrant should circumstances "necessitate." Zinn was also a serious academic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagira Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 To gain perspective, which I think is a more attainable goal in high school, I think a good dose of old fashioned, America-is-the-greatest-country-in-the-world-bar-none conservative and leftist, socialist blend of Zinn is welcome. Mix well. Enjoy :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annabel Lee Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 To gain perspective, which I think is a more attainable goal in high school, I think a good dose of old fashioned, America-is-the-greatest-country-in-the-world-bar-none conservative and leftist, socialist blend of Zinn is welcome. Mix well. Enjoy :D :iagree:A good mix and one's own logic & reasoning are worth far more than the latest, greatest textbooks. Something from the opposite side of the aisle would be Larry Schwiekart's A Patriot's History of the United States as well as his 48 Liberal Lies (the rest of the title escapes me momentarily... it's something like "about American history that you probably learned in school"). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orthodox6 Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 I like Zinn's book, although I never ignore that he has his own peculiar "spectrum spin" ! My inclination always has been to provide the dc with varying interpretations of "what happened". I would do it anyway, because of the way in which I studied history in college. When we started homeschooling, I realized that I had to do so also because of the wrong information rampant in history books regarding our religion. I think Jackdaw is the name of the company that sells primary source kits through the Cobblestone company. You could supplement anything with A Young People's History of the United States. That should at least get part of the story straightened out. There are also the Primary Source Teaching Kit books, such as this one. I'm not sure how good they are. I have only one and I have only thumbed through it at this point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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