Robin in DFW Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 (edited) Hi Lori. I was wondering if you could explain how you went about spreading out the Spielvogel text for World History. Did you use other resources as well or just the text. And what did you do when you hit the US History era...what about Gov/Econ??? I have read how to do it in TWTM, but it seems like a lot of different main texts once you hit those final two years. My original plan was to cover Geography for 9th, World History overview for 10th, US HIstory for 11th, Gov/Econ for 12th...this is the recommended order according to my state's Ed. Agency and it's what the college like to see...I'm reconsidering though... I've been trying to decide on how to cover World History for my ds...we are getting burned out on Geography and are thinking of streamlining that course and starting on Ancients now rather than waiting until next fall. I would also like to go ahead and begin the Great Books list as suggested in TWTM...we would just narrow down our selections. I would like to follow TWTM, maybe covering ancients quicker (wrapping that up by next fall) and then moving at a normal pace for the three remaining divisions...Middle Ages, Early Modern, Modern. We have covered Ancients pretty thoroughly before, so I feel an abbreviated coverage (or at least quicker coverage) would be fine. Suggestions? Also, if you were to choose...say...4 works from the Ancients reading list, which ones come to mind? I am thinking of Gilgamesh, either the Iliad OR Odyssey, Aristophanes, Sophocles... Thanks! Robin Edited February 22, 2012 by Robin in DFW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 (edited) Wow -- Not sure I am the best to advise you, so I hope others will jump in here, as we are more "relaxed WTMers". I would be good to hear what others have done to give you more options! I'll try to remember back what we've done to at least be able to "kick-off" answers to your questions... :) could explain how you went about spreading out the Spielvogel... Did you use other resources as well We used Spielvogel Human Odyssey AND other resources: - excerpts from various non-fiction resources (many were SL titles) - historical fiction (many were SL titles) - documentaries - feature films set in the time - and Great Books (done as a separate "Great Books" credit) My original plan to spread out Human Odyssey: 1 = Ancients (pre-History to 500AD) = chap. 1-6 (p. 1-191) -- approx. 200 pages 2 = Early Modern to Present (1800AD to 2000AD) = chap. 21-34 (p. 648-1125 -- approx. 450 pages 3 = American History = Notgrass Exploring America 4 = Medieval to Enlightenment (500AD to 1800AD) = chap. 7-20 (p. 192-647) -- approx. 450 pages what did you do when you hit the US History era...what about Gov/Econ??? We managed 2 full years of World History (ancients; 20th century). Another year, we did 0.5 year of Church History, and yet another year we managed about 9 weeks of very scattered Medieval World History -- but, what with dual enrollment, having more than enough high school social studies credits, and "life" getting in the way, that fell by the wayside; I didn't even end up counting it for credit. We did a separate year of just American History, and did Gov't that same year -- a great combo for us, as the 2 complement one another very well. The following year we did 0.5 credit of Economics as the lone Social Studies, spreading it out over the year to make it easier to complete. Since both DSs seem to be headed more towards film/video production or digital arts, I felt they would most benefit from more "humanities/liberal arts" focus -- things like Logic, Worldview, the Classic Great Books, and then whatever History we could manage. So, in addition to doing Great Books for the Lit. portion of the English credit, we also did enough additional Great Books to count as a separate partial credit most years. In case it is of help, here is a break-down by grade (2 DSs, one grade apart, doing History and Great Books together): gr. 8 & 9 = Ancient World - 1 credit = History (Spievogel, first 200 pages; plus resources, see above) - 1 credit = Great Books: Ancient Classics - 1 credit = English (for Lit. portion, both DSs = LLftLotR) gr. 9 & 10 = 20th Century World - 1 credit = History (Spievogel, approx. last 450 pages; plus resources, see above) - 0.5 credit = Great Books: Modern Classics - 1 credit = English (For Lit. portion, 9th DS = LL8; 10th DS = "Worldviews in Classic Sci-Fi Lit" -- made own Lit. course) - 1 credit = Logic gr. 10 & 11 = American History - 1 credit = History (Notgrass, plus resources, see above) - 0.5 credit = Government (Great Source textbook, plus resources) - 0.5 credit = Great Books: American Classics - 1 credit = English (for Lit. portion, both DSs = made own Amer. Lit.) gr. 11 & 12 - 0 credit = History (we had planned to do "World History: Medieval to Enlightenment", but it fell by the wayside) - 0.5 credit = Church History (with DH) - 0.5 credit = Economics (Dave Ramsey; Teaching Company: Economics; - - Whatever Happened to Penny Candy) - 0.5 credit = Great Books: British Classics - 1 credit = English (for Lit. portion, both DSs = made our own British Lit.) gr. 12 - 1 credit = English (for Lit. portion = "kitchen sink" Lit. :tongue_smilie: -- last chance to squeeze in some final "must read" Classics from my mega list -- sometimes graduated DS has been able to participate! Enough selections from different countries to call it "World" Lit.) Our state does not have a Geography requirement, so we were able to do that just prior to high school (DSs were grades 7 & 8 = year of World Culture/Geography & Comparative Religions in lieu of History). And due to multiple summers during high school at Worldview Academy plus books we have read/discussed, both DSs also have 1 credit = Worldviews, which I list under the Social Studies heading on the transcript. I would also like to go ahead and begin the Great Books list as suggested in TWTM...we would just narrow down our selections. "Aye... There's the rub." :tongue_smilie: Give yourself a mega-list to work from, but then pick maybe 6 works per year that are absolutely CRUCIAL for YOUR FAMILY to cover. That way, even though none of us can do it all, you can walk away satisfied that you did that which was MOST important to YOU. :) I would like to follow TWTM, maybe covering ancients quicker (wrapping that up by next fall) and then moving at a normal pace for the three remaining divisions...Middle Ages, Early Modern, Modern. Sounds do-able! Are you required to do U.S. History? If so, it overlaps a lot with World History in the 20th century, so if short on time, you might be able to do 2-for-1 History that year... We have covered Ancients pretty thoroughly before, so I feel an abbreviated... or quicker coverage would be fine. Suggestions? Well, if you don't add in any Teaching Company lecture series, or other "extras" and just go with a single text, then you could probably manage to cover about 200 pages (4 pages/day, 4 days/week) in the approx. 12-14 weeks left, from now to the end of the school year. You could get a research paper in there on a "bunny trail" of interest. Also, if you were to choose...say...4 works from the Ancients reading list, which ones come to mind? I am thinking of Gilgamesh, either the Iliad OR Odyssey, Aristophanes, Sophocles... This is where I am REALLY no expert. Because DSs were gr. 8 & 9 AND it was our first "outing" with The Great Books, I felt we would do best with the epics and more story-like works. Also, 4 works seems like a LOT to manage in just 12-14 weeks left of this year, unless 3 of the 4 are short works that could each be done in just 1-2 weeks. In case it helps, here's what we did: 4 weeks = Epic of Gilgamesh (abridged retelling by Westwood) 10 weeks = Iliad (Fagles translation) 8 weeks = Odyssey (Fagles translation) 2 weeks = Greek myths (various versions; 8-10 myths) 2 weeks = Oedipus the King (Fitzgerald translation) 2 weeks = Antigone (Fitzgerald translation) 6 weeks = Aeneid (abridged retelling by Church) 2 weeks = Till We Have Faces (CS Lewis) BEST of luck, Robin! Warmest regards, Lori D. Edited February 22, 2012 by Lori D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin in DFW Posted February 22, 2012 Author Share Posted February 22, 2012 You have been most helpful. I really appreciate your wonderful reply. It helps to see in writing what has been swirling around in my head. Have a lovely day. Robin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mama25angels Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 Lori, I must say again how much I love it when you post. Your posts are always full of great and doable advice. :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 (edited) So glad to be of help! And hopefully others will share either their 4-year overall plans for History, Great Books, Gov't/Econ and/or shortened schedules and resources for Ancients. Also, I just found what I was looking for -- some past threads to help with picking out which Ancient Great Books you want to go with: If you had to choose *four* major works to read for Ancients, what would they be What are the 10 most important things to read for ancients Top 10 ancients: a concise list How many and which books would you add to this Ancients literature list? Can you share your 9th grade reading list for Ancients? Need ideas: Great Books Ancients Anyone doing Ancients for Grade 9? BEST of luck as you make your plans. Warmest regards, Lori Edited February 22, 2012 by Lori D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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