Jump to content

Menu

Which high school government course do you recommend


Recommended Posts

We used Notgrass Exploring Government and were happy with it. It was reasonably priced, straightforward, and easy to work with. Ds did it almost entirely independently and seemed to gain a good overview of the subject matter.

 

Hope that helps a bit.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

We're using A Noble Experiment this coming year, so I don't know how well I like it yet. I decided on it because it takes an in-depth look at founding documents and it's DVD based, which I thought my DSs would like and would lend itself well to discussion afterwards.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We used Notgrass Exploring Government and were happy with it. It was reasonably priced, straightforward, and easy to work with. Ds did it almost entirely independently and seemed to gain a good overview of the subject matter.

 

Hope that helps a bit.

 

We used Notgrass as well. I also liked that it included a book with primary source documents.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

We're using A Noble Experiment this coming year, so I don't know how well I like it yet. I decided on it because it takes an in-depth look at founding documents and it's DVD based, which I thought my DSs would like and would lend itself well to discussion afterwards.

 

Does this cover modern government as well or just the original, historical documents?    

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Does this cover modern government as well or just the original, historical documents?

6 out of 9 units are on the various principles and types of governments and our historical documents.

 

The remaining 3 are titled The World Order and US Government, Citizenship, and State and Local Governments.

 

Sent from my SM-T230NU using Tapatalk

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oldest used Alpha Omega Press for Government.  It fit her learning style but not necessarily younger dd. I was quite intrigued by Abeka's Government when I saw it recently at convention but I have not used it.  Youngest used American Government: The Essentials by Wilson and Dilulio, Jr.  I was impressed with that book.  Dd enjoyed it.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Notgrass didn't fit with our worldview, but everyone I know IRL who shares their worldview has used - and loved - their government and history programs.

 

I'm going to use Homeschool Connections. They offer a year's unlimited access to all of their recorded classes for the set price of $330 (which would be too high for just one class, but worthwhile if you found other classes to also take). Or you can choose the monthly subscription fee of $30/month

 

PROS:

They have a number of civics and government offerings to choose from, of varying lengths to equal or fill a semester. We're going to do a 6-week class on American Elections followed by a 12-week course on the Federalist Papers. Classes are recorded and viewed at your convenience. Many of the courses require no additional purchase as resources are provided free by the teacher. Answer keys, etc. and everything the teacher needs is also provided and included free. You have a year to complete the course - a true year from the time of purchase, not an imposed year with a specific start day. They offer a trial period for you to see how you like the classes before you commit, or a reasonable (equivalent to a textbook) monthly subscription fee if you can complete the class in that time.

 

CONS:

It won't fit everyone's worldview. If you prefer to be hands-on teaching (and not just grading) this isn't a good fit. If you prefer to be hands-off completely, this is not a good fit. The material and classes are largely online, which won't work for all kids' personality and learning preferences.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oldest used Alpha Omega Press for Government.  It fit her learning style but not necessarily younger dd. I was quite intrigued by Abeka's Government when I saw it recently at convention but I have not used it.  Youngest used American Government: The Essentials by Wilson and Dilulio, Jr.  I was impressed with that book.  Dd enjoyed it.

 

Thanks. Since someone else asked the same question today, I thought I'd add what we think we'll do. American Government: The Essentials also has quite a few positive reviews online and looks good to me.  There are several syllabi online including a high school one from Warwick School District with a lot of detail and supplemental readings (since it's a full-year high school AP course,  those might be dropped or pruned) and several introductory college ones. I think the American Government course is just national government, although to be realistic, that may be all that can be covered in a semester).  FYI, the authors have a state and local text too.

 

Has anyone used another syllabus or have experience with a few other readings to go along with the text?

 

Edited by Brad S
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...