Struggling with the "new" way of doing History

[controlledchaos]

Hello mamas! I'm in need of some encouragement and recommendations.  I'm currently trying to teach my sixth grade, eleven year old boy to use encyclopedias spines and to take notes, outline, summarize and timeline according to the logic stage instructions in WTM fourth edition. But he's struggling. My eldest, a girl, did it without much help from me and liked it fine although she just mentioned the other day that she doesn't think she remembers much from those years of history. I don't want them to be lost years for my fella either. Has anyone done this successfully? Here's what we're trying to do:

 

Monday:

    Write outline and summary from one library book he read 

 

Tuesday:

     Read for 90 minutes from various spines (I went through and made sure the information on the pages I assigned were all from the same time period)

     Write down 10-15 facts

 

Wednesday:

     No history work

 

Thursday: (90 minutes)

     Use an atlas to find places identified in reading

     Select topics to search for and read about from Library books

     Place events and people in our timeline book

     Use PBS videos and/or documentaries when appropriate

 

Friday (90 minutes) 

     Read froom library books (read more through the weekend if necessary)

 

 

Here's the problem. I'm wondering if I shouldn't be using more than one Encyclopedia.  He used three the other day:

      Kingfisher Illustrated Encyclopedia

      DK History of the World

      National Geographic Concise History of the World

 

I think, maybe, that this is too much information. It seems like it's hard for him to settle on something and really LEARN it. 

 

Also, his facts are deplorable. Here's what he wrote for last week: 

 

1. The silk road lasted until the 14th century.

2. 622 - Muhammed and his followers migrate from Mecca to Medina

3. The Byzantine Empire 

4. The Mayans

5. Stone Obelisks

6. Anglo-Saxon burial methods for kings

7. The temple of the giant Jaguar

8. The Mayans were the first people to have an advanced calendar.

9. The Kon-Tiki Expedition, 1947

10. The Byzantines made many small, gold crosses.

11. Byzantine had a secret weapon called "Greek Fire." It was a mixture that burst into flames when it came in contact with water in 677. 

 

Here's what he chose to look up at the library:

     The Byzantine Military

     The Constantinople Wall (does it even have a wall?!) 

 

Help! I'm confused as to where I should even begin to solve this problem...

 

Blessings, 

 

Angela 

     

[regentrude]

At that age, I would stick to one spine and teach the student to write an outline/quick summary/extract facts. It is difficult to juggle multiple resource and not lose the red thread.

[controlledchaos]

After typing my ridiculously long question and explanation I felt like that was the problem as well. Sometimes talking it out helps. Thanks for the affirmation. 

 

 

[happypamama]

I think maybe 90 minutes at a time might be too much for him. My 11yo 6th grader does history for 40 minutes, five days a week. Depending on te kid, longer might not mean twice as much productivity. I would definitely get more out of my son for two 40 minute sessions on different days than I would for 90 minutes.

 

I'd stick to one encyclopedia also. My son uses Kingfisher Encyclopedia with Human Odyssey as the main spine.

[KrissiK]

With my kids.... I need to do a lot of handholding. Kingfisher is kind of nice because each 2-page spread kind of lends itself to a nice outline. We use that one. We do some outlining, but not a ton. We're using Pandia Press History Odyssey which is kind of like what TWTM suggests, but kind of different. Anyhow, just pick a spine, and work through it together. And for a 6th grader, that sounds like a lot of work. 90 minutes, IMO, is a long time to spend on any subject.

[Alessandra]

Since you ask -- there was a wall. Parts of it still exist -- I have seen it irl.

[ScoutTN]

If he is strughling to retain or with comprehension, you might try a more narrative type spine. K12 Human Oddysey or OUP books are so much better written and interestjng to read than Kingfisher and other encyclopedias.

[Garga]

If he is strughling to retain or with comprehension, you might try a more narrative type spine. K12 Human Oddysey or OUP books are so much better written and interestjng to read than Kingfisher and other encyclopedias.

I agree with this. Story of the World is nice, too, especially if he's reading it alone.

 

Have you taught him how to do an outline? And by taught him, I mean have you sat with him doing it for about 6-8 outlining sessions before you sent him off on his own? So that would be for about 6 Mondays and Tuesdays to show him how to outline on 6 Mondays and how to pick out 10 good facts on Tuesday.

 

The stuff he listed sounds just like stuff my 6th grader would list. Sort of a hodgepodge without any explanation. :)

 

Some kids pick this up easily (like your dd) and some need a lot of help at the beginning.

 

P.S. If you have the time, I've found that my 6th grade learns much better if we read some things together. Can you read anything together?

Edited September 15, 2016 by Garga

[controlledchaos]

I think maybe 90 minutes at a time might be too much for him. My 11yo 6th grader does history for 40 minutes, five days a week. Depending on te kid, longer might not mean twice as much productivity. I would definitely get more out of my son for two 40 minute sessions on different days than I would for 90 minutes.

 

I'd stick to one encyclopedia also. My son uses Kingfisher Encyclopedia with Human Odyssey as the main spine.

I was trying to work it out so he didn't need to do History every day. But it didn't really work out, did it? lol

[Guest]

 

Have you taught him how to do an outline? And by taught him, I mean have you sat with him doing it for about 6-8 outlining sessions before you sent him off on his own? So that would be for about 6 Mondays and Tuesdays to show him how to outline on 6 Mondays and how to pick out 10 good facts on Tuesday.

 

The stuff he listed sounds just like stuff my 6th grader would list. Sort of a hodgepodge without any explanation. :)

 

Some kids pick this up easily (like your dd) and some need a lot of help at the beginning.

 

P.S. If you have the time, I've found that my 6th grade learns much better if we read some things together. Can you read anything together?

 

I was wondering the same thing here. Outlining comes more easily to some kids than others. I would work on that skill set- outlining- separate from history since you aren't happy with his output. I'm not saying you can't include it as history, but for now his studying history isn't dependent upon his ability to outline if that makes sense. Maybe have him narrate history or something while you get the outline issues under control. Have him outline multiple subjects until the expectation and output are jiving. The subject is irrelevant when it's a skill like this you're trying to develop. The more practice the better. 

[lifesadream83]

My daughter is in 7th and struggled with outlining last year.  I follow the Well Trained Mind Methods but apply them to the curriculum we choose.  We are using BookShark Eastern Hemisphere which comes with a "notebook" to fill in.  I tweak this "notebook" to follow TWTM.  For example this is our first week studying Russia.  So she read a section of the spine outloud to me.  Then I sat with her and read each paragraph one at a time and asked her to tell me what she thought the main idea of said paragraph was and she wrote the answers down in her notebook.  Then she had mapwork as assigned.  The next day we did the same.  Every few days we cook a meal or do a fun project around the topic. Her readers and read alouds are also scheduled and pertain to the history.  I like that the books are already picked out for us, it keeps things simple.  Our plan for outlining is to start with the One level outline and work up to a three level outline by the end of this year and I am having her write literary essays from her readers.   Her science has narratives and outlining also so that everything gets covered.  I think something that is key is the hand holding and walking them through the process several times until it clicks as a previous comment stated.

[deerforest]

If he is strughling to retain or with comprehension, you might try a more narrative type spine. K12 Human Oddysey or OUP books are so much better written and interestjng to read than Kingfisher and other encyclopedias.

I agree. History is one of my daughter's favorite subjects, but we've never done it the WTM way. 

[Tiramisu]

I never did history five times a week, only two or three days at most through eighth grade.

 

(And we didn't outline either....And my kids could get very stressed coordinating multiple resources. They might sound hopeless from a WTM perspective but I assure you the older ones turned out fine.)

 

Didn't SWB suggest somewhere two days a week for history and two for related lit?

[HomeAgain]

Gently.......I don't think I would get much out of a non-involved history program.  Would you? 

 

History, especially in the logic stage, should ask a student to start making connections.  It should be a conversation, a class that requires active participants.  When my oldest was in middle school he got a kick out of assignments from Read Like A Historian, supplemental pieces from Mysteries In History, and Jackdaws. They made him really apply what he was learning, connect them to other events going on in the world, and look at bias and angles in different books.

[Kareni]

I was WTM inspired in that we studied history chronologically, but I had my daughter approach her history studies in a different manner.

 

We started homeschooling when my daughter was in seventh grade.  This is what I did.

 

I had my daughter keep a Book of the Centuries when she began homeschooling in 7th grade.  We did a three year sweep through world history, and she added information to her book for three years.  Here are the instructions I gave her in 7th grade.

 

"History and Reading

 

The plan:

 

To study history chronologically from prehistory to about AD500.

 

The means:

 

We’ll use Hillyer and Huey’s two books Young People’s Story of the Ancient World as well as numerous other books and resources.

 

Typically each week there will be a list of required reading.  There will generally be a novel to be read pertaining to the time period.  There may also be some myths and legends to be read.  There will also be non-fiction books or selections to be read and perhaps a website to visit or a video to view.

 

You will need to locate any places mentioned on the map, in a historical atlas and on the globe (if we obtain one).  Each week you will make two pages for your Book of the Centuries.  These pages should be work you can be proud of!  They should be well planned, edited and neat.  They can be in your best cursive or done on the computer.  All art work should be done with care.  The pages should pertain to the time period being studied.  Each page should be titled.  Pages might cover such topics as:

 

A people

A great man or woman (a ruler, artist, explorer, scientist)

An artifact (tools, buildings, type of writing)

A religion

An event

A discovery or invention

A war or battle

The daily life of a people

A map (route of an explorer, location of a people) 

An imaginary encounter between two historical personae

???

 

You might find information on these topics at home or you may need to do additional research at the library or online. 

 

Maps should include a legend (which may be printed) in addition to the title.

 

In addition to your two pages, you should also note five to ten important dates in your Book of the Centuries."

 

 

If you'd like to see the materials we used in 7th, 8th, and 9th grade, let me know and I'll post them.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[J&JMom]

For my kids - that would be way too dry.  We do lots of art projects, crash course videos, read alouds, picture books, etc. to spice things up. Even in middle grades!  Reading an encyclopedia and outlining would send me to drink. 90 minutes a day?  We do social studies for 30 minutes a day - tops. YMMV

 

ETA - here is what I did this week with my 6th (ancients) and 8th (government)

6th -  Read 3 lessons in textbook.  (~40 minutes over 3 days?).  Watch Crash Course history on China. 

8th - Read 2 lessons in textbook. (~ 20 minutes over 2 days?) Watch Crash Course videos on congress. Work on PowerPoint presentation on US representatives from TX 

Joint:  Read Aloud "If I were a Kid in Ancient China" and "Where is the Great Wall?".  Watch Horrible History Episode.  Paint Terra Cotta Soldier craft after reading "Understanding Art" lesson on Ancient China. 

My blog has more details and pics, if interested. 

Edited September 26, 2016 by J&JMom