Transitioning a Year 9 from eclectic homeschool to History from Susan

[Donna2011]

Hello,

 

I am looking for some advice for my daughter who is 13 and will be turning 14 in Jan. 2018.

 

Over the last six years we have been loosely doing history from a variety of sources and we are currently up to Early Modern History,  so I was wondering if I should start her on the Story of the World Series beginning with Level 3 and then do Level 4 and then move on to the book series Susan has written for the teenagers.  

 

My daughter is an advanced reader so I wasn't sure if the Story of the World series would be too light or could we supplement the programme with older assigned readings?  I didn't want to break up the timeline we were on.

 

If any-one else has been in this situation or could offer suggestions I would be grateful.

 

Kind regards,

Donna

Edited December 5, 2017 by Donna2011

[2_girls_mommy]

You could definitely supplement for older kids. The book The Well Trained Mind gives ideas for logic stage and rhetoric stage work to go along

[Chris in VA]

Personally, having seen what my public-schooler did at that age (she did SOTW in 1-4th grades), I think it is too light, even with supplementation.  If I had homeschooled her at that age, I'd have used k12's history. It's 3 years instead of 4, very readable, and leads nicely into the upper level SWB program. 

[Bocky]

My 13 yr old daughter is also a strong reader. She is currently studying modern history; we did early modern last year. I would not recommend Story of the World 3 and 4 for a strong reader finishing middle school/starting high school. 

 

We are using the K12 series mentioned above, Human Odyssey, along with Joy Hakim's USA focused History of US series.

 

Here's link to volume 2 of Human Odyssey, which includes the early modern period: www.amazon.com/Human-Odyssey-Vol-Holdren-Cribb/dp/1931728569

 

and to Hakim: www.amazon.com/History-US-Eleven-Set-Paperback/dp/0195327276/ref=la_B000APDUMU_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1512854905&sr=1-6

 

We also used Oxford University Press's excellent Medieval and Early Modern World series last year: global.oup.com/academic/content/series/m/medieval-and-early-modern-world-memw/?cc=us&lang=en& 

 

I have found these three series to be excellent resources at this level. My dd loves the less formal narrative tone of Hakim, but it looks like you might be outside the US so this might be of less interest to your dd. I have her also reading volume 3 of Human Odyssey this year to cover history outside the US. For early modern history last year, the 5 volumes of the Medieval and Early Modern World series were also particularly interesting for their international coverage. I love the book on the African and Middle Eastern world. (I didn't use the Primary Sources and References Volume much).

 

[Donna2011]

Thank you to everyone who replied to my post.  I appreciate the comments and your time. :)  I have been looking too and I am considering Winston Churchill's book III which covers the period I am after.  My daughter likes his writing.  I thought I would inform you of my decision in case any one else needed to know.   :)

Edited December 10, 2017 by Donna2011

[EKS]

If you want a solid review of world history, I'd read through K12's Human Odyssey series (alternatively, you could read through their World History: Our Human Story which is based on HO but is written at a 9th grade level).  SOTW is wonderful, but it is written for lower elementary students and is not appropriate for an 8th grader.

 

 

[ScoutTN]

I too would choose K12 Human Odyssey rather than SOTW. 

I supplement with biographies and historical fiction and even some meaty picture books from the library, to keep it from being too routine with the text.

We do lots of discussion and writing similar to what TWTM recommends.

[Another Lynn]

Thank you to everyone who replied to my post.  I appreciate the comments and your time. :)  I have been looking too and I am considering Winston Churchill's book III which covers the period I am after.  My daughter likes his writing.  I thought I would inform you of my decision in case any one else needed to know.   :)

 

Reading his history books is still a goal of mine, so I think it's a great choice.  She might enjoy a Churchill biography on the side when you get to the end of the 1800s.  I really enjoyed Winston Churchill:  An Intimate Portrait by Violet Bonham Carter.