I've used TUG off and on for several years, but it is not my main geography curriculum. I've pulled various ideas from it to use with our history studies so we can tie geography into history topics. I've also used TUG w/ the Trail Guide series. It's got TONS of great ideas, and I love it. However, I think of it more as a great geography teaching/reference tool and not so much as a curriculum to follow, with weekly lessons laid out for me.

History & geography are my boys favorite subjects to learn about. They're in 6th & 9th grade, and when they were younger they LOVED using SOTW. However, if that's not an option, I think you can make ANY study of history more fun, regardless of what (if any) curriculum you use. But it really depends on what your kids enjoy. For example, my boys enjoyed...cooking ethnic recipes, going to ethnic restaurants, listening to music from other cultures, reading lots of relevant fiction (books set in a specific time period we were studying), doing webquests, drawing, making models, creating dioramas, coloring, exploring relevant website, playing board & card games (some we bought, most we made), staging debates to explore controversial topics, making timelines, creating lapbooks, making salt dough maps, etc. (Most of these activities were pulled together by me from many different sources, not one curriculum.) As for curricurlum -- * If you're studying world history, you can just follow TWTM recommendation of using one of the history encyclopedias (like Usborne or Kingfisher) as your spine and writing narrations about a particular topic/period/event. Then let your kids choose one or more topics in the encyclopedia to explore further ... with lots of library books (fiction & non-fiction), movies, games, websites, etc. * If you're studying American history, I'd highly recommend Joy Hakim's 10-volume series, "A History of US," written at a middle school level. There are teacher's guides available online, as well as an invaluable website that serves as a companion to a similar, one-volume book by Hakim: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/historyofus/teachers/index.html . IMO, history is one of those subjects that presents so many fun learning options. It should NEVER be boring.

I would say let him re-do the assignment, throw out the first grade he earned on the assignment and keep the second grade for the re-do. If his re-do grades were high enough the second time around, then this would legitimately allow him to earn an A in the first quarter if his grades warrant it. Also, if he's close to an A, maybe offer him the opportunity to do an extra-credit assignment as well that might nudge his grade up to an A. Public school does this all the time. However, if his semester grade still only comes out to a B after all this, even if he earned an A in the second quarter, then I'd give him a B for the semester. It is what it is. A B won't ruin his academic career and might be the incentive he needs to work harder next semester. You both want to feel good about his grades, knowing he truly earned them. FYI - I've got a 9th grade DS who sounds similar to your son. He's a really bright kid who is just struggling with time management, organization, prioritizing, etc. Because of these problems, he earned a zero in one history assignment that he completely forgot to do. (He is GREAT at history, too.) I could have extended the deadline (and I have in the past for an assignment or two), but he will never learn the importance of deadlines & planning if I keep making exceptions for him. The zero totally killed his grade for about 2 months -- brought him from an A to a D. He was devastated and literally BEGGED me for more grading opportunities, extra credit assignments, etc. Giving him a zero (which he deserved) was a great, but painful, learning experience for him.

That's what I love about this forum. We can share experiences and resources, ask and offer advice, and just realize that we are not in this alone, although it sometimes feels that way. Sometimes it just takes one person to say BTDT and there's a light at the end of the tunnel. When you're in the middle of the dark tunnel, you need to hear that it doesn't go on forever.

Wow! Thank you, all, for the great advice and encouragement. I really needed it. I SO appreciate the book recommendations and have already ordered one from Amazon and borrowed another from our library. I find it helpful to have some specific strategies to work with. Obviously, my daily nagging does no good -- for DS or me. And that's not the kind of mom I want to be anyway. I realize that public school is not the answer. The stress level was just overwhelming me, and I didn't think I could handle dealing w/ the same issues day after day in our homeschooling. I couldn't envision myself doing this thru 12th grade. But, yes, I am in it for the long haul. Putting him in public school would really just lessen my stress level and not do much at all for DS other than probably swallow him up & make matters worse. It has helped that I backed off and put things in perspective. I see that DS has a lot on his plate right now (some of it because his own procrastination & disorganization), but that my pressuring him does not help. It only makes him withdraw. Pamela, I have begun to do some of the things you suggested -- consistently micromanaging him in a helpful, gentle way because he needs so much structure and guidance. This is a much different approach than the critical, punitive approach I was taking because I was so frustrated with him. Thank you for all your helpful advice. Much appreciated!

I've used this site a few times, although not at the high school level. I found the teaching guides to be very helpful in discussing movies w/ my kids, tying themes/topics into something we're studying, etc. At $1/mo., I think it's a very affordable resource to have on hand, especially if you frequently use movies as a supplement to teaching history & literature.

Thanks, Sue. I appreciate the insights. I guess that's the struggle -- I cannot seem to motivate DS, who seems to lack desire for self-motivation. DH & I have talked w/ him many times over the years about taking responsibility for his own learning, his own life, etc., and about making positive choices. I've left age-appropriate "self-help" books (such as "Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens" or "How to Be a High School Supterstar") casually lying around & assigned others. He just seems perfectly fine w/ minimal effort & mediocre results. And I cannot seem to help DS get organized, despite the fact that his life is mildly crumbling around him because he is so disorganized. Simple solutions like a checklist for band practice (which he attends 3 days a week) or a student planner (which he has) would solve his problems, but he just won't use them. I guess I have to reach the point where he cares more about his success in life than I do. I am just not there yet.

:confused: How do you motivate an intelligent, creative teen to give the effort you know he's capable of giving? I've got a really smart, talented 9th grade son who just doesn't seem to care about anything beyond relaxing & having fun. (I know he's only 14, but he has always lacked drive & initiative, something I think all kids are capable of at an age-appropriate level.) He is disorganized, lacks self-discipline, is easily distracted, and acts very immature for his age. He rarely challenges himself, even in areas that he excels at. (He's very good at drawing & writing, so I've encouraged him over the years to enter contests or submit things for publication, which he occasionally does with much reluctance and and a mediocre effort.) He is taking some honors level courses that he CAN do well in if he put forth the effort. But he does not like to work hard and does the absolute minimum to get by and sometimes much less. He's so disorganized that he's constantly missing deadlines, losing papers, forgetting things, etc. And, when give the freedom to work on whatever subjects/assignments/schedule he wants as long as he completes his work, he flounders horribly. He seems to need so much structure and hand-holding for a high schooler that I feel like I am homeschooling a grade-schooler all over again. His only motivating force in life seems to be "screen time," which I drastically limit -- during the week he gets no video games at all and only 1 hour of TV/computer time. This is the only "carrot" I can use to get him to do anything. I've also used this to improve his grades (i.e., no video games on the weekend until he has at least a B in all courses -- and this is for a kid who is very capable of having an A in most if not all courses if he focused & worked hard). Sorry for the rant, but I'm at my wit's end and ready to put him back in public school. This is too daunting, too frustrating and too important to just battle with him on a daily basis to step up to the plate and do what he needs to do without being hand-held every step of the way of what to do, when to do it and why it's important. Any advice -- either for him or for me?

I follow the grad. requirements of our local high school as far as choosing core courses to take. My 9th grader takes math, science & Latin thru FLVS, so I don't have any input into the course, but I like the pace and flexibility offered thru these online courses. I do teach world history & English. I make it more "homeschooly" by varying the kinds of assignments the kids do by incorporating things they like -- art, music, cooking, field trips, games, geography, etc. (I've got 2 boys -- a middle schooler & a high schooler). I do not want my high schooler writing an essay, doing worksheets & taking tests for every history chapter. And I don't want him to analyze every book he reads or he would start to hate reading. So we do creative projects like making a poster to promote the book, writing music/lyrics to summarize the story, drawing a comic strip to illustrate a key scene in the book, etc. For electives, I think, that's where even greater "course customization" comes into play. We can do the typical things that high schoolers do -- art, music, speech, etc. But we can also feed into the interests of our teens -- starting a business for an entrepreneur course or allowing your teen to tap into his writing/artistic talent by creating a "Graphic Novel" course. To me, THIS is where homeschooling really shines.

This probably won't be of any help, but we all study the same historical period together and we're often reading the same books at different levels. (I've only got 2 boys -- a 6th grader & a 9th grader.) We study the same historical period using different spines & resources and different versions of the literature, but we often sit together & discuss the historical period, talk about literary elements & techniques, watch a related movie, do mapping activities, make timelines, draw, create projects, etc. I simply expect a higher level of work from my high schooler than my middle schooler. For example, we just read Gilgamesh. My high schooler read "the real thing" while my 6th grader read Geraldine McCraughean's version. (We all actually liked the younger version better.) But the basic elements of the story are the same. I did have separate discussions with my high schooler sometimes to go deeper into the book, but quite often, we all worked together. Currently, we're reading through the Iliad, with my younger son reading children's versions and my older son reading "the real thing." If you are working with several different grade levels on several different historical periods, then I'm not sure there's an easy solution. I would make SparkNotes or Cliffs Notes a good friend! ;)

History is our favorite subject! We do occasional narrations/summaries & outlines, otherwise my boys would get bored. We've also done notebooking and using a variety of note-taking skills, such as the Cornell method. To make it more fun, though, we throw in activities related to the time period we're studying, such as cooking, art/craft projects, online games, making board/card games, playing Jeopardy, listening to music, making models, doing crossword puzzles, drawing maps, creating dioramas, staging debates, reading historical fiction, watching history documentaries, making PowerPoint presentations, acting out historical events, designing posters, taking field trips, writing music/lyrics to a song depicting historical events, going to historical re-enactments & Renaissance festivals, writing bio-poems, creating comic strips, etc. Making it fun for your kids really depends on what they consider to be fun activities. (Can you tell I've got creative kids?)

I'm doing the exact same thing with my 9th grade DS this year. He is taking the test just to get comfortable in a timed test-taking environment. He is doing very little prep work other than reading the booklet that students get when they register for the test. (He just got the booklet today, the test is next week.) Also, he has sporadically answered the SAT Question of the Day from the College Board website. But I've already told him that this will be a no-pressure approach to taking the PSAT -- the results do not count toward college entrance or scholarships or even annual homeschool evaluation. I just want him to get comfortable with the test, and I want to get a feel for where he stands with math & language arts. FYI - He has already taken Algebra I & Geometry, so he should do OK in the math part. However, if he hadn't already taken these math courses, I would have told him not to get stressed out about what he doesn't know, simply because he hasn't learned it yet. This should alleviate any fears. Lisa

WOW! Chels, these are fabulous resources for SOTW. Thank you so much for sharing these!

We're using Spielvogel's Western Civilization textbook to study Ancient-Medieval history and reading the Great Books of that time period. Here's the list DS will be reading through in 9th grade: The Epic of Gilgamesh The Iliad, Homer The Odyssey, Homer Mythology, Edith Hamilton (read independently) Oedipus Rex, Sophocles Oedipus at Colonus, Sophocles (read independently) Antigone, Sophocles (Netflix) Herodotus and the Road to History, Jeanne Bendick (read independently-children’s version) Clouds, Aristophanes Birds or Frogs, Aristophanes (read independently) The Republic, Plato Aesop’s Fables (read independently) Ethics, Aristotle On Poetics, Aristotle (excerpts or read independently?) The Bible (Genesis, Exodus, Job, Proverbs, Daniel) The Aeneid for Boys & Girls, Alfred Church (read independently) The Children’s Plutarch: Tales of the Greeks, F.J. Gould (read independently) Beowulf Divine Comedy, Dante Sir Gawain & the Green Knight The Canterbury Tales Some we will read through together, discuss in-depth, anaylyze, and DS will write papers and do projects. Others we will read excerpts just to get a feel for the book/author/time period. Others he will read independently with no discussions, analysis or assignments attached to it. Some will be children's versions. We're even throwing in a movie version of a play to mix things up. We'll also use The Teaching Co. lectures called "Great Authors of the Western Literary Tradition" to coincide with the particular books/authors we're reading. Keep in mind that this is the plan. We might not make it through the whole list, but I like to set the bar high at the beginning and at least start with a plan. ;)

I borrowed it from the library and will use it as an introduction (for me and my DS) for each classic book we'll be reading as we study ancient-medieval literature.

Thanks for the input! I will have him take the test, for all the reasons stated above. Silver lining - it also might help to motivate him more to think beyond the next day and start realizing that college isn't really all that far off. ;) Our local high school begins selling tickets ($20/person) in early October to sit for the PSAT, so it sounds like any student (public schooled or homeschooled) can take the test as long as he pays. Just in case, I gave the guidance counselor a heads up that DS is homeschooled. It didn't seem to make a difference.

I was thinking of having my 9th grader take the PSAT in a few weeks, partly to give him practice and partly to let me see his strengths and weaknesses. I didn't have him do any prep work for it yet because I wanted this to be a low-pressure attempt, but he will do some practice exercises prior to taking the test. FYI-Next summer, I plan to have him read through (and practice) an entire PSAT Test Prep book and take the test "for real" in 10th grade & again in 11th grade when it counts for scholarship money. Is this overkill or would you think it's helpful? More importantly, does it hurt students in any way if colleges (or the College Board) sees that he has taken this test 2 or 3 times? I really just wanted to see his baseline score without much test prep, to assess weaknesses, etc., and I wanted this to be a low-stress approach. However, I don't want to set him up for failure by not having him prep much or by taking it multiple times. Your thoughts?

Yes, we're using Vocabulary From Classical Roots. It's challenging but not overwhelming, and the retention is good so far. DS is using Level C & D for 9th grade and will complete the series (Level E) in 10th grade. We've also borrowed Vocabulary Cartoons (and similar titles) for fun from the library a few times because DS likes them. DS is a voracious reader and has an impressive vocabulary. But just because he reads unfamiliar words in context doesn't mean he always knows their exact meaning or takes the time to look them up in the dictionary every time he encounters them. For these reasons, I like using a vocab program.

I apologize but I might have confused you with the materials I mentioned previously. Let me clarify what I used. The History Channel recently produced "America: The Story of Us," a 12-episode DVD series. It's fantastic! The home page for this series is here: http://www.history.com/shows/america-the-story-of-us. On the left side of this page, you'll find links to various guides (teachers, classroom, families, etc.) that coordinate with each episode. The guides include terms to know, discussion questions, primary sources to review, etc. They are helpful but not extensive. Along with watching the History Channel DVDs, we also used Joy Hakim's 10-volume U.S. history books called "A History of US" as our spine. We would coordinate our readings with the appropriate segments on The History Channel DVDs. In addition, we also used some great resources available thru PBS. Several years ago, PBS produced a great U.S. History program based on another of Joy Hakim's book called "Freedom: A History of Us," which seems to be a condensed version of her 10-volume series. I'm not sure if the program is still airing on PBS, but the Freedom series has a website with LOTS of materials here: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/historyofus/index.html. I found the PBS webisodes here: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/historyofus/menu.html. They do not correspond exactly with the way The History Channel's "America: The Story of Us" series is laid out, but they progress chronologically, so it's easy to match up the topics you're studying. Each PBS webisode has a corresponding teachers guide here: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/historyofus/teachers/index.html. The teachers guides have LOTS of material for each webisode, from discussion questions to writing prompts to group activities and much more. I'm guessing the guides are aimed at middle schoolers, but you can easily use many activities as is and simply adapt other activities for the high school level. Hopefully these links help you pull all the materials together that you need.

Yes, I used the DVDs, but the not book. We read Hakim's 10-volume "The History of US" book series and coordinated the "America: The Story of Us' webisodes & DVD segments. Together, they are a fantastic study of American history. Each webisode also features an online Teacher's Guide. And the DVDs (which I got for free from The History Channel when they had a special offer for educators) are incredible. They tell the story of America with an engaging, visual presentation that truly is just enjoyable to watch, even if you weren't studying American history. We added other books along the way (both nonfiction and historical fiction) and truly LOVED having Hakim's materials (book, website, DVDs) as our spine. Highly recommended.

One suggestion I had read (and will be trying next week, actually) is to give the kids an open-notes test (meaning taking a test using only the notes they took while reading or discussing -- they cannot use any books). This means that they must read/listen and write down the most important things during the lesson/chapter. The more detailed their notes, the better they will be able to perform on the test. And just the act of writing down they key facts/definitions/events/terms/etc. will increase their chance of info retention. I'm not a big fan of testing at all, but I've run into the same problems with the information-retention issue. I'm really trying hard to get my 9th grade DS to learn the skill of taking notes and he is fighting me every step of the way on this. He keeps telling me he understands the material (which I agree, he does), but I keep explaining that he's not remembering a lot of the material, thus the push for note-taking. FYI - I've been trying to vary the way my kids take notes -- notebooking pages, foldables (a la Dinah Zike), summary paragraphs, Cornell notes, outlines, etc. I realize the format that works for one child might not work for another. But it is a big struggle, regardless of format. Thus, the open-notes approach next week. Once they take the notes, they need to use them in some way -- incorporating them into a project, using them as a springboard for more research, doing a writing assignment, studying for a test, etc. To encourage more detailed note-taking (a skill they will need in college), I'm also doing occasional "notebook checks" that will be part of their grade. I outlined clear expectations (A=all notes dated, organized, and detailed on key chapter topics, B= most notes dated, organized, and detailed on key chapter topics, etc.) and a deadline, so they know what I expect and when. I'm not trying to imitate school per se, but to me, note taking and effective studying are keys to success in college, regardless of whether you're homeschooled or in public/private school. Not sure if this will work (for you or for me!) but I'm just throwing it out as an option to consider. Lisa

:iagree:

There's an extensive list of literature that corresponds to U.S. History here: http://www.redshift.com/~bonajo/history.htm#UCOL. You'll have to sift thru the titles, since they cover K-12 reading. However, I believe all the titles marked "older" are at the middle/high school level, such as Red Badge of Courage, Last of the Mohicans, To Kill a Mockingbird, etc.

I remember reading about making stop-motion films using Lego figures at this website: http://www.brickfilms.com/. Not sure if it is age appropriate or how-to oriented, but it might be a step in the right direction for you.

I have not done this, but I've considered doing it. My reason for not doing it is that my oldest went to public school for most of middle school and had no history during this time. (Surprisingly, he did get a great foundation in world geography.) But, if he had a more solid background in history, I had wanted to just pick a period of time that he enjoys (like Medieval history or the Renaissance) and just spend all year studying that time period through lots of nonfiction, historical fiction, biographies, movies, etc. I think it's perfectly doable as long as you have a solid plan to go deep rather than wide and have relevant assignments (essays, creative writing, projects, etc.). I really think this is what homeschooling is all about -- having the flexibility to do what works for your kids and learning about something for the joy of it rather than just to check it off a list as done. Just my 2 cents.