Michelle in AL Posted July 15, 2009 Share Posted July 15, 2009 I have been struggling to come up with a plan for my 10th gr dd for history to cover the middle ages. She doesn't really like textbooks and prefers real books. We've used Omnibus I and really enjoyed it, but this yr I wanted to pick and choose our own books. My brother, a history buff, has helped me pick some books. Here's my plan. Literature (overlaps history): Beowulf The Once and Future King Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Utopia~Thomas More Macbeth A Midsummer's Night Dream History: Guns, Germs and Steel DVD The Ecclesiastical History of the English People~selections or entirity? Research Charlemagne 1066 the year of the Conquest Power of a Woman, Memoirs of a Turbulent Life: Eleanor of Aquitaine The Lion in the Winter DVD 1215 The Year of the Magna Carta A Distant Mirror The Calamitous 14th Century The Travels of Marco Polo (excerpts) The Children of Henry the VIII Excerpts from The Lives of the Kings and Queens of England The Lives of the Artists (Oxford World's Classics) Selections Galileo's Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith, and Love Out of the Flames: The Remarkable Story of a Fearless Scholar, a Fatal Heresy, and One of the Rarest Books in the World I need to add more for the Renaissance era. I think I'm missing something on world religions. Any suggestions or maybe select chapters from Spielvogel. Am I missing big chunks of history here or details? I find none of us really remember any details from texts anyway. Would I be doing her a disservice by doing this instead of texts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mktyler Posted July 15, 2009 Share Posted July 15, 2009 A few thoughts . . . The Patrick Stewart Lion in Winter is intense, you might want to prescreen. I believe there is an older version that might be a bit more tame. You seem to mostly be focusing on England so you might want to look at some books about eastern Europe, Asia, Americas or Africa. You could peruse amazon or perhaps contact your local University history department for more suggestions. The Story of Art is a wonderful book that has a very readable section on art and artists of the Middle Ages and Renaissance, including sculpture and architecture. The newest edition has nice images for all the works mentioned. I personally think this is a great way to do history in high school as you can go in depth and its certainly more interesting. Melissa Minnesota Reading Program Junkie dd(11) dd(7) ds(5) ds(1) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
April in CA Posted July 15, 2009 Share Posted July 15, 2009 Hi Michelle! Have you considered having your daughter do a timeline just so she has a basic flow of history during the eras you will be covering? If your dd is artsy, there are some beautiful books out there that could inspire her! Also, have you considered adding lecture dvds from the Teaching Co? The guy who does the middle ages lectures is lots of fun. His name is Phillip something - Daileader (or something like that, I think - his name begins with a D at any rate!). You might also want to look at the Western Civ set. We have enjoyed adding in lectures as they match up with our studies. How much do you want to cover this year? What is your starting point? Do you need to get to a certain point in history? This time period is so rich and full it would be easy to camp out there! Be sure to add some studies about the Popes, and don't forget the Byzantine Empire! Have fun! Blessings, April Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle in AL Posted July 16, 2009 Author Share Posted July 16, 2009 Thanks Melissa, I think if I do this plan she will miss much of Asia, the viking era, So America, Africa etc. That is the drawback. With this many books there's not much time for anything else. :confused: I wonder if concentrating on one area would increase her retention more than throwing a lot of things at her. Thanks to April, She'll do a book on church history too, so the popes will be in there. The Byzantime empire, aagh, I really need to add that in. Maybe I can have her do a textbook review or research project. I will have her do a timeline. Thanks for all your suggestions. I'd love to hear anyone else's, even if it's "no that will screw up your child." I'm really nervous about going this route because I know there will be some holes. I plan to cover 500-at least 1700 AD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted July 16, 2009 Share Posted July 16, 2009 I'd add in Inferno, simply because it is referenced so much in our culture. I would also maybe do short readings or context papers for the literature books. I think the non-fiction resources (only familiar with some of them!) look like really, really neat ways to learn of the times. Make her write critically about the times and the lit, and you are good to go! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle in AL Posted July 16, 2009 Author Share Posted July 16, 2009 Thanks Eliana for such a fantastic list! I'm going to have fun perusing the selections! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yabusame Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 Just wanted to thank Eliana for all of her work on this thread too. I'll be saving this thread for when I start to look at the Middle Ages next year. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katie144 Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 We just finished Omnibus II, one of the books I used as a substitution was Thomas Cahill's How the Irish Saved Civilization - both my dd and I enjoyed reading it. Just a thought.:001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle in AL Posted July 18, 2009 Author Share Posted July 18, 2009 Thanks Katie, we don't have anything on that area. I'll go check it out too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.