Guest Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 (edited) Let me guess: them is slim pickin's. I am not liking OM for my older son (young 8th). It is way too writing intense for this child. He does not want a literature or research based approach. No TRISMS or CM or HO/WTM. That isn't this child. He has requested a textbook approach with chapter questions and tests and maps. American or any time period is fine. We would both like secular (K12 (too $$$) and OM are the only choices, huh?) OK, let's try something not super religious or at least fair to all religions. Does BJU adhere to that standard? I would like something he can stick with through high school. Edited February 25, 2011 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ondreeuh Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 Why not use Hakim's A History of US? It's perfect for 7th-8th grade. You can get a syllabus from Hewitt for cheap, or just wing it. I would say that there are PLENTY of choices for secular textbook American history - just look for books that are marketed to the public school market. Most have a one-year U.S. History for their fifth grade, and then a 1 or 2 year high school U.S. History. My husband teaches high school history and his favorite textbook is The American Nation by Carnes. It's a set of 2 big paperback textbooks. It's a college level book but he uses it with his sophomores. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2cents Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 (edited) We just finished up American History using OpenAccess. It was quite good and the girls (7th and 8th) enjoyed it. The slides were interesting and there is a lot more. We used the text 'The American Pageant' by Kennedy and Cohen for the course. We also supplemented but if you wouldn't have too unless you wanted more. Best of all - it's FREE (except for the text). I got my used text from Amazon. The link: http://www.ucopenaccess.org/course/view.php?id=74 Here is a link to some ppt files that were made for an earlier text edition, but they still have good info: http://college.cengage.com/history/us/kennedy/am_pageant_brief/6e/instructors/protected/ppt.html#LinksTable Edited February 25, 2011 by 2cents ETA-link to ppt files Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in CA Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 My 8th grade DS had the same request this year. We began 8th continuing in TOG...which we used in prior grades and I thought he loved...when he asked me to please let him drop TOG and use a textbook. So, though I thought it would KILL me to have a history textbook in the house, I relented and purchased a BJU set. He loved it. Loved reading the chapters, answering the questions, working on the different assignments in the Student Activity book. Loved it. But me, not being able to leave well enough alone, got the bug to try Omnibus III. So, we are currently having fun with that and he's learning tons. He would not balk one bit if we stopped Omni and went back to his BJU text though. Omni is waaaaaaaaaaaay time consuming for me, so that might come to fruition before years end. ;) Anyhow, I know that some balk at BJU's religiousness, but so far I have not noticed it being over the top. As a Protestant Christian myself, I do prefer a Christian worldview so perhaps I am not the best one to address how religious BJU is. Having used so many different types of books in the past, I have no real issue disagreeing with an author and have always taught my children to read with their intellect and not just agree with something because an author said it. My older boys read and thoroughly enjoyed A Story of US, but pinpointed the authors bias right away. They totally disagreed with some of the way she said things, how she viewed things, wanted THEM to view things, etc. But they still got a lot out of the books. Currently, I don't agree with some of the religion of Omnibus III, but it makes for wonderful discussion, and gets my ds thinking. BJU will most definitely give you what you are wanting in regards to the type of work your ds wants to do, but it is coming from a Christian worldview. You'll have to decide if that worldview is too Christian. ;) As for other religions, what I have read so far has been fairly presented. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5LittleMonkeys Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 Have you looked at Notgrass? They have a middle school American History and high school American, World, Government and Economics. It does include literature selections but they are light compared to other curriculums and we are going to use many of them as our literature studies. Here is the Middle School link:http://www.notgrass.com/index.php Here is the High School link: http://www.notgrass.com/homeschool-curriculum-high-school.php Dd13 is not a history lover at all so I didn't want her schoolwork to be history heavy. She also doesn't like lit based curriculum. This seemed like a nice combo of text with a few light lit selections. This is the line-up we are going to be using: 8th - America the Beautiful 9th - Runkle's World Geography 10th - Exploring World History 11th - Exploring American History 12th - Exploring Economics and Exploring Government The middle school program does not include Bible study, but the high school level does, however, from what I can gather from the samples, it might be easy enough to omit those portions. I think the 5th day is the day you cover Bible\religion. There are good samples of the text to read so you can get a sense for yourself if it is something you may be able to work with. Short of purchasing a public school text, I don't know that you are going to find anything reasonably priced that is 100% secular. If you do, let me know! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 We just had a whole thread on the BJU 8 American Republic text and student workbook. It would be exactly what you're saying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dina in Oklahoma Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 Hello ~ Just a thought . . .I have All American History for sale. You might like it.:001_smile: The TM, student text, and workbook were all purchased new. "From Leif Ericson to early 19th-century culture, this engaging overview brings America's history to life in 32 weekly lessons. Students explore historic events, the atmosphere surrounding them, and their impact on the country's future. The student reader features inviting text and hundreds of images and maps. The activity book offers multisensory reviews, unit wrap-ups, map work, and more. And the teacher's guide provides scope and sequence, answer keys, games, activities, and more." CBD http://www.christianbook.com/explorers-jacksonians-volume-1-american-history/pd/242111?item_code=WW&netp_id=422392&event=ESRCN&vie w=details AAH as gentle or intense as you choose to make it. We have decided to not finish AAH as I planned way too much for history this year in addition to joining a co-op that offered some history classes DD wanted to take. Well it is one of her favorite subjects! :tongue_smilie: The first three chapters of the workbook are completed in pencil and there are a few checkmarks and writing in pen. The TM and reader are pristine. Asking $55.00. I accept PayPal and the price includes shipping,from a non-smoking home. Please PM me. Dina :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HollyDay Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 If I need a textbook history when my youngest reaches 8th, I'll be looking at BJU. We have their 7th grade history and I am surprisingly pleased with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarenNC Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 A friend is using Journey Across Time with her middle-schooler. http://www.glencoe.com/sec/socialstudies/fybh/index.php?vurl She really likes it and the supporting materials. It's secular and world history. I imagine they also have an American history book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 We just finished up American History using OpenAccess. It was quite good and the girls (7th and 8th) enjoyed it. The slides were interesting and there is a lot more. We used the text 'The American Pageant' by Kennedy and Cohen for the course. We also supplemented but if you wouldn't have too unless you wanted more. Best of all - it's FREE (except for the text). I got my used text from Amazon. The link: http://www.ucopenaccess.org/course/view.php?id=74 Here is a link to some ppt files that were made for an earlier text edition, but they still have good info: http://college.cengage.com/history/us/kennedy/am_pageant_brief/6e/instructors/protected/ppt.html#LinksTable Thanks! That uc site looks great. I'm planning for down the road and I already own more than one of the required texts, found them all cheaply at thrift stores. Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Granny_Weatherwax Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 All American History 1 & 2 would be perfect. The text book is great, the student work book has everything you could want and, in case your student wants to do extra research and reading, there are optional activities included. We completed AAH1 last year and are workingthrough AAH2 this year. We enjoy it completely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homeschooling6 Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 My oldest son Josh, works so much better with textbooks. It's the way his brain is wired. When I use something like MFW, WP or SL with him, he feels everything is scattered. A textbook is neat and tidy to him. It's organized. He just works best that way. I tried SL Science 5 this year, knowing I should have gone the textbook route but SL 5 Science looked so good (and is) but again, too many books scatter his brain. He loves books, and always has a book to read but for school he uses textbooks. All that to say BJ American Republic is REALLY good. My son loves it and I think it's very interesting as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 26, 2011 Share Posted February 26, 2011 (edited) I read most of the BJU thread. But I am still undecided. It is independant, right? Anything with heavy (read lots of essays) writing assignments is not something he can handle. He loves history so I would rather save the writing for english. I have been curious about Omnibus for years. What exactly is it? We are Mormons and as such, I do not expect to find anything written from our particular Christian viewpoint (which is not that different from any others). We tried AAH 1. It lasted 3 weeks. A History of US met the same fate. Neither of us could stand those books. I can't exactly say why. They didn't 'feel/read' right. Did ya'll know K12 high school level courses are not available as an independant? You have to enroll with them. That is a hefty charge! So I suppose I will head over to Mardel's tomorrow to take a look at BJU. One last question, do I need the TM? Edited February 26, 2011 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amtmcm Posted February 26, 2011 Share Posted February 26, 2011 (edited) My DD is using BJU World History (10th) and it's excellent! This history text is very straight forward. I don't think there's anything offensive - for instance, they're complimentary of the scientific and medical contributions of the Muslim Empire during the Middle Ages without making any snarky comments. Over all it seems like an even handed text, just sticking to commonly agreed upon facts. The first chapter is about God's hand on historical events and reading about history with a Christian Worldview. If this doesn't mesh with your beliefs you could skip the first chapter. The Activity Pages include multiple choice and short answer type questions, but there's a good variety and you could pick and choose which ones to complete or skip. Many of the questions refer to the Bible and may not always fit your beliefs, so you might skip those. One really cool thing about the Activity Pages is they include a number of "original documents" (ie: Cyrus' Cylinder, excerpts from Homer, Josephus, and Machiavelli). There are also a lot of mapping and timeline activities. I'd give this book two big thumbs up and it sounds like others are really enjoying their American History text so maybe it will be a good option for you. I bought the TE, but just for the answers to the Activity Pages. Edited February 26, 2011 by amtmcm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamatanya Posted March 6, 2011 Share Posted March 6, 2011 All American History 1 & 2 would be perfect. The text book is great, the student work book has everything you could want and, in case your student wants to do extra research and reading, there are optional activities included. I completely agree. My son is a textbookish type student and he loves All American History, as do I!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justasque Posted March 6, 2011 Share Posted March 6, 2011 I suggest History of US by Hakim. For each section, there are People, Places, and Vocab words, as well as various questions to answer. It is a secular text, and takes pains to explore issues from various points of view. The text (10 volumes) is also available on mp3 through Audible.com. I think it lays an excellent foundation for rigorous high school-level work. I would take two years to cover the material, and even then, don't feel like you need to do every single chapter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmericanMom Posted March 7, 2011 Share Posted March 7, 2011 Galore Park has some very well written history books called So You Really Want to Learn History for middle schoolers that are textbooks and have chapter questions, etc., but they were each written by individuals and so the text is more engaging that a typical textbook written by a group. British History, mostly. You can get them used through Abe books online usually. Forgot to say they are secular. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justasque Posted March 7, 2011 Share Posted March 7, 2011 Galore Park has some very well written history books called So You Really Want to Learn History for middle schoolers that are textbooks and have chapter questions, etc., but they were each written by individuals and so the text is more engaging that a typical textbook written by a group. British History, mostly. You can get them used through Abe books online usually. Forgot to say they are secular. Oh, that looks tempting! Can you give a bit more info about the "work" part - e.g. thinking questions vs. "find the info in the text" questions, is there map work, etc. etc. And would you generally do one per year? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmericanMom Posted March 7, 2011 Share Posted March 7, 2011 Can you give a bit more info about the "work" part - e.g. thinking questions vs. "find the info in the text" questions, is there map work, etc. etc. And would you generally do one per year? There are two books out so far, another is expected this spring, I believe. Book One is Britain, 1066-1500, and Book Two is Britain, 1485-1750. There are only 10 chapters in each book, but the chapters are lengthy and broken into different subjects/events. For example, Book One, Chapter One is The Norman Conquest and is broken down into seven different sections: background, who should become king?, how do we know?, preparations, the Battle of Stamford Bridge, the Battle of Hastings, and essay questions. These books do work on essay writing, which is one readon I like them. There is a mix of exercises. Ex.: Book One chapter one has 5 exercises. The first is answering factual questions with complete sentences. (Ex. According to the Bayeux Tapestry, how was King Harold killed?) The second is list the three men who claimed the crown of England and give the main reason why each thought he should be king. The third is matching dates to events and writing them out in chronological order. The fourth has the student read 2 excerpts from (opposing) sources of the time and answering both factual questions and comparing the two and discussing bias. Then the fifth has a variety of writing questions for writing paragraphs. (Ex.:Make a list of every reason William won and Harold lost, put them in order from most to least important, and explain in a paragraph why you put them in this order.) These books are also really good for outlining, because the paragraphs mostly have clear topic sentences and are about only one aspect, such as William's early life or how he got the French barons to support his invasion of England. My 12 year old finished the first book in probably four months and is in the second book now, but we do not do every exercise. If you did every exercise, daily or weekly outlining, map work, and some outside reading, you could easily spread one book out over a year. There are maps in the book (and battle plans, which is my son's favorite part!) but there isn't much map work specified, though you could just use the book maps and have him trace, or fill in blackline maps, or (what we do) copy the battle plans. Overall, I highly recommend them. My son loves the way the British author words things - he thinks it is funny and interesting. I don't have the answer key but I think it has some sample essays in it. I just bought the student books. Hope that helps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justasque Posted March 7, 2011 Share Posted March 7, 2011 Yes, that helps *a lot*! (Well, it doesn't help my bank account...) I could see a lovely co-op class built around that, where they also read some fiction that goes along with the historical events (Children of the New Forest comes to mind, though it's been ages since I've read it), plus much jousting and feasting and wearing of medieval garb. There'd be sure to be at least one boy who'd want to do a quarterly report on the weapons of any given era, and at least one girl who would recreate the entire Bayeux Tapestry for her individual project, plus of course a field trip to look at armor. Oh yes, that does very much help!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momling Posted March 7, 2011 Share Posted March 7, 2011 I'd just take a look at the major publishing houses that cater to public schools and see what's out there that looks appealing. I've taught from Journey across Time and Across the centuries and was quite happy with them. Getting an older addition will reduce the cost a lot! Also, I'm really happy with Oxford's World in Ancient Times series. There are other series that follow the ancient times. It's good history, well written and has a student study guide. It's enough material to take a student from middle school to high school, though I would add more authentic primary texts as supplements by high school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenninMN Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 Pacworks has an American history set. I used it with my daughter. It is "conservative" but not "christian." You can see samples on the Pacworks website and CBD. Jennifer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 Thanks, everyone. I went with history odyssey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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