When and how do you all teach your state history?

[Nakia]

Just wondering. I remember in school we did a whole year of NC history in 4th grade and again in 7th. My oldest will be in 3rd grade next year and we already have next year all planned out, but I was just thinking ahead. Just wanted to know what you all did. TIA!

 

 

BTW, I am pretty new here. I live in beautiful Maggie Valley, NC and homeschool my lovely ladies. :D

[ldee]

It required some additional research.

[ticklbee]

I'm actually doing State History from a Christian Perspective. I really like it. It uses the Abeka My State Notebook and they have a study for each of the 50 states. Obviously you would choose your state. It comes with quizzes and tests, maps etc. - I really like it. It is making my job *so* much easier.

 

We are only on Lesson 15 but even though the title states it's from a Christian perspective - I haven't really come across anything overtly christian in it so far, so it might be able to be used successfully by secular homeschoolers as well. Website is http://www.statehistory.net

 

HTH!

[mamato3 all-boy boys]

In our state it is 4th grade. I found a free lapbook resource that is adaptable to any state that I think we're going to use: Free State Lapbook at Homeschool Helper

 

To be honest, I have no recollection of when we learned it when I was a student. My memory is terrible in that way.

[mcconnellboys]

This lady I'm linking does U.S. and state histories for Abeka, as well as stuff on her own:

 

http://www.statehistory.net/

[luna]

In New Hampshire, state study is done in the fourth grade. I got "Chronicles of___________A State History Notebook" by Hewitt Homeschooling Resources (at Rainbow Resource Center) It really walked my daughter right through everything she needed to learn. There are pages to fill in about typical things like the state flag, seal, flower, bird, etc. It continues with finding info about the geography, population, industry, history of government and field trips. Actually, now that I am looking at it again, I can't wait for my younger daughter to do it! It all comes in a binder with space on the front for your child to fill in the state name and the "author." Another idea is one I saw a family do at our 4-H fair-They went to every historical marker in the state and researched why it was there! It was a great project, though with gas being so pricey, driving around may not seem like a good idea!

[MerryAtHope]

We made lapbooks with a map, interesting facts, people, geography etc... It was a fun project!

 

Merry :-)

[Stacia]

I'm actually doing State History from a Christian Perspective.

...

We are only on Lesson 15 but even though the title states it's from a Christian perspective - I haven't really come across anything overtly christian in it so far, so it might be able to be used successfully by secular homeschoolers as well. Website is www.statehistory.net

 

I just bought this program at a curriculum fair. I plan to use it in the fall w/ my 5th & 2nd grader. It looks great & like a lot of fun. I'm planning to use it secularly & don't think that will be a problem.

 

For me, I like that everything is pretty much planned out & that all of our own state's info has already been provided/researched for me. All I'll need to do prior to starting is request some tourist literature from our state.

[kangato3]

We use TOG, which schedules a state report in either 4th or 5th grade. We also use the Hewitt resource mentioned above. It really helps putting together an impressive report.

[Suzanne in ABQ]

I took a break between SOTW, between Vol. 3 and Vol. 4, to do our state history. I shopped used book stores and found a book that could work as a spine, then shopped some more and used the libraries for a few extra books on specific events and people. We also read the Josefina books, since we live in New Mexico. We did it in the fall, when the weather was nice, and we took lots of day trips around the state to see historical places. It took us about two months to get through our unit. Then, we went back to SOTW.

[Tina in WA]

I'm actually doing State History from a Christian Perspective. I really like it. It uses the Abeka My State Notebook and they have a study for each of the 50 states. Website is http://www.statehistory.net

 

HTH!

 

I used this in a co-op class setting and LOVE IT! I highly recommend this program. :D

[plansrme]

We're studying U.S. history this year and next, and doing the corresponding halves of Notgrass GA HY this summer and next. I think the summer state study, split over these 2 sumemrs, will be a good review of the U.S. history from the preceding school year, particularly when we get to the Civil War. I am adding in a National Geographic book on GA's history as a colony that looks fabulous, though it's been sitting on my shelf most of this school year: http://shop.nationalgeographic.com/product/3107.html. This is part of a series that includes NC. It's pricey, but I found it at our local Borders and could look at it pretty thoroughly before I bought it.

 

Terri

[Ellie]

Most states don't specify at which grade state history must be taught in public schools, although it's customary to do it in 4th. (Californians think it must be done in 4th, but the Ed. Code actually says that it should be taught somewhere between 1st and 6th, and again somewhere between 7th and 12th.) That doesn't mean a thing to hsers, of course :-)

 

We did California history almost exclusively with field trips; none of the really good state history resources (other than ABeka, maybe ACE) that y'all have today were available when my dc were of an age to do something formal.

[In The Great White North]

Vermont requires homeschoolers to do "Vermont studies" EVERY SINGLE YEAR!! Even though the public high school ds would be in doesn't offer it even ONCE! Neither did the private K - 8 school he attended.

 

Frankly, Vermont's just not that interesting. It's quite challenging to come up with something different every year and not repeat, let alone something useful.

[MelissaMinNC]

Oh, you're not too far from us! Just a couple hours...

 

Ahem, anyway. We haven't got there yet, dd's only in 1st grade, but I know the ps system does NC history in 4th. (Don't know about repeating it in 7th.) However, one of my hsing friends just told me this week that spending a year on NC history is not actually a requirement - so I'm thinking of not doing it at all. I mean, we will cover NC history, but we will likely not spend an entire year doing it. I just can't imagine spending a whole year on the history of one state, when there's the whole rest of the world to cover! We spent my 4th grade year (in upstate NY) covering NY history, and a)I hardly remember a thing and b)I don't even live there, so it's not like it's useful now in my homeschooling. ;)

 

We use Tapestry of Grace, and I know there is a state notebook project in the level 4 writing assignments. I think we will probably do that project, and then maybe spend a summer doing a short unit, or driving around to interesting historical places, etc. I don't know how else we'll tackle it at this point.

 

:)

Melissa

[Karen in CO]

We do a little every summer. *We take "field trips" every summer. *Colorado has lots of historical, archeological, and geological sites. *We try to do at least one from each category every summer. *We read background information before we go then follow up with some related library books. *There are some great backcountry sites that I am excited to visit when the littlest can do longer hikes. *I really think that state history is a good place to do some hands-on (or at least feet-on ) learning.

[Nakia]

Thanks so very much everyone! You all have given me a lot to think about and file away for the future. I agree about having trouble with the thought of studying just NC history for one whole year. But we do have so many wonderful field trip opportunities here that we could probably do some every summer and learn so much!! And NC state history is something we've already talked about this year with BF Early American History. So we'll probably just do some notebooking and field trips along the way! Thanks again!!!

[Tina in WA]

Forgot to answer when we study our state history. In WA, the schools study WA State history in 4th and 10th grade.

[dragons in the flower bed]

We usually teach about it on road trips, pointing out, er, points of interest. I have also stuck an extra book or two into our reading plans when there was a related, relevant topic. For example, when we were doing early American history, I included an extra book on Henry Hudson and when we were studying the Stone Age, I included material on prehistoric NY.

[Paula in PA]

We are including it as we go through world history, just as we do for US history. Dh wants dd to learn history in a completely chronological manner. Everything is covered in context.

[Suzannah]

We spent a few weeks at the end of last year which was 4th grade and preK (can't remember exactly how long) on Virginia history. We checked out library books, memorized various facts and made a lapbook. We had already visited many of the local historic sites (Arlington Cemetery, Mount Vernon, Williamsburg, Jamestown, various battlefields...and we drive past the Pentagon regularly) so we didn't do that as part of our state history study, but we were able to talk about those sites when we encountered references in books. In our particular situation, I felt like we had really covered Virginia history as we went through our regular history studies over the previous few years so this was really all that was necessary.

[Lori]

We are doing next year 4th grade and I am using abeka history

[Ellie]

Vermont requires homeschoolers to do "Vermont studies" EVERY SINGLE YEAR!! Even though the public high school ds would be in doesn't offer it even ONCE! Neither did the private K - 8 school he attended.

 

Frankly, Vermont's just not that interesting. It's quite challenging to come up with something different every year and not repeat, let alone something useful.

 

Are you SURE???

 

The Ed. Code says this: "citizenship, history, United States and Vermont government, physical education, health, English, American and other literature, science and fine arts." Following your analysis, that means you'd have to do *all* of those subjects every single year. Do you also do U.S govt every year? American *and* "other" literature every year? citizenship every year?

 

HSLDA considers VT to be a "red" state, and your PTB might be requiring VT history every year and that's the end of that story. But still...are you sure???

[In The Great White North]

The Ed. Code says this: "citizenship, history, United States and Vermont government, physical education, health, English, American and other literature, science and fine arts." Following your analysis, that means you'd have to do *all* of those subjects every single year. Do you also do U.S govt every year? American *and* "other" literature every year? citizenship every year?

 

 

I know. But when I submitted a plan with other history, they rejected it and said I had to do Vermont. :banghead:

[Ellie]

I know. But when I submitted a plan with other history, they rejected it and said I had to do Vermont. :banghead:

 

Oh good grief. This is crazy on so many levels...

[LisaCA]

We use A Beka. They have a great My State book and a good 8th grade civics book.

[LadyAberlin]

I plan on using easy classical's state history in 1st grade.