Annabel Lee Posted July 10, 2011 Share Posted July 10, 2011 Is one way better than the other? Which way yields better retention, understanding, and knowlege of history? Which will help connect the dots and provoke thought on the broader contexts of things like human social movements? MOH, as those of you who've looked at it know, is strictly chronological. BP is grouped into units that bring together everything about a place/nation/culture. So, with MOH, you get to see what else what going on at the same time and which figures lived side by side in time. With BP, you get to hear the whole story of a broader topic from beginning to end chronologically (mostly; within an era) and then move over to the next topic, back up on the timeline, and hear about it from beginning to end. I'm looking for thoughts/input on the two methods of chronology, not just these exact curricula. TIA! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aubrey Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 (edited) When I started hs'ing, I was a strictly chronological girl. By SOTW 4, however, that got difficult: there are so. many. things. going on at once. Otoh, my ps ed was more civilization-based, so I didn't get that things were happening at the same time. (Of course...you don't *necessarily* get that w/ the chronological approach, either, because there is still the issue of actually studying things in a particular order, even if they're happening simultaneously.) So my first answer is: it depends on the age you're teaching. If you've got elem kids, I'd tentatively say to pick a curric you like & go w/ whatever approach they use. Neither is wrong. Neither is ALWAYS better. My second answer, for older kids is: why choose? We don't do a year's worth of grammar & THEN a year's worth of math (civ based), nor do we scramble all of the subjects together into one big book & teach out of that as if "school" were merely one subject (chronological approach). We study grammar, math, history, science separately & simultaneously. Doing grammar at 10AM & math at 11AM doesn't confuse us. I'm working w/ a similar idea for history this year: I've grouped major civilizations into corresponding time periods, and we're studying those separately & simultaneously. It's probably more time than I ought to spend on history, but only by a little bit. Since it's an experiment, I don't know yet how the kids will respond to it, but I can tell you that prepping for it has been interesting, & I've learned things that even my history-major dh didn't know. This also (imo) makes it easier to integrate eastern history w/ the dominant western-only approach. Finally--try not to stress about it. History is fun. It can be over-planned & over-analyzed, though, to the point that it loses its charm. The curric you choose is probably FAR more important than whether you go w/ chronological or civ-based.:001_smile: Edited July 11, 2011 by Aubrey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 Like Aubrey, I'm going to suggest it's merely a factor of which works for the thought process and age of your dc. In 5th you're probably starting to see some of those connections, and definitely I think you will for 6th. The'll be itching to make those connections, whether you teach it that way or not. ;) I'd simply ask your dc, especially the older, which way they want to do it and be done with it. Either way will be fine. The main thing is to stop and take the rabbit trails when they happen so that they can make the connections. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annabel Lee Posted July 11, 2011 Author Share Posted July 11, 2011 Aubrey, I've been meaning to send you my email address for samples of your history program, if you're still doing it with everything else going on. I'll look around at the page on FB and see if I can find where to send it to. Thanks for the help, both of you. I think it's about time I listened to your advice again, OhE. Time for some chocolate, lol, and to get my head out of the curriculum research for a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kemilie Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 I think the grouping by culture/topic can help it "stick" a little better for younger kids! At least that's the opinion I've come to as trying to decide how to "start" exploring history with my 5 year old this school year! I like that it will allow me to focus on areas of the world/culture etc that I know will jump out and grab him, and peak his interest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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