FlockOfSillies Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 I'm using Biblioplan for Year 4. It says for "Grades 4/5+" to use Hakim's The History of US. It's an appropriate level for my 8th grader, but it's way over the heads of my 3rd and 4th graders. Wayyyyy too many long sections to read, and at this rate we'll never make it out of week 1. (We're starting our 4th week of school.) I need an alternative, fast. I looked at The Complete Book of U.S. History, but the reviews tell me it won't be a good fit. I downloaded First Lessons in American History from Google Books, but it doesn't cover much 20th century history. I think it might be OK to get us through for a little while. I really want a spine, so that I'm not dependent on the supplemental readings. So what are your favorites for 3rd-4th grades? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephanieZ Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 You could peruse the spines that SonLight uses for Cores 3/D and 4/E. They might be a good fit. (Story of the USA, Landmark, and American Adventures) I love these two cores, but the spines aren't my favorite thing -- the living books are. However, the spines seem to get the job done, and one/some of them might fit your need. (And, I agree that Hakim's History of US is way too much for most 3/4 graders!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsbeth Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 I thought, though I could be mistaken, that BP recommends this book as a spine for the younger crowd.... http://www.christianlibertypress.com/proddetail.asp?prod=CLP79945&cat=31 I thought it was scheduled in. We also used the "Story of the USA" workbooks successfully with 3 and 4th graders. Those come in a set of four volumes. We do BP years 1 and 2 as written here, but combine the world history parts of 3 and 4 so that we can dedicate 1 year of each cycle strictly to American. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abbeyej Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 While my older one is using Hakim and Spielvogel this year, I have my younger one using SOTW4 and the Smithsonian Children's Enyclopedia of American History. It's perhaps most like Kingfisher for American history, iykwim? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlockOfSillies Posted September 13, 2011 Author Share Posted September 13, 2011 Wouldn't you know it, I have a copy of CSOA, but it's first edition (1989). I'll look at the second edition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlockOfSillies Posted September 13, 2011 Author Share Posted September 13, 2011 Yes, I was considering an encyclopedia too. Does it read well, or is it choppy with lots of page splatter? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 We have that one. I like it a lot, but it's as you fear - choppy. I think it only works well if you're using it with living books, just like the Usborne encyclopedias (though I've found it has better depth and is less choppy than that). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Twain Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 Sorry, I don't have a suggestion for American history, but I am really impressed that your 3-year old is the preschool debate team captain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abbeyej Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 Yes, I was considering an encyclopedia too. Does it read well, or is it choppy with lots of page splatter? Well, I'd say it's similar to Kingfisher in terms of that. There are two-page spreads where the text is fairly linear, but it's not a narrative. If you're looking for an encyclopedia-type spine, I think it's a good one. If you're looking for a narrative-spine, it might not go over well. ;) I think the samples at Amazon are pretty representative. BTW, I think B&N often carries this in its stores, if you have the chance to stop by one and look through it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlockOfSillies Posted September 13, 2011 Author Share Posted September 13, 2011 Sorry, I don't have a suggestion for American history, but I am really impressed that your 3-year old is the preschool debate team captain. LOL, you should hear her in action. None of my kids have been as quick to think on their feet as she is. Me, grabbing her foot: Give me your piggies! Mama wants a tasty snack! Her: NO! (points) Snacks in the kitchen! Me: But I want them! I'm hungry, and they look tasty! Her: No, that won't do. I would have blood, and that would be bad! :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlockOfSillies Posted September 13, 2011 Author Share Posted September 13, 2011 I might need to have the kids look them over. I think they'll prefer the narrative style, but it's hard to say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto2Cs Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 Mara Pratt's American History Stories? There are 4 volumes, all available through main lesson dot com. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halcyon Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 We're loving Betsy Maestro's books. My younger enjoys them too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen+4dc Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 Mara Pratt's American History Stories? There are 4 volumes, all available through main lesson dot com. These were very narrative, but I found them to include inaccuracies (ie the one on the revolution states that a British soldier fired the first shot "heard round the world"). This isn't true, no one knows. I can't think of any others off the top of my head and I've sold them, sorry. But, you might try to see if you can take a look at them before you buy them, or use them as RA's and edit if you feel necessary as you go. We're loving Betsy Maestro's books. My younger enjoys them too. I've only read 3 of these (our library has them) but they were narrative and engaging. The only problem is there are so many of them and I didn't have that much money to spend for a spine (hence the library). If you can find them, they are excellent! I also have the Smithsonian encyclopedia a pp mentioned. It really is like Kingfisher for American history, a great resource, even spine if that's what you're looking for, but not very narrative. HTH:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Twain Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 LOL, you should hear her in action. None of my kids have been as quick to think on their feet as she is. Me, grabbing her foot: Give me your piggies! Mama wants a tasty snack! Her: NO! (points) Snacks in the kitchen! Me: But I want them! I'm hungry, and they look tasty! Her: No, that won't do. I would have blood, and that would be bad! :lol: LOL! Maybe you should start saving up for law school. Actually, I do have something to say regarding American history books which may be of some interest to you. I bought Mara Pratt's American History Stories for our American history this year (including our 3rd grader). I think they are very good and engaging personal stories. They were published in 1907 (I think?) and are not revised. I noticed in volume 4 that there were archaic words that I didn't like, so I read the whole thing to pre-edit it. It is the volume on the Civil War, and it mentions "darkies," "negroes," and the other worse n-word. I blacked all of those out and wrote in terms which are acceptable, but a couple of the minor parts are unsalvagable in my opinion which I will just skip. I don't think they are written in a racist way, but the terms used in 1907 which may have been acceptable then are not acceptable now. I also skimmed through the other three volumes to make sure there were not a lot of offensive terms in those, but I only found one now and then. Despite the editing, I think the kids and I will enjoy these very much and also learn a great deal. Two other books you might consider are Edward Eggleston's: A First Book in American History Stories of Great Americans for Little Americans I did both of these last year for our American history, and I thought they were excellent. My son read most of Stories of Great Americans twice, and still he can't help listening in this year as my daughter and I are reading it together. Eggleston published these books around 1895, so of course they don't cover recent history. Also, they have been revised so that you don't have to pre-edit or edit on the fly. I use many old books for history which I find excellent. They often contain stories I have never heard before, though I have had to develop the skill of editing on the fly as I read them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 It is odd, but consider The Cartoon History of the United States. A lot of meat, but a drawing with every chew. We stop and discuss the concepts as we go (i.e. why the Mayflower Compact was radical ... he gives you hints about this). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 I'm not on any sort of campaign against Pratt, but I think it requires more than minor adjustments. You can read it on Main Lesson's website. Her initial characterization of Native Americans is These Indian people, according to our ideas, were very rude and wild. The fathers spent [17] their time in hunting and fishing. The mothers stayed about the tents, kept the fires going, tilled the ground, raised the corn, cooked the food, such as it was, and loved their children just as mothers do the world over. The little boys and girls had no schools, no books, no toys to keep them busy; so they spent their time playing about the tent or learning to fish and hunt and build canoes. Perhaps you think they had lovely times with nothing to do; but I am afraid they sometimes had very hard times too. If I were to tell you the way the tribes of Indians used to pounce down upon their homes, and slay the fathers, burn the mothers, and steal the children; and the way the children used to huddle into their tents during the cold, cold winters, I think you would not envy them at all. I have found a similar attitude to other peoples in many of these old books about other cultures, including some Europeans (like Germans). The "isn't that strange!" and "aren't you glad you live your nice life!" tone. One chapter is called Indian Troubles. It includes things like this, that may even have been shockingly open minded at the time she wrote them (maybe) but strike an entirely different chord to the contemporary reader: One day an old Indian chief begged some gunpowder from a white man and ran away to his wigwam with it. The white man watched to see what he would do with it. When he reached his wigwam, he called some of his friends about him and, after a long council together, they began to plant the powder. They thought it would grow like corn and beans. When an Indian killed a white man in battle, he always tried to tear off the skin from the top of the white man's head. These were called scalps. The more scalps he could get [228] the braver he thought he was. After a battle he would show the scalps, with great pride, to the people of his village. These Indians were a very wandering people, never staying in one place very long at a time. When they made up their minds to move, the women would take down the tents, strap their babies onto their backs and trudge on the best they could, carrying, on their shoulders, the poles and household wares, the mats and the furs. The men would march on ahead, with nothing but their bows and arrows. Sometimes the poor women would sink under their heavy loads. Then the men would beat them and kick them until the poor things would rise and struggle on. When the Indians reached a place which looked pleasant for a camping ground, the [229] men would throw themselves down upon the ground, in a sunny place, and lie there smoking and napping, while the women set up the tents and got the camps in order. The men treated the women like slaves. They expected them to do all the work, such as planting the corn, building the tents, carrying the baggage; while they did nothing but hunt and fish and smoke and fight. But, in reading of this life of the Indians, let us judge them not too harshly. They were cruel to the women and girl children, that is true; but it was because they knew no better rather than because they meant to be cruel. Remember they were rude, rough people, accustomed to war and to fighting. Surrounded on all sides by enemies, they grew to regard physical strength and skill in overcoming an enemy as the highest virtue in the [230] world; and, consequently, they had come to look upon women as of very little account—good enough to do the cooking and the drudgery of wigwam life; but that was all. They had never learned that men and women, boys and girls, were to be judged and valued by something better and higher than mere brute force. "Good to squaw!" exclaimed an Indian in surprise, when one of the colonists had rebuked him for his treatment of his wife. "She no fight—no scalp!" and I suppose no argument could have convinced the Indian that he was wrong; or that, since she could neither fight nor scalp, it was worth while to make of her anything better than a slave or a servant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 My children like H. E. Marshall's This Country of Ours (available in a variety of formats -- we have an epub copy, a librivox audio copy, and a paperback copy from amazon), though it only goes up to WWI. Sometimes I have to explain stuff to my 6yo, but he gets the gist pretty well. I use a lot of supplemental picture books too. We also will use parts of SOTW4 later this year for 20th century, as well as A Child's Story of America. They also like Pioneers and Patriots, from Christian Liberty Press, but that's more historic fiction than fact. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julikins Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 I've heard "The Last 500 Years" is pretty good, but you might want to check it out first, because I haven't used it yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nestof3 Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 (edited) How about using some older Genevieve Foster http://ournestof3.blogspot.com/2010/05/genevieve-foster-book-recommendations.html and this one is great: http://ournestof3.blogspot.com/2011/04/book-recommendation-peter-great-by.html Betsy Maestro http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=bestsy+maestro&x=0&y=0 These are nice as well http://ournestof3.blogspot.com/2011/09/great-history-read-aloud.html I don't know of another spine that isn't a plain textbook. I do love Hakim, though, and the audio recordings are fabulous. I would think most would still be accessible to your youngest if read aloud or listened to with some nice picture books added in. Edited September 14, 2011 by nestof3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto2Cs Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 Two other books you might consider are Edward Eggleston's:A First Book in American History Stories of Great Americans for Little Americans I did both of these last year for our American history, and I thought they were excellent. My son read most of Stories of Great Americans twice, and still he can't help listening in this year as my daughter and I are reading it together. Eggleston published these books around 1895, so of course they don't cover recent history. Also, they have been revised so that you don't have to pre-edit or edit on the fly. I use many old books for history which I find excellent. They often contain stories I have never heard before, though I have had to develop the skill of editing on the fly as I read them. I'm waiting anxiously for A First Book in American History to arrive. I liked the samples I read online, and while it may be a bit dated, I think it will work well for an overview of early American history. When my kids are a little older, I plan to read Zinn's book to them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto2Cs Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 A First Book and Zinn are so shockingly different. For example, in chapter 3 of the first it starts off saying that "Columbus was kind to the natives." In Zinn it quotes from his log that the natives would make fine servants and they could easily be overpowered and controlled. That doesn't sound "kind" to me. This is just a heads up. I haven't found anything I'm totally happy with as a first US history book. That's why I'm waiting on the Zinn book. I would like them to see the differing perspectives at some point. And no, I've never found anything I am totally happy with either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5ray2006 Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 My 5th grader is studying American History this year with Abeka History 4. I will be doing a parallel study with him using H.A. Guerber's : The Story of the Thirteen Colonies and The Story of the Great Republic. I just ordered them, so I can't give you a review as of yet. I will be mainly using these books as read alouds. We will also be using Maptreks: US edition and the reading list from Sonlight's American History cores. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mert Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 You can read the Mara Pratt books yourself here... http://www.mainlesson.com/displayauthor.php?author=pratt The first 2 are also on librivox, I believe. ~HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsh Posted September 23, 2011 Share Posted September 23, 2011 I quickly needed a US history spine for my 6-year-old because we suddenly switched from ancient to US a week ago (we're doing CC, and I was hoping to juggle those American history sentences with ancient at home—decided that was too much). Anyway... It's not perfect, but I downloaded Elemental History's Adventures in America, and so far, I really like it. Feels a bit SOTW-ish. We're supplementing with our own read alouds, and I don't like the randomness of the order of the states and capitals study, but I just switch those with the geography we're doing in CC. Just my $.02! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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