TOG Users, Could you help me?

[SonshineLearner]

Hi :)

I'm looking at different choices for our co-op; we'll have finished All American History this year, and want to move on to another choice for next year. Potentially we would do this year finishing up modern, and then move onto MFW Ancient as we've done for this year's 9th graders.

(BUT, if they like TOG, perhaps they'd switch to that for the Highschoolers??)

I looked at what it seems like we'd need, and it seems like we'd need Year 3/Units 3 & 4 (they will have finished up to 1840 with All American History, so this puts them 60 years past where they would have reached)

Looking at this, it seems like they would need: The Units, Mapword, and Year 3 Shorter Works Anthology. I see that there are Literature, Government, Philosophy, Church History, Beyond History.... Would we need to purchase just the books to go with these? Are there guides that go with this.. included in the Units? Or do we need to purchase guides, too?

Finally, if we had families that wanted to go along with us and just stay on topic, do you think that would work? Getting together and just discussing things after they've studied all week? (For example: Week 19: Westerners in Asia, they'd just study it from whatever angle they want to... and participate with their perspective on Friday... which is the day we meet)

Any thoughts? :)

 

PS, then we'd have 1 year to work through "Year 4" which has 4 units... so not sure how we'd compress or delete from that year...

[momofkhm]

Hi :)

I'm looking at different choices for our co-op; we'll have finished All American History this year, and want to move on to another choice for next year. Potentially we would do this year finishing up modern, and then move onto MFW Ancient as we've done for this year's 9th graders.

(BUT, if they like TOG, perhaps they'd switch to that for the Highschoolers??)

I looked at what it seems like we'd need, and it seems like we'd need Year 3/Units 3 & 4 (they will have finished up to 1840 with All American History, so this puts them 60 years past where they would have reached)

Looking at this, it seems like they would need: The Units, Mapword, and Year 3 Shorter Works Anthology. I see that there are Literature, Government, Philosophy, Church History, Beyond History.... Would we need to purchase just the books to go with these? Are there guides that go with this.. included in the Units? Or do we need to purchase guides, too?

Finally, if we had families that wanted to go along with us and just stay on topic, do you think that would work? Getting together and just discussing things after they've studied all week? (For example: Week 19: Westerners in Asia, they'd just study it from whatever angle they want to... and participate with their perspective on Friday... which is the day we meet)

Any thoughts? :)

 

PS, then we'd have 1 year to work through "Year 4" which has 4 units... so not sure how we'd compress or delete from that year...

 

If you purchase the units, then you have all the guides as well. You can do your own maps from elsewhere, but I have to admit it's nice not to have to go looking for them. A lot of government is on a separate disc, maybe $25? And a lot of the philosophy is in the unit as well. Literature and church history both need separate books along with the shorter works anthology.

 

Are you saying you only want to do *history* with TOG? Then just buy the units and a map program and go for it. You'd need the books under "history" and "history in depth". But the rest of it is just gravy.

 

For those that want to "to go along with us and just stay on topic" I'm supposing you mean not buy TOG or the co-op license. The topics are found on-line and are public so that is fine, but you cannot share the book list for each week as that is proprietary and copy-written.

 

Your best source for information would be to call TOG and talk to someone about using it in a co-op. Have you seen their co-op page?

[Candid]

Hi :)

I'm looking at different choices for our co-op; we'll have finished All American History this year, and want to move on to another choice for next year. Potentially we would do this year finishing up modern, and then move onto MFW Ancient as we've done for this year's 9th graders.

(BUT, if they like TOG, perhaps they'd switch to that for the Highschoolers??)

I looked at what it seems like we'd need, and it seems like we'd need Year 3/Units 3 & 4 (they will have finished up to 1840 with All American History, so this puts them 60 years past where they would have reached)

Looking at this, it seems like they would need: The Units, Mapword, and Year 3 Shorter Works Anthology. I see that there are Literature, Government, Philosophy, Church History, Beyond History.... Would we need to purchase just the books to go with these? Are there guides that go with this.. included in the Units? Or do we need to purchase guides, too?

 

I think some of this you'll want to hash out as coop members. I am in a very small 3 family coop, we do D history, R lit, and and a conglomerate craft for everybody but the R lit students. My family covers things lit philosophy, church history, etc at home.

 

For Year 3, you could live with out Map Aids. In our case, we mostly hold up and show maps to help explain overall conditions affecting a civilization (but we are studying year one where that is the focus of geography).

 

As has been noted discussions are in the units.

 

Finally, if we had families that wanted to go along with us and just stay on topic, do you think that would work? Getting together and just discussing things after they've studied all week? (For example: Week 19: Westerners in Asia, they'd just study it from whatever angle they want to... and participate with their perspective on Friday... which is the day we meet)

Any thoughts? :)

 

A little bit of this depends.

 

In our case, we expect folks in each history and lit section to be at least modestly prepared. That means students need to do the prep questions in advance. You can't share that with folks who don't buy the units, but Tapestry does have a coop licensing plan. That's what I would go with. The book list is indeed propitiatory, but Tapestry makes it available for free. Currently there is some kind of technical issue at the Lampstand website, but it can be gotten off of Bookshelf Central. What you can't share is the exact page numbers used each week.

 

Here's the thing, it will depend on both the students and the teacher. How frustrated will students be to have nothing they read about covered? Or to have a lot of questions asked they can't answer? And will the teacher be able to reign in students who have read other materials if they are diverting the discussion non productively? How frustrating will that be?

 

PS, then we'd have 1 year to work through "Year 4" which has 4 units... so not sure how we'd compress or delete from that year...

 

I'm not totally sure what you mean by this.

 

Year 4 is designed to be done in one year. If that's what you have, you should be able to do it in that time period. I would say, that most coops will likely cut or press two weeks into one here and there because 36 weeks doesn't work with a bunch of different schedules.

 

However, if you only have half a year then I would not feel too bad about doing the first two units which gets you through WWII. A lot of schools never get the last half of the 20th Century studied. While this isn't ideal, it might be realistic in terms of where your group is now. This would then allow you to cycle back to Ancients and make sure the next four year pass covers everything.

[SonshineLearner]

 

 

Year 4 is designed to be done in one year. If that's what you have, you should be able to do it in that time period. I would say, that most coops will likely cut or press two weeks into one here and there because 36 weeks doesn't work with a bunch of different schedules.

 

However, if you only have half a year then I would not feel too bad about doing the first two units which gets you through WWII. A lot of schools never get the last half of the 20th Century studied. While this isn't ideal, it might be realistic in terms of where your group is now. This would then allow you to cycle back to Ancients and make sure the next four year pass covers everything.

 

Oh, of course this part wasn't clear. These students only have 1 year to move through material, but yet have 6 units for us to get through the time period, up through Modern. So, we'll obviously have to cull through and figure out what to do and not do in these 6 units. Potentially the students will be in 9th grade the year after... so 2014... and start Ancients. :)

[BlsdMama]

Carrie,

 

In my mind, it would depends on how the parents view co-op. Is it seen as supplemental to home learning or integrative? Because if it seen as integrative and parents are looking at buying Tapestry... Well, there is a significant difference in planning TOG vs. MFW. There is a definite learning/start-up curve to TOG, especially jumping in at Rhetoric level.

 

(But, also keep in mind this is coming from personal bias so it may be worthless to you!)

[momofkhm]

Oh, of course this part wasn't clear. These students only have 1 year to move through material, but yet have 6 units for us to get through the time period, up through Modern. So, we'll obviously have to cull through and figure out what to do and not do in these 6 units. Potentially the students will be in 9th grade the year after... so 2014... and start Ancients. :)

 

For culling, look at the possibility of doing the summer reading during the summer. :) They have summer reading for those who have not done TOG to get them up to "date". Those kids who have kept up with TOG have already read these books so they don't need to read them over the summer.

 

If you do the summer reading, you should be able to jump right into year 4 and only have 4 units. You say these kids will be 9th grade in the 2012/2013, so they will get that missing piece from year 3 when it comes around again in their 11th grade year.

[AngelBee]

there is a tad of overlap from end of yr 3 and beginning of yr4. I have a list somewhere of weeks that can be combined, taken out or shortened. Will try to find it.

[SonshineLearner]

...You say these kids will be 9th grade in the 2012/2013, so they will get that missing piece from year 3 when it comes around again in their 11th grade year.

 

These kids will be 9th grade 2013/2014, perhaps I put the wrong years in the thread. we have one year before they get to highschool.... (this year is set)

 

I know that TOG is more complicated... I wish that there was a MFW for 7th/8th. I am not totally pleased with any jr high material. Just trying to beef up the Jr High :)

[SonshineLearner]

Pop :) Any other thoughts? :)

[BlsdMama]

No other thoughts but I agree with you on wishing there was a little more for 7th/8th fwiw. :grouphug:

[SonshineLearner]

:lurk5:

 

Any other thoughts? :) I hope to talk to some of the Co-op moms soon :)

:bigear:

[Julie in MN]

I wish that there was a MFW for 7th/8th. I am not totally pleased with any jr high material. Just trying to beef up the Jr High :)

 

If you're doing moderns in 8th, the MFW year 5 would fit. 1850MOD uses SOTW-4 with the outlining in the Activity Book, but also adds US history with the presidents, states, learning the capitols & states on a blank map, reading some US-related lit like Across 5 Aprils, etc. I used that year with a 7-8th grader and it was very full. I often posted the things we delved into over on the MFW ideas board.

 

Julie