Jump to content

Menu

Has anyone looked at the revised and expanded


Abbeygurl4
 Share

Recommended Posts

I bought and have in my hands the new medieval guide for advanced intermediate and junior high levels. I love that it has colored pictures throughout the guide. It just looks a little more "beautiful" in its appearance. There are suggested activities, books, websites, etc. There are mapping activities throughout the guide. Besides the literature that is read (there are several, Adam of the Road, One Thousand and one Arabian Nights, Adventures of Robin Hood, and many more) and the discussion questions, there is also a main spine that is used called The European World (Barbara Hanawalt). Previous to picking up this BF guide, I tried to use History Odyssey and found it to be very dry. I also did not like that History Odyssey did not specify what chapters to read when. My dd needs more direction than that. BF guides are broken down into weeks and then there is a list of items to be completed for the week (the medieval guide is 35 weeks).

 

Here is an example of week 1:

-Read European World - intro and ch 1

-the guide gives a long list of countries, rivers, and locations to mark on a map and gives suggestions for making the map

-the guide gives background info on Charlemagne, do report on Charlemagne and put in portfolio (gives helpful websites)

-intro to Beowulf and define words from Beowulf

-read pages 1-40 of Beowulf and then lists questions to answer related to the reading

-lists a website with hands on activities related to Beowulf

 

week 2 then continues with further activities, questions, and readings from Beowulf and European World

 

There are also some historical notes throughout the book that give further information for the time period being studied. There are answers to the discussion questions in the back of the book and vocabulary definitions can be found in the back of the book.

 

My only complaints:

-there is not an adequate table of contents in the front of the book that shows how much time is spent on each topic

-I wish there were more writing assignments

 

Also, here are examples of a few of the projects:

-build a model castle out of sugar cubes

-make your own Chinese kite

-write your own Canterbury Tale

-draw three common ship types

Edited by txhomemom
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I bought and have in my hands the new medieval guide for advanced intermediate and junior high levels. I love that it has colored pictures throughout the guide. It just looks a little more "beautiful" in its appearance. There are suggested activities, books, websites, etc. There are mapping activities throughout the guide. Besides the literature that is read (there are several, Adam of the Road, One Thousand and one Arabian Nights, Adventures of Robin Hood, and many more) and the discussion questions, there is also a main spine that is used called The European World (Barbara Hanawalt). Previous to picking up this BF guide, I tried to use History Odyssey and found it to be very dry. I also did not like that History Odyssey did not specify what chapters to read when. My dd needs more direction than that. BF guides are broken down into weeks and then there is a list of items to be completed for the week (the medieval guide is 35 weeks).

 

Here is an example of week 1:

-Read European World - intro and ch 1

-the guide gives a long list of countries, rivers, and locations to mark on a map and gives suggestions for making the map

-the guide gives background info on Charlemagne, do report on Charlemagne and put in portfolio (gives helpful websites)

-intro to Beowulf and define words from Beowulf

-read pages 1-40 of Beowulf and then lists questions to answer related to the reading

-lists a website with hands on activities related to Beowulf

 

week 2 then continues with further activities, questions, and readings from Beowulf and European World

 

There are also some historical notes throughout the book that give further information for the time period being studied. There are answers to the discussion questions in the back of the book and vocabulary definitions can be found in the back of the book.

 

My only complaints:

-there is not an adequate table of contents in the front of the book that shows how much time is spent on each topic

-I wish there were more writing assignments

 

Also, here are examples of a few of the projects:

-build a model castle out of sugar cubes

-make your own Chinese kite

-write your own Canterbury Tale

-draw three common ship types

 

Thanks for the detailed review! Judging by what you've seen, can you give a ballpark estimate of how many hours per week you think it would take? Did you buy the literature pack? I was thinking about maybe getting the enough books for about the first 6 weeks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I guess the time spent on the guide could vary depending on how fast a reader your child is or whether you are doing some of the books as readalouds. The first week involves reading one chapter from a spine, 40 pages of Beowulf, there are 35 locations to label on a map as long as labeling trade routes, websites to check out on Charlemagne, 34 vocabulary words to define that are related to the Beowulf reading, and 7 questions from Beowful to answer (I guess these could either be discussed or written). So, it could take a few hours or maybe more depending on the child. I did not buy the literature pack because I have so many of the books already scheduled in the guide, however, I was not aware of the spine that was used when I first purchased the guide, European World, so I would definitely either get that one or something similar.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If anyone needs to know what books to order when, here is the order the books are used in the medieval guide:

 

Books Used:

The European World is used throughout, so you need this right away (by Barbara Hanawalt)

Weeks 1 and 2 - Beowulf (Michael Morpurgo)

Weeks 3 and 4 - King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table (Roger Lancelyn Green)

Weeks 5 and 6 - One Thousand and One Arabian Nights (Geraldine McCaughrean)

Weeks 7-9 - Queen Eleanor, Independent Spirit of the Medieval World (Polly Schoyer Brooks)

Weeks 10-11 - The Adventures of Robin Hood (Roger Lancelyn Green)

Weeks 12-14 - Magna Charta (James Daugherty)

Week 15 - Cathedral (David Macaulay)

Week 16 - Castle (David Macaulay)

Weeks 17-18 - The Kite Rider (Geraldine McCaughrean)

Weeks 19-20 - Adam of the Road (Elizabeth Gray)

Week 21 - Morning Star of the Reformation (Andy Thompson)

Weeks 22-23 - Crispin the Cross of Lead (Avi)

Weeks 24-25 - The Canterbury Tales (Geoffrey Chaucer)

Weeks 26-28 - Joan of Arc Warrior Saint (Jay Williams)

Week 29 - Fine Print A Story About Johann Gutenberg (Joann Burch)

Weeks 30-31 - The Trumpeter of Krakow (Eric P. Kelly)

Weeks 32-35 - Columbus and Sons (Genevieve Foster)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for posting this! I'm about to start Early American with my 7 year old, and I might just buy the new guide and the one new book they are using with it now. :001_smile:

 

I just ordered the new guide along with one of the two new books that they've added into the program: The Horseless Carriage. (I already own the Benjamin West biography.)

 

Thanks again for posting this. The samples online of the new guide look like it will be much easier to use...

 

:001_smile:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wanted to mention that when I called to order a revised guide to replace my current Early American Guide today, they gave me a discounted rate!

 

So if you are re-purchasing any of their revised guides, they will only be $10.00! (The guide I ordered retails for $17.95.)

 

To get the discount, you'll have to order by phone...

 

Just thought you might like to know! :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...