Hakim's History of Us: What age/grade?

[Chrysalis Academy]

I'm curious about your experience with Joy Hakim's A History of US. Specifically:

 

• For what age/grade level student did you use it? How did that go?
  
• For what grade do you feel it is most appropriate? (i.e. not the earliest possible stage to use it, but the stage at which you feel a student would get the most out of it?)
  
• What is the latest it would be useful (i.e. is it usable by high school students? or too easy?)
  
• Do you prefer a different US history text? If so what, and for what age/grades?
  

TIA!

[Penelope]

We used a few of the books this year for fourth grade. My ds read some of it aloud, but I read most of it.

 

I'm mixed on the parts we did use. It wasn't too difficult to understand, but there were times where I didn't care for her slant on things. I would think it would be appropriate through middle school, but my fourth grader is my oldest.

 

When we got past 1900, neither of us liked the books as much so we just started using library books for the rest of the year.

[River notes]

I'm curious about your experience with Joy Hakim's A History of US. Specifically:

 

• For what age/grade level student did you use it? How did that go? It is for middle school and highschool level. There are 2 study guides available one for middle grades and highschool grades. Sonlight use to use it for middle grades, but have switched it over for use in their Highschool american history curricula.

• For what grade do you feel it is most appropriate? (i.e. not the earliest possible stage to use it, but the stage at which you feel a student would get the most out of it?) IMHO either. I think a student perceives the material different depending on age. For example the perception of an 8th grader is different than of a 12 grader. Though I would add more than just the text int he highsr grades. I work off of it or use to work of of a spine. There are 10 books to the set, it would be alot of reading if this set was used as the supplement.

• What is the latest it would be useful (i.e. is it usable by high school students? or too easy?) It all depends on what you would supplement with, it just depends what hte focus would be doing it in higshcool oppose to middle school. I would consider looking at sonlight since they use it as the spine, and possibly not using all the readers if you believe they require too much reading.

• Do you prefer a different US history text? If so what, and for what age/grades? I am still trying to figure it out myself. It depends if your students likes story format or if he or she prefers text. One of my ds prefer text, which in that case I would consider the national geographic sponsored text, that glencoe carries. I have never used it but I always wanted to try All american history by celeste rake. She covers American history in 2 volumes to be covered in 2 years for middle school students. i don't know if the material would be highschool level reading though. I thought about using both text in one year to complete the American History credit, but I would think you have to supplement with high level readers.

TIA!

 

 

i am not sure if I did the quotes right above; I just wanted to share my thoughts. If I didn't quote properly , my advanced apologies. I am still learning how to use the board.

 

Good Luck.

[happypamama]

I actually didn't really care for Hakim very much; I thought she was very wordy and that her tone was patronizing, even to my elementary level children. We, even the 5-6yo's, have preferred H. E. Marshall's This Country of Ours for US history; it is generally pretty understandable without talking down to them (I do need to stop to explain things every so often to the 5-7yo's, but largely, they get it). We use a lot of picture books and read-aloud novels to supplement things too.

 

Marshall only goes up to WWI, so for the rest of it, we'll be using selected excerpts from SOTW4 and A Child's Story of America. (ACSoA seems okay, though it is very conservatively-biased, and it has more detail for things like Bill Clinton's affairs than I think is needed, so I will be editing those things as I read.) Marshall is British, so occasionally she will leave out things -- like, we just read about the Mexican-American war, and that was great, except that the Alamo was never mentioned. So we added a picture book about the Alamo.

[DragonFaerie]

I haven't used it yet but it's on my plan starting next year. I'll be using it over four years, from 5th-8th for DD and 4th-7th for DS. I plan to read it aloud, at least to start off, just to make sure they understand it. But I plan on them taking over and reading it on their own eventually.

[Chrysalis Academy]

I actually didn't really care for Hakim very much; I thought she was very wordy and that her tone was patronizing, even to my elementary level children.

 

Yes, this! I think this is why I'm having trouble "placing" the series - it seems a bit much for a 4th/5th grader, but the tone seems too patronizing for a high school student, which is the next time we'll be cycling through Am History.

 

I want to like these books, I'm not sure why - maybe because I *do* like the Story of Science, and plan to use that in jr high & high school. But I've checked HofUS out from the library several times, and the truth is, I really don't like it. The tone, the fussy pages, and it has a very text-y feel to me.

 

So I'm probably going to do a living-books based American history this year, pausing at the relevant times in SOTW 3 and hitting the library. But I'm still in the market for something good for the next time around, which will be 9th-10th grade. Any alternatives for that age group? I guess that is a question for another board, but a lot of you have older dc . . .

 

ETA: I guess I should mention that I'm looking for secular materials, and my own bias is left-of-center, so I'm not looking for an explicitly conservative treatment - no need for lengthy chapters on Bill Clinton's love life!

Edited February 25, 2012 by rroberts707
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