tex-mex Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 Thinking out of the box... :) Next year we begin US History for 11th grade. Using a spine and other supplemental items. I know of a group years ago that taught US History to Present Day teaching about the origins of Modern Warfare. We are finishing up World History and did a good study on siege warfare from ancient civilization to the invention of gunpowder -- which peaked ds' interest. He just is now being allowed to play Call of Duty (he normally does not like shooter games, but says the storyline is good to hold his interest) and we as a family enjoy shows on the Military Channel, documentaries on the History Channel, going to Air Shows, and even silly shows like Sons of Guns or Top Shot. Ds did a brief BB gun safety course for his Junior NRA Marksmanship program years ago. I know nothing about this subject. Hubby is the expert but too busy to teach. But what ideas do others have to make US History interesting? What topics could one focus on for US History in this similar (military) methodology? :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
razorbackmama Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 I'm not sure if you're looking for just topics here and there or a full course, but The Potter's School offers a U.S. Military History course. My son is DYING to take it, but I don't know that he'll have time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tex-mex Posted March 18, 2012 Author Share Posted March 18, 2012 I'm not sure if you're looking for just topics here and there or a full course, but The Potter's School offers a U.S. Military History course. My son is DYING to take it, but I don't know that he'll have time. Oooh. :) Will take a look at that, for sure! Thanks! P.S. If anyone has ideas for projects, field trips or topics, please share. Thanks in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 Go to website for Strategic Studies Institute for the US Army War College. Sorry can't do links. Not sure if you want that in depth but good place to start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 I haven't read it, and it may not have the American focus you're looking for but .... C.J. Chivers, the husband of yellowperch (who posts here), is the Pulitzer prize winning author of The Gun. "From Booklist This superior history of the AK family of assault rifles begins with the invention of the machine gun by Hiram Maxim and traces automatic weapons through WWII. In 1947, Russian army officer Mikhail Kalashnikov adapted a German design of automatic infantry rifle to become the AK (for Avtomat Kalashnikov). It first attracted world attention in Vietnam by proving superior to the American M-16. Since then it has developed several relatives and been produced in many other countries, the total running into the hundreds of millions. It has armed regular armies, irregular armies, police forces, terrorists, common criminals, and ordinary householders in the majority of the world’s countries, creating a proliferation problem that has to date killed far more people than the nuclear kind. The author is a former U.S. Marine officer and prizewinning journalist who has written incisively and researched exhaustively. It lends force to his arguments that some of his informants have been assassinated with assault rifles for talking. --Roland Green " Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tex-mex Posted March 18, 2012 Author Share Posted March 18, 2012 I haven't read it, and it may not have the American focus you're looking for but .... C.J. Chivers, the husband of yellowperch (who posts here), is the Pulitzer prize winning author of The Gun. "From Booklist This superior history of the AK family of assault rifles begins with the invention of the machine gun by Hiram Maxim and traces automatic weapons through WWII. In 1947, Russian army officer Mikhail Kalashnikov adapted a German design of automatic infantry rifle to become the AK (for Avtomat Kalashnikov). It first attracted world attention in Vietnam by proving superior to the American M-16. Since then it has developed several relatives and been produced in many other countries, the total running into the hundreds of millions. It has armed regular armies, irregular armies, police forces, terrorists, common criminals, and ordinary householders in the majority of the world’s countries, creating a proliferation problem that has to date killed far more people than the nuclear kind. The author is a former U.S. Marine officer and prizewinning journalist who has written incisively and researched exhaustively. It lends force to his arguments that some of his informants have been assassinated with assault rifles for talking. --Roland Green " Regards, Kareni Awesome!! :D Thanks!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candid Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 On the Civil War, my father has read about it for over 50 years and said the one book that helped him understand the overall military strategy (not battle strategy) was How the North Won. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mama Lynx Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 My husband and older teens are avid gamers, and my kids have learned an amazing amount of military history and strategy through playing board wargames. They usually focus on the world wars - I'll see if they know of anything more specifically American. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kristin in Hawaii Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 (edited) ... I have just started The Face of Battle and am hooked. He draws you into battle and explores "...the behaviour of men struggling to reconcile their instinct for self-preservation, their sense of honour and the achievement of som aim over which other men are ready to kill them. The study of battle is therefore always a study of fear and usually of courage; always of leadership, usually of obedience; always of compulsion, somtimes of insubordination; always of anxiety, sometimes of elation or catharsis; always of uncertainty and doubt, misinformation and misapprehension, usually also of faith and sometimes of vision; always of violence, sometimes also of cruelty, self-sacrifice, compassion; above all, it is always a study of solidarity and usually also of disintegration -- for it is towards the disintegration of human groups that battle is directed." -- this is from the inside flap of the cover. He examines battles described by Thucydides and Julius Caesar then Agincourt, Waterloo, The Somme, and explores the future of battle. The book was written in 1976 and the author is British. Edited: Sorry -- I forgot you were looking for US history -- He might still find this interesting because it explores the personalities and traits, etcetera, which are common to all. Best wishes! YMMV Edited March 18, 2012 by beautifulbooks Late in noticing you were looking for US history -- sorry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tex-mex Posted March 18, 2012 Author Share Posted March 18, 2012 ... I have just started The Face of Battle and am hooked. He draws you into battle and explores "...the behaviour of men struggling to reconcile their instinct for self-preservation, their sense of honour and the achievement of som aim over which other men are ready to kill them. The study of battle is therefore always a study of fear and usually of courage; always of leadership, usually of obedience; always of compulsion, somtimes of insubordination; always of anxiety, sometimes of elation or catharsis; always of uncertainty and doubt, misinformation and misapprehension, usually also of faith and sometimes of vision; always of violence, sometimes also of cruelty, self-sacrifice, compassion; above all, it is always a study of solidarity and usually also of disintegration -- for it is towards the disintegration of human groups that battle is directed." -- this is from the inside flap of the cover. He examines battles described by Thucydides and Julius Caesar then Agincourt, Waterloo, The Somme, and explores the future of battle. The book was written in 1976 and the author is British. Edited: Sorry -- I forgot you were looking for US history -- He might still find this interesting because it explores the personalities and traits, etcetera, which are common to all. Best wishes! YMMV No problem! My husband will most likely enjoy this book! :D Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tex-mex Posted March 18, 2012 Author Share Posted March 18, 2012 My husband and older teens are avid gamers, and my kids have learned an amazing amount of military history and strategy through playing board wargames. They usually focus on the world wars - I'll see if they know of anything more specifically American. Yes, please. Thanks!!! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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