Eastern Hemisphere Study - Credits?

[krisperry]

I have two sons that will be doing Core F next year in Sonlight. My daughter (9th) requested to do the Eastern Hemisphere as well. She never did Core F (skipping from E to G). Clearly, Core F is way too easy as is. So, I've tweaked it (beyond recognition mostly).

 

Ok. I have most of her schedule outlined. What high school credits would you issue? Here is what I'm planning:

 

Religion:

Either using DK World Religions or Religions 101 as a spine to do in depth studies

Covering the following religions during the year:

Hinduism

Jainism

Buddhism (probably delving into this one a bit deeper)

Sikhism

Taoism

Shinto

Confucianism

Dreamtime (Australian Aboriginal Mythology)

Some Pacific Islands stuff (Maori, Polynesian mythology, Hawaiian mythology)

Shamanism in Mongolia

 

In addition to reading about each of these, she will watch documentaries and read some books such as The Tao of Pooh. I'm aiming for a book for each religion/mythology.

 

Geography:

Using Trail Guide to World Geography as a spine

Will be doing the Geography through Art book and cooking a meal from each country.

 

History/ReadAlouds

I'm keeping these as is for the spine. But I'm adding in 1-2 films a week to beef it up. I will also assign a few papers. Probably one a month.

 

Literature The alternative reading list that I've selected for her b/c Core F is way too easy:

Call It Courage

The Bomb

Escape from Botany Bay

Hiroshima

The Ghost of Tokaido Inn

Year of Impossible Goodbyes

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon

Forbidden City

Rebels of the Heavenly Kingdom

I Rode a Horse of Milk White Honey

Endless Steppe

Breadwinner

Homeless Bird

Climbing the Stairs

Secret Keeper

Jahanara

Habibi

Seven Daughters and Seven Sons

A Long Way for Water

Listening for Lions

Snows of Kilimanjaro

We will read and discuss these books. She will write about them as well.

 

This seems like a lot for just a History Credit. I was thinking two credits but I'm not sure how to word them. Thoughts?

Edited April 6, 2012 by krisperry

[krisperry]

Well, that literature is not worthy of high school credit. She could just read them for fun if she wishes. What if you did a World Geography course sort of along with it?? Although honestly, this is a 5th grade core. My boys did it when they were in 4th/6th and my daughter is doing it next year as 5th. I'm sorry, but it just isn't worthy of high school credit.

 

I'm not looking for English - I have that already. I'm looking for a deeper understanding of culture. Do you have some books that you would select? These are not the books included in Core F - these are books that I have researched and most (though not all) were on other High School Reading lists for 9th grade. A few such as Call It Courage are quick 1-2 day reads. Other like this: http://www.amazon.com/Habibi-Craig-Thompson/dp/0375424148 (Habibi) will take much longer. I'm also thinking about this one

 

Also, the books for Religion are pretty adult that I've selected so far.

The Tao of Pooh http://www.amazon.com/Tao-Pooh-Piglet-Boxed-Set/dp/014095144X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1333753485&sr=1-1

Aboriginal Tales: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1563089238/ref=oh_o00_s00_i00_details

 

I am doing high school level Geography rather than the EHE. I was adding in the art/cooking purely for "fun" and to be with the family.

 

Here is my list of documentaries:

Beauty Academy

Motherland Afghanistan

Afghan Star

Beyond Belief

The Kite Runner

Milking the Rhino

Africa

Beat the Drum

Mugabe

Lost Kingdoms of Africa

Antarctic

Encounters at the End of the World

Edge of the World

Silver Stallion

Discovery Atlas

Bush Christmas

The Buddha

Wild China

The Wall

Mao's Last Dancer

From Mao to Mozart

Terracotta Warriors

The Last Emperor

Up the Yangtze

The Inn of Sixth Happiness

All in this Tea

Please Vote for Me

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress

Last Train Home

Revolution in Cairo

Globe Hunters

Dharm

Ayurveda

Rann

Salaam Bombay

Shortcut to Nirvana

Story of India

Voices of Iraq

Braving Iraq

Legacy: Stories of Civilization

Samurai

Memoirs of an Empire - Japan

Inside North Korea

Kimjongilia

A State of Mind

Korean War

Seoul Train

Hijacking the Holy Land

Mother Teresa

Inside Mecca

Pururambo

Ballerina

Peter and the Wolf

Red & White

God Grew Tired of Us

Dhani Tackles the Globe

The Saltman of Tibet

The Sun Behind the Clouds

Journey into Buddhism

Bombies

 

You really think all this plus the lit plus all the religion books and beefing the geography up to a high school level isn't worthy of a high school credit. I'm honestly open to critique. Just a little taken aback to be honest. BUT I admit that this is my first time doing high school and maybe I'm not being realistic.

 

Edited to Add: She will be doing American History, World History, and Gov't in other years. I have looked at our state standards. I was thinking this could be some sort of geography / social science credit.

Edited April 6, 2012 by krisperry

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Well, that literature is not worthy of high school credit. She could just read them for fun if she wishes. What if you did a World Geography course sort of along with it?? Although honestly, this is a 5th grade core. My boys did it when they were in 4th/6th and my daughter is doing it next year as 5th. I'm sorry, but it just isn't worthy of high school credit.

 

I think that the subject matter addressed in the core can be done as a high school level course. In fact, there were several writing prompts within the EHE that I thought could only be properly addressed with a several page essay (but that's at least partly because I'm not one for black and white answers).

 

I do agree that you need to have much higher level literature for 9th grade. But it doesn't have to be college level lit either.

 

Something you might consider is to try to come up with more books written on an adult level. And consider more books written by people from the country under discussion, rather than YA and juvenile fiction written by westerners.

 

For example, Things Fall Apart is a book by a Nigerian author that seems to show up on AP book lists frequently (it's not a book I've read, so take it as an example, rather than a recommendation). Cry The Beloved Country might be another example.

 

For Russia, I might recommend One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich or Grey is the Color of Hope. Both are set in the Soviet Period, but can give an idea of what life was like within living memory.

 

The Heart of Darkness would be another classic set in Africa. I might pair it with King Leopold's Ghost, which is a chilling history of the colonization of the Congo.

 

And on. For each country or area, I would try to find 1-2 chewy, grown up books.

 

I might even consider using EHE, but require more deliberate answers to the questions of identifying people, dates and key terms. More like a paragraph or at least several sentences rather than the couple words you might accept from a younger student. Tests can consist partly of identifying a selection of these terms and people.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

For China, two titles off the top of my head are Wild Swans by Chang and River Town by Hessler.

 

I would also suggest getting a subscription to The Economist and faithfully reading the articles about the Eastern Hemisphere countries. Their coverage is good and usually pretty interesting.

 

ETA: China in Ten Words is a new book that is also a pretty good and quick read about China. Iron and Silk is an older one written by a westerner.

[krisperry]

I think that the subject matter addressed in the core can be done as a high school level course. In fact, there were several writing prompts within the EHE that I thought could only be properly addressed with a several page essay (but that's at least partly because I'm not one for black and white answers).

 

I do agree that you need to have much higher level literature for 9th grade. But it doesn't have to be college level lit either.

 

Something you might consider is to try to come up with more books written on an adult level. And consider more books written by people from the country under discussion, rather than YA and juvenile fiction written by westerners.

 

For example, Things Fall Apart is a book by a Nigerian author that seems to show up on AP book lists frequently (it's not a book I've read, so take it as an example, rather than a recommendation). Cry The Beloved Country might be another example.

 

For Russia, I might recommend One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich or Grey is the Color of Hope. Both are set in the Soviet Period, but can give an idea of what life was like within living memory.

 

The Heart of Darkness would be another classic set in Africa. I might pair it with King Leopold's Ghost, which is a chilling history of the colonization of the Congo.

 

And on. For each country or area, I would try to find 1-2 chewy, grown up books.

 

I might even consider using EHE, but require more deliberate answers to the questions of identifying people, dates and key terms. More like a paragraph or at least several sentences rather than the couple words you might accept from a younger student. Tests can consist partly of identifying a selection of these terms and people.

 

Thank you! Great list. I had looked at this book for Japan (and we already own it). http://www.amazon.com/Musashi-Eiji-Yoshikawa/dp/4770019572/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1333755446&sr=1-1 It is nearly 1000 pages so I thought there wasn't time... but I think I'm too use to the idea of reading a book in 2 weeks rather than 1 long one in more like a month.

 

I need to go back and look at my list again. Thanks for the wake-up call :) I hope after I've revised it, I can get some more feedback ;)

 

I'm open for even more suggestions!!! So please feel free to keep them coming.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Are you using the documentaries because you would be watching them with your other kids anyway?

 

As I'm moving mine into high school, I'm trying to move them into working with and responding (coherently when possible) to more challenging texts. I find that while documentaries and movies are interesting, they also tend to be more passive. And I'm a little wary of movies set in Asia that were Hollywood productions rather than indigenous (Inn of the Sixth Happiness caught my eye).

 

You would probably get some grand book recommendations if you posted the countries/areas covered.

 

Not picking at you, btw. I would just suggest tweaking it upward, if you can.

[krisperry]

Thank you for helping! I don't feel like you are picking at me at all. That is my running list...for everyone. With six kids, I need to be able to puck some kids sometimes and plunk them down in front of the TV while I work with someone else. (and I don't want them watching Spongebob :tongue_smilie:) I admit to not having scan it thoroughly yet.

 

I'm looking at your suggestions now and agree that they look like great choices. I'll want to order them and read them first so we can discuss intelligently of course. I remember Heart of Darkness but I haven't read the others. She will be coming from Core H in Sonlight so it will be a step up. BUT she is bright kid and will surely rise to the challenge.

 

Thanks for the magazine suggestion. I wouldn't have thought to do that.

 

Ok, so taking suggestions for the following regions:

Pacific Islands

Australia

Japan

Korea

Mongolia

Vietnam

Egypt

India

Middle East

 

And then any books for the Eastern Religion Study. :001_smile:

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Thank you! Great list. I had looked at this book for Japan (and we already own it). http://www.amazon.com/Musashi-Eiji-Yoshikawa/dp/4770019572/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1333755446&sr=1-1 It is nearly 1000 pages so I thought there wasn't time... but I think I'm too use to the idea of reading a book in 2 weeks rather than 1 long one in more like a month.

 

I need to go back and look at my list again. Thanks for the wake-up call :) I hope after I've revised it, I can get some more feedback ;)

 

I'm open for even more suggestions!!! So please feel free to keep them coming.

 

Japanese literature is a tough nut. I found that there were interesting books written by westerners. But the translated Japanese books I read were tough for me to work through, since they depended on so much cultural background.

 

One that I did find interesting was The Bronze Christ by Nagayo. (NB: part of the plot involves a relationship with a courtesan and the overarching plot is about the excecution of Japanese Christians in Samurai period.)

 

You might try reading a retelling of the 47 Ronin story. This is one I like.

 

One fun thing you might do is watch The Seven Samurai and then watch the Indian remake India Gate. The original Godzilla is also interesting, especially in the context of a Japan that had had the atomic bombs within recent memory (make sure you watch the original, not the version redone for the US with Raymond Burr added in).

 

Who is the mom here who has a son in university in Tokyo? I bet she could give you great suggestions.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Thank you for helping! I don't feel like you are picking at me at all. That is my running list...for everyone. With six kids, I need to be able to puck some kids sometimes and plunk them down in front of the TV while I work with someone else. (and I don't want them watching Spongebob :tongue_smilie:) I admit to not having scan it thoroughly yet.

 

I'm looking at your suggestions now and agree that they look like great choices. I'll want to order them and read them first so we can discuss intelligently of course. I remember Heart of Darkness but I haven't read the others. She will be coming from Core H in Sonlight so it will be a step up. BUT she is bright kid and will surely rise to the challenge.

 

Thanks for the magazine suggestion. I wouldn't have thought to do that.

 

Ok, so taking suggestions for the following regions:

Pacific Islands

Australia

Japan

Korea

Mongolia

Vietnam

Egypt

India

Middle East

 

And then any books for the Eastern Religion Study. :001_smile:

 

A book for the middle east is Dreams of Trespass. Though you might want to pre-read the book. It is the memoir of growing up in gender segregated Morocco. I remember it being very engaging. Honest about both the benefits and trials of the harem.

[krisperry]

So Pacific Islands....

 

With the Old Breed

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0891419063/ref=rdr_ext_sb_ti_sims_1

Anyone read this?

 

Most of what I've found for Pacific Islands has to do with War. This was my original selection:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Bomb-Theodore-Taylor/dp/0152061657/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1333757411&sr=1-1

[krisperry]

And here was my original choice for Australia:

http://www.amazon.com/Escape-From-Botany-Gerald-Hausman/dp/1617202037/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1333758098&sr=1-5

 

Looking for an alternative and found these. Thoughts:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Fatal-Shore-Australias-Founding/dp/0394753666/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1333758600&sr=1-2

 

http://www.amazon.com/Commonwealth-Thieves-Improbable-Birth-Australia/dp/140007956X/ref=pd_sim_b_2

 

http://www.amazon.com/The-Secret-River-Kate-Grenville/dp/1841959146/ref=pd_sim_b_4

Edited April 7, 2012 by krisperry

[elegantlion]

You could call it a World Cultures class, something like that.

 

I agree about the original Godzilla. There is some great commentary on the DVD as well.

 

We also liked the Michael Palin travel videos.

Edited April 7, 2012 by elegantlion

[jamajo]

Literature The alternative reading list that I've selected for her b/c Core F is way too easy:

Call It Courage reading level 5.8

The Bomb reading level 6.8

Escape from Botany Bay reading level 5.8

Hiroshima

The Ghost of Tokaido Inn

Year of Impossible Goodbyes

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon

Forbidden City

Rebels of the Heavenly Kingdom

I Rode a Horse of Milk White Honey

Endless Steppe

Breadwinner

Homeless Bird reading level 6.1

Climbing the Stairs

Secret Keeper

Jahanara

Habibi

Seven Daughters and Seven Sons reading level 7.1

A Long Way for Water

Listening for Lions reading level 6.5

Snows of Kilimanjaro

We will read and discuss these books. She will write about them as well.

 

 

 

I'm planning a countries & cultures unit for next year what country do these readers fall in?

[plansrme]

I'm no help on the rest, but if you haven't already considered it, I want to suggest The Horse Boy: a Memoir of Healing for your study of Mongolian Shamanism.

 

It is very much about Mongolian (and other forms, but mostly Mongolian) Shamanism, not solely about autism.

 

The study sounds great, by the way.

 

Terri

[Down_the_Rabbit_Hole]

My Ds just finished doing EHE for 9th grade. I am giving him a full credit in World Geography and a quarter credit in Computer. IF you have the child do the entire EHE answering all the questions on their own using research skills it is a HS level course IMO. I know some of those questions on the EHE cannot be answered with a simple search if answered properly. SL gives the option of supplying the answers or just let the student work for x amount of time and leave the rest blank (silly). The answers are out there and will teach the student research skills beyond a simple search. I also had him do more with the projects...either taking them up a notch or doing more then one.I did not give a Literature/English credit but did use some of the writing assignments from his English with his EHE as well as his research paper.

Edited April 9, 2012 by Down_the_Rabbit_Hole

[krisperry]

Ok, after looking through all the amazing selections, we have decided to tie our English to the study. Here is my new list. I've tried to keep the reading level / theme elevated and include poetry, short stories, and novels both contemporary and classic. So, here goes:

 

Pacific Islands - 2 Weeks

Fire in the Sea - An Anthology of Poetry and Art by Sue Cowing 151 pages

 

Australia - 3 Weeks

The Secret River by Kate Grenville 352 pages

Japan - 2 Weeks

Hiroshima Diary by Michihiko Hachiya 268 pages

 

Korea - 2 Weeks

Lost Names - Scenes from a Korean Boyhood by Richard E. Kim 196 pages

China - 6 Weeks

The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck 448 pages

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See 288 pages

 

Russia - 4 Weeks

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander Solzhenitsyn 208 pages

Read Various Short Stories by Anton Chekhov

 

Vietnam - 2 Weeks

America and Vietnam: The Elephant and the Tiger by Albert Marrin 277 pages

 

India - 6 Weeks

A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry 624 pages

 

Middle East - 3 Weeks

MeMed, My Hawk by Yashar Kemal 392 pages (Turkey)

 

Africa - 6 Weeks

Dreams of Trespass: Tales of a Harem Girlhood by Fatima Mernissi 242 pages (Morocco)

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe 209 pages (Nigeria)

Cry, The Beloved Country by Alan Paton 320 pages (South Africa)

 

 

I'm happy that certain books like Dreams of Trespass will fall late in the year when my daughter is 15. (She will be 14 soon). Should this be enough Literature for a year? Any issues that you see?

 

Here is what I'm currently thinking:

World Geography Credit - from EHE, Trail Guide ...

World Religions Credit - reading several books + using this World Religion Textbook as a spine.

World Literature and Composition - Using the above list (we will be doing Lost Tools of writing, but I'll need to flesh out the analysis for each book)

 

Off to look at the latest recommendations. :001_smile:

Edited April 9, 2012 by krisperry

[krisperry]

I'm no help on the rest, but if you haven't already considered it, I want to suggest The Horse Boy: a Memoir of Healing for your study of Mongolian Shamanism.

 

It is very much about Mongolian (and other forms, but mostly Mongolian) Shamanism, not solely about autism.

 

The study sounds great, by the way.

 

Terri

 

Thank you very much! This was one area that I was a bit nervous finding material for. Not anymore :001_smile:

[Kareni]

Australia:

 

I had my daughter read Rabbit-Proof Fence by Doris Pilkington.

 

"Following an Australian government edict in 1931, black aboriginal children and children of mixed marriages were gathered up and taken to settlements to be institutionally assimilated. In Rabbit-Proof Fence, award-wining author Doris Pilkington traces the story of her mother, Molly, one of three young girls uprooted from their community in Southwestern Australia and taken to the Moore River Native Settlement. There, Molly and her relatives Gracie and Daisy were forbidden to speak their native language, forced to abandon their heritage, and taught to be culturally white. After regular stays in solitary confinement, the three girls planned and executed a daring escape from the grim camp."

 

She and my husband then watched the movie with Kenneth Branagh.

 

Regards,

Kareni