History advice for 7th grade?

[CAMom]

Hi All~

 

I'm still fairly new to posting here and post mostly over on the high school board but I need some history help.:D

 

I have a daughter beginning 7th grade (she's 12). She's pretty vocal about not liking history.:glare: Up to this point, we've done some shorter history units on Egypt, the Middle Ages and the Ren. and Reformation. We've also covered some history using FIAR in the younger grades. We've also covered quite a bit of geography.

 

I'm struggling knowing what to do for her for jr. high.

 

She hates history but she is a voracious reader and a fairly good writer. I've been researching history programs until I'm blue in the face and can't even come close to deciding what might be best for her. I don't have a ton of money left in my budget. I don't mind some prep work but I also have a high schooler and a toddler so I can't do a ton.:lol:

 

So, throw me some suggestions if you please!:D

 

Thanks a bunch!

[MIch elle]

with the tests or Sonlight 6.

[Donna A.]

If you've done Egypt, MA, and Ren/Reformation, I'd go forward with American history. If you were to choose SOTW, I'd do volume 3 this year and then volume 4 for 8th grade.

 

Another idea is the TruthQuest History Guides which are basically assigned readings each week (a very extensive booklist in chronological order, plus commentary from the author), and then occasionally between topics, you have a "ThinkWrite" exercise which asks the student a hard question that she has to respond to in writing.

 

SOTW is secular/neutral, and TruthQuest is distinctively Christian. I believe that SOTW is one of the spines that TQ incorporates, so you could combine them that way.

 

If you would like Bible and science included as well, you might look at My Father's World years 4 and 5 for 7th & 8th. These years also include SOTW 3 and 4. There are message boards on the website where you can lurk and/or ask more questions about your particular situation: http://www.mfwbooks.com/2-8_home.htm

[CAMom]

Isn't SOTW written for a younger age group?:confused: Do you just read it by itself or does it branch off into other books?

 

Truthquest is one that I'm trying to get a feel for.

 

I don't need Bible or science. I've already got those covered.:)

[CAMom]

with the tests or Sonlight 6.

 

How does Sonlight work if you just want to do history with none of your other subjects attached? It doesn't even look like I could buy the instructor's guide for only history.:confused:

 

Any input on that?

[LanaTron]

And the activity guides which correspond with each level will give you both non-fiction and fiction reading suggestions, with suggested grade levels.

 

I am using SOTW 4 with my rising 7th grader (and his younger siblings) this year.

[JennW in SoCal]

Things that worked here in 7th grade....

 

For my oldest, we used SOTW and I had him write narrations for each chapter, but at the time he was in need of writing practice. It sounds like your dd doesn't need that kind of work, and the readings in SOTW might seem too babyish for her.

 

This last year, which was 7th grade for my younger son, we did a study of the mythology of Asia with some map work, readings from Kingfisher, and some videos and crafts thrown in. I read aloud "Journey to the West", an epic from China, and sections of the "Ramayana" and some children's stories from India. He read a collection of stories from Japan. He even practiced calligraphy using a book called "Long means Dragon". It was a great introduction to that area of the world and didn't feel like a history "program". Best of all, all the books came from the library, and the map work and other research came from the internet.

 

Your dd could get so much out of historical fiction at this point in time, without you needing to do any more prep than creating a reading list. If you own Kingfisher you can always have her do a context page for her readings -- outline the major events of the period during which the book takes place. Pick a period or geographical area she'd like to explore, make a list of books for her, then relax. I personally am not worrying too much about having a history "program" until high school, for no other reason than that has been what works here for now! As you also have a high schooler and the chaos of a toddler, perhaps this would work for you as well.

[Suzannah]

Isn't SOTW written for a younger age group?:confused: Do you just read it by itself or does it branch off into other books?

 

 

Well, yes and no. It's written in an engaging narrative style that younger children can understand, but I enjoyed reading it myself when we first got it and I plan to continue to have my oldest read it through middle school. He loves history and this is his second time through the SOTW series. Perhaps your dd doesn't care for history because she doesn't see it as a story. If that is the case SOTW might make it more readable.

 

For an older child you would probably want to supplement SOTW with Kingfisher Encyclopedia and the SOTW activity guide which includes suggested supplemental books and other info. Since you have a toddler you would probably use these again in a few years anyway.

[Lux Et Veritas Academy]

We did full blown American History for 7th at this house last year, my daughter loved it and she was a great age for it. (1600-1850) This year we will do the same years but focus on European History.

[Jenny in Atl]

A few ideas for the middle school student are, A Little History of the World, and Susan Strauss-Art's bks

[Stacy in NJ]

Sonlight would also offer alot of options. You could do core 5, 6, 7, or the American history core, is that 100? The American history core uses The Story of US by Joy Hakim, which is written in a really engaging style. :001_smile:

[HollyDay]

For my 7th grader, I chose BF Early American and World History. IT was a really tough choice for me. I finally narrowed it down to BF and BJU 7th grade. The BJU really surprised me. I have not at all cared for the way they teach history. But, their 7th grade program really impressed me. I was leaning more toward BJU when I asked DH, who is a history major to help. He prefered the literature approach of BF over the textbook approach of BJU so that is what we went with.

 

It is a different approach than anything we have used before. Dd reads the discussion question at the beginning of the lesson. Then she must read the assigned text to write down her answers in her history notebook. It is a skill she must master. I started the first chapter this summer to ease into it.

[CAMom]

Thank you all for all of the great input!! You gave some ideas that I hadn't thought of but I will certainly consider now!

 

We do own Kingfisher. I do like the look of Sonlight but just can't justify putting out that kind of money for one of their core programs. I have been considering Beautiful Feet. We already have several of the books they use.

 

You've all been most helpful!

[Cindy in WA]

Our normal way of doing history is to use a spine as an overview (BJU) and then add historical fiction, biographies, missionary biographies, etc that would fit in the time period they are studying. If we find a video, we might add that too.

 

Another thing I've done a few times through our homeschooling years is to ask the kids what they would like to study. To this day, their all time favorite thing we did for school was when they chose to study WWII. I got stacks of fiction and non-fiction books from the library, as well as, videos. They also used our encyclopedias. I let them study about it until they were done. They'd ask if there was more information they wanted to learn.

 

Because your daughter says she dislikes history, I would highly suggest trying this approach. Maybe she has an interest (horses, art, etc.) that might spark a deeper appreciation of history. Or maybe a more recent time period. Has she ever read a historical fiction book that she really liked? Maybe that would be a good place to start. She still has plenty of time to focus on a chronological study of history. I would want to capture her interest in history so the rest of the years of history study would be more productive.

HTH

Cindy

[CAMom]

I would want to capture her interest in history so the rest of the years of history study would be more productive.

HTH

Cindy

 

Yes! That does help, Cindy! That is exactly what I'm aiming to do and why I'm stressing out about this so much!:)