History For Right Brained Visual Spatial

[txhomemom]

I need some history ideas for an 8th grader (we kind of want to do an overview of world history) that is extremely right brained and visual spatial. My dd does not like boring textbooks. I bought Trisms History Masterminds, but am starting to second guess myself. She enjoys the literature part of it, but not so sure about the rest. What has everyone else used for their creative right-brained children? I guess I need something a little bit out of the box.

[Lily_Grace]

Have you looked at just creating your own? Get an outline of what you want to cover and gather resources. We use the Creek Edge Press cards as a loose outline (you pick the books) and make up projects as we go along, integrating things like Mysteries In History activities, Jackdaws, ____ For Kids series, the Milestones In Science kit, and lots online.

[my2boysteacher]

Not sure how you feel about Christian content, but we will be using Veritas Press' self paced online course. It looks really interactive and fun.

[txhomemom]

The backup plan is to create my own, but it is a lot of work, so still undecided if I should go that route. I have a busy year ahead of me so once September rolls around I won't have as much planning time. Basically, I have to find something that is either already planned out for me or is something I can plan in a month or so.

 

I like the looks of the Veritas online courses, but my dd refuses to take courses online or do video based courses. Yeah, I know that a visual spatial will normally like video and computer presentations, but she is a little different in that she prefers her school to be away from the computer. Kind of drives me crazy, but I just want her to do what works for her.

 

Has anyone else designed their own history curriculum for the year? How long did it take and was it worth it in the end?

[almondbutterandjelly]

We like the Capstone Press graphic novels for history. They are like high quality comic books on history.

[5LittleMonkeys]

I usually always have to design my own science and history for dd13. She is extremely VSL, right brained, and kinesthetic. She also has some Inattentive tendencies so I have to keep the work relative and interesting. Planning your own isn't too much work if you leave it flexible.

 

I will usually pick out a few books to use as spines and will schedule out the reading in those. Then, I create a list of generic assignments for her to work on through the week.

 

For example, for this year in history, in addition to the assigned daily reading, she will have the following weekly assignments:

 

1. Write a 3 to 5 paragraph report.

2. Watch a documentary (discuss with me).

3. Create a map.

4. Read a supplemental book or read an article\website. (discuss with me).

5. Make a recipe or paint\draw a picture of a person\place\event.

6. Copy a form\style of art or handicraft.

7. Record information on a timeline.

 

She chooses when to do these things and what the content will be. This has really helped her become more organized and self motivated since she has to think ahead a bit in order to get a book(s) from the library, look for maps, look for information on the internet, search for and queue movies\documentaries on Netflix, and buy supplies. Of coarse, we've been doing things this way for awhile, and it was definitely a process to get her to the point where she doesn't just stare at the list and say she doesn't know what to do.

Edited June 25, 2012 by 5LittleMonkeys

[PeterPan]

She's at a really good age to do a timeline if you haven't done one yet. What my dd has been asking to do (also creative and an out of the box person) is to make a timeline with parallel lines running for each culture/continent. That way you can see what was going on in China while stuff was going on in Europe, etc. You said she enjoys the lit, so you could use the SL cores to get you there (or a textbook or whatever you like) and put everything onto the timeline.

[Hoot]

What my dd has been asking to do (also creative and an out of the box person) is to make a timeline with parallel lines running for each culture/continent. That way you can see what was going on in China while stuff was going on in Europe, etc.

 

I love that idea! My uber-organizational and very visual self can see each continent being color coded as well. :D

[txhomemom]

Thanks for all the tips everyone. There are a lot of good ideas. We have never done a timeline, not sure why, but that may be something different we can try. I just pulled out one of the many history texts I have and after looking at Spielvogel's World History again I think I might just use that as the starting point and then add in a few things as we go along as far as either mapping, projects, historical fiction, etc. I just don't want to reinvent the wheel too much. I guess what I should do is on weeks we are short on time just read the chapters and discuss, but then most other weeks focus on more of the hands on stuff. I might even do reading one week and then hands on stuff the next week, alternating each week. I just always feel overwhelmed when we have too much to do at once. We are trying to do history only one day a week since my dd really needs to work more on math.

[Free]

I need some history ideas for an 8th grader (we kind of want to do an overview of world history) that is extremely right brained and visual spatial. My dd does not like boring textbooks. I bought Trisms History Masterminds, but am starting to second guess myself. She enjoys the literature part of it, but not so sure about the rest. What has everyone else used for their creative right-brained children? I guess I need something a little bit out of the box.

 

My ds has learned so much history from the Horrible Histories series. He loves them. It may be too basic for an 8th grader, but she might benefit from the Cartoon History of the Universe books or any such similar graphic novels. DK Eyewitness series also has some books on History which are very visual and full of photographs. She might also enjoy watching documentaries and will probably retain more than from reading a textbook.

[TippyCanoe]

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[PeterPan]

I love that idea! My uber-organizational and very visual self can see each continent being color coded as well. :D

 

http://www.everyday-education.com/timeline/index.shtml I've been thinking a modification of this would work.

[foxbridgeacademy]

We're using Connect the Thoughts history for my VSL. There are video's but she could replace with books about the subject. I also like Guest Hollows book recommendations for Ancient History.

The best History option IMO is one you put together yourself. Pick a spine something like CTT or use K12 Human Odyssey textbook. Pull reading from lists by Guest Hollow, Sonlight, Ambleside ect.... You could also take a look at History Odyssey from Penguin Press.... I don't like it but a lot of people do.

[Kareni]

We enjoyed this book when my daughter studied the ancient time period in 7th grade:

 

Then and Now: The Wonders of the Ancient World Brought to Life in Vivid See-Through Reconstructions by Stefania Perring

 

From Amazon: "This book shows full-page colour photographs of the most visited ancient sites throughout the world as they appear today - then superimposes, on acetate overlays, vivid, realistic artist's reconstructions of the same sites as they appeared in their original glory. The sun-baked shell of the Parthenon is restored to its brightly-painted greatness on Athen's Acropolis. The stones and columns of the Roman Forum are joined up and filled in to recreate one of the great public places of the world. Machu Picchu, Angkor Wat, the Aztec Temples of the Sun, the Palace of Knossos, the Second Temple, Pompeii, and more are shown in their prime. In addition to photos and overlays, the text explains every element in each scene, placing it in its cultural, historical and social context. More illustrations and diagrams highlight other important points."

 

Regards,

Kareni