What would you require?

[AimeeM]

We decided to stick with Human Odyssey volume 1 this year for history for dd11. She is NOT a history lover. Bare minimum and she merely tolerates it. It isn't the text - she is like this with history in general (exception being WWII, which she is obsessed with).

I'm struggling with what to require of her in this text. I know many require outlining - she is dyslexic and, while she does read well, her writing skills are not where they need to be to require outlining from such a text - and won't be for some time yet. I checked out the student pages for it, but they appear to require a significant amount of written work as well, so we are steering clear of them.

I know it isn't enough to simply read from it (because she hates history, she doesn't retain it without actual work).

[Oakblossoms]

I would focus on the skill areas she needs prior to High School. I would consider History icing on the cake. She could read from her texts. Then you could start with written narrations in a notebook. If she cannot do those on her own, I would write them out and have her copy them. I would not do over a paragraph.

[Luckymama]

Do you have the time to discuss the daily reading with her? Each weekend I read ahead of dd so that I can ask leading questions of her. I don't require outlining, though she is learning how to take notes from a text (her own form of loose outlining which is perfectly fine with me).

[AimeeM]

Do you have the time to discuss the daily reading with her? Each weekend I read ahead of dd so that I can ask leading questions of her. I don't require outlining, though she is learning how to take notes from a text (her own form of loose outlining which is perfectly fine with me).

How do you teach "taking notes"? It's obvious for me, but she has a difficult time discerning necessary facts from others, and ends up simply copying an entire page... lol

[AimeeM]

Creating a Lapbook?

That would be an acceptable 'output' for 6th grade, here.

Any good websites for lapbooking? :D

[Luckymama]

How do you teach "taking notes"? It's obvious for me, but she has a difficult time discerning necessary facts from others, and ends up simply copying an entire page... lol

 

Yeah, that wouldn't be too good!

 

Basically it's like teaching outlining. Read the section. What's the main idea? What are the important details (who, what, when, where, why, how)?

 

I don't enforce a rigid outline format. I also don't require complete sentences as phrases and even a few words can work just fine. I personally hate the outline format and have always bullet-pointed notes (for the lack of a better term). Ds and dd12 are like me. Dd17 has yet to create an outline that she didn't love!

 

Dd has had to take notes from reading as she researches her Science Olympiad topics. She does find science note-taking to be much easier than for history.

 

Teaching note taking from a lecture is another skill we haven't touched yet :tongue_smilie:

[Crimson Wife]

What about making visual webs using Kidspiration software? I've heard raves about it from other HS moms I know with VSL kids and it's what I'm planning to use with my DS when he gets a bit older.

[elegantlion]

A few options could be:

 

We're doing a modified version of WTM Rhetoric stage history this year. I'm having ds highlight in his text. He has to highlight important people/people groups, events, and places. Then he will write them out as history notes. We just started this, so I have no real feedback.

 

Another option: Ditch the History Odyssey and let her study WWII in depth. That could depend upon her maturity and sensitivity. We took a year off in 7th to study Asian history and it was a great history year.

 

I might make it less stressful to learn the skills necessary by being able to study a more exciting time period. WWII holds plenty of room for exploration, even at her level. There are also a ton of video supports for that era.

[PeterPan]

Just as an off thought, you might try going in a different direction and trying something like the VP self-paced online courses. She could do a couple in a year. If she's a narrative thinker, well VP is great for that. (Dyslexic Advantage by the Eides talks about narrative thinkers.) And if she hates history because she's a big picture person and can't wrap her brain around it, well VP takes care of that too with it's framework of the cards.

 

I just noticed you said she's obsessed with WWII. Any reason you're not running with that? She's plenty young. You could milk a TON of topics out of a WWII obsession, mercy. Patton was into Greek mythology. There's geography. There's food, politics, technology, ramifications, culture, medical. You've got tons of literature there, with lots of short stories and modern stuff that would be accessible to her (mysteries, dystopian, stuff she might really like). You could spend a whole year on it, and it wouldn't be the worst thing ever. Just think of it as another year 4 in your cycle. I'd milk the one thing she *is* interested in rather than forcing her through something she *isn't*.

Edited September 27, 2012 by OhElizabeth

[Heathermomster]

Are you studing Ancients or Middle Ages? DS keeps a timeline using software, mapwork, and running lists of the following: art&inventions, summaries, religion, and men&women. The running "lists" are word files that he appends to and later prints up when a page becomes full. He adds information that seems interesting or historically relevant. He reads aloud, we discuss, I scribe, and he later types. He places the printouts into his history folder. He's drawn sketches of pyramids and ziggurats and that info goes into the history folder.

 

We use history pockets too. DS isn't interested in the history pocket art activities so much, but the info inside them are good. We also watch documentaries and have listened to a lecture that I paid for on Amazon. We listen to Ancient music.

 

Literature follows the history materials too, such as Epic of Gilgamesh, The Golden Goblet, and others. This is what I require.

 

ETA: At the beginning of the school year, I spent some time with DS going over textmapping and reading non-fiction text books. DS is dyslexic too and these skills need to be taught. We don't outline history. He completes full sentence outlines sometimes in science, depending upon the material.

Edited September 27, 2012 by Heathermomster

[AimeeM]

Just as an off thought, you might try going in a different direction and trying something like the VP self-paced online courses. She could do a couple in a year. If she's a narrative thinker, well VP is great for that. (Dyslexic Advantage by the Eides talks about narrative thinkers.) And if she hates history because she's a big picture person and can't wrap her brain around it, well VP takes care of that too with it's framework of the cards.

 

I just noticed you said she's obsessed with WWII. Any reason you're not running with that? She's plenty young. You could milk a TON of topics out of a WWII obsession, mercy. Patton was into Greek mythology. There's geography. There's food, politics, technology, ramifications, culture, medical. You've got tons of literature there, with lots of short stories and modern stuff that would be accessible to her (mysteries, dystopian, stuff she might really like). You could spend a whole year on it, and it wouldn't be the worst thing ever. Just think of it as another year 4 in your cycle. I'd milk the one thing she *is* interested in rather than forcing her through something she *isn't*.

We would prefer to steer clear of Veritas Press, but I appreciate the recommendation!

WWII is out of the running as an option for her. We tried this game last year... and the year before that. It's all she wants to study and she can't keep doing NOTHING but WWII. Lol. She does have tons of documentaries and books she can read on it - in her time.

[wapiti]

You might want to define your goals: how much content do you want her to remember, and how much do you want to use history as skill practice for outlining/notetaking?

 

If you are interested in other history options, the Catholic Schools Textbook Project books have PDF workbooks. My dd really enjoyed filling in the workbook, which was not particularly difficult but just enough to require her to go back to the text to find the details, which helped her remember better. The discussion questions are also useful (TM has answers). I vaguely recall that you didn't like this series or something, but I thought I'd mention it just in case. My dd really, really liked the book we used. I had wanted to do the geography one this year... :tongue_smilie:

 

If you stick with your current plan, how much I'd have her outline would depend on how much outlining she will be doing in her writing program. I'd start out simple: what was the most important thing that happened in the section you read today, and give me two or three extra details or reasons why. Then, I'd simply expand on that down the road, as she gets better at it. That may be very difficult for her, but all the more reason to practice it - the old balance between needed skill practice and frustration.

[AimeeM]

Are you studing Ancients or Middle Ages? DS keeps a timeline using software, mapwork, and running lists of the following: art&inventions, summaries, religion, and men&women. The running "lists" are word files that he appends to and later prints up when a page becomes full. He adds information that seems interesting or historically relevant. He reads aloud, we discuss, I scribe, and he later types. He places the printouts into his history folder. He's drawn sketches of pyramids and ziggurats and that info goes into the history folder.

 

We use history pockets too. DS isn't interested in the history pocket art activities so much, but the info inside them are good. We also watch documentaries and have listened to a lecture that I paid for on Amazon. We listen to Ancient music.

 

Literature follows the history materials too, such as Epic of Gilgamesh, The Golden Goblet, and others. This is what I require.

 

ETA: At the beginning of the school year, I spent some time with DS going over textmapping and reading non-fiction text books. DS is dyslexic too and these skills need to be taught. We don't outline history. He completes full sentence outlines sometimes in science, depending upon the material.

Ancients and I believe some middle ages (in the text). Thanks for the ideas! I'll check out some resources for textmapping - sounds appropriate for what I need!

[AimeeM]

You might want to define your goals: how much content do you want her to remember, and how much do you want to use history as skill practice for outlining/notetaking?

 

If you are interested in other history options, the Catholic Schools Textbook Project books have PDF workbooks. My dd really enjoyed filling in the workbook, which was not particularly difficult but just enough to require her to go back to the text to find the details, which helped her remember better. The discussion questions are also useful (TM has answers). I vaguely recall that you didn't like this series or something, but I thought I'd mention it just in case. My dd really, really liked the book we used. I had wanted to do the geography one this year... :tongue_smilie:

 

If you stick with your current plan, how much I'd have her outline would depend on how much outlining she will be doing in her writing program. I'd start out simple: what was the most important thing that happened in the section you read today, and give me two or three extra details or reasons why. Then, I'd simply expand on that down the road, as she gets better at it. That may be very difficult for her, but all the more reason to practice it - the old balance between needed skill practice and frustration.

I looked at CTP and the Sea to Shining Sea text looked VERY nice - the All Ye Lands not so much (didn't seem as narrative I think?). She doesn't dislike Human Odyssey on any deep level (lol); she just isn't a history fan.

My only goals are that she study the first part of world history and is FAMILIAR ENOUGH with it, that if she does end up back in school at any point in the next couple years, she isn't lost; since history isn't something she will "self study" or "read about" on her own, I do feel the need to require it on some level, and since the possibility of school exists for her later down the road, I'm trying to stick to the same history sequence as the local Catholic schools here (Ancients to middle ages 6th grade/middle ages to early modern 7th grade/American history and civics in 8th grade).

Retention on a larger scale would be icing on the cake. Right now I just want her familiar enough with it that if mentioned she can say "hey - I learned about that!" - not that she be able to dictate back facts.

[Kareni]

In 8th grade, my daughter studied the time period AD500 to about AD1700. Here are the instructions that I gave her.

 

 

 

History and Reading

 

The plan:

 

To study history chronologically from AD500 to about AD1700.

 

The means:

 

We’ll use Hendrik van Loon’s The Story of Mankind as well as numerous other books and resources.

 

Typically each week there will be a list of required reading. There will generally be a novel to be read pertaining to the time period. There will also be non-fiction books or selections to be read and perhaps a CD to listen to, a website to visit or a video to view.

 

You will need to locate any places mentioned on the map, in a historical atlas and on the globe (if we obtain one). Each week you will make two pages for your history notebook. These pages should be work you can be proud of! They should be well planned, edited and neat. They can be in your best cursive or done on the computer. All art work should be done with care. The pages should pertain to the time period being studied. Each page should be titled. Pages might cover such topics as:

 

A people

A great man or woman (a ruler, artist, explorer, scientist)

An artifact (tools, buildings, type of writing)

A religion

An event

A discovery or invention

A war or battle

The daily life of a people

A map (route of an explorer, location of a people)

An imaginary encounter between two historical personae

???

 

You might find information on these topics at home or you may need to do additional research at the library or online.

 

Maps should include a legend (which may be printed) in addition to the title.

 

In addition to your two pages, you should also note at least ten important dates in your History Notebook’s time line page.

 

 

Regards,

Kareni