RobinL in Canada Posted October 27, 2012 Share Posted October 27, 2012 Help. I distinctly said, help. You'd think that after 17 years of hs'ing and three boys graduated, that I'd have a handle on teaching high school history. But no. I always found it quite enjoyable to cover history in he younger years, with assorted hands-on projects and fun books to read; and through the middle school years, I ran a co-op which sometimes included history, for which the kids would do projects and complete a "book of the centuries" with assorted illustrations, short entries, creative pieces, charts, maps, etc. But high school history? Ugh. We're past the "poster project" age and I pretty much resort to textbooks. This year, for eg, my gr 8 son is using Spielvogel's The Human Odyssey plus an older more narrative series, The Universal History of the World, to cover early modern/ modern. And he's okay with that--but I find that I can't think of what he should *do* as his history "work." He's a fairly advanced writer but has not yet learned the formal essay (will be doing that this year). Even once we cover the basic essay, though, I can't seem to think of decent topics for said essays. He isn't really at that very analytical stage yet where he is interested in arguing for or against anything (as in LTOW's approach of "should so-and-so have done such-and-such?") ; but even if we stick with "report" style writing, it seems so terribly tedious just to rehash what is already written in the books he's reading. Right now, for eg, we've just gone through the Scientific Revolution, so he wrote a "report/ biography" re Galileo--but what for? Next up is the Enlightenment--should we just carry on and have him sum up the lives and works of assorted thinkers? Or is there a more engaging, interesting way to "work though" history at the early and later high school levels? And did I mention that history is really not a favourite subject of mine even at the best of times? Help....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted October 27, 2012 Share Posted October 27, 2012 We have used the Universal History series for Middle school and liked it very much. For high school we are using an older, well written text recommended in the first edition of TWTM: Short History of Western Civilization by Harrison. We combine history and literature and study the literature of the historic period; closely in grades 9 (Ancients) and 10 (medieval/Renaissance); more loosely now in gr. 11 as DD has her specific preferences for literature and I allow her to choose selections. As to what he could do, I have several suggestions: he could research a topic and, instead of writing an argumentative essay, write a research paper, or prepare an oral presentation with visuals. My son has done this several times; it is his favorite way of demonstrating subject mastery. Instead of "rehashing" the contents of one book, he should assemble material from several sources and could use this opportunity to learn correct work with quotations and citation. You could also have him participate in the National History Day competitions; they have categories for papers, posters, websites, performances and documentaries. You could have him work in any of these media even if he does not want to participate in the competition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nscribe Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 History provides so many rich opportunities: 1. So many writing programs focus on essay writing, but the short answer question tends to be neglected and history lends well to it. 2. What if questions are such a great way to apply what is learned. Example: What if Alexander had survived the return? There are actually several books over the years which have had history professors write about the what if's. 3. I often have Dd explain how history impacts today's headlines 4. So many great opportunities for practicing notetaking, summarizing, outlining 5. Arguments and examination of their effectiveness...historians produce so much fodder for this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhschool Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 What is the Universal History Series for middle school? I just googled it and can't find where to buy/look at it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 What is the Universal History Series for middle school? I just googled it and can't find where to buy/look at it. I was referring to this series: http://www.amazon.com/The-Universal-History-World-multi-/dp/0307609804/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1351384799&sr=8-1&keywords=universal+history+of+the+world It is a series of slim volumes in a narrative style, with nice illustrations, by Golden Press. It has been out of print for many years and is only available used. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheApprentice Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 I've come to the realization that I'm just not that good at creating my own curriculum and coming up with interesting assignments. I need guidance. And I'm ok with that. So my son is using Oak Meadows right now for world geography and I'll probably continue with it for World and American History. The World Geography actually has some very creative/interesting assignments that go along with the readings/questions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhschool Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 I was referring to this series:http://www.amazon.com/The-Universal-History-World-multi-/dp/0307609804/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1351384799&sr=8-1&keywords=universal+history+of+the+world It is a series of slim volumes in a narrative style, with nice illustrations, by Golden Press. It has been out of print for many years and is only available used. Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinL in Canada Posted October 28, 2012 Author Share Posted October 28, 2012 UHOW is a very enjoyable series--helps liven up a textbook approach. I'm still thinking, though, that the suggestions above aren't much more engaging than what we are already doing--essays or research papers, short answers, summarizing, etc. Can anyone suggest some more "fun" (for boys) specific topics for modern history to pursue in more depth? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 Can anyone suggest some more "fun" (for boys) specific topics for modern history to pursue in more depth? Well, for my DS giving a talk in front of an audience about a subject he has made himself an expert on IS a lot of fun. If you want 'funner": what about getting into reenactments? Researching and creating period costumes, foods, items, transportation, battle tactics... Participating in archeological digs? Volunteering as a docent in a history museum? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinL in Canada Posted October 28, 2012 Author Share Posted October 28, 2012 Great ideas! If only we actually had an audience ; ) We have no relatives and no one else interested in doing this, alas. That's why history study worked so well for us in the middle school years, when parents/ families we know *did* want their kids involved in more hands-on activities. Not so much now, unfortunately. Doing it all alone just doesn't equate to "fun" for my son. I think he will end up being more of the "research paper" type, so was wondering if there were any particularly fruitful, "fun" trails or topics to pursue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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