Please list what you use for American history, government, and economics. Hoping to get a list of programs to research.

[Sweet Home Alabama]

Any curriculum, additional resources, and on-line links you could list would be very helpful. Also, if there is any special way you "do" these subjects, that makes it engaging, please explain. This is for an 11th grader who intends to go to college.

[TammyS]

For Gov't I'm using Hillsdale's Constitution 101 and 201 (both free online) and then filling in with some chapters from "We the People" (which is available cheaply on Amazon, used).

 

For Econ I'm looking at some of the short courses on Homeschool Connections (particularly "Economics as if People Matter") and Thomas Sowell's book (title escapes me, but it should be easy to find).

 

For American history, I don't have a complete listing, but we did watch the Yale lectures "Revolutionary War" series with Joann Freeman and thought they were very good. She is a very good lecturer, not boring even for my then-13 year old. I also think that the John Adams BOOK, not movie, is a very good overview of that period. I'm considering adding the Ken Burns documentaries on the Civil War and WWII, but I find his style a little emotive for my taste and it's much faster to read a book than watch one of his documentaries; but it might be a good choice for a kid who doesn't like to read and could use a reading break or one who doesn't really connect with the historical period.

[Nscribe]

The Thomas Sowell I have is Basic Economics.

[Lori D.]

Lots of suggestions for 2 of your 3 requested subjects in these past threads:

 

Economics and Government suggestions

Government and Economics... not rigorous

 

 

ETA: you also asked for special ideas to make the programs engaging:

 

Economics

We used the Dave Ramsey Foundations of Personal Finance as the personal finance element of our Economics course. DSs really loved this 12-hour DVD and workbook. The DVD is already divided up into a series of 10-15 minute short sessions, making it very easy to do one a day.

 

While it is of an extreme libertarian viewpoint, Whatever Happened to Penny Candy (Bluestocking Press / Uncle Eric book) was a fun, fast, middle-school book.

 

 

Government

Field trip: visit your State Capitol for the day and see your legislature at work; sit in as part of the audience in a real trial. Some states have a "homeschool day at the Capitol" that you can participate in, where you would get to meet and hear from your local senator/rep -- maybe even your state's governor.

 

Teens can be hired for the day to work at an election polling place. (It only pays about $50 for a 13-hour day, BUT you get to see your government in action).

 

Volunteer to work at a candidate's office; be a student intern for a City Councilman; volunteer work to get a petition on the ballot.

 

Again, while it is of a single, extreme libertarian viewpoint, Are You Liberal, Conservative, Confused? (Bluestocking Press / Uncle Eric book) was a fun, fast, middle-school book.

 

Our DSs participated in the YMCA Youth & Gov't program, a mock or model legislative program in which the student actually writes a bill, goes to the state capitol, and goes through the whole legislative process. Awesome!

 

Other worthwhile student programs:

- YMCA Youth in Government (model legislation program) (west of the Mississippi it is Youth AND Government)

- TEEN Pact (government and the political process; Christian)

- Junior State of America (teen-organized/attended evening or weekend-long events on civics and politics, with speakers and group discussion sessions on hot topics)

- National Model United Nations or Model United Nations (mock U.N. session)

- Teen Court, Youth Court, Mock Trial (model judicial branch of government)

[regentrude]

William Bennett America - The Last best hope. has companion web resources

http://www.roadmaptolastbesthope.com/about

Lecture series from University of Oklahoma. Rufus Fears in Story of Freedom

http://freedom.ou.edu/

(has other lectures as well)

Hillsdale College Constitution 101 (have not used this myself): https://online.hillsdale.edu/101/info

TC: Turning points in American History

PBS: American Experience http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/

[kerenlynne]

Haven't used this yet but I am planning to. I think it would be a great supplement to a Government class or a US History Class. It uses stories, speeches, and songs to address why we have certain holidays, what America means etc. You just buy the book but so far the curriculum is free.

http://www.whatsoproudlywehail.org/book#praise

[Sweet Home Alabama]

Thanks, everyone- just to add to my own list, there is also Tapestry, Trisms, and MFW (which we are using now but may have to change from for 11th grade and thus the reason for my request.)

[MicheleinMN]

:lurk5:

[mims]

Liked Economics in a Box. Very conservative so not for everyone but it is very engaging - videos, books, etc.

[TammyS]

Oh, I just remembered, the "Whatever Happened to Penny Candy" and other associated books. I haven't used these myself, but have heard good things from a number of people.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

 

 

Other worthwhile student programs:

- YMCA Youth in Government (model legislation program) (west of the Mississippi it is Youth AND Government)

- TEEN Pact (government and the political process; Christian)

- Junior State of America (teen-organized/attended evening or weekend-long events on civics and politics, with speakers and group discussion sessions on hot topics)

- National Model United Nations or Model United Nations (mock U.N. session)

- Teen Court, Youth Court, Mock Trial (model judicial branch of government)

 

 

Darn you, Lori. My middle son saw this and asked if I'd ever heard of MUN. I admitted that I'd not only heard of it, but competed in MUN in high school. I think I may have just talked myself into being an advisor to a team next year. Ay Carumba.

[Lori D.]

Darn you, Lori. My middle son saw this and asked if I'd ever heard of MUN. I admitted that I'd not only heard of it, but competed in MUN in high school. I think I may have just talked myself into being an advisor to a team next year. Ay Carumba.

 

 

 

LOL!!! :lol: BUW-HA-HA-HA! (maniacal laughter)

 

This is EXACTLY how I got suckered... I mean persuaded... ;) into being the advisor to our DSs' Youth & Government delegation for 3 years running. It's a MAJOR amount of work, but you're going to have a blast, Sebastian! :) (Oh, and your DS will, too... ;))

[MommyThrice]

Not a curriculum, but we love Clarence Carson's Basic History of the U.S. I use the set of 5 books as a spine and add literature.

We also use Economics in a Box.

Government just kind of came naturally with competing in debate and extemporaneous (current events) speaking, being involved in local politics, lobbying at our state capital and working on local campaigns. Ds also took Constitutional Law from HSLDA and now competes in moot court . If you don't want to get that involved, you might like Notgrass' Government. We also used Notgrass American History curriculum a few years back. It made a nice spine. I thought the literature was a little light and I added to it.

[Sweet Home Alabama]

Just a quick thank you for all of the suggestions! I like the idea of a video/lecture component used with a text. How do you all grade history if you don't use a planned text with tests included?

 

Something pre-planned/open and go works well here.

 

Lots to consider....

 

Thanks again!

[1Togo]

Government

 

Foundation for American Christian Education - Rudiments of American Christian History & Government followed by the group study plan in Teaching & Learning, which includes CHOC I, and Constitution study (as much as possible after Rudiments)

 

Economics

 

Ramsey course followed by the economics syllabus in James Rose's GACE with a few of Diane Lockman's ideas from "Making Economics Real"

 

The FACE, GACE, and Lockman materials will include notetaking, vocabulary work, essays, and summaries and presentations of current events, so these courses are going to bring together the study/composition skills we have been developing during the first two years of high school.

[GailV]

Government -- Thinkwell's AP American Government, purchased at discount through Homeschool Buyer's Coop.

 

Econ -- Our state has a requirement for public school kids to take Personal Finance, so we did Dave Ramsey. I doubt we'll get to any other econ. classes.

[CyndiLJ]

We will be using an easier textbook for ESL learners so that my son's siblings can do history along with him. However, we are pumping it up for him by adding in 3 different lecture series from The Great Courses along with some as-yet-to-be-determined additional readings. We will be using the Bluestocking Press series for a variety of topics as well. I highly recommend The Great Courses as there are several to choose from that are appropriate and very well done.

[Down_the_Rabbit_Hole]

Oldest son used ACE Paces for Government and Economics and youngest son will be doing the same in 12th. I add in some biographies and in depth books to round it out.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Just a quick thank you for all of the suggestions! I like the idea of a video/lecture component used with a text. How do you all grade history if you don't use a planned text with tests included?

 

Something pre-planned/open and go works well here.

 

Lots to consider....

 

Thanks again!

 

 

Much of our assessment is based on surviving family dinner conversations. DH has a couple of history degrees and uses his history background daily. I don't have a degree, but have read widely and traveled a lot. Ours is the sort of family that spends holidays visiting historical sites and museums. So there is a lot of constant reinforcement.

 

I've also had the boys start writing essays in response to the document based essay questions from old AP history exams. I give them the packet of documents and about a week to do any necessary research and writing. (So they aren't timed like they would be on an actual AP exam.) The documents and question give them a specific framework to work within, while the additional time gives them the opportunity to look up details they may have forgotten or that we didn't emphasize.

 

I have also used the study companion sites for older editions of Spielvogel's Western Civilizationand Kagan & Ozment's Western Heritage.

 

ETA: often the links for the essays used in practice essay questions at these sites are older or broken. I've had good luck just searching for the author and title of the essay. They tend to be in the public domain and available.

[MommyThrice]

 

I've also had the boys start writing essays in response to the document based essay questions from old AP history exams. I give them the packet of documents and about a week to do any necessary research and writing. (So they aren't timed like they would be on an actual AP exam.) The documents and question give them a specific framework to work within, while the additional time gives them the opportunity to look up details they may have forgotten or that we didn't emphasize.

 

 

That is a great idea that I'm going to start using!

 

We're doing something similar for current events (which, of course, requires a knowledge of history to explain well) with topics from Extemp Central. I'm treating it as a timed essay or speech to be done in one hour.

[Sweet Home Alabama]

Much of our assessment is based on surviving family dinner conversations. DH has a couple of history degrees and uses his history background daily. I don't have a degree, but have read widely and traveled a lot. Ours is the sort of family that spends holidays visiting historical sites and museums. So there is a lot of constant reinforcement.

 

I've also had the boys start writing essays in response to the document based essay questions from old AP history exams. I give them the packet of documents and about a week to do any necessary research and writing. (So they aren't timed like they would be on an actual AP exam.) The documents and question give them a specific framework to work within, while the additional time gives them the opportunity to look up details they may have forgotten or that we didn't emphasize.

 

I have also used the study companion sites for older editions of Spielvogel's Western Civilizationand Kagan & Ozment's Western Heritage.

 

ETA: often the links for the essays used in practice essay questions at these sites are older or broken. I've had good luck just searching for the author and title of the essay. They tend to be in the public domain and available.

 

 

Sebastian, can you provide a link for the document based essay questions? Thanks for making these suggestions!

[Candid]

I use Tapestry of Grace which is a comprehensive program that includes lit, government, philosophy, and church history driven by the main engine of history. No econ as of yet.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

 

 

 

Sebastian, can you provide a link for the document based essay questions? Thanks for making these suggestions!

 

 

AP European History free response http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/members/exam/exam_information/2085.html

 

AP American History http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/ap/history_us/samp.html

 

AP World History http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/members/exam/exam_information/216943.html

 

Revised Continuity and Change World History Essay Questions http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/repository/WorldHistory_modified_essay_Q.pdf

[Luckymama]

Thanks for the idea and links, Sebastian! I will definitely add in some DBQ writing for dd's American history next year.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Thanks for the idea and links, Sebastian! I will definitely add in some DBQ writing for dd's American history next year.

 

 

There are also essay questions for primary documents at the companion websites linked up thread.

[Sweet Home Alabama]

AP European History free response http://apcentral.col...ation/2085.html

 

AP American History http://www.collegebo...ry_us/samp.html

 

AP World History http://apcentral.col...ion/216943.html

 

Revised Continuity and Change World History Essay Questions http://apcentral.col...ied_essay_Q.pdf

 

Thanks so much, Sebastian! I look forward to reading these!

[Sweet Home Alabama]

I use Tapestry of Grace which is a comprehensive program that includes lit, government, philosophy, and church history driven by the main engine of history. No econ as of yet.

 

Candid,

If I had known about Tapestry when I first started home schooling, I think I might have chosen it. What keeps me from it is the reviews I read. There seems to be a steep learning curve and an expense for it. And... at this late stage of the game, I'm not sure it is the best choice (I have grades 9,7, and 4 currently)....BUT I keep going to the website and loving it strangely enough.

 

I really think the only way I could consider TOG is to find it used at this point, but I would be interested to know what bare bones supplements I would need for it..... just out of curiosity. I would think I would want the map and testing supplements... not sure about the writing- also not sure what text/supplementary reading books would be MOST important to own- trying to keep cost down and making it as time efficient as possible for us.

 

I would be shopping for early American history, so I think I would need Year 2 Units 3-4. I described my current situation in this thread:

http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/453011-if-youve-used-mfw-american-history-to-1877-can-i-have-your-opinion-please/

 

I think I need something "simple" to implement.... and if we continue with MFW, it makes sense to go with BJU since it is continued in grade 12. TOG is a similar format to MFW, and dd loves that format. We've really enjoyed discussing what she's learned each week in MFW, and I can imagine we'd do much the same with TOG.(Except, wouldn't conversations happen daily rather than weekly???) The time factor is a MAJOR concern. Dd truly takes a lot of time to do school work, and we would need TOG to be somewhat automated and time efficient. Otherwise, it will impede getting done what she needs to do in a day. Does that make sense? We need for time per subject to balance and not be too heavy toward one subject.

 

I apologize for the rambling. Would you comment about my questions concerning TOG? I want to love it, yet I've always had reservations.

[Candid]

You would use two full cycles of Tapestry with your children's age spread which I think means, not too late. And honestly, the real gravy in Tapestry is in R and D level material This is a program written with the oldest students in mind first, most other programs started with lower grades and slowly added higher grades; in my opinion this give Tapestry an advantage for high school and middle school.

 

Cost is a bear. You'd probably want to get DE. For R level I strongly recommend buying their suggested books. New but from Amazon this will run you about $400. I'd suggest some looseness at the D level, buy books that run a long time in the program but substitute what you have for others. Same for UG which is where i would place your youngest. Obviously, you could do the book hunt thing, but I would suggest setting a date to have everything or buy new. This will take away a lot of confusion during the school year.

 

I would advise against starting in the middle of a Year cycle. Tapestry ramps up over the year and it would be difficult. I would also advice against starting with Year 2, which in my opinion is the most full of lit. Start with Year 3 if you want to jump to US history, and then work the cycle from there. For your middle student this would actually make for a four years of high school that starts with Year One.

 

I would only buy evaluations for R level. With grammar, I just don't see the point, for D you will be doing Socratic discussions use those to evaluate progress and retention.

 

Maps are up to you, I find them crucial in ancient history because of the influence of geography on civilization, but as history progresses, it becomes less influential.

[Sweet Home Alabama]

You would use two full cycles of Tapestry with your children's age spread which I think means, not too late. And honestly, the real gravy in Tapestry is in R and D level material This is a program written with the oldest students in mind first, most other programs started with lower grades and slowly added higher grades; in my opinion this give Tapestry an advantage for high school and middle school.

 

Cost is a bear. You'd probably want to get DE. For R level I strongly recommend buying their suggested books. New but from Amazon this will run you about $400. I'd suggest some looseness at the D level, buy books that run a long time in the program but substitute what you have for others. Same for UG which is where i would place your youngest. Obviously, you could do the book hunt thing, but I would suggest setting a date to have everything or buy new. This will take away a lot of confusion during the school year.

 

I would advise against starting in the middle of a Year cycle. Tapestry ramps up over the year and it would be difficult. I would also advice against starting with Year 2, which in my opinion is the most full of lit. Start with Year 3 if you want to jump to US history, and then work the cycle from there. For your middle student this would actually make for a four years of high school that starts with Year One.

 

I would only buy evaluations for R level. With grammar, I just don't see the point, for D you will be doing Socratic discussions use those to evaluate progress and retention.

 

Maps are up to you, I find them crucial in ancient history because of the influence of geography on civilization, but as history progresses, it becomes less influential.

 

 

 

Thank you so much for this.

 

One other remark... as of now, I've chosen MFW for high school, yet I'm looking for American history for 11th grade because dd has the opportunity to take a really good Comp II with our local home school covering. If we went with TOG, I would leave the lit out focusing on the other subjects. Do you see this as a problem?

[Candid]

 

 

Thank you so much for this.

 

One other remark... as of now, I've chosen MFW for high school, yet I'm looking for American history for 11th grade because dd has the opportunity to take a really good Comp II with our local home school covering. If we went with TOG, I would leave the lit out focusing on the other subjects. Do you see this as a problem?

 

Not so much in terms of the program, but you would be wasting $ on a strong lit program and not using. If you used everything else with the other 2 then I could justify it.

[Sweet Home Alabama]

Not so much in terms of the program, but you would be wasting $ on a strong lit program and not using. If you used everything else with the other 2 then I could justify it.

 

 

Thanks!

[In The Great White North]

DH has a couple of history degrees and uses his history background daily.

 

What kind of jobs do history majors get? History has been one of dd's recurring favorites but I don't see her as a museum curator or professor.

[Miss Marple]

We added John Stossel dvds to our economics. They are short segments illustrating some aspect of economics - and also the unintended consequences of certain economic principles as implemented. These dvds are usually free http://stosselintheclassroom.org/about_john/

[Sebastian (a lady)]

[/size]

 

What kind of jobs do history majors get? History has been one of dd's recurring favorites but I don't see her as a museum curator or professor.

 

Naval officer

 

It wasn't so useful when he was a shipboard division officer. But it is a critical skill now that he's more senior.

[In The Great White North]

Naval officer

 

I was afraid you would say that. The child that's interested in history is NOT interested in the military.

 

 

 

Back to the original post, all my dc have liked America: The Last Best Hope.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

[/size]

 

I was afraid you would say that. The child that's interested in history is NOT interested in the military.

 

 

 

Back to the original post, all my dc have liked America: The Last Best Hope.

 

Politics. Not just elected office but staff and policy think tanks.

Law in international law there is a lot to gain from understanding historic claims and precedents.

 

One of the coolest uses I've seen was the guy who worked in archives to research WW2 bombing runs in order to locate unexploded bombs. He analyzed bda and images to find gaps in the strings of bombs.

[Nscribe]

[/size]

 

What kind of jobs do history majors get? History has been one of dd's recurring favorites but I don't see her as a museum curator or professor.

 

I had a friend who was in HR for a big corp that liked to look at History majors for positions involving written communications. The thinking was that they would have a background in practicing composition skills using nonfiction in an analytical manner. This goes along with a Journalism professor who once told a class that I was in they would be well advised to do History as a minor for perspective.