History recommendations for a DEPENDENT ds...

[stephanie]

Can y'all please give me some suggestions for history for my ds14 who is still very dependent upon me in terms of reading history? I still combine my other dc history so I've always been the one to do most of the advanced reading, which ds absolutely loves. However, I need him to start working more independently in this subject and need a curriculum that won't overwhelm him or bore him...does that exist? :huh: It also needs to be enough to give him the required history credit for high school. :D I'm looking for anything interesting in terms of time periods as well (US Hist. Govt.,Economics, World hist. Geography)

 

Thank you!

[Brenda in MA]

Does it have to be a curriculum? I was thinking about whether you could do the history reading with your younger ones, and then assign him either some papers or research reports that he can do in addition.

 

When my oldest was in the 10th grade, we were studying 20th Century history (1900-1969), so I assigned him decade reports to do during the year. Below are the guidlines I gave him.

 

HTH,

Brenda

 

Decade Report Guidelines

 

You will be writing seven reports this year on the first seven decades of the 20^th Century. You will need to do research to gain information to complete the reports. The grades on these papers will make up your History grade for the year. You will have 2 weeks to complete each report.

 

Format

 

Title Page

List of 10 Important Events of the Decade (include dates & 1 sentence description)

Maps (include at least 2 maps covering events or areas important in the decade, color-code map & key)

Timeline (include at least 20 entries – use different events than used on the event list)

In-Depth Paper of 750 - 1000 words (see topic ideas in list below for the decade in question)

Works Cited page – must include at least 1 book in addition to encyclopedias and on-line sources

 

Grading

 

Title Page/Works Cited page – 5 points each

Event List – 10 points

Maps – 10 points

Timeline – 10 points

Paper – 60 points (45 points content, 15 points mechanics)

 

In-Depth Paper Topics (by Decade)

 

These are general topic choices. Narrow down topic before writing actual paper. Be sure to discuss the significance of the issue to the decade in question. If you want to pick a topic not on this list, have it approved by me in advance.

 

1900s

Advances in Communications/Transportation, Food & Drug Act

1910s

World War I, Workers’ Rights

1920s

Roaring 20s, Scopes Trial

1930s

Great Depression, Dust Bowl, Devaluation of Currency

1940s

World War II, Atomic Bomb (Manhattan Project)

1950s

Korean War, Cold War/Red Scare, First Credit Card Issued

1960s

Space Race, Civil Rights Movement

[dbmamaz]

my teen likes a lot of interaction but he's a strong reader, but this is what i did - i read history out loud from a younger resource, and assigned my teen a chapter relevant chapter from a more advanced book. For world history, we worked through Usborne's encyclopedia out loud, and i got other picture books from the library (younger was in 2nd but hated history, so it was very light) and older (who was 9th grade) read Little History of the World (when there was a corresponding chapter). That year i did not make him write anything, that i can recall. But these last two years, we've been reading Hakim's History of US out loud together and supplementing with various things (esp videos), and ds has been reading Zinn's People's History when relevant. He has to write a summary of the Zinn chapter (which is very challenging by itself - he has to take notes on the chapter and usually takes 3 days to read), then indicate any aspect he found esp interesting or disturbing (a lot of it is very disturbing) and compare/contrast with how the same material was covered in Hakim.

 

anyways, you can use living books you think he'd appreciate, or even movies and documentaries - make him take notes (great skill) and write some sort of summary, with as much analysis as you think he's ready for. for me, high school history does not have to 'match' what they teach in public school, it needs to accomplish my goals - increase his knowledge about history, increase his interest in history (hopefully) and give him practice writing about academic subjects.

[stephanie]

You ladies have reminded me why I homeschool. I've got to get this idea out of my head of having to do some boring, rigid curriculum. I can make it what I want! This is my first year to do high school so it's all foreign. Thank yall very much!

[kerenlynne]

DS loves history but is dyslexic and reading can suck the joy out of it for him. He loves to watch the Crash Course History videos on Youtube, Horrible Histories and a few other resources. We tied together World History this year with lectures from Teaching Company and various documentaries and movies that go with the time period. We even tied in a few pieces of literature like Tale of Two Cities and All Quiet on the Western front (in audible form) for him to make the subject more exciting. Part of the problem for us is he knows more about history than I do and he is constantly correcting me:( I just kind of serve as the facilitator making sure that he covers areas he might be less familiar with and that he does read source documents which is more difficult and not as enjoyable for him. Use the book as the spine for content guide, but don't let it limit you.

[stephanie]

DS loves history but is dyslexic and reading can suck the joy out of it for him. He loves to watch the Crash Course History videos on Youtube, Horrible Histories and a few other resources. We tied together World History this year with lectures from Teaching Company and various documentaries and movies that go with the time period. We even tied in a few pieces of literature like Tale of Two Cities and All Quiet on the Western front (in audible form) for him to make the subject more exciting. Part of the problem for us is he knows more about history than I do and he is constantly correcting me:( I just kind of serve as the facilitator making sure that he covers areas he might be less familiar with and that he does read source documents which is more difficult and not as enjoyable for him. Use the book as the spine for content guide, but don't let it limit you.

 

You mentioned Horrible Histories? Are there dvd's of those, or are you meaning the books? Also, the Teaching Company is so expensive! Is there something I dont know about using them that wouldn't cost as much?

[AngieW in Texas]

Have you looked at Hippocampus? That's what I'm using for my dyslexic dd.

 

http://hippocampus.org/HippoCampus/History%20%26%20Government;jsessionid=983287D00F6238D7981B4CCA39DD3DD2

 

They even have it correlated to a bunch of different textbooks.

 

They only have US history and US government, but at least they have those.

[kerenlynne]

Horrible Histories vidoes - http://www.youtube.com/user/horriblehistoriesBBC we haven't done any of the books. We got Professor Linwood Bell World History for free from a my brother who sells books on the side( it was missing one of the CDs) so you might find someone reselling it or in a thrift store. They also have pretty decent sales so if you watch you can find a lot of courses for 50 or under if you just go with the audio version.

[1pageatatime]

You mentioned Horrible Histories? Are there dvd's of those, or are you meaning the books? Also, the Teaching Company is so expensive! Is there something I dont know about using them that wouldn't cost as much?

 

 

TTC/Great Courses is having a HUGE sale right now. :hurray:

[1pageatatime]

Have you looked at Hippocampus? That's what I'm using for my dyslexic dd.

 

http://hippocampus.o...81B4CCA39DD3DD2

 

They even have it correlated to a bunch of different textbooks.

 

They only have US history and US government, but at least they have those.

 

 

Wow, what a resource! Thanks!

[Amominfl]

You coul have him listen to audiobooks of historical novels or watch movies of historical events. There are also lots of documentaries (ken burns and drive thru history) he could watch. In addition, there are video history lessons at learnerstv.org, education portal, and khan academy. For historical speeches, try http://www.americanrhetoric.com/top100speechesall.html.

 

There are lots of non-reading ways for him to learn his history!

[stephanie]

I am so thankful I posted this question. Y'all have helped me tremendously! Now, one more question. ;) Can someone tell me what a day in history might look like for a 9 th grader? I'm assuming reading from a spine, watching a video that supports it, and discussion? Map work? Timeline?

[Heathermomster]

I wanted to mention that you could teach your DS to take notes using mind mapping software. My rising 8th grader uses the Inspiration App on the IPAD. Timeline software has worked out very well for us too.

 

We use books and DVDs that interest him for specific topics, such as ancient battles, military hardware, uniforms, and ships. He really likes using the globe. He listens to audio books and reads aloud to me or his sister. We download his audio texts from learningally.

[Kareni]

Larry Gonick has some illustrated histories that my daughter read as a fun supplement to her history studies. They are by no means a curriculum but might make interesting reading for your son.

 

 

The Cartoon History of the Modern World Part 1: From Columbus to the U.S. Constitution (Pt. 1)

 

The Cartoon History of the Modern World, Part 2: From the Bastille to Baghdad

 

 

Other titles include:

 

Cartoon History of the United States (Cartoon History of the Modern World)

 

Cartoon History of the Universe (7 Volumes)

 

The Cartoon History of the Universe II, Volumes 8-13: From the Springtime of China to the Fall of Rome (Pt.2)

 

The Cartoon History of the Universe III: From the Rise of Arabia to the Renaissance

 

 

You should preread to get a feel for Gonick's style and content. We had no issues, but we are a fairly liberal family.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Amominfl]

I am so thankful I posted this question. Y'all have helped me tremendously! Now, one more question. ;) Can someone tell me what a day in history might look like for a 9 th grader? I'm assuming reading from a spine, watching a video that supports it, and discussion? Map work? Timeline?

 

My plan is more for a week, rather than a day, but here goes: read from the spine text (Eyewitness to History, Eyewitness to America), then read/listen to literature book for associated time period (i.e. Diary of Anne Frank if the spine text is for the early 1940s) and then spend 1 hr watching a related video (Ken Burns The War). I am also requiring that he plot events on Google Earth (geography) and create a timeline using powerpoint (for pictures/details) and a cash-register tape (so he can see events in time over a long period) I work full-time, so discussion will only happen on occasion for us.