Notgrass ATB or Uncle Sam & You - if you have used either can you help?

[TraceyS/FL]

I'm pondering Uncle Sam and You for my middle school special needs daughter. She is reading at about a 5th grade level, but her other cognitive skill set is more in the 9-10 year old range. She doesn't "get" inferences, she doesn't process information and come up with conclusions (or at least the ones you and I would! LOL!!)

 

We are working thru SOTW2 this summer, and her sister will be (hopefully) doing K12 virtual 3rd grade in August.

 

I think that Uncle Sam and You would be a good fit for her because it is more compartmentalized. There isn't a big overview to grasp/try to see. It is the first curriculum I have felt she could maybe read on her own and do. I think it looks fun too!

 

But then I got to thinking - is it "right" to do US&Y before covering a US HIstory basis - so I was reading the samples of America the Beautiful, and the way it is set up - I think she could handle that too. Some things drove me crazy in the text ("See picture below."), but it was easy enough to read and seems to not be an overwhelming amount of info. I would think with this one we *might* have to stretch some of the lessons to 2 days.

 

So basically, i'm just not sure where to go. If you have used either, can you give me some feedback on how your kids did with the reading? How old they area and on what end of the scale?

 

One thing to note with her she will probably not be doing traditional high school courses like "you guys" use here. Just won't happen with her challenges. I'm researching already High Interest and lower reading level materials for that pass thru history.

 

My original thought was Uncle Sam and You stretched over 1.5-2 years alongside SOTW, then hit American History.

 

But i don't know now...... ACK, I forgot I had to get a kid up for school! 3 more days of public!!!

[MorningGlory]

But then I got to thinking - is it "right" to do US&Y before covering a US HIstory basis - so I was reading the samples of America the Beautiful, and the way it is set up - I think she could handle that too. Some things drove me crazy in the text ("See picture below."), but it was easy enough to read and seems to not be an overwhelming amount of info. I would think with this one we *might* have to stretch some of the lessons to 2 days.

 

I haven't seen US&Y, so I cannot help you there. But I am using America the Beautiful with my younger son (6th-7th grade), and I really, really like it. The variety of topics covered...from interesting people to events to places...is very well done. It is much more than history...it is almost like an "America Appreciation" course. :) The layout of the text could have been better, but it is not so bad to avoid using the curriculum.

 

We are stretching EVERY lesson over 2 days and taking 2 years to finish the program. On the first day of a lesson, my son reads the text and does 1 or 2 of the activities listed at the end of the lesson. On the second day, he does the remaining activities listed for the lesson (I tweak some of the creative writing assignments). He is using the student workbook...the one with the puzzles and such...NOT the one with just review questions. And he is not taking any quizzes or tests. But he is reading Joy Hakim's History of Us along with AB (two different styles and viewpoints). So all-in-all, this approach is rather "light" compared to some history programs, but it is a perfect fit for this son. Honestly, spending two days on the material gives him time to absorb it by revisiting and reviewing. Don't hesitate to do the same thing for your daughter if that is what you need to do.

 

HTH!

[TraceyS/FL]

Thank you!!!

 

I didn't expect the variety of topics - it wasn't until I had a chance to read the TOC that I printed yesterday that I noticed they were varied and probably would be a good fit for her. I like your schedule, that was what I was thinking would work for us here. I honestly will not know until I have it in hand and she reads it if she is going to be able to read it on her own and grasp it.

 

I have some of the HIstory of the US on audio (and I'm not sure which version - I got them from audible a number of years ago), I could have her listen to some of those if she wanted more on a topic. Hmmmm.......

 

I'm still torn on which order to do them. I guess I should email them and ask them which they feel is the easier reading level of the two. I know that she falls in the range of having me read it to her - which I could do if I have too..... but I'm not sure what my work schedule will look like in the fall, and so there is a chance that RAs will not happen on a daily basis for curriculum. I cannot see my mom reading it to her if I am working.

 

OK, still pondering - thanks for the feedback!!