madteaparty Posted July 13, 2013 Share Posted July 13, 2013 I am afraid the curriculum of choice (SOTW, correct?), intended for 1st grade, would be too basic for my 4th grader. On the other hand, I am a bit worn out, already, curriculum-wise, and do not have time to assemble a full list of sources for the semester, so the temptation of a "boxed" curriculum with links and suggestions is very tempting. We are starting to HS for the first time now starting with 4th grade. I think I may buy SOTW anyway as I have a 2 year old that might eventually use it. Does it have a pronounced Christian bent? We are staunch agnostics here :) Thanks for any thoughts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwik Posted July 13, 2013 Share Posted July 13, 2013 It is written by a christian who is married to a pastor so it does have some christian content but honestly it is minimal and I haven't found any in SOTW2 (I didn't like SOTW1 but am enjoying 2 - I am reading it myself not to my children). I think a 4th grader could use it as a jumping off point and look into topics of interest further. The other thing I am considering is galore park junior history which is aimed to start at around 8 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted July 13, 2013 Share Posted July 13, 2013 I don't find SOTW 1 to be at what I consider a 1st grade level. I am not able to read it aloud to my first grade level students. I tried the first few chapters of the sample, and just as I expected if produces glazed eyes. The tone is early grammar level (book 1), but the amount of new content and sentence structure is more typical of upper grammar and early logic level, in my opinion. Now that it is in Kindle form, and I have all 4 volumes on my phone, I will be tweaking it for all levels. I will read the chapter myself, and then produce a piece of copywork for the students, and retell the chapter to them at their level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagira Posted July 13, 2013 Share Posted July 13, 2013 I agree with Hunter that not all first graders may be ready for SOTW1. Ds enjoyed the projects, but I don't know if he got too much out of the book. He enjoyed the supplementary reading but making connections was too much for him at that age (6-7). I'm waiting until 2nd grade to introduce SOTW 1 to dd (by then 7), and this will fit in nicely as both children will be in ancients at the same time. Ds will be in sixth doing ancients with K12 HO as a spine then. To answer the OP's question, I believe SOTW 1 could definitely be used successfully with a fourth grader. In fact, Sonlight I think starts using SOTW all the way in 6th grade or so, middle school work. There are a few Bible stories, but you can include those as myths and legends, discuss with kids, as kids need them for cultural literacy. Of course you can also skip them. It was still a wonderful year, and thanks to that year, ds9's favorite subject is still History. I can't believe we're going into SOTW4. He's entering fifth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walking-Iris Posted July 13, 2013 Share Posted July 13, 2013 I agree with others. SOTW Ancients is no where near a typical 1st grade level. I used SOTW Ancients with my oldest ds in part of 3rd grade and most of his 4th grade year. The activity guide was the better part of this program. The projects were interesting to him. Many of the recommended books would be useless with a 1st grader IMHO, but they are right on target for an older child. I'm going to do Ancients with my 1st grader. I'll try to read SOTW, but I would not be surprised AT ALL if it doesn't work. I'm going to use the SOTW activity guide and the History Odyssey plans almost exclusively. Projects, some coloring sheets, History Pockets, documentaries, maps, and lots of extra reading from the booklists and some playing around with the timeline will probably be the extent of it for my 1st grader. I think SOTW is fine for a 4th grader. Some people say it's "baby-ish" by that point. I don't think so. People who say that must have some very serious and cerebral 6 year olds. Also: I didn't find any Christian bias that was overwhelming at all. It's so slight at times that you could miss it entirely if you weren't looking for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracy Posted July 13, 2013 Share Posted July 13, 2013 SOTW is for the following grades: Vol 1: 1st - 4th Vol 2: 2nd - 5th Vol 3: 3rd - 6thVol 4: 4th - 7th I would not hesitate to use SOTW for a 4th grader unless the student already had a strong background in history. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted July 13, 2013 Share Posted July 13, 2013 SOTW is for the following grades: Vol 1: 1st - 4th Vol 2: 2nd - 5th Vol 3: 3rd - 6th Vol 4: 4th - 7th I would not hesitate to use SOTW for a 4th grader unless the student already had a strong background in history. Where did you get this information? TWTM recommends SOTW 1-4 in 1st-4th grades and given that SWB wrote both, I think she ought to know better than anyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted July 13, 2013 Share Posted July 13, 2013 To the OP: I would go ahead and use TWTM 5th grade recommendations unless you think your child wouldn't be able to handle the reading level of Kingfisher History Encyclopedia. If you're looking for a schedule, then check out Pandia Press History Odyssey Level 2. http://www.pandiapress.com/?page_id=103#level2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freesia Posted July 13, 2013 Share Posted July 13, 2013 Where did you get this information? TWTM recommends SOTW 1-4 in 1st-4th grades and given that SWB wrote both, I think she ought to know better than anyone.Not the poster you were addressing, but this info is on p. 2 of my STOW Activity guide. I am looking at volume 3 but it may be in all the volumes. It is in the section on multilevel teaching and has ideas for extending use into middle school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracy Posted July 13, 2013 Share Posted July 13, 2013 Where did you get this information? TWTM recommends SOTW 1-4 in 1st-4th grades and given that SWB wrote both, I think she ought to know better than anyone. This is from SOTW, Vol. 4, page 1, first paragraph. However, I was mistaken about the grades for Vol. 4. It is for grades 4-8 (and not 4-7, as I had thought). So, yes, this is straight from SWB, and she ought to know best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freesia Posted July 13, 2013 Share Posted July 13, 2013 I would use it with a fourth grader if I also included books from the activity guide to extend and enrich. The maps and activities are appropriate for this grade (according to SWB in the "How to use The Story of the World: Activity Book" section of the activity guide). Some children don't like the tone (and this includes younger and older children.) My children love it. Even my seventh grader joins us for STOW reading, although he does have his own history reading and it lengthens his day. I have done STOW 1 with a third grader with great success and would have used it with a fourth grader (with supplemental books). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwik Posted July 13, 2013 Share Posted July 13, 2013 One thing I forgot is that if like me your history has been picked up in bits and pieces then SOTW is useful for you to keep things straight in your head. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelia Posted July 13, 2013 Share Posted July 13, 2013 I might be tempted to use Veritas Press' self-paced history courses at that age, assuming I could afford it. DD really liked the trial when they had one of their summer deals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandy in TN Posted July 13, 2013 Share Posted July 13, 2013 I might be tempted to use Veritas Press' self-paced history courses at that age, assuming I could afford it. DD really liked the trial when they had one of their summer deals.Just to qualify for the OP- VP is overwhelmingly Protestant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandy in TN Posted July 13, 2013 Share Posted July 13, 2013 I think SOTW would be a fine intro to ancients for a fourth grader with agnostic parents. If you decide that you want to do a one year overview of world history and start ancients in fifth, From Then to Now by Christopher Moore has been suggested. I haven't used it, but thought it looked intriguing. You could also move on and use the ancients section of a version of Kingfisher. He could read Kingfisher or Usborne and still listen to SOTW on audio while you are in the car. I like and have used Walch's Power Basics World History 1. I think it is written at about a fourth grade lvl, but meets standards for 6-12. The Walch site has samples. HTH- Mandy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walking-Iris Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 http://peacehillpress.com/curriculum-guides/curriculum-map.html As can be seen from this curriculum map, the Peace Hill Press books are leveled, not graded. According to this one could use SOTW up till 8th grade. In every activity guide there is advice in how to use the book for older students. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 http://peacehillpress.com/curriculum-guides/curriculum-map.html As can be seen from this curriculum map, the Peace Hill Press books are leveled, not graded. According to this one could use SOTW up till 8th grade. In every activity guide there is advice in how to use the book for older students. I like the SOTW series, I really do. But IMHO it is not "meaty" enough for use with kids significantly older than the target range of 1st-4th. With older kids, I would use KHE as recommended in TWTM, or Dorothy Mills' "Story of..." series with the MP guides, or K12 "Human Odyssey". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 OP, did you download any samples? The TONE of book 1 is young, but the WHOLE of the series is quite organized and covers all the topics and more that are typically covered in grades 5-8. People here have a huge spectrum of what is rigorous enough for each grade. I tend to run low, and others tend to run high, with what they expect. So the answer of whether something is "enough" for 4th grade will vary. I encourage you to read the samples of all 4 books. The tone rapidly matures in the series. I can only say that *I* would use SOTW 1 for 4th grade and even 5th and maybe later. The later the grade, the more likely I would be to supplement--maybe. Sometimes when it comes to content I have NO problem using below grade level resources. I find the more simple the presentation, the better the student understands the PRIORITY topics, and those are the more important ones, so it's all good. Sometimes less is really more. I'm an adult and I have not mastered all the topics in SOTW. I can learn a lot by reading it. If I can learn a lot, I sure do think middle school graders can learn a lot. "Enough" is so individual for each family. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walking-Iris Posted July 15, 2013 Share Posted July 15, 2013 I like the SOTW series, I really do. But IMHO it is not "meaty" enough for use with kids significantly older than the target range of 1st-4th. With older kids, I would use KHE as recommended in TWTM, or Dorothy Mills' "Story of..." series with the MP guides, or K12 "Human Odyssey". Well again, like Hunter said, some people have different priorities. I don't plan on having my oldest ds in SOTW any longer, but I think the reading level of those books as well as the content can make excellent independent reading for an older child. My main point is pointing out that SOTW does NOT have a target range of 1st-4th. You said SWB "ought to know" well according to the curriculum map and the back of each book, it has a target range higher than what you suggest. SOTW Book 4 says on the back "specifically designed for grades 4-8." The back of the SOTW text says "designed for parents to share with elementary-school children, or for older readers to enjoy." Page 110 of the WTM, Starting in the Middle, says "the resources we recommend can be used by students between grades 1-6." The WTM also suggests supplementing with the timeline and outlining and the encyclopedia. Most of which a person doing SOTW with an older child does anyway. If a person is following the history rotation, there is no hard and fast rule that they must start in 1st grade. What materials they choose to use is also just personal preference. I'm not really commenting on your opinion as to whether it's meaty enough or not, just pointing out that since SWB wrote it she ought to know better than anyone else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momof3littles Posted July 15, 2013 Share Posted July 15, 2013 I would use it with a fourth grader if I also included books from the activity guide to extend and enrich. The maps and activities are appropriate for this grade (according to SWB in the "How to use The Story of the World: Activity Book" section of the activity guide).I agree. There is some Christian slant to it, but it can easily be discussed IME, and rounded out with other sources. I wish it wasn't there, but don't find it unmanageable. We are cycling back to Ancients this year with DS1, and DD (1st grader) is joining us. We use the activity guide mostly for the reading selections and mapwork. DS1 gets lots of assigned reading that branches off of the SOTW topics. There are lots of things you can do like adding in D'Aulaire's Greek myths and so forth to round things out. As long as there is additional reading at the appropriate level for the child, I think it is a good resource. We add in audio CDs like those from Greathall as well (Greek Myths, Egyptian Treasures, and this year Tales from the Old Testament as my children are not familiar with most Bible stories. I think we are hitting the point where references are popping up in enough literature for DS1 that he should be familiar with them just like he is with myths, legends, etc.). Just use SOTW as a spine and then bring depth to it with other selections. The AG makes this much easier to manage. We purchase some of the additional books, and then use the library to find similar or compatible selections as they don't usually have every book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madteaparty Posted July 15, 2013 Author Share Posted July 15, 2013 Thank you so much everyone. What a relief to read the responses; I'm very happy I asked! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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