One Year Run Through World History

[Roxy Roller]

I am looking for a world history overview for my DD14.  She will be in 10th grade in the fall, but really is not at a 10th grade level.  She is still quite immature.  My tenative plan for 11th is Sonlight's Core 200 Church History, followed by Sonlight's Core 300 20th Century.

 

I need something for history/literature that she can do fairly independently, or at least gradually learn to, throughout this year.  I would like something that has a biblical worldview, and something that will build her reading stamina(as of right now, there is no way she could get through all of the books in Cores 200 and 300).  I want something that will provide essay ideas that we can work on so that she will be up to speed by 11th grade. 

 

We have just finished a 4 year rotation of world/history with some Canadian history where appropriate.  We are doing concentrated geography until the end of this current year. 

 

Here are some of my contenders:

 

Notgrass World History/Literature - One problem is that 5 of the 13 books used for their literature program will be covered in Cores 200 and 300.  This also may be a little dry for this girl who loves adventure.

 

Sonlight Core W - We have already read many of the books in this core, so I would be switching things out constantly, which will not help with my goal of pushing her towards independence, because I will have to be more involved.

 

Veritas Press - Transition Year - We haven't used anything from VP, so I am a little intrigued with this, but I am wondering if it is advanced enough.  They do say it is used to get ready for Omnibus.  I think the only book that would be used in Cores 200 and 300 would be The Hiding Place.

 

Are there some other ideas out there that I haven't though of?  Any and all input would be greatly appreciate!

[Random]

Here are some offerings from Landry Academy:

 

Exploring World History

Prerequisites: none

Class length: 2 semesters

Target grade range: 7th-9th

Section 1: Tuesday 3 pm ET

Teacher: Susan Eggers

Textbook:  History of the World, 4th ed., Abeka code #66524

Description:  During this year-long survey course, we will travel through the history of God’s wonderful world.  Approaching the subject from a Christian worldview, we will use the textbook and written sources from various historical eras to study the history of the world from ancient times through the present.  Students will be responsible for weekly readings and for assignments based on our readings.  Participation in class discussions about our readings will allow students to share ideas and perspectives.  Short written assignments and papers will give the students an opportunity to explore and share their discoveries about events and people that have shaped our world.

 

 

World History

Prerequisites: none

Class length: 2 semesters

Target grade range: 9th-12th

Section 1: Tuesday 1 pm ET

Section 2: Wednesdays 3 pm ET

Teacher: Susan Eggers

Textbook:  World History, 3rd ed., 2 vols., Bob Jones University Press, ISBN:  978-1-59166-984-5

Description:  Explore the fascinating history of world civilizations in this comprehensive, challenging, and fast-paced year-long survey of world history.  Approaching the subject from a Christian worldview, we will study world history from ancient times through the present.  Students will be responsible for readings from the textbook as well as from written sources from various historical eras, and assignments based on our readings will be due each week.  Participation in class discussions about our readings will allow students to share their ideas and perspectives.  Map work and timelines will help students make connections between events around the world.  An important element of this course will be writing assignments, including paragraphs and essays based on common readings and one short research paper (due in the spring).  As students work on their research papers, they will learn how to find primary and secondary sources, how to take notes and organize them, how to develop a thesis, how to prepare a bibliography, and how to write a history research paper.

 

American School has a class called World History:

History, World

To truly understand developments in today’s interdependent world, we need to know their historic roots. World history provides a survey of political, social, economic and cultural trends from the Stone Age to the present. Its focus is global, emphasizing the interactions among various regions of the world.

In completing this subject students are asked to apply what they have learned to further understand and analyze historical developments, including primary source material and artistic productions. Students also work with maps and write a variety of essays typically found in social studies, including compare-and-contrast and cause-and-effect essays and essays taking a position on an issue.

There are 8 examinations in World History.

 

Maybe BJU? The text for one of the Landry classes is the 10th grade history text.

 

Maybe she could read through the Famous Men of... series at Memoria Press?

 

The History Transitions course from Veritas would probably be advanced enough. Would your dd write essays for the Transitions course?  The maximum age for the class is 14.

 

I did a search at Rainbow Resource, that was helpful.  If that link doesn't work, you can use the filters on the RR site to narrow down > history/World History/Programs/Grade Level.

 

I'm looking for something similar for us.  Please update if you find something else!

 

 

 

[OneStepAtATime]

Just a quick chime in here, I have found some professors at Landry to be excellent and some not so much.  I THINK Susan Eggers has a good reputation, IIRC.  We have not used her personally, though.

 

While some courses are more rigorous and better done than others, the interface was easy even for my dyslexic child and the class discussions through the chat box were interesting much of the time (although you need to know how to type pretty fast to keep up).  In one class there was one student, though, that was rude and disruptive (immature more than a real troublemaker).  Maybe this is true with all on-line courses through any source but I really liked that the professor was able to isolate the student so that only the professor could see his responses and no one else could.  Student still got to take the course and his goofying off no longer disrupted the class.  Win win.  The American History professor would periodically send personal letters to the students, too, and was very responsive to inquiries and anyone who had confusion on an assignment or wished to add more to the topic.

 

And I think they still have discounts going for Fall classes....

[coffeefreak]

We did Veritas' transition class in 6th grade with my dd and it really is for Jr High.  I don't even think they'll allow your DD in next year because of her age, but I could be wrong on that.  If you call, they'll be more than happy to answer all of your questions.  We did the class one of the first years they offered it and when they were transitioning to their current Scholars program.  We had intended to continue with VP but found it cost prohibitive.  That being said, it was an EXCELLENT class for many reasons.  Great discussion, many writing opportunities (at a Jr High Level), memorization exercises, and just an overall good experience.  I'm thinking about having my youngest do it in 8th grade before high school.

 

HTH! 

Dorinda

[lifesadream83]

When I saw the title of the post I was going to suggest Sonlight Core W!  Then I read the post.  LOL.  So here I am thinking of what you could do.  Have you thought of maybe having her read through the New Susan Bauer High School level History books & have her do literature as outlined in The Well EDUCATED mind.  The nice thing about doing that would be that she could read through history in whichever method she like (Novels, drama, poetry, etc).  Also if you look at the Vocabulary Recommendations in TWEM they suggest Vocabulary From Classical Roots (The same for the SL programs).  I am doing this for myself as I found it interesting.  That would take care of Vocabulary, Literature, Writing and History.  Just a thought.  

 

  

[Random]

I'm still searching for something that fits this category for one of my sons. 

 

Even though it does not have a biblical worldview, I thought I'd share this set from Moving Beyond the Page. 

 

OP, have you found anything?  I'm really curious because I'm looking for us, too.  :001_smile:

 

[OneStepAtATime]

:lurk5:

[Lori D.]

Just curious:

If your DD is only 14, quite immature and not really at a 10th grade level, why would you be having her do 10th grade next year?? Why not do a "5th year of high school", or call this year 8th grade and next year 9th grade so you don't have have to push or try to rush maturity? Lots of students ENTER 9th grade at age 14 or 15 because that's where their maturity and working level is. which means they then graduate at age 19yo -- VERY common and acceptable. :)

 

Are you legally required to have her in 10th next year for some reason? Or is she advanced in math or some other subject area? (If it's due to that last reason, rest assured: it's okay to be working way ahead in high school in one area and be at grade level for the rest…) In NO way trying to be nosy, bossy or to offend!

 

And, you may find it ends up not being an issue at all, as next year or the year after DD suddenly takes off and matures dramatically, the way high schoolers do, so it may be just a matter of gentle patience and persistence for another year or so until she blooms. :)

 

 

Notgrass:

While the History part of Notgrass is fine, quite honestly, I do not feel the Literature portion provides what is needed for a high school Literature credit, and it really does NOT provide guidance to help a student learn how to move forward in learning how to read/study Literature and do literary analysis at a high school level.

 

More of the books in the Notgrass "Literature" package are really what I'd call History supplemental readings or used in Biblical studies -- they are not read/analyzed as Literature. The program includes 6 "non-Literature" works that are historical fiction (Cat of Bubastes), non-fiction (Art of War; Here I Stand; Bridge to the Sun), or works of apologetics / devotionals (Imitation of Christ, Abolition of Man). There are 5 works of Literature: Julius Caesar, A Tale of Two Cities, North & South, Cry the Beloved Country, Animal Farm.

 

Also, there is no guided instruction in literary elements or how to read / think about / discuss / analyze / write about Literature, which is what a high school Literature program typically does. There is no guided instruction on how to write essays or research papers. A few Literature programs do that, but not all; you may need to also go with a separate Writing program on online course to get what you need with the writing aspect.

 

So if you wanted to go with Notgrass, I'd say use it for the History and the Biblical worldview lessons on day 5 of each week of readings/lessons, drop the Literature package, and substitute something for the Literature that would help with learning how to read/analyze Literature and teach writing. Ideas:

 

- Windows to the World (1 semester) + the Jill Pike syllabus to flesh out to a 1-year program

Christian. Awesome program -- teaches annotation, how to write a literary analysis essay, and then how to look for key literary elements and use those and your annotations for analyzing and writing about the work of Literature. Exercises and writing assignments. WttW focuses on 6 short stories; the Jill Pike syllabus includes similar guidance/instruction for covering 4 longer works. Written to the student, but you would want to be there for guidance, but it definitely would help move a student towards independent work with Literature.

 

- Excellence in Literature: Intro to Literature, or Literature & Composition

Christian. Quality classics, and lots of writing assignments. A little drier than WttW with less instruction in literary analysis, but a solid program.

 

 

The Veritas Press Transition year

This looks really good and right at the level you are indicating you DD is at! They have an interesting selection of works for the Literature, and one thing you could do to make the History more exciting/adventurous is drop in a few of the historical fiction works from SL200 and SL300 book lists, which would connect with DD's love of adventure AND help reduce the way-too-many books in those SL years so when you do those cores, you can slow down and really take your time with the Literature listed in SL200 and SL300. I don't know what the writing instruction/support is like for Veritas, but you could consider also doing a semester of Laurel Tree Tutorials for essay-writing instruction and practice (or other online writing class or a local writing tutor).

 

 

Gotta run for now. BEST of luck in finding what helps your family meet your goals! Warmest regards, Lori D.

[leeannpal]

Trisms has a one year history overview called History's Masterminds. I haven't used this product before, but it looks interesting.

[jg_puppy]

I just wanted to say that I read Pages of History 1 and 2 to my  kids (11 and 13) this year. Everyone loved it. It is a little basic, but I feel like both of my kids retained a lot of information from what we read. My kids begged me to read the book every day. I wish that there was another book like it at a slightly higher level. We didn't use the guide book since at the time there were no samples. Now that I can see the samples I wish we had used the guide book as well. 

 

Janet 

[Sue G in PA]

Have you looked at MFW World History and Literature? It uses Notgrass World History text but does not use their literature. I agree with the PP who said that the Notgtrass Lit all on its own is just not enough. My 11th grader will be using MFW WHL next year (my senior used it in her sophomore year). The program includes a credit in History, Bible and Literature (British Literature mainly). HOD is also releasing its new World History Guide in August (hopefully) and it looks fabulous, too. But that includes much, much more than just history so if you are looking for just world history, Notgrass would work but I personally wouldn't use it for Lit. Bob Jones has an Intro to Lit text that HOD scheduled in their World Geography Guide that looks very good and gets good reviews, FWIW.