HappyClassical Posted May 16, 2014 Share Posted May 16, 2014 The WTM book discusses choosing literature choices that coincide with historical period you are study. We are starting SOTW Vol 1 in the Fall. Has anyone successfully been able to follow this recommendation? If so, do you have specific suggestions and retellings that work well for this age group without losing the integrity of the original literature? I'll be using WWE next year (not the workbook) and am pulling my own passages. I'm hoping to integrate that with my literature choices. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted May 16, 2014 Share Posted May 16, 2014 There is a nice book list in the Activity Book that goes with SOTW. We bought some and ordered ahead others at the library. Some books were read intentionally and others by choice and in the end not all of them were read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwik Posted May 16, 2014 Share Posted May 16, 2014 I like the Usborne illustrated Greek Myths. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnaj Posted May 16, 2014 Share Posted May 16, 2014 We will be doing SOTW 1 for the first time this year. I plan on following along with some suggestions from the WTM, and also the activity guide has some nice suggestions. I ordered a few of the books for us to have that I thought the kids would enjoy owning, but other than that we will just go with what's available at the library. I'm curious to see suggestions as well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momof3 Posted May 16, 2014 Share Posted May 16, 2014 :bigear: I'm pretty sure I've seen threads that addressed this before...but I can never (okay, rarely) find the conversations I need on this blog when I actually need them. :) Those of you that bought some books, and borrowed others...which are worth buying? I'm thinking I'll be purchasing: The Usborne Book of World History or The Usborne Illustrated Book of World History: The Ancient World The D'Aulaires' Greek Myths Archaeologists Dig for Clues Peter Speier's Noah's Ark Maybe another mythology book...or two... Gods & Goddesses of Olympus (Aliki), Classic Myths to Read Aloud, some of Mary Pope Osborne ??? Also looking into... The Egyptian News, The Greek News, and The Roman News books Egyptian Diary and Roman Diary Still looking for good options for Ancient China, India & Africa... Might just use the library for those... My wish list changes every time I reevaluate my curriculum plans...or my budget. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyClassical Posted May 17, 2014 Author Share Posted May 17, 2014 I've been looking through my SOTW Activity Guide and I see some good options, and also some suggestions here. I have the Usborne books (I'm a rep so I have a LOT of Usborne books); I'm hemming and hawing about D'Aulaires' book because I've read mixed reviews about how appropriate they are for the lower grades kids - I guess a little graphic or scary. At the same time; my kids already listen to chapter books at night read by Papi (my hubs) and I know some of those classics can have stuff that might be scary and we haven't had any complaints. Im certainly going to use the retelling of Gilgamesh the King by Lumilda Zeman. I've read great things about it and I think it will work well with our writing exercises. I feel like my list is still pretty short..... so Im intersted to see what else pops up here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommymonster Posted May 17, 2014 Share Posted May 17, 2014 I cheerfully purchased tons of the books that were recommended in the WTM for the Ancients. Unfortunately, when we started reading the myths (especially the Usborne Greek Myths), DS had tons of nightmares. We ended up putting them on the shelf and are planning to bring them out a bit later. We've had better luck reading the books in the SOTW1 Activities Book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greyseal Posted May 17, 2014 Share Posted May 17, 2014 My DD has been enjoying the selections in Classical House of Learning Literature (link in sig). Everything so far has been available at my library, and with two littles, I love having everything mapped out for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErinE Posted May 17, 2014 Share Posted May 17, 2014 We just finished up Ancient history and I would recommend purchasing the following: * Ludmilla Zeman's Gilgamesh the King trilogy - DD loved these books * Kate Duke, Archaeologist's Dig for Clues - Good overview for young kids. I really like the Let's-Read-And-Find-Out series so this was purchase. * Rosemary Sutcliff's Black Ships Before Troy and The Wanderings of Odysseus - These were great read alouds. DS11 immediately picked up the books once I was done and read them again. * Penelopy Lively, In Search of a Homeland - Excellent book * D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths - I remember this book from my childhood * Samhita Arni, Sita's Ramayana - This was recommended by a poster on the forum and DS really enjoyed it. Library: * You Wouldn't Want...! series - I purchased these (I have three more going through history), but I'm debating whether I'll purchase them for the middle ages. They're okay. The kids enjoyed them. * James Riordan, Jason and the Golden Fleece - This book is really short and not up to the same quality as the Rosemary Sutcliff's books. Borrow from the library if you can. * Eyewitness: Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Ancient Rome, Ancient Greece - My kids don't really like the Eyewitness series, but I found them to be good browsing books. * Jim Weiss read-alouds: I don't like the way Weiss reads books. His readings are too dramatic and over-the-top for me. The kids love him. So I borrow the CDs from the library and let the kids listen on their own. Out of all the activity guides, I think SOTW Ancients AG is the weakest. It's targeted towards lower elementary whereas the other three AGs seem to be adaptable for older children. However, I would still recommend the AG; it's a great resource for readings, maps, coloring pages, and activities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted May 17, 2014 Share Posted May 17, 2014 For those who are asking, my children loved D'Aulaires' books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted May 17, 2014 Share Posted May 17, 2014 I found marrying the literature and history cycles too difficult, so we do the history first and the literature follows along at it's own pace. I loved this collection of Egyptian tales http://www.amazon.com/Tales-Ancient-Egypt-Puffin-Classics/dp/014133259X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1400317724&sr=8-2&keywords=tales+of+ancient+egypt and used a set of Oracle cards stuck up on the wall for illustrations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted May 17, 2014 Share Posted May 17, 2014 We did a huge mixture of WTM, Sonlight, and Veritas Press books. Looking back now that it's been awhile, the Good Times Travel Agency ones http://www.kidscanpress.com/us/Good-Times-Travel-Agency-C2534.aspx?section=5&series=2 were some of the very best. The dc's both loved the stories and information wise they honestly contained pretty much everything I was attempting to teach. ;) Our library had most of them (we never did ice age) but I ended up buying them. Still have them, so good I need to have them for the grandchildren someday! FWIW we loved Usbourne Greek myths so much we actually had an extra copy in the car for a couple of years for Ds. He loved that book dearly and constantly reread it! We owned D'Aulaires, Dd used it for the VP history unit but never picked it up again. That one Ds would not touch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadsandLilysMom Posted May 17, 2014 Share Posted May 17, 2014 I would not call them great literature, but Rick Riordan's books really sparked my girl's interest in Egyptian and Greek mythology. We spread SOTW vol 1 over 2 years (K and 1st). I read the Kane Chronicles aloud in K and the Percy Jackson in 1st. We followed them up with the D'Aulaires, Mary Pope Osborne and some Rosemary Sutcliff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyClassical Posted May 17, 2014 Author Share Posted May 17, 2014 My DD has been enjoying the selections in Classical House of Learning Literature (link in sig). Everything so far has been available at my library, and with two littles, I love having everything mapped out for me. OH YES! This is right up my alley and just saved me countless hours. I'll need to make a few adjustments, since we also do copywork in science and we read the Magic Tree House Book (and my sanity will not condone my hearing it again). Thank you so much for this resource! We just finished up Ancient history and I would recommend purchasing the following: * Ludmilla Zeman's Gilgamesh the King trilogy - DD loved these books * Kate Duke, Archaeologist's Dig for Clues - Good overview for young kids. I really like the Let's-Read-And-Find-Out series so this was purchase. * Rosemary Sutcliff's Black Ships Before Troy and The Wanderings of Odysseus - These were great read alouds. DS11 immediately picked up the books once I was done and read them again. * Penelopy Lively, In Search of a Homeland - Excellent book * D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths - I remember this book from my childhood * Samhita Arni, Sita's Ramayana - This was recommended by a poster on the forum and DS really enjoyed .... It looks like a lot of these are also in the CHOLL lessons too. I'm starting to have a good idea of what to get. I'm a fan of buying books. I use the library more for the kids to pick books for guided pleasure reading. I also use it if I need to preview something I can't find locally. Pretty soon, we are moving somewhere with a big library system; maybe they will have a wider selection. My current library and the small libraries around it for ILL rarely ever have what I'm looking for. :-( For those who are asking, my children loved D'Aulaires' books. As I'm reading, it seems like most people are good with them, in terms of the scary factor, and it's stood the test of time - so I'm going with it. I would not call them great literature, but Rick Riordan's books really sparked my girl's interest in Egyptian and Greek mythology. We spread SOTW vol 1 over 2 years (K and 1st). I read the Kane Chronicles aloud in K and the Percy Jackson in 1st. We followed them up with the D'Aulaires, Mary Pope Osborne and some Rosemary Sutcliff. I'll think I'll use one or two of these suggestions to replace the MTH book we already heard in the CHOLL lessons. Woohoo!! So excited... Hunting for used book sales now... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pitterpatter Posted May 17, 2014 Share Posted May 17, 2014 Are you talking about picture books or novels to be read a chapter at a time at bedtime (or whenever)? These are the picture books we read for Ancients, although we didn't use SOTW. http://bluehouseschool.blogspot.com/search/label/Ancient%20History Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanikit Posted May 17, 2014 Share Posted May 17, 2014 China, India and Africa are in many ways more easily covered with fables and stories coming from the continent at young ages. Here are some books though that you can look at: Ancient China: The Chinese knew (Tillie S. Pine) : See inside an Ancient Chinese Town (Penelope Hughes-Stanton) : Two of Everything (Chinese folklore) by Lily Toy Hong : Long is a dragon (Peggy Goldstein) : The Emperor's Silent Army: terracotta soldiers of Ancient China : Lao lao of Dragon Mountain (Chinese tale - Margaret Bateson Hill) : 1,2,3 Go! - Huy Voun Lee (numbers in Chinese writing) Ancient India: The Story of India (Seymour H. Fersh) - 1 chapter on Ancient India : Sacred River: The Ganges of India (Ted Lewin) : One grain of Rice - a mathematical folklore : Look what came from India (Miles Harvey) Ancient Africa: Ancient Africa (John Addison) - this is a bit long for grade 1, but could be read by an adult and some of it explained or pictures shown : Animal Babies of East Africa : Hugo Hippo's ABC Fun Book (Gail Porter) : We all went on safari (Laurie Krebs) - a counting book with African animals : Moja means one (Muriel Feelings) - also a counting book with African customs and traditions : Why mosquitoes buzz in people's ears (Verna Aardema) : Jambo means hello (Muriel Feelings) : Various Ananzi stories (there are a number of them) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyClassical Posted May 17, 2014 Author Share Posted May 17, 2014 Are you talking about picture books or novels to be read a chapter at a time at bedtime (or whenever)? These are the picture books we read for Ancients, although we didn't use SOTW. http://bluehouseschool.blogspot.com/search/label/Ancient%20History Books fall under 3 categories at my house: 1. Is readers - this includes everything that my rising first grader might be able to read independently or with guided assistance. Assigned reading and pleasure reading might come from here. 2. Read-Alouds which include both short stories and chapter books as well as non fiction. These could be bedtime stories that are relevant to what we are learning, but not originating from the time period, or a quality we might consider of value but not "Great Literature" - think Magic Tree House. 3. Literature - This would be literature or retelling which originate from the time period, even if they have been retold. This is the connection to that historical period. These would comprise the bulk of the literature we study together as part of our lessons (and is what I'm most interested in for this thread) and can also find it's way into audiobooks and bedtime reading. My goal for the coming year is to have historically relevant books available in each of these categories as we are studying Ancient Times. China, India and Africa are in many ways more easily covered with fables and stories coming from the continent at young ages. Here are some books though that you can look at: Ancient China: The Chinese knew (Tillie S. Pine) : See inside an Ancient Chinese Town (Penelope Hughes-Stanton) : Two of Everything (Chinese folklore) by Lily Toy Hong : Long is a dragon (Peggy Goldstein) : The Emperor's Silent Army: terracotta soldiers of Ancient China : Lao lao of Dragon Mountain (Chinese tale - Margaret Bateson Hill) : 1,2,3 Go! - Huy Voun Lee (numbers in Chinese writing) Ancient India: The Story of India (Seymour H. Fersh) - 1 chapter on Ancient India : Sacred River: The Ganges of India (Ted Lewin) : One grain of Rice - a mathematical folklore : Look what came from India (Miles Harvey) Ancient Africa: Ancient Africa (John Addison) - this is a bit long for grade 1, but could be read by an adult and some of it explained or pictures shown : Animal Babies of East Africa : Hugo Hippo's ABC Fun Book (Gail Porter) : We all went on safari (Laurie Krebs) - a counting book with African animals : Moja means one (Muriel Feelings) - also a counting book with African customs and traditions : Why mosquitoes buzz in people's ears (Verna Aardema) : Jambo means hello (Muriel Feelings) : Various Ananzi stories (there are a number of them) A lot of these options would be great for engaging my PK5-er in listening and looking along. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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