Clear Creek Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 I am putting together a world geography study with literature for the major countries and regions for my 7th grader, and I have found many great recommendations for most of the world so far. I need help with two regions, though. I need suggestions for India and the surrounding countries, and Australia/Oceania. I am not looking for picture books (she will be watching documentaries for visuals of the land), and I am not looking for history. My goal is for her to learn about the culture of the country through good literature. It does not have to be fiction; she enjoys biographies. Really, I just want it to be interesting, well beyond the level of Magic Treehouse, and non-textbookish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serendipitous journey Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 You could consider Salman Rushdie's Haroun and the Sea of Stories for India-related literature. For Oceania you might enjoy adding the CD by the eponymous group. They have made an effort to preserve Maori (an indigenous New Zealand culture) musical traditions, using modern instruments. Rabbit-Proof Fence is a film that comes to mind, though it is an emotionally charged one. ETA: True History of the Kelly Gang is an Australia-based literature, but for adults -- might be appropriate, might not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 I second 'Rabbit Proof Fence.' That is just as relevant to contemporary Australia as it was to the time period the story was set in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaderbee Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 The Sinking of the Dayspring? It's about missionaries in the south seas. Jungle Islands by Maria Coffey it's her adventures in the Solomon Islands. It does have lots of colorful photographs but well written. I thought her text was engaging and a cross between a journal and an adventure novel. Hth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkateLeft Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merylvdm Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 Sonlight scheduled a book we enjoyed on Mother Teresa - I don't remember the author - and that was a great way to learn about India. Whether you use that one, or another one - or even a movie, something on Mother Teresa would be great to include. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clear Creek Posted August 9, 2014 Author Share Posted August 9, 2014 Thank you all so much for your suggestions; you were very helpful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 I'm building a geography course this year too. Barefoot Meandering has a good lit list I check when I'm stuck. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momling Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 We did something similar last year... I'll try and remember: For Africa, we read African folk tales and from the OUP history series We watched the series Human Journey and Lost Kingdoms of Africa We did some west african drumming and made Ghanian food one day and Ethiopian another. We wrote an essay on reasons for early human migration. For India, we read the Mahabharata and from human odyssey and OUP. We watched the story of India series and Gandhi We learned how to wear a sari, listened to Indian music and went out for Indian food. We learned about Hinduism For China, we read five versions of the Mulan story (and watched the Disney movie) and wrote a compare/contrast essay We read from human odyssey and OUP We watched legacy: Mandate of Heaven We ate a Buddhist monk's meal and listened to Chinese music and went out for Chinese food. We played the bbc game "high tea" about the opium wars and watched the last emperor We studied about Buddhism For the Middle East, we read Gilgamesh and 1001 Arabian nights and excerpts from the Koran. We read from human odyssey and OUP We studied about Islam and visited a mosque We watched legacy and East to West We ate middle eastern food and listened to music We went to an exhibit on ancient art at a college For Australia, we read and watched Rabbit Proof Fence We watched the First Australians We ate a modern Australian meal while watching some recent Australian movies for fun (girls had a sleepover) We wrote essays on the effects of colonialism on Australia. For South America, we read from the Popol vuh. We watched guns, germs and steel and engineering an empire and other documentaries We ate an Aztec meal (including soaking in ash and grinding our own corn for tortillas) We wrote an essay on effects of colonialism on s America. We went to an anthropology museum that focused on the Americas. Finally we swung back to Europe to connect some pieces about imperialism and independence movements and World Wars. Throughout the whole year, our focus was on what happens to language and religion apand food and music and art when two cultures come into contact with each other. What were the effects of colonialism in Africa and India and S America and China and Australia? How & why were they different? Also -- We watched all of Crash Course world history and also used MP Geography 1 & 2, and tried (though not necessarily succeeded) to align everything to geographic area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clear Creek Posted August 10, 2014 Author Share Posted August 10, 2014 I'm building a geography course this year too. Barefoot Meandering has a good lit list I check when I'm stuck. :) That's where I got 90% of my lit suggestions for this course. :D I am just limited by a pitiful, pitiful library; so before I bought any books, I wanted to get more suggestions from the wise people here. My daughter will be stuck reading whatever I order, unlike the lists I have for other regions where she can choose among 6-8 suggestions for the most interesting books to check out from the library. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clear Creek Posted August 10, 2014 Author Share Posted August 10, 2014 You could consider Salman Rushdie's Haroun and the Sea of Stories for India-related literature. For Oceania you might enjoy adding the CD by the eponymous group. They have made an effort to preserve Maori (an indigenous New Zealand culture) musical traditions, using modern instruments. Rabbit-Proof Fence is a film that comes to mind, though it is an emotionally charged one. ETA: True History of the Kelly Gang is an Australia-based literature, but for adults -- might be appropriate, might not. I had not thought about adding music from different cultures; my daughter is very musically oriented, so that will be something she enjoys. I am going to go search out other music from around the world (if anyone has any other suggestions, I am open to them :001_smile: ). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clear Creek Posted August 10, 2014 Author Share Posted August 10, 2014 Sonlight scheduled a book we enjoyed on Mother Teresa - I don't remember the author - and that was a great way to learn about India. Whether you use that one, or another one - or even a movie, something on Mother Teresa would be great to include. My library actually has several books about Mother Teresa, so one will definitely be included; great suggestion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clear Creek Posted August 10, 2014 Author Share Posted August 10, 2014 We did something similar last year... I'll try and remember: <snipped for brevity> Finally we swung back to Europe to connect some pieces about imperialism and independence movements and World Wars. Throughout the whole year, our focus was on what happens to language and religion apand food and music and art when two cultures come into contact with each other. What were the effects of colonialism in Africa and India and S America and China and Australia? How & why were they different? Also -- We watched all of Crash Course world history and also used MP Geography 1 & 2, and tried (though not necessarily succeeded) to align everything to geographic area. That is very similar to what I am planning. My daughter chose to read a world geography textbook as the basis for the course, but I am adding in plenty of documentaries, good literature, Discovering the World of Geography (for the mapwork), and now music from around the world. She loves to cook, so I am just going to encourage her to find recipes for dishes from the regions she is studying and make them for fun. I like your discussion focus. I am not yet sure exactly what ours will be...I think I will wait and see where our discussions go. I will keep yours in mind, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaMere Academy Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 I was going to suggest Build Your Library Year 7 as well. Her IG prices are so low and her book selections are wonderful Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly1730 Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 Thank you for all of these suggestions. Planning geography for my 7th graders and you all have made my work so much easier! Bless you!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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