happyhome Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 I am putting together an Ancient History year for DD's 9th grade year. What were your favorite courses for this time period? Favorite lecturers? Any creative approaches you used? I'm thinking of creating a "Major Empires" type thing. This will be our third time through ancients and she is thoroughly sick of Mesopotamia...lol. So, I'm trying to think of a new spin. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 Is your focus strictly western or is it a world focus? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luckymama Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 Thanks to Lisa's guidance :D we are have a whole-world focus for ancient history this year. The course is structured around the Great Courses "History of the Ancient World: A Global Perspective". We are using these books over multiple lectures (plus other books used for just one lecture each): The Human Record: Sources of Global History, Andrea Overfield The Bedford Anthology of World Literature: The Ancient World, Beginnings-100 CE The Great Empires of the Ancient World, Thomas Harrison (ed.) Ancient Egypt: Everyday Life in the Land of the Nile, Bob Brier The Ancient Greek World: People and Places, Nigel Rodgers Cambridge Illustrated History of China, Patricia Buckley Ebrey Chinese Civilization: A Sourcebook, Patricia Buckley Ebrey (ed.) The Ancient Roman World: People and Places, Nigel Rodgers The Rise and Fall of Ancient Rome, Nigel Rodgers I bought the first two books; all others are from our library system. The Chinese books are used in several undergraduate Chinese history classes (I read lots of syllabi in planning) and are excellent in combination. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 We have used: all lectures by Prof. Elizabeth Vandiver - our favorite lecturer. (We are covering history and literature as an integrated course). The Iliad (12 lectures), The Odyssey (12 lectures), The Aeneid (12 lectures) Greek Tragedy (24 lectures), Classical Mythology (24 lectures), Herodotus (12 lectures) Famous Romans (24 Lectures) taught by Prof. Rufus Fears Great Battles of the Ancient World (24 lectures) taught by Prof. John W. Lee The Persian Empire (24 lectures) taught by Prof. Garrett Fagan 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 Thanks to Lisa's guidance :D we are have a whole-world focus for ancient history this year. The course is structured around the Great Courses "History of the Ancient World: A Global Perspective". We are using these books over multiple lectures (plus other books used for just one lecture each): The Human Record: Sources of Global History, Andrea Overfield The Bedford Anthology of World Literature: The Ancient World, Beginnings-100 CE The Great Empires of the Ancient World, Thomas Harrison (ed.) Ancient Egypt: Everyday Life in the Land of the Nile, Bob Brier The Ancient Greek World: People and Places, Nigel Rodgers Cambridge Illustrated History of China, Patricia Buckley Ebrey Chinese Civilization: A Sourcebook, Patricia Buckley Ebrey (ed.) The Ancient Roman World: People and Places, Nigel Rodgers The Rise and Fall of Ancient Rome, Nigel Rodgers I bought the first two books; all others are from our library system. The Chinese books are used in several undergraduate Chinese history classes (I read lots of syllabi in planning) and are excellent in combination. Love the Cambridge Illustrated History of China! Are you going to do the Epic of Gilgamesh? I forgot that you were already in progress. Did you do Gilgamesh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luckymama Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 Love the Cambridge Illustrated History of China! Are you going to do the Epic of Gilgamesh? I forgot that you were already in progress. Did you do Gilgamesh? Yeah, we did Gilgamesh with those Annenberg resources---excellent! We're up to the series of lectures comparing the Romans and Han China. This should be good for dd since she had the intensive and hands-on history o' China last summer while we were there :lol: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 Oh cool! I'm planning something like this for next year too. And, (not) coincidentally, Lisa was a big help with figuring out my plan, too! Here is what I've got so far. Ancient History: Lectures: History of the Ancient World: A Global Perspective (Teaching company) Textbooks: Ways of the World: A Brief Global History with Sources - Robert Strayer OUP: Ancient Greek World SHEG Ancient History lessons Supplementary reading: Gilgamesh the Hero The Arkadians Black Ships Before Troy or The Trojan War - Coolidge The Wanderings of Odysseus The Glorious Adventure In Search of a Homeland I Am the Great Horse Augustus Caesar's World Cleopatra I, Claudius Ghengis Khan and the Making of the Modern World Great Books: Vandiver lectures: Greek Mythology, The Iliad, The Odyssey, The Aneid Selected readings from Hesiod, Ovid The Oresteia The Oedipus cycle The Iliad The Odyssey The Aneid Julius Caesar Anthony & Cleopatra 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 Oh cool! I'm planning something like this for next year too. And, (not) coincidentally, Lisa was a big help with figuring out my plan, too! Here is what I've got so far. Ancient History: Lectures: History of the Ancient World: A Global Perspective (Teaching company) Textbooks: Ways of the World: A Brief Global History with Sources - Robert Strayer OUP: Ancient Greek World SHEG Ancient History lessons Supplementary reading: Gilgamesh the Hero The Akkadians Black Ships Before Troy The Wanderings of Odysseus The Glorious Adventure In Search of a Homeland I Am the Great Horse Augustus Caesar's World Cleopatra I, Claudius Ghengis Khan and the Making of the Modern World Great Books: Vandiver lectures: Greek Mythology, The Iliad, The Odyssey, The Aneid Selected readings from Hesiod, Ovid Selections from The Oresteia Oedipus the King Antigone (maybe) The Iliad The Odyssey The Aneid Julius Caesar Anthony & Cleopatra This will be for 8th grade for your dd instead of 9th, right? You have a mix of middle school and high school sources that have some significant overlap. Is that your intention? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 Yes, it's for an 8th grader. I realize that the actual Great Books are a stretch, and that's why I have the idea of having her read the middle-grade versions independently, and then having us listen to an audio version together alongside the Vandiver lectures. That's kind of how we approach studying Shakespeare - we read a retelling, then watch the play, then read it aloud together and discuss. I figured that might work with Homer too, since those epics were originally intended to be heard. So my idea is that the books I have listed as "Supplementary Reading" would be independent reads, whereas the Great Books would be listened to/read/studied together. Of course, we'll play the whole thing by ear and make adjustments as needed. She's come along so far this year that I feel like making an optimistic list which we can tone down as needed. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 I am putting together an Ancient History year for DD's 9th grade year. What were your favorite courses for this time period? Favorite lecturers? Any creative approaches you used? I'm thinking of creating a "Major Empires" type thing. This will be our third time through ancients and she is thoroughly sick of Mesopotamia...lol. So, I'm trying to think of a new spin. I think if I were going to do this again with a 9th grader, I would have a basic set of tools on hand, maybe a good text and a TC series that is broad in scope (after I figured out what my scope is) and if I were doing my literature to match (which I would), I would have that list of possible texts as well. Our experience here is that ninth graders can be kind of tricky creatures in that they are dealing with hormones and yet growing in intellectual maturity and academic skills. Develop a flexible plan. To stay flexible, it's easier to purchase a few materials early on so you are familiar with them and you can start with them at the beginning of the school year. By the end of the first month, you'll have a better idea of what your student wants to focus on and just how challenging their materials need to be. We can better help you if you can give us a focus, what your goals are, and what level your student is at. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyhome Posted February 15, 2015 Author Share Posted February 15, 2015 Is your focus strictly western or is it a world focus? Definitely World. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyhome Posted February 15, 2015 Author Share Posted February 15, 2015 I think if I were going to do this again with a 9th grader, I would have a basic set of tools on hand, maybe a good text and a TC series that is broad in scope (after I figured out what my scope is) and if I were doing my literature to match (which I would), I would have that list of possible texts as well. Our experience here is that ninth graders can be kind of tricky creatures in that they are dealing with hormones and yet growing in intellectual maturity and academic skills. Develop a flexible plan. To stay flexible, it's easier to purchase a few materials early on so you are familiar with them and you can start with them at the beginning of the school year. By the end of the first month, you'll have a better idea of what your student wants to focus on and just how challenging their materials need to be. We can better help you if you can give us a focus, what your goals are, and what level your student is at. Whew! Loooong Sunday and I'm just catching up now. Thank you for everyone's input. There are a lot of great ideas here. Thank you Lisa for helping so many of us!! So, my dd is bright and a very diligent student. However, she is asking for something specific. We've run the gamut on the early primitive civilizations. She wants to do the 2nd half of ancients but more in depth with literature to match. I was thinking of building an empire study of Egypt, Persia, Greece, China and Rome. She can handle heavy reading and will enjoy the literature for sure. I just don't want to bog her down with too much technical detail. This is her first year of high school and I'm still trying to convince her that we can have fun with it.😉😉 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyhome Posted February 15, 2015 Author Share Posted February 15, 2015 We have used: all lectures by Prof. Elizabeth Vandiver - our favorite lecturer. (We are covering history and literature as an integrated course). The Iliad (12 lectures), The Odyssey (12 lectures), The Aeneid (12 lectures) Greek Tragedy (24 lectures), Classical Mythology (24 lectures), Herodotus (12 lectures) Famous Romans (24 Lectures) taught by Prof. Rufus Fears Great Battles of the Ancient World (24 lectures) taught by Prof. John W. Lee The Persian Empire (24 lectures) taught by Prof. Garrett Fagan Yes, history/lit integrated....that's what we want. Maybe this list with lectures/books on Greece and China? I'm thinking if she's reading this amount/level of lit, maybe leave the history to lectures and documentaries?? Or are there also assigned readings in these lecture series? Did you assign any writing or outside reading along with this? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyhome Posted February 15, 2015 Author Share Posted February 15, 2015 Our experience here is that ninth graders can be kind of tricky creatures in that they are dealing with hormones and yet growing in intellectual maturity and academic skills. THIS! Sometimes it feels like she's changing by the minute. I'd love to see if I can plan an easier start and ramp up as the year progresses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyhome Posted February 15, 2015 Author Share Posted February 15, 2015 Thanks to Lisa's guidance :D we are have a whole-world focus for ancient history this year. The course is structured around the Great Courses "History of the Ancient World: A Global Perspective". We are using these books over multiple lectures (plus other books used for just one lecture each): The Human Record: Sources of Global History, Andrea Overfield The Bedford Anthology of World Literature: The Ancient World, Beginnings-100 CE The Great Empires of the Ancient World, Thomas Harrison (ed.) Ancient Egypt: Everyday Life in the Land of the Nile, Bob Brier The Ancient Greek World: People and Places, Nigel Rodgers Cambridge Illustrated History of China, Patricia Buckley Ebrey Chinese Civilization: A Sourcebook, Patricia Buckley Ebrey (ed.) The Ancient Roman World: People and Places, Nigel Rodgers The Rise and Fall of Ancient Rome, Nigel Rodgers I bought the first two books; all others are from our library system. The Chinese books are used in several undergraduate Chinese history classes (I read lots of syllabi in planning) and are excellent in combination. Thanks Luckymama. My Dd's schedule will look similar to yours except we'll be finishing AOPS Intro to Alg and doing Geometry. Hmmmm.....maybe I can convince dd to add Arabic along with French?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyhome Posted February 15, 2015 Author Share Posted February 15, 2015 Has anyone tried any of these? The Joy of Ancient History - it's a collection of the "greatest" lectures from their Ancient History collections. From Yao to Mao by Kenneth Hammond Origins of Great Ancient Civilizations (selected lectures from this one) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyhome Posted February 15, 2015 Author Share Posted February 15, 2015 We have used: all lectures by Prof. Elizabeth Vandiver - our favorite lecturer. (We are covering history and literature as an integrated course). The Iliad (12 lectures), The Odyssey (12 lectures), The Aeneid (12 lectures) Greek Tragedy (24 lectures), Classical Mythology (24 lectures), Herodotus (12 lectures) Famous Romans (24 Lectures) taught by Prof. Rufus Fears Great Battles of the Ancient World (24 lectures) taught by Prof. John W. Lee The Persian Empire (24 lectures) taught by Prof. Garrett Fagan One other question Regentrude, would you recommend the DVD's on Vandiver's lectures or are the CDs ok? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 I am putting together an Ancient History year for DD's 9th grade year. What were your favorite courses for this time period? Favorite lecturers? Any creative approaches you used? I'm thinking of creating a "Major Empires" type thing. This will be our third time through ancients and she is thoroughly sick of Mesopotamia...lol. So, I'm trying to think of a new spin. I was thinking about this and looking through the different courses I have. If you wanted to do something a bit different, you could work by geographic region. You could still use History of the Ancient World: A Global Perspective as a spine. I think Mesopotamia only gets two lectures. Or you could fill in areas of interest with some of the more focused TC sets like The Barbarian Empires of the Steppes. This set was new last year and too late for our studies, but I have really enjoyed the lectures I've watched. It's also one of the few TC courses in addition to Global Perspective that covers India. Foundations of Eastern Civilization covers China, Japan, Korea, etc., but not India. You could pull from The Lost Worlds of South America later in the course or from The African Experience. Using some of TTC's more concentrated lectures could make a dynamic year, but the $$ investment would be heavier, even used and with Audible. The good news is most of those courses would also work well in the medieval time frame to where you could then add in new ones like The World of Byzantium too. The overview courses are going to give you 1-2 lectures per week ( both have 48 lectures). The more focused sets would probably have you doing a lecture a day, all week. My kids would consider that a wonderful gift, others not so much. I could probably play with a tentative schedule of what that might look like, because I will do almost anything to avoid dealing with course descriptions. I have no clue if this helps, but it's a different angle. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyhome Posted February 16, 2015 Author Share Posted February 16, 2015 I was thinking about this and looking through the different courses I have. If you wanted to do something a bit different, you could work by geographic region. You could still use History of the Ancient World: A Global Perspective as a spine. I think Mesopotamia only gets two lectures. Or you could fill in areas of interest with some of the more focused TC sets like The Barbarian Empires of the Steppes. This set was new last year and too late for our studies, but I have really enjoyed the lectures I've watched. It's also one of the few TC courses in addition to Global Perspective that covers India. Foundations of Eastern Civilization covers China, Japan, Korea, etc., but not India. You could pull from The Lost Worlds of South America later in the course or from The African Experience. Using some of TTC's more concentrated lectures could make a dynamic year, but the $$ investment would be heavier, even used and with Audible. The good news is most of those courses would also work well in the medieval time frame to where you could then add in new ones like The World of Byzantium too. The overview courses are going to give you 1-2 lectures per week ( both have 48 lectures). The more focused sets would probably have you doing a lecture a day, all week. My kids would consider that a wonderful gift, others not so much. I could probably play with a tentative schedule of what that might look like, because I will do almost anything to avoid dealing with course descriptions. I have no clue if this helps, but it's a different angle. Oh Lisa, would you?? My daughter would love a year like this. This is a great idea!!!! And my library has almost all the TC series with guidebooks!!! If I'm missing anything, I'm happy to purchase it. I'm planning the same kid of thing for medieval so anything that carries over is a bonus. I'm off to check out that barbarians course on TGC's website. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luckymama Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 And my library has almost all the TC series with guidebooks!!! . Color me green with envy! This is the only weakness in our otherwise-fantastic library system. For history we get Foundations of Western Civilizations (snooze), the pyramids one, Emperors of Rome, Great Battles of something classical, Famous Greeks, and all the Daileader Middle Ages series. Not much for a student interested in the whole world! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyhome Posted February 16, 2015 Author Share Posted February 16, 2015 Color me green with envy! This is the only weakness in our otherwise-fantastic library system. For history we get Foundations of Western Civilizations (snooze), the pyramids one, Emperors of Rome, Great Battles of something classical, Famous Greeks, and all the Daileader Middle Ages series. Not much for a student interested in the whole world! 17 pages worth of courses.....even those obscure but interesting sounding ones! Now the question is, can I get my hands on them long enough to use them? Some of them have month long holds. I also wonder how we would use the guidebooks? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 Color me green with envy! This is the only weakness in our otherwise-fantastic library system. For history we get Foundations of Western Civilizations (snooze), the pyramids one, Emperors of Rome, Great Battles of something classical, Famous Greeks, and all the Daileader Middle Ages series. Not much for a student interested in the whole world! No kidding! I don't always want to use every lecture in a series and I suffer from much less guilt when using a set from the library. Hey Luckymama, while we are talking ancient history, is there anything you have done this year that you would do differently? Any duds? I am always curious what resonates with kids. My youngest son loved the Epic of Gilgamesh, while his older sister hated it, but then she wasn't too keen on Achilles either. I think it had more to do with being 17 and in a public high school where she was routinely propositioned. She had little patience with literary men and their concubines or men who cried over them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 Whew! Loooong Sunday and I'm just catching up now. Thank you for everyone's input. There are a lot of great ideas here. Thank you Lisa for helping so many of us!! So, my dd is bright and a very diligent student. However, she is asking for something specific. We've run the gamut on the early primitive civilizations. She wants to do the 2nd half of ancients but more in depth with literature to match. I was thinking of building an empire study of Egypt, Persia, Greece, China and Rome. She can handle heavy reading and will enjoy the literature for sure. I just don't want to bog her down with too much technical detail. This is her first year of high school and I'm still trying to convince her that we can have fun with it.😉😉 So what if I lay it out by Europe, The Middle East, Africa, Asia, and the Americas and we go easy on the "first civilizations" parts? I lay them out by region, but have a break point moving into empire building. That way you could do five units all year or ten units. Every text lays things out a bit differently and some arrangements will feel more intuitive to your dd than others. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 Yes, history/lit integrated....that's what we want. Maybe this list with lectures/books on Greece and China? I'm thinking if she's reading this amount/level of lit, maybe leave the history to lectures and documentaries?? Or are there also assigned readings in these lecture series? Did you assign any writing or outside reading along with this? Yes to the bold with an occasional short essay and some DBQ questions (document-based questions) if your dd is willing. I'd keep it simple as the literature will add depth and meaning. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyhome Posted February 17, 2015 Author Share Posted February 17, 2015 So what if I lay it out by Europe, The Middle East, Africa, Asia, and the Americas and we go easy on the "first civilizations" parts? I lay them out by region, but have a break point moving into empire building. That way you could do five units all year or ten units. Every text lays things out a bit differently and some arrangements will feel more intuitive to your dd than others. Yes! Units would be great. I like that format. It gives a beginning and an end and also allows for the inevitable rabbit trails. I think this "geographical" approach would work for every time period of history, no? This is just the type of creative approach I was envisioning. She's the kid who always asks, "What was happening in xxxx when this was going on?" She's going to love this. Thank you so much for your help with this! After this thread and my simultaneous science one, I'm actually starting to feel like we can actually do high school. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyhome Posted February 17, 2015 Author Share Posted February 17, 2015 Woo hoo! Just got my hands on the new Barbarians course on eBay for $20!!!! Trying to find the Global Perspective one now because that's one I want to own with two more behind dd. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3in9th Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 X-posting this here. This is what I started working on yesterday. We've used History Odyssey from Pandia Press in the past and found the assignments very thorough, but the readings rather shallow. (I find the opposite to be truth of WTM's history program.) So we've always supplemented with the World History Series. Anyway, here's what I have so far based on the History Odyssey's course outline for their 3rd level (9th grade) Ancients. I added "Human Prehistory" because evolution and prehistory are important for my kids to know. GC = Great Course, WHS = World History Series Human Prehistory GC- Human Prehistory and the First Civilizations WHS- The Stone Age Films- Journey of Man- 120 minutes Journey to 10,000 BC- 94 minutes Clash of the Cavemen- 94 minutes Walking with Cavemen- Literature- ??? Early Civilized Life GC- ??? WHS- ??? Films- National Geographic: Birth of Civilization- 90 minutes The First Civilizations- 50 minutes Literature- ??? Ancient Mesopotamia GC- ??? WHS- Ancient Mesopotamia Literature- The Epic of Gilgamesh by N.K. Sandars Films- ??? Ancient Egypt GC- ??? WHS- Ancient Egypt Films- National Geographic: Egypt: Lost Tombs National Geographic: Great Pyramid Mysteries of Egypt: IMAX Modern Marvels: Egyptian Pyramids National Geographic: Egypt: Pharaohs Ancient Civilizations: The Pharaohs Literature- The Tale of Sinhue and Other Ancient Egyptian Poems by R.B. Parkinson Intruders and Invaders: The Dark Ages of the Ancient Near East GC- Old Testament Beginnings of Judaism The Book of Genesis WHS- ???? Films- ???? Literature- The Bible The Beginnings of Civilization in Eastern Asia GC- Foundations of Eastern Civilization Great Minds of the Eastern Intellectural Tradition WHS- Ancient Chinese Dynasties (2000 BC to 221 AD) The Ancient Near East Ancient India Films- Literature- ??? The Other Worlds of the Ancient Past (Africa, Megalithic Europe, and The Americas) GC- WHS- Maya Civilization Aztec Civilization The Inca Empire Ancient America Traditional Africa Films- ??? Literature- More cultures to come... MORE WHS that I haven't plugged into the course outline yet: The Roman Republic The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire The Roman Empire The Persian Empire Greek and Roman Mythology Greek and Roman Science Greek and Roman Theater Caesar’s Conquest of Gaul Women of Ancient Greece Greek and Roman Sport Age of Pericles Punic Wars Anyway, that's what I have so far. Again, if anyone is willing to collaborate or we can fill in some of the stuff on this board, I'd really appreciate it. I'm not at all familiar with Great Courses, but am a downright expert in WHS and documentary films. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyhome Posted February 17, 2015 Author Share Posted February 17, 2015 X-posting this here. This is what I started working on yesterday. We've used History Odyssey from Pandia Press in the past and found the assignments very thorough, but the readings rather shallow. (I find the opposite to be truth of WTM's history program.) So we've always supplemented with the World History Series. Anyway, here's what I have so far based on the History Odyssey's course outline for their 3rd level (9th grade) Ancients. I added "Human Prehistory" because evolution and prehistory are important for my kids to know. GC = Great Course, WHS = World History Series Human Prehistory GC- Human Prehistory and the First Civilizations WHS- The Stone Age Films- Journey of Man- 120 minutes Journey to 10,000 BC- 94 minutes Clash of the Cavemen- 94 minutes Walking with Cavemen- Literature- ??? Early Civilized Life GC- ??? WHS- ??? Films- National Geographic: Birth of Civilization- 90 minutes The First Civilizations- 50 minutes Literature- ??? Ancient Mesopotamia GC- ??? WHS- Ancient Mesopotamia Literature- The Epic of Gilgamesh by N.K. Sandars Films- ??? Ancient Egypt GC- ??? WHS- Ancient Egypt Films- National Geographic: Egypt: Lost Tombs National Geographic: Great Pyramid Mysteries of Egypt: IMAX Modern Marvels: Egyptian Pyramids National Geographic: Egypt: Pharaohs Ancient Civilizations: The Pharaohs Literature- The Tale of Sinhue and Other Ancient Egyptian Poems by R.B. Parkinson Intruders and Invaders: The Dark Ages of the Ancient Near East GC- Old Testament Beginnings of Judaism The Book of Genesis WHS- ???? Films- ???? Literature- The Bible The Beginnings of Civilization in Eastern Asia GC- Foundations of Eastern Civilization Great Minds of the Eastern Intellectural Tradition WHS- Ancient Chinese Dynasties (2000 BC to 221 AD) The Ancient Near East Ancient India Films- Literature- ??? The Other Worlds of the Ancient Past (Africa, Megalithic Europe, and The Americas) GC- WHS- Maya Civilization Aztec Civilization The Inca Empire Ancient America Traditional Africa Films- ??? Literature- More cultures to come... MORE WHS that I haven't plugged into the course outline yet: The Roman Republic The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire The Roman Empire The Persian Empire Greek and Roman Mythology Greek and Roman Science Greek and Roman Theater Caesar’s Conquest of Gaul Women of Ancient Greece Greek and Roman Sport Age of Pericles Punic Wars Anyway, that's what I have so far. Again, if anyone is willing to collaborate or we can fill in some of the stuff on this board, I'd really appreciate it. I'm not at all familiar with Great Courses, but am a downright expert in WHS and documentary films. This looks great. So the format seems to be GC with a few docs and WHS for readings? Will you assign any writing to go with the lit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyhome Posted February 17, 2015 Author Share Posted February 17, 2015 X-posting this here. This is what I started working on yesterday. We've used History Odyssey from Pandia Press in the past and found the assignments very thorough, but the readings rather shallow. (I find the opposite to be truth of WTM's history program.) So we've always supplemented with the World History Series. Anyway, here's what I have so far based on the History Odyssey's course outline for their 3rd level (9th grade) Ancients. I added "Human Prehistory" because evolution and prehistory are important for my kids to know. GC = Great Course, WHS = World History Series Human Prehistory GC- Human Prehistory and the First Civilizations WHS- The Stone Age Films- Journey of Man- 120 minutes Journey to 10,000 BC- 94 minutes Clash of the Cavemen- 94 minutes Walking with Cavemen- Literature- ??? Early Civilized Life GC- ??? WHS- ??? Films- National Geographic: Birth of Civilization- 90 minutes The First Civilizations- 50 minutes Literature- ??? Ancient Mesopotamia GC- ??? WHS- Ancient Mesopotamia Literature- The Epic of Gilgamesh by N.K. Sandars Films- ??? Ancient Egypt GC- ??? WHS- Ancient Egypt Films- National Geographic: Egypt: Lost Tombs National Geographic: Great Pyramid Mysteries of Egypt: IMAX Modern Marvels: Egyptian Pyramids National Geographic: Egypt: Pharaohs Ancient Civilizations: The Pharaohs Literature- The Tale of Sinhue and Other Ancient Egyptian Poems by R.B. Parkinson Intruders and Invaders: The Dark Ages of the Ancient Near East GC- Old Testament Beginnings of Judaism The Book of Genesis WHS- ???? Films- ???? Literature- The Bible The Beginnings of Civilization in Eastern Asia GC- Foundations of Eastern Civilization Great Minds of the Eastern Intellectural Tradition WHS- Ancient Chinese Dynasties (2000 BC to 221 AD) The Ancient Near East Ancient India Films- Literature- ??? The Other Worlds of the Ancient Past (Africa, Megalithic Europe, and The Americas) GC- WHS- Maya Civilization Aztec Civilization The Inca Empire Ancient America Traditional Africa Films- ??? Literature- More cultures to come... MORE WHS that I haven't plugged into the course outline yet: The Roman Republic The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire The Roman Empire The Persian Empire Greek and Roman Mythology Greek and Roman Science Greek and Roman Theater Caesar’s Conquest of Gaul Women of Ancient Greece Greek and Roman Sport Age of Pericles Punic Wars Anyway, that's what I have so far. Again, if anyone is willing to collaborate or we can fill in some of the stuff on this board, I'd really appreciate it. I'm not at all familiar with Great Courses, but am a downright expert in WHS and documentary films. Where can I read more about WHS? My google search turned up Verso Books. Is that it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodland Mist Academy Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 Does anyone use the guidebooks? It would be helpful to have some details about what's in the guidebooks and how useful they are (or aren't!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3in9th Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 Where can I read more about WHS? My google search turned up Verso Books. Is that it? They are by Lucent Books- http://www.cengage.com/search/productOverview.do?N=197+4294904555+4294916906+4294904579&Ntk=P_EPI&Ntt=153217315575028841311686381118288472&Ntx=mode%2Bmatchallpartial#Products If you type in "World History Series" into Amazon, a slew of them will come up. These are generally books used for research papers, so be sure to check local libraries and PS libraries to see what they have. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3in9th Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 This looks great. So the format seems to be GC with a few docs and WHS for readings? Will you assign any writing to go with the lit? History Odyssey usually has a fair amount of writing built into the curriculum, but I also assign extra stuff. Like we'll read a novel and have a discussion with lots of questions and then they'll have to write a paragraph each about three of the questions. I recently assigned them a persuasive essay in which they have to argue for something- better medical care, military leadership based on competency and not nepotism/cronyism- based on the Crimean War. So i plan to continue doing that for next year. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyhome Posted February 17, 2015 Author Share Posted February 17, 2015 They are by Lucent Books- http://www.cengage.com/search/productOverview.do?N=197+4294904555+4294916906+4294904579&Ntk=P_EPI&Ntt=153217315575028841311686381118288472&Ntx=mode%2Bmatchallpartial#Products If you type in "World History Series" into Amazon, a slew of them will come up. These are generally books used for research papers, so be sure to check local libraries and PS libraries to see what they have. Ahhhh, ok. I'll check those out. They might dovetail nicely with the "geographical" approach Lisa suggested up thread. I really like some of your documentary suggestions too. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g1234 Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 Just another enthusiastic vote for Aldrete's HotAW:AGP lecture series. My 7th and 9th graders and I are all loving it this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EndOfOrdinary Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 To answer two quick questions: VanDiver is excellent on audio. We actually found the DVD's a bit distracting. Nothing wonderful in them, just her talking at a podium. The audio allowed both Ds and I to focus on what she was saying far more than what she was doing with her face, body, stance and such. After two shots with the video, we finished up all the rest in audio. This year we get to do Herodotus and will have listened to all of them. Ds did not get to listen to the Tragedies. He found them boring and I was fast forwarding sections which got a bit too adult. He can listen to that one later. I greatly enjoyed it. As for the Guidebooks: Each one has a similar format - at least of the dozen or so we have seen - where there is a summary of the lecture, then a bit of an outline, them discussion questions, then continued reading. Some have required reading if the lecture is directly referencing material such as the Iliad/Odyssey ones or Shakespeare and such. Most do not have required reading. Our library has dozens of the courses, so I have looked through many, but rarely find us using them. I almost always use the discussion questions, and make a Word document of all of them before I return the discs. They are really nice for essays and discussions or to see much larger themes. They have been good teaching tools for Ds and also good for me to be sure I am hitting or focusing on appropriate information. The outline section is completed in a couple different ways depending on the instructor. You can tell that different instructors think a out how they organize their material differently. Some do bulletpoints. Some do short paragraphs. Some do much longer paragraphs. If you are wanting the course to teach your student how to take notes, the guidebook could be very helpful. It would be an excellent way to "self check" or to open dialog about what was relevant to the student vs the instructor. Are the guidebooks necessary? Hardly. If you can acquire one for ten bucks or less, go for it. We are not in that place yet, so I merely use the questions. In the coming years, I might start having Ds summarize and then a year or so later begin taking notes. At that point, they are going to have a much larger place in our schooling. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyhome Posted February 22, 2015 Author Share Posted February 22, 2015 So what do you all think about this plan for a history/lit integrated course for a bright motivated 9th grader? Am I missing anything? Is it too much? I would be looking to assign two credits. TGC Courses History of the Ancient World: A Global Presepective - this course will be our guide either chronologically or geographically. My plan would be to do this series in its entirety using select (maybe most) of the lectures from the following series for depth. Understanding Greek and Roman Technology: From Catapult to the Pantheon History of Science: Antiquity to 1700, first 12 lectures Famous Greeks Famous Romans Vandiver's odyssey illiad and aeneid and mythology Plato's republic The Persian Empire Barbarians of the Steppes From Yao to Mao (first half only) Books The Bible Gilgamesh The Odyssey The Illiad The Aeneid Bullfinch's Greek Mythology Thoughts? ETA: I may also add some of the documentaries mentioned up thread. We love a good doc around here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space station Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 Our local university classics professor, and family friend, wrote this book on Ancient Persia which came out last year. http://www.amazon.com/Ancient-Persia-Concise-History-Achaemenid/dp/0521253691 In case anyone has a kid with a specific interest in going deeper with this particular ancient culture, consider this option. It is written for college level, but is very readable. (@250 pages, paperback) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space station Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 To answer two quick questions: VanDiver is excellent on audio. We actually found the DVD's a bit distracting. Nothing wonderful in them, just her talking at a podium. The audio allowed both Ds and I to focus on what she was saying far more than what she was doing with her face, body, stance and such. After two shots with the video, we finished up all the rest in audio. This year we get to do Herodotus and will have listened to all of them. Ds did not get to listen to the Tragedies. He found them boring and I was fast forwarding sections which got a bit too adult. He can listen to that one later. I greatly enjoyed it. As for the Guidebooks: Each one has a similar format - at least of the dozen or so we have seen - where there is a summary of the lecture, then a bit of an outline, them discussion questions, then continued reading. Some have required reading if the lecture is directly referencing material such as the Iliad/Odyssey ones or Shakespeare and such. Most do not have required reading. Our library has dozens of the courses, so I have looked through many, but rarely find us using them. I almost always use the discussion questions, and make a Word document of all of them before I return the discs. They are really nice for essays and discussions or to see much larger themes. They have been good teaching tools for Ds and also good for me to be sure I am hitting or focusing on appropriate information. The outline section is completed in a couple different ways depending on the instructor. You can tell that different instructors think a out how they organize their material differently. Some do bulletpoints. Some do short paragraphs. Some do much longer paragraphs. If you are wanting the course to teach your student how to take notes, the guidebook could be very helpful. It would be an excellent way to "self check" or to open dialog about what was relevant to the student vs the instructor. Are the guidebooks necessary? Hardly. If you can acquire one for ten bucks or less, go for it. We are not in that place yet, so I merely use the questions. In the coming years, I might start having Ds summarize and then a year or so later begin taking notes. At that point, they are going to have a much larger place in our schooling. This is nice to hear! I've been collecting the Van Diver lectures for free on Audible with my Amazon credits whenever I get them. Of course, that doesn't give me the guidebooks, but I'm hoping interlibrary loan will enable me to pull out the discussion questions like you suggest. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 You made me curious, so I checked hours and dates. Foundations is definitely more of a survey/grand sweep of history; SWB will be much more detail. Foundations of Western Civilization, parts 1 & 2; 50 hours from ancient history to 2001. SWB books 1, 2, and 3; 71 hours from ancient history to 1453. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luckymama Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 Our local university classics professor, and family friend, wrote this book on Ancient Persia which came out last year. http://www.amazon.com/Ancient-Persia-Concise-History-Achaemenid/dp/0521253691 In case anyone has a kid with a specific interest in going deeper with this particular ancient culture, consider this option. It is written for college level, but is very readable. (@250 pages, paperback) Thank you! I just put that on my Amazon wish list so I wouldn't forget the title :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penguin Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 Count us in on the 9th grade Ancient History bandwagon. I thought we were going to do something else, but now we have decided (with FINALITY this time) to do Ancient World History. But we might try to go through 1450 and then let AP European pick up from there in 10th. I already own Foundations of Eastern Civilization. Do you think that History of the Ancient World: A Global Perspective would complement - or would it be too redundant? Eventually he plans to take the SAT World History Subject Test, so maybe having both would not be a bad idea. Looking forward to hearing more detailed plans and sharing my own at some point :) I am just glad that we finally have a DECISION to run with. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyhome Posted March 5, 2015 Author Share Posted March 5, 2015 Count us in on the 9th grade Ancient History bandwagon. I thought we were going to do something else, but now we have decided (with FINALITY this time) to do Ancient World History. But we might try to go through 1450 and then let AP European pick up from there in 10th. I already own Foundations of Eastern Civilization. Do you think that History of the Ancient World: A Global Perspective would complement - or would it be too redundant? Eventually he plans to take the SAT World History Subject Test, so maybe having both would not be a bad idea. Looking forward to hearing more detailed plans and sharing my own at some point :) I am just glad that we finally have a DECISION to run with. Congrats and welcome aboard....this is our tentative plan for an Ancient Honors history/literature combo. Still tweaking... TOG - Rhetoric History and Literature Reading The Great Courses (dd loves TGC) History of the Ancient World: A Global Perspective and select lectures from the following series for depth: Understanding Greek and Roman Technology: From Catapult to the Pantheon History of Science: Antiquity to 1700, first 12 lectures Famous Greeks Famous Romans Vandiver's odyssey illiad and aeneid and mythology Plato's republic Great Pharaohs of Egypt The Persian Empire Barbarians of the Steppes From Yao to Mao (first half only) I may also add some of the documentaries mentioned up thread. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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