K12 HO or OUP for history spine for 5th?

[ScoutTN]

Tryig to decide what to use for Dd for ancients next year. Ds will use SOTW and we have the red Kingfisher, but I want something meatier for Dd. She is ready for outlining and more discussion, as WTM suggests. I am working on a good lit list to go with the spine. No lack there!

 

If you have used these or decided between them, what did you like or not like? Why did they work or not for your student?

 

Our library doesn't have either one, :( so I may end up buying HO and a couple of the OUP set to actually see them myself and let Dd help in the choosing.

[Luckymama]

I can't help as we used them in combination, and the library has all the OUP.

 

It might be more cost effective to use Human Odyssey as a spine and use whatever you can from the library or online resources if you want to go deeper into a topic.

[deerforest]

We've been using them both, and I think the OUP ones are more interesting. They go into more depth and breadth, and the writing is engaging. K12 HO is fine, but its coverage isn't as detailed. It's the difference between covering a topic in a few chapters rather than an entire volume. But, K12 HO gives a solid overview, and the writing is decent too.

 

I supplement with so many things so K12 HO probably would have been fine on its own, but we both love OUP so much! The reading level and content in both was fine for my DD this year (5th). I tend to assign K12 HO as independent reading all the time, but I use OUP occasionally for reading aloud simply because I like it more.

 

I found a lot of the OUP ones on sale at OUP when they had a great sale at one point. They were well worth the money.

[redsquirrel]

I also used both, but as Luckymama mentioned, my public library owns the OUP series, or enough to count anyway. 

 

I think they are both great series. They each have their strengths. Two things to consider, as luckymama mentioned, if cost is an issue then def go with K12 and think twice. It is a great series. You can often get the OUP books used for not a whole lot, but it can take time. And I never saw them really cheap. Once shipping was considered it was often over 10$ a book. That will still get pricy over time, at least to me.

 

The second thing to consider is that the OUP series stops much earlier. If you want to follow a four year history cycle for years 5-8, you will run out of OUP books soon into year 3 and maybe the end of year 2.  I can't remember now exactly when. But I believe the entire series by OUP stops with the Age of Explorers...? Does anyone know for sure?  Anyway, it will not get you through even three years of middle school.

 

I personally used K12 as a spine and pulled in OUP books when I could or when they looked interesting or when ds1 wanted to go deeper.  I noticed as we moved through the middle ages (year 2) we used them less and less. But that could also be a reflection on my planning, lol.

[ScoutTN]

I personally used K12 as a spine and pulled in OUP books when I could or when they looked interesting or when ds1 wanted to go deeper. I noticed as we moved through the middle ages (year 2) we used them less and less. But that could also be a reflection on my planning, lol.

I think this is how I am leaning. DD wants to focus on Greece and Rome so we may not need as much depth on China, Egypt etc. Money is indeed a factor as is shelf space! I need to be more consistent in looking for good resources on Amazon and at our local used book shops!

 

I am going to request that my library purchase both sets. They may not, but it's worth asking. They do have many textbooks and I was surprised that they didn't have the K12 volumes.