3andme Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 I haven't seen mention of these yet so I thought I'd pass on this information for those seeking some new Middle School history options. These are reasonably priced, open and go courses from Christian publishers. Notgrass - From Adam to Us - World History This new World History course from Notgrass is a one year survey course recommended for students from ages 10-14. It comes with daily lesson plans and includes several components in addition to the main text. Right now it's only available in digital format but I read on another board that they might offer print copies later. Notgrass also has a middle school American History course which has been out for a few years. CLE - Changing Frontiers - American History CLE has just published a brand new textbook on American History for 8th grade covering the sweep of history from pre-Columbus to today .It's designed as a one year survey course and can be used with 10 Light Units or workbooks which feature daily lesson plans and review. They don't have any samples up yet on their website but hopefully they'll add some soon. CLE - Latin American History and Geography I have used one of CLE's other newer options, their 6th grade Social Studies, which is a full year course on Latin America. It includes both history and geography. I know this probably isn't a popular curriculum option for most but it's a great textbook and course for those interested. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnMomof7 Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 I bought the Notgrass a couple of days ago :). My oldest can't wait for the first instalment on July! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murrayshire Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 I'm curious about CLE's Changing Frontiers. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3andme Posted April 14, 2015 Author Share Posted April 14, 2015 I have purchased the Changing Frontiers book and light units but haven't received them yet. I'll post back when I've had a chance to review them. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnMomof7 Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 Seriously considering CLE for 8th (or 11th). We are Canadians, but I'd like my children to have a good understanding of US history without a strongly providentialist stance. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlessedMom Posted September 20, 2015 Share Posted September 20, 2015 Bumping hoping for some updated reviews on CLE "Changing Frontiers". 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSinNH Posted September 25, 2015 Share Posted September 25, 2015 I am interested as well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3andme Posted September 25, 2015 Author Share Posted September 25, 2015 Over the summer, I reviewed the textbook and Light Units for CLE's new course, Changing Frontiers. I have not actually used it with one of my children; however, here are my thoughts: Textbook Design - Visually, it is a very appealing book. The book is almost half illustrations and half text. The illustrations have been well chosen and really reinforce the text. The overall format is very clean and easy to follow. Despite the ample illustrations and a few call out boxes it is not visually busy. Point of View - It is well balanced in terms of historical perspective. The authors makes a big point in the intro that they wanted to be balanced and I think that they have succeeded in this. I have not read the entire text but I did read selections discussing Indian/Colonial relations and later treatment of Indians as well as Slavery/Reconstruction etc. and there is a solid presentation of both sides. The writing tends to be more factual in presentation and stay away from normative statements (whether positive or negative) i.e. there is no overt patriotic tone nor the opposite. This is what the authors say in the Intro - "A history text should tell the truth as far as possible.... A history text should diligently seek to avoid telling history in a way that promotes a particular emphasis.... A history text should not gloss over the horrible ways humans have treated each other, nor should it vilify certain people or groups... a history text should be the result of broad input." Grade level - It is designed for 8th grade and is definitely appropriate for that level. While I think the text could be used by some students as young as 6th grade, I think it falls perfectly in the 7-9th grade level. It does not have the depth (within each topic) of a high school course but it provides a very solid foundation without drowning the student in details. Writing -The writing is factual but engaging and well organized. There are clear chapter sub-headings and it would be easy to outline.The authors do try to provide a narrative flow but because of the survey nature of the course that's not always possible. They do a nice job balancing conceptual overview with important details. Social history is balanced with more traditional political/military history. While generally chronological, there are a few times when topics from different time periods have been combined for a more thematic focus. Workload - The workload is reasonable. Depending on reading speed and attention span - I'd say 45 min to an hour a day. The textbook can be used on its own but has 10 workbooks (Light Units) which are designed to reinforce the learning and help students work independently on the course. Each light unit has 16 daily lessons including 2 quizzes and 1 unit test. The light units do all the work of dividing up the text into a workable daily assignment. Each lesson also includes a review section on previous topics. The quizzes and tests questions reflect the type of questions and the work actually presented in the daily lessons. There are no trick questions or a jump in difficulty so a student who diligently does the lessons should be able to perform well on the quizzes/tests. Religious content - CLE comes from a Mennonite publisher and they do include religious content in their curricula. In Changing Frontiers, this content is exclusively featured in one or two text boxes in each chapter called "Perspectives". This usually includes a few paragraphs touching on some religious perspective on the topics covered. Some people have objected to the religious content (I think it relates to Catholicism) in other CLE social studies books. I am not religious so sometimes it may be hard for me to discern what would be problematic for other denominations but I have read through all the Perspectives boxes in the text and I only found one that refers to any other denomination that I think might possibly be objectionable. It is on p. 67 in Ch.4 and it says "There is a sad similarity in the early work of Christianity among the Indians: ... the Spanish Catholics, ... the English Anglicans..., the Puritans... missionary efforts were often hindered by these groups' violence toward the Indians.... In contrast, Indians taught by Moravian missionaries practiced non-resistance..." Comparison with other texts - I compared this text with a few others I have: BJU's American Republic (8th grade) - This text is about the same level as Changing Frontiers but goes into more detail on occasion about specific topics. Visually, I find Changing Frontiers more pleasing. BJU also has a workbook but it does not feature as the built in review as much as CLE. BJU tests tend to focus more on the details than Changing Frontiers. Notgrass America the Beautiful (middle school) - I think Notgrass skews to a younger middle school student. Changing Frontiers is a step up in difficulty and thoroughness of coverage. Notgrass does incorporate fictional books. These could also be used to supplement CLE but would be additional time. American Odyssey (This is the K12 High School book) - Very similar in terms of visual presentation and writing style. American Odyssey is more comprehensive in coverage depth and more challenging in reading level. In summary, Changing Frontiers lays a solid foundation for American History. It is an efficient, agreeable (workload and writing style), and comprehensive course that can be done largely independently by a student. It really is open and go and would be a great fit for a child that just "wants to get it done". The built in review and clear directions will work well for students who need help with retaining concepts or organization. For those students who really enjoy digging deep, this may not have the depth they're looking for but could serve as a good spine for other readings. One final note, I am a huge CLE fan, even though I am not religious. For those who are secular, I would suggest that you give this a second look even though it comes from a non-secular publisher. The religious content really is restricted to well indicated sections which can be skipped without impairing the course. I have used CLE's math, reading, language arts, and social studies courses to varying degrees because I think they deliver a solid academic product without fluff that works well for student and parent. 19 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSinNH Posted September 26, 2015 Share Posted September 26, 2015 That was a great review...thank you! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlessedMom Posted September 26, 2015 Share Posted September 26, 2015 Thank you for the very wonderful, thorough review 3andme!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JadeOrchidSong Posted March 21, 2016 Share Posted March 21, 2016 3andme, I am considering Changing Frontiers because of the excellent review you did. Are the chapter quizzes and unit tests included in the Light Units? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murrayshire Posted March 23, 2016 Share Posted March 23, 2016 I agree! Thank you for taking the time to review! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JadeOrchidSong Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016 Changing Frontiers is very good. I checked the samples for the textbook and the 10 units. My concern is there are no maps in the exercise units. Each lesson is followed by 2.5 pages of exercises. I am not sure if students might burn out by doing these exercises every single day. Any suggestions for tweaking? If you have used this set, how does your student like it? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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