I need advice!

[tallmom]

We are starting our 10 year homeschooling in the fall. I have a 14 year old (11/06/00) DD that has significant dyslexia, which effects her reading, spelling, and writing.  She also struggles with a poor working memory that effects her math processing. As if this isn't enough to deal with, she also has auditory processing issues, which makes large group lecture learning very difficult. Like most dyslexics, she is very bright, creative, and a big picture learner. Over the years, we have struggled trying to follow the classical education sequence. Grades 1-8, we used SOTW for history. Here's my question: What would you guys recommend for her history in 9-12? I've looked at History of the World (I'm not sure how much of the activity guide she can realistically do.) and The Mystery of History (I really do not know very much about this curriculum.) If I choose History of the World vol. 1, what types of reinforcements would you use

 

 

[OneStepAtATime]

Does she like History?

[Citrusheights5]

My teen was home schooled for 9th and has mild dyslexia. (Auditory processing issues as well). What worked exceptionally well was a geography based history. Meaning we used the regular old texbooks that the high school was using, made geography an embedded part it. Weekly "geography tests" along with movies to supplement any part of history we could find. Since he was also a big picture thinker, we criticized how they missed the point, what details they missed(ok I pointed thouse out). Focusing on dates and people were a bust. Concepts, philisophical stances, and global implications were what stuck. then he could tack on those dates and names himself but if I required it, they sorta leaked out of his brain.

[PeterPan]

Don't know if it interests you, but there are curriculum series targeted to this demographic.  Walch PowerBasics, for instance, has all your basic subjects (world history, biology, gov't, you name it).  The workbook for each text is where it comes alive, with creative applications, thinking tasks, etc.  You can do the worksheets written or turn them into media projects or use them for discussion.  All the basics are there, with a creative, interesting twist.  You can see samples online.  There are some more publishers, but I always forget the names.   I'm not saying these will be your favorite things, but they're definitely interesting.  

 

You can see samples of MOH online.  It has an extreme amount of detail and a bit of a casual style.  You'll see that in the samples, so it's just something to look at to decide if that will connect with her.  Maybe you'd like to move a different direction, picking traditional high school subjects but finding ways to intersect them that really work for her?  This would be a good time for her to come into her own as a learner.  How does she learn well?  Does she do well with audio if she can use headphones?  The Roku (a streaming device) has a way to work with headphones, so she could stream documentaries and get the audio directly through the headphones to help with her comprehension.  

 

Does she have any interests that you could use as a way to drive some of your studies?  Everybody talks WTM for high school, but really SWB also wrote WEM.  Sometimes our kids do better getting off the WTM track and thinking more in terms of WEM (Well Educated Mind).  The thesis there is you can go ANY way through history, using your interest as a connector.  So if she likes costuming or veterinary issues or handicrafts, or whatever her pet interest is, maybe this would be a good time to start diverging and following THAT thing through history to drive and connect your studies?  And maybe she already knows her preferred medium for exploring that interest, so she knows how to learn it and just needed permission that she could study it AND get high school credit for it?

 

Just suggesting more ways to think through it.  I think learning how we learn is a huge part of what we want to accomplish in high school.  Does she need to take notes to learn?  Does she have an IEP or up to date accommodations lists from a psych so she can begin learning to use those accommodations?  For instance, if one of her accommodations is supposed to be a notetaker, then it would be good to start providing her with that.  

[OneStepAtATime]

Agree with above. Another resource as a spine might be the AGS World History and World Geography texts. Similar to Walsh Power Basics but more colorful.

[Heathermomster]

We took a history hiatus and opted for world geography with the Oak Meadow syllabus and TC lectures for 9th grade.

 

Accommodate and select materials that appeal to your student.  I prefer to use a colorful history spine and divert from that using WTM recs while keeping an eye on what DS loves, ancient weapons.

 

For 10th grade, DS is picking up at the High Middle Ages, and we are headed to the American Revolutionary War using Spielvogel's Glencoe World History text, TC videos, trade books about weapons, documentaries, snippets of primary sources, The Timetables of History, and History of the World Encyclopedia.  In the past, DS followed the WTM recs and kept his info in a 3-ring binder.  DS types all his work, so would append to a particular word document as we covered various aspects of history (inventions, mythology, people,etc) and then print up the work periodically.  WTM recs for high school are different, which include 50% historical knowledge and 50% Great Books study.  SWB's WEM spells out how to conduct the Great Books Study.  

 

For historical knowledge, the student reads and then lists important dates, names 2 or 3 of the most important people, names 3 or 4 events that stand out, and selects 2 events, people, or ideas that they'd like to investigate further.  I plan on typing up and laminating these instructions for DS.  I accommodate DS so he uses audio books with immersion reading where possible, mindmaps his notes, watches documentaries, watches TC lectures, and uses trade books.  In the past we have listened to period music, and I expect he will build some Renaissance inventions.  Your student could go in a million directions with history.