DragonFaerie Posted May 24, 2015 Share Posted May 24, 2015 Two of DD's high school social studies classes will be American Government and Civics and US History. I had originally planned on having DD do American Government and Civics starting in August because of the upcoming presidential election next year. But then I started thinking it might be better to have her do US History first as a foundation for the government class. But if I do that, then she won't get the government/civics until fall 2016, which means she'll lose some of that real world coinciding with her studies. So, which is better? Government first to prepare for the election? Or US history first as a foundation for government/civics? WWYD? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarenNC Posted May 24, 2015 Share Posted May 24, 2015 Has she had any US history at all prior to this? Unless you feel she has no familiarity with US history, I don't think it would be a problem to do government first. We did two 4 year WTM-ish history cycles 1st-8th grade, with the second two years of each cycle using US history as the major spine, weaving world history in with it. My daughter asked to do a government course this year for 9th because "if I'm going to mock it, I should probably make sure I understand more about it." It's looking like our high school line up in the social sciences area is going to be: 9th US government 10th sociology and AP psych 11th modern US history 12th modern world history 11th and 12th may switch order and there's the possibility they may switch to AP levels or dual enrollment. She's asked not to have to do ancients or medieval (my favorite periods, of course :) ) again, if possible. With my daughter's background work with world and US history, I am not concerned about the order, though it may be better for her to get US in for 11th grade as some colleges she is considering want one social science/studies credit to be US history. A typical progression for our local public school is geography in 9th, world in 10th, US in 11th, and government in 12th. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweet Home Alabama Posted May 24, 2015 Share Posted May 24, 2015 Just a thought... this year in 11th grade, my dd used TTC Great Courses The History of the US from the beginning to Civil War. When the history started covering government, she set history aside to study government. (I bought Zeezok's Noble Experiment for her to use, but it was a poor fit.) She used Notgrass Government which was wonderful for her. She returned to the history to finish through the Civil War at the end of the year. Next year, she'll continue using TTC's history and study economics alongside it. Dd really got a vision of how American history played out this way. She "caught" the challenges of the formation of our government. It was an excellent way for the story to be told which is the way dd wanted to "do" history. She also read the Bluestocking books Whatever Happened to Justice as well as Are You Liberal, Conservative, or Confused. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted May 24, 2015 Share Posted May 24, 2015 Don't know your situation and student well enough to advise, but what worked well for us was doing US History and Government the same year -- SO much great overlap and building on one another by doing the at the same time; it was great to do those together. While doing Colonial/Early US History we covered the Constitution and Legislative (Congress) Branch of Government which connected up beautifully. While doing later/modern US History we covered the Executive (President and bureaucracy) and Judicial (courts and Supreme Court) Branches of Government, which overlapped great historically with key Supreme Court rulings, and the expansion of various federal bureaus to carry out Presidential orders. Below are two possible alternative ideas for scheduling that allow you to do BOTH Government AND US History next year. Just a thought, but since the elections are in the fall, you could start your Government study with political parties, campaigns/election process, interest groups/lobbies, public opinion and the role of the "4th estate" of the press. Then you could move into the Constitution. BEST of luck, whatever you decide! :) Warmest regards, Lori D. #1 this year = 1 credit Social Sciences - simultaneous, spread out, or alternating weeks: - 0.5 credit = US History (Colonial to Civil War) - 0.5 credit = Government next year = 1 credit Social Sciences -simultaneous, spread out, or alternating weeks: - 0.5 credit = US History (Reconstruction to present) - 0.5 credit = Economics #2 this year = 1.5 credits Social Sciences - 1 credit = US History - 0.5 credit = Government (spread out over the year) next year = 0.5 (or optional 1.5) credits Social Science - 1 credit = Modern World History (or other History, or NO History if requirements are done) - 0.5 credit = Economics (spread out over the year) ETA : PS -- Another great thing for making the Civics come alive is actual participation: - volunteer to work for a politician's election campaign - work at a polling place on election day as a Teen Election Board Worker - visit your State Capital and watch government at work for the day - visit a courthouse and watch a trial for a day - Youth and Government (YMCA mock legislative program) - Junior State of America - Teen PACT (Christian legislative program) - Teen Court (YMCA judicial program) - Mock Trial - American Model United Nations - United Nations Association of USA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonFaerie Posted May 24, 2015 Author Share Posted May 24, 2015 She also read the Bluestocking books Whatever Happened to Justice as well as Are You Liberal, Conservative, or Confused. The Bluestocking books are part of the plan for Government and Civics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonFaerie Posted May 24, 2015 Author Share Posted May 24, 2015 Has she had any US history at all prior to this? Unless you feel she has no familiarity with US history, I don't think it would be a problem to do government first. We did two 4 year WTM-ish history cycles 1st-8th grade, with the second two years of each cycle using US history as the major spine, weaving world history in with it. My daughter asked to do a government course this year for 9th because "if I'm going to mock it, I should probably make sure I understand more about it." It's looking like our high school line up in the social sciences area is going to be: 9th US government 10th sociology and AP psych 11th modern US history 12th modern world history 11th and 12th may switch order and there's the possibility they may switch to AP levels or dual enrollment. She's asked not to have to do ancients or medieval (my favorite periods, of course :) ) again, if possible. With my daughter's background work with world and US history, I am not concerned about the order, though it may be better for her to get US in for 11th grade as some colleges she is considering want one social science/studies credit to be US history. A typical progression for our local public school is geography in 9th, world in 10th, US in 11th, and government in 12th. My original plan was: 9th- US Government and Civics 10th- US History 11th- World History 12th- ?? She's finishing up a high school level World Geography course now that I plan to give her credit for. If all goes well, she'll be doing dual enrollment and so can choose a college course for 12th grade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonFaerie Posted May 24, 2015 Author Share Posted May 24, 2015 Don't know your situation and student well enough to advise, but what worked well for us was doing US History and Government the same year -- SO much great overlap and building on one another by doing the at the same time; it was great to do those together. While doing Colonial/Early US History we covered the Constitution and Legislative (Congress) Branch of Government which connected up beautifully. While doing later/modern US History we covered the Executive (President and bureaucracy) and Judicial (courts and Supreme Court) Branches of Government, which overlapped great historically with key Supreme Court rulings, and the expansion of various federal bureaus to carry out Presidential orders. Below are two possible alternative ideas for scheduling that allow you to do BOTH Government AND US History next year. Just a thought, but since the elections are in the fall, you could start your Government study with political parties, campaigns/election process, interest groups/lobbies, public opinion and the role of the "4th estate" of the press. Then you could move into the Constitution. BEST of luck, whatever you decide! :) Warmest regards, Lori D. #1 this year = 1 credit Social Sciences - simultaneous, spread out, or alternating weeks: - 0.5 credit = US History (Colonial to Civil War) - 0.5 credit = Government next year = 1 credit Social Sciences -simultaneous, spread out, or alternating weeks: - 0.5 credit = US History (Reconstruction to present) - 0.5 credit = Economics #2 this year = 1.5 credits Social Sciences - 1 credit = US History - 0.5 credit = Government (spread out over the year) next year = 0.5 (or optional 1.5) credits Social Science - 1 credit = Modern World History (or other History, or NO History if requirements are done) - 0.5 credit = Economics (spread out over the year) It didn't occur to me to combine the two, but I'm not sure I'm capable. I was planning on using America: The Last Best Hope (all 3 books) along with the Roadmap online and the Cartoon History of the United States for the US History course. I have the Barron's AP US History book, too. For government and civics, I want to use the Bluestocking books along with the Hillsdale College's Presidency and the Constitution online class and maybe a couple of other supplemental books. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted May 24, 2015 Share Posted May 24, 2015 It didn't occur to me to combine the two, but I'm not sure I'm capable. I was planning on using America: The Last Best Hope (all 3 books) along with the Roadmap online and the Cartoon History of the United States for the US History course. I have the Barron's AP US History book, too. For government and civics, I want to use the Bluestocking books along with the Hillsdale College's Presidency and the Constitution online class and maybe a couple of other supplemental books. Here you go; a broad schedule to incorporate all of your resources, and accomplish 1 credit US History and 0.5 credit Government next year. Government = 2 hours/week, which is 36 hours/semester = 0.25 credit each semester. History = 5 hours/week, which is 90 hours/semester = 0.5 credit each semester. (NOTE: esp. since it looks like you are doing AP US History, you may need to do a bit more reading and work as homework some evenings or on weekends.) FALL SEMESTER weeks 1-10 MWF = History = 100 min/day Mon - 60 min = America: Last Best Hope (read 1 chapter) - 40 min = America: Last Best Hope (Roadmap for discussion/debates; lesson/project ideas) Wed - 40 min = Barron's AP US History (spend 3 weeks on each unit) - 60 min = suggested AP readings/supplements Fri - 25 min = Cartoon History of the US (spend 2 weeks per chapter) - 60 min = "catch up" unfinished reading/paper/project; possible quiz/test; possible supplements - 15 min = discussion "wrap up" of the week's learning and key points TTh = Government = 60 min/day Tuesdays - 40 min = Hillsdale class, video lecture - 20 min = Hillsdale class, discussion (discuss; write paragraph/short essay on one question) Thursdays - 40 min = Hillsdale class, suggested readings - 20 min = Hillsdale class, video Q&A weeks 11-18 MWF = History = 90 min/day continue as above TTh = Government = 60 min/day weeks 11-12 = Bluestocking Press: Ancient Rome (read 3 chapters/day; guide questions; discuss) weeks 13 = Jonathon Mayhew's Sermon (read; discuss) weeks 14-18 = approx. 10 hours for papers, projects, "hands-on", volunteering, supplements, etc SPRING SEMESTER weeks 19-36 MWF = History = 90 min/day continue as in fall semester TTh = Government = 60 min/day weeks 19-25 = Bluestocking Press: Whatever Happened to Justice (read 3 chapters/day; guide questions; discuss) weeks 26-30 = Bluestocking Press: Liberal, Conservative, Confused (read 3 chapters/day; guide questions; discuss) weeks 31-36 = approx. 12 hours for papers, projects, "hands-on", volunteering, supplements, etc ** NOTE: from the Bluestocking Press Government & Civics Course, save the books Penny Candy and Capitalism for Kids for an Economics course, as that is the topic they address, rather than addressing Government Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonFaerie Posted May 24, 2015 Author Share Posted May 24, 2015 Here you go; a broad schedule to incorporate all of your resources, and accomplish 1 credit US History and 0.5 credit Government next year. For Government = 2 hours/week, which is 36 hours/semester = 0.25 credit each semester. For History = 5 hours/week, which is 90 hours/semester = 0.5 credit each semester. (NOTE: esp. since it looks like you are doing AP US History, you may need to do a bit more reading and work as homework some evenings or on weekends.) FALL SEMESTER weeks 1-10 MWF = History = 100 min/day Mon - 60 min = America: Last Best Hope (read 1 chapter) - 40 min = America: Last Best Hope (Roadmap for discussion/debates; lesson/project ideas) Wed - 40 min = Barron's AP US History (spend 3 weeks on each unit) - 60 min = suggested AP readings/supplements Fri - 25 min = Cartoon History of the US (spend 2 weeks per chapter) - 60 min = "catch up" unfinished reading/paper/project; possible quiz/test; possible supplements - 15 min = discussion "wrap up" of the week's learning and key points TTh = Government = 60 min/day Tuesdays - 40 min = Hillsdale class, video lecture - 20 min = Hillsdale class, discussion (discuss; write paragraph/short essay on one question) Thursdays - 40 min = Hillsdale class, suggested readings - 20 min = Hillsdale class, video Q&A weeks 11-18 MWF = History = 90 min/day continue as above TTh = Government = 60 min/day weeks 11-12 = Bluestocking Press: Ancient Rome (read 3 chapters/day; guide questions; discuss) weeks 13 = Jonathon Mayhew's Sermon (read; discuss) weeks 14-18 = approx. 10 hours for papers, projects, "hands-on", volunteering, supplements, etc SPRING SEMESTER weeks 19-36 MWF = History = 90 min/day continue as in fall semester TTh = Government = 60 min/day weeks 19-25 = Bluestocking Press: Whatever Happened to Justice (read 3 chapters/day; guide questions; discuss) weeks 26-30 = Bluestocking Press: Liberal, Conservative, Confused (read 3 chapters/day; guide questions; discuss) weeks 31-36 = approx. 12 hours for papers, projects, "hands-on", volunteering, supplements, etc ** NOTE: from the Bluestocking Press Government & Civics Course, save the books Penny Candy and Capitalism for Kids for an Economics course, as that is the topic they address, rather than addressing Government You are absolutely amazing!!! Thank you soooooo much!!!!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted May 24, 2015 Share Posted May 24, 2015 Thank you soooooo much!!!!!! You're welcome! :) One last note: that rough schedule has the Government credit accrued at the "average" pace (150 hours = 1 credit, 75 hours = 0.5 credit), while the History credit is accrued at the "rigorous" pace (180 hours = 1 credit, 90 hours = 0.5 credit). If you would like those to be a bit closer in hours, you could add about 8-10 hours per semester to the Government (for a total of 15-20 hours) to include one or more of the participatory activities for Government that I added to my first post above. BEST of luck in your Social Studies next year, whatever you decide to do. :) Warmest regards, Lori D. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted May 25, 2015 Share Posted May 25, 2015 Just a word to the wise... Last I was able to figure, Roadmap isn't available anymore. Some big publisher bought it out & then eliminated it. The website is still there, but what you see on there (w/no login available) is what you get. I was planning on using America: The Last Best Hope (all 3 books) along with the Roadmap online Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonFaerie Posted May 25, 2015 Author Share Posted May 25, 2015 Just a word to the wise... Last I was able to figure, Roadmap isn't available anymore. Some big publisher bought it out & then eliminated it. The website is still there, but what you see on there (w/no login available) is what you get. Ack! Really? Well, I guess that's what I get for planning too far ahead. Grrr.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted May 25, 2015 Share Posted May 25, 2015 Well, don't freak out too much. (I'm in the same boat.) There are still some resources on the page - although mostly for Volume 1. Here's the Teacher's Toolkit page. The sample syllabuses have topic questions. I'm still going to use the Last Best Hope - just adding some other stuff (picking/choosing from FundaFunda's syllabus). You'll be fine. You can get essay ideas from all over the place (old AP tests, The Great Course's US History lecture guidebook, etc.) Hillsdale has a "History 102: American Heritage, From Colonial Settlement to the Reagan Revolution" course that lines up well with some of Bennett's chapters. You can pull some of their discussion questions & quizzes if you like. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonFaerie Posted May 25, 2015 Author Share Posted May 25, 2015 Well, don't freak out too much. (I'm in the same boat.) There are still some resources on the page - although mostly for Volume 1. Here's the Teacher's Toolkit page. The sample syllabuses have topic questions. I'm still going to use the Last Best Hope - just adding some other stuff (picking/choosing from FundaFunda's syllabus). You'll be fine. You can get essay ideas from all over the place (old AP tests, The Great Course's US History lecture guidebook, etc.) Hillsdale has a "History 102: American Heritage, From Colonial Settlement to the Reagan Revolution" course that lines up well with some of Bennett's chapters. You can pull some of their discussion questions & quizzes if you like. Thanks for the info and links. *deep breaths, DEEP breaths* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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