History Odyssey, Level 1 - Modern Times. Ugh...it's all repeats and SOTW!!

[pitterpatter]

The way we used History Odyssey the past three years was with Usborne as our only spine (no SOTW and no CHOTW), plus heavy supplementation with picture and chapter books, and videos. Now we're turning the corner for the home stretch...Modern Times is up. Out of 38 lessons, five lessons are repeats (use the same pages of Usborne as in Early Modern Times) and fifteen more are structured around SOTW. There are no Usborne components at all with these. Other lessons lean heavily on STOW for the assignments. Ugh! There was a little of this in Early Modern Times, but not like this. HO is virtually unusable for us this year unless we want to add SOTW, which we don't. (I mean, why start now.)

 

What are my other choices for secular Modern Times (or that I can make secular)? Bookshark wants $80 for their teacher's guide alone and I'm just not sure about it. There is no Wayfarers for Modern Times. I've thought about using Joy Hakim, but I was hoping for something with some sort of output (and map work) and then what would we use for our second round of Modern Times?

 

DD will be in third grade. Any good, creative solutions?

[Butter]

Why are you so opposed to using SOTW?  Really, only using Usborne means you are not learning most of what HO teaches.  Especially with a 3rd grader I don't see the problems with repeating information.  But, really, the lessons are not repeats.  The pages of Usborne may be repeated, but SOTW is where HO gets most of the history education.

[pitterpatter]

SOTW has never appealed to me. I recently looked at it again and it still doesn't. It doesn't feel good when I read it, it lacks visual appeal and I'm not a fan of the activity guide besides the resource lists and some craft projects. 

 

Why are you so opposed to using SOTW?  Really, only using Usborne means you are not learning most of what HO teaches.  Especially with a 3rd grader I don't see the problems with repeating information.  But, really, the lessons are not repeats.  The pages of Usborne may be repeated, but SOTW is where HO gets most of the history education.

 

[EKS]

We moved away from SOTW in the middle of volume 3 and did K12's History 4 instead.  I was really impressed with the course.  It was structured around themes rather than strictly adhering to chronology, which made it much easier to understand and remember for my son.

[scbusf]

Wayfarers Modern is coming, but SOTW is the spine for that, too.

[pitterpatter]

Shoot...I didn't realize that. Seems to be for Build Your Own Library as well. Thanks for mentioning it.

 

Wayfarers Modern is coming, but SOTW is the spine for that, too.

 

[kristi26]

The problem is, there isn't a lot that is an option for modern times for kids at this point in the homeschool world. 

[Butter]

If you really don't want to use SOTW, you may just have to put something together yourself.  Maybe with lapbooks and stuff along with Usborne.

[pitterpatter]

No, there isn't...not for the public school sector either. And, anything for under fourth grade is super rare. I wonder why Evan-Moor didn't at least make History Pockets for the 20th Century and/or the World Wars. Perhaps there's not much demand for them.

 

The problem is, there isn't a lot that is an option for modern times for kids at this point in the homeschool world. 

 

[FairProspects]

It is hard to write modern history well, even for historians and even for an adult audience. Societies often need the perspective of time before any conclusions can be drawn.

[pitterpatter]

Maybe I need to start with a new spine. Can anyone make a recommendation for modern times that's not the Kingfisher world encyclopedia or Hakim's A History of US. I'd like to hold out on those, if I can.

[Kfamily]

You could try Boorstin's Landmark History of the American People and add Landmark books and other interesting biographies and nonfiction books. I have some of these listed under Year Six, but you could change out some of the books that might seem to be too much for a rising 4th grader, if you felt the need to do this.

[RootAnn]

There was this really old thread, although I think the spines were for a more middle-aged crew. They might give you something to go on. 

 

I had my own issue with the more modern of modern times because I'm looking for a spine to use with my two younger sons while the more middle school aged girls go through SOTW4. We're going with a US history spine (A Child's First Book of American History). Someone suggested Stories of America vol 2 to finish up modern times (for US). I don't know what you would think of it, but there is a parallel Stories of the Nations - vol 2 is the time period you'd want, I think. There are links to samples.

 

Good luck!

[Chris in VA]

Have you looked at Winter Promise?

[Ewe Mama]

Chester Comix has some modern history books on WW1 and 2 and Civil Rights.

[tomandlorih]

https://www.studiesweekly.com/publications/Alaska-Fifth-Grade-Social-Studies

Studies Weekly has an option that is 1865 to the Present.  It's not a perfect curriculum by any means.. but it might be something to build around.  And it's cheap.. lol  

Edited to add.. we do add a lot of library books and videos to these. And don't worry that it says 5th grade.  It should be fine for your 3rd grader. 

[pitterpatter]

Yeah....finally, something different!! Thank you.

 

Is there not a way to purchase this all at once upfront so I'm not tied to a specific time frame?

 

ETA: Is there a way to search by topic? I notice different states are offered difference material.

 

https://www.studiesweekly.com/publications/Alaska-Fifth-Grade-Social-Studies

Studies Weekly has an option that is 1865 to the Present.  It's not a perfect curriculum by any means.. but it might be something to build around.  And it's cheap.. lol  

Edited to add.. we do add a lot of library books and videos to these. And don't worry that it says 5th grade.  It should be fine for your 3rd grader. 

 

[pitterpatter]

Ok, I'm sort of digging this. Did you post Alaska's because it provides the information in it's purest form? I used Google to search the Studies Weekly site for "Civil War." My state (Missouri) pops up with fourth grade content but most of the Civil War, etc. content relates to the state as well. I remember from my time in school that fourth grade was when we studied state history. Perhaps that hasn't change. Now, I kind of like that the two are intermingled, as I was going to try to study state history as well. I think this would cover it. However, I also want the content in pure form...not tied to a state. When I flipped through the link you posted, I didn't notice it being tied to Alaska, but I didn't read every page either. 

 

https://www.studiesweekly.com/publications/Alaska-Fifth-Grade-Social-Studies

Studies Weekly has an option that is 1865 to the Present.  It's not a perfect curriculum by any means.. but it might be something to build around.  And it's cheap.. lol  

Edited to add.. we do add a lot of library books and videos to these. And don't worry that it says 5th grade.  It should be fine for your 3rd grader. 

 

[mamaraby]

Why are you so opposed to using SOTW? Really, only using Usborne means you are not learning most of what HO teaches. Especially with a 3rd grader I don't see the problems with repeating information. But, really, the lessons are not repeats. The pages of Usborne may be repeated, but SOTW is where HO gets most of the history education.

This. It's really misleading to call it repeats when you're not actually using all of the required books. Now, you could skip the literature selections if you had your own, but if you skip both SOTW and CHOTW, then you've pretty much cut out most of the content. Part of the issue is with the Usborne Encyclopedia itself - it doesn't really have all that much content-wise for modern history.

 

imo, if you aren't interested in either SOTW or CHOTW, then HO level 1 is not a good fit for you. HO level 2 uses a different narrative spine, but maybe you don't like or want a narrative spine?

 

DIY is probably your best bet. Make yourself a timeline of what you want to cover. You can still use Usborne as your spine, but then I'd be hitting the nonfiction section of the library to see what they had for the topics on your outline. You could pick up "The ..... For Kids" for the Civil War, WWI, and WWII. They're a nice mix of narrative with pictures and projects. If you've already purchased HO, then you could use their maps and projects. If not, then I'd probably either separate out geography from history or look for an alternate source.

 

As for output? Teach outlining from whatever reading you choose to do. Borrow HO's idea for making your own board game as you go through the year. You'd have the projects from covering the three big wars. You can probably even find some lapbooks on Homeschool Share or Currclick.com. What about biographies of important people from the time period? You could create short profiles for each person you learn about.

 

You could also skip the time period altogether and cover US history or state history. Or geography? Or go back to Ancients. Or cover civics and economics instead. Intellego Unit Studies has some options there - http://www.intellegounitstudies.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=2.

[pitterpatter]

Back when we started this adventure with Ancients, using Usborne alone with HO worked quite well. Secular options are few and far between. Actually, HO without SOTW was pretty much it. I selected HO primarily for the schedule and map work. I also liked the draw and writes in Ancients and Medieval Times. Admittedly, I also used the SOTW activity guides for the book lists and a few of the crafts. We have always supplemented heavily with picture books, short novels, videos, etc. Overall, I think we've covered history quite well...to the excess in many cases.

 

While I look for new history curriculum every year, I always end up with HO. This is the first year where HO has leaned so heavily on SOTW (even with the map work). I just wasn't expecting it and now I'm in a bit of a tailspin. I've spent a solid week researching options morning, noon and night. The truth is, there aren't many/any when it comes to modern times for grammar school children. British companies seem to be the ones to write history encyclopedias for children, thus American History is not their specialty. DK has one for American History, but the writing isn't all the pleasing. I'm just frustrated. I hoped my title would pull non-SOTW HO users in.

 

This. It's really misleading to call it repeats when you're not actually using all of the required books...

 

[pitterpatter]

To answer my own question, no you can't. Their customer service is super quick and nice. Here's a portion of their response...

 

Thank you for your email and interest in Studies Weekly. Unfortunately, we do not receive our publications into our warehouse until right before each quarter shipment so do not have sufficient inventory. 

 

However, with a current subscription, you would have access to the full year online. Anything that is sent to you physically can be accessed on our website. The kids can read the publications and take tests online, the teacher resources are available there. Best of all, it is free with your subscription. 

 

 

Yeah....finally, something different!! Thank you.

 

Is there not a way to purchase this all at once upfront so I'm not tied to a specific time frame?

 

ETA: Is there a way to search by topic? I notice different states are offered difference material.

 

[momto2Cs]

What about Homeschool in the Wood's Time Travelers? I think these would be a great fit for your dd's age/grade. They are focused on American history, up through WWII. If you wanted to add in some world history that is relevant, you could add in topical library books, or something like Famous Men of Modern Times.

[pitterpatter]

I've been looking at them a lot. I keep thinking DD needs to be a wee bit older for them. I'm still deciding.

 

What about Homeschool in the Wood's Time Travelers? I think these would be a great fit for your dd's age/grade. They are focused on American history, up through WWII. If you wanted to add in some world history that is relevant, you could add in topical library books, or something like Famous Men of Modern Times.

 

[deerforest]

I think many states do state history in 4th grade. We used Studies Weekly for that purpose, and it was ok. It got the job done. DD was fine with the reading, but it wasn't anything either of us were super impressed with or excited about.

 

My DD wasn't ready for modern history at that age. I created my own US history for 3rd-4th, but stopped at the Industrial Age (and also skipped the Civil War). I'm deferring it until we swing back to that time probably in 9th. Then, I plan to use Hakim, Zinn and a bunch of other things.

[pitterpatter]

Oh, well phooey. I'm hoping to use them as an introduction to each topic (kind of like we would the Usborne history encyclopedias) and I'm hoping the video clips will be worth it so I don't have to go pull up my own snippets on YouTube. There is a teacher resource guide and I thought the sample for social studies seemed to offer some useful writing assignments and activities that I thought DD would enjoy. She doesn't like the act of writing, so I thought the online questions would be good for her. Maybe it will be a total bust, IDK. There's next to nothing out there for grammar school for American History from the Civil War to modern times.

 

I think many states do state history in 4th grade. We used Studies Weekly for that purpose, and it was ok. It got the job done. DD was fine with the reading, but it wasn't anything either of us were super impressed with or excited about.

 

My DD wasn't ready for modern history at that age. I created my own US history for 3rd-4th, but stopped at the Industrial Age (and also skipped the Civil War). I'm deferring it until we swing back to that time probably in 9th. Then, I plan to use Hakim, Zinn and a bunch of other things.

 

[mamaraby]

While I look for new history curriculum every year, I always end up with HO. This is the first year where HO has leaned so heavily on SOTW (even with the map work). I just wasn't expecting it and now I'm in a bit of a tailspin. I've spent a solid week researching options morning, noon and night. The truth is, there aren't many/any when it comes to modern times for grammar school children. British companies seem to be the ones to write history encyclopedias for children, thus American History is not their specialty. DK has one for American History, but the writing isn't all the pleasing. I'm just frustrated. I hoped my title would pull non-SOTW HO users in.

Again, though, this is less a reflection on HO and more a reflection of the Usborne Encyclopedia. They have to lean heavily on SOTW because the modern history section in the Usborne is pretty small compared to the other time periods.

 

I don't think you'll find non-SOTW HO users, though, because most of them are using some form of narrative spine - probably SOTW. I've seen lots of HO users who don't use the Usborne Encyclopedia, but not one who didn't use one of the required narrative spines. HO level 1 was written before the AGs came out and were always meant to use with SOTW or CHOTW if that helps.

 

Again, though, from a secular perspective for a third grade level to cover the modern history time period you're basically going to have to DIY. Intellego would be an option, but their 3-5 grade level only goes up to Early Modern. Intellego 3-5 does have economics, civics, and US history, but I don't believe they use Usborne and it's not a good fit for everyone.

[tomandlorih]

OP, 

Sorry, I've been out of state for a wedding.  

Actually, yes there is..  I usually order my next year around March and instead of sending just the 4th quarter, they send the whole year.  Their customer service is correct in that they get them into the warehouse just before they ship them quarterly.  However, they order extra copies and since you only need 1 copy, they "shoud" be able to process your order for a whole year, depending on demand.  I would def call and ask.  (and tell them you don't mind current year issues.. they do change them slightly each year if something is affected by current events or whatever.)

And no, there is no way to search by content.  I've found the following for history that may make searching through a little easier. 

Most states don't start "real" history until the 3rd grade, before that it's just "social studies" and there is really not enough content to be worth it unless you need a "curriculum" to report to a cover school while you do your own thing for history. lol
 
Many states do state history in the 4th grade  

Many states do World History in 6th grade

American History is usually  "Ancient America to the Reconstruction" or some form of the Reconstruction to the Present.  but some state's have something slightly different.  (for example, Oklahoma has a 1607 to 1806 that I added into our Ancient America to the Reconstruction to beef up the early colonial/Revolutionary war period..  some papers were duplicates but for $10, I tossed those).  Unfortunately, you just have to look through each state to see what they offer.  It really doesn't actually take as long as it sounds. 

There is little, if any, difference between the newspapers content if you are purchasing Ancient America to the Reconstruction from "Alaska" or "Florida"..  but the teachers booklet will reference the particular states standards.. so if you are required to keep track of that it might behoove you to order, if possible, from your own state. 

Of course, the state history is different and for that state.. but also covers American history events that occurred as they are relevant to state history.. such as OR/WA states history covering the Lewis and Clark expedition, whereas Florida state history may not. kwim? 


Hope that helps!  Lori
 

Yeah....finally, something different!! Thank you.

 

Is there not a way to purchase this all at once upfront so I'm not tied to a specific time frame?

 

ETA: Is there a way to search by topic? I notice different states are offered difference material.

 

[tomandlorih]

Yes, I posted Alaska because it was the first one I ran into that had "1865 to the Present".  The ones I have used have not been state specific as they use (literally) the exact same set of newspapers for multiple states.. just the teacher's books are slightly different and reference state specific standards that are covered.  

Yes, most states have state history in the 4th grade and it's intermingled with American history as it applies to your state history (which is cool). 



 

Ok, I'm sort of digging this. Did you post Alaska's because it provides the information in it's purest form? I used Google to search the Studies Weekly site for "Civil War." My state (Missouri) pops up with fourth grade content but most of the Civil War, etc. content relates to the state as well. I remember from my time in school that fourth grade was when we studied state history. Perhaps that hasn't change. Now, I kind of like that the two are intermingled, as I was going to try to study state history as well. I think this would cover it. However, I also want the content in pure form...not tied to a state. When I flipped through the link you posted, I didn't notice it being tied to Alaska, but I didn't read every page either. 

 

[boscopup]

 

What are my other choices for secular Modern Times (or that I can make secular)? Bookshark wants $80 for their teacher's guide alone and I'm just not sure about it.

 

If you're interested in Bookshark but not the the price of the IG, look for a used Sonlight Core E IG. You can often find them for $20-25ish. Cores D and E (the two US history cores) were pretty stable for a long time, so you can use an older one pretty easily. I think I had a 2004 Core D when my oldest was 3rd grade. You can just ignore the Bible section in the grid (we did), and I think Core E had one or two books that were missionary books you could skip. Most of their book recommendations are basic historical fiction, so pretty easy to use that core secularly, especially if you get a version that doesn't have the Marshall books (those were added a couple years ago, iirc... another reason to use an older version... Sounding Forth the Trumpet is the one used in the current core E).

 

My son and I really enjoyed the Landmark History of the American People books, which are the spine for Cores D and E.

 

Another thing you might do is check out the book list for TOG Y4 LG level. You don't need to buy TOG itself. Just get some book ideas from their lists. They handle Y4 for that age by focusing more on inventors and such with some age appropriate discussion of WW2, Civil Rights movement, etc. They don't use a spine at all - just select topics and read about them. Lots of non-fiction books on their book lists, as opposed to Sonlight, which is mostly historical fiction literature. We did Sonlight Core 3 for our early modern year and TOG Y4 for our modern year because I was burnt out on historical fiction after Core D (though it was a great set of books).

 

If you want a list of topics to follow, maybe Creek Edge Press task cards could be useful? I haven't used their history ones, but we're starting their Life Science next week, and as I've been going through them the last few days, it made me think of your predicament. They list what topic to look up in an encyclopedia, then what topic to read about further (I just make a list on my library account of books my library has, so it's easy to put stuff on hold when I need to), tell you what mapwork to do, and have you tell about xyz that you've learned from your reading. Sounds kind of like a bit more open ended HO, as you aren't given which books/pages to read, but that's not always a bad thing, you know? I find it kind of freeing to know that I just need a book on a certain topic, and my library probably has several. :) You might be able to easily DIY this kind of thing. I was happy to pay the $20 for someone else to do it for me. :lol:

 

 

 

[pitterpatter]

Oh, that's good thinking! I wouldn't have realized this otherwise. Thanks!

 

I've more or less created my own curriculum/schedule of books/media the past three years using HO and ultimately Usborne as spines. I love that DD gets what I think is a very thorough introduction to the material, as we hit most subjects in a multitude of ways. However, it is very exhausting to compile (plus, I pretty much do the same for science with different spines...ugh). What I've jotted down for the Civil War alone (which actually includes the Underground Railroad and study of abolitionists too) is seventy-seen books (including picture books, short novels, audio books and bedtime read-alouds), DVDs and CDs long. This doesn't include excerpts from Usborne, History Pockets, or any kind of output. Several books will get cut, but not a tremendous number, as I've already vetted the ones chosen thus far via online samples.

 

I just wish someone out there would put together a schedule that includes the best picture books, the best chapter books/novels, and the best DVDS with quality map work and meaningful output that isn't limited to dull and tedious vocabulary work, copious comprehension questions and repetitive narration work. I like Sonlight and Bookshark's novel selections, but they totally ignore the oodles of fabulous picture books out there.

 

I tried looking up those task cards earlier, but I just can't make heads or tails of them online. I wonder whether there are better samples somewhere. (A blog of someone who uses them would be even better.) There's only one pic for the American History ones in the gallery that I can see and it doesn't show me much. I'm open to using such a thing, but I don't want to throw money out the window either buying sight unseen.

 

I think I might be rambling...

 

 

If you're interested in Bookshark but not the the price of the IG, look for a used Sonlight Core E IG. You can often find them for $20-25ish. Cores D and E (the two US history cores) were pretty stable for a long time, so you can use an older one pretty easily. I think I had a 2004 Core D when my oldest was 3rd grade. You can just ignore the Bible section in the grid (we did), and I think Core E had one or two books that were missionary books you could skip. Most of their book recommendations are basic historical fiction, so pretty easy to use that core secularly, especially if you get a version that doesn't have the Marshall books (those were added a couple years ago, iirc... another reason to use an older version... Sounding Forth the Trumpet is the one used in the current core E).

 

My son and I really enjoyed the Landmark History of the American People books, which are the spine for Cores D and E.

 

Another thing you might do is check out the book list for TOG Y4 LG level. You don't need to buy TOG itself. Just get some book ideas from their lists. They handle Y4 for that age by focusing more on inventors and such with some age appropriate discussion of WW2, Civil Rights movement, etc. They don't use a spine at all - just select topics and read about them. Lots of non-fiction books on their book lists, as opposed to Sonlight, which is mostly historical fiction literature. We did Sonlight Core 3 for our early modern year and TOG Y4 for our modern year because I was burnt out on historical fiction after Core D (though it was a great set of books).

 

If you want a list of topics to follow, maybe Creek Edge Press task cards could be useful? I haven't used their history ones, but we're starting their Life Science next week, and as I've been going through them the last few days, it made me think of your predicament. They list what topic to look up in an encyclopedia, then what topic to read about further (I just make a list on my library account of books my library has, so it's easy to put stuff on hold when I need to), tell you what mapwork to do, and have you tell about xyz that you've learned from your reading. Sounds kind of like a bit more open ended HO, as you aren't given which books/pages to read, but that's not always a bad thing, you know? I find it kind of freeing to know that I just need a book on a certain topic, and my library probably has several. :) You might be able to easily DIY this kind of thing. I was happy to pay the $20 for someone else to do it for me. :lol:

 

[boscopup]

That's one thing I liked about TOG's LG selections... plenty of picture books. They did a good job with the year 4 selections. The problem with curricula that rely on specific books is that everyone's library is different. So while TOG might recommend one book about the underground railroad because it was in her library, my library may not have that one, and it might have another book that is just as good. Most of the time, any book on the subject will do. There are certain quality picture books that are commonly recommended across curricula because they really are special, but most books aren't that special.