Charlene Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 I have been trying to find a spine that I like for ancient history with my grades 1, 3, and 5 students. I have looked at SOTW and a little history of the world, and a child's history of the world (I am looking for something secular). I am not really that excited about any of them. Whenever I think about how to schedule the spine with the extra reading books (I am planning to use the guest hollow ancient history booklist and the wayfarers book list, using books I like or the kids like from each list) I feel like I am just trying to get the spine over with and out of the way so we can get to the other books. So, I was just thinking, is it really necessary to use a spine? Or would it be okay to just use the guest hollow and/or wayfarers ancient history book lists? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 Yes! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoo Keeper Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 You could use Usborne Ancient World as a spine--it is not a narrative, but it would give the historical background, dates, etc., to hang all that reading on. I think this is more important for the 5th grader, to help them see the connections and flow of history. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdventuresinHomeschooling Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 I don't think you have to use a specific spine. We are planning to use TOG next year for ancients, and they don't have a particular spine. I do, however, think you need some sort of organized layout or scope. Egyptians this week, Greeks next, etc. That is what many curriculum provide. I am not familiar with Wayfarer's, but it is probably a fine list. Or like someone else suggested, have an encyclopedia with dates you look at and build a timeline to see how the different events flow together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alessandra Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 I use Core Knowledge, which has no spine. There is a syllabus with topics listed, also optional TGs, or you could use the Need to Know books. But you could just use the online syllabus as a general guide. Not suggesting you use CK, just saying that a spine is not necessary, In my experience. Rebecca Rupp's Home Learning Year by Year is also worth checking out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alessandra Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 Dp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gil Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 If you feel the spine is a waste of your time, then it probably is. I need something to base our reading around when I don't know X and my boys thrive on discussion so we use a spine for content subjects. Also, the spine is what we do together, then they read the supplemental stuff themselves. I'm not extremely hands on with content subjects--we read the textbooks together or discuss them together, but the boys do all the extra reading and supplementing activities themselves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tm919 Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 I like story of the world, but here is a potential non-spiny-book that we also like to provide some signposts (without taking a lot of time): http://www.amazon.com/Kingfisher-Atlas-World-History-10000BCE-present/dp/0753463881 I think my husband spends more time looking at this book than my daughters do. :p The entire ancient world part is <50 pages (most of which consist of 15-20 2-page maps) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlene Posted August 4, 2015 Author Share Posted August 4, 2015 Wow, thanks for all the suggestions and encouragement! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeekingHim77 Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 You definitely do not need a spine! :-) I only use a spine when I don't have access to enough books to cover a time period effectively. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 Where I am at right now is this: if the library has nothing, and I'm not worrying about it already, it can probably be skipped. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackie Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 I certainly hope that you can do it without a spine, since that's how I'm doing it now. I wanted to do a place-based cultural version of Ancients (along the lines of doing Mesopotamian cultures through ancient times, then African cultures through ancient times, etc) and nothing worked that way. When we get to a new place to focus on, I look through a variety of resources to pull together lots of resources and go from there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 What you described is TruthQuest History. All books, no need for spines. :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pitterpatter Posted August 6, 2015 Share Posted August 6, 2015 This is what we used for our first round. I like having a spine because it makes it easier to pull topics to look up at the library and gives me a sort of road map to follow. Here's what we did when we covered Ancients. http://bluehouseschool.blogspot.com/search/label/Ancient%20History - You'll have to scroll back to the beginning. You could use Usborne Ancient World as a spine--it is not a narrative, but it would give the historical background, dates, etc., to hang all that reading on. I think this is more important for the 5th grader, to help them see the connections and flow of history. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoo Keeper Posted August 7, 2015 Share Posted August 7, 2015 This is what we used for our first round. I like having a spine because it makes it easier to pull topics to look up at the library and gives me a sort of road map to follow. Here's what we did when we covered Ancients. http://bluehouseschool.blogspot.com/search/label/Ancient%20History - You'll have to scroll back to the beginning. I checked out your blog--looks like both of you had a great time with ancients! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted August 7, 2015 Share Posted August 7, 2015 I'm tossing around the idea of using the Everything You Need to Know About Homework series http://www.amazon.com/Everything-Homework-Reference-Students-Geography/dp/B005LKX754 When I use these, I always use the World History, American History, Geography, and Science together or none at all, as overlapping content is usually not repeated. Unfortunately the science book appears to be out of print. Even the publisher is not selling it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CelticHaiku Posted August 8, 2015 Share Posted August 8, 2015 What about The Story of Mankind by Van Loon. I have only breifly flipped through it at our local library (way to much for my preschooler) but it did interest me, one of those things to make a note of and revisit in a few years. It is narrative style and secular. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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