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My 6th grader is using it this year and working very independently. I have not used SOTW either but I looked at it...it looks so dry and boring (sorry!) compared to From Adam to Us! Great pictures. We've loved it. It is going to be available to the public on March 5!

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My 6th grader is using it this year and working very independently. I have not used SOTW either but I looked at it...it looks so dry and boring (sorry!) compared to From Adam to Us! Great pictures. We've loved it. It is going to be available to the public on March 5!

 

Thanks! It looks like it's on a great sale if you pre-order before March 9th. I haven't decided if this is what i want yet but it's a good enough deal that I may get it. 

 

it looks like a great way to get a student working more independently and getting used to more textbook-type learning while still being engaging and interesting.

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I'm not a fan. I bought it through the pre-order to use it next year because we were using America the Beautiful this year. But we ditched AtB less than halfway through. It spends so much time on extraneous things that it doesn't do a very good job of covering the history IMO. It just felt very scattered, and I didn't feel DD was getting a good picture of the flow of history and how each event was important and influenced other events. The map work felt like busy work, and the questions in both the workbook and the review book were just basic comprehension questions that didn't require any thought or analysis. We are liking CLE's new 8th grade textbook much better. We read it together and I adapt the work down to DD's level.

Adam to Us looks the same as AtB to me, except worse because it is trying to cram all of history into one year in that scattered way, so it is missing even more important events. It also seems to spend a LOT of time on Bible stories/culture, which we cover in our Bible lessons, so it feels like a waste of time when we need to get through 6000 years of history.

We love the pictures, though! That is what attracted me to the series in the first place.

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I'm not a fan. I bought it through the pre-order to use it next year because we were using America the Beautiful this year. But we ditched AtB less than halfway through. It spends so much time on extraneous things that it doesn't do a very good job of covering the history IMO. It just felt very scattered, and I didn't feel DD was getting a good picture of the flow of history and how each event was important and influenced other events. The map work felt like busy work, and the questions in both the workbook and the review book were just basic comprehension questions that didn't require any thought or analysis. We are liking CLE's new 8th grade textbook much better. We read it together and I adapt the work down to DD's level.

Adam to Us looks the same as AtB to me, except worse because it is trying to cram all of history into one year in that scattered way, so it is missing even more important events. It also seems to spend a LOT of time on Bible stories/culture, which we cover in our Bible lessons, so it feels like a waste of time when we need to get through 6000 years of history.

We love the pictures, though! That is what attracted me to the series in the first place.

 

Thanks for this. They put up much more extensive samples yesterday and I spent last night reading them. The pictures are gorgeous. I agree that is what attracted me, but as I was reading I started wondering about the flow. This post confirms that I might have an issue with it. There was a lot of interesting information, but I didn't see how it all went together. I thought maybe it was because it's a sample. Now I'm wondering. 

 

We use CLE for math and LA but I'd never looked at their other subjects because I heard they weren't CLE products but just repackaged LifePacs. It looks like the 8th grade is a new product they created themselves. I read the sample and it looks really good. Not as many pictures as Notgrass, but still very well laid out. My daughter is ADD and that is important for her. Do you do the workbooks with it? Are you adding literature? I'm not sure if we want to do American next year. We did VP's self-paced modern and read SOTW 4 this year. I'm having trouble decided what to do for 8th before starting the cycle for high school or if we should do something like Ancients/Middle Ages survey and then head into American for 9th and a 3 year world history focus for the remaining 3 years. 

 

If we did American in 9th instead of 8th do you think the CLE text would be robust enough for a 9th grader? I know it's only February but for some reason I'm obsessed with figuring out a history/literature plan. 

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I'm not a fan. I bought it through the pre-order to use it next year because we were using America the Beautiful this year. But we ditched AtB less than halfway through. It spends so much time on extraneous things that it doesn't do a very good job of covering the history IMO. It just felt very scattered, and I didn't feel DD was getting a good picture of the flow of history and how each event was important and influenced other events. The map work felt like busy work, and the questions in both the workbook and the review book were just basic comprehension questions that didn't require any thought or analysis. We are liking CLE's new 8th grade textbook much better. We read it together and I adapt the work down to DD's level.

Adam to Us looks the same as AtB to me, except worse because it is trying to cram all of history into one year in that scattered way, so it is missing even more important events. It also seems to spend a LOT of time on Bible stories/culture, which we cover in our Bible lessons, so it feels like a waste of time when we need to get through 6000 years of history.

We love the pictures, though! That is what attracted me to the series in the first place.

,

 

I keep seeing good reviews of CLE 8th grade American history, but I can't find the program. Would you mind posting the link to it? I bought AtB set for the fall. I would like to see samples of CLE American hsitory to decide if I should use CLE instead. Thanks!

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,

 

I keep seeing good reviews of CLE 8th grade American history, but I can't find the program. Would you mind posting the link to it? I bought AtB set for the fall. I would like to see samples of CLE American hsitory to decide if I should use CLE instead. Thanks!

 

 

Sure - here you go...

 

https://www.clp.org/store/by_course/80

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There are samples for the Light Units. Go to the link above. Then scroll down to the section where it says LightUnit Set and there is a list of 10 little boxes where you would order each light unit. Above the 0 (number of units you want) and below the 801 number is a small word that says 'Sample'. There is one for each Light Unit. 

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There are samples for the Light Units. Go to the link above. Then scroll down to the section where it says LightUnit Set and there is a list of 10 little boxes where you would order each light unit. Above the 0 (number of units you want) and below the 801 number is a small word that says 'Sample'. There is one for each Light Unit.

 

Thanks, Heather! I thought I had to pay $2 just to view the samples. silly me! Now I will take a look.

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Thanks for this. They put up much more extensive samples yesterday and I spent last night reading them. The pictures are gorgeous. I agree that is what attracted me, but as I was reading I started wondering about the flow. This post confirms that I might have an issue with it. There was a lot of interesting information, but I didn't see how it all went together. I thought maybe it was because it's a sample. Now I'm wondering. 

 

We use CLE for math and LA but I'd never looked at their other subjects because I heard they weren't CLE products but just repackaged LifePacs. It looks like the 8th grade is a new product they created themselves. I read the sample and it looks really good. Not as many pictures as Notgrass, but still very well laid out. My daughter is ADD and that is important for her. Do you do the workbooks with it? Are you adding literature? I'm not sure if we want to do American next year. We did VP's self-paced modern and read SOTW 4 this year. I'm having trouble decided what to do for 8th before starting the cycle for high school or if we should do something like Ancients/Middle Ages survey and then head into American for 9th and a 3 year world history focus for the remaining 3 years. 

 

If we did American in 9th instead of 8th do you think the CLE text would be robust enough for a 9th grader? I know it's only February but for some reason I'm obsessed with figuring out a history/literature plan. 

 

Sorry it has taken me so long to respond. I haven't had much computer time lately, and I hate trying to type a long response on the iPad.

Since I am using the course for a 5th grader, I modify it. First, we read a section together. I usually read the main text out loud, and she reads all the picture captions and extra side notes. I occasionally have her read part of the main text if my voice gets tired. As we read, I sometimes comment or clarify something, but that is rarely necessary. The text is very well written, objective, thorough, and easy to understand. After reading, she does the light unit. She usually answers the multiple choice, matching, and fill-in-the-blank questions on paper, but I let her do the short answer questions orally. She averages about 75-80% without looking at the book, and then she looks up the answers she was unsure of. She has gotten 90 or above on all the self-checks we have done so far. I don't use the quizzes or tests, because I am not requiring an 8th grade level of mastery.

We use a lot of historical fiction alongside the curriculum. DD is a voracious reader, so she gets through all the books I can find at the library. We are also doing US history memory work like the Declaration of Independence, Gettysburg Address, States & Capitals, and Presidents.

I think the course would definitely be robust enough for a 9th grader, although I would probably add in more writing (written narrations, occasional essays, and at least one research paper on a topic of her choice). For 9th, I would choose more challenging historical fiction books (of course), and I would add in classic American literature written in the different time periods we are studying (e.g. Sleepy Hollow, Tom Sawyer, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Call of the Wild, etc.) However, DD10 is my oldest child, so my opinion about 9th grade probably isn't too helpful. :)

I hope this is helpful. I didn't purchase the classroom worksheets, but I did buy the answer key for the test. I thought we might sometimes use the classroom discussion questions in the book instead of the light units, but so far we haven't. Our own discussions and the light units have been plenty.

 

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Beth, thanks for the info. I saw this post (#8) in this thread. http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/548144-new-american-and-world-history-options-for-middle-school/?hl=%2Bcle+%2Bamerican+%2Bhistory&do=findComment&comment=6592399

It is very good description of the program. I have America the Beautiful that I planned to use for both dc. Now I feel drawn to CLE 8th grade American History.

Is there anything you do like about AtB?

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Beth - thanks so much. What a great review. I don't mind adding some writing and prefer to control my own literature choices anyway so that sounds perfect. We are going to do Ancients next year (8th) because we are just finishing up Modern and I don't think I want to do more American right now but I think we will definitely do CLE American for 9th grade. Of course that might change when I see the book at a convention. If I like it too much I might not be able to wait. 

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Beth, thanks for the info. I saw this post (#8) in this thread. http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/548144-new-american-and-world-history-options-for-middle-school/?hl=%2Bcle+%2Bamerican+%2Bhistory&do=findComment&comment=6592399

It is very good description of the program. I have America the Beautiful that I planned to use for both dc. Now I feel drawn to CLE 8th grade American History.

Is there anything you do like about AtB?

That is one of the posts that pushed me towards Changing Frontiers when DD and I were both fed up with AtB.

I did love all the illustrations in AtB, and it was less dense, so DD could easily do it on her own.

I also really like the "We the People" book of original documents, and we still refer to it sometimes. Most of those documents are probably available online, but it's nice to have them gathered together and easily accessible.

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That is one of the posts that pushed me towards Changing Frontiers when DD and I were both fed up with AtB.

I did love all the illustrations in AtB, and it was less dense, so DD could easily do it on her own.

I also really like the "We the People" book of original documents, and we still refer to it sometimes. Most of those documents are probably available online, but it's nice to have them gathered together and easily accessible.

The only thing is I don't see map activities. Is that why you use Trail Guide to US Geography? How long does it take a day or a week? How do you use it along with CLE American History?
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