OneStepAtATime Posted January 31, 2017 Share Posted January 31, 2017 (edited) Not sure how to title this. DS is wanting to do some specific targeted short term history studies on the side. He likes structured expectations with questions he can answer. He is dyslexic and dysgraphic so writing is not his favorite thing but oral responses are his bread and butter. Since this is a side thing I don't want to pile a lot of writing on him anyway. I need some sort of template for this or a resource we can pull from. Any suggestions? For instance, he would like to do a two or three week targeted study of the Mexican-American war. He and I have picked out some resources but he wants some tests or quizzes and some discussion questions. Since he wants to pick a new topic every few weeks, I would like some sort of overall format we could keep following. Or if there were a history program for Middle Schoolers that might cover several different eras/events I might could get him to use that. Easier for me and he does better with clear formats/expectations. I am overloaded with teacher intense material since both of my kids have learning challenges. I'm already modifying a lot and I run a business from home. Time is limited. I was wondering if there were any resources out there for creating this that would guide me through? And if anyone has some great resources for the Mexican-American War I am interested. Edited January 31, 2017 by OneStepAtATime Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoo Keeper Posted February 1, 2017 Share Posted February 1, 2017 (edited) Maybe something from Reading Like a Historian...here's a lesson on Texan Independence.https://sheg.stanford.edu/texas-independence. I have been enjoying many of the different resources from SHEG with my 8th grader this year. Well worth the printer ink for us. :) Edited February 1, 2017 by Zoo Keeper 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted February 1, 2017 Author Share Posted February 1, 2017 Maybe something from Reading Like a Historian...here's a lesson on Texan Independence.https://sheg.stanford.edu/texas-independence. I have been enjoying many of the different resources from SHEG with my 8th grader this year. Well worth the printer ink for us. :) Thanks so much for the link! :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Another Lynn Posted February 1, 2017 Share Posted February 1, 2017 I love his idea! I don't have a resource to recommend, but can think of some discussion questions that might work for his first topic (and might be usable with other topics....) What were major causes or events that led to the war? Who was for it and who was against it and why? What (or who) were the three most important people/battles/etc of this war? What were results of the war for America? for Mexico? Have a map ready to use in our discussions as needed. Is there a person you've learned about in your reading that you would like to tell me more about or study further yourself? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted February 1, 2017 Author Share Posted February 1, 2017 I love his idea! I don't have a resource to recommend, but can think of some discussion questions that might work for his first topic (and might be usable with other topics....) What were major causes or events that led to the war? Who was for it and who was against it and why? What (or who) were the three most important people/battles/etc of this war? What were results of the war for America? for Mexico? Have a map ready to use in our discussions as needed. Is there a person you've learned about in your reading that you would like to tell me more about or study further yourself? Thanks so much for the suggestions! One thing he also likes are "what if" scenarios so I think maybe I will also ask what he thinks would have happened if topography had been different or what might have changed to prevent the war in the first place or something along those lines... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomatHWTK Posted February 1, 2017 Share Posted February 1, 2017 Would a search for unit studies on the particular topic yield what you are looking for? If you do need help with a topic sometime, let us know. I'm happy to help you find something. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted February 1, 2017 Author Share Posted February 1, 2017 Would a search for unit studies on the particular topic yield what you are looking for? If you do need help with a topic sometime, let us know. I'm happy to help you find something. I'm not sure. Unit studies I ran across were very in depth and long term. Maybe there are some really good short term ones? And thanks! I may definitely take you up on it. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alte Veste Academy Posted February 1, 2017 Share Posted February 1, 2017 I feel like people must think I own stock in them as frequently as I've been recommending them lately, LOL, but the Creek Edge Press Task Cards would work well for this. They are in sets, sequentially/chronologically numbered, but they could certainly be taken by topic instead. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted February 2, 2017 Author Share Posted February 2, 2017 (edited) I feel like people must think I own stock in them as frequently as I've been recommending them lately, LOL, but the Creek Edge Press Task Cards would work well for this. They are in sets, sequentially/chronologically numbered, but they could certainly be taken by topic instead. These? http://shop.creekedgepress.com/American-History-Task-Card-Sets-PDF-AHpdf.htm And thanks for the rec... :) Edited February 2, 2017 by OneStepAtATime Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 I learned how to do this by taking a workshop with the founder of StewardShip. I used her techniques but not her unit studies to come up with short, intensive history and geographical units. I did buy her book about how to do this, but the workshop was better. I think you'd find that it's exactly what you're looking for. Here is the book: https://www.amazon.com/Everything-Homeschool-Studies-Anyone-Guide/dp/0977044408/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1485996747&sr=8-1&keywords=jennifer+steward Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted February 2, 2017 Author Share Posted February 2, 2017 I learned how to do this by taking a workshop with the founder of StewardShip. I used her techniques but not her unit studies to come up with short, intensive history and geographical units. I did buy her book about how to do this, but the workshop was better. I think you'd find that it's exactly what you're looking for. Here is the book: https://www.amazon.com/Everything-Homeschool-Studies-Anyone-Guide/dp/0977044408/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1485996747&sr=8-1&keywords=jennifer+steward Thanks so much. That looks interesting. I moved it into my cart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alte Veste Academy Posted February 3, 2017 Share Posted February 3, 2017 These? http://shop.creekedgepress.com/American-History-Task-Card-Sets-PDF-AHpdf.htm And thanks for the rec... :) Yep, those. I meant to include the link. Whoops! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted February 3, 2017 Author Share Posted February 3, 2017 Yep, those. I meant to include the link. Whoops! LOL no worries! Thanks for the suggestion. They look like they might be very helpful. 😀 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomatHWTK Posted February 3, 2017 Share Posted February 3, 2017 I just found this: https://www.awesomestories.com/Signup I've not checked it out yet. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldenecho Posted February 4, 2017 Share Posted February 4, 2017 My method for Science unit studies might work for you (or might be more work than you are wanting). I pick a book on a subject to work as a spine. Doesn't have to be a long book (my son is younger than yours probably, so I looked for something with good pictures and about a 1-5 paragraphs of text per page...but you would want to adjust for your son's reading/attention level). I look at the topic for each section and go on pinterest and find a craft, activity, and/or short video to go with each section. Every day we do one section, and an activity or video with it. For quizzes and discussion questions, you could visit TeachersPayTeachers. The trick would be finding ones that match your materials. If he's reading the materials independently, that might be harder. If you were doing this for history you might have to adjust this method a little. With history I find their are two main types of books about historical subjects: 1. Books that chronicle the important events of a age/nation/civilization 2. Books that look more at daily life during a civilization, focusing on different topics like government, housing, clothing, food, roles for men, women, children, etc. A few books try to combine these, but generally, those are the two types of historical childrens books you'll find at your local library (and many more of them will be the 2nd type, not the first). If you decide you want to teach through a more chonological/overall story type book (option 1), it might be good to supplement with option two. You would of course let the chonological book guide your order...you could skim your #1 type book i to find out when to cover sections in the #2 type book, or just read the sections in the #2 type book in whatever order you please...they don't always have to match up completely. If one of the subjects your son happens to be interested in is Vikings, and if he likes science, I know of an amazing FREE unit study that combines those two topics. We just used some of the experiments in it, because when I found it we had already decided on our main text, but you could basically use this as a stand alone. It has a narrative of a fictional viking character, historical information, and science experiments and activities to go along with each section. It's more of a #2 style history resource (doesn't deal as much with famous figures and such). http://www.rsc.org/learn-chemistry/resource/res00001940/experiment-with-the-vikings?cmpid=CMP00006331 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted February 4, 2017 Author Share Posted February 4, 2017 Thanks for the links and suggestions! I really appreciate it! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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