BusyMom5 Posted June 18, 2018 Share Posted June 18, 2018 I'm struggling to decide what to do with my 8th grader next year. All my kids will be studying Modern American history- a brief recap of early American, followed by Restoration to Present. 10th Grader will be using the Holt blue textbook for this time period. She will also have some extra lit thrown in, essays, notetaking, short answer, ect. This seems a little much for my 8th grader. Even most of the questions it asks are just too in depth IMO. We could maybe discuss the same topics, but the 10th and 8th grader are really at different points in terms of depth. I think they will enjoy the same movies, some of the same books, listening to music and talking about fashions, ect., and the 8th grader is sort of inbetween with the reading level- she may read it, but some things will be uninteresting or a little too detailed (and boring). 5th graders will be using Joy Hakim Condensed version- this feels about right. I'm sure I will be reading a lot of this aloud, plan to add a little lit, and some map, timelines, ect. to flesh it out, but they will not be writing a lot of papers. We do like notebooking, so I'm looking for good notebooking papes for them. For the 8th grader I feel like it may be a little too simple in some places. It will be a nice read, and I think she will engage in the material better. I wish there were some already-made questions I could assign her. 2nd grader is doing American Girl books- she's just not ready to combine with older kids right now. I have 3 different curricula, and I really do not want to add a 4th. THe 8th grader fits right between the 5tha nd 10th grade materials. Do I beef up the Joy Hakim, or water down the Holt? Anyone teach from the condensed verisonf for an 8th grader? ANyone have ready-made materials for these books? Links? Lapbooks or notebooking pages? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kassia Posted June 18, 2018 Share Posted June 18, 2018 I know you said you don't want anything additional, but have you looked at U.S. History Detective from the Critical Thinking Company? You could use that as a supplement with the Joy Hakim books maybe? https://www.criticalthinking.com/us-history-detective-book-2.html It's so easy to use because the answers to everything are right in the back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MinivanMom Posted June 18, 2018 Share Posted June 18, 2018 I used the K12 American Odyssey text with my 8th grader. It's right in between in terms of difficulty, but I completely understand not wanting to add a fourth curriculum. My inclination would be to have the 8th grader use Holt, because it's (usually) a lot less work for me to omit assignments & readings than it is to spend the time planning additional resources and assignments. As long as the 8th grader is a strong reader and enjoys history, it shouldn't be a problem. I would probably omit the extra lit and essays with the 8th grader, but I would want to keep some of the short-answer and the note-taking (or replace it with outlining). Or you could omit the note-taking altogether and give the 8th grader a little more time to get through the textbook readings. But it sounds like the 8th & 10th graders would be a better pairing for extras like books and movies. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HollyDay Posted June 18, 2018 Share Posted June 18, 2018 Have you done any geography yet? We did geography in 8th grade to really cement those concepts prior to high school history Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusyMom5 Posted June 18, 2018 Author Share Posted June 18, 2018 Yes, we spend the first half of 7th grade doing a US Geography course, the second half was US PResidents, which gave them an overall framework for US history. We've spent time on US colonial history, but this year I wanted to cover Civil Rights, Women's Rights, Space Race, WOrld Wars, ect. I do have Oak Meadow's Civics course, maybe I could do that instead? I've looked at the US History Detective, and I think it's about the right level. I like the multiple choice, and then a few response questions. That's the right amount of work. I just really don't want to buy another program! I already feel overly-pulled. They are all doing vastly different science, too. ANd I have a baby. It's going to be one of those year where I've got too many people in too many different places! I"ve always combined most of history and science, to cut down on the prep time, and just adjusted according to age and abilities. They year my materials aren't spreading like they normally do! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momto6inIN Posted June 19, 2018 Share Posted June 19, 2018 My DS's used Hakim for 8th and 6th and it was completely appropriate for them both as far as input goes! I did expect more from my 8th grader as far as output - he did a research paper in addition to weekly discussions - but I would have no problem doing History of US with an 8th grader. They still remember stuff from those books 5 years later! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted June 19, 2018 Share Posted June 19, 2018 One consideration: doing American History in 8th grade may mean having to do it again in just a few years, since many colleges have the admission requirement of 1 credit of the 3-4 Social Studies credits to be American History. And since many colleges only count credits done during the 4 years prior to high school graduation, that could prevent "bringing up" the credit from 8th grade. Also, 7th-8th grades are about your last window of opportunity to leisurely try out unusual topics or pursue interests of the student, before getting onto the less flexible high school credits track. Taking both of those considerations together, what about doing Current Events with your 8th grader, and she can just informally enjoy some of the movies and extras along with the 10th grader? Or, even more exciting, what about skipping doing Social Studies entirely for 8th grade, and use that time for 8th grader to explore an interest as an "elective"? Maybe this could be the year 8th grader gets to write her novel (if she loves creative writing), gets heavily into Theater, Art, or Dance, or does two sciences (if she's a STEM fan), or gets into robotics or electronics (if she's interested in engineering). Or support a love of gardening with involvement in Community Gardens or some botany or horticulture studies. Or maybe she starts her own business and you support with personal finance materials. Maybe 8th grade could be the year of horseback riding and Equine Science. Endless possibilities! BEST of luck in deciding what works best! Warmest regards, Lori D. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bay Lake Mom Posted June 20, 2018 Share Posted June 20, 2018 I would consider joining the 5th and 8th grader together and do Notgrass America the Beautiful. They have 2 different levels of workbook. They could study the same thing, and it can be done mostly independent. You can choose to add more or less of the activities and extra reading based on the students needs. I’m really impressed with what I’ve seen in the Notgrass series. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaredluvsjoanie Posted June 25, 2018 Share Posted June 25, 2018 I agree. Notgrass's America the Beautiful is excellent. It's not secular like the books you have already used, but I would recommend taking a look. We love it! Their logic stage civics course, Uncle Sam and You, is also very informative and engaging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bocky Posted June 25, 2018 Share Posted June 25, 2018 How about using the full version of Hakim with your 8th grader? DD14 read volumes 8 through 10 this year. She loves the series. There are Teaching Guides for each volume published by Oxford University Press. The guides have one page per chapter with a chapter summary, key vocabulary, comprehension and synthesis questions; also notes for cross-disciplinary extensions - mostly science, math or art, tips on reading nonfiction - things like discussions of idiom, point of view, literary devices. These notes are short paragraphs. They have the readings from the sourcebook scheduled, but no additional notes for them. There are also quizzes, worksheet pages, and group projects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ngraysmith Posted July 4, 2018 Share Posted July 4, 2018 I put together a middle grades two year US History curriculum with History of US and a Young People's History as spines, documentaries every week and historical fiction (some non-fiction) for each week that would be appropriate, depending on your kids: https://docs.google.com/document/d/15sG2o19RlWLEo7sa1k4Bw_43xe5mjQPOK4Og1Dr0Tr4/edit?usp=sharing 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted July 4, 2018 Share Posted July 4, 2018 3 hours ago, ngraysmith said: I put together a middle grades two year US History curriculum with History of US and a Young People's History as spines, documentaries every week and historical fiction (some non-fiction) for each week that would be appropriate, depending on your kids: https://docs.google.com/document/d/15sG2o19RlWLEo7sa1k4Bw_43xe5mjQPOK4Og1Dr0Tr4/edit?usp=sharing Wow! That is incredible! Thanks for sharing! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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