silver Posted October 8, 2019 Share Posted October 8, 2019 I would like to do US history with my two middle school aged kiddos using lots of biographies and other in depth books. But I would also like to have a light spine to read to tie it all together. I don't want something with the depth/length/time commitment that a normal one-year US History textbook would have (because I want time for other books). Secular or Christian is OK (so long as it doesn't teach "America is God's favorite country" or the like). It'd be nice if it had short response questions or something to let the student show understanding, but it's not necessary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeAgain Posted October 9, 2019 Share Posted October 9, 2019 Our Land. It goes from Ancient to Modern America, but you can start where needed since each pamphlet is individual. - http://www.ourlandpublications.com/catalog/index.php/our-land-liberty-c-21?osCsid=cbb8c1acb90ca1acc74968368a930118 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silver Posted October 9, 2019 Author Share Posted October 9, 2019 2 hours ago, HomeAgain said: Our Land. It goes from Ancient to Modern America, but you can start where needed since each pamphlet is individual. - http://www.ourlandpublications.com/catalog/index.php/our-land-liberty-c-21?osCsid=cbb8c1acb90ca1acc74968368a930118 I notice that they say this is for 5th grade. Would this be appropriate for 8th grade if we are adding in other books? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeAgain Posted October 9, 2019 Share Posted October 9, 2019 43 minutes ago, silver said: I notice that they say this is for 5th grade. Would this be appropriate for 8th grade if we are adding in other books? It would. You can see samples of the pamphlets on their site. Each one has a few different articles that are just bites to get a kid more interested. The teacher's manual has a single pamphlet broken down into 5-6 lessons, each focusing on an article with questions, other news from the same time, a focus topic (like one on slavery has a focus of principle of government and basic rights), and maybe a short activity. It is very easy to expand each pamphlet. Since we're only doing modern history this year I'm doing the last 10 or so pamphlets and using them to springboard into other activities, readings, and events as we come across them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted October 9, 2019 Share Posted October 9, 2019 (edited) . Edited October 30, 2022 by SilverMoon 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted October 9, 2019 Share Posted October 9, 2019 (edited) . Edited October 30, 2022 by SilverMoon 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted October 9, 2019 Share Posted October 9, 2019 Hakim concise. It's four volumes, but easily doable in one year (with lots of supplemental reading thrown in). Volume A Volume B Volume C Volume D 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silver Posted October 10, 2019 Author Share Posted October 10, 2019 When looking at the Hakim concise books, I noticed that there is a one volume US history text by her. It looks like it is based on/written for the PBS series, which is based on the 10 volume set.https://www.amazon.com/Freedom-History-US-Joy-Hakim/dp/1560047747/ Does anyone have experience with this? Is it high school level or middle school level? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted October 10, 2019 Share Posted October 10, 2019 27 minutes ago, Servant4Christ said: Yes! I was racking my brain trying to remember this one. I remember researching this on a different thread a while back and liking the concise 4 volume version better than the full version for some reason. I think it's vastly better. It doesn't wander as much, and the layout on the page is much more relaxing. The font is uncrowded (and larger than in the original), and the illustrations are beautiful. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted October 10, 2019 Share Posted October 10, 2019 On October 8, 2019 at 7:12 PM, silver said: Secular or Christian is OK (so long as it doesn't teach "America is God's favorite country" or the like). Aw come on, I'm reading an original Abeka4 history text to ds, and it has so many deliciously OUTRAGEOUS things it says that it's just perfect for his critical thinking! LOLOLOL 1 hour ago, silver said: Does anyone have experience with this? Is it high school level or middle school level? Yes, I sold my 10 volume set after dd and bought the 4 volume set for ds. I haven't read it with him yet, because he has a language disability. I think you could use it anywhere from say 5th (just making a stab, thinking of "typical" kids) through high school. Maybe your library will have it so you can see it? I'm saving it, because it's probably where he'll end up. I have a bunch of K12 texts my dd enjoyed in high school, but I don't think ds will get there. That 4th-6th gr range is really awkward. Homeschool generated stuff tends to be really wordy. Another kind of different path would be the VP cards. Oh this is 8th? Yeah, you can use Hakim in a heartbeat. I think just hit the library and see whether you want the 10 volume experience or the trimmer set. Hakim will still need discussion and still have glaring holes, but yeah you're at a great age for it. You could also just listen to the Teaching Company US History high school level course. Might come with a printed manual if you check. Sometimes the downloads include it as a pdf. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted October 11, 2019 Share Posted October 11, 2019 11 minutes ago, Servant4Christ said: Out of curiosity, do you have to come up with your own supplemental reading list or is there a suggested reading list in each volume? I came up with my own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted October 12, 2019 Share Posted October 12, 2019 5 minutes ago, Servant4Christ said: The idea of using anything as a spine and actually creating a supplemental booklist from scratch intimidates me to no end. Really? I think that coming up with supplemental reading is one of homeschooling's joys. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted October 12, 2019 Share Posted October 12, 2019 1 minute ago, Servant4Christ said: I agree and I have no problem figuring out supplemental reading to add to an already complete curriculum, but for some reason doing so as a part of an incomplete or light spine approach scares me. Maybe because I like the fail safe of knowing if I don't choose enough or the right books, our curriculum alone is sufficient. I'm one of those "has a master list with every lesson for every day of the school year mapped out on 1 page" kind of people. I wouldn't call A History of US light. It is fairly comprehensive. Whatever you choose to supplement will be just fine 😊 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momto6inIN Posted October 12, 2019 Share Posted October 12, 2019 41 minutes ago, Servant4Christ said: I agree and I have no problem figuring out supplemental reading to add to an already complete curriculum, but for some reason doing so as a part of an incomplete or light spine approach scares me. Maybe because I like the fail safe of knowing if I don't choose enough or the right books, our curriculum alone is sufficient. I'm one of those "has a master list with every lesson for every day of the school year mapped out on 1 page" kind of people. Hakim's concise would definitely be considered a full curriculum and sufficient! We love it. My DS's are 19 and 17 and they still remember stuff from those books! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astralweaver Posted October 23, 2019 Share Posted October 23, 2019 (edited) I’m late to this thread but if you’re still searching for supplemental readers, you might want to check BYL level 5 and 6. She uses the 10 volume Hakim split over two years with a bunch of readers. You can look at the samples to see which correlates with which text. Here is the link to 5. https://buildyourlibrary.com/purchase-level-5-curriculum/ Also the Beautiful Feet books curriculum does older level US history and you can check their supplemental readers. http://www.bfbooks.com/Is-there-a-suggested-study-sequence-I-should-follow-with-BFB Don’t forget about Pandia Press too, and their try before you buy sample will list all or almost all the supplemental books they use. Scroll here, the US is near the bottom: https://www.pandiapress.com/history-odyssey/ You can also look through part 1 and 2 here: https://thepioneerwoman.com/homeschooling/american-history-middle-school-book-resources-compilation/ You can check by subject here (scroll down for older age books within each subject): https://www.the-best-childrens-books.org/American-History-books.html Some historical fiction here: https://bookriot.com/2018/10/12/historical-fiction-books-for-middle-school-readers/ Last but not least, if planning all the things is making you nuts, just pick two or three and then give your 8th grader some choices. That age is old enough to take some ownership of their reading. To that end, if your 8th grader needs more guidance or independent writing, you could let them choose every few weeks from the Creek Edge Press task cards to work on, and that way they’d pick books to supplement the assignment. https://creekedgepress.com/articles https://creekedgepress.com/faqs https://shop.creekedgepress.com/American-History-Task-Card-Sets-PDF-AHpdf.htm I hope this was helpful. I just went through this myself. Edited October 23, 2019 by astralweaver Autocorrect sucks. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BakersDozen Posted October 24, 2019 Share Posted October 24, 2019 Quote All American History is 2 books and fairly light. I'm on my third "batch" of middle school students using this program. It is, imo, the perfect balance of light yet thorough. I love the workbook and Further Study activities. We supplement with oodles of literature and movies plus the Great Courses DVDs. And for extra fun, a lot of Mr. Bett's Class parodies on YouTube. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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