Sonlight Books using Well-Trained Method for High School

[crosby0511]

I've been thinking of using the Sonlight High School books we already have for my daughter's Modern History curriculum. Instead of using the spine I considered using Bauer's method outlined in the Well-Trained mind by using a history spine and for each book creating a context page, taking book notes, and writing a composition. 

Many of the Sonlight books are historical fiction and obviously much of it will not be as demanding a read as Bauer's suggestions. We just need something a little simpler. What are your thoughts? Could this work?

Edited January 18, 2021 by crosby0511

[Lori D.]

Welcome! I see by your post count you are new! 😄

Historical fiction is fine for a *supplement* (not a spine) to provide a general feel for the times -- in the same way a film set in a historical era does. But neither historical fiction books nor films set in a historical time period can substitute for an in-depth, researched factual history text and/or reading of primary source documents.

So no, I don't quite see how using Sunlight's mostly historical fiction could work as a substitute for the history text "spine" and primary source documents of Bauer's suggested method in WTM.

I could using a nonfiction spine and doing a very modified version of the WTM method on that spine, to then leave you time to also use the resources you already have (Sonlight books) as a nice supplement (and NOT use that method on the Sonlight books).

Just as a side note: while I have great admiration and appreciation for SWB and her WTM book, I personally find the study method she suggests for Science and History to be boring and repetitive, and it would not be the method that would help *me* actually absorb knowledge. I say this just to suggest really taking a hard look at the student in front of you, and determine how does THIS student best take in information, retain the information, and be able to use that information. If that is by the WTM method, then, super! 

Again, welcome! And BEST of luck in finding what works best for your family! Warmest regards, Lori D.

Edited January 20, 2021 by Lori D.

[2_girls_mommy]

I know nothing about what is on Sonlight's list for high school readers.  I will say we used the WTM style of history throughout high school for one of mine (along with lots of projects, field trips, documentaries, contests, and outside classes and experiences.) And it worked really well.  We didn't do it exactly as in WTM.  We actually only used one of her high school/adult history books as the spine one year that she read and took notes from, did the context pages, used the Timline book, and created reports about.  Other years we used other materials as the spine or did units throughout the year, using different nonfiction texts as the spine for just that particular unit like an encyclopedia on World War 2.  But we used TWM for how to do English alongside history and the booklists from it for the literature as well as some chronological literature textbooks I have and The Well Educated Mind.  It all works really well.  If you have your spine text from Sonlight (a text or an encyclopedia I am assuming,) and you are just asking about using it to branch out from to do context papers on and then papers on the literature portion for an English credit, I don't know why that wouldn't work.  The context background papers are plenty for history if you are reading a non fiction book as the spine.  The fiction readers are more english than history but give historical background and interest.  That is basically what WTM does, but takes you through the actual great books vs modern historical fiction.  Again- I have no idea what the Sonlight readers are, but if they are included for high school credit, I am sure they are fine.