History Quest

[mathmarm]

Has anyone used this? I searched the forums both directly and via Google and didn't find much conversation about this program by PandiaPress.

I think this is a good year to start a Chronological Study of History. Up until now, we've always just read history books but now he's reaching the stage where he's curious about the "bigger picture" so I'm thinking that I'll use the Reader of History Quest.

I'm not sure that we want to use the Study Guides, I think I just like the Student Reader.

[Shoes+Ships+SealingWax]

We used History Odyssey in 1st (Ancients) but have switched to History Quest in 2nd (Middle Times). 

The text is split into two parts: a textbook-like chapter & a narrative-style “History Hop”. The chapter material is excellent, but dense. Typically it’s about 6-8pgs chock-full of information. My DS8 has a hard time staying engaged unless we break it up & jot down notes as we go. He can follow a lengthy narrative (The Hobbit, The Sword in the Stone, Tales from the Arabian Nights) but we need to spread the chapters over 2 or 3 days. The History Hops are light & fun; much more approachable. Even the long ones he can follow in one sitting. 

The activity book contains map work for about 1/2 of the lessons, hands-on project ideas, & journal pages to go along with the History Hops. Occasionally you’ll be directed to take a week “off” the main text & dive into literature from that period / culture. This occurs 4x over the course of Middle Times. There is also an appendix with map keys, literature recommendations, & a supply list. 
 

Let me know if you have any further questions 🙂

[medawyn]

I have it and am previewing it for next year (3rd grade), but I'm honestly leaning more toward OUP's The World in Ancient Times series.  I'll be listening in on this thread to see if anyone has more experience.  I don't have time to sit down with both books until April.

[amiesmom]

2 hours ago, mathmarm said:

Has anyone used this? I searched the forums both directly and via Google and didn't find much conversation about this program by PandiaPress.

I think this is a good year to start a Chronological Study of History. Up until now, we've always just read history books but now he's reaching the stage where he's curious about the "bigger picture" so I'm thinking that I'll use the Reader of History Quest.

I'm not sure that we want to use the Study Guides, I think I just like the Student Reader.

I am using it this year with my 2nd grader. She really enjoys it,  especially the History Hop in each chapter. I find the writing style and text somewhat comparable to Story of the World if you are at all familiar with that curriculum. 

I actually really recommend the Study Guide. It has map work, copy work for each chapter, a craft or hands-on activity for each chapter, pages to read from an Usborne encyclopedia, and a picture book recommendation. For us, the study guide is a great addition to the reading book.

[jrichstad]

9 hours ago, medawyn said:

I have it and am previewing it for next year (3rd grade), but I'm honestly leaning more toward OUP's The World in Ancient Times series.  

I'm using this with my advanced 5th grader and I don't think I'd go younger except in a really exceptional situation. They really are more middle-school level.

Of course someone else may have a different perspective 🙂

[medawyn]

9 hours ago, jrichstad said:

I'm using this with my advanced 5th grader and I don't think I'd go younger except in a really exceptional situation. They really are more middle-school level.

Of course someone else may have a different perspective 🙂

Thanks for this.  I'm reviewing them in detail in a few weeks. This is a kid who reads college level history texts for fun (he's deeply interested in WW2, which means a lot of books get taken away when I realize he's purloined them from my shelves).  I'm still not sure that OUP is the right way to go for him - and I'd plan on the series taking 2-3 years - but at a glance, I can already tell I wouldn't consider it for my other kids at a similar age.

[jrichstad]

5 hours ago, medawyn said:

This is a kid who reads college level history texts for fun 

Well that definitely sounds like an exceptional situation!

[Elle Tee]

I've been curious about History Quest too, especially how it compares to Story of the World. I want to start from the beginning with history the year after next, so it seems like a good time to pick a comprehensive program. It sounds like they are similar, with HQ being more secular. It sounds like HQ might be more concise to fit into a typical school year? I think the SotW book was over 40 chapters, which may mean more squeezing in order to fit into a year -- but I don't know for sure.

[Shoes+Ships+SealingWax]

2 hours ago, Elle Tee said:

I've been curious about History Quest too, especially how it compares to Story of the World. I want to start from the beginning with history the year after next, so it seems like a good time to pick a comprehensive program. It sounds like they are similar, with HQ being more secular. It sounds like HQ might be more concise to fit into a typical school year? I think the SotW book was over 40 chapters, which may mean more squeezing in order to fit into a year -- but I don't know for sure.

History Quest is completely secular. I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s more concise; there are fewer chapters (28 in Middle Times) but they are longer. The content is excellent! 

[Cake and Pi]

 

On 3/19/2021 at 5:37 AM, medawyn said:

Thanks for this.  I'm reviewing them in detail in a few weeks. This is a kid who reads college level history texts for fun (he's deeply interested in WW2, which means a lot of books get taken away when I realize he's purloined them from my shelves).  I'm still not sure that OUP is the right way to go for him - and I'd plan on the series taking 2-3 years - but at a glance, I can already tell I wouldn't consider it for my other kids at a similar age.

I'm using OUP The World in Ancient Times series with an outlier 3rd grader (plus 5th and 7th graders) this year. He thinks it's great. It is solidly middle school level, no more difficult than Hakim's History of US. I like to read (or have my kids read to themselves) the corresponding chapter in HQ as an overview before we dive deep in OUP. I also use the HQ guide a bit. Usually I give my kids Writing Revolution style assignments in history, but when we need a lighter day or I don't feel like coming up with a writing assignment I'll pull out the longer dictation or comprehension questions from HQ. We also do the map work. If we weren't so busy I know my 3rd grader would appreciate many of the hands-on activities in the guide as well.

[nature girl]

We've been using HQ this year with my 5th grader, and will have gone through both Ancient and Early Modern within the year. It's perfect for her age, I don't think kids under 10 would get as much from it, but the language isn't complex so they'd at least understand it. I like the curriculum quite a bit, especially Early Modern--Ancient didn't have as many interesting stories, IMO, and battle after battle seemed to run together--my daughter is just so-so about it all, but she's not a history fan in general. We're not using the study guide, I just do separate map work with her and find the corresponding pages and links in the Usborne Encyclopedia. Much of the guide seemed like busy work to me (coloring pages, cooking, crafts) which is great if you like that stuff, I just don't think we'd ever do it here.

The History Hops are really the highlight for us, and the Hygge weeks have been much enjoyed, and really add texture to the curriculum.