What was your 3- or 4-year plan for history/social sciences?

[EKT]

Hi!

I'm trying to figure out a 4-year history plan with my rising 9th grader. She is heavily art-focused and would love to do a one-year art history course for at least one of her social science credits (most likely senior year), but I want to make sure we're getting in the expected/typical college-prep history progression as well. What is the basic college prep social science progression? One year of world history followed by one year of American history? Yes/no? Then what?

I ask because I'm seeing a lot of different offerings on different curriculum websites. I guess I'm confused because I feel like American government is important, but then where does that leave world geography? Economics? Psychology? Which of these are required? We'd love to skip economics, if possible. (We'll definitely be doing personal finance, but none of us has any interest in economics....)

Most college admissions websites I've visited just say "3 years of social sciences" are their minimum requirements, but they don't offer specifics. My daughter would love to do something super focused, such as a year-long deep dive into a topic like World War II or women's history or women's studies or Renaissance art history, but I'm unsure if this is okay, as far as college admissions goes? (Could art history BE her world history course? Does world history have to be a survey course of the entire globe, or could it focus on just, say, early European history?) I would love advice from the experienced!

Mostly, I'd love to know the 3- or 4-year history progression your child did for high school, and why. Bonus points if you include the specific curriculum you chose (or a quick description of a course you put together yourself.) Thank you so much!

 

 

[Lori D.]

 

55 minutes ago, EKT said:

... What is the basic college prep social science progression? One year of world history followed by one year of American history? Yes/no? Then what? [SEE BELOW]

...  I'm confused because I feel like American government is important, but then where does that leave world geography? Economics? Psychology? Which of these are required? We'd love to skip economics... [feel free to skip Econ, and, SEE BELOW]

... Most college admissions websites I've visited just say "3 years of social sciences" are their minimum requirements, but they don't offer specifics... [SEE BELOW]

... My daughter would love to do something super focused, such as a year-long deep dive into a topic like World War II or women's history or women's studies or Renaissance art history, but I'm unsure if this is okay, as far as college admissions goes? ... Does world history have to be a survey course of the entire globe, or could it focus on just, say, early European history?)... [go for it! and SEE BELOW]

... (Could art history BE her world history course? ... [I personally would not substitute Art History for History -- SEE BELOW]

There is NO particular progression or required order for Social Studies/Social Sciences. Do them when and how you wish. (i.e.: You do NOT have to do 1 year of World History followed by American History).

Most colleges seem to want 2.0 to 3.0 credits of Social Studies/Social Sciences. Some top tier/selective/competitive schools want 4.0 credits. I've seen these specific types of courses listed as college admission requirements:

- 1.0 credit American History (required by many colleges)
- 1.0 credit World History* or Geography (required by many colleges)
- 0.5 credit each Economics and Government (required by some/a few some colleges)

* = YES, your World History could absolutely be a deep dive into a particular time/location such as WW2 or Early European History

And YES, Social Studies/Social Sciences tends to be the area that colleges are most willing to be flexible about for admissions, as long as the student has the minimum # of credits in that area. So feel free to skip Economics if you wish -- even if you end up applying to the college that required Econ, since your student would be applying for Fine Arts dept. the college would be very likely to be flexible, as long as you completed 3 credits in the Social Studies/Social Sciences. 

Typically, colleges accept any/all of following for those 2.0 to 3.0 credits of Social Studies/Social Sciences:
- Anthropology
- Archeology
- Sociology
- Psychology
- Philosophy, Ethics, Logic
- Religions
- Political Science
- Women Studies, Gender Studies, or __(specific)__ Ethnic or Culture Studies
- History (Western Civ, history of a specific time/place, history of a specific people group/culture, etc.)
- Geography

As a side note, Art History tends to be listed as a Fine Arts rather than Social Sciences.
 

55 minutes ago, EKT said:

Mostly, I'd love to know the 3- or 4-year history progression your child did for high school, and why. Bonus points if you include the specific curriculum you chose (or a quick description of a course you put together yourself.) 

Since your student has some very specific interests and is planning on a Fine Arts field for college, I doubt what we did will be of any help whatsoever, but you asked what others did, so here goes:

1.0 credit = History: Ancient World = DIY with a textbook + documentaries + various other resources
1.0 credit = History: 20th Century World = DIY with a textbook + documentaries + various other resources
1.0 credit = History: U.S. = adapted Notgrass Exploring America program + documentaries + various other resources
0.5 credit = History: Church History = DH's old college text
0.5 credit = Government = textbook + a few other resources + involvement in YMCA Youth & Government
0.5 credit = Economics = Teaching Company: Economics lecture series + a few other resources + personal finance resources
1.0 credit = Worldviews = three 1-week summer sessions of Worldview Academy + multiple books over the 4 years of high school
1.0 credit = Logic = DH's old college text + a few other resources
6.5 credits = total Social Sciences

The Ancient, 20th Century, and U.S. History credits, plus the Gov't & Econ. were the 4.0 Social Sciences credits, and the others were Social Sciences Academic Elective credits.

[Lori D.]

That above long-winded post (lol) boils down to this:

If I had a child who had specific interests like you do, I would run with them and develop some great DIY courses, do justice to your courses in the separate Course Description document and let your student spotlight their learning and interest in applications, and I would bet your specialized, tailored courses will make colleges very interested in your student for having pursued passions, as it will make your student an interesting addition to their campus and programs.

@8filltheheart would be a great person to tap for help in how to go about designing some fantastic courses for your student. Just my opinion! 😄

Warmest regards, Lori D.

[EKT]

8 minutes ago, Lori D. said:

That above long-winded post (lol) boils down to this:

If I had a child who had specific interests like you do, I would run with them and develop some great DIY courses, do justice to your courses in the separate Course Description document and let your student spotlight their learning and interest in applications, and I would bet your specialized, tailored courses will make colleges very interested in your student for having pursued passions, as it will make your student an interesting addition to their campus and programs.

@8filltheheart would be a great person to tap for help in how to go about designing some fantastic courses for your student. Just my opinion! 😄

Warmest regards, Lori D.

Thank you x 1,000!! This is so incredibly helpful!

[kristin0713]

In addition to what Lori said, your state might have specific requirements for graduation.  Mine requires world, US, and civics. 

[SDMomof3]

My daughter took art history for her fine arts requirement 

[BusyMom5]

As long as you are meeting the college admission requirements,  it won't matter.   My oldest ended up with quite a few Social Studies credits due to Dual Enrollment.   

9th- World Geography 

10th- US History 

11th & 12th Dual Enrollment, each 1 credit

US History 1877-Present

Government/Political Science 

Psychology 

Macroeconomics

Microeconomics 

 

She also took an Art history class at college- not sure if it counted for a fine art or social studies.

 

DD2 is just in 10th,  so far 

9th- World History (1) and World Religions (.5)

10th- US History to Reconstruction (1)

11th- US History Reconstruction to Present (not sure if this will be 1 or .5), and DE Political Science in Spring (1)

 

 

 

[8filltheheart]

I design the majority of my kids' courses, definitely all of history, some of their social sciences (I don't design macro/micro.  They use Thinkwell for those.) Here are some of the courses I have designed:

Western Civilization

Imperial Russian History, Arts, and Culture

Communism in the Twentieth Century

American Government

American History  

Art History

Linguistics 

French History (in French using a French history book (not a textbook) 

A lot of their couses intertwine.  So dd's Russian history was intertwined with Russian language and Russian lit.  (She had a 0.5 lit credit for reading War and Peace.)  She read Les Mis in French and obviously was studying French.  

[Farrar]

Seconding what Lori said about how this is an area where it doesn't matter at all. It also varies by state a TON. It's semi-common to have 11th be US History and to do world history before US, but beyond that... requirements and sequences are a bit all over the map. For example, NC has kids do their civics class in 9th, VA has them do it in 12th. Colleges are used to seeing it in every configuration. Even more so than science.

We did:

9th - Asian and African history, and Mushroom took intro to psych as an elective
10th - European history, and Mushroom took government just because and BalletBoy took econ
11th - US history, though both kids took business classes additionally 
12th - Whatever, though BalletBoy will probably take government

Also, Mushroom took Mission Possible twice, which is like a current events class, kinda. I can't even remember which years. He's going to take it again next year.

 

Edited April 11, 2021 by Farrar

[EKT]

28 minutes ago, Farrar said:

Seconding what Lori said about how this is an area where it doesn't matter at all. It also varies by state a TON. It's semi-common to have 11th be US History and to do world history before US, but beyond that... requirements and sequences are a bit all over the map. For example, NC has kids do their civics class in 9th, VA has them do it in 12th. Colleges are used to seeing it in every configuration. Even more so than science.

 

Thank you for this reminder! I keep forgetting this - that each state has wildly different graduation requirements and that colleges get applicants from all 50 states (and internationally), so they have to be open to all different configurations. 

Your post prompted me to read the fine print of my state's (Ohio) social studies requirements (page eight) and they are so weird. Public high school students must have 3 credits in the social sciences, but the only requirements are "one-half unit of American history, one-half unit of American government, and one-half unit in world history and civilizations in the three required social studies units." (I'm not necessarily seeking to adhere to public school graduation requirements, but I like to be aware of them. I care most about college admissions requirements.) 

So, now I see I have a lot more flexibility and freedom in this area than I previously thought. This is both exciting and overwhelming, because it means I am no closer to making a decision, lol. 

[Farrar]

54 minutes ago, EKT said:

So, now I see I have a lot more flexibility and freedom in this area than I previously thought. This is both exciting and overwhelming, because it means I am no closer to making a decision, lol. 

You should really feel free to let her go crazy with whatever she wants to study. It will inevitably cover US or World history (there's really only two options there... she's presumably not going to cover the history or Mars or Narnia) so that will check off one of the two (or three if you also do government) key boxes. Art history is generally considered fine arts, so I wouldn't recommend doing only that... but if you toss in an art history credit into the midst of others, colleges aren't going to freak out. Again, do what you like.

As for suggestions...

Off the top of my head for her given what you mentioned... The AP Art History class at PAH is supposed to be very good, though I wouldn't do it in 9th. There's a Christian based Humanities class at Aim that I've heard good things about that combines art, history, and some literature but can be used as a history credit. There's a teacher - Kathryn Wall - that I've heard good things about who has a women's history course. Great Courses are excellent to use as a spine for a slightly offbeat history or social studies course about something specific. MOOC's can also be good. Most of the curricula out there are really focused on the general "US History" or "World History" or are in the Classical history mold. I'm the author of a program that's got a slightly different sequence and includes both history and literature - GPS. It's what my own kids piloted. Link's in my sig. But if you want to make something that really is different, you should feel empowered to do that and dream up an interesting reading and viewing list for her.

[fourisenough]

My current high schooler did: Ancient World in 9th, US Government in 10th, AP Psych in 11th, and she’s going to DE Intro to Sociology and possibly economics in 12th. She also took AP Art History in 10th, but, like others, we gave her credit for it in Fine Arts rather than social studies.

My older two attended PS for high school and their progression was: US History in 9th, AP Gov & AP Econ in 10th, AP World in 11th, and AP Psych in 12th.

[ScoutTN]

We didn’t really have a plan except to do a year of American. I would happily have found or created whatever course my dd wanted. We did a five yr cycle (2 yrs in Med/Ren bc it was so fun!) and a three year one through a typical history sequence before high school.
 

She did an overview of modernity from the  Enlightenment through the late 20th Century as a 9th grader. American this yr for 10th. Either no history or a very light Med/Ren or a light history of classical music next year. Govt and Econ her senior yr bc they are required by our umbrella school. 

[lewelma]

We have had so much fun with Social Studies over the years.  Lots of interest led over here. 

My older did 

US history in a world context (we actually only did from 1840-1970, so that is what I stated in my course descriptions)

Contemporary World Problems (interest led over 4 years - 4 years of daily Economist, Sci Am, and Nat Geo reading)

Philosophy (interest led over 2 years with both nonfiction and fiction)

0.5 Economics of Inequality - we read and discussed Piketty's book Capital

0.5 Comparative Government (A get it done class because it looked like he needed it for where he was applying)

My younger boy has done

World History - with trade books

Geography - with trade books (Guns, Germs, and Steel + Collapse, NZ Geographic, National Geographic) 

The Social, Economic, and Political Impact of Colonialism on Africa

Physical and Cultural Geography of the Mackinzie Basin, NZ

0.5 NZ Demographics (comparing the causes and consequences of European vs Māori demographics over 150 years)

0.5 The Causes and Consequences of the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami - (the physics of waves, the immediate response, and the long term social and economic impact. This course also studied how International aid agencies work.)

0.5 The history of Early NZ 1800-1840 (Pre Treaty of Waitangi -- the founding document of NZ)

0.5 Māori worldview, values, and protocols. (This is what we are currently studying - also includes some history and language)

Clearly the younger boy preferred deep dives to survey classes. I have absolutely loved following his lead to create classes that  really engage and challenge him. 

Edited April 11, 2021 by lewelma

[Loowit]

My older two did: Ancient History - 9th grade, World History (starting with the Roman Empire) - 10th grade, and US History - 11th/12th split.  My youngest is doing things a bit different.  His 9th grade year we did History from post-middle ages to modern times.  This year, 10th grade, he is working on ancient history.  11th grade will be world history starting the Rome forward, and 12th grade will be US history.

For other social sciences all of them are doing/have done: Health, Economics, US Government, Personal Finance, Logic,

[SDMomof3]

Dd1 took

9th World History 

10th AP Psychology

11th APUSH

12th Econ/ Government 

Dd2 took

9th World History 

10th AP European History 

11th APUSH

12th Econ/ Government and

        AP Psychology

They both took AP Art History in 10th for fine arts 

Edited April 11, 2021 by SDMomof3

[Cake and Pi]

2 hours ago, lewelma said:

Contemporary World Problems (interest led over 4 years - 4 years of daily Economist, Sci Am, and Nat Geo reading)

Philosophy (interest led over 2 years with both nonfiction and fiction)

How did you list these on the transcript and divvy out credits per year?

[lewelma]

1 hour ago, Cake and Pi said:

How did you list these on the transcript and divvy out credits per year?

I listed them in the year that the majority of the work was completed, and indicated that this is what I did in my school profile document.  Sometimes I just put the course in the year that needed another course to show that his workload was evenly distributed over 4 years. I then described in the course description that the work was done over multiple years.  I've posted these course descriptions before to help people who are trying to count work that their kids have done that was never planned or organized prior to the work.

Contemporary World Problems. (1 credit)

This course covered political, economic, social, and environmental problems and sought to understand current events from a historical perspective. The course explored relationships between events, evaluated competing beliefs and goals, and identified bias. Scientific and technological advancements were also studied to better understand the part they play in solving some of the world’s most difficult problems. These periodicals were read year-round throughout high school, yielding 800 hours of reading. The course included reading assignments, participation in discussions, short essays, and a research paper.

Texts: The Economist, National Geographic, Scientific American.

 

The History of Western Thought. (1 credit)

This course examined the development of the western intellectual tradition from the Greeks through to 20th-century thinkers. Topics included metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, and political philosophy. The course examined the rational basis of belief in all areas of inquiry, and taught critical and creative thinking and how to construct a cogent argument. In addition to studying the great thinkers of each era, philosophical novels by classic authors were read and discussed over multiple years including Voltaire, Faust, Dostoyevsky, Borges, Camu, Hemingway, and Vonnegut. The course also took a detour into the philosophy of consciousness and how it can be analytically modelled. The course included reading assignments, participation in discussions, and short essays.

Textbooks: Blackburn. Think: A Compelling Introduction to Philosophy. 1999.

Garvey. The Twenty Greatest Philosophy Books. 2006.

Hofstadter. Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid. 1979.

Lecture Series: Justice. EdX. Harvard University

 

[lewelma]

12 hours ago, Cake and Pi said:

How did you list these on the transcript and divvy out credits per year?

I will add that I had to deal with this issue with multiple courses including physics, chemistry, and English.  Here in NZ, he had to take the national exams and there are 5 exams worth differing amounts for each exam for each course.  He loved physics and just kept doing a bit every year. So for a 22 NZ credit high school physics class he did 12 credits sophomore year, 7 credits junior year, and 3 credits senior year. So I listed physics in his sophomore year.  He did chemistry over 2 years and it went into Junior year because then I had one science in each year. 12th grade English exams were done over 2 years (Sophomore and Senior year) but I put 12th grade English into 12th grade. In addition to this, NZ is in the southern hemisphere so the school year is February to December, and I chose to instead align it with the USA school year for a variety of reasons.  In the end, my transcript looked normal. It looked like my son had done around 7 courses each year. It was quite tidy. It was in my school profile that I explained the choices I had made.  And *no one* cared.  I was careful to never lie, but I did summarize in a way that admissions could understand. Self-driven education is messy. Admissions doesn't want to see the mess, so you do the best you can and move on.  

Edited April 11, 2021 by lewelma

[MamaSprout]

Planning is what happens when your dc is off reading other things... laughing hysterically. So far I've managed to make it look tidy on the transcript.

 

[EKS]

If your daughter is already well versed in American and world history, I'd put a statement in your course descriptions that points this out.  Something like "This advanced course assumed prior knowledge of world history and focused on..."

 

[EKT]

4 hours ago, EKS said:

If your daughter is already well versed in American and world history, I'd put a statement in your course descriptions that points this out.  Something like "This advanced course assumed prior knowledge of world history and focused on..."

 

Oh, this is good advice! Thank you for this. We've done TONS of American history over the years, so I was wondering how to frame her study of it at the high school level. 

[katilac]

We did four credits of world history and one credit of civics/free enterprise. 

[Momto6inIN]

Seconding everything @Lori D. said 🙂

Oldest DS was very uninterested in history and did Ancient World History in 9th, Medieval/Renaissance World History in 10th, US Government/Economics in 11th, and US History in 12th. 2nd DS was slightly more interested and did US Government/Economics in 9th (with older DS), Ancient/Medieval World History in 10th, US History & Comparative Government & Politics in the same year in 11th, and none in 12th. Both wanted to just get 'er done and chose textbooks vs something more interactive and fun.

DD is much more interested and she chose Great Courses lectures as her primary input. She has/will have World Geography/Cultures/Religions, in 9th US History in 10th, US Government/Economics in 11ths, and Sociology at the CC in 12th.

I don't think Economics is necessary AT ALL for college admissions. But ... I will say that it was one of the most valuable courses we've ever done and has made my kids (and me!) much more informed voters and citizens.

[Swimmer1112]

We did 3 credits of history, 10- world history, 11th- us history, 12 government/ economics 

Edited April 13, 2021 by Swimmer1112

[kiwik]

On 4/11/2021 at 12:43 PM, Farrar said:

Seconding what Lori said about how this is an area where it doesn't matter at all. It also varies by state a TON. It's semi-common to have 11th be US History and to do world history before US, but beyond that... requirements and sequences are a bit all over the map. For example, NC has kids do their civics class in 9th, VA has them do it in 12th. Colleges are used to seeing it in every configuration. Even more so than science.

We did:

9th - Asian and African history, and Mushroom took intro to psych as an elective
10th - European history, and Mushroom took government just because and BalletBoy took econ
11th - US history, though both kids took business classes additionally 
12th - Whatever, though BalletBoy will probably take government

Also, Mushroom took Mission Possible twice, which is like a current events class, kinda. I can't even remember which years. He's going to take it again next year.

 

Just to say I really like the look of GPS and hope to use it (maybe over 18 months for each though).  Getting the books will be a challenge though.

[cintinative]

We are still in process.  I hesitated to post because we are so early on, and changes may happen. 

My oldest's progression is messed up because we took a detour after 7th.

His was/is:

7th Ancient History (and Lit--Great Books)

8th started Modern World History--tacked on U.S. History over summer, going to transcript it in 9th as U.S. History from Civil War in a World Context

9th Medieval through Reformation History (with Great Books) (also did Med Lit)

10th Early Modern History (with Great Books) (plus early modern lit)

11th Govt/Econ (plus modern lit)

 

My youngest will have the benefit of a cleaner progression. I haven't pinned down the names yet.

9th. Western Civ with Great Books 1 (with Ancient lit)

10th Western Civ with Great Books 2/U.S. History in World Context (with Medieval Lit)

11th Western Civ with Great Books 3/U.S. History in World Context (with Early Modern Lit)

12th. Govt/Econ (with Modern lit)

Edited April 23, 2021 by cintinative

[theelfqueen]

One of my kids did :

0.5 US Government 

0.5 Economics

0.5 Russian History

0.5 British History

0.5 Big History Project

1.0 US History Reconstruction to Modern

1.0 World Govt

 

The youngest  currently has/ in progress- 

1.0 Ancient History

1.0 Medieval History

0.5 World War II 

0.5 US Government 

[MamaSprout]

Out path has been messy. I bought materials and wrote plans for a different path. What our transcript looks like:

9th Contemporary World History and Geography. A bunch of contemporary biographies, Human Odyssey 3, MP Geography 3 + podcasts/ periodicals.  (Dd also started and dropped a DE poli sci course on the last day to drop. I learned to check Rate My Professors after that). With World Literature and a semester Rhetoric class.

10th Government + Economy, Society, Public Policy: A combination of short courses (Outschool mock Security Council and HSSP + a work text to finish government). The Core book and short courses for Economics. With AP Lang. Still in progress.

11th (scheduled): DE American History or By the Onion Sea St. Petersburg courses. If we do the BtOS courses, it's robust enough that I'll assign a little additional Russian lit and call it Integrated Russian Literature and History. She might need to pick up the "easy A" online version of the DE class for American History in the summer. One of her target colleges want to see US History. Also the Mission Possible Class and another Outschool class in World Religions). And quarter-year homegrown Linguistics and a quarter year essay class if graduating early so that she has 8 semesters of English. 

12th (if home) DE Sociology or whatever BtOS/ LOtB courses (if they are available online). English LOtB and /or above-mentioned Linguistics/ essay combo and maybe DE Speech depending on where she's going (if it transfers).

Edited April 23, 2021 by MamaSprout

[chiguirre]

OP, if you'd like to do an art history focused European History class, I'd look at Humanities textbooks like this one:

https://smile.amazon.com/Humanities-through-Arts-David-Martin/dp/0073523984/ref=sr_1_2?crid=DYE95EK9GDSU&dchild=1&keywords=humanities+through+the+arts+10th+edition&qid=1619178673&sprefix=humanities%2Caps%2C225&sr=8-2

Dd and I used a similar textbook in the summer after 8th grade that seems to have been discontinued because one of the authors died. That author, F.X. Noble has a series of lectures on Western Civ on the Great Courses that you might like.

https://smile.amazon.com/Western-Humanities-Matthews-Dewitt-Paperback/dp/B009O2MOFO/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=the+western+humanities+volume+1+7th+edition&qid=1619178804&sr=8-1

These are textbooks that are used in college Humanities courses that combine history with the arts, literature and philosophy. You can easily concentrate of the visual arts but the textbook will provide an easy to use spine for your class.

[EKT]

1 hour ago, chiguirre said:

OP, if you'd like to do an art history focused European History class, I'd look at Humanities textbooks like this one:

https://smile.amazon.com/Humanities-through-Arts-David-Martin/dp/0073523984/ref=sr_1_2?crid=DYE95EK9GDSU&dchild=1&keywords=humanities+through+the+arts+10th+edition&qid=1619178673&sprefix=humanities%2Caps%2C225&sr=8-2

Dd and I used a similar textbook in the summer after 8th grade that seems to have been discontinued because one of the authors died. That author, F.X. Noble has a series of lectures on Western Civ on the Great Courses that you might like.

https://smile.amazon.com/Western-Humanities-Matthews-Dewitt-Paperback/dp/B009O2MOFO/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=the+western+humanities+volume+1+7th+edition&qid=1619178804&sr=8-1

These are textbooks that are used in college Humanities courses that combine history with the arts, literature and philosophy. You can easily concentrate of the visual arts but the textbook will provide an easy to use spine for your class.

Thank you for this!!! Appreciate the links!

[RootAnn]

So, my _plan_ always ended up being ignored by my kid, so here is where we ended up with the first two:

Dd#1:  2 yrs US History, 0.5 Econ, .5 Government, 1 credit for DE Psychology

Dd#2: 2 yrs US History, .5 Government,  yr Medieval World History, 1 yr Modern World History

A few of my course descriptions:

U.S. History to World War I
A balanced approach, utilizing diverse sources, both primary and secondary, is used to study the history of the United States from the founding of its first colonies to the start of World War I. Topics include the origin and theory behind the country's foundations, issues the country faced during its foundational and growth years, and racial and ethnic challenges.

Materials used:
Bennett, William. America, The Last Best Hope, Volume 1
Guelzo, Dr. Allen C., Dr. Gary W. Gallagher, and Dr. Patrick N. Allitt. History of the United States, 2nd Edition (The Great Courses)
Marrin, Albert. The War for Independence
———. Unconditional Surrender: U.S. Grant & the Civil War
———. Virginia's General: Robert E. Lee
O’Reilly, Kevin. Colonies to the Constitution (Critical Thinking Press)
———. New Republic to Civil War (Critical Thinking Press)
———. Reconstruction to Progressivism (Critical Thinking Press)
Zinn, Howard. A People's History of the United States

U.S. Government
This one-semester course provides a framework for understanding the importance of preserving and improving a constitutional democracy. It explores the foundations of our government, federalism, institutions, political parties and interest groups, public policy, and civil liberties. Activities include writing a letter to a congressional chairperson, discussing historical and current Supreme Court decisions, and oral reports on U.S. territories and cabinet positions.

U.S. History from World War I to Present
The history of the United States from World War I to modern day is the scope of this course. Changes in economics, culture, societal structure, and political climate are investigated through a study of laws, government policy, events, movements, and people.
Materials used:
Bennett, William. America, The Last Best Hope, Volumes 2 & 3
Greif, Steven. U.S. History Detective Book 2 (Critical Thinking Press)
Guelzo, Dr. Allen C., Dr. Gary W. Gallagher, and Dr. Patrick N. Allitt. History of the United States, 2nd Edition (The Great Courses)
Marrin, Albert. The Yanks are Coming
———. Hitler
———. Victory in the Pacific
———. Stalin:  Russia’s Man of Steel
———. America and Vietnam: The Elephant and the Tiger
Zinn, Howard. A People's History of the United States

 

Edited April 23, 2021 by RootAnn
added course descriptions

[NittanyJen]

Oldest used this progression: 2 years world history, 1 year US history, several semesters of dual enrollment at the local U to cover US government, micro and macro econ, and political science.

Youngest has been on this path: 2 years world history (including art history-- he thought the art history plan through Build Your Library was awesome, btw), 1 year US history, government and econ (government 1/2 year, econ 1/2 year), and for 1 year, he will actually be building a program for himself using a couple of issues of Smithsonian Magazine as spines for each interest-driven semester. He had also completed a full year US history course for his "Freshman A" year (for <reasons> he's on a 5-year high school plan).

For both boys, all non-university history courses encompassed geography, literature, music, composition*, and art. We very much do the cross-curricular plans in our homeschool. *they did do a separate rhetoric or AP Eng. course on the side as well. We can't control everything ;D

 

[eeyore]

New to High school WTM forum.  Sorry - but what is "DE"?  Haven't been able to figure that out!  Thanks! 

[theelfqueen]

DE = DUAL Enrollment - when a high school student takes college classes through a local community college or university.

[eeyore]

1 minute ago, theelfqueen said:

DE = DUAL Enrollment - when a high school student takes college classes through a local community college or university.

Wow.  thank you! 

[Lori D.]

46 minutes ago, theelfqueen said:

DE = DUAL Enrollment - when a high school student takes college classes through a local community college or university.

44 minutes ago, eeyore said:

Wow.  thank you! 

AND... most* Dual Enrollment is also Dual Credit = the credit counts on both the high school transcript AND on the college transcript.

(* = a few colleges require you to choose which to count the credit for -- high school OR college)

Edited May 9, 2021 by Lori D.

[AStableBeginning]

On 4/10/2021 at 7:26 PM, BusyMom5 said:

As long as you are meeting the college admission requirements,  it won't matter.   My oldest ended up with quite a few Social Studies credits due to Dual Enrollment.   

9th- World Geography 

10th- US History 

11th & 12th Dual Enrollment, each 1 credit

US History 1877-Present

Government/Political Science 

Psychology 

Macroeconomics

Microeconomics 

 

She also took an Art history class at college- not sure if it counted for a fine art or social studies.

 

DD2 is just in 10th,  so far 

9th- World History (1) and World Religions (.5)

10th- US History to Reconstruction (1)

11th- US History Reconstruction to Present (not sure if this will be 1 or .5), and DE Political Science in Spring (1)

 

 

 

What did you use for 9th World Geography? Thanks!

[BusyMom5]

@AStableBeginning. We used the Holt World Geography along with some interesting books and movies from the list on Guest Hollow- and I bought a book of world maps to color snd memorize

[Alice]

Oldest:

9th- Ancients using SWB’s History of Ancient World

10th- 20th Century World History 

11th- Government, started with Thinkwell and hated it so used a variety of sources 

12th- Global Perspectives Studies from Simplify Homeschool (Africa, Middle East, India and East Asia); also did AP Macro and Micro Econ from PA Homeschoolers 

 

2nd son:

9th-  Global Perspectives (same as his brother); Psychology 

10th- planning to design my own Humanities course that will be called The American Story- he’s planning on traveling a lot next year with his brother who is doing a gap year