SOTW compared to History Quest

[TheAttachedMama]

Can anyone tell me which of these you prefer and why?   

 

Also, feel free to offer any alternative suggestions!  🙂 

[Green Bean]

SOTW is a lower reading level than HQ.

[soenso]

HQ is secular

[Janeway]

Story of the World is secular too. I felt HQ has too much bias in it and not enough meat to it.

[TheAttachedMama]

I was hoping we could steer this thread in a direction other than "secular vs. non-secular".   (Only because that has the potential to be controversial and derail the thread as people debate whether or not SOTW is secular or not.  I've read all of the SOTW books, so I know what to expect in those. )

I guess I am wondering specifically about readability:  Is HQ just as interesting as SOTW?

I am also wondering about age appropriateness:   Is HQ appropriate for a 3rd grader?

I am also wondering about review and retention:  My kids never seem to retain much from SOTW.  That changed when we used Memoria Press because there is review and drill and memory work built in.  I am wondering if HQ might provide any of that?   (MP is a bit dry and I am just looking at other options for my youngest child.) 

 

[HomeAgain]

So, I will say that I preferred the full program that SOTW was to the History Odyssey programs.  HQ samples were much more wordy than SOTW and I didn't feel they matched the age they were marketed for. 

Our goals for early history were different, though, than I suspect yours are.  I wanted to create memories associated with historical events.  I wasn't concerned about immediate recall or drill of specifics.  We spent a lot of time doing projects, playing, and using SOTW as a storybook to immerse ourselves in the time period.

There are other programs that do come with a workbook, so you're not building in review yourself with weekly connections on the timeline or putting maps together to show changes.  You might check out Curiosity Chronicles, which may offer more review but at a higher $$.

[Janeway]

21 minutes ago, TheAttachedMama said:

 

I am also wondering about review and retention:  My kids never seem to retain much from SOTW.  That changed when we used Memoria Press because there is review and drill and memory work built in.  I am wondering if HQ might provide any of that?   (MP is a bit dry and I am just looking at other options for my youngest child.) 

 

My older kids loved and retained Story of the World very well. Also, the point of history at this level is not to memorize dates or facts and such but rather to get an idea of history and understand how it works and how things work together. In the later years, like 3rd grade and above, I would expect a child to retain a little more, but I am not sure how much you want them to retain. But at the end of the year, I would expect a child to be able to look at the time line or pull out their note book and be able to point to some things they did and tell something about it. For my children, they would enjoy some stories more than others and we would go deeper in to them. One week, we might listen to the story and move on. Most weeks, we at least do the map work or something else from it. But some weeks, something interests us enough that we get extra books and movies and internet searches, etc on them, and do activities, etc.  At the end of 1st grade, I might expect a child to be able to tell me something about what they learned, with their memory jogged by seeing things they had done during the year. By end of 4th grade, I would expect my child to be able to tell me in depth about a few things and a little bit about several more, guided by being able to look back at things they had, such as summaries, the memory cards, etc. 

My now 6th grader has had a lot of trouble with taking in the information he has learned. I have had to switch over to having him read the book himself while I read to the other kids. My older children never had that problem. I do not know if this is because these days, kids rely a lot on computers and ipads, which are very stimulating visually and are interactive. I am having my 6th grader tested for an audio learning disability, even though he has no academic struggles at all, just trouble following audio things. 

If you have the activity guide, there is review in there with memory cards and such. But there is no value at all to kids this age memorizing a bunch of dates and facts. 

[TheAttachedMama]

1 hour ago, HomeAgain said:

So, I will say that I preferred the full program that SOTW was to the History Odyssey programs.  HQ samples were much more wordy than SOTW and I didn't feel they matched the age they were marketed for. 

Our goals for early history were different, though, than I suspect yours are.  I wanted to create memories associated with historical events.  I wasn't concerned about immediate recall or drill of specifics.  We spent a lot of time doing projects, playing, and using SOTW as a storybook to immerse ourselves in the time period.

There are other programs that do come with a workbook, so you're not building in review yourself with weekly connections on the timeline or putting maps together to show changes.  You might check out Curiosity Chronicles, which may offer more review but at a higher $$.

 

A huge goal of mine is to create fun memories surrounding history.  

However, speaking of retention:   I also never used the review cards that come with SOTW.  I always started the year with good intentions and then would forget....or get "behind".   So maybe actually using those would help. 

[caffeineandbooks]

Re SOTW retention: A tip I picked up from a fellow boardie is to do the timeline once a month or so, rather than every week.  That way you review the previous month's stuff as you're adding details.  I ask some context questions too: was that before or after X event?  What other events do we know about in that century?  Or even, have we heard a story like this before? - As you know, SWB is great at giving repeating patterns so that kids can deduce that ancient settlements tended to be on rivers, or that strong kings build empires but when the line of kings weakens, so does the kingdom and someone else takes over, or that good rulers unite their subjects with things like common law, language, religion.  If my kids can see a connection between Clovis, Justinian and Hammurabi, they're likely to remember all three.

[Anne Elliot]

We're using both right now. I prefer SOTW, my 3rd grader prefers History Quest. I don't think it's as readable or interesting but he does 🤷‍♀️ There is more information in HQ so that may be why.  He also likes the History Hops more than the stories and  myths in SOTW. 

[Kristin S]

We tried SOTW last year, and my daughter wasn't interested. This year we went with HQ, and she's far more engaged. She really enjoys the time traveling History Hops that go along with each chapter. 

They're both so similar in layout. Both have discussion questions, projects, copywotk, and additional reading suggestions. I honestly don't think you can go wrong with either, and I would sample both audiobooks to see what one your child is drawn to.

[Shoes+Ships+SealingWax]

We’ve used HQ Middle Times over the past 2yrs & used SOTW Ancients prior to that as part of History Odyssey. 

HQ is beautifully written & densely-packed with information. For my DS, who is very bright but has ADHD, it’s been a bit too dense. In order for him to retain anything we needed to slow down significantly - hence taking 2yrs on the level. He adores the History Hops & has thoroughly enjoyed the Hygge weeks (weeks spent entirely on mythology from a particular culture) but is just now getting to where the chapters aren’t overwhelming. The density also means we aren’t often able to accommodate the hands-on projects, which are hugely appealing to him & tend to be what he remembers best.

We will be switching back to History Odyssey, which uses SotW, next year for Early Modern. SotW is much lighter & the chapters are shorter, which leaves more room for additional activities. The style of History Odyssey, with its map work, ample hands-on projects, & flexible types / amounts of supplemental reading, suits DS better. 

I’ll continue to purchase the HQ texts as they come out, because they are lovely, & assign the chapters as supplemental independent reading at the middle school level - but we won’t continue to use HQ as our main approach at the elementary level. 

Edited March 27, 2022 by Shoes+Ships+SealingWax

[Dianthus]

On 3/24/2022 at 3:44 PM, caffeineandbooks said:

Re SOTW retention: A tip I picked up from a fellow boardie is to do the timeline once a month or so, rather than every week.  That way you review the previous month's stuff as you're adding details.  I ask some context questions too: was that before or after X event?  What other events do we know about in that century?  Or even, have we heard a story like this before? - As you know, SWB is great at giving repeating patterns so that kids can deduce that ancient settlements tended to be on rivers, or that strong kings build empires but when the line of kings weakens, so does the kingdom and someone else takes over, or that good rulers unite their subjects with things like common law, language, religion.  If my kids can see a connection between Clovis, Justinian and Hammurabi, they're likely to remember all three.

Well, I feel silly. We did sotw 1-3, took a couple unsuccessful detours, now we have been back at sotw 4 for about 8 weeks. Where is the timeline? I don't recall using one with sotw. I must be doing it wrong or missing something. I do remember making flashcards, but not the timeline. 😒

[caffeineandbooks]

No, don't feel silly!  The dates are de-emphasised in the SOTW book, but a timeline is suggested particularly for logic stage kids in WTM.  You can find parent-created timeline cards for SOTW 1 & 2 via a Google search for a print-and-stick option, or have the kids pick out an important date from each Usborne/Kingfisher spread.  I'm not aware of a Peace Hill Press open and go option like the flashcards though.