U.S. History?

[birchbark]

Any fabulous U.S. history courses I should know about? This is for a sophomore. I was thinking about Adam Andrew's new class but am unsure about the only-once-a-month class schedule. This student is not a big reader so would prefer something with an audio/visual component.

[birchbark]

I guess not, lol? At this point I'm leaning toward Excelsior's class which uses Land of Hope. We've used a few of their classes and like them. If anyone is familiar with this text or the instructor, Becky Frank, I'd be interested in reviews. 

If I go with this, I'll try to remember to give my own review in a year. 

I sure like Adam Andrews though. Ugh. Decisions.

[mlktwins]

Sorry you didn’t get any feedback.  My guys are rising seniors and we are doing DE US History next year.  I’m no help.

[Lucy the Valiant]

We just wrapped up U. S. History using Land of Hope (and the fantastic student book, too) alongside Hillsdale College's free video lectures. It's a "short" class (not 32 full weeks), so we added in some field trips, a couple of local projects & documentaries, and I had the students each take both U. S. History CLEP exams, too. The 3 kids I had really appreciated the class, and I (as facilitator) deeply appreciated the thought-provoking conversations that followed. The lectures assumed a functional working knowledge of the facts of U.S. History, and struck an authentic balance between acknowledging the ugly parts of U. S. history while still highlighting the uniqueness of this experiment in self-governance. "Land of Hope" is not just the book title; it's the theme of the lecture series. Exactly what we were looking for.

Logistics: I went through the student book at the beginning of the year and selected "essay questions" that the kids had to submit in writing before we met for class; during class time, we orally discussed the other questions from that chapter, and then watched the lecture video for the next chapter. Kids took quizzes through the Hillsdale site, which were not difficult at all. 

10/10

Edited May 4, 2022 by Lucy the Valiant

[MJmom]

I’ve pieced together a US History class using resources from BYL 5 & 6 as well as GH’s. I object to the spine used GH and a few of their late 20th century titles, but their book list is great otherwise. BYL also has a level 12 US history, but I’ve heard it’s very heavy and more college-level. I’m actually very excited about what I’ve put together. 

We’ll be studying US history and literature M-R. On Fridays, we’re going to do a State Study, Current Events, and American Culture. American Culture will explore American art, music, poetry, and film concurrent with our history lessons. We’ll also cook some heritage recipes. I think it should be fun and will balance the darker themes we need to confront in history. We school year round and I’m thinking it will take us 2 summers and school year to complete

[Reefgazer]

History Odessey is top-notch n this category, I think.

[birchbark]

So Adam Andrews is going to use Land of Hope too.

[cintinative]

K12's The American Odyssey is pretty well done, but we have only used part of it, and it is not a full curriculum. If you want tests, projects, etc. you have to add those yourself. Maybe Oak Meadow has something for that? You can buy the text used on Amazon.