US History with SOTW..DIY or purchase curriculum?

[Janeway]

We do Story of the World. I would also like to cover US specifically. I was also hoping to find something for Texas history.

I am wondering if I should just go forward as normal with SOTW and whenever it comes to US history type topics, dig deeper with books and internet resources and spend more time on it. I was also thinking of making a second timeline for the US history to run along side the world history.

Alternatively, I have considered purchasing a separate US history program and focusing on that but still do the SOTW audio and reading. (I already own all the components as this is the program I did with the older kids).

[knitgrl]

We have done the SOTW history cycle here w/ dd12 (now on her second round) and ds8 and dd7. The oldest just finished Early Modern and the younger two are finishing up Middle Ages. As this is our last chance to do something altogether before dd enters high school, we will hopefully do RCH's fourth volume altogether, which is American history. I am also hoping to tie in NYS history, depending on how my health issues pan out.

[Porridge]

My kids read Hakim’s History of US alongside SOTW. The chapters  are short and easy to read, so it really didn’t feel like work. 

[Xahm]

4 hours ago, WTM said:

My kids read Hakim’s History of US alongside SOTW. The chapters  are short and easy to read, so it really didn’t feel like work. 

This is what we are doing. My kids have loved History of US, and I've been really impressed.

[HomeAgain]

So, we actually ended up with this: Our Land Of Liberty. There's a My Texas and My California set as well.

It's not particularly engaging, but I didn't need it to be.  I needed it to be a springboard and touchpoint to issues going on at the same time.  Every week I'd pick one American topic to go over with a literature book that went with SOTW.  As necessary, we'd take out the corresponding leaflet to see what else was going on in the states compared to the global timeline.

[SilverMoon]

I've done both with my older kids and strongly prefer saving the deeper US study for its own year.  My youngest did SOTW in 1st-4th and then had a US focused year for 5th with a different curriculum. It was more efficient to focus on one thing at a time, and it was less work/stress for me. 🙂

[Slache]

On 6/11/2022 at 4:58 AM, HomeAgain said:

So, we actually ended up with this: Our Land Of Liberty. There's a My Texas and My California set as well.

It's not particularly engaging, but I didn't need it to be.  I needed it to be a springboard and touchpoint to issues going on at the same time.  Every week I'd pick one American topic to go over with a literature book that went with SOTW.  As necessary, we'd take out the corresponding leaflet to see what else was going on in the states compared to the global timeline.

I don't understand how big these are. I'm interested in the Texas one but I have no idea how long it would take.

[HomeAgain]

8 minutes ago, Slache said:

I don't understand how big these are. I'm interested in the Texas one but I have no idea how long it would take.

They are thin, like 1-2 folded pages to make a 8.5x11in pamphlet.  There's not a lot of information in the student pamphlets about each topic it covers.  They want to cover a lot, but with that little room each topic only gets a short blurb. I just pulled out ours, and the entire year of student pages fits in a case that is about 3/4in wide.  However, the teacher's guide that goes with breaks down each pamphlet into daily work (5 lessons for each) with a focus on classroom discussion.  There are simple map activities, but not a lot (or any) expectation that students will research further on their own. 

It's why I used it to just touch base, find something interesting, and help my kid go deeper into that rather than use this as intended.  The lessons in this are intended to be relatively short, like 30 minutes in a full classroom, so about 10-15 minutes at home.

[Servant4Christ]

On 6/10/2022 at 4:55 PM, knitgrl said:

We have done the SOTW history cycle here w/ dd12 (now on her second round) and ds8 and dd7. The oldest just finished Early Modern and the younger two are finishing up Middle Ages. As this is our last chance to do something altogether before dd enters high school, we will hopefully do RCH's fourth volume altogether, which is American history. I am also hoping to tie in NYS history, depending on how my health issues pan out.

Would you mind sharing with me what you're using for this? 

[EKS]

We really liked the concise edition of A History of US.  I'm not really a fan of the original edition.

[knitgrl]

12 hours ago, Servant4Christ said:

Would you mind sharing with me what you're using for this? 

I haven't made any firm decisions yet, but these are the resources I have:

I used this text as a spine the first time around with dd12: https://www.amazon.com/New-York-Adventures-Time-Place/dp/0021491127/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3HMNRIEIPZSO8&keywords=0021491127&qid=1655209331&sprefix=0021491127%2Caps%2C83&sr=8-1

I found this one at a used curriculum sale: https://www.amazon.com/Social-Studies-New-York-Gold/dp/0328241091/ref=sr_1_1?crid=12D48B39QESLI&keywords=0328241091&qid=1655209463&sprefix=0328241091%2Caps%2C81&sr=8-1 

Comparing the two, the first one is a more traditional text, like what I experienced as a child. The second one has larger font and looks to be aimed at a younger audience. It's very busy with graphics and side bars and all that.

Not history exactly, but some other fun NYS resources:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0989333310/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I don't know if they are still doing it, but I picked up the "Atlas of New York: Legacies of the Erie Canal" and "Geographic Lessons for the Atlas of New York" from the NY Geographic Alliance about four or five years ago. http://www.nygeographicalliance.org. The books are mentioned on the website, but it's not readily apparent how to get them. So I emailed them about it and they sent the two spiral bound books to me for free.