carrierocha Posted March 13 Share Posted March 13 (edited) My rising 10th grader LOVES all things Spanish language and Latin American. She's taking a Spanish course she loves. She uses Spanish in her volunteer activities. She's a dual citizen - Brazilian and American - as her father is an immigrant from Brazil. She's traveling to El Salvador this summer. I want to fan the flame of this passion in her and am looking for input and ideas. Anyone have experience shifting literature to a focused course like "Latin American literature" and history to "South American History." Or any reasons to not go niche with this stuff? For history/social studies: I was thinking maybe a combo of a Great Course called "Lost Worlds of South America" plus Guest Hollow's Geography curriculum for Latin American countries (we already own that and all the books). Other resources? For Latin American literature: I took a Latin American lit class in college, but that was back when the years began with "19" so it is fuzzy in my mind. I remember reading works by Gabriel García Márquez and there's the Spanish classic "Don Quijote." Other titles/authors/historical fiction set in Latin America or other ideas? If I can pull something together here, I might lead a book club with a group of middle/high schoolers. For context: She'll go to college, but doesn't want to get into a competitive school. She wants a degree for the least amount of money. That to say, she doesn't need to be competitive for the sake of college admissions. Edited March 13 by carrierocha 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porridge Posted March 13 Share Posted March 13 My DD’s 9th grade history was History of Africa. 10th grad is Middle Eastern History. We go by her interests. She is studying Arabic, so the history classes pair with the language. I am hoping that is ok for college admissions, too. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porridge Posted March 13 Share Posted March 13 This site has a list of important authors and works. @Farrar might have some suggestions, too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silver Posted March 13 Share Posted March 13 I kind of did that in high school (also when the years started with 19). I had a one semester history course and a one semester culture course. We studied music, dance, art, and literature in the culture course. The specifics are pretty fuzzy. I remember reading The House on Mango Street, but I can't remember what else we read. We dabbled a bit in learning to play the guitar during our music study. The history of South America during the time of their revolutions from Spain was really interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted March 13 Share Posted March 13 (edited) @carrierocha Sounds great!! Have fun! Woohoo for homeschooling and courses tailored to the student! Edited March 13 by ScoutTN 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 Go look at the materials for the Online G3 Latin American history class. I can't remember what they all were, but I remember thinking they'd chosen well. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jplain Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 The OnlineG3 class is using Born in Blood and Fire this year. It is great. I love that the author went out of his way to mention notable women in Latin American history. I'm not much of an audiobook fan, but I really enjoyed listening to the Audible version while on morning walks during the height of the pandemic. The OnlineG3 class is also using the accompanying primary sources book and Ada Ferrer's book Cuba. I haven't gotten around to reading either of those, but my daughter is thoroughly enjoying the reading. (She says the class discussions aren't adding much for her though.) 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carrierocha Posted August 18 Author Share Posted August 18 @jplain - any chance you have a copy of the syllabus for the Online G3 course that you could send me? I am basically looking to see if the instructor had kids read part of the Cuba book alongside the Born in Blood and Fire - since they are both chronological histories or if the reading was organized another way. Could you send me a DM with the syllabus, if you have it? Please. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jplain Posted August 26 Share Posted August 26 On 8/18/2024 at 6:12 PM, carrierocha said: @jplain - any chance you have a copy of the syllabus for the Online G3 course that you could send me? I am basically looking to see if the instructor had kids read part of the Cuba book alongside the Born in Blood and Fire - since they are both chronological histories or if the reading was organized another way. Could you send me a DM with the syllabus, if you have it? Please. Sorry, I only just saw this! They were reading both books simultaneously, but I can check with my daughter if you need more detail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carrierocha Posted August 26 Author Share Posted August 26 I would really love to see the syllabus or weekly reading assignments anyway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klmama Posted September 3 Share Posted September 3 (edited) Here are some good Latin American short stories: Jorge Luis Borges: El milagro secreto (The Secret Miracle), La casa de Asterión (The House of Asterion) Horacio Quiroga: El almohadán de plumas (The Feather Pillow) These Borges stories aren't the ones that show up on all the lists, but I think they are more accessible to high school students. My dc read these and some others, but these were the favorites. Edited September 3 by klmama 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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