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CrunchyMom
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Posted: May 01 2012 at 9:22am | IP Logged Quote CrunchyMom

I think I need to plot a big picture "scope and sequence" for our learning.

I know that things can change over time due to the strengths and interests of individual children, but I am finding that as I am running across materials I want to use at a future date, I need a format for organizing them for reference.

I also need a method for plotting "ideas." For instance, when I come across experienced homeschoolers' methods, I want a way to pencil them in and reference. For instance, I like JenMack's idea of doing three formal years of grammar study (I think?) in late elementary, middle, and high school.

So, I guess this question is multi-faceted. I'm very visual, so I need a method for plotting these ideas and resources and necessary subjects.

For example, I want my scope and sequence to be somewhat vague (formal grammar in x grades) and then I want to be able to record options for those vague subjects as I come across them so I can reference them as I come across ideas and resources I like but am not quite ready to use.

But also, I'm interested in knowing the sources others use for determining their own scope and sequence. Do you have specific resources you associate with specific grades? Perhaps as benchmarks or rights of passages?

Or, on a slightly different note, are there traditions you associate with specific goals and subjects? Something your children can look forward to when they reach x grade or x level of achievement?

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Posted: May 01 2012 at 4:12pm | IP Logged Quote Erica Sanchez

Lindsay,

Have you looked at Planning Your Charlotte Mason Education in 5 Simple Steps? I've mentioned it before and it is helping me organize our days. The first step she has you walk through is the 'big picture' and I thought of it when you mentioned scope and sequence.

The main objects of this chapter are:
- outline an overview for your child's education
- Record your personal goals for your home school
- determine which school subjects you want to cover during which years

She includes a chart, but I think you could create your own with spaces to pencil ideas and things you discover over the years.

The following chapters in the book have you break down your big picture overview into years, terms, weeks and days. It has been a great resource for me and I highly recommend it to anyone who needs a little (or a lot!) more organization in their homeschool.

We don't really have specific resources benchmarked for specific grades except for kindergarten. :) Some of my kids are ahead in math, some behind. We mostly do history and science together. The younger ones will get in on some disecting even though it is technically part of the older girls' biology. We have some rights of passage for movies and books, though, and that is fun.

Your post is inspiring me to be a better planner for my children's education.

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Posted: May 01 2012 at 5:42pm | IP Logged Quote Mackfam

Lindsay,
I'm not sure if this is sort of what you're looking for or not, but I developed something to help me with the kind of big-picture planning you're talking about. It is based on an idea I first saw in Simply Charlotte Mason's Planning Your Charlotte Mason Education.

2012-05-01_173404_Big_Picture_Chart.pdf

I can email you the Pages version if you have Pages for mac, Lindsay...that way you can change it to better fit your family and homeschool style. Or, I can email a Word document, but the forum wouldn't let me upload it () because it exceeds the size limitations for a file upload. Now doesn't that sound like something I'd do? Build a document big enough so that it's too big to fit here?

I liked the overall layout of the chart from SCM, but I wanted something with a few more details and that would act as a basic rudder or map for us, and could also be customized and changed when desired.

Following the big picture chart, I wanted to list each year in summary with room for listing subjects for that year (based on the big picture plan) and space for jotting down resources I hear about that I might want to look into (could be articles, books, ebooks, links). Sometimes I like to make special note of free resources. The largest space on the yearly summary tables is divided into three sections in order to keep resource ideas separated by the three terms we divide our year into. I like to print the entire thing (it's long in order to accomodate all 12 years) and keep it in each child's planning notebook. (I bind with my Proclick, and right behind this document I like to keep each child's lifelong booklist record of all their reading. I didn't start compiling those with diligence until recently, so I'm working hard to be better at that with my littler kids and trying to catch up with my bigger kids.) I like to add a post-it tab at the start of the upcoming grade for that child so I can find it easily.

What I'm sharing is my benchmark, or where we start from. I've found with my oldest dd we've varied this up a little, but overall, it's been very helpful to have a big picture plan mapped out. I print a new *big picture plan* for each child and begin compiling ideas, resources and customizing what we do and when. By the time we're done (finished with high school), what I'm left with is basically a pretty detailed transcript in draft that is just in need of summarizing.

I'm not sure if this is what you meant by an overall scope and sequence, Lindsay. But, this is what I came up with for us and it functions in a way that is a lot like what you described, so I thought I'd share in case it prompted an idea or two (even if it's for what you definitely don't want to do! ).

CrunchyMom wrote:
Do you have specific resources you associate with specific grades? Perhaps as benchmarks or rights of passages?

Or, on a slightly different note, are there traditions you associate with specific goals and subjects? Something your children can look forward to when they reach x grade or x level of achievement?

The BOC is always a big benchmark for us. As is the Commonplace Book. And in high school, as you'll see if you look closely at our big picture plan, there are some definite classical ideas listed.

I don't really make use of neo-classical ideas (though I'm grateful to that movement for having reawakened an awareness of the riches in Classical education) which has the Trivium corresponding with three definitive *stages*. I find the methods too cumbersome to carry out, and less able to fit with CM methods. However, when viewing the Trivium as three basic skills: reading (grammar), thinking (logic), writing (rhetoric), a classical/liberal education is able to be conveyed quite beautifully using CM methods. I know you weren't asking about Classical Ed specifically (at all ), but since a move toward a few key Classical ideas is an upper year benchmark I like to make note of on our big picture map, I thought I'd mention it and how what we do might be different from what you'd normally envision as "Classical education".

Our goal, insofar as making use of Classical ideas, is to teach our children to read well, to think and reason clearly, and to communicate effectively, and once I'm no longer restricted by the Trivium-as-stages idea, using Charlotte Mason's methods and philosophy to communicate those skills fits us naturally. All that to say, I have observed that there is a benchmark as a child gets older and begins reasoning more abstractly, communicating with more skill, and we build from there to hone those skills introducing the "Great Ideas" in upper years.

I'm waaaaay off topic now, so I'll stop! Pm me if those charts seem like they might be a good starting point for big picture planning and I can attach the (eminently editable) files to an email to share.

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Posted: May 02 2012 at 5:38am | IP Logged Quote stellamaris

Jen, this is a fabulous chart!, thank you so much for sharing it. I'm going to see if I have Pages on my Mac. I'd love to get a copy of this!

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Posted: May 02 2012 at 6:45am | IP Logged Quote Becky Parker

Skipping all replies to say this is a great topic Lindsay! I have always kept a "Notes for next year" file and I do refer to them when planning from year to year, but it doesn't help me with the big picture. I went through an old file the other day and was disappointed with myself for not remembering several things I had wanted to do that would have been really great.
Going back up to read replies. Just wanted to say thanks for starting this!

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Posted: May 02 2012 at 9:13am | IP Logged Quote Mackfam

stellamaris wrote:
Jen, this is a fabulous chart!, thank you so much for sharing it. I'm going to see if I have Pages on my Mac. I'd love to get a copy of this!

I'd be happy to share it in an editable form, Caroline! Let me know if you have Pages. If not Pages, I can send it as a Word document. It won't look *exactly* the same, but it will be close enough so you won't have to reinvent the wheel-of-it and you can edit it to fit your family.

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Posted: May 02 2012 at 9:14am | IP Logged Quote Grace&Chaos

I've actually thought about this very thing Lindsay. Earlier in the year I started a notebook for myself. I'm not done with it but so far I have created a section for each child. I've included or will include in each a big planning picture from SCM, the science check off from Kathryn Stout's Design-A-Study Science, mathematics generally covered sections from Family Math, I'm playing with the idea of typing up the history sections in The Well Trained Mind (just as a reference here) and need to find or create one for our other subjects like grammar. I love the big picture chart but I too need something a little more specific and broken dowm per subject. I've said this before: I'm a list gal and I love to just be able to check off as they do something.

I have to admit that I'm not approaching this as a check off what has to be done at a certain grade but more of a reference point for me to know what we haven't covered or could potentially be covered in the future. Using CM I can't force their learning and I know they naturally will learn and gain much more knowledge than I could ever type up as they must learn this. But I'm only human and for my sake just need something I could tangibly see.

As for the more specific resource and immediate planning I have an annual planning notebook that I carry around in my book tote. Here is where I plan for next year including our Advent and Lent seasons. It looks similar to Jen's pages. I start by writing all the subjects I would like covered (I place an initial of the child that will cover each), then I'll break that down to individual plans for each child and what potential sources they will use. I file each notebook at the end of the year. And know that I'm starting to cover the same grades again I pull them out and check what I did for the older chidlren and decide if I want to use the same books again. I always keep the individual child in mind.

So far a oral narrations, book of centuries, weekly written narrations and weekly dictation have been big benchmarks for us. I'm learning as I go with my oldest as she passes these. (sigh) What will be high school benchmarks? .

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Posted: May 02 2012 at 9:32am | IP Logged Quote CrunchyMom

Grace&Chaos wrote:
more of a reference point for me to know what we haven't covered or could potentially be covered in the future


Yes, this exactly.

I LOVE your chart Jen! That is VERY helpful, and will go a long way in helping me see the big picture as well as how to organize future plans.

I think I will try to use Evernote or One Note in addition to Amazon lists, something that is quick to use online. I like notebooks, but I do not see myself actually writing stuff down, and often, links are more helpful than just titles, anyway.

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Posted: May 02 2012 at 9:44am | IP Logged Quote Mackfam

I'm glad Jenny posted. We must organize the paper stuff and plans very similarly, Jenny. I like notebooks! And, I like the Kathryn Stout science scope and sequence checklists, too! She has several other guides on math and language arts, and though I don't have any of the others right now, I wondered if a few of these might fit some of your needs in having a basic scope and sequence, Lindsay.

I, too, organize papers and tools like this in my planning notebook. This worked well until I had a high schooler, and I needed a separate high school notebook for planning and resource ideas for various courses. So now, I have (1) my general home ed notebook (which has a tab for each child and the specific scope and sequence charts I use for that child), and (2) one high school notebook for my high schooler...except I'm thinking of transitioning each child's planning and scope and sequence/big picture charts out of MY general home ed notebook and just creating a specific planning and records notebook for each child. I already keep their lesson plans in their own specific notebook, so the more I've been thinking about it, the more I think it would make sense to break out their individual planning records and charts and keep it with their booklists and lesson plans in their own notebook.

This would be helpful because my general home ed notebook is getting stuffed! And this would allow me to expand sections in my home ed notebook that are squished like attendance and planning charts for our days, and some of my supplemental helps. I think you've all helped me make the decision! Now, shall I confess how particularly fond I have become of the pretty Greenroom binders that are ONLY available in the store at Target! (which is a drag because I have to go IN to the store to get them...ah...how I love the delights of ordering from my laptop!) I need three more big ones....and I have to find two that are sort of manly/boyly-ish for my boys.

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Posted: May 02 2012 at 9:58am | IP Logged Quote Mackfam

CrunchyMom wrote:
I think I will try to use Evernote or One Note in addition to Amazon lists, something that is quick to use online. I like notebooks, but I do not see myself actually writing stuff down, and often, links are more helpful than just titles, anyway.

Well, in that case, I really recommend spending some time and really beefing up your Amazon wishlists and how you organize them. And if you don't have the universal Add to Amazon wishlist button, try to get it because then you can add ANYTHING you find online to your Amazon wishlists. I like keeping track of resources in this way, too, and I almost mentioned it in my first post but wasn't sure if you were looking for more paper records or an online way of organizing. I make use of both paper and online, using Amazon wishlists almost exclusively for organizing online, and have LOADS of Amazon wishlists (all private and built only as a way for me to keep resource ideas organized).

I keep mine organized by subject and further broken down into four categories: general, elementary, middle, high school. So, for example, I have:

GENERAL Natural History
ELEMENTARY Natural History
MIDDLE Natural History
HIGH SCHOOL Natural History

And then I add notes to each item that might say who recommended, or add a link back to the article recommending so I know why I added an obscure geography book when I'm looking at my wishlists years down the road. I also like to add known caveats or concerns to the notes of a particular book if I've read a review.

I also find it handy to keep one wishlist set up titled: PURCHASE FOR NEXT TERM. I can move books around and into this wishlist if I know I'm going to be looking for that book/resource the upcoming term. This lets me really space my purchases across the year, too, rather than having to make one big, staggering purchase in the summer.

Amazon wishlists are a great way of keeping track of resource ideas!

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Posted: May 02 2012 at 10:21am | IP Logged Quote jawgee

Mackfam wrote:
Amazon wishlists are a great way of keeping track of resource ideas!


I use my Amazon wishlists in this way, too, but Jenn, you've given me so many more ideas on better ways to do it! Great suggestions. Thanks!

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Posted: May 02 2012 at 11:55am | IP Logged Quote AmandaV

Mackfam wrote:

I, too, organize papers and tools like this in my planning notebook. This worked well until I had a high schooler, and I needed a separate high school notebook for planning and resource ideas for various courses. So now, I have (1) my general home ed notebook (which has a tab for each child and the specific scope and sequence charts I use for that child), and (2) one high school notebook for my high schooler...except I'm thinking of transitioning each child's planning and scope and sequence/big picture charts out of MY general home ed notebook and just creating a specific planning and records notebook for each child. I already keep their lesson plans in their own specific notebook, so the more I've been thinking about it, the more I think it would make sense to break out their individual planning records and charts and keep it with their booklists and lesson plans in their own notebook.

This would be helpful because my general home ed notebook is getting stuffed! And this would allow me to expand sections in my home ed notebook that are squished like attendance and planning charts for our days, and some of my supplemental helps. I think you've all helped me make the decision!


Jen, I can imagine a future blog post on this subject.. how to divide home ed notebooks, what to include, etc... unless you've already done something like this. :)

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Posted: May 02 2012 at 12:04pm | IP Logged Quote AmandaV

Mackfam wrote:
stellamaris wrote:
Jen, this is a fabulous chart!, thank you so much for sharing it. I'm going to see if I have Pages on my Mac. I'd love to get a copy of this!

I'd be happy to share it in an editable form, Caroline! Let me know if you have Pages. If not Pages, I can send it as a Word document. It won't look *exactly* the same, but it will be close enough so you won't have to reinvent the wheel-of-it and you can edit it to fit your family.


Me too! And Jen, if its not too OT, can you let us know what you love about pages, or is it just what you are familiar with? I was looking at purchasing it and it is lovely but the reviews said that if you know and like office than buying the iWork suite isn't really worth it. What is your opinion? I notice you use it a lot.

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Posted: May 02 2012 at 12:08pm | IP Logged Quote Mackfam

AmandaV wrote:
Jen, I can imagine a future blog post on this subject.. how to divide home ed notebooks, what to include, etc... unless you've already done something like this. :)

I don't have a recent one...and I think this is a very inspiring idea and topic to post about! I especially have enjoyed my high school notebook this year - it has made course considerations, coordinating ideas and compiling credits so easy to see and manage. I'm very visual, so a tabbed notebook was perfect for me! And since we're all getting organized and together thinking of and planning for upcoming years a post like this would be so timely and fun! What a delightful thing to think about, Amanda! And now....I shall have to get to Target for more of my pretty notebooks!!!!!

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Posted: May 02 2012 at 12:26pm | IP Logged Quote Mackfam

AmandaV wrote:
Mackfam wrote:
stellamaris wrote:
Jen, this is a fabulous chart!, thank you so much for sharing it. I'm going to see if I have Pages on my Mac. I'd love to get a copy of this!

I'd be happy to share it in an editable form, Caroline! Let me know if you have Pages. If not Pages, I can send it as a Word document. It won't look *exactly* the same, but it will be close enough so you won't have to reinvent the wheel-of-it and you can edit it to fit your family.


Me too! And Jen, if its not too OT, can you let us know what you love about pages, or is it just what you are familiar with? I was looking at purchasing it and it is lovely but the reviews said that if you know and like office than buying the iWork suite isn't really worth it. What is your opinion? I notice you use it a lot.

Well, if we really want to discuss this more, I can start a thread for discussion, but if it's just a quick review you're interested in I'll give you my thoughts on Pages, Amanda!

I read the same reviews you did several years ago, and avoided iWork for those reasons, and then my fil had an extra license to share, so I decided to try it. I found Pages SO MUCH MORE INTUITIVE than Word. And visually prettier. My biggest concern was being able to share across platforms (Pages --> Word), and that's easy to do in Pages. This is how I can create documents and then offer to share them as a pdf or a Word document. It's a simple two click process and the files are converted and saved.

Most of the things I build for our homeschool setting are documents. I like dropping tables in documents (that's what my lesson plans are, and that's what this big picture chart is - just a table inserted in a document). I find them very flexible to work with and able to accomodate how I naturally and visually organize information. I like the formatting options and the ease of use - drag, drop, resize, change color, font, etc. It's all very easy and intuitive for me, and my big kids like using it on their laptop when they write and format their writing.

Because I had that license my fil let me have for a time, I fiddled around with the entire iWork suite for a while and found that all I really needed and used was Pages, so when I upgraded a year ago, I just bought Pages 09. You can buy it through the app store for your ipad or your laptop. You don't need to purchase an expensive software program, just the one app. I think it's $20, and that purchase allows you to put it on 2 or 3 machines (?? can't remember).

I found Word clunky, slow to load, and difficult to navigate. I would get frustrated easily. I could certainly use Word to build a basic document, but some of the other formatting I'm able to do with Pages with so much ease and fluidity and flexibility, I found difficult to find and format in Word. This could admittedly be a personal pref thing!! Most folks just use Word and Excel. I prefer to just use my word processor (Pages) and drop tables into the word processor. I have Excel, and never use it any more - any time I want to build a table of any kind (unless it's for number crunching), I just build it in Pages because it's so much easier (to me).

Hope that helps, Amanda!

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Posted: May 03 2012 at 12:23pm | IP Logged Quote AmandaV

Yes, that helps, Jen! I'll look into the app for pages. I don't have a MacBook, I have an iMac so I'll have to see if its available.

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Posted: May 03 2012 at 7:16pm | IP Logged Quote AmandaV

Mackfam wrote:
Now, shall I confess how particularly fond I have become of the pretty Greenroom binders that are ONLY available in the store at Target! (which is a drag because I have to go IN to the store to get them...ah...how I love the delights of ordering from my laptop!) I need three more big ones....and I have to find two that are sort of manly/boyly-ish for my boys.


Well Jen... I went to Target yesterday with greenroom on the brain and ended up stopping by the binder aisle! I picked up a greenroom binder to get started filling up!

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Posted: May 07 2012 at 8:09am | IP Logged Quote CrunchyMom

So, Jen, I've been studying your chart, and the subject that is most vaguely defined on it is "history."

I know you have linked to these Timetables of History as a primary resource for planning your history curriculum, but can you offer a little more insight about how you approach assigning studies and the logistics of how you use these timetables to maintain an overview of the studies?

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Posted: May 07 2012 at 10:14am | IP Logged Quote Mackfam

You are so right, Lindsay. I updated the scope and sequence chart to reflect a breakdown of the different periods of history because as I was planning this weekend, I saw the same missing variables on the chart. I wanted to be able to see overall the different periods of history we study when planning.

Here is an updated version of the chart with history periods listed so you can see how we progress through history.

2012-05-07_090250_Big_Picture_Chart.pdf

This chart is not religiously followed; there are times we linger in a period for longer than indicated, but it's a good guide.

And then, I really thought, "Who cares how we approach each year?!!" I mean that's fine for a reference, but not very helpful in actual application! So, I updated the chart again, removing all the "X"s so that anyone can print the chart and "X" in boxes that fit your family best. Here's a blank big picture planning chart for use:

2012-05-07_090603_Big_Picture_Chart_-_blank_chart.pdf

CrunchyMom wrote:
can you offer a little more insight about how you approach assigning studies and the logistics of how you use these timetables to maintain an overview of the studies?

Sure!

History cycles
There are many, many different ways to study history: chronologically, 4 year cycles, 5 year cycles, randomly but coordinated through the use of a timeline tool. Any of these could work with different families, and there could be different cycles for different children. My oldest will study and read differently than my second and so on. Generally, it has worked out that we repeat a history period twice through the course of 12 years of study.

I should note that CM did NOT repeat a study of time periods, but she did emphasize a great deal of reading in national history, so if you look at her Programmes you will see a tremendous emphasis on English/British history. She starts studying the Ancient side of British history in the earliest forms and progresses chronologically each year. This is possible because British history is much deeper and goes back farther than our own US History. I mean, we could study Ancient US History, but it would be limited and we'd miss the building of western culture which took place in Europe. In light of this, and also because I do like it when my children can bring more mature thoughts to bear on their reading of a particular culture or time period, we repeat our study of each time period. (Incidentally, this is how AO presents their history rotations as well.) We move through the periods of history once in elementary ages, and again through middle/high school. AND...we may move more quickly through periods in elementary in order to linger more in upper years.

==========================================

Repeated study of national history:

CM, Vol 6, p. 170 wrote:
It is not too much to say that a rational well-considered patriotism depends on a pretty copious reading of history...

I think Miss Mason presents a compelling reason for ongoing studies of national history, and I place a great emphasis on American history studies in my own home.

Each year, in following the simple national historical anniversaries that occur each year, we enjoy reading of some national history. Perhaps not all at once, and perhaps it is not even planned or listed on my booklist, but every year we study American history. I count on MaryM to keep me on my toes with those anniversaries! I mean, who among us is not the better for having incorporated ideas to celebrate Lincoln's birthday? Or the Cherry Blossom Anniversary? These threads and others like them are among my favorite resources and are a great way for keeping that emphasis on national history within our days overall!

So, on the big picture chart, any of the small case, yellow "x"s that you see indicate that we're studying national history alongside our other history studies. If you see a capital case, black "X" in the column, we're studying that period primarily. Hope that makes sense!

==========================================

Connections and Context in History

First, I'll say that I agree with Miss Mason in that I think it is important for the child to make the connection rather than for me to hand it to them. This is why we don't use any textbooks. That's not a condemnation of texts; I've seen some very good history texts lately through the Catholic Textbook group. It is simply a priority we've defined for our family.

We use The Timetables of History to connect our studies because the book itself provides a very context of history in a basic framework. The child brings the thoughts of their reading: the relationships with the characters, the understanding of the culture through the characters - all this from their reading, and The Timetables helps them connect some of their reading to other figures they may not have recognized as being a contemporary to a period they're reading about. It's easy to see everything that was going on for a particular year, and it's also easy to see (just by glancing at where we've landed in the book) that a lot has come before and/or after an event. Specifically, we use the book as a way of helping us connect names and events in our reading in a very short lesson without using up valuable reading time wading through someone else's connection of a period.

I really like presenting a little context in studying history, so as soon as we get to the 1st Century, I also use Celebrating 2000 Years of Christian History to provide a simple and quick sense of context of the overall century from a Catholic perspective. The well written summaries of an entire century only take a few minutes to read aloud and serve well as an introduction to a century. Edited to add: This book really only focuses on European History, so it isn't good for American history.

From there, it's living books. I may, or may not, choose to use what is considered a (living) "spine" type of book for history. Sometimes we enjoy them, but on the whole, we tend to stick with historical fiction or biographies for our reading. I prefer to look for books that provide broad context, and that is sometimes what one would consider a spine, but many historical fiction books will do this, too, and those will always be our preference because they express culture and relationships more effectively than a strict "spine" type of book can just by virtue of the style of writing. Our CM education will always provide preference to books that introduce "relationships"!

Hope this is a help, Lindsay! I'm really grateful for the prompt to revise that big picture chart, because that little bit of definition is helpful to me in planning, too!

==========================================

And, because I just thought of ONE MORE possibility for easing planning, I'm sharing a last version of the big picture chart. It occurred to me that not everyone would break up the periods of history in the same way I have (like studying the Time of Christ - 7th century). So this big picture chart leaves blanks for you to define those periods of history.

2012-05-07_101239_Big_Picture_Chart_-_blank_chart_with_gener ic_history_periods.pdf

Sure hope these are a help, ladies! Happy planning as you consider the big picture!

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AmandaV
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Posted: May 07 2012 at 4:05pm | IP Logged Quote AmandaV

Mackfam wrote:
You are so right, Lindsay. I updated the scope and sequence chart to reflect a breakdown of the different periods of history because as I was planning this weekend, I saw the same missing variables on the chart. I wanted to be able to see overall the different periods of history we study when planning.
......
Sure hope these are a help, ladies! Happy planning as you consider the big picture!


This whole post was super helpful, Jen! I am thinking about getting pages from the app store, just to be able to work with this document more easily. Thank you for sharing!

So it looks like, as you've noted before, you do general history/stories/etc. for K-1st grade, basic American history for 2nd-3rd, and then begin your rotation of World History in 4th, continuing twice through 11th grade, with a "modern" history year in 12th? And then you hit American as you go through various Holiday's and anniversary's? I'm probably just stating the obvious. Anyway, it really helps to see it laid out as you've thought things out, and helps me to imagine how I can.


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