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Schoolrmacres
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| Posted: Feb 01 2007 at 1:34pm | IP Logged
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I am ready to just give up on American History. We are using,trying to use,This Country of Ours.I read it to my dd and we discuss it and find places as we read. When I start with this her eyes just glaze over and I know I have lost her.I was thinking about just using a placemat that we have with the US presidents and going on down the line in reading about each president and getting our American history that way. DH said that then we would miss Columbus and the pilgrims etc if we just started with George Washington.
My dd is in 2nd grade,history is NOT my strong suit, and I am totally clueless as to how to proceed. I am ready to just ditch it and not touch history for a few years. I know that is not a good answer ...
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Darlene, wife to Shawn and mamma to Haleigh Elizabeth, our Gift from God through adoption.
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http://achampionfamily.blogspot.com/
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JodieLyn
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read books to her.. real books. one place to start with ideas would be http://www.readingyourwaythroughhistory.com
But I would really really back off on it right now. Pick some fun books to read together that show history (just because of when they're placed and who shows up in them).. but it's really terribly early for a lot of it.
Also, it can help if you start with local history.. so you can SEE the things and places where stuff happened.. this is an age that really benefits (all do but younger ones even more so) from being able to "touch" what they're learning.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
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MaryM
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I wouldn't use a text for that age group. History is so fun to make come alive with activities and picture books at that age (or any age  )
Just a few ideas very quickly to give you an example:
Where Do You Think You Are Going, Christopher Columbus?
If you Sailed on the Mayflower
The "If you..." series has lots of titles for various periods of American History. They are a great starting point to discuss the topics. There is another series that covers different time periods in a fun way - the "You Wouldn't Want to..." Here is the You Wouldn't Want to Sail on the Mayflower. It sounds negative but they are really funny. We haven't read this one but have enjoyed the others we've read.
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Mary M. in Denver
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MacBeth
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JodieLyn wrote:
| Also, it can help if you start with local history.. |
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Go even more local, and talk about family history. Can you show her the home in which you grew up? Is there a grave to visit? Bring out the photos!
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MacBeth in NY
Don's wife since '88; "Mom" to the Fab 4
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Paula in MN
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Darlene,
I am using "This Country of Ours" with my dd7, and she is okay with it, but I can tell when I have *lost* her.
We have also been using "A Story of the World", and she really likes that.
I realize that SOTW is not covering the same things as TCOO, but it may be that she needs to read about the world in general, and then move to specifics.
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 Paula
A Catholic Harvest
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JodieLyn
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MacBeth - oh yes, and that can tie into things so well. My older kids can remember my grandmother she died just a few years ago..
And so it was really really neat to read for instance.. the American Girl books for Kit.. she's the one who lived during the depression.. but grammy would have been 12 the year the book is set in.. Kit is 9 in it.. so it's very much a "grammy would have known this or done that or learned this" really really fun.. for the kids and for me. Maybe even more for me.. because I learned so much from grammy that I'd see these ideas presented in the book and can remember grammy teaching them to me.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
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Karen E.
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I agree with everyone -- real books, fun books, intriguing books and intriguing history.
The goal at that age is to create a love for history ... nourish that love and curiosity and a lot of the facts can come later.
Building on Jodie's post about the American Girls -- in 1st and 2nd grade for my oldest, we started our timeline, based on Laura Ingalls, and on the AG girls. My kids loved it. It made the time periods real to them and they retained amazing amounts of knowledge, because it was connected to characters they loved.
MacBeth suggested using family history -- we did that, too. Added family members to our timeline, right along with historical and fictional characters.
Have fun with it!
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Karen E.
mom to three on earth, and several souls in God's care
Visit my blog, with its shockingly clever title, "Karen Edmisten."
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Kristi
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My boys loved it when we read throgh Elizabeth's Picturebooks of American History list. It was in the files of the old yahoo group. I'm just pasting it in here. Sorry it looks so messy and long. 
A Picture Book Study of American History
The French and Indian Wars to The Progressive Era
1689-1900
~*~
Ÿ The French and Indian Wars 1689-1763
Blue Feather’s Vision: The Dawn of Colonial America
Knight, James E.
Struggle For A Continent
Maestro, Betsy C.
The Matchlock Gun
Edmonds, Walter
Ÿ Revolutionary War 1775-1782
Boston Tea Party: Rebellion in the Colonies
Knight, James E.
A Picture Book of Patrick Henry
Adler, David A.
Mr. Revere And I (a chapter book with black-line pictures; suitable for reading aloud or reading alone by older elementary child.)
Lawson, Robert
America’s Paul Revere
Forbes, Ester
Paul Revere’s Ride
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth (illustrated by Ted Rand)
Sam The Minute Man
Benchley, Nathaniel
Benjamin Franklin
d’Aulaire, Ingri & Edgar Parin
Ben and Me (a chapter book with black-line pictures; suitable for reading aloud or reading alone by older elementary child.)
Lawson, Robert
The 4th of July Story (Drafting and Signing of Declaration of Independence)
Dagliesh, Alice
George Washington
d’Aulaire, Ingri & Edgar Parin
George Washington’s World (a longer book; well-written account of Washington’s life)
Foster, Genevieve
A Picture Book of George Washington
Adler, David A.
The Winter At Valley Forge
Knight, James E.
Six Silver Spoons
Lowry, Janette Sebring
18 Penny Goose
Walker, Sally M.
Katie’s Trunk
Turner, Ann
Aaron and the Green Mountain Boys
Gauch, Patricia Lee
Thomas (not a picture book--170pp--highly recommended)
Pryor, Bonnie
Ÿ Constitution 1778
A More Perfect Union: The Story of Our Constitution
Maestro, Betsy and Giulio
Ÿ Early American Industrial Revolution 1780
Eli Whitney
Cefrey, Holly
Samuel Slater’s Mill and the Industrial Revolution (informational style book)
Simonds, Christopher
Ÿ American Frontier
Daniel Boon
Streissgath, Tom
A Picture Book of Thomas Jefferson
Adler, David A.
Pass the Quill, I’ll Write A Draft; A Story Book of Thomas Jefferson
Quackenbush, Robert M.
Warm as Wool
Sanders, Scott Russell
A Picture Book of Lewis and Clark
Adler, David A.
A Picture Book of Sacajawea
Adler, David A.
Lewis and Clark, Explorers of the American West
Kroll, Steven
Aurora Means Dawn
Sanders, Scott R.
Ÿ War of 1812
Who Let Muddy Boots Into the White House? A Story of Andrew Jackson
Quakenbush, Robert M.
Andrew Jackson, Frontier Patriot
Sabin, Louis
Star Spangled Banner
Kroll, Steven
Star Spangled Banner
Spier, Peter
Laura Secord’s Brave Walk
Crook, Connie Brummel
Learn Song: Ballad of the Battle of New Orleans
Ÿ Westward Expansion
The Amazing, Impossible Erie Canal (1825)
Harness, Cheryl
The Erie Canal
Spier, Peter
Watt Got You Started Mr. Fulton?; A Story of James Watt and Robert Fulton
Quackenbush, Robert M.
Quit Pulling My Leg; A Story of Davy Crockett
Quackenbush, Robert M.
A Picture Book of Davy Crockett
Adler, David A.
Davy Crockett: Frontier Adventurer 1786-1836
Zadra, Dan
Battle of the Alamo
Murphy, Keith
Voices of the Alamo
Garland, Sherry
Gold Fever
Kay, Verla
Boomtown
Levitin, Sonia
The Way West
Knight, Amelia Stewart
Josefina Story Quilt
Coerr, Eleanor
Ÿ Civil War
Slavery:
Follow the Drinking Gourd
Winter, Jeanette
Who Owns the Sun?
Chobosky, Stacey
Barefoot: Escape on the Underground Railroad
Edwards, Pamela Duncan
A Picture Book of Harriet Tubman
Adler, David A.
A Picture Book of Sojourner Truth
Adler, David A.
A Picture Book of Harriet Beecher Stowe
Adler, David A.
War Years: 1861-1865
Abraham Lincoln
d’Aulaire, Ingri & Edgar Parin
Abe Lincoln Grows Up (not a picture book)
Sandberg, Carl
A Picture Book of Robert E. Lee
Adler, David A.
The Blue and the Gray
Bunting, Eve
Pink and Say
Polacco, Patricia
Cecil’s Story
Lyon, George Ella
Charley Skeddadle (not a picture book)
Beatty, Patrician
Ÿ Wild West (post Civil War)
Iron Horses
Kay, Verla
Ten Mile Day and the Building of the Transcontinental Railroad
Fraser, Mary Ann
The Last Rail: The Building of the Transcontinental Railroad
Bailer, Darice
Kit Carson
Gleiter, Jan
Buffalo Bill
d’Aulaire, Ingri & Edgar Parin
Who’s That Girl With the Gun?: A Story of Annie Oakley
Quackenbush, Robert M.
Native Americans:
Where the Buffaloes Begin
Baker, Olaf
Gift of the Sacred Dog
Goble, Paul
The Desert is Theirs
Baylor, Byrd
Knots On A Counting Rope
Martin, Bill Jr.
Death of the Iron Horse
Goble, Paul
Red Hawk’s Account of Custer’s Last Battle
Goble, Paul
A Picture Book of Sitting Bull
Adler, David A.
The Story of Wounded Knee
Stein, R.
Pioneers:
Dakota Dugout
Turner, Ann
Araminta’s Paintbox
Ackerman, Karen
Red Flower Goes West
Nolan, Dennis
On To Oregon! (not a picture book--get it on tape; FABULOUS!!)
Morrow, Honore
Going West
Van Leeuwen, Jean
Stagecoach
Mansir
A Pioneer Sampler: The Daily Life of a Pioneer Family in 1840 (a longer book, 140pp, with pictures. Discusses every aspect of pioneer life)
Greenwood, Barbara
New Hope
Sorensen, Henri
If You Traveled West In a Covered Wagon
Levine, Ellen
Ÿ Progressive Era (or Meet the American Iventors)
Quick Annie! Give Me A Catchy Line, A Story of Samuel F.B. Morse
Quakenbush, Robert
Alexander Graham Bell
Gaines, Ann
A Picture Book of Thomas Alva Edison
Adler, David A.
What Has Wild Tom Done Now?: A Story of Thomas Edison
Quackenbush, Robert M.
The Wright Brothers: A Flying Start
Macleod, Elizabeth
The Wright Brothers
Edwards, Pamela Duncan
Take Me Out To The Airfield: How The Wright Brothers Invented the Airplane
Quackenbush, Robert M.
A Picture Book of George Washington Carver
Adler, David A.
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Kristi
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kjohnson
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| Posted: Feb 01 2007 at 10:27pm | IP Logged
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This bedrest thing is costing me a fortune because I've been making school purchases. I came across Artner's Guide to American History.
It looks like a great resources for finding living books on American history and is categorized by reading level and time period.
This is good for us because I get tired of reading just one book or one author.
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In Christ,
Katherine
Wife to Doug and Mother of 6
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Tina P.
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| Posted: March 09 2007 at 1:26am | IP Logged
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Ooooh, that looks good Katherine. Can you give us a review when you get it?
When my last ds was in second grade (the poor tyke that's in second grade now gets nothing ... it'll have to be in the summertime or skipped.), we did massive world geography projects using CHC 2nd grade lesson plans as our guide. He had a blast and now, in 3-4 grade ~ are ALL homeschooled kids between grades at any given moment, or just mine? ~ he LOVES history.
I just wrote a post on myblog that addresses this very new love of history my family has. I must have been thinking about you! Give her time. Hold off for a while or introduce important people, events, or geography doing projects.
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Tina, wife to one and mom to 9 + 3 in heaven
Mary's Muse
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Angel
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I'll also put in a little plug for the books in Sonlight'sCore 3 program. I actually read the readers to my oldest when he was about 6/7. (We've used Sonlight for a while now, but I never follow the instructor's guides. You could just use the Sonlight books as a list and check them out of the library). We've always used real books, done projects, and taken field trips for history, and my kids love it.
(If you can manage it, an American history field trip is often a great way to spark interest, IMO.)
--Angela
Three Plus Two
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monica
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i am a big history buff and have always enjoyed reading up on a place we are planning to visit and then when i get there, i have a frame of reference for the things i see around me. If you have something nearby that you have been to before, you could make a kind of scavenger hunt based on what you have read about. like, find a place where george washington sat, or find a place where villagers would have gotten water, or find the place in the fort where guards would have stood. oooh, this gets me excited for when my guys are old enough to learn some history. 
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helene
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| Posted: March 09 2007 at 1:34pm | IP Logged
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I would take some time away from that history text and just enjoy some of the D'Aulaire books together. You will win her over quickly.
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4Real Forums : Across Time and Place
Topic: I QUIT!!! (American History)
