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pumpkinmom
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| Posted: Sept 17 2012 at 3:24pm | IP Logged
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I have a similiar questions as this post on 4th grade. I have my third grader tagging along with my 6th grader. We are using From Sea to Shining Sea that I read out loud to them. A chapter takes us about 2 weeks to read through and then they have two weeks to read living books alone on the topic using books at their level. My younger one is not handling the text. I lose him while reading. Older Ds is fine with the text. I love this text, by the way, reads like a living book. But, it has a lot of details that younger Ds isn't ready for yet. I feel like I am wasting his time. I would prefer to have something on his grade level. Any suggestions?
OR . . . .
The game plan I have in my head is just to have older Ds read the text independently and I could read books to younger Ds or he can read independently. I could do a read aloud to both on the weeks we were orginally reading books independently. Here is a con to this idea: older Ds loves to read, but he already reads science alone and some religion reading alone, and adding a third may be too much for him. It's always a fine line with him. I could cut back the reading for science and history and take a slower approach to fix this.
What do you think? And yes, I already know I over think everything! 
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Cassie
Homeschooling my little patch of Ds-14 and Ds-10
Tending the Pumpkin Patch
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kristacecilia
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| Posted: Sept 18 2012 at 5:05am | IP Logged
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I purchased a great series by Betsy Maestro called American Story
(Thanks to Jen/MackFam for the idea, because I totally got it from her current 3rd grader's book list. I can't help it- we both have 3rd grade sons and the lady is a wiz at picking awesome books!!) 
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Krista
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CrunchyMom
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| Posted: Sept 18 2012 at 5:48am | IP Logged
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I'm using the Mara Pratt American History Stories with my third grader. I think they give just enough for this grade level in bite sizes for narration. Last year we used This Country of Ours for a bit, and it was just a little too much.
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
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[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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SallyT
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| Posted: Sept 18 2012 at 7:12am | IP Logged
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I'm doing Genevieve Foster's George Washington's World and Abraham Lincoln's World as read-alouds with my 3rd and 4th-graders this year, with each child doing independent reading in historical fiction -- currently the 3rd grader is reading Bulla's A Lion to Guard Us, which deals with Jamestown, so we're not *completely* in sync with the spine text . . . Last year we did do very early New-World history, covering early explorations and settlements (and yes, that took all year somehow . . . ), and reading things like Nacar the White Deer as read-alouds. My plan for this year is to take us up through the Civil War, though we may or may not get there. My real objective is to immerse them in the people and experiences and world of these eras, so that they *live* in the imagination: that whole "light a fire vs. filling a bucket" approach. Igniting their interest at this primary stage seems the important consideration, and I think you're totally right to observe that what you're reading isn't doing that for your younger child.
If your 11-year-old can handle it, I wouldn't hesitate to let him read independently, even if it does mean having him read in smaller increments and slowing things down a bit. Doing the same book over two years, even, would not be a bad thing at all (we're taking what I've started to think of as the "glacial approach" to history ourselves -- slow-moving and gradually unfolding!). That would free you up to read something more engaging with your younger child.
Sally
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kristacecilia
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| Posted: Sept 18 2012 at 11:27am | IP Logged
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I actually am going to self promote for a second because i put up our whole list of history books for this year this morning on my blog.
history 2012
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Krista
Wife to a great guy, mom to two boys ('04, '06) and three girls ('08, '10, '12!)
I blog at http://kristacecilia.wordpress.com/
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pumpkinmom
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| Posted: Sept 18 2012 at 3:11pm | IP Logged
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Oh, this is very helpful!! Now as I was planning out lessons for the week last night (it was a long weekend!) I asked the boys about history. Of course the oldest refused to read the text on his own. And the youngest said that he likes the text and can follow it just fine.  Of course, he can't narrate from it and he looks as if he is lost while I read it.
Well, anyway I was happy to see that our library has the Maestro books and I plan to take a look at those. I am cutting back our reading from the text to help the younges ds keep up. Older ds said there is a lot of information so maybe I am just reading too much at one time. If I like the Maestro books I may read those to younger and the text to older and move slower through history, which is fine with me.
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Cassie
Homeschooling my little patch of Ds-14 and Ds-10
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knowloveserve
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| Posted: Sept 18 2012 at 4:06pm | IP Logged
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We loved "How Our Nation Began" for 2nd-3rd grade. It's a great spine.
This year, my 3rd and 4th grader are reading "This Country of Ours" for a spine... and it's fairly challenging for us. The 3rd grader (actually a 2nd grader in age... but he's so bright we moved him up) goes in and out of focus depending on the details. And I think I lose my 4th grader (10 years old) sometimes on all the different characters, battles and dates. But by and large, it serves its purpose. This book would serve as a good spine for American history through 5th or even 6th grade in my opinion.
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Ellie
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AmandaV
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| Posted: Sept 19 2012 at 10:55am | IP Logged
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re: Maestro books
Are there any problematic parts? I was previewing Exploration and Conquest and the references to the priests trying to force the people to change their faith seemed one sided. I wonder, do they discuss both sides? Is there very much "many natives were killed' without much of the "some natives were violent" information and some of the brutal tribal ways,etc. Not to justify any European violence or force but just to show balance. Thanks for sharing your post, Krista!
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Amanda
wife since 6/03, Mom to son 7/04, daughter 2/06, twin sons 6/08 and son 7/11, son 1/2014
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kristacecilia
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| Posted: Sept 19 2012 at 12:55pm | IP Logged
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Amanda,
It does sympathize with the natives quite a bit, but I am personally okay with most of the wording. There are three sections that discuss Christianity:
"The Spanish considered the natives heathens, or nonbelievers, because they did not worship the Christian God. The Spanish did not respect the native religions or the rights of these people, whom they thought of as uncivilized savages- barely human." (Pg. 6)
"Large expeditions of soldiers, called conquistadors, were sent out to claim land and riches for the king and the Church of Spain. With them went priests who tried to force the native people to accept the Catholic faith. However, these people had their own strong beliefs and often had no idea what the Spanish were trying to teach them. They resisted the Spaniards' attempts to change their way of life." (Pg. 8)
"The square was empty except for a Spanish priest, who asked the emperor to accept the Christian faith. When the Inca leader refused, the Spaniards launched a surprise attack, emerging from the buildings where they had been hiding. They killed most of the Incas and captured Atahualpa, holding him for ransom. Even though a huge payment was made- thousands of pounds of gold and silver- the Spaniards executed the emperor." (Pg. 14)
In the book we are just finishing up, The Discover of the Americas, there is one reference which is basically along these same lines. What I said (and will say again when we read these pages is this):
- Some people did try to force the natives to accept Christ. That was wrong and against the dignity of the Natives. We cannot force anyone to love God.
- Some people did come over and try to share and teach the natives about God's love and the Catholic faith in a way that was respectful to the natives' free will and respectful to God.
- People are always making good and bad choices. We can discuss each action as it comes up and say "Was this a good choice for the Spaniards (or whomever) to make? Or was it a bad choice? Why? What could have been done differently?"
ETA: I also think this will be a good chance to bring up that everyone who writes does so with a specific perspective or agenda and that we need to try to figure out what the actual truth is as much as we are able to.
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God bless,
Krista
Wife to a great guy, mom to two boys ('04, '06) and three girls ('08, '10, '12!)
I blog at http://kristacecilia.wordpress.com/
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4Real Forums : Across Time and Place
Topic: American History for 3rd grade
