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lapazfarm
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I was pondering this morning about books (or preferably a series of books) that are rich enough that you could base an entire elementary curriculum upon them.
The Little House series is an obvious one, (and one upon which a curriculum has already been written).
But I was wondering if there are more books like that out there--books so full of history, nature, folklore, geography, etc, that one could rabbit trail all year off the contents.
They would also have to be of high literary quality for pulling copywork and dictation selections.
Again, I am looking at elementary level (3rd-5th grade or so) so obvious books such as The Lord of the Rings, Jules Verne, etc are too advanced, at least for my little dear.
What about the Winnie the Pooh books? Too much fluff and not enough substance?
I know you ladies have some ideas, and love a challenge, so lay em on me!
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Mackfam
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Hmmmm....the Little House series is hard to follow, and hard to beat. I can think of some for older children, but trying to stay within 3rd - 5th grade:
:: Along with the Little House books, Melissa Wiley's books would be fabulous and could springboard an entire year - The Martha Years and The Charlotte Years. There are 4 books in each set, and they are utterly fantastic. The Martha Years are set in Scotland and The Charlotte Years take place in early America. These would be fantastic! Edited...because I meant to add that sadly, this entire series is out of print now, and some can be very hard to find, but they are SOOOO WORTH IT TO TRACK DOWN!
:: The Holling C. Holling books would be perfect for science and geography, but I'm not sure they'd be enough for an entire year. Geography: A Literature Approach done by Beautiful Feet Books is a very nice accompaniment...but it really doesn't seem to be as wide or as deep as what you're looking for...
:: Maybe a grouping of Jean Craighead George books.
:: Bantry Bay series by Hilda Van Stockum - Europe, Ireland, early 20th century.
:: Mitchells series by Hilda Van Stockum - Canada, US, WWII
:: Fairchild Family series by Rebecca Caudill - US, early 20th century
:: Sally series by Elizabeth Coatsworth - this one is at the top of the 5th grade level. US, Europe, French Revolution, 18th century.
Not a series, but a theme of books deep and wide:
:: Many of the historical Bethlehem Books would work! Pick a group from a particular period of time and run with them!
:: I did something this year that worked out fantastically well using Landmark Books that I found. I centered the books around a theme of *KNIGHTS AND EXPLORERS* and it has been a fantastic year. I can't say it encompasses everything though like the Little House series does. However, it did springboard some fantastic science *of the period*.
This is a start just from looking at my shelves...some of these series wouldn't stretch the year with a very strong reader.
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Jen Mackintosh
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Mackfam
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Oh - thought of a PERFECT ONE!!!!
The Glory of America Series by Ecce Homo Press - these are wonderful, exactly fit the reading age of 3 - 5th grade, incorporate our faith, and fit within periods of history, different cultures, and the back of each book has some wonderful resources, questions, stories for inpsiring further rabbit trails. They're fabulous!
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Jen Mackintosh
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JennGM
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How about Marguerite d'Angeli and Lois Lenski for potential? Both authors wrote books of historical fiction giving a glimpse of Americana/culture/history. Lois Lenski wrote several series, first the American Regional, and then for younger readers the Roundabout America Books.
You would have to search for some books, or ILL or WorldCat, but I know many libraries still carry their titles.
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Jennifer G. Miller
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JennGM
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Mackfam wrote:
Oh - thought of a PERFECT ONE!!!!
The Glory of America Series by Ecce Homo Press - these are wonderful, exactly fit the reading age of 3 - 5th grade, incorporate our faith, and fit within periods of history, different cultures, and the back of each book has some wonderful resources, questions, stories for inpsiring further rabbit trails. They're fabulous! |
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That is a good idea...plus there are several supplement books that tie it all together.
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lapazfarm
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Great ideas, ladies, keep them coming! You have listed many books I am not familiar with, so I obviously need to do some research!
One note: The reading level is not so important as I am thinking of it more as a read-aloud, not for dd to read independently. It's more of a comprehension level I am looking at. (Because of her dyslexia, dd's reading level is way below her comprehension level, so I don't want to hold her back because of that.)
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Mackfam
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lapazfarm wrote:
One note: The reading level is not so important as I am thinking of it more as a read-aloud, not for dd to read independently.
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Aha! I wondered about that, Theresa. Ok. I'll keep thinking then...that opens up the door to...
:: Narnia
....but surely you've already read that aloud.
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The American Girl books.. they only encompass one time period each.. but together they actually do a nice job of giving a feel for the different eras. I didn't realize how much until we read Kit set during the Depression. My grammy would have been just a bit older than the main character the year the books were set.. and soooooo much of what was talked about in the books are things that I'd learned from my grammy. I struggled to read the books outloud because of that and my mom was even worse off than I was  
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JennGM
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Swallows and Amazon series.
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Jennifer G. Miller
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lapazfarm
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JennGM wrote:
| Swallows and Amazon series. |
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Oh! EXCELLENT idea!
Why didn't I think of that???? (where is the head-desk emoticon?)
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JennGM
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lapazfarm wrote:
JennGM wrote:
| Swallows and Amazon series. |
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Oh! EXCELLENT idea!
Why didn't I think of that???? (where is the head-desk emoticon?) |
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I was thinking the same thing of me! Why wasn't that the first one to pop in my head?
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lapazfarm
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Mackfam wrote:
:: Narnia
....but surely you've already read that aloud. |
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Yes, but Narnia is always worthy of a repeat performance.
However, I wonder if being a fantasy series would it lend itself well to the type of history/geography/nature-study-type rabbit trails I'm thinking of? Obviously there is history potential with war-torn England, but since most of the books are not set in that time I wonder how much tie-in potential there is. Also, the animals are not exactly realistic, right? LOL!
Hmmm...
What do you think? Potential or no?
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lapazfarm
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JodieLyn wrote:
| The American Girl books.. they only encompass one time period each.. but together they actually do a nice job of giving a feel for the different eras. |
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Jodie, what is your opinion of the literary quality of the American Girl books? I have to admit I've never given them a second glance, assuming they were twaddly. I'd be thrilled to learn I was wrong about that. It would give me a whole new set of historical fiction resources!
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JodieLyn
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Could you draw parallels.. learn about the real animals that are fantasy in the books.. draw connections to historical events that are LIKE the ones in Narnia?
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Jodie, wife to Dave
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I know these are not the highest literary quality but they're good for rabbit trails. The Dear America Series including the Royal Diaries. My oldest has enjoyed some of these and always ends up wanting to learn more (and if events are accurate).
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Jenny
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lapazfarm wrote:
Mackfam wrote:
:: Narnia
....but surely you've already read that aloud. |
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Yes, but Narnia is always worthy of a repeat performance.
However, I wonder if being a fantasy series would it lend itself well to the type of history/geography/nature-study-type rabbit trails I'm thinking of? Obviously there is history potential with war-torn England, but since most of the books are not set in that time I wonder how much tie-in potential there is. Also, the animals are not exactly realistic, right? LOL!
Hmmm...
What do you think? Potential or no? |
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Well, actually...while both wide and deep, I don't think it really fits the criteria you're going after.
I think we're all hitting our heads over *SWALLOWS AND AMAZONS*!!! Glad Jenn dropped it in here!
Another I thought of...if she enjoys horses, the Marguerite Henry books (scroll down on this page for a complete list) offers a diverse range of cultures/periods. That could be a really fun year with horses around the world.
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Jen Mackintosh
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The American Girl books (the historical ones anyway) are written for younger children to read to themselves. A bit higher reading level than the Magic Tree House books. But an early chapter book for reading on their own. So they are somewhat simpler. But the information in them is good. And I have found they manage to give a fairly good portrayal of the time period, without going too much into difficult subjects for smaller children.
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JodieLyn wrote:
| The American Girl books (the historical ones anyway) are written for younger children to read to themselves. A bit higher reading level than the Magic Tree House books. But an early chapter book for reading on their own. So they are somewhat simpler. But the information in them is good. And I have found they manage to give a fairly good portrayal of the time period, without going too much into difficult subjects for smaller children. |
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I personally have been using these with my dd 7 this year. They are extra light independent reading for her and yes they are great for covering some subjects she might be too young for  .
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It's not a series, but Hitty: Her First Hundred Years by Rachel Field is just so excellent! Starts in the 1800s with whaling ships.
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Can't you all see Theresa writing a tremendous study using these books!? 
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4Real Forums : Living Literature
Topic: Books deep and wide
