Let's talk about Robinson Curriculum History. I wanted a little more than the reading list alone so I've put some thought into low maintenance history curriculum options (elementary-middle school age) using Robinson Curriculum (RC) resources and what I have at home already. My objectives are that the curriculum be mainly student driven with myself acting as a facilitator and structured around some curriculum spine. I'll discuss a few spine options. I've included links to as much as I could. Products from Amazon are affiliate links, so I'll earn a small commission if you buy through them. The method is as follows:
1. Books: They read them or you read to them. You may wish them to take notes. My boys do chapter summaries and a final summary at the end of all the books they read from the book list. I have two levels. Level 1 is visual focused. Level 2 is writing focused.
2. Narration: Students tell parent what they read (or heard), orally. This could be each day, once a week, at the end of a book or upon some other determined checkpoint.
3. Cross reference research: I'd like them to examine, at least, one other source that is non-fiction. So if they are reading The Life of George Washington a trip to the library may be in order to grab some reading on him or the American Revolution. You may opt for a book you already have at home, the encyclopedia, or a documentary or kids' programming. I enjoy Prager U Kids videos on history topics. History Skills is a website worth looking at. We also watch history videos at Brookdale House.
4. A Book of Centuries: As they read and study about different times and events they will make a record of what they learned in a Book of Centuries. I've linked the one I created but there are many other prefabricated options on Amazon, or you could just use a notebook. I found some free history figure printables to cut and paste into their book. We personally are doing this as a family so we only needed one book.
Here are some different spine options for this method.
Option 1: Just read the RC core reading list in order and apply this method to those categorized history or social studies. Easy.
Option 2: Add a secondary reading spine for history or social studies. I am mainly using the Henty books for this option. You can pay extra for the pdf's from RC or buy physical books or check them out if your library carries them. You can also download them for free from Project Gutenberg. You could use any other collection of readers you prefer.
Option 3: Obtain an outside history curriculum spine. Any academic history book or history outline, will work. I had a few lying around. We are getting less and less RC here so if you are a purist this will not be for you. If you lean a little eclectic and are more RC+ this may be your jam. Here are a few examples.
Example A: An entire curriculum such as The Good & The Beautiful History This is our personal choice currently. I bought Year 1 and 2 and we do a chapter as a family each Sunday. I only have the energy to do it once a week but everyone looks forward to it and it feels like a pleasant family activity akin to game night. You don't have to buy the entire curriculum. You could just get the downloadable version of the course book and the story book. My oldest chooses a Henty book each time he comes to a Rover Boys book in the reading list. He read the first couple and decided he preferred to go with Henty in their place. He just picks a Henty that fits within the time frame we are currently covering with our spine. With TGATB all the above mentioned components are already present.
Example B: A History Encyclopedia. We own one from DK books we enjoy.
Example C: Any history outline. I included one in my Book of Centuries for reference but you could find any out of a book or online that list the times and events you would like to cover.
So those are my options for history using RC books and the Henty collection. A dive into a rich, delicious, luscious, warm and fuzzy splendid history education awaits. Are you dying to try one of these out now?
Follow us on Instagram!
Comments