Have you been struggling to find a great history program for
your student? Is history boring while
trying to learn facts about different event?
Do you struggle in teaching and analyzing history? Do you struggle in teaching how to write and
discuss different opinions of history?
Then you need to check out The Classical Historian.
I personally have taught history using another company and
their resources which almost always uses living books. The Classical Historian doesn’t use living
books or text books. This company uses
products created by John De Gree and his wife, Zdenka along with a few other
resources. Mr. De Gree realized that
there was a need in America to promote independent and critical thinking
through analysis and discussion of history.
Taken from The Classical Historian website:
For young students, The Classical Historian teaches basic facts
through history flash cards, and fun and educational games. Children ages 3-11
love to memorize and play games. They also love repetition, and are most
comfortable when the educational lessons rely on games with clear rules. Older
students, ages 12-18, enjoy to argue, like to analyze, and are eager to express
themselves. The Classical Historian uses these natural aspects of the young
student to promote the academic study of history. The aim of the study of
history is discover not only what happened, but to strive to understand why it
happened.
The Classical Historian uses a five step program to teach history. The first step is the “Grammar of History.” Steps two through five are the “Dialectic and Rhetoric of History”:
1. The Grammar of History
2. The Tools of the Historian
3. Research
4. The Socratic Discussion
5. Analytical Essays
The Classical Historian uses a five step program to teach history. The first step is the “Grammar of History.” Steps two through five are the “Dialectic and Rhetoric of History”:
1. The Grammar of History
2. The Tools of the Historian
3. Research
4. The Socratic Discussion
5. Analytical Essays
You can read more about the De Gree’s mission statement and
the research behind the structure of their curriculum here.
We received Take a Stand!
Ancient Civilizations Student's Edition, Ancient
Civilizations One Year Guide, and Teaching the Socratic Discussion DVD
Curriculum which all work together for
students in grades 6-8. You would still
need World History Detective, Ancient and
Medieval Civilizations, Book I and Global
History and Geography, Readings and Documents to complete a year of study. The other item we received was the Ancient History Go Fish Game which is
not required but makes learning history more fun. In fact, the card games offered at TheClassical Historian are great for any age pre-k through high school.
Personally, I struggled through the
Ancient History curriculum trying to figure out exactly how it all worked
together. The more time I spent
(uninterrupted) and was able to read through the guide and follow along with
the accompanying books, it made more sense to me. It goes into great detail on how to write
short and longer essays as well as discussing your view points with
others. I love the research that Mr. De
Gree has the student do for “homework” as this facilitates a greater
understanding for the information needed to write and discuss. We currently use a curriculum with Legs that
is less hands-on for the parent due to time constraints and the fact that we
want Legs (14) to learn time management and the need to be self-reliant as she
gets older. The Classical Historian is definitely
not hands-off except for the homework assignments but I can definitely see
where it could be beneficial in our home for the great writing and discussion
lessons. The parent would need to spend some time before the school year and some each week preparing the lessons. This is not a open-and-go curriculum.
Our favorite item we received was
the Ancient History Go Fish Game. We
have played Go Fish several times and even Chubbles (5) was able to play and
win. She was learning without even
knowing it while having fun. Collect the
Cards was a favorite of Dude (10) and Lil Red (8) who are both pretty
competitive. The clues are read straight
from the cards and others had to try to guess the location. This not only reinforced the history events
and locations it was also another way for reading skills to be practiced which
was a bonus. The set of playing cards
also included instructions for two more games called Continents Game and
Chronology Game. These last two games
are a little more difficult and even the adults in the house were stumped
during a few rounds. It looks like we
all need to beef up our history memory a little bit.
The Classical Historian company
also offers Medieval and American History card games like the set we received
and memory card sets as well. For grades
6-8, The Classical Historian offers curriculum for Ancient Civilizations,
Medieval Civilizations and American History. If you are looking for curriculum for grades 9-12, The Classical Historian
offers Modern American History, Modern World History and American Government
& Economics.
Pros: The card games are really
fun and easy to implement into your schedule already. I love that all ages in my house can enjoy the
games and learn while having fun. The
history curriculum covers writing and discussing fully. There is no doubt that a student would finish
a year of the curriculum with a great background for writing which would
prepare them for college.
Cons: The two biggest cons I can
find with this program is that this is not a hands-off curriculum for the
teacher. It definitely involves the
teacher each day/lesson. The cost may be
another factor for some families but some the books might be able to be found
at used book stores or libraries.
This review is a part of Mosaic
Reviews: A medley of review perspectives.
To see other perspectives, please visit here after June 28th.
This is my last review with Mosaic
Reviews. If you are interested in being
a part of their team, leave me a comment and I will send you the
information. It is a great team to work
with and I highly recommend it!
