History and Geography
Another informative evening with a wide variety of approaches covered, from a structured chronological approach to history, through more interest and needs based approaches to unschooling. Special thanks to Jen, Sandra, Linda and Liz for sharing their ideas and resources. No matter which approach we use I’m sure we can make use of some of the ideas below.
· Specialist historically based board games such as Cleopatra, Ticket to Ride, Thebes and Age of Empires. They have fun and learn history by osmosis. To check out a huge variety of these games and to find suppliers go to http://pixelpark.co.nz/.
· John rang the board games distributor and below are his suggestions of good beginner games for teens:
Elfenland
Alhambra
Pillars of the earth (cooperative)
Pandemic (cooperative)
Notredam,e
Stationmaster (card game)
Tikal
Hansa
Drakon
Ticket to Ride
Reviews and play information can be viewed at www.boardgamegeek.com
Elfenland
Alhambra
Pillars of the earth (cooperative)
Pandemic (cooperative)
Notredam,e
Stationmaster (card game)
Tikal
Hansa
Drakon
Ticket to Ride
Reviews and play information can be viewed at www.boardgamegeek.com
· There are good geography games too including Atlas Adventure and various card games. Jigsaw puzzles are also good.
· Plenty of historical fiction and living books e.g. The Runaway Settlers plus a wide variety of non-fiction. Libraries are great for this.
· History Encyclopaedias
· Historically based movies e.g. Ben Hur, Gandhi (Alice’s in Videoland has a good collection as does the library). Teach with the Movies (www.teachwithmovies.org/) has study guides to help make the most of movies as does Film Education Resources (www.filmeducation.org/resources.html)
· Documentaries – especially from the twentieth century which have lots of real footage of actual events
· Make you own timeline and including family, historical events and anything else of interest.
· The internet is a great resource for podcasts, websites and interactive games.
· You can listen to actual lectures as podcasts or work through the course material, including assignments.
· You Are There (www.archive.org/details/You_Are_There_OT) is a series of about seven dozen or so radio broadcasts which aired from 1947 to 1950. Each episode is a fictional news report "live from the scene" of an important event in history. As the reporter conducts interviews with famous people (and not-so-famous people) and you hear realistic sound effects, you can imagine that you have been transported back in time - and history is unfolding right before your very ears.
· Many universities (e.g. Berkeley, MIT) now have a lot of material on line.
· Books in the Dummies and Idiots series can provide a good introduction.
· Atlases, globes and maps are indispensible for geography. Also Google Earth
· Homemade games e.g. 2 minutes to identify as many places on a map as they can.
· Horrible History magazine – the fun cartoon format does include some good historical content and can spark further interest.
· Have them actually practice the skills of history rather than just read about it i.e. research their family history or some aspect of local history. The public library has many wonderful resources for this e.g. old newspapers on microfiche.
· Visit places of local historic significance e.g. guided tour of the Arts Centre, walking tours of historic buildings, stopping to investigate the AA signs for places of historic interest while out driving. Heritage Week has special activities which can be relevant. The museum offers various field trips and other activities for groups. Contact the Education Officer for a brochure.
· Use current affairs as a springboard to history and geography i.e. where is that place and why is that event happening there?
· Talk to family members about their experiences e.g. during World War II
· Visit graveyards
· Learning about the history of everyday things or something they are passionate about e.g. food , pens, cars
· Learn some skills such as analysing primary and secondary sources, balancing different interpretations about the past – between historians, between countries, between official and alternative accounts
· Historical calendars – either purchased (www.learningcalendar.com/) or homemade like Linda’s
· Student’s Friend. A chronological but brief (very brief ) history textbook with just the facts. It is available free to download. The website has supporting material including quizzes, questions for discussion, timeline analysis and other ideas for lesson plans.
· World History for us All. This website offers a chronological approach to history. It focuses on nine big eras and includes two other units, one looking at history, geography and time, the other on thinking about the future. Within each unit there are three types of teaching unit. The panorama lessons (mainly PowerPoint presentations) look at the big picture, landscape units look at a slightly smaller picture and then the close up units focus more narrowly still. Within this framework three essential questions and seven key themes are focussed on. All the lessons are free to download.
· Learning Through History Magazine (www.learningthroughhistory.com/) - Each 64-page bi-monthly magazine focuses on a single topic each issue. Articles, arts and crafts project plans, hands-on activities, study guides for historical literature, discussion questions, web links and book and video suggestions are all included
· Syllabi for the Cambridge exams can be downloaded (www.cie.org.uk )and provide a good framework to bases studies on, even if you don’t plan to do the exams.
· History Odyssey (www.pandiapress.com/history_odyssey.htm#ancients) is a series of lesson plans integrating a chronological approach to history, literature and geography. Research and writing skills are taught as well. Level 2 courses are designed for 11 years and up, while level 3 courses suit those aged 15+
· Mystery of History (www.themysteryofhistory.com/) is another chronological approach to history. This one is Christian based . Each volume includes material and activities suitable for a variety of ages so the whole family can work from a single volume.
· Nelson Cengage Learning (www.newhouse.co.nz/), formerly New House Publishers supply the popular Pathfinders and NZ Basics series as well as other social studies books
· Audio Memory (www.audiomemory.com/geography.php) has a CD, map and booklet set with geography songs – very helpful for remembering where everything is as well as detail about each place.
· Tying other subjects in with the historical time period you are studying e.g. science, maths, art and history. Lesson plans for this can be found at Living Math (www.livingmath.net/Home/tabid/250/Default.aspx) and at Harmony Fine Arts (www.harmonyfinearts.com/)
· Most home school curricula like ACE and Abeka have history and geography components.
· Curriculum Concepts (www.zenithpublishing.co.nz/cconcepts/index.php) is another supplier of New Zealand based resources for social studies, as well as other subjects.
· The CHE library has World Physical Geography (Runkle) and The Ultimate Geography and Timeline Guide (a resource full of teaching ideas for geography including both pure geography and ideas on covering geography through history, science, maths and literature) plus other resources like Henty books (historical fiction)
· Have the children research locations for holidays and plan itineraries. Have them navigate journeys (longer trips or just across town) using appropriate maps.
· United Book Co. on Peterborough Street is a source of textbooks and workbooks. Whitcoulls also stocks a range of materials by publishers such as Longman.
Interactive Maps etc
National Geographic
Geography games
By playing Sheppard Software's geography games, you will gain a mental map of the world's continents, countries, capitals, & landscapes
We Didn’t Start the Fire – Billy Joel http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2a2SS0zqmzk
Youtube, search “Today in History”
Bringing History to Life
Learning Curve is a free online resource for teaching and learning history. It follows the National Curriculum for key stages 2 to 5.
· Teachers will find original documents, photographs and film from The National Archives, supported with background information, worksheets and lesson plans.
· Students will find games and activities for thinking and learning about our past, and advice on studying and revision.
The Timeline Index
http://www.timelineindex.com/content/home.php
Age Range: about 10 and up (IMPORTANT: See note to parents below.)
The Timeline Index is a portal that provides a user-created chronological context of the following categories:
*PEOPLE, PERSONALITIES, & HEROES -
*SUBJECTS, EVENTS, & ISSUES -
*PERIODS, AGES, & EPISODES –
http://www.timelineindex.com/content/home.php
Age Range: about 10 and up (IMPORTANT: See note to parents below.)
The Timeline Index is a portal that provides a user-created chronological context of the following categories:
*PEOPLE, PERSONALITIES, & HEROES -
*SUBJECTS, EVENTS, & ISSUES -
*PERIODS, AGES, & EPISODES –
*REGIONS, CONTINENTS, & COUNTRIES –
*OBJECTS, THINGS, & CREATIONS –
Click on any timeline entry in any given topic area and a new page opens with further information that is user-created and includes some illustrations and urls to other websites where you can get more information.
You can also create your own timeline item and add it to the Timeline Index, or you can add a related link (URL) to an existing item. Details are available at the site and entries require registration.
NOTE TO PARENTS: While this is an exciting idea, it comes with an element of risk because it is user-created. There are a vast array of topics, so it was impossible to review all of the entries. While the website reserves the right to edit/remove items that are contributed
to maintain quality, it's unknown if editing occurs prior to posting. It's also unclear if suggested links for further research are reviewed for suitable content. AS ALWAYS, parents should preview the site to determine suitability of content for their own children.
Archaeology
Age Range: 10 - 17 (about middle school and up)
NOTE: I was only able to review a sampling of the videos at this site. Therefore, AS ALWAYS, parents should preview the material to determine suitability of content for their own children.
Free videos through which you can virtually experience the discovery of artifacts and monuments of civilizations from long ago.
When you get to the site you'll see a brief introduction and the featured video. Look for the narrow, black menu bar at the top of the screen and click on "Video." A new page opens with a menu of the free videos archived at this site that include:
NOTE: I was only able to review a sampling of the videos at this site. Therefore, AS ALWAYS, parents should preview the material to determine suitability of content for their own children.
Free videos through which you can virtually experience the discovery of artifacts and monuments of civilizations from long ago.
When you get to the site you'll see a brief introduction and the featured video. Look for the narrow, black menu bar at the top of the screen and click on "Video." A new page opens with a menu of the free videos archived at this site that include:
The Acropolis (Greece)
The Akha Way (Thailand)
The Anglo-American Project in Pompeii (Italy)
Anthropology Field Notes: Shipwrecks (Worldwide)
The Curse of Talakad (India)
Egypt: Gift of the Nile (Egypt)
Gila Cliff Dwellings (New Mexico)
Hopi Fires (Arizona)
Machu Picchu Revealed (Peru)
Mayas, Aztecs, and Incas (Mesoamerica, South America)
Ping Yao (China)
A Viking Landscape (Iceland
The Akha Way (Thailand)
The Anglo-American Project in Pompeii (Italy)
Anthropology Field Notes: Shipwrecks (Worldwide)
The Curse of Talakad (India)
Egypt: Gift of the Nile (Egypt)
Gila Cliff Dwellings (New Mexico)
Hopi Fires (Arizona)
Machu Picchu Revealed (Peru)
Mayas, Aztecs, and Incas (Mesoamerica, South America)
Ping Yao (China)
A Viking Landscape (Iceland
Social Studies
ClassBrain.com: Reports and Projects
http://www.classbrain.com/cb_reports.htm
Age Range: 8-17 (Due to the extensive material at this site, parents should preview the site to determine suitability of content.)
http://www.classbrain.com/cb_reports.htm
Age Range: 8-17 (Due to the extensive material at this site, parents should preview the site to determine suitability of content.)
The "Reports and Projects" section of the ClassBrain website provides a remarkable archive of information to help students write reports and develop projects about history, government, geography and social studies. The multi-media sources are engaging and include print-outs and worksheets along
with links to other sites for further research and study.
When you get to the landing page, you'll see a menu of topics to choose from that includes:
*State Reports
*Country Reports
*Defining Documents
*Biographies
*Biographies
The ClassBrain website and its mission "to assist students from 1 through 101 to explore the universe, to be inspired by the work of others around the world, to become excited about their own endeavors, and to embrace the education process."
