Curriculum
|
|
Ambleside Online/House of Education Online - Year 8Please be advised that these booklists and curriculum suggestions are incomplete without a thorough understanding of Charlotte Mason's ideas and methods. We cannot emphasize enough that you take time to familiarize yourself with her philosophy by reading her books. History studied in Year 8: 1400's-1688 (Renaissance to Reformation) Term 1: 1400's-1605; Term 2: 1605-1649; Term 3: 1649-1688 Note: One asterisk * means a book will be used in Term One. Two asterisks ** means Term Two, and three *** means Term Three. No asterisks mean the book will be used for all three terms. This is a collection of some of the best resources for this time period. Even Advisory members aren't able to cover all of these with their own students and have to be selective. Feel free to pick and choose from among these suggestions. (If this looks overwhelming for your student, you might consider plan B - a lightened load for year 8. See it here). Formatted etexts for year 8 can be accessed by joining the etext email list. BIBLE The Bible - Use a plan of your own preference, or follow this suggestion for this year: Atlas of the Holy Land Charlotte Mason had her students reading a commentary. We suggest you use what fits best with your family's belief system, keeping in mind that this year should be a bit meatier than previous years. Suggested Devotional Reading Keep a century book and century chart The New World by Winston Churchill, which is Volume 2 of his 4 volume set, A History of the English Speaking Peoples. The next two volumes will be used in the next two years of HEO. This has recently gone out of print, but is widely available through used book sites such as AddAll.com, and often available at auction on eBay. (Note: PLEASE contact Barnes & Noble Publishing and strongly suggest (beg, plead, cry) that they republish their lovely slipcased edition of this set!) Separate volumes may be available from Barnes and Noble (don't get the one edited by Henry Steele Commager, it's abridged) Speeches * Thomas More, Choose, preferably, the written play A Man For All Seasons by Robert Bolt OR, as a second option, William Roper's (Thomas More's son-in-law) biography * Christopher Columbus, Mariner by Samuel Eliot Morison (This book, especially ch 11, will require parental screening) OR The Life of Christopher Columbus by Edward Everett Hale Map Drills Whatever Happened to Justice by Richard Maybury Ourselves by Charlotte Mason, approximately 22 pages per term. This book will continue through all the remaining years of HEO curriculum. This is the 4th volume of Mason's 6 Volume Series, currently in print. This year: pages 66-135 of Book 1. If you don't own CM's Series but prefer a 'hard copy' to an online text, used copies of Volume 4 can be found online, or you can purchase Book I, Self-Knowledge, the first half of Volume 4, as a separate paperback book. Also available in a modern English paraphrase that can be read online or purchased. Plutarch's Lives - follow the schedule posted at Ambleside Online. Utopia by Sir Thomas More, Term 1 and half of Term 2 (read for 20 weeks) also available by book/chapter Charlotte Mason had students at this level read the daily news and keep a calendar of events. We suggest students choose the most important 2 or 3 stories of the week and re-write them in their own words as a chronicle of the year, making the heading of each page something like "This Week in History, September 1st, 2003." Parents: pre-read and filter current events materials (on the web, or in print) as necessary, due to the potential for coverage and topics of an explicit nature, even from conservative sources. We've listed some possible options here. Web blogs are an important new media form. News is being reported there, in some cases, faster and more accurately than other, older media forms. Students should learn about them, find one they trust, and check is regularly. However, we recommend that parents first become familiar with blogs and visit the one(s) their children will frequent. We suggest several poliblogs here, but parents should know that not every message on these blogs will be 'child-friendly' and often have ads that include scantily clad women. Also, most blogs link to a multitude of other blogs and sites that may not be child-friendly. Comments posted on blogs can be considered a new media equivalent of a letter to the editor, and students should learn how to communicate well on blogs. Shakespeare - Continue with Ambleside Online Rotation. The History of English Literature for Girls and Boys by H. E. Marshall ch 32-59. Purchase from Kelly Kenar, who typed this e-text for the use of HEO. Postage at lulu.com is automatically set to UPS ground which is expensive, but you can choose media mail which is substantially cheaper. (Note - if you purchase this book, we request that you purchase from the link provided, as other publishers' reprints of this book have used Kelly's hand-typed etext for their own profit.) * Everyman, a Morality Play (a slightly less archaic version is here) Check online sites such as Librivox for free audio readings of poems; this is a growing project and more poems are online every month. * Fierce Wars and Faithful Loves, which is Spenser's Fairie Queene Book I updated and annotated by Roy Maynard (purchase here) The Roar on the Other Side: A Guide for Student Poets by Suzanne Clark, widely available. Published by Canon Press; also available at amazon.com. Our Mother Tongue: An Introductory Guide to English Grammar by Nancy Wilson This book has 49 chapters. One suggestion is to spread the book over two years, doing about 9 chapters per term. Begin written narrations, 3 per week, varying among subjects. Include one written narration from a reading earlier in the week. AO's Language Arts Scope and Sequence for this level is here. Scripture suggestions: * Romans 6; ** 1 Cor. 13; *** Psalms 139 Shakespeare - selected passages, all terms. Bartlett's Familiar Quotations is a helpful tool for looking for quotable sections from various plays of Shakespeare, especially quotes from the various plays which appear in various other literature. Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th edition, is online (in html and text here.) Note: To get the list of plays from the Bartlett's Familiar Quotations page, try selecting 1) the Author index, then select 2) the Shakespeare entry, which should provide a list of quotations from the first play in the list; and then try selecting 3) Shakespeare's name above the quotations. This last step should bring you to an index of the plays, not just the list of quotations. Or, you may go directly to the play needed from the Shakespeare play index. Poetry - a poem by that term's poet, all terms. Include selections from Shakespeare, the Bible, poetry and other sources. These selections may be the same ones used for recitation. Continue your math program; for some options, see this page. The Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock - Continue to use as in previous years with the Ambleside Online curriculum. Apologia science materials by Dr. Jay Wile. Read the suggested course sequencing at http://www.highschoolscience.com to determine what will work best for the needs of your student, based on interest and math level. If a student missed out on the Ambleside science selections and nature study rotation, General Science should be considered as a starting point with Apologia materials; otherwise start with Physical Science. Read through Jay Wile's website, especially "course sequencing" to see what will work best for the needs of your student based on interest and math level. If financial resources are a concern, any of their science courses may easily be stretched to two years. Keep flower and bird lists of species seen, select a special study for outdoor work, and continue to maintain nature notebooks. Rural Hours by Susan Fenimore Cooper (Note: Alternatively, you may choose the nature writings of Edwin Way Teale if you have them on your shelf. Unfortunately, these are not online, and go in and out of print. A particular favorite is The Circle of Seasons but other titles are also commendable.) How To Read a Book by Mortimer Adler (may be saved for a later year) - Please be sure to get the revised edition, and read only Part 2 this year (this book continues into Year 10). This breaks down to five chapters for the year, seven weeks to get through each chapter. This is slow, but this material is weighty and should give much material for reflection and discussion. The revised version was written by both Mortimer J. Ader And Chares Van Doren. If Van Doren is not a co-writer, it's the older book. It was revised in 1972, but later books may not be called "revised." The version to use has five chapters in part 1; 7 chapters in part 2; 7 chapters in part 3; and two chapters in part 4. The unrevised edition may have fewer parts. The Story of Painting by H. W. Janson - chapters 4-5 this year. (some nudity; parents should preview first.) Continue the artist rotation posted at Ambleside Online. Work on drawing skills. Illustrate a scene from reading of your choice once a week, more as desired. Continue composer rotation posted at Ambleside Online. Singing: Three Folk Songs in English - you may choose to continue the Folk Song rotation at Ambleside Online; as well as the Ambleside rotation for Hymns each term. Carols would do for the Winter term. Work on each song about 4 weeks. Folksongs which are particularly appropriate selections for the Year 8 time frame include: Begin Latin if you've not started already. Fearfully and Wonderfully Made by Paul Brand; preview this first. P.E.: Charlotte Mason had them do house or garden work, make Christmas presents, other crafts, sew, cook, learn first aid . . . Kenilworth by Sir Walter Scott (or other Scott novel) Useful for future reference: A Guide to the Best Historical Novels and Tales by Jonathan Nield Many thanks to David Hicks, author of Norms and Nobility, for his kind permission to draw from his work and ideas. For more information please see the amazon.com link to the 1999 edition of his book. Last update Mar. 16, 2007 |
| Top | Copyright © 2004-2008 Ambleside Online. All rights reserved. Use of this curriculum subject to the terms of our License Agreement. | Home |