How did/do you use Notgrass Exploring World History?

[mama25angels]

I have it and am planning to use it for my 12th grader this year. I don't have the "In Their Words" book and am wondering if it is really necessary. I do plan to add a few more Lit. books and some more Bible. Thanks

[Alphabetika]

I haven't used Notgrass World History, though we do own it. Last year my dd used Notgrass American. In my opinion, the "In Their Words" book is what makes this curriculum more than just a textbook, and I would not skip it. My dd had expressed a desire for a more "Textbooky" history, rather than the literature approach we'd been using. After investigating, it was the addition of the documents and literature in the extra book that made me willing to part with lit-based history and go with Notgrass. ;) My dd had an excellent year in history and we do plan to use the World History, with added literature.

How we used it: She worked mostly independently. She would read each lesson and answer the questions in writing, which was her choice to help her retain the material. Often I would read her the extra documents, because they were written in challenging language so I helped her understand them (where I could!), or just because I wanted the education for myself. The extra documents are what made the history come alive, reading the words, thoughts and philosophies of people in each time period in American history. It's a much better education than I ever received!

We didn't use the English/writing portion, though she did read most of the literature. She also dropped the Bbile portion after a few months, mainly for scheduling reasons and because she had ample Bible study in other ways. The book is divided up neatly into 5-lesson increments, one of which is Bible study. The 4-day schedule worked well for us because one day of the week was spent out of the house in musical pursuits. So, she did a lesson a day for 4 days a week and answered the questions, divided the literature up in order to fit it into the time allotted. We also watched two documentary series according to her interests.

I would think you could use the WH in this same way, but you could add even more literature and documentaries/movies to make it richer. We really like Notgrass and are thankful for their ministry.

HTH!:)

[mama25angels]

Thank you so much for your response.