Truthquest for Highschool

[MerryAtHope]

Do you use this--What are your likes & dislikes?
Do you do a timeline with it?
Do you get a book with primary sources, or get these off the internet or go to the library...?
Anyone incorporate Sonlight with it?

I'd love to hear your experiences with it! We're looking at starting next year for 8th & 6th grades and going through high school.

Thanks, Merry :-)

[lisak]

My daughter uses Truthquest. We tried a few other curriculums in prior years before settling with this one. I purchase the guide early in the year. Then I make a list of items I must purchase, usually all of the spines and a few other books. We use the library for any fiction we want to add to the subjects.

For scheduling, I go through the table of contents and try to break it down based upon the number of weeks I am planning for the year. So far, we have only completed one guide per year. She is currently studying the Middle Ages.

Since this is her first year of high school, I thought she should do a bit more writing with the guide, so we are trying to work in the Think Write questions. Some go well, and other's do not. We haven't focused on a timeline. It is suggested in the front of the guide and would probably be helpful. I have added project packs from Hands of a Child. These work well for her as she is visual and it usually has a timeline. With the current study, she did this pack before beginning the guided studies, so it gave a her good overview of what was to come. I purchased a timeline prepared by Greenleaf Press that we refer to from time to time.

She likes literature and Truthquest works well for her. I have never incorporated anything else into it as it has plenty of literature selections, as well as some hands-on activities to go along with it.

Hopefully you will receive more responses to help you with planning.

Lisa

[Rhondabee]

Do you use this--What are your likes & dislikes?
Do you do a timeline with it?
Do you get a book with primary sources, or get these off the internet or go to the library...?
Anyone incorporate Sonlight with it?

I'd love to hear your experiences with it! We're looking at starting next year for 8th & 6th grades and going through high school.

Thanks, Merry :-)

I am using it this year with my 9th grader, and really like it. I wish there were more essay prompts. But, I like the amount of worldview presented. I like that I can use real books. I like that I can dip in and out of great books (and have found so many high-school level, adapted versions of the history-related great books that are do-able in the timeframe we have). I like that I can use IEW for writing, and easily work it into the curriculum. (Or, I should say, I like that I can use *any* writing curriculum and not feel guilty about not using the writing curriculum that came bundled with history - make sense?)

I also have a book titled Sources of the Western Tradition (http://www.amazon.com/Sources-Western-Tradition-Ancient-Enlightenment/dp/0618473866/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1263938843&sr=8-1) which I picked up cheap from Amazon. I think it might be a college text. It is nothing but primary sources - but the sources have introductory material and discussion questions. It is not referenced in the TruthQuest guide, but it is easy to work in.

I let my DS stop doing a timeline because: 1. we have not been using a source that has a timeline embedded in the reading, and 2. my DS said the only time he looked at the timeline was just to fill it out and that it was a waste of time. So...since we did a timeline in middle school, I let it go.

I don't incorporate SL with it. I have based this year somewhat on Beautiful Feet's weekly set-up, with 3 lessons a week. (I used BF for Egypt, and I will also be using BF's guide when we read Caesar Augustus' world - book recommended in TQ.) DS is also reading through the assignments in GreenLeaf Press's Old Testament Study Guide daily, and I'm counting that as "history" this year. So, I don't know if I'll be able to get away with the 3 lessons/week next year.

I really turned to TQ in desperation this year after trying to do WTM history on our own. So I don't have a planning method which anyone would care to emulate - LOL! This year I have used it only for history, and we're using SMARR's Ancient Lit and Heroes of the City of Man for literature.

I am happy with TQ, but I am not worried about trying to do AP tests or other things. It might not be "enough" if that is your goal.

Also, I read almost everything my DS reads. (Usually, I read more since I try to find "the best" source for each subject - LOL!) TQ does not have "cheat sheets" for the teacher with discussion questions and answers. (Or even just notes for the teacher, as in the back of a SL Core.) If you are looking for that, you will probably be disappointed.

(I am using SL's Core 6 in a *very* tweaked manner for my 6th grader's history assignments, and I only use TQ for my high schooler. I know that TQ would recommend having them together, but having BTDT with other curriculum, I'd rather not. Everyone is much happier when they are each free to work at their own levels, but having someone else to help plan those levels does help keep me sane!)

hth

[MerryAtHope]

Thanks. I use SL 5 now but I'm so bad about using the IG that I'm wondering if it's worth it for me to get it next year...I don't know!

Merry :-)

[LNC]

My children are young and I'm using TQ AHYS. I plan on continuing with the 4 year plan for the older books. Then, for my daughter's junior and senior year she will take AP US and AP European through Pennsylvania homeschoolers. If my son follow along with my daughter he will need another history course for 9th and 10th also.

Here is the TQ 4 year plan. They will notebook using History Scholars for high school by History Scribe. We will read aloud and discuss together, and I'll assign research papers and essays pertaining to history. I will make a reading list and schedule for the TQ in quarter plans similar to how I do now.

http://docs.google.com/View?docID=0AWB50tvvWfevZGNmNjljaHNfMTJnOGIzNTNkMw&revision=_latest


Four-year plan:
1) Ancient Egypt/Ancient Greece; Ancient Rome
2) Middle Ages; Renaissance/Reformation; begin Age of Revolution I
3) finish Age of Revolution I; Age of Revolution II
4) Age of Revolution III

http://www.historyscribe.com/hs-historyscholar.htm

[Rhondabee]

Thanks. I use SL 5 now but I'm so bad about using the IG that I'm wondering if it's worth it for me to get it next year...I don't know!

Merry :-)

Speaking of SL 5...

The other thing that I guess is a bit of a "con" to TQ is that it really focuses only on Western Civilization. So, I had to look elsewhere for info on Ancient Sumer, Babylon, Assyria, Persia, India and China. (Well, I haven't really gotten to China...and may not because there's just so much in TQ.)

That is another reason I am using (the first half of) SL6 for my 6th grader - so that he gets a bigger, world-wide picture without too much extra work from me. I've covered the non-western civilizations very scantily with my 9th grader this year (though, he covered them in middle school).

[Cindie2dds]

Rhondabee,
Thank you for pointing this out. We are switching to TQ from SL, but will probably go back for Core 5. I have always wanted to use Core 5 and this is a great fit for middle school.