Joy Hakim's History of the U.S. series

[Luanne]

What age/grade are these books most suitable for?

[Laura Corin]

I think they are designed for middle school. From skimming through them I would agree: they seem too wordy for elementary and not sophisticated enough for high school.

Laura

[Night Elf]

I agree with Laura. My upper elementary student loved the first book, but her eyes began glazing over with the second book. She was listening in on her big brother's History. My ds11's K12 History course schedules these books. My dd9 is a 4th/5th grader and the information was just too much.

[LisaNY]

I agree as well - Middle School.

[Mrs. Readsalot]

They are working very well for us. I also have the teacher questionand answers that Sonlight created to go with them.

[Sue G in PA]

My dd used these as a 5th grader w/ K12 and it was WAY too much for her. Tears. every. day. Need I say more? LOL! They could, however, be used as a read aloud and would probably work. My dd would have gotten so much more out of the books had she been a bit older. I, myself, really enjoyed them and probably gleamed more American History than I did while in school :)

[abbeyej]

We're using them for 4th grade, and I consider them "challenging", but ds is enjoying them. He would definitely "get more" out of them in a few years, but isn't that true for all of us. ;)

Most libraries seem to have them (though possibly older editions) -- you could probably preview them pretty easily.

[JFS in IL]

and they are perfect. I had already used them with my 8th grader, and hoped dd could use them this year. We do them as a read-a-loud, alternating pages and discussing the material. I throw in a short video from United Streaming when I can for more visual stuff.

[siloam]

What age/grade are these books most suitable for?

Well I am the odd one out. I am using them with my 10yo. We started them about this time last year, so she was 9 and a 3rd grader. She hasn't had any problems with them...but I read them aloud and we don't cover all the little side bar issues, just the main text.

I happen to be reading them to her only, but to date (we are now finishing up book 4) I don't see where reading to the younger dc would have been a big deal. The lessons are short, except the occasional long one. They aren't nearly ad detailed as Guerber texts, not is the wording as complicated and I hear them discussed as Middle School texts too. :confused:

Maybe it depends on the kid.:cool:

Heather

[Tina Duke]

They are working very well for us. I also have the teacher questionand answers that Sonlight created to go with them.

sonlight discussion questions. my friend raves about them. do you have to buy the whole instructors guide to get them? there's no way to get them sepearately is there?

[nuttman]

I used the ones up to the Civil War last year with my 4th grade dd. I am continuing to use them with her this year. We are now at the turn of the century. I read the chapter or sometimes two chapters (if both are short) to her. I also have the worksheets which she does when appropriate. In addition I have her summarize each paragraph into a topic sentence. She has done really good with them. She makes from 80-100 on her tests.

[Soph the vet]

We are using them this year with my 4th and 2nd grader, even my 5yr. old listens....BUT....I read them during breakfast and I don't expect them to retain a lot, it is just another dose of history for the day.

[siloam]

sonlight discussion questions. my friend raves about them. do you have to buy the whole instructors guide to get them? there's no way to get them sepearately is there?

Depends on what you want. Just the question are available separately, but the answers and commentary they provide is only available with the IG (Core 100). The IG, purchased new, does come with a set of the questions as well.

Maybe you can find a used guide?

Heather

[Lux Et Veritas Academy]

I am using them with a 4th & 7th grader- as a read aloud. My 7th would be fine alone but we are doing it together. My kids have seen a lot of the sites hands on, sot hat helps:)

[Mrs. Readsalot]

sonlight discussion questions. my friend raves about them. do you have to buy the whole instructors guide to get them? there's no way to get them sepearately is there?

You can just buy the questions for the Joy Hakim books from Sonlight . Her is a link for them
http://www.sonlight.com/120-02H.html
They are great!

[StephanieZ]

I have the set and am using them as reinforcement/enrichment with my 8&11 yos as we are working through Sonlight Core 3, now Core 4. I download the audiobooks from itunes and we listen to them on long road trips as the kids read along in the book/look at the pictures. Works great for us. We do this anytime from right when we're on a topic to a few months later, depending on our road trip schedules. :)

I expect to use them more independently in a few years when my dc do Core100. For now, however, they're a great source of reinforcement and I really enjoy listening to the audiobooks.

FWIW, I'd rather have my kids spending more time reading "living" books right now than reading the text, which is why I'm not eager to push them to read the texts themselves at this point even though they're both capable of that level of reading. I think my 8 yo would definitely resist it if I assigned the reading, tho he can readily tolerate the listening.

[swimnactmom]

I am using it with a 5th grader. The publisher, Oxford University Press, offers teaching guides for elementary school and another set of teaching guides for middle school and up. I believe this engaging series combined with assignments from the instructor's guide will greatly strengthen comprehension skills.
The questions offered in the instructor's guide are challenging and require critical thinking skills. I scale back on some sections because I don't want to spend as much time on them. However, we went full steam ahead with the Declaration, Rev. War, and Constitution. I think you need to pick and choose how in-depth you want to get with each topic.
Because of the detailed coverage of the material offered through the use of the instructor's guide and having an older son in a top U.S. private school, I KNOW my home schooled son is receiving a thorough American history education. One that rivals the prestigious private schools.
I don't see a great benefit in just reading the series without the use of questions, essays, etc. When you add the challenges offered by the teaching guides, I believe the understanding of the material will be extraordinary. However, this is not an easy program. I would think a really smart 4th grader would be the youngest I would try this approach with.

[Luanne]

I appreciate all the help. :)