Read Aloud Thursday

I'm a sucker for pretty buttons!

The following books compose the foundation of our Canadian History Read-Aloud Program--more accurately known as Meghan's Reading plan. Yesterday, I got through three days worth of assigned reading (without the accompanying novel) and I'm thrilled. This has been very difficult to implement, but I think it is wonderful way to learn Canadian History and the kids love it too.

So, here is the first book.
Our History Spine.

(Mine looks a bit different, of course. It has a shaggy head and mane of different coloured post-it notes!)

The author has his own opinions and always lets us know what they are. It's extremely well written and entertaining and incredibly informative. I have learned so much!



This book is highly irreverent and the jokes and puns are bad--but that makes it fun. The kids really enjoy it.



This tome is an interesting gem. It's full of stories and poems about Canada. The author of Meghan's Reading plan has woven these stories through out other readings like beautiful illustrations.

As for other read-alouds, well, I'm working on pulling together a literature unit on Fairy Tales. That should be fun.

Jackdaws.

In The Well-Trained Mind, Jesse Wise and Susan Wise Bauer advise that starting in fifth grade, a student should begin to study history using primary source documents. They helpfully include a list of questions the student should run through whenever evaluating a primary source document and then they recommend a few providers of such documents.

There is one on-line called the Internet Modern History Sourcebook (which I will check out another time) and Jackdaws.

Each portfolio/area of interest is to take one to two weeks. The authors don't recommend a set number of these to do, but for fifth grade they recommend six different ones, and for sixth grade they recommend four. These, however, are based on the available materials from Jackdaw for the time period being covered and so are not "grade specific." Hard to say, then, how many one shoould do in any given school year.

The suggestions in WTM for which Jackdaws to study during the same time period as SoTW3 follow a course of American history. Of course, my interests are not the same, so I've had to come up with my own list. (All prices in US dollars from the Jackdaw site)


SoTW2:
Columbus and Explorers Come to the New World $51.95


SoTW3: Possible Jackdaws for study.

SoTW 3:4 The Northwest Passage $27.95

SoTW 3:12 Cromwell's Protectorate $27.95

SoTW 3:12 The Plague and Fire of London$51.95

SoTW 3:16 Newton and Gravitation $51.95

SoTW 3:21? Wolfe at Quebec (1759) $51.95

SoTW 3:25 The French Revolution $51.95

SoTW 3:33 The War of 1812 However, it seems to be a bit one-sided--and on the wrong side for us! $51.95

Famous Men and SoTW

Well, I've got Famous Men of Modern Times by John Haaren correlated with the Chapters in SoTW3, at least. (I did SoTW2 a few weeks ago)

Here it is in case it is useful to anyone else:
(SoTW Volume#:Chapter #)

Famous Men of Modern Times
by
John H. Haaren


Lorenzo the Magnificent
Christopher Columbus (2:31)
Ferdinand of Aragon (2:28)
Vasco da Gama (2:31)
Chevalier Bayard
Cardinal Wolsey (2:34)
Charles V of Germany (3:1)
Solyman the Sublime (2:24)
Sir Francis Drake (2:42)
Sir Walter Raleigh (2:40)
Henry of Navarre
Wallenstein (3:9)
Gustavus Adolphus (3:9)
Cardinal Richelieu (3:9)
Galileo (2:37)
Oliver Cromwell (3:12)
Louis XIV (3:13)
Sir Isaac Newton (3:16)
William III, King of England (3:15)
Sobieski (possibly 3:18)
Peter the Great (3:17)
Charles XII of Sweden (3:17)
Frederick the Great (3:14)
William Pitt (3:21)
George Washington (3:22 or 23)
Robespierre (3:25)
Napoleon Bonaparte (3:29)
Horatio Nelson (3:29)
Thaddeus Kosciusko (American Revolution 3:22 or, possibly, attack on Imperial Russia, 3:26)
Abraham Lincoln (4:5)
Garibaldi
William Ewart Gladstone
Count Von Bismarck

Whew.
(updated December 29, 2008)

SoTW 3--Correlating.

We aren't starting until after Christmas, but there are a number of things I want to go with our study of history, since I've decided to become serious about this chronological thing.

This post will serve as my list of things to correlate and the resources I've found to help me do that.

SoTW3 starts in the latter half of the 16th Century and ends in 1849 with the Gold Rush.

To correlate:
Timeline Figures by Amy Pak. Already done here.
Kingfisher History Encyclopedia
Child's History of the World by Hillyer.
Both of these are done here (along with tons of other things).
John Haaren, Famous Men of the Modern Times
James Baldwin, Famous Stories (if any).
Jackdaw portfolios.
Books to read.
Science Figures
Art History
Music

And, of course, I want to slip in some concurrent Canadian History. That may be a major challenge! (The chapters with US content are listed here).

If you know of any other resources, I'd love to know, too!

The Bayeux Tapestry

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Dear Mother,
I am fighting the Normans. I am trying to kill King William because he wants the throne of England. He shouldn't have it. He's a Norman. He thinks he should have it because he is married to the princess. He made Harold swear to let him be the King but it was a trick.

Love Edgar


Dear Mom,
I write in bad troubled times. The King (Sir William) has ordered us to sea. We are going into hell tomorrow. So starts the battle. I pray you are safe as I write. I love you Mom. It is said the King was insulted by the English King!

--Later--

Victory! We won the battle. It was won before it started. We attacked the enemy. The King killed the English King. We were attacked from every side. 100 men were killed that day. I thank you Mom. Your last letter helped me through this. I love you Mother. I hope I will come home soon.

Love Alec.

Writers, Take Note!

I am a Canadian.

I learned nothing about Canadian History in school. It may have been taught and I was alseep, all I know is that I didn't become fascinated with Canadian History until I wrestled with the inanity of the decisions of Judicial Committee of the Privy Council back in Journalism school. (Never mind. It would take far too long to explain).

In any event, I want my children to know their history. What I have been able to discover is utterly fascinating. I haven't made it to Confederation, yet, mind you. I may change my mind when I get there.

Today, someone asked on a message board: Could we help her pull together some literature and geography for her to teach her kids about Canada?

I went digging around in my files (really, I think my on-line name ought to be "web-scavenger") and I found a document I'd saved from someone's web-site ages ago called "Read Your Way Through Canadian History."

"Bonanza!" you might say.

Well, not quite.

I started looking through the list to find the books: first my local library, then Amazon, then Google Books. I was just trying to find descriptions of them. I took one tiny section of the list: Early Explorers. Of the 23 books cited, my library has 6 of them. This is instructive as my library doesn't seem to carry oop (out of print) books. And indeed, a random search of the remaining books seems to be that they are indeed oop.

But my library does have lots of books on John Cabot, Hudson, Cartier, Champlain, and Radisson. But they are, for the most part, factual books. They tell you when each of them explored, how many voyages each took, they show maps and who went with them, who backed them, what they found, blah, blah, blah. But, they are not adventure stories. Why not? Why make history boring, dry and factual when it was full of danger and fear and courage and excitement?

So, authors, take note. Canadians need stories. Our kids need the stories of their past. Maps and facts are fine but after the feel of the sea breeze in your hair, after the relief of sighting land after many months of dry biscuit and stale water, after the wonder of looking at so many trees, after the wonder of exchanging all your buttons for luxurious furs, after the feel of boarding a canoe and shooting the rapids.

Is it any wonder Canadians don't know their history?