This is a term of work for Benj with an outline of his weekly schedule. He's 15 years old and will be starting Ambleside Online Year 11 at the beginning of next year by which time he'll have turned 16. This term has a selection of some books from AO Years 9 & 10 plus others I've added, and covers the time period around the 1700's to 1800's.
History
The Age of Revolution - Volume III
The Great Democracies - Volume IV by Winston S. Churchill
2 chapters per week with the aim of finishing both books by the end of the year. Benj said that he'd like to finish these books as he enjoys Churchill's writing. Reading lots of historical fiction by authors such as G.A. Henty when they were younger has made it much easier for my children to ease into Churchill's A History of the English-Speaking Peoples later on.
Biography
Napoleon and the Napoleonic Wars by Albert Marrin - A chapter per week.
Geography
Buccaneer Explorer (William Dampier 1652-1715) This book was started in the third term of Year 8 and will continue until the end of the year. About 8 to 10 pages per week.
Literature
The Strange Case of Dr Jeckyll & Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
Shakespeare - Hamlet. We listen to an Arkangel audio and follow along with the text once a week.
Science
Understanding Physics by Isaac Asimov
There are three volumes in this book. Benj has finished Volume 1, Motion Sound & Heat and should be finished Volume 2, Light, Magnetism & Electricity by the end of this year. He does about a chapter a week, depending on their length. He really enjoys this book, probably because Maths is one of his favourite subjects.
Microbe Hunters by Paul de Kruif
Benj has finished the first three chapters. Some of the chapters are quite long and I don't want him to rush through the book in order to squeeze in the six chapters scheduled in Year 10 so he just reads a section each per week.
Mr Tomkins Inside Himself: Adventures in the New Biology by George Gamow & Martynas Ycas
A chapter per week.
I'd been looking for a book on Biology that I thought would interest Benj (Biology not being a subject he's all that interested in) and saw that Nebby had mentioned this book. Gamow is probably more widely known for his books on physics but he has an ability to present complex scientific subjects within an understandable and engaging narrative.
Mr. Tompkins is an ordinary middle-aged man who works in a bank but whose lively interest in science apparently occupies all his spare time, waking and dreaming...his dreams somehow fit the facts he has read about in books and magazines on popular science, thus helping him to grasp the difficult concepts through his own experiences.
I've been skim reading it ahead of Benj and have found it quite interesting. Benj said Mr Tompkin's adventures reminded him a little of The Magic School Bus books he loved when he was little. There is some evolutionary content, notably in Chapter 6, where Mr Tompkins meets Charles Darwin. I'll be adding some additional resources such as videos & articles so if you're interested, let me know and I'll post what we're doing and give some more information about the book.
Keeping
Science Notebook
Commonplace Book
Nature Notebook
Latin Notebook
Timeline/Book of Centuries
Plutarch's Lives - Themistocles. I read this to Benj & Moozle weekly using Anne White's study guide.
Straight Talk by Barry Chant
Unfortunately, the corny cover doesn't do this book justice. It was published in 1977 but deals with issues that are still relevant today in a realistic and biblical manner. I've seen various books of more recent publication that address the same issues but I've been uncomfortable with their treatment of the subject. We've heard the author speak at different times and our teenage boys were part of a question and answer forum he addressed and they were impressed with his ability to communicate truth in a winsome manner on a range of hot topics.
Unfortunately, the corny cover doesn't do this book justice. It was published in 1977 but deals with issues that are still relevant today in a realistic and biblical manner. I've seen various books of more recent publication that address the same issues but I've been uncomfortable with their treatment of the subject. We've heard the author speak at different times and our teenage boys were part of a question and answer forum he addressed and they were impressed with his ability to communicate truth in a winsome manner on a range of hot topics.
How to Read a Book by Adler & Van Doren
I've had this book for ages and never got around to reading it so I started reading it aloud to Benj this year. We're up to Chapter 6 and I read a short section per week.
Ourselves by Charlotte Mason
A Fortunate Life by Albert Facey - I've been reading this aloud for a couple of months
Ourselves by Charlotte Mason
A Fortunate Life by Albert Facey - I've been reading this aloud for a couple of months
Grammar & Composition
Continuing with Jensen's Format Writing (scroll down page)
Easy Grammar Ultimate Series: Grade 10
Oral & written narrations
Maths
Saxon Advanced Maths with Art Reeds DVDs. Benj started this in August and it will probably take him through to the end of next year.
Other books from the time period being covered that I've assigned to be read freely:
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
The Hornblower books by C.S. Forester - he's already read a number of these already.
Linking to Weekly Wrap-up
5 comments:
So nice to look at what you are doing! To be honest, it kind of scares me, though! It looks like so much! But we aren't doing them all at the same time. ;) I need to be better about figuring out how many pages to do in certain books to get the finished up. Otherwise, I have too many half finished things laying around! Thank you for sharing, Carol. :)
He may not finish them all this year. I'll see how he does as we go along. I can usually tell before too long if I've been unrealistic about the amount of work to get through - I don't want to rush him just for the sake of ticking all the boxes but I do want to challenge him a bit.
Yes, please share videos & articles for the Mr. Tompkins book! :)
Can you share a bit on how you do the timeline/book of centuries? I'll go search & see if you've done that! :)
I have a few sample pages up on Pinterest:
https://www.pinterest.com/carolmhud/history-timelines/
and here: http://journey-and-destination.blogspot.com.au/2012/10/history-timelines-notebooks.html
I sometimes post them with my reviews of the different AO years we've done.
It looks like you have a great year lined up! I love your idea of reading through How to Read a Book one chapter at a time. It's been sitting unread on my shelf as well. :-)
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