Posted By admin on June 9, 2009

Interesting Ancient Byzantine

Which "Story of the World" (Bauer) should I begin with?

My daughter is going into 6th grade. We are wanting to teach about the ancient world and its impact on modern society. I've always been interested in the Story of the World series, but being she's going into 6th grade and that we have certain interests in what to teach, I didn't know if this would be the right place to start, and if it is, which one to begin with.
Any good suggestions would be greatly appreciated. The local school will be teaching Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, China, Greece, Rome & Byzantine, Feudalism, the Crusades, Island, Plagues, Renaissance and Reformation, European Exploration, Aztecs, Mayas, Incas, Africa, Japan, and China. This is important because there is a "chance" we might be having to eventually place her in school, and if we do, we want her to have enough educational experience that correlates, for the most part.
Thanks in advance.

I agree with Jana. I just got my SotW off the shelf to refresh my memory because we had read it to younger children as history and then later some used it as a reader because they just liked it. (We let them choose their own reading about half the time.)

An average sixth grader should have no problem covering Book I in a semester and doing Book II the second half of the year as a history course. In fact, using only one book a year would be more like a third-grade pace. If you decide not to use the tests, this series lends itself to writing mini essays and one-paragraph papers.

For really young children it won't make much difference what order you use -- a kid who is still learning to count to 100 won't grasp the difference between 3000 BC and 1500 AD. But by the time a kid is 11 or 12, it is good to start at the beginning and progress forward through time.

Category: Antiques
Tags: education, history, maps, reference, rome