Modern History & Geography, Form 2

Description:

Modern History & Geography will combine living books, narration, timeline, and maps to help students create connections between modern history and the world around them.

In the History portion of the class, students will build beautiful keepsake Record of Time notebook binders and follow the narrative of history through The Story of the World, Volumes 3 and 4. They will read, narrate, and discuss passages from Story of the World and possibly other living history texts. In addition, students may work on developing outlining skills as they build their timeline of world history with illustrations and notes. There will be weekly reading assignments that are generally two chapters per week in the Story of the World text. Reading at home is essential to being able to successfully follow the class lesson and narration discussion and so that the students will be able to complete the time period under study by the end of the academic year.

Bluebonnet Scholars offers history on a rotating three-year cycle with studies synchronized across Forms 1 through 3 (grades K through 10th) so that all students are studying the same time period together. Spine texts for Form 2 (grades 4–6) History are included below:

• Cycle Year 1 (2026–27): Ancient through Early Medieval History (creation to c. 860 AD)—The Story of the World, all of Vol. 1 & part of Vol. 2
• Cycle Year 2 (2027–28): Medieval through Early Modern History (c. 860 AD to 1797)—The Story of the World, part of Vol. 2 & part of Vol. 3
• Cycle Year 3 (2025–26): Modern History (c. 1797 to today)—The Story of the World, part of Vol. 3 & all of Vol. 4

In the Geography portion of the class, students will study and reproduce maps as well as possibly read, narrate, and discuss portions from living geography books in a rotating three-year cycle:

• Cycle Year 1 (2026–27): Geography I (Middle East, Europe, & North Africa); Prisoners of Geography: Our World Explained in 12 Simple Maps (part); and living geography read-aloud books
• Cycle Year 2 (2027–28): Geography II (Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, Oceania, and the Americas); Prisoners of Geography: Our World Explained in 12 Simple Maps (part); and living geography read-aloud books
• Cycle Year 3 (2025–26): Geography I Review (condensed review of Middle East, Europe, & North Africa); Prisoners of Geography: Our World Explained in 12 Simple Maps (part); States and Capitals; Don’t Know Much About the 50 States; and living geography read-aloud books

In addition, every week or two students will spend some time working on maps. Students may have an opportunity to research and present on one country or historical person of interest in a year-end World Fair/Who’s Who.