Sneak Peek #9: New World Geography Guide
Posted: Wed Feb 27, 2013 9:52 pm
Ladies,
It's so exciting to see the sneak peeks mounting up as the final decisions are in the works for our newest guide.
What a journey it is to get the various pieces of the guide to come together! It is exciting to be close to finishing the selections. What a joy it is for me to get to this stage!
Tonight's sneak peek is what the title of the new guide is all about! So, we've finally come to the spines of the new World Geography guide. We have spent a long time on this particular area, as geography is such an important area to study impacting every part of history, science, and the spread of the Gospel. So, as I share the choices for this area, please keep in mind that the World Religions and Cultures course I outlined last week will be taught alongside the study of World Geography. Together these two courses will provide a fuller picture of our world. 
Here is a link to that sneak peek, just in case you missed it! Link: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=13235
As we looked at resources for teaching the geography of the world, I knew we wanted living, narrative resources. I also wanted to use a chronological approach to geography that was based on the history of exploration and discovery, because geography has - and continues to play - a huge role in history. When I found Ellen's approach in Mapping the World Through Art, which used the chronological history of mapmaking at its core, I knew we'd found one of the spines of our program. Synge's Book of Discovery was our next find, and it truly matches and fleshes out Ellen's text in a way that makes the two resources seem that they were written specifically for one another!
When we added The Archeology Book, we were able to fill in some of the history of various ancient cultures from a Biblical perspective (which is such a needed and often overlooked perspective when studying ancient cultures)! We also added the Seven Wonders of the World book to give students exposure to five different groupings of various wonders of the world. These magnificent wonders will readily help students identify various geographic locations around the globe, as they are stunning markers of various cultures and communities.
Our last goal was to add a visual feast of people and places around the world to help students picture life around our globe. We deeply desired to add DVD's to the program to allow students to visit places that would otherwise be inaccessible to them during their study of geography.
However, the difficulty with adding a DVD component of geography all around the world was both in its cost and in the references to evolution that often accompany such film footage.
We finally settled on a 6 DVD set of Must See Places of the World due to its stunning visuals, its footage of places all around the world, its watchable segments, and its variety in approaches to the study of geography. This set truly brings the places students are reading about to life! I will admit that evolutionary content and references to evolution are included at times, and we will give warnings in the guide in reference to this. However, the choice was either to forego such a series (and leave students without such photography simply to avoid any evolutionary references) or to utilize the wonderful film footage of places students may never see, while still giving warnings as needed for content.
We did look for comparable Christian DVD's, but there is simply nothing available that similarly covers the range of world geography/history as this particular series. As I watched the segments in the series, I know I couldn't help but be in awe of how amazing our Creator is! To me, the videos bring the creativity and power of our God to us in living color! So with this in mind, as well as keeping in the mind the high school age of our target audience, we decided to go ahead and schedule this series in coordination with our study of geography.
Below is a listing of each resource I've mentioned above with the publisher's description:
Mapping the World Through Art
Structure of curriculum: This curriculum is in 3 parts:
1) Part 1 contains 30 short history lessons. Each lesson is one double-sided page. The lessons start with the beginnings of cartography in ancient Greece, and end with the official discovery of Antarctica in the 1800s. Link to Table of Contents: http://www.ellenjmchenry.com/downloads/ ... ntents.pdf
2) Part 2 contains the drawing lessons. The drawing lessons are based on the themes of the history lessons.Each drawing lesson has step-by-step pictures that guide the student as they draw an area of the world from scratch (starting with nothing but a blank piece of paper). This method of learning is absolutely ideal for kinetic learners, but I have found it extremely effective for all types of learners. The drawing lessons progress in such a way that later drawings incorporate earlier ones. For example, in one of the first lessons you learn to draw the Nile River. Later, when you draw Africa, you already know how to draw the Nile. The drawing lessons tend to stay away from political boundaries, although some could not be avoided (France and Spain, for example).
3) Part 3 contains extra activities and worksheets that go with the history lessons and/or the drawing lessons. Activities include extra worksheets for practicing what was learned in the drawing lessons, board games, crafts such as making simple navigational instruments, or art projects (about maps) using paint or colored pencils. There are also supplemental videos suggested, all of which can be accessed for free via the Internet. The videos are mostly documentaries about the navigators who sailed around the world, or brief video visits to the places the students have drawn. Link to very large file of history readings, drawing lessons, and activities for first 3 chapters: http://www.ellenjmchenry.com/downloads/ ... rs1t03.pdf
SPECIAL ADDED FEATURE: As a supplement to the printed drawing lessons, Ellen has recorded (in her basement workshop) two DVDs that contain videos of each drawing lesson. If your student has trouble following step-by-step pictures, he/she can watch the video of the lessons to get the general idea of how to do the drawing. Have the printed versions of the lessons near at hand so you can refer to them for sharper images of sketch lines and labels.
Book of Discovery by Synge
A fascinating account of the world's famous explorers, including the early travelers in ancient times, the discovery of the New World, explorations in Africa and Australia, and the expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctic. Many of the explorers tell part of their story in their own words. Amply illustrated with reproductions of early maps and charts, as well as old woodcuts, drawings, paintings, and miniatures.
Emphasis is placed on the explorers' 'record of splendid endurance, of hardships bravely borne, of silent toil, of courage and resolution unequalled in the annals of mankind, of self-sacrifice unrivalled and faithful lives laid ungrudgingly down.' Ages 12-18; 527 pages
Link to see inside: http://www.yesterdaysclassics.com/previ ... review.pdf
The Archeology Book (winner of 2013 Practical Homeschooling Award)
The Archaeology Book takes you on an exciting exploration of history and ancient cultures. You'll learn both the techniques of the archaeologist and the accounts of some of the richest discoveries of the Middle East that demonstrate the accuracy and historicity of the Bible.
In The Archaeology Book you will unearth:
*How archaeologists know what life was like in the past
*Why broken pottery can tell more than gold or treasure can
*Some of the difficulties in dating ancient artifacts
*How the brilliance of ancient cultures demonstrates God's creation
*History of ancient cultures, including the Hittites, Babylonians, and Egyptians
*The early development of the alphabet and its impact on discovery
*The numerous archaeological finds that confirm biblical history
*Why the Dead Sea scrolls are considered such a vital breakthrough
Filled with vivid full-color photos, detailed drawings, and maps, you will have access to some of the greatest biblical mysteries ever uncovered. With the enhanced educational format of this book,it allows the ease of teaching the fundamentals of archaeology through complex insights to a variety of ages. Link to see inside: http://www.newleafpublishinggroup.com/c ... y-book.pdf
The Seven Wonders of the World
Ron Tagliapietra’s The Seven Wonders of the World describes the original seven ancient Wonders of the World and examines other examples in the categories "The Seven Technological Wonders," "The Seven Archaeological Wonders," "The Seven Architectural Wonders," and "The Seven Natural Wonders."
Why are the pyramids so intriguing? Why is Stonehenge so mysterious? Where are the Iguaza Falls and why did they make the list? How many natural wonders are in the United States? Where was King Ludwig Konig from and what architectural wonder did he build? Part biography, part mystery, part adventure, this volume will capture imaginations from page one.
Link to see inside: http://www.bjupress.com/product/120329
Must See Places of the World - 6 DVD Set (840 min.)
From historic landmarks to off-beaten path discoveries, you would need several lifetimes to see all the magnificent places and natural wonders included in this lavish box set. Here is your passport to the world's most memorable destinations as captured by Reader's Digest's team of the world's best travel filmmakers. Each adventure-packed program captures the visual magnificence of each destination, explores its history, and shares its stories. Now you are ready for the journeys of a lifetime that you can take anytime! 6 discs totaling 840 min.
Disc 1: Must-See Places: Magnificent Planet/Marvels of Mankind - The world's most seasoned travel editors selected this once-in-a-lifetime itinerary of the world's most spectacular places. Your awe-inspiring journey includes the Sahara Desert, Victoria Falls, the Grand Canyon, Banff National Park, the Amazon Rainforest, the Pyramids of Giza, the Taj Mahal, and Petra in Jordan.
Disc 2: Must-See Places: Wildlife Treasures - This awe-inspiring program captures the planet's most wondrous creatures in their natural habitats, including the Royal Bengal Tiger, the Giant Panda, and the dazzlingly diverse marine creatures that inhabit Australia's Great Barrier Reef.
Disc 3: Journey's of a Lifetime - This three-part program embarks on the global odyssey of your dreams. Experience the world's most spectacular places and wondrous sights, each at the ideal time of year. Your itinerary includes Kenya's wild savannah, the Great Wall of China, the lost city of Petra, the Grand Canyon, Jerusalem on Easter morning, and New England in autumn.
Disc 4: Australia the Beautiful - Thrill to the rare, remote, and exotic wonders of Australia! From misty forests to canyons that conceal secrets from the age of dinosaurs, this three-part program captures all of Australia's dazzling wildlife and glorious landscapes few visitors are privileged to see.
Disc 5: Mysteries of the Ancient World - How were the pyramids constructed? What is the truth behind King Arthur and Camelot? What was the mysterious tribe of 4,000-year-old mummies discovered in the Taklamakan desert? These and other fascinating mysteries are explored in this captivating three-part program that takes a fresh look at some of history's oldest and most baffling mysteries.
Disc 6: Scenic Cruises of the World - Set sail on a dream cruise around the world's most dramatic coastlines to more than twenty countries, islands, and other dramatically varied locations. This three-part series makes unforgettable stops at Nova Scotia, the Mayan ruins of Guatemala, the Panama Canal, Big Sur, and Alaska, and much more.
We pray you will be as excited about this guide as we are! It has been awhile in the planning, and we will have many months and hours left yet before completion. We are thrilled to share it with you!
Blessings,
Carrie
It's so exciting to see the sneak peeks mounting up as the final decisions are in the works for our newest guide.
What a journey it is to get the various pieces of the guide to come together! It is exciting to be close to finishing the selections. What a joy it is for me to get to this stage! Tonight's sneak peek is what the title of the new guide is all about! So, we've finally come to the spines of the new World Geography guide.
We have spent a long time on this particular area, as geography is such an important area to study impacting every part of history, science, and the spread of the Gospel. So, as I share the choices for this area, please keep in mind that the World Religions and Cultures course I outlined last week will be taught alongside the study of World Geography. Together these two courses will provide a fuller picture of our world. Here is a link to that sneak peek, just in case you missed it! Link: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=13235As we looked at resources for teaching the geography of the world, I knew we wanted living, narrative resources.
I also wanted to use a chronological approach to geography that was based on the history of exploration and discovery, because geography has - and continues to play - a huge role in history. When I found Ellen's approach in Mapping the World Through Art, which used the chronological history of mapmaking at its core, I knew we'd found one of the spines of our program. Synge's Book of Discovery was our next find, and it truly matches and fleshes out Ellen's text in a way that makes the two resources seem that they were written specifically for one another! When we added The Archeology Book, we were able to fill in some of the history of various ancient cultures from a Biblical perspective (which is such a needed and often overlooked perspective when studying ancient cultures)!
We also added the Seven Wonders of the World book to give students exposure to five different groupings of various wonders of the world. These magnificent wonders will readily help students identify various geographic locations around the globe, as they are stunning markers of various cultures and communities. Our last goal was to add a visual feast of people and places around the world to help students picture life around our globe. We deeply desired to add DVD's to the program to allow students to visit places that would otherwise be inaccessible to them during their study of geography.
However, the difficulty with adding a DVD component of geography all around the world was both in its cost and in the references to evolution that often accompany such film footage. We finally settled on a 6 DVD set of Must See Places of the World due to its stunning visuals, its footage of places all around the world, its watchable segments, and its variety in approaches to the study of geography. This set truly brings the places students are reading about to life! I will admit that evolutionary content and references to evolution are included at times, and we will give warnings in the guide in reference to this. However, the choice was either to forego such a series (and leave students without such photography simply to avoid any evolutionary references) or to utilize the wonderful film footage of places students may never see, while still giving warnings as needed for content.
We did look for comparable Christian DVD's, but there is simply nothing available that similarly covers the range of world geography/history as this particular series. As I watched the segments in the series, I know I couldn't help but be in awe of how amazing our Creator is! To me, the videos bring the creativity and power of our God to us in living color! So with this in mind, as well as keeping in the mind the high school age of our target audience, we decided to go ahead and schedule this series in coordination with our study of geography.
Below is a listing of each resource I've mentioned above with the publisher's description:
Mapping the World Through Art
Structure of curriculum: This curriculum is in 3 parts:
1) Part 1 contains 30 short history lessons. Each lesson is one double-sided page. The lessons start with the beginnings of cartography in ancient Greece, and end with the official discovery of Antarctica in the 1800s. Link to Table of Contents: http://www.ellenjmchenry.com/downloads/ ... ntents.pdf
2) Part 2 contains the drawing lessons. The drawing lessons are based on the themes of the history lessons.Each drawing lesson has step-by-step pictures that guide the student as they draw an area of the world from scratch (starting with nothing but a blank piece of paper). This method of learning is absolutely ideal for kinetic learners, but I have found it extremely effective for all types of learners. The drawing lessons progress in such a way that later drawings incorporate earlier ones. For example, in one of the first lessons you learn to draw the Nile River. Later, when you draw Africa, you already know how to draw the Nile. The drawing lessons tend to stay away from political boundaries, although some could not be avoided (France and Spain, for example).
3) Part 3 contains extra activities and worksheets that go with the history lessons and/or the drawing lessons. Activities include extra worksheets for practicing what was learned in the drawing lessons, board games, crafts such as making simple navigational instruments, or art projects (about maps) using paint or colored pencils. There are also supplemental videos suggested, all of which can be accessed for free via the Internet. The videos are mostly documentaries about the navigators who sailed around the world, or brief video visits to the places the students have drawn. Link to very large file of history readings, drawing lessons, and activities for first 3 chapters: http://www.ellenjmchenry.com/downloads/ ... rs1t03.pdf
SPECIAL ADDED FEATURE: As a supplement to the printed drawing lessons, Ellen has recorded (in her basement workshop) two DVDs that contain videos of each drawing lesson. If your student has trouble following step-by-step pictures, he/she can watch the video of the lessons to get the general idea of how to do the drawing. Have the printed versions of the lessons near at hand so you can refer to them for sharper images of sketch lines and labels.
Book of Discovery by Synge
A fascinating account of the world's famous explorers, including the early travelers in ancient times, the discovery of the New World, explorations in Africa and Australia, and the expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctic. Many of the explorers tell part of their story in their own words. Amply illustrated with reproductions of early maps and charts, as well as old woodcuts, drawings, paintings, and miniatures.
Emphasis is placed on the explorers' 'record of splendid endurance, of hardships bravely borne, of silent toil, of courage and resolution unequalled in the annals of mankind, of self-sacrifice unrivalled and faithful lives laid ungrudgingly down.' Ages 12-18; 527 pages
Link to see inside: http://www.yesterdaysclassics.com/previ ... review.pdf
The Archeology Book (winner of 2013 Practical Homeschooling Award)
The Archaeology Book takes you on an exciting exploration of history and ancient cultures. You'll learn both the techniques of the archaeologist and the accounts of some of the richest discoveries of the Middle East that demonstrate the accuracy and historicity of the Bible.
In The Archaeology Book you will unearth:
*How archaeologists know what life was like in the past
*Why broken pottery can tell more than gold or treasure can
*Some of the difficulties in dating ancient artifacts
*How the brilliance of ancient cultures demonstrates God's creation
*History of ancient cultures, including the Hittites, Babylonians, and Egyptians
*The early development of the alphabet and its impact on discovery
*The numerous archaeological finds that confirm biblical history
*Why the Dead Sea scrolls are considered such a vital breakthrough
Filled with vivid full-color photos, detailed drawings, and maps, you will have access to some of the greatest biblical mysteries ever uncovered. With the enhanced educational format of this book,it allows the ease of teaching the fundamentals of archaeology through complex insights to a variety of ages. Link to see inside: http://www.newleafpublishinggroup.com/c ... y-book.pdf
The Seven Wonders of the World
Ron Tagliapietra’s The Seven Wonders of the World describes the original seven ancient Wonders of the World and examines other examples in the categories "The Seven Technological Wonders," "The Seven Archaeological Wonders," "The Seven Architectural Wonders," and "The Seven Natural Wonders."
Why are the pyramids so intriguing? Why is Stonehenge so mysterious? Where are the Iguaza Falls and why did they make the list? How many natural wonders are in the United States? Where was King Ludwig Konig from and what architectural wonder did he build? Part biography, part mystery, part adventure, this volume will capture imaginations from page one.
Link to see inside: http://www.bjupress.com/product/120329
Must See Places of the World - 6 DVD Set (840 min.)
From historic landmarks to off-beaten path discoveries, you would need several lifetimes to see all the magnificent places and natural wonders included in this lavish box set. Here is your passport to the world's most memorable destinations as captured by Reader's Digest's team of the world's best travel filmmakers. Each adventure-packed program captures the visual magnificence of each destination, explores its history, and shares its stories. Now you are ready for the journeys of a lifetime that you can take anytime! 6 discs totaling 840 min.
Disc 1: Must-See Places: Magnificent Planet/Marvels of Mankind - The world's most seasoned travel editors selected this once-in-a-lifetime itinerary of the world's most spectacular places. Your awe-inspiring journey includes the Sahara Desert, Victoria Falls, the Grand Canyon, Banff National Park, the Amazon Rainforest, the Pyramids of Giza, the Taj Mahal, and Petra in Jordan.
Disc 2: Must-See Places: Wildlife Treasures - This awe-inspiring program captures the planet's most wondrous creatures in their natural habitats, including the Royal Bengal Tiger, the Giant Panda, and the dazzlingly diverse marine creatures that inhabit Australia's Great Barrier Reef.
Disc 3: Journey's of a Lifetime - This three-part program embarks on the global odyssey of your dreams. Experience the world's most spectacular places and wondrous sights, each at the ideal time of year. Your itinerary includes Kenya's wild savannah, the Great Wall of China, the lost city of Petra, the Grand Canyon, Jerusalem on Easter morning, and New England in autumn.
Disc 4: Australia the Beautiful - Thrill to the rare, remote, and exotic wonders of Australia! From misty forests to canyons that conceal secrets from the age of dinosaurs, this three-part program captures all of Australia's dazzling wildlife and glorious landscapes few visitors are privileged to see.
Disc 5: Mysteries of the Ancient World - How were the pyramids constructed? What is the truth behind King Arthur and Camelot? What was the mysterious tribe of 4,000-year-old mummies discovered in the Taklamakan desert? These and other fascinating mysteries are explored in this captivating three-part program that takes a fresh look at some of history's oldest and most baffling mysteries.
Disc 6: Scenic Cruises of the World - Set sail on a dream cruise around the world's most dramatic coastlines to more than twenty countries, islands, and other dramatically varied locations. This three-part series makes unforgettable stops at Nova Scotia, the Mayan ruins of Guatemala, the Panama Canal, Big Sur, and Alaska, and much more.
We pray you will be as excited about this guide as we are! It has been awhile in the planning, and we will have many months and hours left yet before completion. We are thrilled to share it with you!
Blessings,
Carrie
