How to Create World History and Philosophy for Average Learners

Got non-college-bound teens and do not want to waste their time with boring history courses? Here’s how to create World History and Philosophy for average learners.

A favorite course of many local homeschool high schoolers in our group classes has been World History. From average teens to honors-level teens, it has been a course that young people receive benefits like:

• Earning a genuinely interesting World History credit for their homeschool transcript
• Learning some interesting church history (church history is not included in many World History texts)
• Learning some simply thinking skills. This is good for any teen (or grown up)

Average homeschool high schoolers (for example, teens who are going into a trade or enrolling in the military after graduation) do not need to waste their time on a high-powered World History credit. Let me share with you some ways to use 7Sisters History and Philosophy of the Western World at an average high school level.

(BTW- For more information on how levels work for homeschool high school and how to record them on the homeschool transcript, check out this post and this episode of the Homeschool Highschool Podcast.)

How to Create World History and Philosophy for Average Learners

• Start with a user-friendly, easy-to-read text. In this case, use 7Sisters History and Philosophy of the Western World.
  • While the title may sound intimidating it is a fun and understandable text. Although it provides the credit for Level 3 (College-Prep), it reads closer to Level 2 (Average High School). (Many teens tell us that this was their favorite history course in high school!)
  • Most teens, even average-level high schoolers have used this text on their own, with no help needed from their parents. Sometimes, struggling readers will save their energy and use a text-reader app to read the text out loud for them. This is not cheating, it simply wise adaptation when needed.

• Have your homeschool high schoolers read the text and do the questions throughout the text. 
  • When answering the questions, if your teens learn best by doing the questions in discussion form with you, that is great! 
  • If they need accommodations, such as voice to text for the completing the questions, feel free to use an app like Dragon Dictation!
• Grading can be done in several ways:
  • Teens can take the tests included in the text.
  • If test-taking is not appropriate for their learning styles or abilities, you can simply grade the answers on their chapter questions.
  • Some parents have told me they worry about this. Especially when they work on the questions out loud together. I remind them that non-college-bound teens have different goals for grading than college-bound teens. Since they do not need to worry about GPA for college, and homeschooling is about gaining understanding of material, it is fine that they get an *A* for every section that they have shown understanding.
  • For families that want a true chapter summary (rather than taking a test to complete a chapter), homeschool high schoolers can create a powerpoint or prezi about what they learned.They could also create a hands-on project to highlight something they learned in the chapter. This could include:
    • Hand-drawn maps
    • An essay or report about a favorite person in that chapterAn exploration of food, fashion or culture of the time period

This will earn 1 credit in World History. 

• If your homeschool high schooler has completed reading, chapter questions and tests on their own, they will earn a Level 3, College-Prep credit.
  • However, remember: they do not need that College-Prep credit!
  • If they have done questions orally and used prompts from parents, they will have earned a Level 2 Average high school credit. This is all a non-college-bound teen needs for their homeschool transcript, so that is fine!

How to Level-up World History and Philosophy for Average Learners

We have found that it is not unusual for homeschool high schoolers who are earning a Level 2 (Average) credit to get excited about what they are learning. They ask to level-up to a Level 3 (College-Prep) credit. While they do not need this for their transcripts, it is such a great idea to allow teens a little extra time to develop their interest in the course.

Here are some creative ways to level-up History and Philosophy of the Western World.

• Have your teen earn 1/2 credit more in experiential learning activities. For this you will log hours of various educational experiences.
• This may include: historical documentaries on ancient Greece, Rome, medieval and Renaissance Europe, or any of the philosophers in the text. Or watch movies like “Shadowlands” (CS Lewis’ story).
• Or more hands-on projects (such as those listed above)
• To know when your teen has earned that 1/2 credit in experiences, simply take your state requirement for credit hours and divide by 2. In our area, we need 135 hours of educational experiences to earn a credit, so 1/2 credit is around 68 hours. 
• OR
• Read several of the interesting books suggested in the text. (There’s a guide in the text to tell you how many.) Average teens can read these book on their own, in family read alouds or listen to audiobooks.

This will give your homeschool high schooler a Level 3 (College) World History credit.

Still wondering why you should teach philosophy in high school? Read more.

Need more inspiration for helping teens understand how meaningful and important it is to study history? Check out this on why History is boring and how to make it better.