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| Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve (not Asia, but a steppe) |
- Level 5 Year 1 (ninth grade): Asia
- Level 5 Year 2 (tenth grade): Africa
- Level 6 Year 1 (eleventh grade): The Americas
- Level 6 Year 2 (twelfth grade): Australasia
Mason's book has 26 sections on Asia and we just read one section each week, regardless of length.
Drawing heavily from a study guide started by a moderator in the Mater Amabilis™ high school group, I wrote a study guide (which is shared in the Facebook group) that included map work. He was directed to find places mentioned in the Mason text in our atlas. (We have an older version of National Geographic Concise Atlas of the World, which seems sufficient without being too ponderous or expensive.) I spent a long time online trying to match modern names with those of Mason's time, but I justified it because I think being able to match descriptions to points and areas on a map makes it easier to understand the connections between geographical features in theory and the world we experience on the ground.
Finding things on the map didn't work any better in geography than it did in world history, so next year that's changing to labeling a map before each reading.
Mason's descriptions of the land are wonderful.
To the very edges of the vast central table-lands do the rich rain-winds penetrate; but, alas for the highlands, lofty mountains tower like battlements all round the plateaus; the rain-winds touch their cold, snowy brows, and the moisture in the air condenses, becomes snow or rain, and at last pours in floods down the steep sides of the highlands, and feeds the mighty rivers which rise upon their borders; but all the time, never a rain-cloud climbs the summits of the flanking mountains to fall in delicious drops upon the parched plateaus; and these central highlands of Asia remain rainless regions.Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, Mason writes as a nineteenth century British imperialist, so her descriptions of people are painful to modern ears. At first, they gave us a place to discuss racism, imperialism, and parochialism. Long before the end of the year, I think we were just tired of wading through the disparaging current of words. For next year, I'm just using excerpts from Mason's text. I don't want to abandon it because some of the writing is marvelous. Plus, I wasn't able to find another text (at least for Asia, as I think ahead to my other students) that covers the whole sweep of the continent.
After reading Mason's chapter, my son would go to the computer where he followed links from a Google document to articles curated by me on areas covered by the Geographical Reader. This was my favorite part of the course.
For these resources, I was looking for:
- archeological and historical references to the accomplishments and value of the cultures (as a contrast to Mason's views and just because it's good in today's world)
- more information on things mentioned (like an article on foot binding in China)
- major current events in the news
- environmental impact or issues in the area
- some basic historical facts to complement or continue what Mason might have mentioned or that are particularly pertinent for an American student
I drew heavily on National Geographic and BBC Travel with some background things from History.com, Biography.com, and the World Heritage List.
I sorted the articles into "required" which he would read and narrate, "recommended," and "optional." As far as I know, he rarely clicked on anything recommended or optional. For tenth grade, I combined those latter two into one section named something like "for more information."
If you're interested, that list of curated articles is shared in the Facebook group. My son has finished Asia, but I'll be adding other articles of interest as I see them for the next seven years, until my youngest completes ninth grade.
In addition, my son read articles selected from two issues of Christian History (a magazine linked from the Mater Amabilis™ plans): Christianity in India and Christianity in Asia. I also asked him to read one other selection during his independent reading during the year from a handful of books set in Asia. He chose Thirty Seconds over Tokyo by Captain Ted Lawson. These were supplemental reading and were not narrated or included in any exams.
I love Geography: I love old maps and new maps and reading about all the places of the world. I loved this course much more than my son did. I think he merely endured it. I had wanted him to become familiar with the map of Asia and I think he did pretty well by the end on the geographical features, but not as well on the modern countries. Changing his map work from finding things in the atlas (which honestly I think he often just skipped) to labelling a map with make a big difference. The curated articles were a great way to introduced more nuanced reflections on Mason's topics and a brief look at events on the continent since the 1880s. Using online sources my son was also able to see lots of pictures and a few videos of the areas. This method is still not as good as visiting a place in person, but we can't all see the entire world in person.
I think a family could skip geography or could simply read a few of the suggestions for Asia (or another continent) from the Mater Amabilis™ plans in place of these more formal plans rather than in addition to it. I also think a family could choose to do one or two of the continents in any order. Certainly the Mason book can be read in any order; it is not necessary to read on Asia before reading on Africa.
I wanted to include this formal study because I think a basic knowledge of the world outside American borders is a necessary part of being a citizen of the world today. It allows us to think more broadly about our own issues and connects us to the larger universal church. It also balances our literature and history studies which here on the Range focus almost entirely on Europe and America.
I'm just finishing our tenth grade plans with some alterations to our strategy and will post those soon.
This post is my own opinion. I have received nothing in exchange for writing it. Links to Amazon are affiliate links.
