THIS CLASS IS NOW FULL.

Instructor: Blossom Barden (For Teacher Bio, please see Here)

Time: Full Year, Tuesdays 10:00-11:00am CT
Suggested Grade Range: 7th-9th

Course Description:

We will learn about the beginning of the English speaking people from the time of Julius Caesar’s landing in “Britannia” to the death of King Richard III. Throughout we will look at how the past has created the present: how language we call English was formed, the way a document (Great Charter) has impacted laws and government, how the cannon and printing press changed the world, and much more. We will meet historical figures such as Julius Caesar, Emperor Claudius, Caedmon, Bede, John Wycliffe, Joan of Arc, and so many more.

Our focus will be in Europe, especially as it pertains to English-speaking countries. We will look at ancient maps, and new maps, to see how boundaries have changed.

We will ‘take note’ of events and happenings through entries in a Book of Centuries, and commonplace whatever catches our attention as worthy of keeping.

Objectives: Come in contact with people and events of the past to “possess a pageant of history in the background of one’s thoughts…[so that] the present becomes enriched with the wealth of all that has gone before.”

Required Resources

  • The Birth of Britain, by Winston Churchill (ISBN: 978-0-7607-6857-0 Barnes & Noble 2005 edition; if you don’t have this exact one, it should still be fine)
  • OR A History of England by H.O. Arnold-Forster (archive dot org for the public domain online version; check Amazon for reprinted physical copies)
  • Book of Centuries (purchase or download and print from Simply Charlotte Mason)
  • Optional – Composition notebook (optional; this is for new vocabulary, copying quotes, taking note of a particular individual in history, etc.)

Attendance:
Per EOA’s requirements, students must attend the LIVE classes as scheduled. During our class time, we will talk about the reading (who, what, when, where, why, how), look at maps, share Book of Century, commonplace and notebook entries. For those wanting to dive deeper into history, research done outside of class time may be shared.

Assignments/Quizzes:
Each week will have “Assignments” to be completed. There are also open-ended “quizzes” every three weeks that will need to be completed.

Grading:
A rubric will be accessible to all students for help with completing their assignments. This enables each student to actively take charge of their education. While feedback will be given on each assignment turned in, all assignments are either complete or incomplete; no grades will be given. At the end of each semester a narrative will be given to parents of their child’s participation.