Globetrotting

Globetrotting
with Maps, Landmarks,
and Tales

Parent Information for Fall 2024

Welcome, Parents. I look forward to traveling with your student around the world!

We will journey to the Great Wall of China, travel along the Silk Routes, visit the Cave of a Thousand Buddhas, the Terra Cotta Warriors, and the cities of Xanadu, Samarkand, and Bukhara. We'll see how silk, Persian rugs, porcelain, glass, paper, stirrups, and printing traveled from east to west and revolutionized the world. Traders and merchants transported more than just goods; they also brought stories, myths, ideas and even religions to faraway places. We will share some of those stories in class and hear the tales of Ibn Battuta, Marco Polo, and Genghis Khan.

Later we'll learn about the legendary Orient Express train and what made it such an extraordinary experience. We'll travel its route, visiting sites from Paris to Istanbul and see some of the most famous landmarks in the world, including the Grand Canal in Venice, St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna, and the Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul.

This is the place for up-to-date details about this class.

Where & When?
This full-year class is offered in two Homeschool Campus locations:

Fridays at 9:00 at Capo Beach:
- Address: 25975 Domingo Avenue, Capistrano Beach, Prayer Room.
- Dates: Fridays from Sept 6, 2024-Jan 17, 2025 for Part 1 (semester 1).
- No Class On: Nov 29, Dec 20, Dec 27, Jan 3
Mondays at 10:00 at Fountain Valley:
- Address: 10350 Ellis Avenue, Fountain Valley, Room C-203.
- Dates: Mondays from Sept 9, 2024-Jan 13, 2025 for Part 1 (semester 1).
- No Class On: Nov 11, Dec 23, Dec 30
What book and/or materials are required?
No book is needed, but there are recommended books further down this page.

Each student will receive a plastic folder on the first day which is where they should keep all their work for this class. They will bring home the homework handouts and return the next week with the completed homework.

There will also be an Attendance & Homework Log inside the folder which I'll mark each week so parents can see if the student's work is up-to-date. Parents can put a poster note or other note in the folder if they want to let me know something about their student's homework.

All student materials will be handed out in class, (not Google Classroom)

Insert Sample Here There will also be some map work or vocabulary.
What is homework like?
There is homework every week which consists of objective questions, short answers, basic analysis using simple graphic organizers, and some mapwork and vocabulary. Students will also be asked once per semester to briefly introduce the topic to the class from material that I provide to them in advance.

There are no tests; rather, there are two projects over the course of the year--students create a presentation/model on a US history person or topic in Part 1 and a book report presentation in Part 2.
Where can I see my student's grades and homework?
Parents can check their student's Attendance & Homework Log which is in the plastic folder I hand out to each student on the first day of class. Students get full credit for doing the homework if they have completed it and it is reasonably correct (some errors are fine, I just check to see if the student understood . If it is missing, partially finished, or if there are too many errors, I'll mark it on the Attendance & Homework Log and ask the student to turn it in the following week.
How can I waive assignments for my student?
While I assign homework to all students who are registered and attend class, I do not require students to complete the homework.

it is the parents who are the decision-makers in determining which assignments they expect their student to complete.

Parents can check their student's Homework & Attendance Log so they are informed what work their student has turned in or not.
Tuition Payments / Purchase Orders
Direct Pay:
The full semester tuition amount of $285 is due one week before the first day of class. (ask me via email at HistoryDragon4Ever@gmail.com for my Venmo or Paypal info).
Charter Pay:
A lump sum PO for the full amount of $285 is due one week prior to the start of class. OR If your charter does not allow lump sum POs, then 4 completed POs for $71.25 for September, October, November, and December are due one week prior to the start of class. Because enrollment is for the semester, all four monthly POs must be complete prior to the start of class.
Recommendations for Additional Reading
Optional reading: The Landmark History of the American People, Volume 1. I really like this book and will use it sometimes in class; I would have used it as the main text except there is no homework material written for this book. But it is highly readable. The version of this book that I linked to above is highly recommended over the previous versions because this one was revised with very nice images that contribute a lot to understanding and engagement. It also includes a timeline that runs along the bottom of the page for context.

Optional reading: Another optional source is the 2003 Smithsonian Children's Encyclopedia of American History. Much of this book is useful and well-illustrated, however in some places the text is difficult to see because it is overlayed onto an image. There were several paragraphs on Bill Clinton's personal relationship scandals which were not suited to a children's book, in my opinion. I chose the 2003 edition instead of more recent editions because I thought the material added for recent times was partisan or controversial (see 2023 edition, pages from 270 -283). FYI: it is the only children's encyclopedia of US history that I could find.
More Optional Reading by Accessing OC Library's Digital Kid's Collection
Free Digital books including illustrated books are available through Orange County public library. The app is called Libby; this link is directly to Libby by Overdrive: Kids Collection. You just need your library card number and your library card password to set up an account. You can read the books on your computer (I don't remember the specifics but you answer that you want to read on a Kindle or with the online Kindle app) or you can download an Apple app or Google play app to use it on a tablet or phone. There are lots of good kids books including history and historical fiction, and they are very visually engaging. One series on Libby is Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales which are graphic novels / animated historical fiction about US History. I haven't read them but know they are popular. There are also Magic Tree House books on Libby, some of which have US history themes.
What will we learn about?
Unit 1: The Silk Routes
Guided by the books "The Silk Road: Explore the World's Most Famous Trade Routes" and "Unfolding Journeys: Following the Great Wall," we will visit regions of the world that are of great historical significance but are only lightly covered in California history curriculum.
- We will journey to the Great Wall of China, travel along the Silk Routes, visit the Cave of a Thousand Buddhas, the Terra Cotta Warriors, and the cities of Xanadu, Samarkand, and Bukhara. We'll see how silk, Persian rugs, porcelain, glass, paper, stirrups, and printing traveled from east to west and revolutionized the world. Traders and merchants transported more than just goods; they also brought stories, myths, ideas and even religions to faraway places. We will share some of those stories in class and hear the tales of Ibn Battuta, Marco Polo, Genghis Khan, Ashoka the Great and tales from the Arabian Nights, the Chinese version of Cinderella, and many more.
Unit 2: Origin sites of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
We'll visit some fascinating places in the Middle East which are important to the major world religions that originated here: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
- We'll visit the ancient Syrian city Dura Europos (known for an exquisitely decorated and preserved Jewish synagogue and the oldest known Christian church), Jerusalem including the Dome of the Rock, and key places in the life of Moses, Jesus, the apostle Paul, and Mohammad. (I am basing this section on maps such as this, this, this, and this; I haven't found a book that covers this at a simple level).
Unit 3: The Orient Express train from Paris to Istanbul
- We'll learn about the legendary Orient Express train and what made it such an extraordinary experience. We'll travel its route, visiting fascinating sites from Paris to Istanbul and see some of the most famous landmarks in the world--including the Grand Canal in Venice, St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna, and the Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul-- and some beautiful eastern European cities including Bucharest, Romania; Budapest; Hungary, and Sofia, Bulgaria.
Unit 4: Lost and Legendary Cities
We'll learn about famed cities that hold a special place in people's imaginations such as the city of Troy,

Contact info for Denise Forsythe:

E-mail: HistoryDragon4Ever@gmail.com
Phone/Text: 773.354.2003