Blog

Many parents ask, "What is the difference between history and social studies?" or "Are social studies and history the same thing?" Those are good questions when it comes to talking about high school history.

"Social studies" and "history" may be interchangeable terms for some colleges. You may have noticed that some college websites require four years of social studies while others require history. What is the difference between history and social studies?

When colleges request four years of social studies or four years of history, they both probably mean the same thing. Social studies (also called social sciences), is actually a broader term having to do with human social interaction. It can include history, government, economics, psychology, sociology, and probably some other "ologies" that I can't think of right now.

Geography can consist of either political geography (a social science) or physical geography (which could also be a science - not to confuse you or anything).

Many colleges specify what KIND of social studies they want to see. Often they require American history, American government, economics, and world history. You don't have to stick with just these four though. You can branch out and have your child study even MORE social sciences if you want to. We did in our homeschool because my kids loved social studies!

I recently hosted the Highlight on High School History week. During that week, I invited some dear friends who are experts in their fields - history! You can find those webinars in my online product, High School Solution. A great resource for helping you plan high school courses! 

I think I retained almost NOTHING from my own public school education. I couldn't have told you within 100 years when the civil war occurred. I was so ill-prepared by my high school economics class that I failed economics in college. Now that my children are grown, they love history -they read about it for fun. Can you believe it? Despite my lack of preparation, I realize that I was actually successful in homeschooling high school history. How? Let me show you!

These are required classes for high school history. I suggest covering the core social sciences classes that high schools normally provide and colleges may require.

These are the Usual Graduation and College Requirements
1 Year of World History
1 Year of American History
1 Semester of Government
1 Semester of Economics 

There are no rules about what time periods you need to include or how deep into each subject you need to go. Read more: Social Sciences and High School History.

Embrace the homeschool freedom to adapt to different learning styles. There are a million great ways to homeschool. The best way is the one that fits your child's unique learning styles. Use what you know about your student and learning styles, consider the subjects that colleges want, and then embrace the freedom of home education to tailor the pace, content, and curriculum that best first your child. While some families prefer textbooks, they don't fit all families.

Assess Learning Styles and Methods to Teach History
Ideas beyond textbooks
Hands-on
Literature-based
Video-based
Gifted and advanced
Fast and easy
Delight directed 

You can include other classes on your transcript as social sciences or electives. Whether you require other classes or your student is just learning for fun, unique classes show the uniqueness of your child. 

High school history is only one of the 10 essentials of homeschooling high school. Plan all your high school courses with confidence! Learn "The 10 Essentials for Homeschooling High School" to discover the 10 critical courses your teen should complete before graduation, all in this free handy guide. Click here to download.

I thought you might like to know more about the three classes I mentioned above, that are included in my High School Solution online product. I hope they inspire you to explore all areas of high school history!  

Why do we need to know about history? Why should we study other cultures? How does the Bible relate to our understanding of social studies? How can parents teach with confidence? Ray and Charlene answer these questions and highlight some of the important people, events, and ideas that have shaped our world. Find out how to make high school much more rewarding than simply fulfilling requirements.

Ray and Charlene Notgrass are followers of Jesus and veteran homeschooling parents. They met at Middle Tennessee State University in the political science department. After graduating they were married in 1974. Ray went on to earn master's degrees in history and New Testament. Ray and Charlene are lifelong history lovers and began writing homeschool curriculum in 1999. Through their company, Notgrass History, they have written and published curriculum for students in elementary, middle school, and high school. They enjoy classic literature, traveling together, and spending time with their children and grandchildren.

The study of history and geography through living books provides your children a much needed framework to make sense of a world beyond their own backyard. It's hard for children, young adults and even adults to understand the impacts of the uprising and unrest that is broadcast on the world stage. However, raising children to think outside of their community, country and even their hemisphere through living books opens their hearts to people from all walks of life. Join as Sarita Holzmann walks us through the importance of raising global-minded children and how reading great literature can help to raise children with a heart for the world.

A pioneer in homeschooling, Sarita Holzmann co-founded Sonlight Curriculum 27 years ago and has read and reviewed over 16,000 books (and counting) in that time. Her literature-based approach to homeschooling has proven to be a favorite for families all over the world. Sarita looks forward to helping even more families raise lifelong learners in the next generation. She is a happily married, veteran homeschool mom of four and grandmother to eight. Author of over 50 curriculum guides, she also blogs at sonlight.com/blog.

When it comes to covering classes, it's your job to figure out what your state law requires and what colleges want. Then you somehow need to find a way to make sure it happens.

The Gold Care Club includes a monthly members-only workshops on critical high school topics, that allows plenty of time to get your questions answered. This month only you are invited to join me for this monthly club benefit at no charge or obligation. Come and check out this great benefit of the Gold Care Club! Gold Care Club membership includes more than just a monthly workshop - though the continuing education is important. It also includes personalized support by email, 5 recorded how-to training classes each month, arranged as quick start, beginner, intermediate, advanced, and encouragement. It also has special monthly features to support and instruct parents homeschooling high school: ebook of the Month, Schedule of the Month, Course Description of the Month, Resource Pack of the Month, Convention Workshop of the Month and more! Click here for "no-more-tears" coaching and encouragement.