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 Index:
What
is it?
Oklahoma
History Online is an online, subscription-based
curriculum for teaching Oklahoma History, a required
course for all students in Oklahoma.
Most
schools teach OK History in 4th & 8th grade and again
in highschool, integrated into an American History
class or as a separate Oklahoma History course. If you
are homeschooling, you can teach Oklahoma History when
it works best for your family. I recommend teaching Oklahoma
History as a separate, multi-level unit
with all your children at one time, covering it once
in elementary school and again in high school.
You can choose to teach it as a six-week unit or as
a course that lasts from six months to a year. Many families
simply cover the basics and go on; others enjoy the course
so much that they spends months or even a years on it
(see Reviews below).
It's all up to you!
No
textbooks are needed to use the Oklahoma History Online curriculum.
All required resources
are accessed from this website. The optional
activities (Read/Write, Kinesthetic, Auditory and Visual learning
style projects), however,
do include the use of books, videos, craft supplies,
and other resources (depending on the activity selected)
which must be obtained by the purchaser. These
resources are items that are currently available at
your local library, on the Internet, or through local
stores. (NOTE: There are two or three, out-of-print books
recommended that are so good that they are included
in the hope you may be able to obtain a copy.)
Because
Oklahoma History Online is accessed online,
it is continually being updated. All website links and
recommended resources are being kept up-to-date to ensure
their availability. Additional or improved activity suggestions
and worksheets are being added as they are created, making
this a resources that you will want to access throughout
the time you are teaching Oklahoma history.
Be sure to refresh your browser each time you open
a new lesson.
Oklahoma
History Online is very flexible. It can be used
as a short, 3-6 week unit, an 18-week semester, or
a one-year course. It can be used with a single child
or as a multi-level course for all your children
in K-12. Each lesson includes a resource list for various
grade levels from which you may choose the most appropriate
for your child(ren). Much of the course is written
for 4th - 12th grade; however, I recommend allowing
your K-3rd grader to participate as he/she is able.
There are many resources listed for these younger children,
also.)
Oklahoma
History Online contains
all the information needed to fulfill requirements
for public schools also. See pages
29-31 of Social Studies PASS (Priority
Academic Student Skills) requirements for Oklahoma.
High
School Credit information: If you use the course for 1
semester or 1/2 school year (covering as much as you can
in that time) you would award 1 credit (or 1/2 unit) to
your child's transcript. If you use the course for 2 semesters
or one school year (covering as much as you can in that
time), you would award 2 credits (or 1 unit) to your child's
transcript.
Table of Contents:
- How
to Use the Oklahoma History Online Curriculum
- Unit
1: Ancient Oklahoma History (Includes my short story for
kids, Adventures at Spiro Mounds.)
- Unit
2: Exploration of Oklahoma
- Unit
3: The Fur Trade and Oklahoma Forts
- Unit
4: Missionaries in Oklahoma
- Unit
5: Five Civilized Tribes, Trail of Tears, & the Civil
War
- Unit
6: Plains Indians and Buffalo
- Unit
7: Railroads, Cattle Drives,
Cowboys, & Outlaws (SAMPLE
UNIT)
- Unit 8:
Land Runs & Life
in Oklahoma Territory
- Unit
9: Statehood
- Unit
10: Oil Boom
- Unit
11: African Americans in Oklahoma and the Tulsa Race Riot
- Unit
12: Great Depression, The Dust Bowl & WWII
- Unit
13: Oklahoma City Bombing
- Unit
14: State & Local Government and State Symbols
- Unit
15: Animals and Plants of Oklahoma
- Unit
16: Industry of Oklahoma & Tourism
- Unit
17: Oklahoma’s Geography
- Unit
18: Weather, Climate & Tornadoes
- Unit
19: Additional Study & Review
Each
unit is organized as follows:
Required
Activities:
- Notes
(an outline of the lesson for that unit)
- Website
Research (links to the Internet for additional
learning including primary source document and online biographies)
- Timeline
(includes a blank timeline to print out and colorful timeline
pieces that your child will paste on the timeline)
- Oklahoma
Notebook (instructions for creating an Oklahoma
History notebook)
Optional
Activities:
- Bible
Study (suggestions for a Bible reading and a short
composition or oral report related to the reading)
- Learning
Style Activities:
- Read/Write
Learner Projects
(suggestions for books to read, compositions, vocabulary
work, and/or worksheets)
- Visual
Learner Projects (suggestions
for art projects, craft projects, charts
& graphs, and/or videos to watch)
-
Auditory Learner Projects
(suggestions for music, poetry, and oral reports)
- Kinesthetic
Learner Projects
(suggestions for games, drama, recipes, hands-on projects,
and/or lab work)
- Field
Trips (suggestions for field trips that relate
to the unit)
- Review
(a short quiz based on the unit)
- Oklahoma
Scrapbook - an optional resource for keeping
track of your field trips to Oklahoma. See special price
for Oklahoma History Online subscribers.
Hardware
& Software Requirements:
- You
will need internet access, preferably high-speed in order
to take advantage of all the features.
- You
need the free software Acrobat Reader 7.0 or later installed.
Some websites recommended in the curriculum may require
other free software such as Flash or Real Audio in order
to take advantage of all it has to offer.
- You
need pop-up blockers deactivated in order to input your
user name and password.
- You
will need to use either Internet Explorer or Safari web
browser. I don't guarantee the other browsers will work.
To check your browser, try the sample page and see how it
works: http://www.oklahomahomeschool.com/OKHUnit7Samp.html
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to Top
PRICE
AND ORDERING:
Oklahoma
History Online
is for single family use only. You
may order at any time of the year. After
you order, you will receive a unique User ID and password
with which to access the curriculum for one full year from
the date of your order. (Your
user name and password will arrive in an e-mail within 24
hours of purchase. Be sure to add cindy@oklahomahomeschool.com to
your mailbox so you will receive email from me.)
During
your subscription period, you will have permission to access
and print the Oklahoma History Online curriculum
as often as you need for your family's use
only.
Permission is NOT GRANTED
to give or sell the access code or printouts to anyone outside
of your immediate family. Contact Cindy Downes
at cindy@oklahomahomeschool.com for
permission to use this resource in classroom situations.
After the subscription period ends, your User ID and password
will no longer work
Please
review the samples and subscription information carefully.
There is NO REFUND after you have received your password
to access your subscription.
IT
IS VERY IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO
INCLUDE
A PHONE NUMBER
IN
CASE OF PROBLEMS WITH YOUR ORDER!
Option
1: OKHOL
1
year subscription to Oklahoma History Online (single
family use only) - $17.95
plus 8.517%
sales tax.
Credit
card (VISA, MC, Discover):
 Option
2: OKHOL+SB
1-year
subscription to Oklahoma History Online (single
family use only) PLUS a pdf version of Oklahoma
Scrapbook (single
family use only)!
A $32.90
value for ONLY $24.95 plus 8.517%
sales tax.
Credit
card (VISA, MC, Discover):
Option
3 (by Snail Mail): Check
or Money Order.
Buy
the online course by snail mail. Simply mail your
payment (made payable to Cindy Downes) of $17.95
plus 8.517% sales tax ($19.48) to Cindy Downes, 1608
E. Tacoma St., Broken Arrow, OK 74012. Please
include name, address, phone number, and email address.
Allow 2-3 weeks for delivery. Your subscription will
begin the day your password is emailed to you.
To
purchase both the 1 year subscription to Oklahoma
History Online and the pdf version of the Oklahoma
Scrapbook, make your check out for $29.95 plus
8.517% sales tax ($31.48) instead.
Back
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Reviews
of Oklahoma History Online:
We love Oklahoma History this year. Thank you so much for
making it available to us and for all the work you went
to so that we would have so much fun learning about our great
state!!
Charlotte
Shiever (Newkirk, OK)
"Brittany
has been studying OK history for the past few months. I
love the curriculum we are using. Cindy Downes, a local
lady, wrote it and publishes it online. It is a very reasonable
price and is chock full of great information. I am learning
far more about OK history than I EVER knew about NM history!
Brittany is finishing up the Plains Indians this week and
we will move on to Railroads, Cattledrives, Cowboys and
Outlaws next week."
Kahri
Lynn, (Broken
Arrow, OK)
"We
really are enjoying OK history online and, of course this
year is a great year to do OK history. I have twin second
graders (girls) and a third grade boy. We are going slow
(thus our additional years subscription) but the kids ask
if we can do history first every week. Thank you so much
for all the work and research. My son especially enjoyed
the Lewis and Clark interactive game from the Smithsonian(?).
We also really love the affordability of the course and
all the field trip suggestions."
Sheree Howell (Skedee, OK)
"This is
my kind of history! I have a hard time picking up a high
school textbook and asking my child to use it if I know I
would NOT want to read it! Textbooks too often make history
dry and boring. That is not the case with Cindy’s Oklahoma
History Online course. I was dreading teaching OK History
to my high schoolers because I hadn’t
found a high school curriculum that excited me and I didn’t
want to have to design my own. I am no longer dreading it!
OK History Online has miles of information and is definitely
NOT dry and boring. There are notes to go over together,
then there are web links for more details, timelines to create, “real” books
(historical fiction and non-fiction) to read (with age appropriate
suggestions), suggested movies, and field trip ideas (with
links so if you can’t go there you can still learn
more about the area). One especially exciting aspect is the
activities list for each lesson – it is divided up
by learning styles (visual, auditory, or kinesthetic). Of
course that means you have even more choices to choose from
and you can consider your children’s learning styles
(and your own) to enhance their learning experience even
more! I am excited that not only is it written from a Christian
perspective but each lesson includes a short Bible lesson.
There’s even a chapter on missionaries! Then there’s
even a link to OK travel coupons. For those that prefer textbooks
I would still recommend OK History Online as an excellent
supplement and resource. If desired there is a short quiz
on each lesson for those that want something graded, but
most students should have plenty in their notebook to prove
they have learned Oklahoma history (and not just know the
information but also be proud of their Oklahoma heritage)."
Debbie Smith (Broken Arrow, OK)
Mom of 4 blessings and home school mom of 16 years (with
13 years to go!)
"I
want to thank you for putting this course together. We
used the full school year to complete it. I feel that anything
less would have been rushing it. There was so much more
to learn than what was taught to me in public school. The
only thing I remembered was having to memorize the counties
for a test. I hope that my children benefit from us going
in depth on Oklahoma history."
Larina M. (Apache, OK)
"I
have been thrilled with your Oklahoma Online History Course.
I have been using the course since you first offered it
and have completed the first five units with my fourth grade
son. I had several Oklahoma History resources that I had
used when I was a public school teacher, or that I had purchased
to use with my older children, but none of them are as complete
and easy to use.
I appreciate the variety of activities provided for different
learning styles. I like having all the information in one place
and easily accessible. I only print off the parts I need, when
I need them to teach a particular section of Oklahoma History.
Having it on the computer takes up no additional in my school
room, which is a huge advantage. By using high speed internet,
I can have all the information in a matter of seconds. This
is much faster than I could find it in a book, plus I can always
find my computer. I have misplaced many books. The Index allows
me to quickly find the topic I want to teach and with a click
of the mouse I have located more information than I could ever
find in one resource book. Another advantage to having the information
available online is that it is updated as new resources are
made.
My
son looks forward to learning about Oklahoma's history and
especially likes it when we go to one of the places listed
in the field trip section. He likes making the timeline, too.
I have enjoyed learning more about Oklahoma. Our entire family
is enjoying the benefit of all that Oklahoma has to offer
as we travel to different cities to enjoy museums and National
Parks.
Thank
you for making such an extensive Oklahoma History curriculum
at such an affordable cost."
MaryAnne
B. (Oklahoma City, OK)
"I
ordered your online Oklahoma history program at the beginning
of the fall semester this year. Because I have a 4th grader
and a 9th grader, I wanted to reduce my workload as well
as my time instead of teaching two separate history courses
on the same topic. I've had some outside issues this year
that have kept me from using the program as faithfully
as I would like; however, I can honestly say that it has
been a blessing. Both of my children like to do "hands-on" work
and have really enjoyed that aspect of the curriculum.
I like the lesson plans and appreciate that everything
is laid out in an easy-to-use format. Some of the internet
sites have been quite fun to play around on and are always
very informative. Putting together the timeline and the
coordinating pieces give my 4th grader something extra
to look forward to as we begin each unit. Given the expanse
of material provided, the value of this curriculum far
exceeds the cost.
Both of my children thought the "Adventures at Spiro
Mounds" story was wonderful. Without knowing it, you
managed to connect with outside interests they have through
the storyline. As the author of this story, you did a fantastic
job, cleverly intertwining history and entertainment to a
merry end. They would both like to see a story like this
included with each unit. (Now there's an undertaking!!!)"
Marla H. (Shawnee, OK)
"We
plan on starting this as a unit study next semester. I
wanted to get everything in order and go through it all
before we begin. I will be using this for my 4th graders.
I have looked over the course and am extremely impressed!
You have put forth so much work organizing this. This course
is worth far more than I have paid. It is stocked full
of information that is for so many different levels. There
is more information in this course than what I received
in my Oklahoma History class at the high school level.
I love the fact that you put in field trip suggestions.
My children love field trips and we don't run the risk
of "oh, we should have went there"
later on down the line. Of course, my favorite part of Oklahoma
History is the Indian side of it. I have a bit of Cherokee
in me, but I am truly amazed at the strength of the Indians
despite all that their people have suffered. The Trail of
Tears affects me more than any other topic. I was pleased
to see the links posted concerning this. I love the program
and am very excited to get started on it."
Janetta
B. (Yukon, OK)
"We
began the Oklahoma History Online course approximately
5 months ago. I am using it for a 7th and 9th grader ages
13 an 15. My oldest child has a learning disability and
has enjoyed schoolwork on the computer.
I
am a single mother who works part time so all of the website
and activity lists really help me to prepare the lessons.
Plus the course was affordable and a good investment. Thank
you for putting together this course and offering it at
a reasonable price. My favorite part is the learning activities
for the different learning styles. Some of the reading was
long and dry but the kids didn't seem to mind. Child #1
liked doing his reading on the computer and didn't like
the timeline. Child #2 liked the old radio shows and disliked
all the reading. Two very different opinions but overall
I think the course has worked well for us. My only problem
is getting it all in before my 6-month subscription is over.
There has been so much to learn!"
Larina M. (Apache, OK)
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