The sequence of history courses (Social Studies, as it is called) for the 7th through 12th graders is an interesting and sometimes confusing series. Some of the courses have “pull-out workbooks” (Civics & Economics) and the newer Fourth Edition rewrites are full color and have the questions interwoven with the text. Following is a summary of the courses with a brief description of each along with some recommendations and links to resources.
The Sixth Grade history (PACES 1061-1072) is an overview and introduction to World History. Be sure to point out the time line in the beginning of each PACE and help your student understand how it works and what they can learn from it.
Level 7 (PACES 1073-1078) introduces students to many different careers and occupations, describing the duties and training required. I like that they also include ministry jobs, like pastor, youth pastor, school staff, and secretary. Students are to maintain an interest inventory as they work through the six careers PACES, indicating their level of interest in each type of job.
There are only six PACES that deal with careers, and then the parent or school needs to teach their own state or local history for half a year. Since ACE has headquarters in Texas and Florida, they sell PACES for those states. Other state users need to find their own resources.
American History, from early exploration, through the founding of our country, and up to modern times is covered in the 8th Level (1085-1096). The newer 4th edition is complete and is a very nice update and upgrade.
After 8th level there are two possible courses for 9th grade. The World History is PACES 1109-1120 and has been recently totally revised. It is an excellent course that teens really enjoy and move through easily. The tests are well matched to what was covered in the check-ups and reviewed in the PACE. I recommend doing this course before World Geography.
Another possible 9th (or 10th) grade history course is World Geography. This is a very well done (4th Edition) course, confusingly numbered 1097-1108 . There is much content to learn and facts and capitals to memorize, so I generally recommend that average or struggling students wait until 10th grade to tackle this one and do the World History in 9th grade. We have outline maps available as a great supplement to this course in our store.
American History for 11th grade level was rewritten and released as Fourth Edition (1121-1131) a few years ago and is very attractive and well written. Students enjoy the style and lay-out and do well on the check-ups and tests, so no test tips have been needed. I like the inclusion of spiritual influences, like the Great Awakening and significant Godly leaders, in the content, as well as positive portrayals of our founding fathers.
Civics and Economics are senior level history courses. Each course is 6 PACES with pull-out activity Pacs. They are more challenging and require thinking, problem-solving, and application. I encourage students in 11th grade to finish American History early and try to get one or two Civics PACES done so that they aren’t rushed their senior year to finish the Civics/Economics. Most students fail one or two PACE tests at this level and have to redo them, requiring more time. There are test tips and video resources for these courses which will help, but the tests require much more study effort than American History did the previous year.
ACE also has a few history electives, like the Constitution (which goes more in-depth than the Civics PACES), and Collectivism (which explains socialism and communism as a world view and economics model).
We have a half year Baptist History course that we have developed and print here. It is written at an 8th grade level but I have had older students do it in addition to their World or American History to turn it into an honors course. It is available in our store.
