See the general information about Alpha Omega's LIFEPAC curriculum under "Grade Level Packages." You need to check for correct placement level before using Alpha Omega History and Geography courses, in this instance considering both the level of difficulty and topic. Even if your child functions at a fifth-grade level, you should be choosing a history course that fits in with your past and future historical coverage. (Note: Alpha Omega has diagnostic tests to place students in their curriculum that might be helpful.)
The complete set for each grade level includes ten LIFEPACs and a teacher's guide with answer keys and teacher helps.
Many students and parents appreciate the fact that the LIFEPACs allow students to learn on their own. However, I do not recommend this curriculum for younger grade levels, since I believe that history studies with younger children should be much more interactive with read-aloud books and discussion rather than independent work.
Topics for upper elementary grades through high school:
- Fourth grade: overview of different types of regions and cultures throughout the world
- Fifth grade: the history of the United States and North America
- Sixth grade: overview of world history and an introduction to geography
- Seventh grade: introduces social studies concepts—history, geography, anthropology, sociology, economics, and political science—for both the United States and the world
- Eighth grade: covers U.S. History at greater depth than previously
- Ninth grade: Social studies, geography, local and state government
- Tenth grade: complete world history from ancient civilizations to the present
- Eleventh grade: complete U.S. History
- Twelfth grade: government and economics
LIFEPAC courses for grades six through ten have been reformatted, and some updating has been done. For example, Unit 7 of History and Geography for Grade 6 has been heavily rewritten since it covers modern-day Africa which has undergone tremendous political upheavals. However, some of these courses haven't been updated with more current events even if they have been reformatted. For example, the world history course for tenth grade summarizes the war in Iraq from only after Saddam Hussein's fall with the statement, "A fledgling democracy has taken hold but violence repeatedly disrupts the work of the new leaders." (Unit 10, p. 68).
LIFEPACs were almost certainly written by different authors over many years, so the style of writing varies. Some courses are more engaging than others.
