Middle School/Logic stage history

In the logic stage, I expect more out of my students than just narration.  My 5th-8th graders still participate with us with our Story of the World work and unit study work, but they go beyond that work on their own.  For those students we begin the process of outlining. 

First of all--the why.  Outlining is a very important skill.  To be able to read a text and tease out the most important information is very important to comprehension and rentention.  It is also a skill they will need in reverse when they start writing essays and longer papers.  Practicing by directly observing the struture of other's written work, will make this process of organizing their own work easier and more natural.

To outline, my 5th graders read a corresponding or connected section in our Kingfisher History Encyclopedia.  That student will then take the section (1 or 2 pages) a paragraph at a time.  The main idea of paragraph 1 goes with the I. in the outline.  The main idea of paragraph 2 is roman numeral 2 and so on.  The sections in Kingfisher are not so long that the process is overwhelming, but they are meaty enough that the student is learning more details and practicing the art of selection.  In 5th grade, this outline will be a one-step outline:
        I.
        II.
        III.

In 6th grade, we begin 2 step outlines.  Paragraphs are not just given the roman numeral and the main idea, but the main facts behind the main point will be now labelled.
             I.
                A.
                B.
             II.
                A.
                B.

In 7th and 8th grade, these 2 step outlines become 3 step outlines, and a 1, 2, 3, etc are added below the letters.  The WTM does a good job of explaining how to outline and giving specific examples.  I highly recommend you read that section before you start outlining with your child. 

So basically, logic stage history is grammar stage history with the family, plus independent outlining of Kingfisher. The Story of the World activity book lists out for you already the relevant pages of Kingfisher that match each chapter. All that work is already done for you.

Edited to add:  My logic stage students also have a blank timeline book.  I like the one Sonlight puts out.  They will add important dates to their timeline book, color coded by type of date.