7 Steps to the Great American History Course

By Maggie Hogan

History: an orderly and systematic study of humans’ activities in the past.

One Possible Schedule
 

This schedule might work for a family with younger students
 

Goals

• Ignite interest in history & to develop a life-long love of learning


• Develop research and critical thinking skills


• Learn and understand basic facts
• Memorize basic information (states & capitals, etc.)
  
• Long-term retention of core information


• Recognize where event happened, why events happened, when events happened
• Develop an appreciation for our country’s strengths
• Become familiar with current events and political processes

2.  Resources and References

• The Patriot’s Handbook by George Grant
  
• Rand McNally Atlas of American History
  
• The Story of Liberty by Charles Coffin (teens)
  
• Books by Catherine Millard (703.455.0333)
  
• Guides to History Plus by Kathryn Stout Design-a-Study
  
• Usborne Book of World History Dates
  
• DK History of the World
  
• D’Aulaire biographies
  
• Childhood of Famous Americans (series)
  
• Landmark books (especially James Dougherty)
• Books by Genevieve Foster
• Books by Jean Fritz
• Cornerstone of Freedom (series)
• YWAM books
• The Student History Notebook of America by Maggie Hogan

Tip: Buy core materials you’ll draw from heavily: reference books, maps & atlases, audio tapes, high quality games, posters, “pretend” toys that will be enjoyed for years to come and items that hold special appeal to one or more of your children.


Web sites

www.4america.com
 www.hyperhistory.com
 www.thehistorynet.com
 www.thehistoryplace.com
 www.paulasarchives.com
 www.abebooks.com a Canadian based consortium of thousands of antiquarian book dealers.
 www.bibliofind.com Easy-to-use and well-designed site for finding that out-of-print book you want.

3.  Tie in with Literature

It would seem that there are fictional books available for every time period imaginable. Be discerning, look for recommendations from sources you trust and don’t try to read it all! Choose high quality - avoid “junk food” fiction.


Look for

• Appropriate reading level


• Appropriate interest level


• Appropriate thematic level


• World View


• Accuracy

Goals for choosing historical fiction

• Flavor of a period or place


• Gripping account of a specific event


• Opportunity to put oneself into a time period


• Exposure to Godly heroes and role models--inspiration

4.  Everything Happened Sometime - Timelines

Ruth Beechik, in her excellent book You Can Teach Your Child Successfully says:

"For children, timelines are not for pulling together the scattered pieces of knowledge, as they do so well for adults; children haven’t yet collected enough pieces to pull together. What timelines can do for children is to provide a framework into which they can put pieces of knowledge as they learn them. For this framework purpose, timelines should be very simple –
so simple that children can memorize them."

• Information versus activity


• Strands ~ series of spirals


• Maximize your timeline - use in conjunction with maps

5.  Everything Happened Somewhere - Maps

• Information versus activity


• Outline maps


• Atlases


• Research


• Communicate

6.  Projects & Field Trips

Don’t do every project you come across. Be choosy!

Choose projects and field trips that are:

• Appealing


• Illustrative


• Within budget


• Age appropriate


• Timely


• Fun & memorable

7. The Student Notebook – tie it all together

A notebook or journal emphasizes:

• Questions/curiousity
•  Research
•  Organization
•  Processing
•  Synthesizing
•  Retention

What might you put in a notebook?

• assignments
•  questions to answer
•  map work
•  timelines
•  vocabulary
•  scripture
•  quotes
•  resources
•  field trips
•  projects
•  interviews
•  essays
•  reports
•  diagrams
•  drawings
•  photographs
•  video list
•  book list
•  memorization list
•  ticket stubs
•  post cards
•  recipes
  

Looking for BEST EVER American history course? Brand-new! All American History by Celeste Rakes is just the thing for the busy family. This history course is perfect for 5th – 9th graders wanting structure and ease-of-use in a homeschool setting. Three books: Student Reader, Student Activity Book and Teacher Guide make this a thorough and enjoyable course. Highly recommended!