Our American History curriculum (homeschooling)

Continuing my series on what our lesson plans look like for anyone who is considering homeschooling. This is 4th grade American history.

TEXTS:

Abeka, The History of Our United States from a Christian Perspective

Various Non-Fiction Children’s Books (noted below – there are a lot)

Age of Exploration and First Settlements

• Introductory discussion – What distinguishes the American experiment from other countries
• Read Chapter One – Europe: Where the New World Began; Columbus Discovers America
• Chapter One, continued – North America is Claimed for England; America Gets Its Name; Did Anyone Ever Find a Sea Route to the Indies; A New Ocean is Formed; Ponce de Leon Explores Florida
• Read Chapter Two – Spain: The Conquest of Mexico; France: Cartier Explores the New World
• Chapter Two, continued – Spain: Coronado’s Search for the Seven Cities of Cibola; Spain: DeSoto Discovers the Mississippi; England: Drake the Dragon; France: The First French Settlement in the New World
• Field Trip: St. Augustine Colonial Quarter

Native American History and Culture

• Read Chapter Three – The Differences in American Indians; Indian Games; Indian Way of Life Changes; Missionaries to the Native Americans
• Read Marie and Douglas Gorsline, North American Indians
• Read Ellen Levine, If You Lived with the Iroquois
• Read Peter and Connie Roop, If You Lived with the Cherokee
• Read Ann McGovern, If You Lived with the Sioux Indians
• Read Geraldine Woods, The Navajo
• Read Bill Martin and John Archambault, Knots on a Counting Rope
• Read E.K. Caldwell, Bear
• Read Jonathan London, Fire Race: A Karuk Coyote Tale
• Read Tim Jessell, Amorak
• Read North American Indian (DK)

The Colonial Period

• Read Chapter Four – Planting a Colony; England and the Bible; The Lost Colony
• Chapter Four, continued – Jamestown: The First Lasting English Colony
• Read Joyce Milton, Pocahontas: An American Princess
• Chapter Four, continued – The Pilgrims: Lovers of Religious Freedom
• Read Ann McGovern, If You Sailed on the Mayflower in 1620
• Read Chapter Five – Settling the North; The Massachusetts Bay Colony; The Puritans; Governor John Winthrop: Rhode Island and Roger Williams; New Hampshire; Connecticut
• Read Avi, Finding Providence: The Story of Roger Williams
• Read Chapter Six – New York; Delaware; New Jersey
• Chapter Six, continued – Pennsylvania and the Quakers
• Chapter Six, continued – Virginia; Maryland; The Carolinas; Georgia: England’s Last Colony; Many People, One Land
• Chapter Seven – A Picture of Colonial Life
• Read Ann McGovern, If You Lived in Colonial Times
• Read Barbara Brenner, If You Lived in Williamsburg in Colonial Times
• Introductory discussion – What was the “Great Awakening” and how did it shape American culture?
• Read Chapter Seven – Jonathan Edwards: A Great Puritan Preacher; John Wesley: Founder of the Methodist Church; George Whitefield: The Great Evangelist to America; Missionary Work in America
• Read Chapter Nine – New France and Its Colonies; The Differences between French and American Colonies; The French and English Become Enemies
• Chapter Nine, continued – The French and Indian War and Its Historical Significance

The American Revolution and Basic Civics

• Read Chapter Ten – Thirteen English Colonies in America; The American Colonies Demand their Rights as Englishmen; Stamp Act; More Problems
• Chapter Ten, continued – The Colonists Speak Out; New Taxes; The Boston Massacre; The Boston Tea Party
• Chapter Ten, continued – The Revolutionary War Begins; The Colonists Prepare to Fight; The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere
• Read Esther Forbes, America’s Paul Revere
• Read “Paul Revere’s Ride” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
• Chapter Ten, continued – The Second Continental Congress; The Battle for Bunker Hill; Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys; More Decisions
• Chapter Ten, continued – The Declaration of Independence
• Read the Declaration of Independence
• Read James Cross Giblin, Thomas Jefferson: A Picture Book Biography
• Chapter Ten, continued – The War Continues; The Colonial Army in New York City; Patriots Who Risked Their Lives; The Colonial Army at Trenton, New Jersey; A Flag for Our Country
• Chapter Ten, continued: The Colonial Army at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania; The War on the Frontier; A New Navy; The War in the South; Victory at Yorktown, October 1781; Treaty of Paris
• Read, Kay Moore, If You Lived at the Time of the American Revolution
• Read Chapter Eleven – After the War for Independence; The Articles of Confederation; The Constitution of the United States; A Brand-New Government
• Read Elizabeth Levy, If You Were There When They Signed the Constitution
• Read Syl Sobel, How the US Government Works
• Read Elissa Grodin, D is for Democracy: A Citizen’s Alphabet
• Chapter Eleven, continued – The New Republic; An Election; A New Capital
• Read Ruth Belov Gross, If You Grew Up with George Washington

Manifest Destiny and Its Consequences

• Read Chapter Twelve: America Pushes Farther West; Daniel Boone and the Wilderness Road; Settling the Northwest Territory; The Land Ordinances
• Chapter Twelve, continued: The United States Doubles in Size; The Louisiana Territory; The War of 1812 and Its Historical Significance; Our National Anthem
• Read Joyce Milton, Sacajawea: Her True Story
• Chapter Twelve, continued: The Purchase of Florida; The Second Great Awakening
• Chapter Twelve, continued: The United States Gains the Southwest; Texas Decides to Fight for Independence: The Alamo; War with Mexico; The Gadsden Purchase
• Read Elaine Landau, The Alamo: Would You Join the Fight?
• Chapter Twelve, continued: The Great Rush to California; The Oregon Territory; An Education System Evolves
• Read Joseph Bruchac, The Trail of Tears; discuss how forcefully relocating Native Americans was a destructive aspect of settling the former colonies and new territories

Pioneers

• Read Ellen Levine, If You Traveled West in a Covered Wagon
• How It All Began
• Rachel Dickinson, Great Pioneer Projects – Mapping the Way
• Rachel Dickinson, Great Pioneer Projects – The Decision to Go West
• Rachel Dickinson, Great Pioneer Projects – Wagon Trains
• Rachel Dickinson, Great Pioneer Projects – Hardships on the Trail
• Rachel Dickinson, Great Pioneer Projects – Popular Routes
• Rachel Dickinson, Great Pioneer Projects – The Transcontinental Railroad
• Rachel Dickinson, Great Pioneer Projects – Building Homes
• Rachel Dickinson, Great Pioneer Projects – Frontier Farming and Food
• Rachel Dickinson, Great Pioneer Projects – At Home and At School
• Rachel Dickinson, Great Pioneer Projects – Fun and Holidays
• Rachel Dickinson, Great Pioneer Projects – Cowboys and Indians
• Rachel Dickinson, Great Pioneer Projects – Documenting the West
• Play the Oregon Trail board game
• Read Tod Cody, The Cowboy’s Handbook: How to Become a Hero of the Wild West
• DK Eyewitness Books, The Wild West
• Read Bree Burns, Sitting Bull and Other Legendary Native American Chiefs

Slavery in America

• Read Chapter Thirteen – The North with Slavery; The South with Slavery; Troubled Times
• Read Patricia McKissack, Amistad: The Story of a Slave Ship
• Read Anne Kamma, If You Lived When There Was Slavery in America

• Somersett
  • Quaker Protest
  • A Prince
  • A Vanished Slave and His Return
  • A Kidnapped Child
  • Jenny Slew
• Read Virginia Hamilton, Many Thousand Gone: African-Americans from Slavery to Freedom – Part Two
  • Elizabeth Freeman
  • The Right of Chloe
  • Advertisements
  • Th Gabriel Prosser Uprising
  • Josiah Henson, Running-Away and Guide
  • A Slave
  • The Nat Turner Rebellion
  • Some Conductors on the Underground Railroad
  • Eliza
  • Isabella, Sojourner
  • The Captain of the Pearl
  • Solomon Northrup
  • Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey
  • The Brave Conductor
  • “All Right, Sir!”
• Read Virginia Hamilton, Many Thousand Gone: African-Americans from Slavery to Freedom – Part Three
  • Anthony Burns
  • A Mother’s Despair
  • A Slave from Missouri
  • A Kentucky Runaway
  • Alexander Ross, Down from Canada
  • Jackson, of Alabama
  • Wisdom
  • An Unnamed Fugitive
  • Three Fugitives
  • Exodus
  • Proclamation
  • Deliverance
  • The Tide of Freedom
• Read Ellen Levine, If You Traveled on the Underground Railroad
• Read Monica Kulling, Escape North! The Story of Harriet Tubman
• Read Marie Bradbury, More than Anything Else

The Civil War

• Chapter Thirteen, continued – The Civil War and the Emancipation Proclamation
• Chapter Thirteen, continued – The Battles in the Civil War
• Read Ann Turner, Drummer Boy: Marching to the Civil War
• Read Kate Boehm-Jerome, Civil War Sub: The Mystery of the Hanley
• Read Patrick O’Brien, Duel of the Ironclads: The Monitor vs The Virginia
• Read Jean Fritz, Just a Few Words, Mr. Lincoln: The Story of the Gettysburg Address
• Read D’Aulaires’ Abraham Lincoln
• Read Ann McGovern, If You Grew Up with Abraham Lincoln
• Chapter 13, continued – The Assassination of President Abraham Lincoln
• Read Stephen Krensky, A Man for All Seasons: The Life of George Washington Carver; discuss what life was like for former slaves after the Emancipation Proclamation, opportunities and problems

Reconstruction and the Gilded Age

• Read Chapter Fourteen – Rebuilding the South and The Last Frontier
• Chapter Fourteen, continued – Indian Reservations; Railroads; The Homestead Act; The Oklahoma Land Rush; Cyrus McCormick
• Read Chapter Fifteen – Immigration
• Read Ellen Levine, If Your Name Was Changed at Ellis Island
• Read Elvira Woodruff, The Memory Coat
• Read Amy Hest, When Jessie Came Across the Sea
• Read Russell Freedman, Immigrant Kids
• Discussion – Immigrants in our own family from Finland, the Netherlands, and Switzerland; Catholic heritage brought with them
• Read R. Conrad Stein, The Story of the Erie Canal; discuss the role immigrant labor played in massive public works projects like canals and railroads
• Chapter Fifteen, continued – Steel and Oil; Famous American Inventors
• Field Trip – John D. Rockefeller’s House in Ormond Beach
• Read George Shea, First Flight: The Story of Tom Tate and the Wright Brothers
• Read Chapter Sixteen – Alaska and Hawaii
• Watch “The Great Alaskan Race”; discuss the origins of the Iditarod
• Chapter Sixteen, continued – The Spanish-American War and the Rough Riders; The Panama Canal
• Read Chapter Seventeen – World War I
• Chapter Seventeen, continued – The Roaring Twenties
• Documentary on the Roaring Twenties
• Chapter Seventeen, continued – The Great Depression
• Read Steven Otfinoski, The Great Depression
• Read Don Nardo, Migrant Mother: How a Photograph Defined the Great Depression

The World Wars and Modern American History

• Chapter Seventeen, continued – The World Between the Wars; The Rise of Communism, Fascism, and Nazism
• Read Angela Gluck Wood, Holocaust: The Events and Their Impact on Real People; DVD of Holocaust Survivors’ Stories
• Read Michelle McCann, Luba: The Angel of Bergen-Belsen
• Chapter Seventeen, continued – World War II Begins; The United States Builds Its Armed Forces; Germany Attacks England; Hitler Surprises the Russians; Three Wars in One
• Chapter Seventeen, continued – The Attack on Pearl Harbor
• Read Shelley Tanaka, Attack on Pearl Harbor: The True Story of The Day America Entered World War II
• Watch “Midway” movie about the war in the Pacific
• Read Shelley Tanaka, D-Day: A Day that Changed America; discuss great-grandfather’s role in storming Normandy
• Chapter Seventeen, continued – Victory Comes at Last; Continuing World Problems; Berlin is Divided; the Korean War; discuss family members who served in Korea
• Chapter Eighteen – Freedom and Opportunity for All Americans
• Read Robert Coles, The Story of Ruby Bridges
• Read Ellen Levine, If You Lived at the Time of Martin Luther King
• Read Philip Caputo, 10,000 Days of Thunder: A History of the Vietnam War
• Read Vietnam War (DK); discuss experiences of Vietnam veterans in the family
• Read Judy Donnelly, Moonwalk: The First Trip to the Moon
• Read James Buckley Jr., Home Address: ISS, International Space Station
• Field Trip: Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral
• Read Mitch Frank, Understanding September 11^th: Answering Questions about the Attack on America
• Reflections on what we’ve learned about our country

Unit on Florida History

• Abeka, My State Notebook (research project)

TEXT: Abeka, Geography Teaching Maps

• The World, Charts 1-2
• North America – Physical Map, Charts 3-4
• North America – Political Map, Charts 5-6
• Early Settlements, Charts 7-8
• The 13 Original Colonies, Charts 9-10
• Our Nation Grows, Charts 11-12
• Landforms, Charts 13-14
• United States – Political, Charts 15-16

TEXT: Abeka, The History of Our United States, Geography / Maps and Reviews

TEXT: Kate Siber, National Parks of the USA

• East
• Central
• Rocky Mountains
• Southwest
• West
• Alaska and Tropics

Jason Chin, The Grand Canyon

Susan, Goodman, On this Spot: An Expedition through Time