History is amazing. I never tire from learning about people and events from the past. And this unit was filled with learning and examples of individuals to admire as well as individuals to learn what not to do.
What is covered?
When I was first looking at this unit I thought it would feel kind of “all-of-the-place” but it actually wasn’t. Things merged into one another nicely and we really enjoyed it.
Here are how the lessons were broken down:
- The Vikings {2 Lessons}
- Marco Polo
- Motivations for Exploration
- Christopher Columbus {3 Lessons}
- Balboa and John and Sebastian Cabot
- Other Explorers
- Pre-Columbian America
- Mayan Civilization
- Aztec Civilization
- The Inca Empire
- Conquistadors
Christopher Columbus
I have to admit I am surprised how strong the opinions are about Christopher Columbus. And everyone is definitely entitled to their own opinion. One of the great things about homeschooling is that if you don’t agree with something…you don’t have to teach it that way. You are in charge!
I am lucky in that my thoughts about Christopher Columbus aligned well with those of this curriculum. He was not a perfect man, only one man to walk this earth was. But I do believe he was divinely guided to America.
The curriculum writes about his motivations which were to spread Christianity as well as to find a shorter route to India which could bring money to fund a Christian crusade to retake Jerusalem.
He is taught as a man that was faithful and courageous.
The high school grades are also encouraged to do additional reading on their own about Christopher Columbus.
Supplies
This unit was pretty low on supplies necessary {YAY!}. Here is a list of all that was required :
- Tin foil and/or modeling clay {that you can bake!}
- Glue
- Straw
- Clay
- Cardboard or cardstock
- Hard-boiled egg
- Blue and green playdough
- Five dried beans or other small items
- Ingredients to make Aztec Hot Chocolate
Student Explorers
Since Jacob is the only one actively particpating in history, we only use the Grades 1 – 3 Student Explorer set.
He continued to work on his timeline pages which covered:
- First Raids on England, Scotland, and Ireland
- Vikings from Denmark, Norway, and Sweden settle permanently in England
- Alfred the Great defeats the Vikings but allows them to settle in eastern England
- Erik the Red discovers Greenland
- Leif Erikson explores the coast of North America
- Marco Polo explores Asia with his father and uncle and writes about his travels
- Portuguese Explorations Around Africa
- Columbus’ First Voyage: 1492-1493
- Columbus takes three more voyages. On his 3rd and 4th voyages he lands on Central and South America
- John Cabot is the first European to discover the coast of North America
- Balboa crosses the Isthmus of Panama, becoming the first European to reach the Pacific Ocean
There is one history hero for this unit and that is Christopher Columbus and he is spotlighted for his courage and faith.
There is a map for the Inca Trail which is interesting while learning about the Inca Civilization.
And the last page of the unit was easily my favorite. The last lesson is about Conquistadors and specifically Hernan Cortez and Francisco Pizarro. Neither one are a great example of character but it led to a great discussion on conquering. And how conquering isn’t always wrong {listing the American colonists conquering the British, and the Allied forces conquering the Nazis as examples}.
It then asked a really powerful question: Rather than seeking to conquer or gain power over other people, what are some things inside ourselves that we can seek to conquer or gain power over?
Isn’t that such a thought provoking question?
You are then directed to read several different scriptures and choose something you want to conquer within yourself and make goals to do that.
Incredible.
Read Alouds
For our read aloud this unit, we read Beorn the Proud by Madeleine Polland. At first I thought maybe this book would be a little too heavy but Jacob really enjoyed it {and I did too!}. More than once Jacob was asking to read more and that’s always a good sign!
It was a great story about a young Viking prince and after conquering an Irish settlement takes on a young Irish girl as a servant. There are so many twists and turns to the story and it ends with a lot of humility {on each side} and peace. Definitely high moral merit.
There were also a lot of great descriptions about clothing, landscape, and culture that I felt really made that time period come alive.
This book would be entertaining and of value for a wide range of ages.
Individual Reading
If I can add more depth to a unit with things I already have – I go for it! Jacob has become such an avid reader.
I cannot say enough good about the Imagination Station series. Jacob used ALL of his Christmas money to buy more books from this series {he almost has them all now!} and it is a big part of the reason he has come to love reading.
The first book in the series pairs perfectly with this unit: Voyage with the Vikings by Marianne Hering and Paul McCusker. These books would be great for ages 6-8.
All of the books in the series are centered around historical events and so this series is great for adding in some history in a fun way!
Two other books that we had on our shelves were Leif the Lucky and Columbus both by Ingri and Edgar Parin D’Aulaire. These were great to have out and Jacob enjoyed reading and looking at the illustrations. I would say it would be a great addition for elementary aged children. I do like the Leif the Lucky one best if I had to pick though!
We also had two other books already on our shelves that I think would make great additional reading for high school aged children.
Seven Miracles That Saved America: Why They Matter and Why We Should Have Hope by Chris Stewart and Ted Stewart is a great book. It covers seven miracles that show God’s hand guiding and directing our great nation. The first miracle discussed is the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus. The book goes into several different times in history {which are all important} but you could just read that one section to add to this unit.
The last book is entitled, Christopher Columbus: A Man Among the Gentiles by Clark B. Hinckley. I love the perspective of this book.
Length of Unit
This unit has fourteen lessons in it. We try and do two history lessons a week. I would plan on seven to eight weeks to complete the unit.
Our Favorite Activities
Yay! My favorite part!
Jacob loved making a tin foil viking bracelet! But our favorite activity of the whole unit has to the viking ship! So simple but so fun!
I loved this story about Columbus.
At a banquet, a Spanish nobleman said to Columbus, “If you had not crossed the sea, some one else would have done it.” Columbus silently took an egg from the table and said to this nobleman, “Stand this egg on its end.”
The arrogant man could not do it, whereupon Columbus placed the egg on its end by cracking its shell.
“That, any one can do,” said the sneery ones at the table.
“Yes,” replied Columbus, “anything may become easy when you are first shown how.”
We used blue and green playdough to make our own globes of the earth while learning about Ferdinand Magellan.
Learned about Mayan hieroglyphs – Jacob has a new appreciation for how quickly he can write with our alphabet now!
And making Aztec Hot Chocolate fell on a perfect winter day.
Final Thoughts
This unit was wonderful. The Good and the Beautiful does such an amazing job of making history come alive.
I know some worry that it focuses too much on the good. But that’s one of the main reasons why I love it. I love giving my children good people to look up to. People that were in difficult times and situations but chose to rise above them. My children know these individuals were not perfect. But it gives them someone to aspire to be like when they are put in difficult situations in their time. We are not so different now in history than we might think.
Go to The Good and the Beautiful to find out more about their history courses.
We are using this as part of Jacob’s second grade curriculum. To see what else we are using, click here.
All of our reviews for the History 2 Units can be found here:
- Unit 1: Ancient Greece / Ancient Asia
- Unit 3: Colonial America / The United States Constitution
- Unit 4: History of United States Education / WWI through the Great Depression
And our full review of History 2 as a whole can be found here.
