*** Oh my goodness, I cannot believe how far behind I am in our curriculum review. It’s on the list of things to do! But we finished this unit clear back in June and so I will do my best to document all of the goodness! ***
In June, we finished our third unit of history for the year from The Good and the Beautiful. This unit continued all of the history goodness that we have come to expect from The Good and the Beautiful. This unit was all about the expansion in the west and well as the industrial advancements that were made during this time.
Topics
Subjects covered in this unit include:
- Daniel Boone
- The Louisiana Purchase
- The Lewis & Clark Expedition
- Sacajawea
- Robert Fulton and the Invention of the Steamboat
- The Santa Fe Trail
- The Oregon Trail
- The California Gold Rush
- Daily Life on the Frontier
- Battle of the Alamo
- Stagecoaches
- The Pony Express
- The First Transcontinental Railroad
- The Homestead Act
- Land Rush
- First Industrial Revolution
- Second Industrial Revolution
- George Washington Carver
- Samuel Morse and the Telegraph
- Thomas Edison
Supplies
- Dried beans
- Hole punch
- Push pin
- A piece of pyrite
- A bandana or scarf
- Large button for each child
- Embroidery thread
- Sturdy stick or broom
Student Explorers
The Good and the Beautiful history curriculum includes student explorers for the lessons. There is a different student explorer for Grades 1-3, Grades 4-6, Grades 7-9, and Grades 10-12. Jacob is my only kiddo doing history and he is working through the explorers for Grades 1-3.
Included in this unit were:
- Timeline of Daniel Boone
- Map of Louisiana Purchase
- Informational page for Daniel Boone, Louisiana Purchase, and Robert Fulton
- Coloring page of a steamboat
- Copywork and coloring for pioneers
- Map of California Trail
- Map of Pony Express,
- Informational page for the Golden Spike
- Coloring page of the railroad
- Copywork and coloring page about George Washington Carver
- Informational page about Thomas Edison inventing the light bulb
- Coloring page about how electricity and how it has blessed your life
Big Book of History Stories
The Big Book of History Stories is one of my favorite parts of history! It contains fabulous stories and illustrations that bring history to life. The unit we read:
- Lewis and Clark: Adventure West
- Robert Fulton and the Invention of the Steamboat
- Brave Heroes of the Alamo
- The Story of Railroads
- The Story of George Washington Carver
- Thomas Edison, the Great Inventor
Read Aloud
This unit we read Gold Mountain by Gwendolen Lampshire Hayden and Pearl Clements Gischler. It follow two children named Daniel and Betsy, as their family settles in the Blue Mountains of eastern Oregon. When gold is discovered, a town they affectionally call Muslin town pops up. This story does a great job of immersing you in frontier life and the time period.
Independent Reading
I like to encourage Jacob to do some independent reading about the time period we are learning about in history. This unit he read Prairie School by Avi. This was an easy read for him but he enjoyed it. It is about a young boy named Noah and takes place in the 1880s on a farm on the Colorado prairie. Noah is a hard worker on the farm and learns the value of reading. It, again, does a great job of bringing the time period to life.
There is also a lot of movies and shows that you can add to this unit. We started watching the Little House on the Prairie show and it has become a family favorite.
Our Favorite Activities
- Robert Fulton Pinwheel
- Watching videos about the California Gold Rush
- Pioneer Day Activities! Three-legged race, Stick-pull, and spinning toy
- Watched scene from Far and Away about the Homestead Act and Land Rush (at the end of the movie!)
- Morse code with a flashlight
- Making a “quizzer” as a review of the unit
Field Trips
We did this unit not a great time for added fun for our family – which is such a bummer because there are a lot of really neat sites to see near us with westward expansion! Some ideas would include:
- Cumberland Gap National Historical Park, located in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia, this spotlights Daniel Boone
- Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, this runs through Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Washington, and West Virginia
- Sacajawea State Historical Park, located in Washington
- Santa Fe National Historic Trail, runs through Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, New Mexico, and Oklahoma
- The Alamo, located in Texas
- Mahaffie Stagecoach Stop & Farm Historic Site, located in Kansas
- Homestead National Historical Park, located in Nebraska
- Golden Spike National Historical Park, located in Utah (we’ve been there before an it is a LOT of fun!)
- California National Historic Trail, this runs through various states including California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming
- Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail, this runs through Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Utah, and Wyoming
- Mormon Trail Center at Winter Quarters, located in Nebraska
- Martin’s Cove, located in Wyoming
- Sixth Crossing, located in Wyoming
- Rock Creek Hollow, located in Wyoming
- Oregon National Historic Trail, this runs through Idaho, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming
- Pony Express National Historic Trail, this runs through California, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming
- Thomas Edison National Historical Park, located in New Jersey
Final Thoughts
This unit was incredible. There are so many amazing things that happened in American history during this time period and it was wonderful to be immersed in it. Jacob and I learned so much and we are grateful for those that came before us to open the west!
Additional History Reviews
The Good and the Beautiful Year 3
The Good and the Beautiful Year 2
- Unit 1: Ancient Greece and Ancient Asia
- Unit 2: Vikings, Exploration, and Pre-Columbian America
- Unit 3: Colonial America and the U.S. Constitution
- Unit 4: History of U.S. Education and World War I through the Great Depression
We DID complete Year 1 of the Good and the Beautiful History, however, I have not written a formal review of it. If you have any questions, feel free to ask!
