"America the Beautiful: America from 1000 to 1877" by Charlene Notgrass is a comprehensive history curriculum designed for homeschooling students. Here is a detailed overview of the book:
Key Themes
- Biblical Worldview: The curriculum is centered around a Biblical worldview, emphasizing the role of God in creating America and guiding its history.
- Geography and History: The book integrates geography and history, highlighting how all historical events occur in specific places such as coastlines, prairies, mountains, lakes, and forests.
- Positive and Negative Aspects: It emphasizes the positive aspects of American history while being honest about the negative ones, encouraging students to contribute to the beautiful stories of American history.
- God’s Wonders: Lessons focus on "God’s Wonders," which describe parts of God’s beautiful creation in America, such as Yellowstone National Park.
- American Landmarks: The curriculum explores significant places in American history, including the Erie Canal and Little Rock Central High School.
Plot Summary
The book is divided into 30 units with five lessons each, covering a total of 150 lessons. Here is a brief summary of the content:
- Unit Structure: Each unit includes lessons in five categories: Our American Story (significant events), God’s Wonders (God’s creations), American Landmark (significant places), American Biography (biographies of notable individuals), and Daily Life (everyday life in different eras).
- Historical Coverage: The curriculum begins with life in America before Europeans arrived and continues through the first years after the Civil War, including biographies of each president from George Washington to Ulysses S. Grant.
- Literature Component: The curriculum includes a recommended literature component with 10 book titles that complement the lessons, providing a perspective on people during different historical periods.
Critical Reception
- Educational Value: The curriculum is praised for its thorough coverage of historical and sometimes sensitive content, including topics like the Trail of Tears and the internment of Japanese Americans.
- Engagement Activities: Parents appreciate the variety of engagement tasks such as reading, creative writing, map study, timeline activities, and family activities that make learning fun and interactive.
- Visual Aids: The book includes full-color images, which help students visualize historical places and events, making the learning experience more engaging.
Additional Components
The curriculum package includes several additional components:
- We the People: A full-color hardback book containing original journal entries, newspaper articles, advertisements, poems, songs, letters, short stories, speeches, and other historic documents from American history.
- Maps of America the Beautiful: Maps that help students visualize geographical locations discussed in the lessons.
- Timeline of America the Beautiful: A chronological timeline of selected events in American history, where students can add their own facts starting from lesson 4.
- Student Workbook and Lesson Review: Optional workbooks that provide additional activities such as Thinking Biblically, Map Study, Timeline, Vocabulary, Literature, Creative Writing, and Family Activity.
Overall, "America the Beautiful: America from 1000 to 1877" by Charlene Notgrass is a comprehensive and engaging history curriculum that integrates a Biblical worldview, geography, and various historical themes, making it suitable for homeschooling students in grades five through eight.