With summer approaching and the big kids finishing up their current history programs, this seemed like a great time to start using The Story of the Thirteen Colonies & the Great Republic Set and 200 Questions About American History set, which we recently received from Memoria Press to review. This American history curriculum uses the writing of H. A. Guerber. It also contains a vast amount of information for middle schoolers to learn in preparation for high school.
What all is in this curriculum?
This extensive American History Curriculum contains two parts of text books and materials. The first part contains:
- a Memoria Press edited copy of The Story of the Thirteen Colonies and the Great Republic by H. A. Guerber.
- The Story of the Thirteen Colonies and the Great Republic Student Book
- The Story of the Thirteen Colonies and the Great Republic Teacher Guide
A great supplemental set to the core curriculum includes:
- 200 Questions about American History Student Book
- 200 Questions about American History Teacher Guide
- A set of 200 Questions about American History Flash Cards
Combined together, these two sets make a comprehensive American History Curriculum that prepares students grades 5-8 with a deeper knowledge of American History facts to prepare for high school. The teacher’s guide for “The Story of the Thirteen Colonies” gives assignment suggestions, facts, vocabulary, map work, and important questions for each chapter. The student book provides questions and vocabulary for each chapter and gives enough space to write the answers in the book.
For the 200 Questions set, the Teacher’s Guide lays out a schedule for using the Student Guide questions and drills. Also, the flash cards work great in memorization of facts about American History. The sets work well with each other in helping your student learn and retain the vast knowledge contained in this curriculum.
How this Works for a Homeschool American History Course
For us, we needed to purchase an additional set of student workbooks as each workbook is designed for one student only. While providing answer keys and important information in the appendix, the Teacher’s Guide also allows your student to do the actual coursework on their own. The questions for the “200 Questions about American History” are broken up by chapter. Then you can use the flash cards with your student or have your student use them on their own to help with the memorization of the material.
My thoughts and recommendations for this curriculum
Personally, I think if you decide to use “The story of the Thirteen colonies and the Great Republic” as your middle school American History curriculum, you should purchase the “200 Questions about American History” supplement. They work well together in helping students memorize facts. Memorization of facts, states, presidents, and other important information gives them a leg up for high school. While we recently started this program, we plan to use it for the next year as the teacher’s guide lays frame work for a year’s worth of history lessons.
I asked the older kids what they thought of this program, and generally they like it so far. They use the flash cards with each other. The text presents a better flow, rather than a dry book of just facts. Finding material they enjoy reading is important with comprehension. While I want my kids to learn, I like it better when they enjoy the course work because it makes for a more peaceful homeschool environment for all of us.
If you would like to read more reviews on using The Story of the Thirteen Colonies & the Great Republic Set and 200 Questions About American History set, then be sure to click below to see other Homeschool Review crews about this program and other programs from Memoria Press. Also, look for Memoria Press on social media to find out more about this curriculum and other texts they offer!
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