This Teacher Guide provides the support and “jumping-off place” to actively engage students in early US history study. The 4 course spine texts (three Charlotte Mason favorite Genevieve Foster books and National Geographic’s The World Made New) help recount history from the first indigenous peoples to just before the Civil War. Then, 12 historical fiction texts narrate different perspectives: the Life of Olaudah Equiano, a displaced Cherokee on the Trail of Tears, Mr. Bowditch, Sojourner Truth, and more. This curriculum’s design helps students investigate historical events while building understanding and empathy, leaving the historical evaluation to individual families. Guides are divided into five time periods (Indigenous Peoples & First Encounters, Colonial Periods from 1607-1706 and 1706-1776, The Revolutionary War, and The Young United States-1864).
Each time period section follows a consistent pattern through the year. Rabbit Trails is an annotated list of additional resources (fiction and nonfiction) for students to investigate. Always including Scripture verses (using version of your choice) to consult, the Character Connections section highlights a specific character trait such as hospitality or courage to define and discuss. In addition, writing prompts and application options are suggested, such as showing hospitality by cooking dinner for someone or searching for evidence of self-control in their fiction reading. Online Resources shares carefully curated Web links with a brief explanation. Creative Writing (an elective option) and Research Topics (typically 2) provide prompts requiring students to further analyze specific aspects from the week’s lesson. See the Beautiful Feet website for a free writing grading rubric and for updated Web links. Activities & Handicrafts may encompass mapping, crafts, art, investigative activities, and modern-day comparisons (taxation then and now, pandemics then and now) and more.
These five portions are then followed by the day-to-day assignments, with specific directions and questions that develop critical reasoning and research skills. Lessons typically follow a pattern: introduce concepts, read selections as directed, discuss using provided open-ended prompts (no answers provided), and complete an extension activity assignment (students choose). These 82 (approx. 2 per week) lessons provide enough guiding structure, while still providing the freedom to discover and expand knowledge as well as understanding. For example, you may investigate and discuss intriguing ideas such as a letter from Benjamin Banneker black freeman (and Washington, DC, surveyor) who challenged Thomas Jefferson’s prejudices towards slaves. Or, while mapping the Trail of Tears, students will learn how the Cherokee sought to preserve their traditions. Throughout the course, students create a portfolio containing all work, drawings, reports, and mapping. Note: Requires your choice of a large, durable outline map of North America. Any depictions of violence or offensive terms are noted in lessons as “Parental Warnings.” Also includes tables that show how to use the Genevieve Foster books to build a world history course. 117 pgs, pb.