Cycle 4 History

Cycle 4 History

Cycle 4 History Form 1b+

Form 1 includes students who are ages 6 to 9. It is sometimes broken down into Form IB (6 to 7 year olds) and Form IA (7 to 9 year olds). The following books can be read aloud to the whole family or read independently by a student who is able.

There is no history scheduled for students who are 4 to 5 years old, because Charlotte Mason did not include these children in her schools. That said, there is no harm in reading some historic literature to younger children, or having them play nearby while older siblings hear a history book being read aloud.

There is one picture book scheduled per week. A lot of these books are about humans who lived during the Cycle 4 history time period.

1. If You Lived During the Civil War by Denise Lewis Patrick

2. A Picture Book of Robert E. Lee by David A. Adler

3. Abe Lincoln: The Boy Who Loved Books by Kay Winters

4. Abraham Lincoln by Ingri d’Aulaire and Edgar Parin d’Aulaire

5. A Picture Book of Abraham Lincoln by David A. Adler

6. Henry’s Freedom Box: A True Story from the Underground Railroad by Ellen Levine

7. If You Traveled on the Underground Railroad by Ebony Wilkins

8. A Picture Book of Florence Nightingale by David A. Adler

9. A Picture Book of Sojourner Truth by David A. Adler

10. The Wright Brothers’ First Flight by Thomas Kingsley Troupe

11. A Picture Book of Harriet Tubman by David A. Adler

12. This is the Rope: A Story from the Great Migration by Jacqueline Woodson

13. A Picture Book of Thomas Alva Edison by David A. Adler

14. A Picture Book of Frederick Douglass by David A. Adler

15. Potato: A Story of the Great Depression by Kate Lied

16. Across the Blue Pacific: A World War II Story by Louise Borden

17. A Picture Book of Anne Frank by David A. Adler

18. A Picture Book of Jesse Owens by David A. Adler

19. A Picture Book of Thurgood Marshall by David A. Adler

20. A Picture Book of Amelia Earhart by David A. Adler

21. A Picture Book of Jackie Robinson by David A. Adler

22. A Picture Book kof Helen Keller by David A. Alder

23. A Picture Book of Martin Luther King, Jr. by David A. Adler

24. A Picture Book of John F. Kennedy by David A. Adler

25. A Picture Book of Rosa Parks by David A. Adler

26. The Story of Ruby Bridges by Robert Coles

27. A Picture Book of Cesar Chavez by David A. Adler

28. Mother Teresa of Calcutta by Francine Bay

Cycle 4 History Form 1a+

Form 1a includes students who are in grades two and three.

The Story of the World Vol. 4 by Susan Wise Bauer

Includes World History

Many homeschoolers love the Story of the World books. Claritas Publishing memory work lines up nicely with SOTW, as well.

This book is scheduled at a pace of one or two chapters per week from Week 1 through Week 28.

• Exodus (paperback)

• Well Trained Mind (paperback, hardcover, pdf)

• Exodus (Audio CDs)

Cycle 4 History Form 2+

Choose one or two books from the list below for whole-family or independent reading, if you’d like to cover this subject.

Form 2 includes students who are ages 9 to 12. The following books can be read aloud to the whole family or read independently by a student who is able.

America’s Story 2 and 3 by Angela O’Dell

Christian Worldview

These books are published by Master Books and contain a Christian worldview. The stories are interesting and there are large, colorful pictures throughout the book. The chapters are typically ten pages long. These would be a great choice for independent readers for a student in Form 3. There is an optional Teacher Guide for each volume, but if you are teaching Charlotte Mason-style, I do not believe you will need this additional book. Instead, read the book aloud or hand this book to your child, and then ask the child to narrate. I have scheduled both of these books, at a pace of two chapters per week, over the course of the whole school year (twenty-eight weeks). Book 2 finishes up halfway through the year, in week 14, and then Book 3 begins in week 15.

• Masterbooks (paperback)

• Exodus (Volume 2, paperback)

• Exodus (Volume 3, paperback)

• Amazon (Volume 2, paperback)

• Amazon (Volume 3, paperback)

The Mystery of History volume IV by Linda Lacour Hobar

Christian Worldview

Includes World History

Lined Up with Memory Work

The Mystery of History books are written from a Christian perspective and include world history (in contrast to books that center around American and European history). I highly recommend this book, and the audios are a great option!

This book is scheduled at a pace of three chapters per week from Week 1 through Week 28.

• MOH (hardcover)

• MOH (Audio CDs)

• Amazon (paperback, hardcover, Audio CDs)

Our Island Story by Henrietta Elizabeth Marshall

Includes World History

Our Island Story, or An Island Story mixes folktale with real history and tells the story of England from the Roman Empire to the time period just after World War I.

This is the book is first scheduled in Cycle 2, and then read in Cycle 3, and it is finished up, at a pace of one chapter per week, in Week 10 of Cycle 4.

• Digital Library Free

• Exodus (paperback)

• Yesterday’s Classics (paperback)

• Amazon (paperback)

• Librivox part 1, audio, Free

• Librivox part 2, audio, Free

• Audible

Stories of America Volume 2 by Sonya Shafer

Christian Worldview

This book is scheduled at a pace of one or two chapters per week for all twenty-eight weeks.

• Simply Charlotte Mason (paperback or pdf)

Stories of the Nations Volume 2 by Sonya Shafer

Christian Worldview

Includes World History

This book is scheduled at a pace of one or two chapters per week for all twenty-eight weeks.

• Simply Charlotte Mason (paperback or pdf)

This Country of Ours by H.E. Marshall

This is a classic book and was originally published in 1917. Since Cycle 3’s history ends in 1850, the majority of this book is a perfect choice for Cycle 3. This is also an excellent fit with the Cycle 3 geography, because there are chapters dedicated to the founding of the earliest states. If you plan to purchase this book, make sure to examine whether it is a full book or if it is a particular volume (a partial version of the book). You will want a copy of this book that, at minimum, contains chapters 78 through 99 for Cycle 4.

For cover-to-cover reading, this book has one or two chapters per week scheduled for Terms 1 and 2. The book begins in chapter 78 because chapters 1-12 are scheduled in Cycle 2 and chapters 13-77 are scheduled in Cycle 3. A sample can be found on the Yesterday’s Classics website.

• Project Gutenberg free

• Gateway to the Classics free

• Heritage History free

• Exodus (paperback)

• Yesterday’s Classics (ebook)

• Amazon (paperback, hardcover, or Kindle)

• LibriVox Audio free

• Audible Audio

U.S. History in Bites by Solomon Schmidt

This book is scheduled to line up with the memory work, starting with chapter 15 (chapters 1 through 14 line up with Cycle 3).

• Amazon

The World’s Story 3: The Modern Age by Angela O’dell

Christian Worldview

Includes World History

This book is published by Master Books and contains a Christian worldview. The stories are interesting and there are large, colorful pictures throughout the book. The chapters are typically twelve to fifteen pages long. I have heard feedback that families with children in Form 1 struggled to get through so many pages with their young child(ren). This would be a great independent reader for a student in Form 3. There is an optional Teacher Guide, but if you are teaching Charlotte Mason-style, I do not believe you will need this additional book. Instead, read the book aloud or hand this book to your child, and then ask the child to narrate. If you want to stick within the exact history cycle of the Claritas Publishing memory work, you will want to start at chapter 15 in this book (and read chapters 1-14 in Cycle 3). I have scheduled this book at a pace of one chapter, every two weeks, over the twenty-eight week school year.

• Master Books (paperback or ebook)

• Exodus (paperback)

• Amazon (paperback)

Cycle 4 History Form 3

Form III includes students who are ages 12 to 14. The following books can be read aloud to the whole family or read independently by a student who is able.

Abraham Lincoln’s World by Genevieve Foster

This book is scheduled at a pace of eleve to fourteen pages per week for all twenty-eight weeks. This book covers world history from 1809 to 1865.

• Amazon

Freedom Walkers by Russell Freedman

This book is scheduled at a pace of one to two chapters per week during Term 4.

• Amazon

Cycle 4 History Form 4+

This is the independent reading schedule for students in Forms IV, V and VI. Forms IV, V and VI are students in grades 9 through 12. In a smaller community, all Form IV, V & VI students meet together and use the following schedule.

Reading is only part of the learning process. Make sure your Form IV, V or VI student is practicing the following:

• Narration: sometimes spoken and sometimes written

• Studying Maps: look at the locations mentioned in the history books and draw and label maps

• Keeping a timeline, or, book of centuries

And last, students should be discussing these topics with others. This can be with other teens and a tutor in a community, or it can be with mom and/or dad at home.

Do not be tempted to waste time on quizzes, word finds, crossword puzzles with history vocabulary words or other work that might be deemed twaddle. Encourage your child to read these good books, keep a detailed timeline book, draw maps (as beautifully as she can), to write some narration passages about what she learned, and to discuss all of these things.

Growth of the British Empire by M.B. Synge

This is the last book in the Story of the World series by M.B. Synge. This book is scheduled at a pace of three chapters per week for the first two terms (fourteen weeks).

• Heritage History (free)

• Yesterday’s Classics (paperback or ebook)

• Exodus (paperback)

• Amazon (paperback or hardcover)