America the Beautiful Notgrass History Review
By Jennifer Smeltser
As a homeschooling parent, you know certain subjects are required from the beginning: reading, writing, and arithmetic. History, on the other hand, is one subject that you could wait to cover with your child, maybe even until your student reaches high school. But I will tell you, the Notgrass History curriculum makes you want to start studying history as soon as your child is able to sit still (or not) and listen.
I was first introduced to Notgrass History with its America the Beautiful, First Edition, so it seemed most appropriate for me to take a peek at America the Beautiful, Second Edition, which was released in 2020. And believe me, I was not disappointed!
The Basic Curriculum Package of America the Beautiful, Second Edition is a six-piece book set with glossy book covers that entice students with an invitation to learn about history before they even open the books. The targeted audience is fifth through eighth grades, and the package includes the following:
America the Beautiful Book 1 (America from 1000 – 1877) and America the Beautiful Book 2 (America from late 1800s to present): These hardback books in the Notgrass History curriculum are sturdy and covered with pictures (even on the spines of the books), along with locations of some of the places covered in the study.
We the People: Includes pages of historical documents.
Maps of America the Beautiful: Students create a visible geographical reference through mapping.
Timeline of America the Beautiful: Students will have a timeline of notable and significant historical events that happened in American History.
America the Beautiful Answer Key and Literature Guide: Quick reference for parents (and students working independently) to check their responses to the lessons and test questions in the Notgrass History workbooks.
The Notgrass History Review Material for this curriculum includes:
America the Beautiful Lesson Review: Questions about the lessons students have just read to test comprehension of the material, as well as unit tests.
America the Beautiful Student Workbook: A variety of activities including word searches, fill-in-the-blank, art with coloring pages and sketching/tracing, and more.
This Notgrass History study is 30 units, 150 lessons, and has a full history, literature, and Bible curriculum, so a student can use America the Beautiful to satisfy those three subjects. It takes young readers on a journey through history starting in 1,000 BC. Students learn about the beautiful nation that is the America God created all the way to the present, through to 2020 and the 46th President of the United States.
Each lesson includes a number of engagement tasks such as reading We the People, Creative Writing, Thinking Biblically, Map Study, Timeline, Student Workbook or Lesson Review, literature, vocabulary, family activities, creative writing, and a unit test . . . Whew! Although that may seem like a lot to do, parents are provided with a number of assignments, so they can tailor this America the Beautiful study uniquely for their child, enabling students to work at their own pace and interest.
There is a recommended literature component that includes these 10 book titles: Growing Up Dakota, Amos Fortune: Free Man, Brady, Bound for Oregon, Across Five Aprils, Little Town on the Prairie, All-of-a-Kind Family, Blue Willow, Homer Price, and Katy’s Box. The books are assigned reading to enhance lessons covered in the Notgrass History units.
As an example, Amos Fortune is assigned reading for Unit 6: “The American Revolution and A New Nation” and Unit 7 “A Frontier.” The literature complements the lessons well by giving students a perspective of people during that historical time period and how they were affected by the events happening around them. The books can be purchased separately from Notgrass.
Studying with America the Beautiful Notgrass History
I have three children and they all are different in their learning styles and interests. My approach to this study with Canyon, my younger son, was quite different from the approach I took while using the first-edition curriculum with my older two children.
A suggested schedule for the curriculum is completing one unit per week, at a pace of one of five lessons per day. We stayed somewhat on track with that schedule, but I did make some adjustments to the assignments I had him do.
Canyon worked independently reading the chapter, completing the Timeline, Map Study, We the People, and the Student Review. I chose a select number of vocabulary words for him to learn, as well as assigned some of the creative writing prompts. Together we read and discussed the literature and Thinking Biblically (Bible study – we read verses only and did not do copy work).
We used the literature books as read-aloud and I also had my son do oral recitations for the literature questions for each book. Good conversations, as always, were had and the stories complemented what he read about in the lessons. Another assignment in each unit is the family activities. Some of the activities include art, recipes, games, drama, and more to include the family with the student in learning history.
Canyon is more of a STEM type of learner than a fine art one. I was able to get him to try one of the family activities with his sister. Together they celebrated the flight achievements of the Wright Brothers by making and decorating paper airplanes.
Although it is suggested students do either the Notgrass History Lesson Review or Student Workbook, I had Canyon do both because I like the way both enhance the study. The questions asked in the Lesson Review helped reinforce what he had read, while the activities in the Student Workbook were a nice reward for completing the reading. They were also helpful as a lesson review.
The Notgrass History curriculum is informative and thorough in covering historical and sometimes sensitive content that is a part of American History. It is not radical in presentation but does not shy away from telling the story, which is sometimes ugly. Some of those stories include the Trail of Tears, the internment of Japanese Americans, and the Little Rock Nine and the racism they experienced. The Answer Key and Literature Guide has a “warning” section regarding the recommended literature for America the Beautiful. The section notes phrases and other content that appears in literature books, which parents may want to be aware of before the book is read with the lesson.
Some people and other historical facts we learned through this curriculum included Selina Gray, who protected historical artifacts of President Washington during the Civil War; other notable women in the Civil War; the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and how the works of its members influenced the country; and the history of the Interstates. (Did you know Interstate I-90 is the longest east-to-west highway and is over 3,000 miles long? It goes from Boston, Massachusetts to Seattle, Washington.)
If you’re teaching both younger and older children, you could easily do a collective study with Our 50 States and Exploring America to include a wider grade range of students.
America the Beautiful Notgrass History Features
Some of features I really like about America the Beautiful, Second Edition, by Notgrass History are the following:
- I love the pictures that “take us” to the places we read about.
- It is well laid out, taking the student on a well guided and progressive journey through American History.
- Additional exercises (i.e., mapping, pieces from We the People, etc.) are well labeled, so you know when to include them in your lessons.
- I appreciated having a variety of activities (creative writing, mapping, etc.) that I could choose to include (or not) in our study. I had the freedom to put together a solid American History study with the assignments I knew would interest my child.
Canyon liked that the lessons are easy to read and understand. As a homeschooling parent, I also found the book a great review of American History for me. There is so much that has happened in American History. Although no one curriculum can include everything, America the Beautiful, Second Edition by Notgrass History has done a great job covering the educational aspect of history.
History is not just black and white; it is in full color with Notgrass History. Every page (except for the Activities for Lessons pages) has full color images. Many students will never travel to the places they see in the text, yet the pictures take the students up close and personal. I heard a comment from Charlene Notgrass as to one of the reasons they do what they do . . .
“We do what we are passionate about . . . we love history” ~ Charlene Notgrass
And, because the Notgrass family does what they do, we get to go on a road trip across America with them, and it is beautiful!
Visit the Notgrass online store and order their America the Beautiful Curriculum.
Additional Activities and Curriculum Reviews
If you’re interested in other homeschool curriculum plans, check out our review of Notgrass History, An Inspiring Elementary American History Curriculum, and a review of Our 50 States – US Geography by Notgrass.
Younger students might appreciate additional art activities such as this American Art History curriculum.
Another great idea is to have fun in the kitchen making some traditional American dishes! Different regions of our great nation are known for certain foods, so you can get imaginative with this, or go the traditional route. Try this delicious Creamy Red Beans and Rice recipe or some traditional Southern Corn Bread.
