Learning American History Through Literature Review
A review of “Learning American History Through Literature”
Learning American History through Literature from Common Sense Press is an educational approach that uses literature, known as living books (more about that below), as a tool for teaching history. The program includes a literature-based curriculum guide that covers different periods of American history and incorporates classic and contemporary literature, biographies, and historical fiction.
This unique approach is designed to help students develop a deeper understanding of historical events and the people who lived through them by immersing them in the stories and experiences of individuals from the time period being studied. Through reading and analyzing literature, students can explore different perspectives, cultural norms, and historical contexts, in order to effectively enhance their comprehension of history and its significance.
Learning American History through Literature also employs games, activities, and a timeline project, which adds a hands-on component to make learning fun. No boring history here! This guide is flexible, customizable, and very engaging.
Learning American History through Literature covers seven major time periods of the history of the United States:
- Colonial
- Revolutionary War
- Westward Expansion
- Civil War
- Industrial Age
- World War Years
- Postwar Years
Note that you don’t need to study the time periods in chronological order. For instance, if you’re currently studying Westward Expansion, you can take that on as a stand-alone unit.
I love resources that can fit into our homeschool style and experience, rather than trying to twist our schedule to fit into a curriculum timetable. And Learning American History through Literature fits the bill.
What are living books?
Common Sense Press emphasizes the use of living books, which can be defined as well-written books by authors who have a passion for their subjects and can convey their knowledge and enthusiasm to readers. The curriculum also encourages critical thinking, research skills, and the ability to communicate effectively through writing and discussion.
Personally, we love learning with literature in our homeschool. Living books can provide a depth of understanding and memorable learning that often doesn’t happen with textbooks alone. Living books can make history come alive and help children develop empathy and compassion for people with different perspectives.
Who is Learning American History Through Literature for?
Learning American History through Literature is geared for grades 1-8. It’s ideal for anyone who wants to take a literature-rich approach to learning or follow the Charlotte Mason method of homeschooling.
Learning American History through Literature is a complete one (or two) year course of study on its own, but it also works well for homeschool parents who want to enrich and expand any other history curriculum or textbook they might be using.
Our Experience with Learning American History Through Literature
We first started using Learning Language Arts through Literature from Common Sense Press about 10 years ago in our homeschool. I’ve used it (and continue to do so) with all three of my daughters. Even though they have different learning styles and different personalities, Learning Language Arts through Literature has been one of our constants that has worked well for all three of them. As a homeschool mom, you can understand what a gift it can be to find something like that!
That’s why I was so excited to hear that Common Sense Press was launching Learning American History through Literature. I just knew it would be a great resource and I have not been disappointed. (I only wish I’d had it years ago so that all my daughters could have benefitted from it.)
One of my favorite aspects of Learning American History through Literature is the fact that it can be used with multiple ages at once. Books can be done as family read-alouds or individual reading with narration time afterward. This works so well with our morning basket time, too. If you’re homeschooling a wide range of ages at once, this really simplifies things for you without sacrificing a solid study of history.
Some of our favorite books, like the Ann McGovern If You Lived… series, Henry Huggins by Beverly Cleary, A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle, and many more that we already owned are on the reading list. We also found some new books to enjoy throughout the different units. (Getting the books from the library definitely helps with the homeschool budget, too!)
The Benefits of Learning American History Through Literature
There are many benefits of using Learning American History through Literature in your homeschool. Here are a few of the highlights that I found most beneficial:
- Engaging and interesting: Using literature to teach history can make the subject more engaging and interesting for students. By incorporating stories, characters, and emotions, students can connect more deeply with historical events and gain a better understanding of their significance.
- Develops critical thinking skills: Learning history through literature encourages students to think critically about the sources of information and to analyze different perspectives on historical events.
- Enhances language skills: Reading literature can help students develop strong language skills, including vocabulary, comprehension, and writing.
- Integrates different subjects: Learning history through literature can integrate different subjects such as literature, social studies, and language arts.
- Diverse perspectives: Literature from different cultures and time periods can offer diverse perspectives on historical events, promoting empathy and cultural understanding.
- Affordability: The guide itself is under $40. You’ll need to get the books yourself, but most can be easily found at the library if you’re on a budget.
- Ease of use: This guide is open-and-go, flexible, and well laid out for ease of teaching.
What to Know about Learning American History Through Literature
Overall, Learning American History through Literature from Common Sense Press offers a unique and engaging approach to history education that can help students develop a lifelong love of learning and a deeper appreciation for the complexity of the human experience throughout American history.
Author Bio:
Sara Jordan is the blogger behind Heart and Soul Homeschooling, a site created in 2008 to encourage and equip homeschool moms to confidently provide a delight-directed education to their children. She is a mom of three homeschooled daughters, a speaker, and a homeschool consultant. Sara has a degree in Social Work with an emphasis on Early Childhood Development, which began her interest in educational alternatives like homeschooling. She enjoys creating and sharing unit studies, lap books, and more hands-on learning resources to help homeschool families find the fun in lifelong learning.
