Make History, with a WORLD View Come ALIVE with The World's Story Vol I

Disclosure / Disclaimer: I received this ebook, free of charge, from MasterBooks, for review purposes on this blog. No other compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about it.



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Looking for a Ancient Civ/World History curriculum with a world view for your middle schooler? 

Have you considered The World's History 1, The Ancients, from MasterBook yet?

Ancient history is fascinating, but it can be difficult to find material that teaches it from a Christian perspective. Even harder is finding a history curriculum that captivates students. But Angela O’Dell’s newly revised The World’s Story 1 - The Ancients (part of a 3 book series) does both! Students will learn all about the ancient civilizations of the Middle East, Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas from a strong Biblical perspective. Angela O’Dell’s World’s Story series uses the same fun style of her popular America’s Story series to teach junior-high students (grades 6-8) about world history. 

The text covers Biblical history, also educating students about civilizations mentioned in the Bible, including ancient Egypt, ancient Israel, ancient Babylon, ancient Persia, ancient Greece, and ancient Rome, up to the development of the early Church. It also discusses other ancient civilizations from around the world. 

Volume 1, the Ancients, starts with Creation and moves forward to Egypt and the Middle East, seeing how Babylon and China evolved concurrently, how African and European civilizations began and how the Greeks and Romans began to have an influence. From the rise of the Roman Empire, to Christ's death and subsequent fall of the empire, this book will keep students enthralled.

The World's History 1, sample 1

Review:

When Miss Grace started Ancient Civ this year, we also started with Genesis and creation. I wanted her to see how civilization changed, and how Christianity INFLUENCED it! And that is exactly what this book does (and OH do I wish we would have had it at the beginning of the year!)- while it keeps its focus on History, it interweaves the Christian perspective throughout the timeline, so that you have a WHOLE approach, not just 1 simple timeline, that you then have to go back and add narrative to! Your child will understand a WORLD wide perspective, not a small European based linear one! 
The World's History 1, sample 2

But don't count science and archaeology out! What I TRULY love about this history text is that it INCLUDES it! In a worldview text! When it is appropriate, there are Apologetic sections, that focus on current findings, which support the bible history, as HISTORY. What kid doesn't want to find out that the bible is truth to find their science based friends who say it isn't???
The World's History 1, sample 3
As you can see the text is engaging and perfectly aimed at this age level! It gets kids THINKING and putting aside any preconceived notions they may have had. For example when Miss Grace and I read this section above, she was shocked to realize that the Celts had not only come OUT of central Europe, but had a massive migration. Course then she turned to me, after relooking at our DNA genealogy response and wondered just how much CELT might we actually HAVE! I LOVE any history text that can make her think and SEE connections!

The World's History 1, sample 4

In fact, that is a GOAL in this book! Each chapter has a connect section, to get kids thinking about how history relates and comes around. For the sample above, we both laughed, as those were EXACTLY the questions I had posed to her when we had studied Hammurabi early in the school year, as she had gotten so fluent in the US Constitution last year, I wanted to see if she could make those same connections, But what that means for the parent who is teaching (and who may not be the history buff that I am), you are given the means to test your child, to see if they are developing those critical thinking skills. You could even use them for a oral or written quiz grade!

The World's History 1, sample 5

And for those of us who LOVE it when curriculum crosses over multiple subjects- you also get relatable bible verses to read and discuss! This makes the bible history come so much more alive when your child reads the history text and then reads the SAME history in the bible. It's like getting a weekly bible study lesson built in! Something all of us homeschoolers love! 

Miss Grace LOVES this text- the pictures are VERY colorful and well placed, to keep kids reading. You really don't consider them, when you look at curriculum, but even after ALL these years, I can tell you about the pictures in the 2 history books from my own pre-college studies that have stayed with me! Some were art pieces, others photographs. I think we've forgotten the impact they can make, and the ones in this book have been very well chosen! The reading level is right on par as well. Miss Grace did have some word issues, but for her it was her dyslexia, and not the text. I love that by using an ebook, she can use her built in scanner for pronunciation help, and can take the book anywhere we go for studying! She's already eagerly asked me if we can use book 2 and 3, which I was happy to say "YES!" to! 

This text is already available in both print and ebook form! So which ever way your kids learn best, you have a text for them! And if you buy as a set with the Teacher's Guide, you get a great discount! We LOVE this text, and your kids will too! It might even spoil them for high school history, so you might need to check out Angela's other titles too! 

The World's Story Vol I teacher cover

There is also a Teacher's Guide available for the book. 

The World's Story 1 teacher guide sample

The teacher guide provides a full-year (36 weeks) history course with a daily schedule, worksheets, hands-on activities, research prompts and answers for all of the included work. Which means you don't have to do a whole lot to teach this course! Yeah! I would say the daily schedule would be about right as well. Miss Grace likes block scheduling, so for us, we'd probably do 2 days a week, with her doing activity sheets in between, and testing on the second day.

the world's history volumes

Rest of the Series:

This is the First volume in a three-book world history series for upper elementary and junior high students, here is the info on the other 2 books, and when they will be released:

Vol 2 Middle AgesRome to the Renaissance in a survey that covers Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas. Coming later this Summer
Vol 3 Modern Times:  The Age of Explorers through the modern day and learn all about the wars, revolutions, and culture changes that defined these times. Coming in 2019

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