Second Grade, History, Set Six

We started out by reading chapter 72 from Child's History. This chapter covers:

• Louis XIII
• Louis XIV
• Richelieu
• Thirty Years War
• Gustavus Adolphus
• Treaty of Westphalia
• Oberammergau / Passion Play
• Versailles

In addition we read:

• The King's Day by Aliki -- this book takes you through a typical day of King Louis XIV. There are more illustrations than text, so this is a great book for young children, but has enough information to interest me.
• Welcome to France by Kathryn Stevens -- I have decided to get books about countries that are mentioned in Child's History. This book has lots of large photos and not too much text.
• Sweden by Deborah Grahame -- this book was a bit above K.'s level, but it was the best one our library had. We mostly looked at the pictures and I read small excerpts.
• John Wesley by May McNeer and Lynd Ward -- this is a well-written, interesting biography of John Wesley. It has some black and white illustrations.
• Palace of Versailles by Linda Tagliaferro -- this is an interesting book with lots of pictures and not too much text that gives good information about the palace.

For this time period in American history, we read:

• Witch Hunt: It Happened in Salem Village by Stephen Krensky -- I assigned K. to read this book. I had already read it to make sure it was appropriate. This is a "Step into Reading" book. It handles the subject well and is interesting and well illustrated.
• Struggle for a Continent: The French and Indian Wars 1689 - 1763 by Betsy and Giulio Maestro -- this book has lots of good illustrations. I let K. color while I read it. I re-cap the main points to make sure she has understood them.
• The Thirteen Colonies by Brendan January -- this is in the A True Book series. It has lots of illustrations and easy to understand text.
• Tom Jefferson: A Boy in Colonial Days by Helen A. Monsell -- this book was published in 1939 and I came across it at a book sale. It is well written and at a second or third grade reading level. The book is about Tom's boyhood, what it was like being the son of a rich family during the colonial period.
• George Washington's Breakfast by Jean Fritz -- a book about a boy who wants to know what George Washington had for breakfast, and how he finds out.
• The Matchlock Gun by Walter Edmonds -- a story that takes place in New York during the French and Indian War about how a family defends themselves -- okay, I'm not giving it away, but it is very exciting and a bit scary at times, but it all ends up fine.
• If you Grew Up with George Washington by Ruth Belov Gross -- learning about what life was like in this era.
• If you lived in Colonial Times by Ann McGovern -- New England from 1630 - 1730; helps children imagine what it was like to be a girl or boy during this period.
• George Washington's Mother by Jean Fritz -- an easy reader that tells about Mary Washington's life and it's effect on George Washington.
• Welcome to Felicity's World, The American Girls Collection -- lots of illustrations and information about the time period of 1774
• The New Americans: Colonial Times, 1620 - 1689 by Betsy Maestro -- very well written and illustrated; I used this book as a review, mostly looking at the pictures and reading snippets here and there.
• Dangerous Crossing by Stephen Krensky -- picture book about John Adams and his young son, John Quincy Adams crossing the Atlantic Ocean to France during the Revolutionary War.
• Write On, Mercy by Gretchen Woelfle -- a picture book about the life of Mercy Otis Warren and the part her writings played in the Revolutionary War.
• Daring Women of the American Revolution by Francis Walsh -- short accounts of eight women and the part they played in the war.

We read chapter 73 in Child's History. It covered:

• Peter the Great
• Charles XII
• St. Petersburg

In addition we read:

• Russia by Martin Hintz -- this is in the "A True Book" series, so is written for young children. It has lots of photos and easy to understand text.
• Peter the Great by Diane Stanley -- this book was very well written and illustrated for children, although it didn't seem to exactly agree with what we read about Peter the Great in Child's History.
• Catherine the Great by Elizabeth Raum -- this is Catherine II, who married the grandson of Peter the Great. It was interesting, but there were parts I skipped since it was written for a little older child.