Second Grade, History, Set Four

I read chapter 68 of Child's History. It covered:

• King Henry VIII
• Mary and Elizabeth Tudor
• Philip II of Spain
• Spanish Inquisition
• William the Silent
• Mary Stuart
• Spanish Armada

In addition we read:

• Elizabeth Tudor by Marguerite Vance -- well, we read the first chapter. Then we started talking about who Elizabeth's mother was. K. remembered there being a princess Elizabeth in the book The Queen's Smuggler (which we read in Bible). I googled 'Henry VIII wives' and found the website www.ActivityVillage.co.uk. It has coloring pages and information. We printed out a small origami book with pictures of his six wives and the years they were queen. We read to find out who were Mary, Elizabeth, and Edward's mothers. Who died, who he divorced, and who he had killed.

• Meet the Men who Sailed the Seas by John Dyment -- I read the chapter about the Spanish Armada
• Explorers of North America by Brendan January -- lots of pictures, easy text; covers Vikings through Hudson, so we are picking out the sections that go with what we are studying
• Galileo's Leaning Tower Experiment by Wendy Macdonald -- a picture book story about Galileo and this period of history

Chapter 69 of Child's History. It covered:

• Queen Elizabeth
• Sir Walter Raleigh
• John Cabot
• Roanoke Island
• Tobacco
• William Shakespeare

In addition we read:

• John Cabot and His Son Sebastian by Ronald Syme -- this book is a bit beyond K.'s interest level, because it is more facts than story. We will try it again when she is older.
• Sir Walter Raleigh by Tanya Larkin -- this is an easy reading book with lots of illustrations, large print, and just enough information to keep a young child interested without boring them.
• John Cabot by Tanya Larkin -- both these books are in the Famous Explorers series
• Roanoke: The Lost Colony by Jane Yolen -- this book presents the facts about Roanoke in a fun way. A young girl, who wants to be a detective, serves as the guide through the book, presenting the facts while trying to solve the mystery. At the end it asks what the reader thinks happened.
• Raleigh's Page by Alan Armstrong -- this is a fictional story about an 11 year old boy who becomes a page for Sir Walter Raleigh. The major figures in the story are "pretty much as documents of the time presented them." This is a long book (315 pages), but interesting. The chapters are usually short, and there is a lot of action and conversation, making it exciting even to young listeners. It took us over four weeks to read the book, but it provides such good information as to life in this time period, explorers, Indians, etc. that I highly recommend it.
• William Shakespeare by Ibi Lepscky -- a story about Shakespeare's childhood
• Daily Life by Kathy Elgin -- uses quotes from Shakespeare's plays to teach about daily life during the Elizabethan era.
• Tudor Theater by Gillian Clements -- with great illustrations, this book tells all about the theater of Shakespeare's time. It covers topics such as: why, where, and who built the theaters, how plays were put on, who went to the theater, etc.

For older children, Tudor England by Marshall Cavendish looks really good.

A couple books we didn't get to:

• You Wouldn't Want to be Mary, Queen of Scots! by Fiona Macdonald
• You Wouldn't Want to Sail in the Spanish Armada!  by John Malam