Third Grade, History, Set Seven

We completed Abraham Lincoln's World.

We read chapters 7 and 8 in Industrial Revolution.

We completed two more lessons in California History, learning about the founding of the San Gabriel and San Luis Obispo Missions.

We read chapter 80 in Child's History.

We added West Virginia and Nevada and Presidents Lincoln and Johnson to our American History notebook.

Here are the other books we read:

Women's Rights:

• Elizabeth Leads the Way by Tanya Lee Stone -- picture book biography about Elizabeth Cady Stanton.
• Bloomers! by Rhoda Blumberg -- story about how bloomers came to be worn.

Civil War:

• The Silent Witness by Robin Friedman -- picture book about the McLean family, who lived on a plantation overlooking Bull Run Creek. After the battle of Bull Run, they moved to Appomattox Court House. Lee surrendered to Grant in their parlor. This is a true story.
• Seven Miles to Freedom: The Robert Smalls Story by Janet Halfmann -- this is a picture book with the story of Robert Smalls, a slave who piloted a Confederate ship seven miles to Union territory with his crew, their families, and cannons. There are several different books written about Robert Smalls and his heroic actions.
• Robert Smalls Sails to Freedom by Susan Taylor Brown -- this is an "On My Own History" book
• The Battle Of Gettysburg: Would You Leat the Fight? by Elaine Landau -- this book takes you step by step through events of the battle and then asks what would you have done?
• B is for Battle Cry: A Civil War Alphabet by Patricia Bauer -- this book is nice because it has a short poem about each letter (good for younger children) and off to the side it gives more detailed information. It also has great illustrations.
• Brown Paper School USKids History: Book of the American Civil War  by Howard Egger-Bovet -- Discover your history through stories, games, and activities
• Hold the Flag High by Catherine Clinton -- about the Massachusetts Fifty-fourth Regiment's fight at Fort Wagner

People:

• Thomas Alva Edison: Miracle Maker by Mervyn Kaufman
• Clara Barton: Soldier of Mercy by Mary Catherine Rose
• Harriet Tubman by Catherine Nichols
• Clara and Davie by Patricia Polacco
• A Picture Book of Thomas Alva Edison by David A. Adler
• A Picture Book of Robert E. Lee by David A. Adler
• Mathew Brady by Leni Dolan -- K. asked if some pictures we were looking at were really from the Civil War, so I pulled this book out and we looked through it.
• Stonewall Jackson's Black Sunday School by Rickey E. Pittman -- about the Sunday School Jackson started in Lexington for slave and free blacks. It then goes on to tell about the Civil War and Jackson's death.
• Ben and the Emancipation Proclamation by Pat Sherman -- a story of Benjamin C. Holmes, a slave who taught himself to read.
• Pasteur's Fight Against Microbes by Beverly Birch -- story of how Louis Pasteur learned about microbes.

Miscellaneous:

• The Pony Express by Cynthia Mercati

Books for Older Children:

• Stonewall by Jean Fritz
• You Want Women to Vote, Lizzie Stanton? by Jean Fritz
• Abraham Lincoln for Kids: His Life and Times with 21 Activities by Janis Herbert
• Louis Pasteur by Liz Miles
• From Slavery to Freedom by Melinda Lilly -- this book is actually for YOUNGER children
• The Great Civil War Draft Riots by Deborah Kent

Books we Didn't Get To:
There are so many books available about the Civil War, and I brought a whole shelf full of them home from the library so I'd have them available, if we wanted them.

• Welcome to Addy's World 1864: Growing Up During America's Civil War The American Girls Collection
• When Harriet met Sojourner by Catherine Clinton
• Gettysburg by Catherine Reef
• Graphic Battles of the Civil War Series (written in graphic format)
• The Monitor Versus The Merrimac by Dan Abnett
• The Battle of Antietam by Larry Hama
• The Battle of The Wilderness by Dan Abnett
• The Battle of First Bull Run
• The Battle of Shiloh
• The Battle of Gettysburg
• The Civil War Library by Carin T. Ford
• Daring Women of the Civil War
• African-American Soldiers in the Civil War
• The Battle of Gettysburg and Lincoln's Gettysburg Address
• The American Civil War
• Buffalo Soldiers and the Western Frontier by Emily Raabe
• Children of the Civil War by Candice F. Ransom
• Ulysses S. Grant by BreAnn Rumsch
• William Tecumseh Sherman by Don McLeese
• Philip Sheridan by Dynise Balcavage
• What Was the Battle of Gettysburg? by Jim O'Connor -- this book also has photos and one or two page biographical sketches of main figures. It looks really good.
• The Story of Sherman's March to the Sea by Zachary Kent -- this is a Cornerstones of Freedom book
• You Wouldn't Want to be a Nurse During the American Civil War! by Kathryn Senior
• The Civil War by Sally Senzell Isaacs
• Eyewitness Civil War by John Stanchak

Third Grade, History, Set Six

From Abraham Lincoln's World, we read pages 210 - 283.

We added presidents Taylor, Fillmore, Pierce, and Buchanan, along with the states of California, Minnesota, Oregon, and Kansas to our American History notebooks.

We completed two more lessons of California History, learning about the desert plants, animals, and the Chemehuevi Indians.

We read chapter six in Industrial Revolution.

Here are other books we enjoyed:

Women's Suffrage

• The Ballot Box Battle by Emily Arnold McCully -- a picture book story about Elizabeth Cady Stanton.
• If You Lived When Women Won Their Rights by Anne Kamma -- this book is mostly about the years 1848 to 1920.

The West

• Wagon Trains and Settlers by Ellen H. Todras -- we did not read all of this book. Each page is stuffed with information. It will be a good book to get again. Some topics it covers are: Manifest Destiny, outfitting a wagon, daily routines on the trail, major trails, and settling in the West.
• Projects About Westward Expansion by Marian Broida -- this book lets you travel to Kentucky in 1788, along the Oregon Trail around 1850, and visit homesteads in Nebraska in 1885. This is a fun quick book to read because it has so many projects.

California Gold Rush

• The Legend of Freedom Hill by Linda Jacobs Altman -- a picture book about two girls, Rosabel and Sophie, who find gold to buy the freedom of Rosabel's mother after the slave catcher finds her.
• The California Gold Rush by Mel Friedman -- this is part of the "A TRUE Book" series. It has lots of illustrations and is well written and understandable for children.
• Life During the Gold Rush by Janey Levy -- this book covered a few things that the previous book didn't, so I just read those pages to K.
• Treasure in the Stream by Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler -- a story about a farming family whose daughter finds gold in a stream on their property.
• Bronco Charlie and the Pony Express by Marlene Brill -- this book is in the On My Own History series. Relates how, in 1861, a boy named Charlie Miller became the youngest rider for the Pony Express.

Pony Express

• They're Off! The Story of the Pony Express by Cheryl Harness -- tells the why and how of the Pony Express, with great illustrations, including maps. It even has a list of all the Pony Express riders. It gives details of the first rides east and west along with other highlights, such as Bob Haslam's 380 mile ride during the Paiute war. Ends with the end of the Pony Express, just two days after the telegraph line was completed to the west coast.
• Off Like the Wind! The First Ride of the Pony Express by Michael P. Spradlin -- this book has a day by day account of the first ride east and west.
• Hoofbeats of Danger by Holly Hughes -- this is in the American Girl History Mysteries series. This was a fun book to read as a family. It was very exciting and educational.

People:

• Who Was Abraham Lincoln? by Janet B. Pascal -- this is a well written chapter book for children. I read it, then had K. read it on her own. It tells about his entire life, but over half the book in on his presidency and the Civil War.
• The Brontes: Scenes from the childhood of Charlotte, Branwell, Emily, and Anne by Catherine Brighton -- delightful picture book with good information about their childhood
• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte -- the one we read was in the Treasury of Illustrated Classis series. It was adapted by Sara Thomson and Illustrated by Richard Lauter.
• John Charles Fremont: Western Pathfinder by Barbara Witteman -- interesting biography written for fourth grade and up.
• How to Draw the Life and Times of Zachary Taylor by Roderic Schmidt -- interesting information about our twelfth president.
• John Brown by Tom Streissguth -- this is an On My Own Biography book. It contains lots of illustrations and presents the facts of John Brown clearly, without condemning or condoning.
• Florence Nightingale by Shannon Zemlicka -- this is from the On My Own Biography series. It is well written, covering her life in good detail, with lots of illustrations.
• Florence Nightingale . . . and a new age of nursing by Sarah Ridley -- we read this book first. It is for younger children and gives the basic facts of Florence's life in an interesting manner. The other book fills in more details. This book has a timeline throughout, showing events in her life and the world.
• My Tour of Europe by Theodore Roosevelt -- this is a picture book about Teddy Roosevelt's tour of Europe when he was 10 years old (1869).

Books for Older Children:

• Annie Quinn in America by Mical Schneider -- this is a really good book. I read it and enjoyed it tremendously! It is about a family in Ireland, who are poor and hungry due to the potato famine; how they get to America and their adventures (sometimes sad) on the journey and in America.
• Commodore Perry in the Land of the Shogun by Rhoda Blumberg -- this book has lots of illustrations, and looks interesting for a high school student.
• Charlotte Bronte and Jane Eyre by Stewart Ross -- although it has many illustrations, it also has lots of text.
• Young Man in a Hurry: The Story of Cyrus W. Field by Jean Lee  Latham -- this book is the story of the man who "... was just the man that -- well -- held things together." and after thirteen years, the transatlantic cable was successfully laid.

Books we didn't have time to get to:

• 1848: Year of Revolution by R.G. Grant
• The Charge of the Light Brigade by Alfred Lord Tennyson
• You Wouldn't want to sail on an Irish Famine Ship! by Jim Pipe
• Gold! Gold from the American River! by Don Brown

Third Grade, History, Set Five

We read chapter 79 from Child's History. I had planned for us to listen to one piece of music from each composer, but we have not done that yet.

We read pages 143 - 210 in Abraham Lincoln's World.

We added Arkansas, Michigan, Florida, Texas, Iowa, and Wisconsin to our notebooks, along with presidents Van Buren, Harrison, Tyler, and Polk.

We completed two more lessons in California History and went to the Irvine Museum to view a special exhibit of California scenery.

We read chapter 5 in Industrial Revolution and completed the paddle wheel boat from chapter 4.

Here are other books we read:

• If You Grew Up With Abraham Lincoln by Ann McGovern -- I made a list of about eight questions for K. to find the answers to in this book. One question, What are two different kinds of bees?, gave her a lot of trouble. She even had Dad looking for the answer, but, they were looking for insects instead of parties.
• The Supreme Court by Christine Taylor-Butler -- we read portions of the book that dealt with how the Supreme Court was established and John Marshall.
• Rachel's Journal by Marissa Moss -- fictional story, based on actual experiences of overland emigrants between 1846 and 1868. K. read this book on her own.
• Honest Abe Lincoln: Easy-to-Read Stories about Abraham Lincoln by David A. Adler -- I had K. read this on her own.
• Kit Carson by Jan Gleiter -- this book has great illustrations and easy-to-understand text while telling the story of Kit Carson's life.

Slavery

• A Picture Book of Harriet Beecher Stowe by David A. Adler -- the story of Harriet Beecher Stowe written for younger students with great illustrations.
• A Picture Book of Frederick Douglass by David A. Adler -- the story of Frederick Douglass' life written for younger students with great illustrations.
• Seminole Diary: Remembrances of a Slave by Dolores Johnson -- story of a slave family that flees to Florida and becomes part of a Seminole village. This book has wonderful illustrations and easy to understand text. 
• Slavery and the Underground Railroad by Carin T. Ford -- we didn't read this book. I asked my husband to read some of it, and we decided that, although it is written in a manner that K. would understand it, she might not be ready for some of the realities it puts forth. However, I do want to get it the next time we visit this era of history.

The Alamo

• The Battle of the Alamo by Janey Levy -- lots of illustrations and just enough information for younger students.
• Battle at the Alamo by Teri and Bob Temple -- we just looked at the illustrations and read short excerpts from this book. It will be a good book when K. is older.
• The Battle of the Alamo by Amie Jane Leavitt -- this is an interactive history adventure, good for older students.
• We also read The Boxcar Children's book about The Alamo. Although totally fiction, it presented how it would be to visit it today.

For Older Students

• All is Well by Kristin Emery Litchman -- this book is about Mormons and the practice of polygamy. I read it because I wasn't sure how it would present the subject. This will be a book K. reads when she is older. There is nothing wrong with the book, and it presents well this subject and some history of the Mormon church. However, it presents Mormonism as truth, so since we aren't ready to delve into the teachings of the Mormon church, this book will wait.
• Suez Canal by Valerie Bodden -- we just looked at the pictures, but the next time we visit this time period, it will be a good book for K. to read
• Mapmakers of the Western Trails, Adventures with John Charles Fremont by Natalie Nelson -Hernandez -- this is a fictionalized account based on the facts of the life of General Fremont, written for young people.
• Enemies of Slavery by David A. Adler -- this book gives short (2 - 3 paragraphs) biographies about 13 people who fought against slavery.
• The Journey to Amazing Grace: Out of Slavery by Linda Granfield -- this is the story of John Newton
• Desperate Journey by Jim Murphy -- I read this book and really liked it. It is about a family that makes their living on the Erie Canal.

Third Grade, History, Set Four

We read Child's History chapter 78 and Abe Lincoln's World pages 69 - 142.

We added Indiana #19, Mississippi #20, Illinois #21, Alabama #22, Maine #23, Missouri #24 to our notebook.

Two more lessons in California History.

Industrial Revolution chapter 4

Other books we read:

Explorers:

• On Expedition with Lewis and Clark by Anita Ganeri -- this book has a lot of information. I read the topic paragraph of each page to K., then scanned the rest of the page for information that would be interesting to her.
• The Lewis and Clark Expedition by John Perritano -- I had K. read this book on her own. It is in the series "A True Book".
• Zebulon Pike: Soldier and Explorer by Barbara Witteman -- we looked at the route Pike took and compared it to Lewis and Clark's route. I read little bits from the book to K.

War of 1812:

• Thomas Jefferson Builds a Library by Barb Rosenstock -- this is a picture book that tells how much Jefferson loved to read. The book ends with him sending his books to Washington D.C. to replace the Library of Congress that was burned during the War of 1812.
• The Invasion of Sandy Bay by Anita Sanchez -- this is a historical fiction book, based on a true event. I read it and enjoyed it.
• A Picture Book of Dolley and James Madison by David A. Adler -- tells about both of their lives and about the War of 1812

People of Special Interest:

• Beethoven: (he died in 1827, so fits into this time period)
  • Ludwig Van Beethoven by Mike Venezia -- I had K. read this by herself. The French revolution and Napoleon are even mentioned in this book.
  • Beethoven Lives Upstairs by Barbara Nichol -- fiction letters written between a boy and his uncle about Beethoven living at the boy's house.
  • Ludwig Van Beethoven: Musical Pioneer by Carol Greene -- this is a Rookie Biography, if you can't get the first book, this is a good option
• Washington Irving
• Rip Van Winkle retold and illustrated by Will Moses -- this book has wonderful illustrations and is great reading for children
• If you want to read a Rip Van Winkle that is not retold, there is one which is illustrated by Arthur Rackham that you can try. However, glancing through it, the one above stays very true to the original.
• Sarah Josepha Hale
• Sarah Gives Thanks by Mike Allegra -- there were only two books in the library system about Mrs. Hale. We have a copy of the other one, and its emphasis is on Thanksgiving, so we got this one from the library. This book is more about her life with a few pages devoted to her campaign to have Thanksgiving as a national holiday.
• Queen Victoria
• Queen Victoria's Diamond by Gerry Bailey -- when I first picked up this book I didn't think it would be very interesting, but it was the only children's book I could find about her. It turned out to be very interesting to me and to K. The format keeps your interest by alternating between kids telling about QV with silly illustrations and more serious short articles with photos and realistic illustrations.
• Robert E. Lee
• A Picture Book of Robert E. Lee by David A. Adler -- interesting and informational, it follows his life from birth to death, spending 13 of the 28 pages on the Civil War.
• Andrew Jackson
• Andrew Jackson by Megan M. Gunderson -- informative and short with lots of illustrations
• Simon Bolivar
• A Picture Book of Simon Bolivar by David A. Adler -- another good book in this series

Railroad

• The Iron Dragon Never Sleeps by Stephen Krensky -- story of a friendship between a daughter of a mining engineer and a Chinese boy. This is a very good book. K. and I each read it and then we talked about it.
• The Last Rail by Darice Bailer -- story of the transcontinental railroad. A girl go back in time to the day the golden spike is driven in.
• Ten Mile Day and the Building of the Transcontinental Railroad by Mary Ann Fraser -- tells how the Central Pacific laid ten miles of track in one day and gives information of the transcontinental railroad and its completion.
• Building the Transcontinental Railroad by Linda Thompson -- not nearly as many illustrations as the previous two books. Good book for older students.
• Whistle for the Crossing by Marguerite de Angeli -- I read this one. It is a story about a boy whose father drove the first engine from Philadelphia to Pittsburg.

Erie Canal

• Erie Canal by Julie Murray -- an easy reader with good information, although it does not explain how locks work

Third Grade, History, Set Three

We read chapter 77 of Child's History and started Abraham Lincoln's World (pages ix - 48).

Louisiana Purchase:

• The Louisiana Purchase: Would You Close the Deal? by Elaine Landau -- this book covers the subject thoroughly at an elementary level. It has "Words to Know" bolded and the definitions are in the back of the book. Every two to four pages, it puts forth a dilemma and give two or more options, asking the student, "What would you do?" There are plenty of illustrations and this was an interesting book that took us about 35 minutes to go through.
• The Louisiana Purchase by Elizabeth D. Jaffe -- we did not read this book because I felt the previous one covered the subject so completely. However, if you can't get that book, this one looks like it covers the subject in an interesting manner and it may have more details, making it better for an older student.

Lewis and Clark:

• Lewis and Clark: A Prairie Dog for the President by Shirley Redmond -- I had K. read this book on her own. It is written on a lower elementary reading level. K. enjoyed reading the book and finished it in one day.
• Sacagawea: Bird Girl by Flora Warren Seymour -- this book covers Sacagawea's childhood and traveling with Lewis and Clark.

Sir Walter Scott:

• Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe adapted by Marianna Mayer -- Sir Walter Scott's first book was published in the early 1800's and Ivanhoe was published in 1820. This book is perfect for elementary students. (I would have older students listen to the audio book if they weren't ready to read it.)

John Adams:

• A Picture Book of John and Abigail Adams by David Adler and Michael Adler -- lots of information with good illustrations on each page, written in a manner great for elementary students.
• How to Draw the Life and Times of John Adams by Ryan P. Randolph -- we discovered this series and really like it. K. enjoys drawing and each book gives instructions for about ten different drawings. From houses to portraits, step by step instructions are given that make the drawing fun and pretty easy. Most of the pages have information on one topic (such as, Childhood and Family or Peace with France) and on the facing page there are instructions (words and illustrations) for drawing something that pertains to the topic. We don't try to do all the drawings, just one or two. An older student would probably enjoy doing all of them on their own.

Westward Expansion:

• How to Draw the Life and Times of William Henry Harrison by Hilary Barton Billman -- we read the whole book, but paid special attention to the parts about Tecumseh and the Battle of Tippecanoe.
• Tecumseh by Don McLeese -- well written for children with lots of illustrations. If this book isn't available, Chief Tecumseh by Anne M. Todd is a good choice.

Alexander Hamilton:

• Soldier and Founder: Alexander Hamilton by Michael Burgan -- until we got to the duel, then we switched to the next book.
• Duel! Burr and Hamilton's Deadly War of Words by Dennis Brindell Fradin -- this is a really good book. The book begins with them getting ready for the duel, then goes back and gives a history of both men and their disagreements and ends with the completion of the duel.

War of 1812:

• The Army of Two by Polly Curren -- I had K. read this on her own. It is the story of how two girls frightened the British away from their town.
• The Open Gate by Wilma Pitchford Hays -- I had K. read this on her own. It is the story a French family in New Orleans and how the mother's attitude changed toward their American neighbors.
• Francis Scott Key and The Star-Spangled Banner
• Our National Anthem by Norman Pearl -- written for younger children, this is a picture book with good basic information. This book has all four stanzas of the poem.
• The National Anthem by M.C. Hall -- good book for children; it covers the subject quite thoroughly in a simple manner with full page illustrations.
• The Star-Spangled Banner in Translation: What It Really Means by Elizabeth Raum -- we mostly just read the translation. This book is written in a busy manner that is for older children.
• Francis Scott Key's Star-Spangled Banner by Monica Kulling -- I had K. read this on her own. This is a Step into Reading book, so it is written simply with lots of illustrations.
• Here are a couple more books that looked good, but we didn't read
• The Star-Spangled Banner by Liz Sonneborn -- I'd say this is better for 7th grade and up
• What's So Great About Francis Scott Key by Marylou Morano Kjelle -- good for upper elementary

50 States Notebook:

• President Thomas Jefferson, in office 1801 - 1809
• Ohio, #17
• President James Madison, in office 1809 - 1817
• Louisiana, #18

Third Grade, History, Set Two

We finished reading George Washington's World. Here are books we read to learn more:

• Eli Whitney: Great Inventor by Jean Lee Latham -- this is a Discovery Biography and is written in a manner that is interesting to children and adults. I would consider this a "living book".
• The Inventions of Eli Whitney by Holly Cefrey -- I had K. read this on her own. It does not cover his life in the detail of the book by Ms. Latham, but just has snippets accompanying illustrations.
• Aunt Clara Brown: Official Pioneer by Linda Lowery -- the time period of this book is 1859 - 1885, so technically we should not have read it yet. This is an "On My Own Biography", so it was written for children. In it you learn about pioneers and how black people were treated.
• Has a Cow Saved Your Life? by Deborah Underwood -- about Edward Jenner and how he developed the smallpox vaccine. This book is interesting and informative with lots of illustrations. It also discusses the scientific method.
• Robert Fulton by Lola M. Schaefer -- this is a very simple book. It has black and white illustrations and basic information presented in simple terms. We read this book first, then read other books to learn more details.
• Watt Got You Started, Mr. Fulton? by Robert Quackenbush -- from the illustrations this looks like a very interesting book, but after reading a few pages, we put it away because, to me, it was boring.
• What's So Great About...? Robert Fulton by Jim Whiting -- this book is written in an interesting way with many illustrations and it filled in a lot of details.
• Documents of Freedom by Gwenyth Swain -- we read the portion about the Bill of Rights.
• Understanding the U.S. Constitution by Sally Senzell Isaacs -- we didn't actually use this book because we had read a few books about the constitution and it didn't have detailed information about the Bill of Rights like the above book did.
• Almost to Freedom by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson -- a story told by a doll about the Underground Railroad.
• The Cherokee by Emilie U. Lepthien -- this is in the "True Book" series. It is well written for children and covers a wide variety of topics, including The Cherokee Nation, Sequoyah, Broken Treaties, and The Trail of Tears.
• Sequoyah by James Rumford -- a children's book about why and how Sequoyah developed a written language for the Cherokee.
• My Easy-to-Read True Book of Pioneers by Mabel Harmer -- covers pioneers from Daniel Boone to the completion of the transcontinental railroad (about 100 years). It includes subjects such as, How They Traveled, Dangers on the Way, Pioneer Homes, and Pioneer Children.

Books we didn't get to:

• If you Lived with the Cherokee by Peter and Connie Roop
• Robert Fulton: The Steamboat Man by Carin T. Ford
• The Riddle of the Rosetta Stone by James Cross Giblin
• Native American Migration by Tracee Sioux

In our notebook of 50 States, we completed through state #16, Tennessee, which joined the Union in 1796. We are adding pages about the presidents to this book. Inserting them at the correct time when they first became president. We will probably add other things, like the Louisiana Purchase and the Lewis and Clark expedition, etc.

Third Grade, History, Set One

We read Child's History of the World chapter 75 to review the American Revolution.

• The Story of The Surrender at Yorktown by Zachary Kent -- we didn't read the entire book, just parts about the battle at Yorktown and the surrender. Then we found a video on YouTube so we would know what "The World Turned Upside Down" sounded like (that is what the British played at the surrender).
• There is a graphic (page 31) from A Visual History of the United States by Harold Faulkner, 1953 (pdf download) that shows how the Revolution changed American life.

We read Child's History chapter 76, which is about the French Revolution.

We are reading George Washington's World. We started at page 234, Washington Refuses Absolute Power. We have read through page 285, and are now going to take a break to read more books about the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution. I want to catch up to the French Revolution in this book before reading other books about it.

• Understanding the Articles of Confederation by Sally Isaacs -- well written for children; lots of pictures and illustrations
• Shh! We're Writing the Constution by Jean Fritz -- I got the dvd of this book and we watched it
• The Constution of the United States by Christine Taylor-Butler -- I'm having K. read this book on her own.
• A More Perfect Union: The Story of our Constitution by Betsy and Giulio Maestro -- good information, presented in a child-friendly format with lots of illustrations
• We the People: The Story of Our Constitution by Lynne Cheney -- another good book for children
• You Wouldn't want to be an Aristocrat in he French Revolution! by Jim Pipe -- this was the only book in our library system that dealth with the French Revolution in a format interesting to younger children.
• The Industrial Revolution by Carla Mooney -- this book has 8 chapters with a few projects at the end of each chapter. We read the intro and chapter one, which talks about textiles and the changes to spinning and weaving. The project K. chose was making a water wheel (before using steam, factories were built by rivers to use the river's current to run the machines). My goal is to do one chapter each Set.

If you have an older child, The French Revolution by Adrian Gilbert looks like a really good book.

We have started California History. I am using a publication called "California Weekly Explorer". It is in a newspaper format with 32 four-page issues. The ones I am using are twenty-plus years old, and California Weekly Explorer no longer has them, but I believe I found them, now called My California.

We are also making a notebook of our 50 states in the order in which they joined the union. We have one page for each state. The information on it is:

• Name
• Postal abbreviation
• State capital
• Date it became a state and its ordinal number
• State nickname
• State flag (printed from www.statesymbolsusa.org)
• State bird with picture
• State flower with picture
• State tree with picture
• Interesting fact
• Important places or people

We are working on getting the first thirteen states done, and then will do each state as it joins the union.