Pathway to Liberty ~ U.S. History

Pathway to Liberty offers a complete curriculum which contains four years of coursework. The curriculum is uniquely designed so that the teacher is able to teach multiple grade levels at the same time. Each level come with Teacher guides and Student Workbooks. Weekly lesson plans, assignments, and step-by-step instructions will guide your student along the way. Your child will be taught from a Biblical Worldview. The curriculum covers K-12th grade. Each year covers 26 weeks of coursework. This year I am going to using Pathway to Liberty's Year 3 - U.S. History with my 6th, 8th, and 11th grade children. We will be using Levels 2, 3, and 4. U.S. History begins with the early colonies and ends with the Civil War. 

Here is a list of the books used for all 4 levels.

This copy of The Light and the Glory is mine from when I was in college back in 1992. 

Here is my Level 2 kiddo. 

Here is my Level 3 kiddo. 

Here is my Level 4 kiddo. 

Here is a great breakdown of the 4 levels in the Pathway to Liberty Curriculum:

Level 1 (K5-3rd Grade)

• Level 1 is designed for the early elementary years. Students learn history through age-appropriate core books and literature studies. Principles are taught in a concrete, simplified manner. The character of individuals is emphasized. Copy work and simple writing exercises can be adjusted to student's writing ability. 

Level 2 (4th-6th Grade)

• Level 2 is designed for upper elementary who are able to read and write fluently. Principles are expanded and application is encouraged. Students write 1-2 paragraphs a weekly and begin to learn research skills. Some of the reading assignments coordinate with Level 3, however the reasoning, writing and literature are age-appropriate. 

Level 3 (7th-9th)

• Level 3 is designed for middle school students. It requires more in-depth reasoning and logic and the application of principles. Students write 2-5 paragraphs weekly and apply research skills too reports. 

Level 4 (10-12 Grade)

• With Level 4, student's gain rhetorical mastery of their lessons. Their worldview is solidified and they are able to articulate their lessons. It is for advanced level High school students. Most textbooks are college level reading. Credits include History-1, Bible-1/2-1, History and Literature reading are on an adult level. Writing assignments are designed to prepare students for a collegiate or professional environment. 

There are four years in the history cycle:

• Year 1: Universal History
• Year 2: The Middle Ages
• Year 3: US History
• Year 4: World History

I am very excited to see what all three of my children will learn this year as they work their way through U.S. History. As they learn about the original colonies of Roanoke and Jamestown, to the Great Awakening, and the Signing of the Declaration of Independence, and all of the way to what precipitated the Civil War. There is so much to cover and so much to read and learn about. It is going to be a fun year! 

Memoria Press ~ A Review

Memoria Press publishes classical, Christian curriculum for both homeschool and private schools.  The Ninth Grade Literature Guide Set includes; Sir Gawain And The Green Knight, Beowulf, The Canterbury Tales, and Henry V. For review, I received the Literature Guide Set without the novels. These works focus on Old English and Medieval Works.

Four Stages to the Central One Idea

Using the Trivium to Uncover the Hear of a Work

Memoria Press uses this set-up with their guides. Here is a brief breakdown of the Trivium.

1. Stage 1: Pre-Grammar/Preparation - students are prepared to conceptualize the Central One Idea by using their own experiences and interests. "It is helpful to cultivate the soil in preparation for planting the seed." Students in this first stage are asked questions relating to this Central One Idea. This stage is to get the student thinking. In the Student Guide a couple of questions are asked. 
2. Stage 2: Grammar/Presentation - in this stage the student is presented and will interact with essential facts, elements, and features of the story or poem. Within the Student Guide the student will learn useful facts in the Reading Notes and learn new vocabulary in the section Words to be Defined as well as Comprehension Questions. 
3. Stage 3: Logic/Dialectic - the student reasons with the elements within the poem or story to ultimately determine the Central One Idea. This is when the Socratic method comes in. In the Socratic Discussion Questions the student digs deeper leading closer to the Central One Idea. 
4. Stage 4: Rhetoric/Expression - In this final stage of the Trivium the student explain what they think is the Central One Idea. In the Student Guide the student is asked to summarize the plot, and express the Central One Idea. The student is also asked to list three or four supporting facts to support as to how they came to their Central One Idea. An opportunity to write an essay is also given.

Here is a wonderful video that explains how the Upper School Literature Guides

through Memoria Press function. 

For the review period my daughter worked through The Canterbury Tales.

The Student Guide covers The General Prolougue, and Three Tales; The Pardoner's Tale, The Nun's Priest's Tale, and The Franklin's Tale. Memoria Press does use a Reader-Friendly Edition in the original words put into modern spelling, edited and copyrighted by Michael Murphy which is published by Memoria Press. We chose to use the Penguin Classics Edition which did make following the Student Guide a bit more difficult as page numbers did not match up but overall the Tales are the same. Memoria Press does recommend certain editions for each of the four guides in the ninth grade literature set. I would definitely recommend purchasing the recommended versions.

Students are directed as to, How to Mark a Book, which is in the Student Guide. My daughter is quite familiar with annotating because she has had to annotate all of her literature books for co-op since she was in the 7th grade. Within the Student Guide students will interact with The Canterbury Tales Poetry and read through reading notes, define unfamiliar words, answer comprehension questions, use logic and dialectic reasoning to answer Socratic discussion questions, work with quotes, and complete essays.

Even though this set states that it is for the 9th grade, when you click on each individual guide it says that it is for grades 8 and up. My daughter will be going into the 11th grade is coming year. She enjoyed working through the three tales from within the collection of tales from The Canterbury Tales.

From a teacher's perspective, being that this was high school level literature I really wish that Memoria Press would have included background content, explanations, and breakdowns of each poem/story. Often times upper level literature is quite difficult to understand and I really feel that this needs to be included in the Teacher Guide. The Teacher Guide is pretty much a cookie cutter of the Student Guide except the answers are included. Of course the Teacher Guide does include quizzes and tests.

Henry V

Most of us are very familiar with William Shakespeare's works. In this play soon after becoming king Henry sets out to try and lay claim to France and England. The whole play covers the Hundred Years' War. During the Battle of Agincourt Henry disguises himself the eve before battle. At the end of the play Henry and Katherine join alliances in order to ensure the safety of their two countries through marriage. There are Five Acts in Henry V. In each Act the student is directed through the Trivium as follows:

• Pre-Grammar - Preparation
• Grammar - Presenttation
• Logic - Dialectic
• Rhetoric - Expression

For one of the essay options students are asked to, "Write an essay about Henry and his various attributes. Take a position about Henry as a king, leader, or person (or all three), and support your thesis with evidence from the text. 

Beowulf The Warrior

I do not remember much about Beowulf. I remember that Beowulf is about a young warrior. Beowulf gains fame by fighting a monster, Grendel, and then a dragon. He dies while slaying the dragon. Of course I am leaving out a whole lot, lol. 

There are 3 parts to this story written in poem form. Did you know that Beowulf is "the first epic poem in the English language; one of the most important works of Anglo-Saxon literature."

As Beowulf is fighting the dragon in Part 3 - The Fire Dragon, one of the Socratic Discussion Questions that is asked is;

6. "Together they quenched the fire, together beat out His loathsome life." 

This line contains anaphora, the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses. Through the use of anaphora, what was the poet emphasizing?

Answer - The poet was emphasizing the unity and togetherness of Beowulf and Wiglaf. They were the only two who chose to valiantly fight the dragon And their unity is what allowed them to defeat the dragon. 

Sir Gawain And The Green Knight

Sir Gawain And The Green Knight is not a classic that I am familiar with. I actually had to read about this story/peom. Sir Gawain is a knight in King Arthur's court who accepts a challenge from a mysterious Green Knight who dares any knight to strike him with an axe. He will then in turn the following year and a day take a blow from an axe. 

The Student Guide is divided into IV Fits. Each fit has 21, 24, 34, and 22 stanzas, respectively, for a total of 101. Each stanza ends with a two-syllable "bob" and a four-line "wheel" that rhyme ABABA. 

In the Reading Notes some of the more unfamiliar vocabulary words that students many come across are: Zephyrus, greave, cuisse, casque, baldric, five wits, five pure Joys, evensong, beldame, castellan, and Logres. All of these words are defined in the Reading Notes. 

Overall, Memoria Press is a wonderful company and over the years our family has used many of their materials. I would highly recommend this set and any of their materials. Definitely check out what other reviews had to say by clicking the link below. 

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Library and Educational Services LLC ~ A Review

Library and Educational Services LLC is a wholesale distributer of educational materials. They sell a wide range of materials from Bibles, books, both fiction and nonfiction for children, teens, and adults. They carry popular audio series, and educational DVD's. They even carry a wide range of crafts, hobby items, and games. I had the privilege of reviewing one of their audio CD's, The Emperor's New Clothes - Lifehouse Theater CD. I got to look through their extensive collection of Reinforced Hardcover Library Binding Nonfiction Books and spend an allotted amount of money. I chose these two hardcover collections, A Documentary History of the Holocaust - Set of 5, and Remembering the Holocaust - Set of 5. In addition, Library and Educational Services LLC has a fun collection of books entitled, Who was...? series. We actually reviewed a What Was...? book in the series entitled, What Was D-Day. You can create an account online for free and at that point see more of what they have to offer.

What Was D-Day?

Ages 8-12

3rd - 7th Grade

112 pages

At the end of the book there are 16 pages of actual D-Day photos.

A Timeline of D-Day events are included. 

A Timeline of WWII from 1933 when Adolf Hitler became chancellor of Germany

to 1945 when WWII was officially declared ended is included. 

Pencil illustrations are included throughout the book. 

Throughout the book events are described in further detail such as the 

Five Beaches at Normandy. These events are sectioned off in boxes. 

The Emperor's New Clothes 

Ages 8 and up

Running Time is 41 minutes

This is a fully dramatized audio adventure which include strong performances, 

sound effects, and music. The audio dramas are familiar adaptations from classic

literature that most everyone will be familiar with. 

The Lifehouse Theater On-The-Air Collection includes:

The Emperor’s New Clothes

Hiding in Plain Sight

Job: A Modern Man

Pride and Prejudice

The Princess and the Pigs

The Misadventures of Tom Sawyer

Trapped in Aesop’s Fables!

Based on Hans Christian Andersen's tale, The Emperor's New Clothes is 

familiar to many. Ned, page boy to the king, sees the crazy antics that are going on 

at the expense of the Emperor. When two tailors come to court with their beautiful linens 

convincing everyone that their cloth is invisible and has magical powers that can 

only be seen by those fit for their jobs. The Emperor right away commissions the tailors

to make him clothes. Ned must convince the Emperor before he becomes the laughing stock

of the Kingdom. 

Reinforced Hardcover Library Binding Nonfiction Books

Here is my selection of books. 

Remembering the Holocaust - Set of 5

Ages 11 and up

For grades 6 and up

96 pages per book

Auschwitz, Bergen-Belsen, Treblinka - The Holocaust Camps

Warsaw, Lodz, Vilna - The Holocaust Ghettos

Hitler, Goebbels, Himmler - The Nazi Holocaust Masterminds

Anti-Semitism And The "Final Solution" - The Holocaust Overview

Wiesel, Wiesenthal, Klarsfeld - The Holocaust Survivors

Anti-Semitism began in the early 1900's. This included believing that Jews were 

responsible for the economic crisis, poverty, political conflict, carriers of disease and 

inferior to all others. This hate spread and after WWI when Germany lost the war they 

needed a scapegoat and made the Jews their target. Hitler rose to power and devised his 

plans for racial purity by exterminating the Jewish race. WWII began on September 1, 1939. 

The Jews were ostracized and their businesses were boycotted. Eventually they were sent

to gets where conditions were horrible. But the worst was yet to come when they were 

all loaded up in 1942 to be sent to various concentration camps throughout Europe. 

In all over 2 million individuals were murdered. 

Documentary History of the Holocaust - Set of 5 

Ages 12 to 18

7th -12th grade

80 pages per book

Much like the above series this series chronicles the events of WWII and the 

horrific events that the Jews endured at the hands of Hitler and his henchmen. 

The Nuremberg Trials took place after WWII in order to bring those 

responsible for the Holocaust accountable for their actions. During the Holocaust 

thousands of people risked their own lives to save the lives of Jews. 

On such hero was Oskar Schindler who had

a enamelware factory. In order to safe the lives of over 

1,200 Jews Schindler bribed Nazi officers

and devised a list of Jewish prisoners that he deemed necessary to 

maintain production for an armaments manufacturer. 

Righteous Gentiles - Non-Jews Who Fought Against Genocide

Kristallnacht And Living In Nazi Germany

The Nuremberg Trials

Jewish Resistance Against The Holocaust 

The Warsaw Ghetto And Uprising 

New Arrivals are being added all of the time!

They have a Homeschool Resource section. 

Look at this amazing deal that you can get on this Narnia set!

In the DVD section you can find Drive Thru History® which is fantastic!

Our family absolutely LOVES the series of books called, Childhood of Famous Americans, 

and Pocahontas is just one of the notable figures in the series. We have a huge collection

of these. 

Library and Educational Services LLC has such a wide range of materials at great prices. Looking through the site the prices are definitely so much lower than you will find anywhere else. You can even request a catalog on the site. I have six kiddos ranging in ages from 23 down to 11 and I so wish that I would have known about this website earlier as I would have saved so much money. This is just one of our many bookshelves with books stacked double deep. We are HUGE readers in our house. 

I would most definitely recommend checking out their website. Library and Educational Services LLC has been in business for 40 years! They ship all over the world, even to military bases. Be sure to read what my other Crew member had to say by click on link below. 

To read more reviews click here.

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Home School in the Woods ~ A Review

Over the years my children have learned so much from Home School in the Woods hands-on history materials. Through their History Through the Ages Timelines, Olde World Style Map Sets, Project Passport World History Studies, Time Travelers U.S. History Studies, Hands-On History Activity-Paks, Hands-On History Lap-Paks, Hands-On History Activity Studies, and A La Carte Projects students learn as they piece together their project. Over the past weeks my middle schooler has been working her way through Time Travelers U.S. History Studies, WWII. The suggested range for this specific Time Travelers study is grades 3-8. There are 25 lessons included. If you are looking for an alternative to normal textbook learning, look no further! Home School in the Woods has created activity-based studies designed to teach hands-on learning. 

The following lessons are included in the America in World War II Study:

1. Ante Bellum
2. Adolf Hitler
3. War Before War
4. Blitzkrieg-Dunkirk
5. Project Day - 1
6. The Battle of Britain
7. The Turn East
8. Pearl Harbor
9. War in Africa
10. Project Day - 2
11. War in the Pacific
12. Hitler's Fortress
13. Market Garden
14. The Bulge
15. Project Day - 3
16. Into Germany 
17. Kristallnacht and the Camps
18. VE Day
19. Iwo Jima and the Atomic Bomb
20. Project Day - 4
21. Back Home
22. And What Happened After?
23. Project Day - 5
24. Pulling Together the Lap Book

For each lesson there is written Text Pages that the student reads. Next, the student moves onto the Lesson Projects. An example of a Lesson Projects from Lesson 11 entitled, War in the Pacific:

1. Penmanship "Words of World War II" (instructions included)
2. Notebook Timeline (instructions included)
3. Continue The Newspaper "Frontline News" (instructions included)
4. Continue Map "Major Events in the Pacific Theatre (instructions included)
5. On the Home Front (instructions included)
6. Add to "On the Home Front" Basket: "Ration Books & Tokens" (instruction included)
7. Lesson Projects Directions/Instruction and Examples (what to print out)

Penmanship is something that was introduced at the beginning the History Study. The Notebook Timeline was introduced in Lesson 1 and so the student is asked to continue to color and place more events on the timeline. In Lesson 2 the student put together a newspaper, Frontline News, and each lesson they continue to add to the newspaper. In Lesson 11 they are asked to add two new articles. You get the picture. Each lesson a new project is added. For Lesson 11 the student will make Ration Books. 

Here is a picture of some of the Student Lesson Text Pages.

Students start their journey by going back 20 years before WWII. 

"At this time WWI was just drawing to a close. In 1918 Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the

other Central Powers were forced into submission by the victorious Allied powers,

chief amongst them being Great Britain, France, Italy, and America."

Dictator Flip Activity

Hitler's Climb two Power

A Timeline of World War II

Timeline Close-up

Frontline News Newspaper

European Theatre Maps

Language Bingo

My daughters had SO MUCH FUN playing Language Bingo! 

The players have to use this translation guide in order to figure out if they 

can actually cover a space since all of the spaces are in other languages. 

War Time Words

For this specific project you are given the option of multiple different 

printing options. You can print the word on one side and the definition

on the other side. I chose to print the word and the definition on the same side. 

There was one other option, I do not remember what it was. 

Souvenir Pillowcase 

Wrapping it up.

"The horrors of the concentration camps had played out over and over...

The total death toll of the war is estimated to be around fifty million. WWII had left two 

major powers destroyed, Germany and Japan, buy had made two new ones, America and Russia...

After WWII the League of Nations had been formed to help keep order. Much had been lost

during the war, many tears had been shed, and the world would never be the same."

There is a PHOTO GALLERY of what all of the completed projects

are supposed to look like. This is very helpful. 

Home School in the Woods takes out the worry for you as the teacher. Helpful

resource lists, teacher keys, and Guide-at-a-Glance one-page guides will allow 

you to see exactly what your student needs to do. Everything that your student 

needs is clearly laid out. All project pages are pdf downloadable. The instructions 

are easy to follow and any supplies that are needed are minimal. 

My daughter that is working her way through this WWII study absolutely loves to read but for some reason does not remember what she reads when given a traditional history textbook. Over the years we have used Home School in the Woods and various other Lap Book related history studies in order to learn history. My daughter is very intrigued with this time period in history. She has read a quite a lot of historical fiction books on this time period. She has learned so much about WWII as she has been working her way through this Time Travelers U.S. History Study. She thrives on the hands-on interactive learning experience. 

Home School in the Woods also has a Blog which is another added benefit for both parents/teachers as well as students to reference. There is a great blog post on the newspaper Frontline News which relates to this WWII study. Another great blog post is on Using Time Travelers to Teach American History.

I would definitely recommend Home School in the Woods. If you are looking for an alternative, fun way to learn history that really STICKS, look no further! Be sure to check out all of the other reviews. Simply click the link below to read what other reviewers had to say about the many other Home School in the Woods materials that were reviewed. 

If you would like to read more of my past Home School in the Woods reviews here is a list; History Through The Ages Hands-On History Lap-Pak: U.S. Elections,  HISTORY Through the Ages Project Passport World History Study: Renaissance & Reformation, History Through the Ages Hands-On History Activity-Paks: Artists, Name That State! File Folder Game, Time Travelers: Colonial Life

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