Over the years, Memoria Press has become one of our favorite homeschooling vendors. We are always thrilled to see them come up for review. This time around we chose two sets that I have had my eye on for a while now: The Story of the Thirteen Colonies & The Great Republic Set and 200 Questions About American History Set.
Both of these courses were designed to be used with students in 5th-8th grade. I asked for this course as an introduction to American History for Laycie who is 11. I also had Emmalee read over the material and use the accompanying flashcards for the 200 Questions About American History set as a review. However, she did not use the workbooks except to read through and answer as her own review. The curriculum workbooks are for use by one student though and can be repurchased for each student as you need.
Let’s dive into the curriculum itself:
The Story of the Thirteen Colonies & The Great Republic Set
This curriculum contains:
The Story of the Thirteen Colonies & The Great Republic by H.A. Guerber
The Story of the Thirteen Colonies & The Great Republic Student Guide
The Story of the Thirteen Colonies & The Great Republic Teacher Guide
The Teacher and Student Guides were written by Christie Wright and Dayna Grant. The Teacher Guide is 127 pages in length and the Student Guide is 104 pages in length. With the book, these guides make a full curriculum for your student to use.
On the Website, you can find Sample Texts for each of these books. You can also find a link to the Editable Lesson Plans. The lesson plans are a great addition to help you plan.
The set features H.A. Guerber’s The Story of the Thirteen Colonies & The Great Republic book as it’s core. The combined edition creates a full course for Middle School level American History. The text is concise and features key points of history in America.
The book itself is 211 pages in length. It contains 85 chapters, a Preface, a Hints for Teachers section and the President’s of the United States poem. The pages are black and white, and include photos for each chapter. The font is clear and easy to read and follow. The book is average size and easy to carry along anywhere. It has a paperback cover. It covers history from the Native American’s before settlement up to the Spanish-American War.
The chapters are short as this is a concise text. Lessons are thorough in that the student guide adds a lot of bulk to them by providing vocabulary and more. The photos are wonderful and interesting to look at, though not in color.
The Student Guide begins with a Table of Contents on the 3rd page to help you find your way through the workbook. Page 4 begins the first lesson. There are 32 lessons in all.
Each lesson begins with Facts to Know about the lesson in Section I. Section II provides a list of Vocabulary words for that lesson. Section III contains a list of Comprehension Questions derived from the lesson itself. Section IV features several sections of enrichment for the lessons.
Section IV’s enrichment parts feature Map for Geography inclusion. Some lessons feature the Thirteen Colonies Chart. Some lessons feature Timeline information to trace History. And last inclusion is Composition of varied sorts for Writing. Some lessons also feature Primary Sources and Research sections as well. These vary for each lesson.
Beginning on page 69 is the Appendix. Here you will find maps, the Colonies Chart, and important articles of information. The Mayflower Compact, the story of Paul Revere’s Ride, the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, and the Gettysburg Address, among many others are included here.
The Teacher Guide is set up much like the student guide, with answers provided. The Appendix is designed the same as well, complete with answers to make lessons easier for you as the teacher. You can find the Timeline here as well.
At the back of the Teacher Guide you will find Lesson Tests. There are four tests that cover several sections of the book each. Answers to these tests are found behind the tests themselves within the Teacher Guide.
The Story of the Thirteen Colonies & The Great Republic Set is available for $48.00.
Now let’s jump into the second set:
200 Questions About American History Set
The Curriculum Contains:
200 Questions About American History Flashcards
200 Questions About American History Student Book
200 Questions About American History Teacher Guide
The Teacher and Student Guides were written by Sean Brooks. The Teacher Guide is 69 pages in length while the Student Guide is 25 pages in length. The course can be used as a supplement along side The Story of the Thirteen Colonies & The Great Republic and with Story of the World Volume IV for the last few chapters of the course. Combined this course makes for a great prep course for High School History in the Middle School years.
On the website, you can find examples of each of these items to view.
The flashcards are small but carry a great deal of information. There are 150 Drill Questions, 30 Timeline Dates, 20 Notable Quotes and 44 U.S. Presidents included in the deck. A great way to learn American History easily.
The Student Book begins with a list of Recommended Texts & Weekly Schedule page. This helps guide you through what to read to find answers for the questions. There are Teaching Guidelines found here as well which advise you how to use the course.
Next you will find a list of 150 Drill Questions. Each of the questions includes a page directory on where you can find the answers. These are great questions that every student really should learn about American History. Questions vary and ask things like who was the General at Bunker Hill and which battle was the turning point for the Revolutionary War. The Three Branches of American Government is also covered, amid so much more.
On page 16 of the Student Book, you can find the Timeline of American History. Here the student writes in the dates the events happen. It’s a short list of 30 questions. It also shows where to find the answers among the books suggested for the course.
Page 18 provides Notable Quotes from American History. Here the student researches and lists who says the quote. Again a directory is provided to help them locate the answer.
Page 20 provides facts on the Presidents of the United States. A short excerpt about the President is provided and the student is to provide the name of the President. These do not provide a directory for finding answers for them.
Page 22 features the Star Spangled Banner from Francis Scott Key. Page 24 features Old Ironsides from Oliver Wendell Holmes. Page 25 features O Captain! My Captain! from Walt Whitman. The final two pages are blank.
The Teacher Guide begins with the same list of Recommended Texts & Weekly Schedule as the Student Guide. It jumps into the lesson providing an answer sheet to the questions of the Student Guide. It also provides the same texts as the Student Guide for your convenience.
On page 27, you will find the Tests & Keys for the curriculum. There are seven tests in all, Test I-VII. These vary in length and types of questions asked. Most are multiple choice but some do require thoughtful written answers.
200 Questions About American History Set is available for $27.90.
We’ve really enjoyed looking over and using these materials the past few weeks for this review and I’m thrilled to have it added into our curriculum. We will continue to work on it as we go. Emma was impressed by the flashcards and has used them to brush up on her American History, testing the accuracy of her answers and the knowledge she’s learned over the years.
Laycie was able to work on this with my help. The lessons are short so it kept her attention well without being too challenging for her. Most of the questions I let her answer verbally due to her learning issues but she really enjoyed what she learned through the use of the program.
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