History

History CurriculumHistory Resources

As with most things, C.S. Lewis had a unique view of history. For him, the really important bits were the stories—he makes a distinction between actual historical realities and the idealized versions of them handed down which make heroes and villains of mere men and women. It's not that the stories are completely false, but their value is for character-building, not as factual data.

The tales of George Washington's bravery in battle, coolness under pressure, rigorous truthfulness, and unflagging piety may accurately preserve the essence of his temperament and nobility, but not all of them are strictly historical. The point of these stories isn't to impart facts, however, it's to offer an example of goodness for the rest of us to emulate.

Getting the facts right is still important, though. As Christians, we can't afford to have a false understanding of "the old days." Mankind is fallen, and the story of his sojourn on Earth is filled with war, suffering, disease, unfaithfulness, pride and envy; a study of history that omits those elements is both false and useless. False, because it is incomplete, and useless, because it tells us nothing of the human condition or our current situation.

It's a bit of a mystery to us why non-Christians are motivated to study the past. For believers, the end goal isn't just acquisition of facts about events and cultures, it's the instillation of a thoroughly Christian worldview, an understanding of the course of the human endeavour as decreed and guided by God Himself.

The story of Jesus Christ is central. It is the only history story that fulfills the character-building element Lewis looked for, while remaining absolutely true in every detail. Man is fallen and he does struggle against God, but through Christ there is hope of redemption, a chance to connect heaven and earth through the Atonement. Christ is the ultimate example of God's providence.

In the Reformed tradition, God's sovereignty is a very big deal. According to the doctrine of divine decree, God has ordered all things that were, are and will come to be for His own good pleasure and glory. His hand is thus present everywhere, in the privatest private life and the most public and widespread crisis. God is in control, providentially guiding nations, men, and the entire cosmos.

This very doctrine is perhaps what best explains the humanist's interest in history (whether he be atheist, agnostic, pagan). Man's natural bent is to make himself the hero of the story, to show how people can sway the trajectory of all things. God's version is quite different, and the two are naturally in conflict. Resolution may only be found in Christ.

For, while God decrees and guides all things, He has also (paradoxically) decreed man's free will and personal responsibility. Men do change the course of kingdoms, but it is only through God's agency. A proper Christian study of history takes both truths into account, and tells the stories of good guys and bad guys through the light of everything God's Word says about human nature and divine control.

We encourage you to take great comfort and joy in your study of history. Read books, watch movies (carefully noting that a lot of the story is likely to be inaccurate in detail), go on fieldtrips to forts and battlefields and birthplaces. Most of all, talk about these things. The end goal, after all, isn't to know a bunch of trivia, but to understand what God has done and continues to do.

No one knows for sure what the end of history will look like, except that every knee in heaven and on earth will bow to the returned glorious Christ, who comes to judge the living and the dead. What we believe about Him will determine whether that culmination will be filled with joy or loathing (everyone will be terrified). He is the author of history, and its centerpiece; honor Him in your study of it.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he is a husband and father, teaches adult Sunday school in his Presbyterian congregation, and likes weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur.Read more of his reviews here.

 

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...and now Miguel
by Joseph Krumgold
from Thomas Crowell
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1954 Newbery Medal winner
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100 Great Wonders of the World
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1621: A New Look at Thanksgiving
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200 Questions About American History - Student Guide
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200 Questions About American History - Teacher Guide
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3-D Engineering
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5,000-Year-Old Puzzle
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1st edition from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
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50 States Flipper
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7 Continents: Africa
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A Christmas Carol Audio Drama - 2 CD set
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Abe Lincoln
Landmark Series
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Biography for 5th-8th grade
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Abe Lincoln Gets His Chance
by Frances Cavanah
from Rand McNally
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
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Abe Lincoln Grows Up
by Carl Sandburg
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Biography for 5th-8th grade
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Abe Lincoln Grows Up
by Carl Sandburg, illustrated by James Daugherty
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Biography for 4th-7th grade
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$13.95
Above the Trenches
by Nathan Hale
from Amulet Books
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$15.99
Abraham Lincoln
Heroes of History
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from Emerald Books
Biography for 4th-7th grade
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$11.99
Abraham Lincoln
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
75th Anniversary Edition from Beautiful Feet Books
Picture Book Biography for 3rd-6th grade
1940 Caldecott Medal winner
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$17.95
Abraham Lincoln (hardcover)
by Ingri and Edgar Parin d'Aulaire; edited by Rea Berg
75th Anniversary from Beautiful Feet Books
Biography for 1st-6th grade
1940 Caldecott Medal winner
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$21.95
Abraham Lincoln - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
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Mr. Pipes Series #4
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Across America on an Emigrant Train
by Jim Murphy
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1994 NCTE Orbis Pictus Award
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$10.95
Adam of the Road
Puffin Newbery Library
by Elizabeth Gray
from Puffin Books
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
1943 Newbery Medal winner
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$8.99
Adam of the Road
by Elizabeth Janet Gray, illustrated by Robert Lawson
1962 Printing from Viking Press
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Adam of the Road
Puffin Modern Classics
by Elizabeth Gray
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Historical Fiction for 3rd-8th grade
1943 Newbery Medal winner
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Adara
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Adoniram Judson
Christian Heroes: Then & Now
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Biography for 4th-7th grade
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$18.00
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Adventures of Hercules - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
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Adventures of Perrine
Windermere Readers #10
by Hector Malot, translated by Gil Meynier, adapted by Edith Heal
1954 edition from Rand McNally
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Adventures of Richard Wagner
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Everyman's Library Children's Classics
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from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 5th-9th grade
$20.00
Adventures of Robin Hood
Puffin Classics
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Legends and Folklore for 5th-9th grade
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$8.99
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by Susan Olasky
from P&R Publishing
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Adventures of Ulysses
by Bernard Evslin
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Greek Mythology for 4th-6th grade
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Adventures of Ulysses - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
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from Dover Publications
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Adventures with the Santa Fe Trail
by Dave Webb, illustrated by Phillip R. Buntin
Revised from Kansas Heritage Center
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
Aeneid for Boys and Girls
by Alfred J. Church
from Yesterday's Classics
Roman Mythology for 5th-8th grade
$11.95
Aeneid for Boys and Girls
by Alfred J. Church
from Living Book Press
Roman Mythology for 5th-8th grade
$6.99
Africa For Kids
by Harvey Croze
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Africa's Vanishing Wildlife
by Chris & Tilde Stuart
1st edition from Smithsonian Books
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$8.00 (1 in stock)
African Plains - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Diane Gaspas-Ettl
from Dover Publications
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After the War
by Carol Matas
from Simon Pulse
Historical Fiction for 5th-8th grade
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Against the World
by Henry Coray
from Inheritance Publications
Biography for 5th-8th grade
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$9.95
Age of Revolution I
by Michelle Miller
from TruthQuest History
History Curriculum for 5th-12th grade
Cathy Duffy's 100 Top Picks
in TruthQuest History (Location: HISCUR-TQ)
$29.95
Age of Revolution II
by Michelle Miller
from TruthQuest History
History Curriculum for 5th-12th grade
Cathy Duffy's 100 Top Picks
in TruthQuest History (Location: HISCUR-TQ)
$29.95
Age of Revolution III
by Michelle Miller
from TruthQuest History
History Curriculum for 5th-12th grade
Cathy Duffy's 100 Top Picks
in TruthQuest History (Location: HISCUR-TQ)
$34.95
Ain't Burned All the Bright
by Jason Reynolds, illustrated by Jason Griffin
from Atheneum
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2023 Caldecott Honor Book
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$19.99
Air Raid - Pearl Harbor!
by Theodore Taylor
from Harcourt
Historical Non-Fiction for 5th-8th grade
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$8.99
Air Raid - Pearl Harbor!
by Theodore Taylor
1st Gulliver Books pbk. ed from HMH Books for Young Readers
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Aircraft - Coloring Book
Educational Read & Color Books
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$3.95
Airplane
Inventions that Shaped the World
by Nancy Robinson Masters
from Franklin Watts
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Airplanes of the Second World War - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
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from Dover Publications
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Airplanes of World War I - Coloring Book
by Carlo Demand
from Dover Publications
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Akavak
by James Houston
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Aladdin and Other Tales from the Arabian Nights
Puffin Classics
by N.J. Dawood, illustrated by William Harvey
from Puffin Books
Fairy Tales for 2nd-6th grade
$7.99
Alamo All Stars
Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales #6
by Nathan Hale
from Amulet Books
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$14.99
Alamo!
by George Sullivan
from Scholastic Inc.
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Alan Shepard
Christian Heroes: Then and Now
by Geoff Benge, Janet Benge
from YWAM Publishing
for 5th-8th grade
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$11.99
Alaskan Wildlife - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Jan Sovak
from Dover Publications
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$3.99
Albert Einstein: Young Thinker
by Marie Hammontree
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
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$4.00 (2 in stock)
Albert Schweitzer
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from YWAM Publishing
Biography for 4th-8th grade
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Alexander Hamilton - Coloring Book
by Steven James Petruccio
Clr Csm from Dover Publications
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$5.99
Alexander the Great
by Robert Green
from Grolier Publishing
Biography for 4th-6th grade
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$4.50 (3 in stock)
Alexander the Great
by Jacob Abbott
from Canon Press
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$12.00
Alexander the Great
by Robert Green
from Grolier Publishing
Biography for 4th-6th grade
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
All Aboard for Freedom
by Marie McSwigan, illustrated by E. Harper Johnson, with an introduction by Jan Papanek
from E.P. Dutton & Co.
for 5th-8th grade
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$30.00 (1 in stock)
All About Niagara Falls
by Linda Granfield
from Morrow Junior Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in International Landmarks & Symbols (Location: HISV-LANINT)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
All American History Volume I - Companion Guide Digital Download
by Celeste W. Rakes
from Bright Ideas Press
for 5th-8th grade
in All American History (Location: HISCUR-US)
$29.95
All American History Volume I - Student Reader
by Celeste W. Rakes
from Bright Ideas Press
for 5th-8th grade
in All American History (Location: HISCUR-US)
$64.95
All American History Volume I - Teacher's Guide/Answer Key
by Celeste W. Rakes
from Bright Ideas Press
for 5th-8th grade
in All American History (Location: HISCUR-US)
$18.95 $6.00 (1 in stock)
All Thirteen
by Christina Soontornvat
from Candlewick Press
Daring Rescues for 4th-7th grade
2021 Newbery Honor Book, 2021 Robert F. Sibert Honor Book
in 21st Century (Location: HISW-21)
$24.99
All-of-a-Kind Family
by Sydney Taylor, illustrated by Helen John
from Yearling
Family Stories for 2nd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
All-of-a-Kind Family
All-of-a-Kind Family Series #1
by Sydney Taylor, illustrated by Helen John
from Follett
Family Stories for 2nd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$16.00 (1 in stock)
All-of-a-Kind Family
All-of-a-Kind Family Series #1
by Sydney Taylor, illustrated by Helen John
from Follett
Family Stories for 2nd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
All-of-a-Kind Family Downtown
All-of-a-Kind Family Series #2
by Sydney Taylor, illustrated by Beth & Joe Krush
from Lizzie Skurnick Books
Family Stories for 2nd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$12.95
All-of-a-Kind Family Uptown
All-of-a-Kind Family Series #4
by Sydney Taylor, illustrated by Mary Stevens
from Lizzie Skurnick Books
Family Stories for 2nd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$12.95
All-of-a-Kind Family Uptown
All-of-a-Kind Family Series #4
by Sydney Taylor; illustrated by Mary Stevens
from Follett Publishing Co.
Family Stories for 2nd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$34.00 (1 in stock)
Almost Home
Daughters of the Faith
by Wendy G. Lawton
from Moody Press
Historical Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
in Daughters of the Faith (Location: SER-DAU)
$7.99 $5.00 (4 in stock)
Along Came Galileo
by Jeanne Bendick
from Beautiful Feet Books
Biography for 4th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$12.95
Always Inventing
by Tom L. Matthews
from National Geographic
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.99
Amazing Impossible Erie Canal
by Cheryl Harness
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Historical Non-Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
in Western Expansion (1800-1898) (Location: HISA-19WES)
$7.99
Amelia Earhart: Young Aviator
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Beatrice Gormley
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
$7.99
Amelia to Zora
1st edition from Charlesbridge
for 3rd-5th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$7.95
America At War: Korean War
by John Perritano
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Korean War (1950-1953) (Location: HISA-20KW)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
America First updated
by Lawton B. Evans, Updated & Revised by Rachel Lebowitz
from Charlotte Mason Plenary LLC
for 4th-6th grade
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
America from the Beginning - Student Manual
by Joshua Franklin, Debbie Lawrence
from Answers in Genesis
for 3rd-8th grade
in U.S. History Curriculum (Location: HISCUR-US)
$29.00 (1 in stock)
America Grows Up
A History for Peter #2
by Gerald W. Johnson
from Yesterday's Classics
for 4th-7th grade
in New Nation (1783-1800) (Location: HISA-18NN)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
America In Korean War
by KidCaps
from BookCaps
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in Korean War (1950-1953) (Location: HISA-20KW)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
America in the 1900s and 1910s
Decades of American History
by Jim Callan
from Facts On File
for 5th-8th grade
in 20th Century America (Location: HISA-20)
$25.00 (1 in stock)
America in the 1930s
Decades of American History
by Jim Callan
from Facts On File
for 5th-8th grade
in 20th Century America (Location: HISA-20)
$35.00 (1 in stock)
America in the 1970s
from Facts On File
for 5th-8th grade
in 20th Century America (Location: HISA-20)
$25.00 (1 in stock)
America in the 1990s
by George Ochoa
from Facts On File
for 5th-8th grade
in 20th Century America (Location: HISA-20)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
America in the Time of Franklin Delano Roosevelt
by Sally Senzel Isaacs
from Heinemann-Raintree
for 2nd-5th grade
in World War II (1939-1945) (Location: HISA-20WW2)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
America in the Time of Lewis and Clark
by Sally Senzel Isaacs
from Heinemann-Raintree
for 2nd-5th grade
in 19th Century America (Location: HISA-19C)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
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