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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Active Filters: 7th grade (Ages 12-13), In-Stock Books & Materials
...and now Miguel
by Joseph Krumgold
from Thomas Crowell
for 5th-8th grade
1954 Newbery Medal winner
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100 Great Wonders of the World
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101 Hymn Stories
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101 Hymn Stories
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40th Anniversary from Kregel Publications
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$18.99
101 Hymn Stories - audio book on CD
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101 More Hymn Stories
by Kenneth Osbeck
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102 Favorite Paintings By Norman Rockwell
by Norman Rockwell
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13 Colonies: Georgia
by Roberta Wiener and James R. Arnold
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$7.00 (1 in stock)
1815 to the Present - Enhanced CD
by Laurie Detweiler
from Veritas Press
for 6th-8th grade
in Veritas Press History (Location: HISCUR-VP)
$17.50
1815 to the Present - Flashcards
from Veritas Press
Modern History Curriculum for 6th-8th grade
in Veritas Press History (Location: HISCUR-VP)
$29.00 $15.00 (1 in stock)
1815 to the Present - Home Teacher Manual
by Marlin & Laurie Detweiler
2nd edition from Veritas Press
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$39.00 $24.00 (1 in stock)
1815 to the Present - Song CD
from Veritas Press
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$9.00
20 Exciting Plays for Medieval History Classes
by Dean Bowman
from Walch Publishing
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$25.00
200 Questions About American History - Student Guide
by Sean Brooks
from Memoria Press
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$11.50
200 Questions About American History - Teacher Guide
by Sean Brooks
from Memoria Press
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$6.00
20th Century Wars
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26 Letters
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50 States Flipper
from Christopher Lee Publications
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$7.96
9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation
by Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colon
from Hill and Wang
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$8.50 (1 in stock)
A Christmas Carol Audio Drama - 2 CD set
by Charles Dickens
from Focus on the Family
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$7.00 (1 in stock)
Abe Lincoln
Landmark Series
by Sterling North
from Random House
Biography for 5th-8th grade
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Abe Lincoln Grows Up
by Carl Sandburg
from Graphia
Biography for 5th-8th grade
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Abe Lincoln Grows Up
by Carl Sandburg, illustrated by James Daugherty
from Harcourt, Brace & Company
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$9.00 (1 in stock)
Abigail Adams
by Natalie S. Bober
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Biography for 4th-7th grade
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$13.95
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's World
by Genevieve Foster, expanded by Joanna Foster
from Beautiful Feet Books
Historical Non-fiction for 7th-10th grade
1945 Newbery Honor Book
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$21.95
Accidental Voyage
Mr. Pipes Series #4
by Doug Bond
from P&R Publishing
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Across America on an Emigrant Train
by Jim Murphy
from Sandpiper Books
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1994 NCTE Orbis Pictus Award
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$10.95
Across Five Aprils
by Irene Hunt
from Berkley Books
Historical Fiction for 6th-9th grade
1965 Newbery Honor Book
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Across Five Aprils
by Irene Hunt
from Berkley Books
Historical Fiction for 6th-9th grade
1965 Newbery Honor Book
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$9.99
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
Puffin Modern Classics
by Elizabeth Gray
from Puffin Books
Historical Fiction for 3rd-8th grade
1943 Newbery Medal winner
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$8.99
Adoniram Judson
Christian Heroes: Then & Now
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from YWAM Publishing
Biography for 4th-7th grade
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$11.99
Adopted by Indians
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Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Puffin Classics
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Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Sterling Classics
by Mark Twain, illustrated by Scott McKowen
from Sterling Publishing Co.
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$14.95
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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$10.00 (1 in stock)
Adventures of Robin Hood
Everyman's Library Children's Classics
by Roger Green, illustrated by Walter Crane
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 5th-9th grade
$20.00
Adventures of Robin Hood
Puffin Classics
by Roger Green, illustrated by Arthur Hall
from Puffin Books
Legends and Folklore for 5th-9th grade
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$8.99
Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Dover Thrift Editions
by Mark Twain
from Dover Publications
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$5.00
Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Puffin Classics
by Mark Twain
from Penguin Classics
Realistic Fiction for 6th-10th grade
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$10.00
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's Vanishing Wildlife
by Chris & Tilde Stuart
1st edition from Smithsonian Books
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$8.00 (1 in stock)
After the Dancing Days
by Margaret I. Rostkowski
from HarperTrophy
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After the War
by Carol Matas
from Simon Pulse
Historical Fiction for 5th-8th grade
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Against All Odds
by Jim Stier
from YWAM Publishing
for 7th-Adult
in International Adventures (Location: BIO-INTADV)
$14.99
Against the World
by Henry Coray
from Inheritance Publications
Biography for 5th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$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
for 5th-Adult
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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Airplane
Inventions that Shaped the World
by Nancy Robinson Masters
from Franklin Watts
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in Things That Go (Location: SCI-TTGO)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Al Capone Does My Shirts
by Gennifer Choldenko
Reprint from Puffin Books
for 7th-10th grade
2005 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99
Alamo All Stars
Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales #6
by Nathan Hale
from Amulet Books
for 3rd-8th grade
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$14.99
Alan Shepard
Christian Heroes: Then and Now
by Geoff Benge, Janet Benge
from YWAM Publishing
for 5th-8th grade
in Heroes of History (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
Albert Schweitzer
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from YWAM Publishing
Biography for 4th-8th grade
in Christian Heroes: Then and Now (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
Album of the Civil War
by William Loren Katz
from Franklin Watts
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Alexander Hamilton - Coloring Book
by Steven James Petruccio
Clr Csm from Dover Publications
for 2nd-Adult
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$5.99
Alexander the Great
by Jacob Abbott
from Canon Press
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$12.00
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
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$30.00 (1 in stock)
All American History Volume I - Companion Guide Digital Download
by Celeste W. Rakes
from Bright Ideas Press
for 5th-8th grade
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$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
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$18.95 $6.00 (1 in stock)
All American History Volume II - Companion Guide Digital Download
by Celeste W. Rakes
from Bright Ideas Press
for 6th-9th grade
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$29.95
All American History Volume II - Student Reader
by Celeste W. Rakes
from Bright Ideas Press
for 6th-9th grade
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$64.95
All He Knew
by Helen Frost
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
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$17.99
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
Along Came Galileo
by Jeanne Bendick
from Beautiful Feet Books
Biography for 4th-8th grade
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$12.95
Amelia Earhart
Lives to Remember
by Burke Davis
from G.P. Putnam's Sons
for 7th-12th grade
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$14.00 (1 in stock)
America and Vietnam
by Albert Marrin
from Beautiful Feet Books
Historical Non-Fiction for 7th-10th grade
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$13.95
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
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$10.00 (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
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$25.00 (1 in stock)
America in the 1990s
by George Ochoa
from Facts On File
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$9.00 (1 in stock)
America is Born
A History for Peter #1
by Gerald W. Johnson (iilustrations by Leonard Everett Fisher)
from William Morrow & Company
for 4th-7th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$45.00 (1 in stock)
America the Beautiful - Answer Key and Literature Guide
by Charlene Notgrass
2nd edition from Notgrass Company
for 5th-8th grade
in Notgrass America the Beautiful (Location: HISCUR-NG)
$6.00 $4.00 (1 in stock)
America the Beautiful - Curriculum Package
by Charlene Notgrass
2nd edition from Notgrass Company
for 5th-8th grade
in Notgrass America the Beautiful (Location: HISCUR-NG)
$125.00
America the Beautiful - Lesson Review
by Charlene Notgrass
2nd edition from Notgrass Company
for 7th-8th grade
in Notgrass America the Beautiful (Location: HISCUR-NG)
$12.00
America the Beautiful - Literature Package
by Charlene Notgrass & Bethany Poore
from Notgrass Company
for 5th-8th grade
in Notgrass America the Beautiful (Location: HISCUR-NG)
$64.64
America the Beautiful - Maps
by Nate McCurdy & Charlene Notgrass
2nd edition from Notgrass Company
for 5th-8th grade
in Notgrass America the Beautiful (Location: HISCUR-NG)
$10.00
America the Beautiful - Timeline
by Ray & Charlene Notgrass
2nd edition from Notgrass Company
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in Notgrass America the Beautiful (Location: HISCUR-NG)
$10.00
America the Beautiful Part 1
by Charlene Notgrass
2nd edition from Notgrass Company
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in Notgrass America the Beautiful (Location: HISCUR-NG)
$45.00
America the Beautiful Part 2
by Charlene Notgrass
2nd edition from Notgrass Company
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in Notgrass America the Beautiful (Location: HISCUR-NG)
$45.00
America's Fascinating Indian Heritage
by James A. Maxwell
from Reader's Digest
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
America's God and Country
by William J. Federer
from Amerisearch
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
America's Heroes
from SP, L.L.C.
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
America's War Heroes
by Marilyn Boyer
from Master Books
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in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$10.39
America: The First 350 Years - MP3 CD
by Steve Wilkins
from Covenant Publications
for 7th-Adult
in History Conferences & Lectures (Location: HISRF-CONF)
$25.00
American Art Bingo Volume I
by Kristin Draeger
from ArtK12
for 3rd-10th grade
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$16.96
American Art History I - Bundle
by Kristin Draeger
from ArtK12
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in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
American Art History II - Bundle
by Kristin Draeger
from ArtK12
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American Art History Volume I
by Kristin Draeger
from ArtK12
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in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$33.96
American Art History Volume II
by Kristin Draeger
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$33.96 $27.00 (1 in stock)
American Heritage Book of the Presidents and Famous Americans Volume 1
from Dell Publishing
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
American Heritage Book of the Presidents and Famous Americans Volume 10
from Dell Publishing
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$5.00 (2 in stock)
American Heritage Book of the Presidents and Famous Americans Volume 12
from Dell Publishing
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
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