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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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3-D Engineering
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Adventures of Munford: Munford Meets Lewis & Clark
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Almost Home
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Historical Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
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1966 Caldecott Medal winner
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America in the Time of Abraham Lincoln
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Ancient Civilizations
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Ancient Rome Activity Book
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And the Word Came With Power
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$8.50 (2 in stock)
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Historical House: 1969
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Apprentice
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Around the World in a Hundred Years
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Biography for 2nd-5th grade
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Australia and Oceania
True Books
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Beethoven Lives Upstairs
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Best Little Stories from World War II
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1996 Printing from Montpelier Publishing
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Blue Lotus
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Book About Christopher Columbus
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Boy of Old Prague
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By the Dawn's Early Light
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$3.00 (1 in stock)
Canada - Coloring Book
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$2.00 (3 in stock)
Canadian Province Notebook
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$6.00 (2 in stock)
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Historical Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
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Historical House: 1895
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Changing Times: Health & Disease
by Kathy Elgin
1st edition from Compass Point Books
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
Child's First Book of American History
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Child's Story of America (old)
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Greek Mythology for 3rd-8th grade
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Children's Homer
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from Simon and Schuster
Greek Mythology for 3rd-8th grade
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Children's Homer
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Greek Mythology for 3rd-8th grade
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Civil War Days
American Kids in History
by David C. King
1st edition from John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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Civil War Handbook - Confederate Captain
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Civil War Handbook - Union Lieutenant
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Civil War Heroines
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$2.50 (1 in stock)
Cleopatra
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from William Morrow & Company
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
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Colonial America
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from Scholastic Inc.
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in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Colonial Times 1600-1700
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in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
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Colonial Town: Williamsburg
by Bobbie Kalman
Revised from Crabtree Publishing
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in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
$4.50 (2 in stock)
Coloring Book of the Olympics
by E. Knill
Csm from Bellerophon Books
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$2.00 (2 in stock)
Columbus Discovers America - Coloring Book
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from Dover Publications
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$4.99 $3.00 (2 in stock)
Coming On Home Soon
by Jacqueline Woodson
1st edition from Scholastic Inc.
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
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$2.50 (1 in stock)
Coming to America
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$2.50 (1 in stock)
D is for Doufu
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in China (Location: HISMC-CHI)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Daniel Boone
by Carol Greene
from Children's Press
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$3.00 (1 in stock)
Davy Crockett, Young Pioneer
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from Troll Associates
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$2.00 (1 in stock)
Diego Rodriguez de Silva y Velasquez
Art For Children
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Digging Up Dinosaurs
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Discovering Great Artists
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2nd edition from Chicago Review Press
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Discovering Great Artists (old)
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from Bright Ring Publishing
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$4.00 (2 in stock)
DK Biography: Marie Curie
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Douglas Macarthur: American Hero
Book Report Biographies
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Duke Ellington
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Early Civlizations: Viking Life
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First Edition from Scholastic Reference
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Earthquake!
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Eric the Red & Leif the Lucky
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Eureka! It's Television!
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Explore South America
Explore the Continents
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
Explorers News
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Exploring Ancient Civilizations: Medieval Times
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$3.00 (1 in stock)
F is for Freedom
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from Scholastic Press
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$1.50 (1 in stock)
Famous Children: Haydn
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from Barron's
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$3.50 (1 in stock)
Famous Children: Mozart
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from Barron's
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in Music History (Location: ELE-MUSHIS)
$4.50 (2 in stock)
Famous Figures of Ancient Times
by Cathy Diez-Luckie
First Edition from Figures in Motion
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Famous Figures of the American Revolution
from Figures in Motion
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in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$12.00 (3 in stock)
Famous Men of Modern Times - Student Guide
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from Memoria Press
for 3rd-8th grade
in Memoria Press American & Modern Studies (Location: HISCUR-MP)
$19.90 $12.00 (3 in stock)
Famous Men of Modern Times - Teacher Guide
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from Memoria Press
for 3rd-8th grade
in Memoria Press American & Modern Studies (Location: HISCUR-MP)
$19.90 $12.00 (1 in stock)
Finding Providence
An I Can Read Chapter Book
by Avi
from HarperCollins
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$4.99 $2.50 (1 in stock)
First Book of America
by L. Somerville
from Usborne
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in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
$2.25 (1 in stock)
Five Notable Inventors
by Wade Hudson
from Cartwheel Books
in Scholastic / Hello Reader! (Location: EAR-SCH)
$1.50 (1 in stock)
Flight of the Fugitives
Trailblazer Books
by Dave & Neta Jackson
from Bethany House
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in Trailblazer Books (Location: SER-TRAIL)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Focus on Presidents
by Cynthia Holzschuher
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in American Presidency (Location: HISV-PRE)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
For Home & Country
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from Scholastic Inc.
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in American Civil War (1860-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
$3.50 (2 in stock)
Forever Forest
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from Dawn Publications
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$4.50 (4 in stock)
Forty-Acre Swindle
TrailBlazer Books
by Dave & Neta Jackson
from Bethany House
for 3rd-7th grade
in Trailblazer Books (Location: SER-TRAIL)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Geography: A Literature Approach (old)
by Rea Berg
from Beautiful Feet Books
for 2nd-7th grade
in Old Edition History & Geography (Location: OHIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
George Washington's Mother
An All Aboard Reading Reader Level 3
by Jean Fritz
from Grosset & Dunlap
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in Early Readers (Location: EAR-MISC)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Ghosts of the White House
by Cheryl Harness
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in American Presidency (Location: HISV-PRE)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Giants of Science: Isaac Newton
by Kathleen Krull, Illustrated by Boris Kulikov
from Puffin Books
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Gilgamesh the King
by Ludmila Zeman
from Tundra Books (NY)
for 1st-4th grade
$8.95 $6.00 (1 in stock)
Girls Think of Everything
by Catherine Thimmesh
from Houghton Mifflin
for 3rd-4th grade
in Inventions & Discoveries (Location: SCI-INV)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Glorious Flight
by Martin & Alice Provensen
from Puffin Books
Historical Non-Fiction/Picture Books for 1st-3rd grade
1984 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
God Speaks Numanggang (old cover)
by David Hazell
from My Father's World
for 2nd-4th grade
in My Father's World (Location: CUR-MFW)
$4.50 $2.50 (2 in stock)
Going West!
Kalideoscope Kids Book
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from Williamson Publishing Company
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
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$7.50 (1 in stock)
Gold Cadillac
by Mildred D. Taylor
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Gold Cadillac
by Mildred D. Taylor
Reprint from Puffin Books
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in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Gold Rush
by Bobbie Kalman
from Crabtree Publishing
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in California State (Location: HISA-19CGR)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Golden Fleece
by Padraic Colum & Willy Pogany
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Greek Mythology for 3rd-8th grade
1922 Newbery Honor Book
$10.99 $6.00 (2 in stock)
Great Wall of China
by Leonard Everett Fisher
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 3rd-5th grade
in China (Location: HISMC-CHI)
$7.99 $5.00 (2 in stock)
Greece
by Jane Pofahl
from Instructional Fair
for 3rd-6th grade
in Ancient Greece (Location: HISW-ANGR)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Greek Life
by John Guy
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-7th grade
in Ancient Greece (Location: HISW-ANGR)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Greetings From the 50 States
by Sheila Keenan, Illustrated by Selina Alko
from Scholastic Press
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in United States Geography (Location: GEO-REFUS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
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