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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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Active Filters: 3rd grade (Ages 8-9), Library Binding, In-Stock Books & Materials
Acadia National Park
Road Trip: National Parks
by Kathleen Connors
from Gareth Stevens Publishing
for 1st-3rd grade
in Landmarks & Symbols of the United States (Location: HISV-LANUS)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Akavak
by James Houston
from Harcourt, Brace & World
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
American Revolution
Revolution!
by R. G. Grant
from Raintree Steck-Vaughn Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Among the Plains Indians
from Lerner Publishing Group
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Art of the Spanish in the United States and Puerto Rico
by Shirley Glubok
from Macmillan
for 2nd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Assyrians
by Elaine Landau
from Millbrook Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Ancient Mesopotamia & Persia (Location: HISW-ANME)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Athenians In the Classical Period
Life Long Ago
by Leonard Weisgard (pictures and text)
from Coward McCann
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$48.00 (1 in stock)
Battle of Valcour Bay
Triangle Histories: The Revolutionary War
by Scott Ingram
from Blackbirch Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Bears, Pirates and Silver Lace
by Anne B. Fisher; illustrated by Phil Nesbitt
from Binford & Mort Publishing
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Ben Franklin
See and Read: Beginning to Read Biography
by Estelle Friedman, illustrated by James Caraway
from G.P. Putnam's Sons
for 1st-3rd grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Benjamin Franklin
Makers of America
by Ruth Cromer Weir, illustrated by Rus Anderson
from Abingdon Press
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Benjamin Franklin: Printer, Scientist, Author, and Diplomat
Spirit of America: Our People
by Ann Heinrichs
from Child's World
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Big Wave
by Pearl S. Buck
from HarperCollins
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Biography of Tea
by Carrie Gleason
from Crabtree Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Food & Farming Around the World (Location: HISMC-FOOD)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Black Courage
by A. E. Schraff
from Macrae-Smith Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Black Ships Before Troy
by Rosemary Sutcliff & Alan Lee
from Frances Lincoln
Greek Mythology for 3rd-8th grade
$22.99
California Plant & Animal Communities
by Barbara J. Collins
from California State Department of Education
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage Readers & Textbooks (Location: VIN-READ)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Castles
from Franklin Watts
for 3rd-6th grade
in Middle Ages (Location: HISW-MID)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Christmas on the Prairie
by Joan. Anderson
from Clarion Books
for 2nd-5th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$8.00 (2 in stock)
Claim to the Wilderness
by Peter John Stephens
First Edition, First Printing from W. W. Norton and Co.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Clara Barton: Civil War Nurse
Historical American Biographies
by Nancy Whitelaw
from Enslow
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Cliff Dwellers of Walnut Canyon
by Carroll Lane Fenton and Alice Epstein, illustrated by Albert Orbaan and Carroll Lane Fenton
from The John Day Company
for 1st-3rd grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Closer Look at Vikings
from Hamish Hamilton
for 3rd-6th grade
in Middle Ages (Location: HISW-MID)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Colonial People: The Silversmith
by Wil Mara
from Marshall Cavendish Education
for 2nd-5th grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Colonial Places
by Sarah Howarth
from Millbrook Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Confederate Girl: The Diary of Carrie Berry, 1864
by Carrie Berry; edited by Christy Steele and Anne Todd
from Capstone Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in American Civil War (1860-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
$5.00 (2 in stock)
Countries of the World: Sweden
by Janet Riehecky
from Bridgestone Books
for 2nd-4th grade
in Diversity & Multicultural Books (Location: HISMC-MUL)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Cowboy Soldier
by Donald Russell, illustrated by Max Ranft
from Benefic Press
for 3rd-4th grade
in Vintage Readers & Textbooks (Location: VIN-READ)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Cuba
Countries of the World
by William P. Mara
from Bridgestone Books
for 1st-3rd grade
in Latin & South America (Location: HISMC-LAT)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Dakota Dugout
by Ann Turner; illustrated by Ronald Himler
from Macmillan
for 2nd-4th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Destined for Space (Smithsonian)
by Don Nardo
from Capstone Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Space Race & Exploration (Location: HISA-20SPR)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Discoverer: The Story of a Satellite
by Michael Chester and Saunders B. Kramer
from G.P. Putnam's Sons
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
$18.00 (1 in stock)
Drinking Gourd
An I Can Read Book Level 3
by F. N. Monjo
from HarperCrest
Historical Fiction for 2nd-4th grade
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Early American Industrial Revolution
Let Freedom Ring
by Katie Bagley
from Bridgestone Books
for 3rd-5th grade
in Industrialization & Organized Labor (Location: HISA-19IND)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Earthquake!
by Kate Wilson
from Steck-Vaughn Company
for 3rd-5th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Edgar Degas
Artists Through the Ages
by Alix Wood
from Windmill Books
for 2nd-5th grade
in Artists & Illustrators (Location: ELE-ARTISTS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Eliza Pinckney
Weekly Reader Heroes of the Revolution
by Susan & John Lee
from Children's Press
for 2nd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Empire State Building
by Meish Goldish
from Bearport Publishing
for 2nd-4th grade
in Landmarks & Symbols of the United States (Location: HISV-LANUS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Enchantment of America: New England Country
by Dorothy Wood, illustrated by Tom Dunnington
Second Printing from Children's Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Readers & Textbooks (Location: VIN-READ)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Fast Forward Egyptian Mummies
by Henrietta McCall, illustrated by Dave Antram
from Franklin Watts
for 3rd-6th grade
in Ancient Egypt (Location: HISW-ANEG)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Festivals of the World: Trinidad
by Royston Ellis, edited by Fiona Conboy
from Gareth Stevens Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Latin & South America (Location: HISMC-LAT)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
First Book of Ancient Rome
by Charles Alexander Robinson, Jr., Revised by Lorna Greenberg
Revised Edition from Franklin Watts
for 3rd-6th grade
in Ancient Rome (Location: HISW-ANRO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
First Olympic Games
from Silver Burdett Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Ancient Greece (Location: HISW-ANGR)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Francisco Vasquez de Coronado
Latinos in American History
by Jim Whiting
from Mitchell Lane Publishers
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Future in Space
Isaac Asimov's Library of the Universe
by Isaac Asimov
from Gareth Stevens Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Space Race & Exploration (Location: HISA-20SPR)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Going to War in the 19th Century
Armies of the Past
by Craig Dodd
from Franklin Watts
for 3rd-6th grade
in Military & Weapon History (Location: HISV-MILIT)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Grand Papa and Ellen Aroon
by F. N. Monjo, illustrated by Richard Cuffari
1st edition from Holt, Rinehart and Winston
for 3rd-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
by Santana Hunt
from Gareth Stevens Publishing
for 1st-3rd grade
in Landmarks & Symbols of the United States (Location: HISV-LANUS)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Her Story, Her Words
by Frances E. Ruffin
from Rosen Central
for 2nd-4th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
History Beneath Your Feet: Ancient Rome
by Sean Sheehan
from Raintree Steck-Vaughn Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Ancient Rome (Location: HISW-ANRO)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Homes: Shelter and Living Space
by Joanna Foster, illustrated by Kathleen Heiden
from Parents Magazine Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Horse in Art
by Ruth Zuelke
from Lerner Publishing Group
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Houses of Parliament
by Nigel Smith
from Steck-Vaughn Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in International Landmarks & Symbols (Location: HISV-LANINT)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
How and Why Wonder Book of the Polar Regions
by Irving Robbin, illustrated by Shannon Stirnweis
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in How and Why Wonder Books (Location: VIN-H&W)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
How Men Discovered the World
by Hans R. Hecke, illustrated by Nikolaus Plump, freely translated by Moya Gillespie
from Lerner Publishing Group
for 3rd-6th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
How People Learned to Move About
by Shirley Chilton, Roy Chilton, Robert Chilton; illustrated by N. Kay Stevenson and Kathleen McCarthy
from Elk Grove Press
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
How People Lived in Ancient Egypt
How People Lived
by Jane Bingham
from PowerKids Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Ancient Egypt (Location: HISW-ANEG)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
How They Built the Statue of Liberty
by Mary J. Shapiro, illustrated by Huck Scarry
from Random House
for 1st-4th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
In 1492
by Jean Marzollo
from Scholastic Inc.
Picture Book Biography for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
In Their Own Words: World War I
by Nicholas Saunders
from Gareth Stevens Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in World War I (1914-1919) (Location: HISA-20WW1)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Indian Costumes
Gray-Wolf's Indian Culture series
by Robert Hofsinde
from William Morrow & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Indians at Home
Gray-Wolf's Indian Culture series
by Robert Hofsinde
from William Morrow & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Indians of Mexico
A Book to Begin On
by Margaret C. Farquhar, illustrated by Mel Klapholz
First Edition from Holt, Rinehart and Winston
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$16.00 (1 in stock)
Invaders
by Martin Windrow
from ARCO
for 3rd-8th grade
in Military & Weapon History (Location: HISV-MILIT)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
It's My State! Oregon
It's My State!
by Joyce Hart and Jacqueline Laks Gorman
from Marshall Cavendish Education
for 3rd-6th grade
in Pacific States (Location: HISV-PNW)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Italian Children
by Mabel O'Donnell
from Row, Peterson and Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Journal of One Davey Wyatt
by Donald Honig, illustrated by Sam Fink
from Franklin Watts
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Journey to the Past: Ancient Egypt
by Romano Solbiati
from Raintree Steck-Vaughn Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Ancient Egypt (Location: HISW-ANEG)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Junipero Serra
Fact Finders
by Tyler Schumacher
from Capstone Press
for 2nd-4th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Lake Huron
Fact Finders
by Anne Ylvisaker
from Capstone Press
for 2nd-4th grade
in Landmarks & Symbols of the United States (Location: HISV-LANUS)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Let's Discover Canada: Prince Edward Island
by Suzanne LeVert
from Chelsea House Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Canada (Location: HISMC-CAN)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Let's Visit Brazil
by John C. Caldwell
Updated from The John Day Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Liberty Bell
Primary Sources of American Symbols
by Jennifer Silate
1st edition from PowerKids Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Landmarks & Symbols of the United States (Location: HISV-LANUS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Life and Times of Buddha
by Mona Gedney
from Mitchell Lane Publishers
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Life and Work of Henry Moore
by Sean Connolly
from Heinemann Library
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Life During the Great Civilizations: The Inca
by Charles & Linda George
from Blackbirch Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Ancient America (Location: HISW-ANAM)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Magic of Spices
by E. Joseph Dreany
from G.P. Putnam's Sons
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$25.00 (1 in stock)
Man Named Washington
by Gertrude Norman, illustrated by James Caraway
from G.P. Putnam's Sons
for 1st-3rd grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$24.00 (1 in stock)
Maryland Colony: Lord Baltimore
Building America
by Jim Whiting
from Mitchell Lane Publishers
for 3rd-5th grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Mexico
by John Howard
Rev Sub from Silver Burdett Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Michelangelo
Masterpieces: Artists and Their Works
by Shelley Swanson Sateren
from Capstone Press
for 2nd-4th grade
in Artists & Illustrators (Location: ELE-ARTISTS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Mission to Mars
Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science Stage 2
by Franklyn M. Branley, Illustrated by True Kelley, Foreword by Neil Armstrong
from HarperCollins
for 2nd-3rd grade
in Space Race & Exploration (Location: HISA-20SPR)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Modern Rhymes: Ancient Greece
Modern Rhymes About Ancient Times
by Susan Altman, Susan Lechner
from Children's Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Ancient Greece (Location: HISW-ANGR)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Nefertiti: The Mystery Queen
by Burnham Holmes
from Raintree
for 2nd-5th grade
in Ancient Egypt (Location: HISW-ANEG)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Netherlands
by Ronald Seth
from Chelsea House Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Europe (Location: HISMC-EUR)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
New True Book of Bald Eagles
by Emilie U. Lepthien
from Children's Press
for 1st-3rd grade
in Birds (Location: SCI-BIRD)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
New True Book: The Chippewa
A New True Book
by Alice Osinski
from Children's Press
for 1st-3rd grade
in Native Americans (Location: HISA-19NAT)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Nothing to Wear But Clothes
by Frank Jupo
from E.P. Dutton & Co.
for 1st-3rd grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Numbers Old and New
The Reason Why Series
by Irving and Ruth Adler, illustrated by Peggy Adler
from The John Day Company
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Okolo of Nigeria
by Peter Buckley
from E.M. Hale and Company
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Ol' Paul the Mighty Logger
by Glen Rounds
from Holiday House
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Orcas Around Me
by Debra Page, illustrated by Leslie W. Bowman
from Albert Whitman & Company
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Patrick Henry
The Founding Fathers
by Stuart A. Kallen
from ABDO Publishing Co.
for 2nd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Paul Gauguin
Artists Through the Ages
by Alix Wood
from Windmill Books
for 2nd-5th grade
in Artists & Illustrators (Location: ELE-ARTISTS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Pegasus
by Marianna Mayer & K. Y. Craft
1st ed from Morrow Eagle
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Pet Dragon
by Christoph Niemann
First Edition first Printing from Greenwillow Books
for 1st-3rd grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Peter Jumping Horse at the Stampede
by Gordon Langley Hall, illustrated by Jennifer Kent
from Holt, Rinehart and Winston
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Picture Book of Dwight David Eisenhower
by David A. Adler
1st edition from Holiday House
Picture Book Biography for Preschool-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Picture Book of John Hancock
by David A. Adler, Michael S. Adler
from Holiday House
for 2nd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Ponce de Leon
by Trish Kline
from Rourke Publishing
for 1st-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
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