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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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...and now Miguel
by Joseph Krumgold
from Thomas Crowell
for 5th-8th grade
1954 Newbery Medal winner
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
100 Great Wonders of the World
from Barnes & Noble
for 5th-Adult
in International Landmarks & Symbols (Location: HISV-LANINT)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
102 Favorite Paintings By Norman Rockwell
by Norman Rockwell
from Crown Publishers
for 7th-Adult
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
26 Letters
by Oscar Ogg
from Thomas Crowell
for 7th-12th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Abe Lincoln Grows Up
by Carl Sandburg, illustrated by James Daugherty
from Harcourt, Brace & Company
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Adventures of Perrine
Windermere Readers #10
by Hector Malot, translated by Gil Meynier, adapted by Edith Heal
1954 edition from Rand McNally
for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Africa's Vanishing Wildlife
by Chris & Tilde Stuart
1st edition from Smithsonian Books
for 5th-10th grade
in Africa (Location: HISMC-AFR)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Album of the Civil War
by William Loren Katz
from Franklin Watts
for 7th-Adult
in American Civil War (1860-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
$4.50 (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
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$30.00 (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's Fascinating Indian Heritage
by James A. Maxwell
from Reader's Digest
for 7th-10th grade
in Native Americans (Location: HISA-19NAT)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
America's Heroes
from SP, L.L.C.
for 6th-Adult
in War on Terror (Location: HISA-21WT)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
American Heritage Book of the Presidents and Famous Americans Volume 1
from Dell Publishing
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$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)
American Heritage Book of the Presidents and Famous Americans Volume 2
from Dell Publishing
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
American Heritage Book of the Presidents and Famous Americans Volume 4
from Dell Publishing
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
American Heritage Book of the Presidents and Famous Americans Volume 5
from Dell Publishing
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
American Heritage Book of the Presidents and Famous Americans Volume 6
from Dell Publishing
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
American Heritage Book of the Presidents and Famous Americans Volume 7
from Dell Publishing
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
American Heritage Book of the Presidents and Famous Americans Volume 8
from Dell Publishing
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
American Heritage Book of the Presidents and Famous Americans Volume 9
from Dell Publishing
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
American Heritage History of the Indian Wars
by Robert M. Utley, Wilcomb E. Washburn
Revised from American Heritage Publishing Co.
for 6th-Adult
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
American Heroes of the 20th Century
Landmark Giant #14
by Harold & Doris Faber
from Random House
for 5th-8th grade
in Landmark Giants (Location: VIN-LAN)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
American Indian Tales and Legends
by Vladimir Hulpach, illustrated by Miloslav Troup
from Paul Hamlyn
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Americans Before Columbus
by Elizabeth Baity, illustrated by C.B. Falls
from Viking Press
for 5th-10th grade
1952 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Ancient Egypt
by Karen Sullivan
First Edition from Brockhampton Press
for 5th-8th grade
in Ancient Egypt (Location: HISW-ANEG)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Ancient Egypt: Life, Myth, and Art
by JoAnne Fletcher
First Edition from Duncan Baird
for 5th-9th grade
in Ancient Egypt (Location: HISW-ANEG)
$8.50 (1 in stock)
Ancient Rome
Discoveries Series
by Dr. Paul C. Roberts
from Barnes & Noble
for 4th-9th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Ancient World: The Chinese
The Ancient World
by Pamela Odijk
from Macmillan
for 4th-8th grade
in China (Location: HISMC-CHI)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Ann of Ava
by Ethel Hubbard, Illustrated by Margaret Ayer
2017 Reprint from Accelerated Christian Education
for 8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Anna of Byzantium
by Tracy Barrett
from Delacorte Press
for 7th-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl
by Anne Frank, translated by B. M. Mooyaart-Doubleday with an introduction by Eleanor Roosevelt
Book Club Edition from Nelson Doubleday, Inc.
for 6th-10th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Apache Land
by Ross Santee
from Charles Scribner's Sons
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Apollo on the Moon
by Henry S. F. Cooper, Jr.
from Dial Press
for 6th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Atlas of United States History
from Hammond World Atlas Corporation
for 6th-12th grade
in Historical & Cultural Atlases (Location: HISRF-ATLAS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Atlas of World History
1st edition from DK Publishing
for 4th-10th grade
in Historical & Cultural Atlases (Location: HISRF-ATLAS)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Australia
by Gary Lewis
from Peter Antill-Rose
for 6th-12th grade
in Australia & Oceania (Location: HISMC-AU)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Australia: Beyond the Black Stump
by Gary Lewis
from Peter Antill-Rose
for 3rd-Adult
in Australia & Oceania (Location: HISMC-AU)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Authoress of the Odyssey
by Samuel Butler, introduction by David Grene
from University of Chicago
for 8th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
B. Franklin, Printer
by David A. Adler
from Holiday House
for 6th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.00 (2 in stock)
Baby Blessing
by Welleran Poltarnees
from Laughing Elephant
for Kindergarten-Adult
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Battles of the Ancient World: 1285 BC ~ AD 451
by Kelly Devries, et. al
from Metro Books
for 6th-8th grade
in Military & Weapon History (Location: HISV-MILIT)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Bayeux Tapestry
by Norman Denny & Josephine Filmer-Sankey
First Edition from Atheneum
for 7th-Adult
in Middle Ages (Location: HISW-MID)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Before Columbus
by Charles C. Mann
from Atheneum
for 4th-8th grade
in Ancient America (Location: HISW-ANAM)
$24.99 $18.00 (1 in stock)
Before Columbus
by Charles C. Mann
from Atheneum
for 4th-8th grade
in Ancient America (Location: HISW-ANAM)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Beggar's King
by Howard C. Emmons
from Van Kampen Press
for 7th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Betsy and Joe
by Maud Hart Lovelace, illustrated by Vera Neville
15th Printing from Thomas Y. Crowell & Co.
for 6th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$45.00 (1 in stock)
Black Falcon
by Armstrong Sperry
from John C. Winston
for 6th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$18.00 (1 in stock)
Black Man in America
from Franklin Watts
for 6th-12th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Black Rose
by Thomas B. Costain
from Doubleday & Company
for 8th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Black Symbol
by Annabel & Edgar Johnson
from Harper & Row
for 6th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Bomb
by Steve Sheinkin
First Edition from Flash Point
for 5th-9th grade
2013 Newbery Honor Book, 2013 Robert F. Sibert Medal winner
in World War II (1939-1945) (Location: HISA-20WW2)
$24.99 $14.00 (1 in stock)
Book of the Ancient World
by Dorothy Mills
from Dawn Chorus
for 5th-8th grade
in Ancient History (Location: HISW-ANC)
$18.00 (1 in stock)
Boston
from Crescent Books
for 4th-Adult
in Landmarks & Symbols of the United States (Location: HISV-LANUS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Bravo! Brava!
by Anne Siberell
from Oxford University
for 3rd-8th grade
in Opera & Choral Music (Location: ELE-MUSOP)
$24.00 $12.00 (1 in stock)
Bret Harte: Stories of the Early West
by Bret Harte
from Platt and Munk Publishers
for 8th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
By the Bridge of a Thousand Ages
by Myrth Bartlett, illustrations by Alice Marie Bartlett and Arthur D. Roberts
from Willing Publishing Co.
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$60.00 (1 in stock)
Byzantine Empire
by James A Corrick
annotated edition from Lucent Press
for 5th-9th grade
in Middle Ages (Location: HISW-MID)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Canada: Our History
by Rick Archbold
First Printing
for 3rd-8th grade
in Canada (Location: HISMC-CAN)
$18.00 (1 in stock)
Captain Edward L. Beach: Around the World Under Water
by Beril Becker
from Kingston House
for 6th-10th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Captive
by Scott O'Dell
from HMH Books for Young Readers
for 5th-8th grade
Hans Christian Anderson Award
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.00 (2 in stock)
Carl Larsson's A Home
by Carl Larsson and Lennart Rudstrom
from G.P. Putnam's Sons
for 3rd-Adult
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Castle
by David Macaulay
First Edition from Houghton Mifflin
for 5th-10th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$9.50 (2 in stock)
Castles and Fortresses
by Robin S. Oggins
from MetroBooks
for 5th-Adult
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Celtic Fairy Tales
by Neil Philip, illustrated by Isabelle Brent
from Viking Press
for 3rd-8th grade
in Short Story Anthologies for Kids (Location: FIC-ANTH)
$12.00 (2 in stock)
Celts: Life, Myth, and Art
by Juliette Wood
from Stewart, Tabori, & Chang
for 8th-Adult
in Middle Ages (Location: HISW-MID)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Chapels and Meeting Houses
by Kenneth Lindley
from John Baker
for 8th-Adult
in Architecture and Sculpture (Location: ELE-ARC)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Character for Life
by Don Hawkinson
for 7th-12th grade
in America's Christian Heritage (Location: HISA-CH)
$18.00 (1 in stock)
Chariot in the Sky
Land of the Free Series
by Arna Bontemps, illustrated by Cyrus Le Roy Baldridge
1st edition from John C. Winston
Historical fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$35.00 (1 in stock)
Charles A. Lindbergh
by James Cross Giblin
from Clarion Books
Biography for 5th-8th grade
1998 NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor Book
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.00 (2 in stock)
Charles Dickens and the Street Children of London
by Andrea Warren
from Houghton Mifflin
for 4th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Children of Odin
by Padraic Colum, illustrated by Willy Pogany
from Macmillan
Norse Mythology for 3rd-8th grade
$40.00 (1 in stock)
Children of the Wild West
by Russell Freedman
from Clarion Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Chord of Steel
by Thomas B. Costain
from Doubleday & Company
for 8th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Christianity Through the Centuries
by Earle E. Cairns
Second Revised Edition from Zondervan
for 8th-12th grade
in Church History Overviews (Location: XCH-OVE)
$8.00 (2 in stock)
Christopher Columbus
by Samuel Eliot Morison
from Dorset Press
for 8th-11th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Cities Then and Now
by Jim Antoniou
from Macmillan
for 4th-8th grade
in Ancient History (Location: HISW-ANC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Civil War Battles
by Curt Johnson
1st edition from Crescent Books
for 7th-12th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Classic Adventures
by Sir H. Rider Haggard
from New Orchard Editions
for 8th-Adult
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Classical Rome
by John D. Clare, ed.
from Harcourt Children's Books
for 5th-10th grade
in Ancient Rome (Location: HISW-ANRO)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Codfish Musket
by Agnes Hewes, illustrated by Armstrong Sperry
from Doubleday, Doran & Company Inc.
for 8th-12th grade
1937 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$45.00 (1 in stock)
Colonial American Home Life
by John F. Warner
from Franklin Watts
for 6th-10th grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
$6.00 (2 in stock)
Colonial Governor
by J.G.E. Hopkins, illustrated by William Wilson
from P.J. Kenedy & Sons
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Colonial Wars Source Book
by Philip J. Haythornthwaite
from Cassell
for 8th-Adult
in Great Britain / England (Location: HISMC-BRIT)
$20.00 (1 in stock)
Colonization of the Moon
by D. S. Halacy, Jr.
from Van Nostrand Reinhold Co.
for 6th-10th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Colosseum
by Peter Quennell
from Newsweek Books
for 7th-12th grade
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Commodore Perry in the Land of the Shogun
by Rhoda Blumberg
1st edition from Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Japan (Location: HISMC-JAP)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Constantine the Great
by Michael Grant
from History Book Club
for 8th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Countdown
by Deborah Wiles
1st edition from Scholastic Press
for 6th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Crusades: Iron Men & Saints
by Harold Lamb
from International Collectors Library
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Cry from the Earth
by John Bierhorst
from Four Winds Press
for 6th-Adult
in Native Americans (Location: HISA-19NAT)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Cultural Atlas for Young People: Ancient America
by Marion Wood
1st edition from Facts On File
Ancient History Reference/Atlas for 4th-8th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Cultural Atlas for Young People: Ancient Egypt
by Geraldine Harris
3rd edition from Facts On File
Ancient History for 4th-8th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$35.00 $24.00 (1 in stock)
Cultural Atlas for Young People: Ancient Maya & Aztec Civilizations
by Marion Wood
3rd edition from Facts On File
Ancient History Reference/Atlas for 4th-8th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$35.00 $18.00 (1 in stock)
Cultural Atlas for Young People: Ancient Mesopotamia
by Erica C. D. Hunter
3rd edition from Facts On File
World History Reference/Atlas for 4th-8th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Cultural Atlas for Young People: The Bible
by John Rogerson
from Facts On File
for 4th-8th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
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