Modern Times & Epistles, Revelation: Lesson Plans for Grades 1-12

Study the Bible, geography, and history together as a family!

The sixth in their popular six-book history series, this study walks your family through people and events from Modern Times (about 1850–2012), covering both American History and World History. The geography of Asia is incorporated, and Family Bible lessons focus on truths from New Testament epistles (1 & 2 Peter; 1, 2, & 3 John; Jude) as well as the book of Revelation. Additional assignments are provided for older students to dig deeper into those same Bible passages.

The Charlotte Mason-style lesson plans

• Engage your students’ hearts and minds through wonderful living books.
• Help your students listen attentively and recall what was read by narrating.
• Let you teach the whole family together by sharing some books as family read-alouds, then challenging older students with additional reading and writing assignments from other books on the same topic.
• Connect geography to the people who lived there—both past and present.
• Help all your students, grades 1–12, feel at home in Scripture and challenged to keep growing spiritually through short, practical Bible lessons for the whole family and additional corresponding Bible studies for the older students.
• Keep things simple by providing helpful reminders of upcoming resources, teaching tips, and Book of Centuries entries.

Book List

Read the books listed under Family to all the students together. Add the grade-level books as individual reads for any children you have in those grades. For example, if you have students in grades 9 and 11, you will want to get the books under Family, Grades 7–9, and Grades 10–12.

[SCM]: Available from SCM
[Exodus]: Purchase here
[Book Store] Check another store
[Library]: Check your library
[Public Domain]: Available free in the public domain

(AH) = American History book, so if you are in a different country you can easily identify and substitute books as desired.

Family

• Bible
• (AH) [Book Store]Billy Graham: God’s Ambassador by Russ Busby OR [Exodus]Billy Graham: Just Get Up Out of Your Seat by Catherine Mackenzie
• (AH) [Exodus]The Brooklyn Bridge by Elizabeth Mann
• (AH) [Exodus]Empire State Building by Elizabeth Mann
• [Library]Gandhi: The Young Protester Who Founded a Nation by Philip Wilkinson
• [Exodus]George Mueller by Faith Coxe Bailey
• (AH) [Exodus]The Hoover Dam by Elizabeth Mann
• [Library]Mandela: The Rebel Who Led His Nation to Freedom by Ann Kramer
• [Exodus, SCM]Material World and [Exodus, SCM]Hungry Planet: What the World Eats by Peter Menzel
• (AH) [Exodus]Our Country’s Presidents by Ann Bausum (reference book)
• (AH) [SCM]Stories of America, Volume 2, by Charles Morris, et al.
• [SCM]Stories of the Nations, Volume 2, by Lorene Lambert and Charles Morris
• (AH) [Exodus]The Story of Thomas A. Edison by Frances M. Perry
• [Exodus, SCM]The Stuff They Left Behind: From the Days of Modern Times portfolio
• [SCM]Visits to Asia notebook by Sonya Shafer (one for each student)

Plus . . .
Grades 1–3

• (AH) [Library]A Boy Named FDR by Kathleen Krull
• (AH) [Exodus]I Have a Dream: The Story of Martin Luther King by Margaret Davidson
• [Exodus]The Journey That Saved Curious George by Louise Borden
• (AH) [Exodus]Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11 by Brian Floca
• [Exodus, SCM]Only a Dog: A Story of the Great War by Bertha Whitridge Smith
• (AH) [Library]The Unbreakable Code by Sara Hoagland Hunter
• [Exodus]The Children of China: An Artist’s Journey by Song Nan Zhang (optional, used with Visits to Asia)
• [Exodus]A Grain of Rice by Helena Clare Pittman OR [Exodus]Grandfather Tang’s Story: A Tale Told with Tangrams by Ann Tompert (optional, used with Visits to Asia)
• [Exodus]Horse Song: The Naadam of Mongolia by Ted and Betsy Lewin (optional, used with Visits to Asia)
• [Book Store]Kami and the Yaks by Andrea Stenn Stryer (optional, used with Visits to Asia)
• [Book Store]Kampung Boy by Lat (optional, used with Visits to Asia)
• [Library]The Life of Rice: From Seedling to Supper by Richard Sobol (optional, used with Visits to Asia. This book is out of print, but a library near you may have a copy.)
• [Exodus]The Way We Do It in Japan by Geneva Cobb Iijima (optional, used with Visits to Asia)
• [Exodus]Yasmin’s Hammer by Ann Malaspina (optional, used with Visits to Asia)

Grades 4–6

• (AH) [Exodus, Library]Abe Lincoln: Log Cabin to White House by Sterling North
• (AH) [Exodus]Always Inventing: A Photobiography of Alexander Graham Bell by Tom L. Matthews
• (AH) [Exodus]I Have a Dream: The Story of Martin Luther King by Margaret Davidson
• [Exodus]A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Parker
• [Exodus]The Singing Tree by Kate Seredy
• [Exodus]Snow Treasure by Marie McSwigan
• (AH) [Exodus]Team Moon: How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11 on the Moon by Catherine Thimmesh
• [Exodus]The Land I Lost: Adventures of a Boy in Vietnam by Quang Nhuong Huynh (optional, used with Visits to Asia)

Grades 7–9

• [Exodus]Across America on an Emigrant Train by Jim Murphy
• (AH) [Exodus]Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt
• [Exodus, Library]Animal Farm by George Orwell
• [SCM]Book of Centuries (one for each student)
• (AH) [Exodus, Library]Bully for You, Teddy Roosevelt! by Jean Fritz
• [SCM]Discovering Doctrine by Sonya Shafer (one for each student)
• [Library, Exodus]The Endless Steppe by Esther Hautzig
• (AH) [Exodus, Library]Lincoln: A Photobiography by Russell Freedman
• [Exodus, Library]A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park
• [Exodus]Louis Pasteur: Founder of Modern Medicine by John Hudson Tiner
• [Exodus]Rescue and Redeem: Volume 5, Chronicles of the Modern Church by Mindy and Brandon Withrow
• (AH) [Exodus, Library]Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor
• [SCM]Strong in the Word by Sonya Shafer
• (AH) [Exodus]Victory in the Pacific by Albert Marrin
• (AH) [Exodus]The Wright Brothers: How They Invented the Airplane by Russell Freedman
• (AH) [Exodus]The Yanks Are Coming by Albert Marrin
• [Exodus]The Land I Lost: Adventures of a Boy in Vietnam by Quang Nhuong Huynh (optional, used with Visits to Asia)

Grades 10–12

• (AH) [Book Store]America: The Last Best Hope, Volume 1: From the Age of Discovery to a World at War by William Bennett
• (AH) [Book Store]America: The Last Best Hope, Volume 2: From a World at War to the Triumph of Freedom by William Bennett
• (AH; optional) [Book Store]America: The Last Best Hope, Volume 3: From the Collapse of Communism to the Rise of Radical Islam by William Bennett
• (AH) [Exodus]American Voices: A Collection of Documents, Speeches, Essays, Hymns, Poems, and Short Stories from American History edited by Ray Notgrass
• [SCM]Book of Centuries (one for each student)
• [SCM]Discovering Doctrine by Sonya Shafer (one for each student)
• [Exodus]Hitler by Albert Marrin
• [Exodus]How Should We Then Live? by Francis Schaeffer OR [Exodus]7 Men Who Rule the World from the Grave by Dave Breese
• [Exodus]Rescue and Redeem: Volume 5, Chronicles of the Modern Church by Mindy and Brandon Withrow
• [Exodus]Stalin by Albert Marrin
• [SCM]Strong in the Word by Sonya Shafer
• [Exodus]The War to End All Wars: World War I by Russell Freedman
• (AH) [Exodus]The Wright Brothers: How They Invented the Airplane by Russell Freedman
• [Exodus]The Land I Lost: Adventures of a Boy in Vietnam by Quang Nhuong Huynh (optional, used with Visits to Asia)

Note: We recommend that grades 10–12 students add an American Government course either during this Modern Times study or spread over two years, during Early Modern and Modern Times studies. One possibility might be Exploring Government from Notgrass Publishing, taken at a slower pace.

We also recommend that grades 9–12 students read about and discuss current events. Selected articles from World magazine or website work well.

Bonus Titles

Here are more great titles that you can use for substitutions or leisure reading or to create your own heritage history stream as desired. We will add to this list as we discover and review more new-to-us books. Sign up to be notified when we add new bonus titles to our history book lists!

• Abraham Lincoln by Ingri and Edgar d’Aulaire (Grades 1–3)
• Always Remember Me: How One Family Survived World War II by Marisabina Russo (Grades 1–3)
• The Bicycle Man by Allen Say (grades 1–3)
• Counting on Katherine by Helaine Becker (grades 1–3)
• Dancing Hands: How Teresa Carreño Played the Piano for President Lincoln by Margarita Engle (Grades 1–3)
• Franklin and Winston: A Christmas That Changed the World by Douglas Wood (Grades 1–3)
• Grandfather’s Journey by Allen Say (Grades 1–3)
• Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez by Kathleen Krull (Grades 1–3)
• Kamishibai Man by Allen Say (Grades 1–3)
• Lily’s Victory Garden by Helen L. Wilbur (Grades 1–3)
• The Little Ships: The Heroic Rescue at Dunkirk in World War II by Louise Borden (Grades 1–3)
• Mary McLeod Bethune by Eloise Greenfield (grades 1–3)
• The Peace Tree from Hiroshima: The Little Bonsai with a Big Story by Sandra Moore (grades 1–3)
• My Great-Grandmother’s Gourd by Cristina Kessler (Grades 1–3)
• Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpré by Anika Aldamuy Denise (Grades 1–3)
• Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachland (Grades 1–3)
• She Loved Baseball: The Effa Manley Story by Audrey Vernick (Grades 1–3)
• Sonia Sotomayor: A Judge Grows in the Bronx by Jonah Winter (Grades 1–3)
• The Storyteller’s Candle by Lucia Gonzalez (Grades 1–3)
• Watercress by Andrea Wang (grades 1–3)
• Write to Me: Letters from Japanese American Children to the Librarian They Left Behind by Cynthia Grady (Grades 1–3)
• Coolies by Yin (Grades 1–6)
• Freedom Train: The Story of Harriet Tubman by Dorothy Sterling (Grades 1–6)
• Maya Lin: Artist-Architect of Light and Lines by Jeanne Walker Harvey (Grades 1–6)
• Tallchief: America’s Prima Ballerina by Maria Tallchief with Rosemary Wells (Grades 1–6)
• Island Treasures: Growing Up in Cuba by Alma Flor Ada (Grades 1–12, selected)
• Turning Pages: My Life Story by Sonia Sotomayor (Grades 3–6)
• Forty Acres and Maybe a Mule by Harriette Gillem Robinet (Grades 4–6)
• George Washington Carver by David Collins (Grades 4–6)
• Half Spoon of Rice: A Survival Story of the Cambodian Genocide by Icy Smith (grades 4–6)
• Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai (grades 4–6)
• Schomburg: The Man Who Built a Library by Carole Boston Weatherford (grades 4–6)
• A Song for Cambodia by Michelle Lord (Grades 4–6)
• Where Poppies Grow: A World War I Companion by Linda Granfield (Grades 4–6)
• The Wright Brothers: Pioneers of American Aviation by Quentin Reynolds (Grades 4–6)
• Childtimes: A Three-Generation Memoir by Eloise Greenfield and Lessie Jones Little (grades 4–9)
• Hidden Figures, Young Readers’ Edition by Margot Lee Shetterly (Grades 4–9)
• I Am Malala, Young Readers’ Edition by Malala Yousafzai (Grades 4–9)
• Journey to Jo’burg: A South African Story by Beverley Naidoo (grades 4–9)
• Brother’s Keeper by Julie Lee (grades 7–9, girls)
• When My Name Was Keoko by Linda Sue Park (grades 6–12)
• Enchanted Air: A Memoir by Margarita Engle (Grades 7–12)
• One Real American: The Life of Ely S. Parker by Joseph Bruchac (grades 7–12)
• Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution by Ji-Li Jiang (grades 7–12)
• Sojourner Truth: Ain’t I a Woman? by Patricia C. and Fredrick McKissack (grades 7–12)
• Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela by Nelson Mandela (Grades 9–12)
• Angel Island by Russell Freedman (Grades 10–12)
• Children of the Great Depression by Russell Freedman (Grades 10–12)
• Farewell to Manzanar by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and James Houston (grades 10–12)
• Freedom Walkers: The Story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott by Russell Freedman (Grades 10–12)
• Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly (Grades 10–12)
• The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom (Grades 10–12)
• I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai (Grades 10–12)
• Kids at Work: Lewis Hine and the Crusade Against Child Labor by Russell Freedman (Grades 10–12)
• The Life and Death of Crazy Horse by Russell Freedman (Grades 10–12)
• The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane (Grades 10–12) Note: Contains some strong language.
• The Story of My Life by Helen Keller (Grades 10–12)
• Up from Slavery by Booker T. Washington (Grades 10–12)
• The Wright Brothers by David McCullough (grades 10–12)

High School Credit

For the completion of grades 7–9 or 10–12 assignments in this Modern Times & Epistles, Revelation study, they suggest that students should be awarded 1/2 credit for World History/Geography, 1/2 credit for American History/Geography, and 1⁄3 credit for Bible. (The other half of the American History credit can be found in the Early Modern study.)

Sample Schedule

The lesson plans in Modern Times & Epistles, Revelation are very doable. Your weekly schedule would look something like this, with older students also spending time on additional assignments:

2nd Edition

This 2nd edition of Modern Times & Epistles, Revelation, published in 2017, has been updated to schedule The Stuff They Left Behind: From the Days of Modern Times portfolio and the Visits to Asia geography notebook. Out-of-print or hard-to-find books have been replaced, and high school credit suggestions have been added. Bible lessons for the whole family are now included in the guide itself, with additional assignments scheduled for older students to dig deeper into the same Bible passages with the Bible study book, Strong in the Word.