If you do 3 chapters per week, you will finish the book in 31 weeks, but this may be a little too much reading for early elementary; <\/li>\n\n

If you do 2 chapters a week, after 36 weeks, you will have finished 72 chapters, with 19 chapters left for the following year. <\/li>\n\n

If you do 1 chapter a week, you will finish the entire book in 2 and a half years. <\/li>\n\n

You might want to go through the book over 2 or 3 years; in which case, you can just adjust the chapters to be read. For 2 years, you will read 45 chapters in the first year, divided over 36 weeks, or for 3 years, you can do 30 chapters per year, with 31 chapters in one of those years. <\/li><\/ul>M.B. Synge\u2019s The Story of the World Series <\/strong><\/h3>If you want a continuing set to use throughout the elementary years, M.B. Synge\u2019s books are a good choice too. It opens with On the Shores of the Great Sea, and here are the books in a suggested order of reading. (The Charlotte Mason International Open-and-Go Curriculum<\/a> on our Shop Page<\/a> uses this series.)\u00a0<\/p>
If you choose to use this series all throughout, you will have enough material for the first five years of the elementary years, covering each book over one year. Because each book has between 43 to 54 chapters, you will probably do at least one lesson per week, with some weeks having two lessons. <\/p>
Alternatively, you may opt to take it a bit slower, and do each book over two years, taking you all the way to Volume 3 by the end of fifth or sixth grade. <\/p>
Vol 1. On the Shores of the Great Sea<\/a> – 54 chapters<\/strong><\/h3>
$\"\"$ <\/figure>
On the Shores of the Great Sea<\/a><\/strong> opens in ancient times, beginning with the history of the Jewish people from the time of Abraham. It goes on with engaging tales of Greek history, Carthage, the rise of the Greek Empire under Alexander the Great, all the way to the beginning of the Roman Empire. <\/p>\n\n
You may also access this book for free at this link<\/a>.<\/p><\/div><\/div>
Vol 2. The Discovery of New Worlds<\/a> – 50 chapters <\/strong><\/p>
$\"\"$ <\/a><\/figure>
The Discovery of New Worlds<\/a><\/strong> picks up on where Book 1 leaves off, and talks about the rise of the Roman empire, the Dark Ages, the Crusades, and all the way to the conquest of Peru. <\/p>\n\n
You may also access this book for free at this link<\/a>.<\/p><\/div><\/div>
Vol 3. The Awakening of Europe<\/a> – 53 chapters <\/strong><\/p>
$\"\"$ <\/figure>
Book 3, The Awakening of Europe<\/a><\/strong>, turns our focus on Europe, opening with stories about Holland. We love how this gives our children a sense of what\u2019s happening in other countries, while also instilling a sense of courage and heroism. <\/p>\n\n
You may also access this book for free at this link<\/a>.<\/p><\/div><\/div>
Vol 4. The Struggle for Sea Power<\/a> – 47 chapters <\/strong><\/h3>
$\"\"$ <\/figure>
In The Struggle for Sea Power<\/a><\/strong>, your child learns about the rise in the European Empires and the period of world colonization, including America, Australia, India, and South Africa. It also covers the French and American Revolution. <\/p>\n\n
You may also access this book for free at this link<\/a>.<\/p><\/div><\/div>
Vol 5. The Growth of the British Empire<\/a> – 43 chapters <\/strong><\/h3>
$\"\"$ <\/figure>
The Growth of the British Empire<\/a><\/strong> covers the 19th century, including Victoria, Queen of England, the story of Canada, expeditions in the Arctic, the American Civil War, and the stories of Russia and India. <\/p>\n\n
You may also access this book for free at this link<\/a>. <\/p><\/div><\/div>
History Biography Living Books for Lower Elementary <\/strong><\/h2>
We also love these biographies to give our kids the chance to \u201cexperience\u201d life through these people\u2019s eyes, over a whole different time period, and covering a wide variety of nations. <\/p>
As you will probably notice, we love books by Ingri and Edgar Parin D\u2019Aulaire, with this next batch of books all written by this pair: <\/p>
Leif the Lucky<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>
$\"Leif$ <\/a><\/figure>
In Leif the Lucky<\/a><\/strong>, learn about the adventures of Leif, the son of Erik the Red, as he sails with his father and their Viking crew first to Greenland and then all the way to the American continent. <\/p><\/div><\/div>
Pocahontas<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>
$\"Pocahontas$ <\/a><\/figure>
See the Native American princess come to life in D’Aulaire’s Pocahontas<\/a><\/strong>, as a mischievous girl who grew up into a courageous young woman\u2014one who played a key role in the first few years of the Jamestown settlement. <\/p><\/div><\/div>
George Washington<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>
$\"George$ <\/a><\/figure>
Through D’Aulaire’s George Washington<\/a><\/strong>, kids can relate to the backwoods Virginia boy, way before he ever became the Father of the America, while also tracing his growth to surveyor, then a soldier, and even a war hero. The excellent lithograph illustrations will surely enthrall both your child and you! <\/p><\/div><\/div>
Benjamin Franklin<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>
$\"benjamin$ <\/a><\/figure>
Learn about the boyhood of Benjamin Franklin<\/a><\/strong>, and follow his life through his teen years apprenticing in his brother\u2019s print shop, all the way to his grown years as an inventor, diplomat, statesman, and one of the signatories of the Declaration of Independence. <\/p><\/div><\/div>
Buffalo Bill<\/a> <\/strong><\/h3>
$\"Buffalo$ <\/a><\/figure>
Enjoy the drama of the life of the fearless frontier icon, Buffalo Bill<\/a><\/strong>, as he grows up with the the children of the Kickapoo Tribe as his playmates. Live through the excitement of learning to ride a little wild pony and working as a cattle driver from the age of twelve. <\/p><\/div><\/div>
Abraham Lincoln<\/a> <\/strong><\/h3>
$\"Abraham$ <\/a><\/figure>
Get to know Abraham Lincoln<\/a><\/strong> as a young boy, a shopkeeper, and eventually a lawyer and President of the United States. The excellent storytelling and illustrations will surely make this important figure in history come alive for your child. <\/p><\/div><\/div>
Columbus<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>
$\"Columbus$ <\/a><\/figure>
Can you imagine a children\u2019s biography containing details not always found in typical biographies geared towards adults? The d\u2019Aulaires have done it again with their extensive research all the way to Portugal, Spain, and the Caribbean Islands to discover about Columbus<\/a><\/strong>, the man known as the \u201cgreatest mariner that ever lived.\u201d <\/p><\/div><\/div>
D’Aulaire Collection<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>
$\"\"$ <\/figure>
Or, if you would like to save time, since we trust the quality of D’Aulaire biographies, you might want to check out this D’Aulaire Collection<\/a><\/strong>, containing 6 books: Abraham Lincoln, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Pocahontas, Buffalo Bill, and Columbus.<\/p><\/div><\/div>
Diane Stanley Biographies for Lower Elementary<\/strong><\/h3>
Diane Stanley is another of our favorite authors of biographies for children\u2019s history lessons. Check out some of her books that we love: <\/p>
Joan of Arc<\/a> by Diane Stanley <\/strong><\/h3>
$\"Joan$ <\/a><\/figure>
In Joan of Arc<\/a><\/strong>, Diane Stanley expertly tells the story of the simple 13-year-old village girl who would eventually rise up to lead France to freedom from English rule. Learn about the Hundred Years\u2019 War through this fascinating account, complete with beautiful illustrations. <\/p><\/div><\/div>
Shaka: King of the Zulus<\/a> by Diane Stanley and Peter Vennema <\/strong><\/h3>
$\"Africa$ <\/a><\/figure>
If you\u2019re looking for a historical book set in Africa, Shaka: King of the Zulus<\/a><\/strong> may be a good choice. Shaka was a boy born in 1787, who was banished with his mother from their little Zulu clan in southern Africa. Although he eventually rose up to lead a great nation, his childhood still plays a big role in who he is.<\/p><\/div><\/div>
Charles Dickens: The Man Who Had Great Expectations<\/a> by Diane Stanley <\/strong><\/h3>
$\"charles$ <\/a><\/figure>
Charles Dickens: The Man Who Had Great Expectations<\/a><\/strong> may perhaps be better introduced to older elementary students after they have experienced a book by Charles Dickens (A Christmas Carol, anyone?), but is surely an engaging biography of this troubled genius! (The recommended reading age is 8 to 10 years old, though.) <\/p><\/div><\/div>
Michelangelo<\/a> by Diane Stanley <\/strong><\/h3>
$\"Michelangelo$ <\/a><\/figure>
Michelangelo<\/a><\/strong> is an excellently-written biography of the world famous artist. We love how the Charlotte Mason method encourages reading biographies not just of known “heroes,” but also including artists, scientists, and people with different strengths and contributions to society. <\/p><\/div><\/div>
History Biography Living Books for Upper Elementary <\/strong><\/h2>
For older children, we can heartily recommend the following books: <\/p>
Poor Richard<\/a> by James Daugherty <\/strong><\/h3>
$\"benjamin$ <\/a><\/figure>
Poor Richard<\/a><\/strong> is James Daugherty’s expert rendition of the life of Benjamin Franklin, and he shows his prowess at drawing his readers into the main character’s world! We love how he portrays the statesman as a man with a real love for words and printing! <\/p><\/div><\/div>
Carry a Big Stick: The Uncommon Heroism of Theodore Roosevelt<\/a> by George Grant<\/strong><\/h3>
$\"Theodore$ <\/a><\/figure>
Carry a Big Stick: The Uncommon Heroism of Theodore Roosevelt<\/a> <\/strong>is one of our ultimate favorite biographies as a family. I was introduced to this book through the AmblesideOnline free curriculum, and it\u2019s been one of my personal favorite biographies so far! It shows a very wholistic picture of the life of Theodore Roosevelt, as a person, a naturalist, a father, and a Bible-lover. <\/p><\/div><\/div>
Using Living Books for Charlotte Mason History Lessons <\/strong><\/h2>
We hope this list gives you a headstart at planning your history curriculum for your grade school students. Do bookmark this page as we hope to keep building up the list as we discover more and more books over the years! <\/p>
If you would like to see a sample of a full open-and-go Charlotte Mason guide, check out our Charlotte Mason International Form 1 Curriculum Guide<\/a><\/strong> over at our Shop<\/a> Page. <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
We love how the Charlotte Mason method introduces living ideas to our children, even from a young age. These include the lives of historical figures, giving them the chance to experience life during different time periods and through different sets of eyes. In our post on how to teach history […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1318,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"WB4WB4WP_MODE":"","WB4WP_PAGE_SCRIPTS":"","WB4WP_PAGE_STYLES":"","WB4WP_PAGE_FONTS":"","WB4WP_PAGE_HEADER":"","WB4WP_PAGE_FOOTER":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[70,39],"tags":[74,73,72,20,28,19],"class_list":["post-1316","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history","category-living-books","tag-charlotte-mason-history-biography","tag-charlotte-mason-history-spine","tag-charlotte-mason-history-spines","tag-charlotte-mason-homeschool","tag-charlotte-mason-living-books","tag-charlotte-mason-philosophy"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/charlottemasoninternational.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/pexels-photo-3199399.jpeg?fit=975%2C1300&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/charlottemasoninternational.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1316"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/charlottemasoninternational.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/charlottemasoninternational.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/charlottemasoninternational.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/charlottemasoninternational.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1316"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/charlottemasoninternational.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1316\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2349,"href":"https:\/\/charlottemasoninternational.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1316\/revisions\/2349"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/charlottemasoninternational.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1318"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/charlottemasoninternational.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1316"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/charlottemasoninternational.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1316"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/charlottemasoninternational.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1316"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}