American History 1st and 3rd

[MomOfABunch]

What's your favorite American History for 1st and 3rd grades?

[mytwomonkeys]

We used and loved Adventures in America.

[nixpix5]

We used and loved Adventures in America.

I never see anyone else who has used this :) we are using it this year taking a pause between Ancient and Middle Ages to do a fun US History year. I am loving it! The kids are especially enjoying the read alouds and leveled reader options.

[Bay Lake Mom]

Last year (for 1st and 3rd), I wanted to focus on American History.  I could not find a curriculum that I liked, so this is what we did.

 

We got a magnetic map of the US.  Each state was its own magnet.  I found a book that told a little bit about each state alphabetically.  We started 1 day with Alabama.  I read to them about the state, and we focused on memorizing the state capital.  They used the state magnet to 1. learn the shape of the state and 2. learn the location.  Each day we would review the previous states, capitals, and place the magnets, then we would add the new state.  They both learned a lot from this!

 

We also used a variety of "living books" to learn about American History.  We spent quite a bit of time learning about the Pilgrims by reading Pilgrim Stories, Squanto, and a variety of other books from that period.  We then chose to focus on the time leading up to and during the American Revolution.  We read "If You Lived In Williamsburg in Colonial Days" along with the Felicity (American Girl) series.  Then we read "If You Lived at the Time of the American Revolution."  We watched the Liberty Kids series, and we read a variety of other books from the library.  We did a variety of crafts and played games that I found on Pinterest.  We then read about the Constitution.  We watched the Peanuts movie about the writing of the Constitution.  They LOVED that!  We moved on to George Washington after that.  (There are a lot of great books about George Washington). I didn't write down every book that we read.  I wish I would have because we really had a full year of learning.  My girls definitely have a great understanding of the founding of our country.

 

If you really want a curriculum to follow, though, the Beautiful Feet Early American History is a great choice for those ages!  My oldest daughter had already read most of the books that are assigned in this curriculum so that's why it wasn't a great choice for us.   I hope you find a good fit for your year!

[Ellie]

Not grades, but ages. :-) When my dc were those ages--well, actually, until they were 12ish, we mostly did American history in an informal sort of way: lots of field trips and library books. We loved Jean Fritz's American Revolution books (Will You Sign Here, John Hancock? What's the Big Idea, Paul Revere? Why Don't You Get a Horse, Sam Adams? Where was Patrick Henry on the 29th of May? Why Can't You Make Them Behave, King George?). We took a field trip on the Greyhound Bus from San Diego to Virginia, which included a visit to Williamsburg. We also did a field trip to all 21 California missions. My main goal was not to cover all of history; mostly it was just to do history, such that my children would love it, no matter what.

[fralala]

On the more school-y side of the spectrum, I liked using the (free!) units (domains) from Core Knowledge, starting with the Kindergarten domains about Native Americans, Kings and Queens, Columbus, and Colonial Towns, and moving up through The War of 1812, Westward Expansion, the Civil War, and so forth (which happen in their grade 2 units). I used the read-alouds and supplementary book lists (and skipped over the comprehension questions and Venn diagrams for the most part!).

 

However, since you used the word favorite, if you can swing it, I think Ellie's way definitely wins. Traveling across the country and reading Jean Fritz beats Core Knowledge any day!

[Bay Lake Mom]

Another option would be Intelligo Unit Studies.  I have not done these, but it's only because I found them late.  (We wanted to start our world history rotation this year with MOH).  I actually purchased one just to get a really good look at it.  They're quite affordable.  They offer studies for K-2, 3-5...  They look really fun, and I've read other good reviews.  Here is a link to the American History 1 : The First People -  http://www.intellegounitstudies.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_8_16&products_id=66

[Insertcreativenamehere]

Ditto Adventures in America.

[MomOfABunch]

Not grades, but ages. :-) When my dc were those ages--well, actually, until they were 12ish, we mostly did American history in an informal sort of way: lots of field trips and library books. We loved Jean Fritz's American Revolution books (Will You Sign Here, John Hancock? What's the Big Idea, Paul Revere? Why Don't You Get a Horse, Sam Adams? Where was Patrick Henry on the 29th of May? Why Can't You Make Them Behave, King George?). We took a field trip on the Greyhound Bus from San Diego to Virginia, which included a visit to Williamsburg. We also did a field trip to all 21 California missions. My main goal was not to cover all of history; mostly it was just to do history, such that my children would love it, no matter what.

What a cool idea!! I would love to be able to travel around and see the country.

Edited August 27, 2017 by MomOfABunch

[Earthmerlin]

Last year (for 1st and 3rd), I wanted to focus on American History. I could not find a curriculum that I liked, so this is what we did.

 

We got a magnetic map of the US. Each state was its own magnet. I found a book that told a little bit about each state alphabetically. We started 1 day with Alabama. I read to them about the state, and we focused on memorizing the state capital. They used the state magnet to 1. learn the shape of the state and 2. learn the location. Each day we would review the previous states, capitals, and place the magnets, then we would add the new state. They both learned a lot from this!

 

We also used a variety of "living books" to learn about American History. We spent quite a bit of time learning about the Pilgrims by reading Pilgrim Stories, Squanto, and a variety of other books from that period. We then chose to focus on the time leading up to and during the American Revolution. We read "If You Lived In Williamsburg in Colonial Days" along with the Felicity (American Girl) series. Then we read "If You Lived at the Time of the American Revolution." We watched the Liberty Kids series, and we read a variety of other books from the library. We did a variety of crafts and played games that I found on Pinterest. We then read about the Constitution. We watched the Peanuts movie about the writing of the Constitution. They LOVED that! We moved on to George Washington after that. (There are a lot of great books about George Washington). I didn't write down every book that we read. I wish I would have because we really had a full year of learning. My girls definitely have a great understanding of the founding of our country.

 

If you really want a curriculum to follow, though, the Beautiful Feet Early American History is a great choice for those ages! My oldest daughter had already read most of the books that are assigned in this curriculum so that's why it wasn't a great choice for us. I hope you find a good fit for your year!

Where did you get a magnetic map?

[Bay Lake Mom]

Where did you get a magnetic map?

 

We used the Imaginetics USA map.  You can find it at Amazon for about $15. 

https://www.amazon.com/Imaginetics-M86053-USA-Map-Set/dp/B004I7J65G/ref=sr_1_6?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1503933577&sr=1-6&keywords=magnetic+usa+map

[Guest]

My 1st and 2nd grader are using My Father's World Adventures this this, and we are really liking it.  If we didn't go with MFW we probably would have used Beautiful Feet's Early American History.  I plan to add BF to our MFW reading though.

[SilverMoon]

The Christian Liberty Press books are good for that age.