4th Grade American History

[TheAttachedMama]

What is your favorite spine/curriculum to use for 4th Grade American History?   (The student is not the strongest reader.)

We have The History of US by Hakim, but I don't know that it is reasonable for us to finish it in only one years time.  I don't really want to devote more than a year to this study because we are hoping to repeat SOTW for grades 5-8th.   Anything else that I might want to look at?

[HomeAgain]

We never found a book that was just right.  We did really enjoy the History That Doesn't Suck podcast.  It's not finished, I think we're right at the end of WWI right now, but the episodes are very entertaining.  It also is a bit........well, there's a small bit of swearing and it's a little bit raw.  But it's good. 

We ended up doing American history at that age, though, with lots of literature about the time period.  We read our way through picture books and short novels, touched in with Hakim's books, and then picked up world history again with the Titanic.

[EKS]

46 minutes ago, TheAttachedMama said:

We have The History of US by Hakim, but I don't know that it is reasonable for us to finish it in only one years time.

We used the concise edition of A History of US (which is far superior to the original) when my son was in 4th grade and it was perfect.  I read it aloud to him.

Here is a link to the first volume.  There are four.

[Ting Tang]

I've been strongly considering using a Charlotte Mason approach next year.  I have rising 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 6th graders.  If you like older living books and are in need of a spine, I found a couple from the CM Plenary website.  If you click on the link and then on history, you can preview the books. The first option has more content, but I think either would work well for a 4th grader from what I've seen.  My rising 5th grader isn't a super strong reader yet, either, and my rising 6th grader may do multiple history streams.  So I am debating between the two.

Spine Option #1: America First by Lawton Evans (You can buy an updated version with language that is more racially sensitive.)

 

Spine Option #2: A First Book in American History by Edward Eggleston 

This book gets the job done but is not as narrative as America First. 

Form 2 (Grades 4-6) • A Charlotte Mason Plenary (cmplenary.com)   

[PeterPan]

51 minutes ago, EKS said:

We used the concise edition of A History of US (which is far superior to the original) when my son was in 4th grade and it was perfect.  I read it aloud to him.

Here is a link to the first volume.  There are four.

Ooo, I forgot I have this lying around. I'm in "what can do I with ds that sorta turns into high school credits even though he functions two years behind and is going take more time" mode. Also "wow my time is running out and there's so much we haven't done thoroughly" mode. I love when something can go up/down with some creativity. His language level is lower (meaning anything for 4th-8th is likely a good fit) but his analysis and willingness to debate are higher, haha. 

[PeterPan]

Feel free to die and say you'd never use it, but the Abeka4 history text isn't as bad as it sounds. I'm not saying it's politically correct or not going to raise your eyes, but my dd enjoyed just plain reading it.

[wendyroo]

We liked The Complete Book of United States History. It has a similar tone to the earlier SOTW books - gentle, interesting, narrative, short chapters. Each short chapter ends with a very short discussion activity like talking about what you would pack if you were heading west on a covered wagon or reading a chart to compare imports of north, mid and southern colonies.

[Lori D.]

1 hour ago, wendyroo said:

We liked The Complete Book of United States History. It has a similar tone to the earlier SOTW books - gentle, interesting, narrative, short chapters. Each short chapter ends with a very short discussion activity like talking about what you would pack if you were heading west on a covered wagon or reading a chart to compare imports of north, mid and southern colonies.

^^^ I was going to toss that into the mix as well. It is more in-depth in coverage over Native Americans and Colonial / early US history, but what I especially liked about the coverage of the 20th century was that chapters focused on interesting and often positive events rather than going on and on about the World Wars. Several of those 20th century topics covered lesser known items, such as Eisenhower instituting the interstate highway system. 

Also, you might check out some of the Cornerstones of Freedom books on specific U.S. events to help fill in. They are written at a grade 3-5 level. Some definitely DO have a strong bias, but not all, and since these are short, you can do a quick preview of them. I still remember how much we enjoyed the one on The Story of the Erie Canal by Stein.

[Ting Tang]

1 hour ago, PeterPan said:

Feel free to die and say you'd never use it, but the Abeka4 history text isn't as bad as it sounds. I'm not saying it's politically correct or not going to raise your eyes, but my dd enjoyed just plain reading it.

Funny you should say that because we enjoyed their revised 3rd grade history book. It was a collection of biographies, basically.  I also thought it was one of the more diverse textbooks---which might sound shocking, given the reputation Abeka history has with some.  Maybe they'll change their upper years, too.

[wendyroo]

42 minutes ago, Lori D. said:

^^^ I was going to toss that into the mix as well. It is more in-depth in coverage over Native Americans and Colonial / early US history, but what I especially liked about the coverage of the 20th century was that chapters focused on interesting and often positive events rather than going on and on about the World Wars. Several of those 20th century topics covered lesser known items, such as Eisenhower instituting the interstate highway system. 

I agree. I liked how it touched on the Vietnam war, but focused on the war memorial, how the architect was a student who won a national competition, how people visit the names of their loved ones there still, etc.

It feels like the book touches on the tragedies enough that students are aware of them, but spends more time showing how we have coped with them and grown from them.

[Lori D.]

54 minutes ago, wendyroo said:

I agree. I liked how it touched on the Vietnam war, but focused on the war memorial, how the architect was a student who won a national competition, how people visit the names of their loved ones there still, etc.

It feels like the book touches on the tragedies enough that students are aware of them, but spends more time showing how we have coped with them and grown from them.

Beautifully said. 😄 

[chiguirre]

I was reading What is the Declaration of Independence with my nephew today to explain the 4th of July. It's a surprisingly good account of the events leading up to the revolution starting with the French and Indian War. You could easily piece together an engaging year of history using the Who Was/What Was? series. These are easy enough that they won't feel like a chore for a fourth grader who is not an accelerated reader and there's lots of variety so you can focus on people or events they'll find particularly interesting. For example, we read Who Was Jackie Robinson? because dn is a baseball fanatic and that led nicely into a discussion of the Civil Rights movement. If I'd started with Who Was Rosa Parks? he'd probably not have been as interested.

We buddy read the books, I do one page, he does one and it takes us three or four days to get through them reading for half an hour a day. You could easily do one of these one week and then do a project or read a fiction book that takes place at the same time on alternating weeks.

Edited July 3, 2023 by chiguirre

[ArteHaus]

If you are looking for something that your child can read alone, I can’t help, really. However, we use Give Me Liberty by Eric Foner. Even though the text may not be fitting for a 4th grader to comprehend alone, (it isn’t a complex read, just dense in some areas) it is easy to adapt for different age groups. 

It would be necessary for you to develop your own material, activities, and adaptation (simplifying of content). However, I think that Foner gives a really balanced view of history., and the text is excellent, compared to other homeschool history books/curriculum. 

I also have Hakim’s US History, but found some of the information to be a misrepresentation of history, although the pictures, and some information was useful.

Frederick Douglass is a good literary addition to US History around this age. We also use Democracy in America (Toqueville), not as a spine yet, but I cherry pick topics to cover with the boys. Of course, they would need to be older to read it alone, but I just adapt it to their level.

[Green Bean]

The Good and the Beautiful's US Constitution & Government covers early US history alongside the entire Constitution and Bill of Rights (I think.).

https://www.goodandbeautiful.com/products/history-us-constitution-and-government/

You could read the CONCISE History of US alongside.

Edited July 5, 2023 by Green Bean

[Momto6inIN]

Haven't used it yet, but I have this on my list to try with my youngest when she gets to that age.

http://www.ourlandpublications.com/catalog/index.php/our-land-liberty-c-21

[ktgrok]

History Quest has a new(ish) US history that is for grades 3-6. It is a textbook plus there is a supplemental book that has comprehension questions, map work, crafts, copywork, etc. It is secular, and supposedly not white washed, which was important to us. Also, I just like supporting Pandia Press when I can, they are in my state and have amazing customer service. I have their big wall timeline that comes in 4 parts, and when I got it I somehow managed to misplace one of the three. Like, as I was opening it. I had recently had a baby and my brain was mush. I contacted them asking if there was some way to buy just 1 of the four parts, and instead they sent me it for free! Everyone I know that has dealt with them says the same, a really nice company. 

But anyway, it is a 1 year overview of American History, and might fit the bill nicely. 

https://www.pandiapress.com/product/history-quest-united-states/

Edited July 12, 2023 by ktgrok

[Nm.]

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Edited July 13, 2023 by Nm.