Two years ago I was on a mission to learn American History through picture books, and I am thrilled to say that we did it! It’s been hard work getting here in regards to research, but we have all enjoyed the process – I have learned more American History than I ever did in my own schooling, and my kids have actually enjoyed each and every history lesson we’ve learned together.
In the beginning of this project, as I researched different picture books for specific topics, I always ran into the same problem – there were so many! Which one should I read? Which one would give me the best information to teach the topic? The more and more books I found, the more I wanted to stream line the idea and make it much simpler. That is exactly how Learning American History through Picture Books came to be.
As you journey through the timeline of American History, a picture book will take you through each event, and all the books are chosen for you – one book per topic. (We’re focusing on quality over quantity here, and I’m so excited about it!) I’ve organized them all into a simple book list making it easy for you to follow along, check out books from the library, and plan for simple history lessons.
Starting as early as the Viking explorers in Unit 1, this curriculum will take you all the way through current times. To learn more about this curriculum and the different units, start HERE.
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The Final Unit – Part 4
It’s bittersweet to come to the end of this since it’s been a big project of mine for the last couple years. My kids and I have learned so much, and we have had a blast doing it.
This newest unit will cover the time period after World War II through current times. You will touch on topics like the Cold War, the space race, the Vietnam war, 9/11, and so much more! Specifically this unit ends about the year 2003, as the last book in the main book list covers the invasion of Iraq in that same year.
The following is a breakdown of each unit and the time period it covers:
Unit 1 – Explorers through the Treaty of Paris (1000-1783)
Unit 2 – Constitution through Civil War (1787-1865)
Unit 3 – Reconstruction through World War II (1865-1945)
Unit 4 – Post World War II through Current Times (1945-2003)
You can also purchase all of the units as a bundle for a discounted price.
Favorite Books
Since the whole point of this unit is for me to research and pick what I think is the best book for each topic, it’s so hard for me to narrow down my favorites! However, if I had to pick a few, the following were the ones we enjoyed the most. I share these to give you an idea of the kind of beautiful, engaging books you’ll be reading to your kids. You will look forward to reading these books each and every lesson!
Mercedes and the Chocolate Pilot
Hidden Figures: The True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race
Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11
HELPFUL LINKS
The favorite books listed above are the types of stories that walked us through history. They are unforgettable! Each picture book beats a textbook paragraph any day of the week! You can find ALL our favorite American History books in my Amazon store front HERE.
Each of these units comes with a list of videos to enrich the learning of certain stories. Not every book is connected to a video, but sometimes I felt like some background information was helpful. Or, at other times, the video might fill in a gap from one story to the other. The following is the direct link to each video listed in part 4. For more information on each of these videos, you’ll want to check out the descriptions in the curriculum.
Videos List
Cold War by Christian Palacios (Video Length – 4:31)
The Korean War: 5 Things to Know | History by HISTORY (Video Length – 3:54)
Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” Speech | History by HISTORY (Video Length – 4:57)
Vietnam War Simplified! By Maomaw (Video Length – 4:33)
Apollo 11: Landing on the Moon by NASA (Video Length – 2:36)
A soldier’s account of the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom (Video Length – 2:43)
Coloring Pages
Finally, I’d like to share a link to my Pinterest board that contains the coloring pages we used to help us record our narrations. This is an optional part of the curriculum, but it’s such a simple task that I enjoy so much. The narration process is amazing to me, and I love looking back and reading their words of how they remember each story. It’s the perfect little product of learning to hang on to.
Pinterest Board – American History Part 4
What’s Next?
Honestly, I have no idea (ha!) Here’s the thing…I have poured my heart into this over the last two years. I am so passionate about what it is and how much better it is than any kind of history textbook you will ever buy. With that being said, I am having such a hard time trying to decide what we will do next as a family. I don’t want to let this style of learning go!
I am in prayer about this, because I don’t want to give up reading picture books…EVER! However, I am in a busier season of life that makes it tricky to create and research. I also feel a pull to focus on science for a bit because I feel like a slacker in that subject! My point is – something is brewing…I just can’t pin it down quite yet.
You’ll probably never stop hearing about picture books from me – I use them in almost all of our subjects. So, I hope you’ll stay tuned for what’s to come…even if that’s not clear to me just yet. Although deep down, I know a textbook won’t cut it for me. 😉
