literature

Make History Fun with Prisoner of War by Whatsoever Stories

May 9, 2022 by Amy Leave a Comment

Disclosure: I received this complimentary product through the Homeschool Review Crew.

I absolutely love books that can be more than just a story. If I can extend it to include educational lessons, make it a family read aloud, or do something else fun with it, then that’s a book I want on my shelf. That’s why I was excited for the opportunity to review Prisoner of War, authored Kinsey M. Rockett of Whatsoever Stories.

Read on for my full review of Prisoner of War by Whatsoever Stories.

Prisoner of War is based on World War II history – the history of prisoners of war, of escape attempts. of Allied pilots, of the German Luftwaffe. Rockett has done her homework and knows her history well – and that’s the most important thing for a historical fiction novel. With clear writing and a conversational tone, Rockett conveys her story well.

I like the concept of the story. Soldiers going in to stage a mass rescue of POWs? That’s an exciting premise with great potential for historical and character-building lessons. It could appeal to a really wide age range of students.

This book is intended for students ages twelve and up. At fifteen, My Little Man – who’s no longer so little – is well within that range, but he’s long been a student of various wars and is a serious lover of classic fiction (meaning that he can handle the most intense and obscure language and sentence structure). That high school student of mine devoured this story but found it to be a bit cheesy. I think he may have meant preachy – there are longish passages of scripture, which are a bit unusual. He was full of enthusiasm for the message, though, saying that the book has a clear and very Christian message. I think it would make a great family read aloud – I can see it being used to introduce various World War II concepts to a variety of ages. This would also make it easy to discuss both the Christian message and the historical concepts together.

Prisoner of War is a large paperback book with a full-color cover that’s just shy of 400 pages. The font and clear spacing keeps the reader turning pages, though, and this organization structure makes it easy to read. While he is a great reader, he finished this book in two short reading sessions!

The book also includes a few special features that really add value to it as an educational tool. The author has written a note in the back that’s several pages long and details items of historical note that served as inspiration for the author. There’s also a glossary that defines terms used in book, including aeronautical, mechanical, historical, and German terminology. A historical note precedes the story itself, setting the stage for the story by outlining the major events of the war up to 1943.

Read on for my full review of Prisoner of War by Whatsoever stories.

The author is another unique aspect of this book. Rockett is a young homeschool graduate, so this wasn’t penned by the traditional middle-aged author writing for a big publisher. Instead, Rockett is pursuing her interest in creative writing and history by writing stories that bring various aspects of World War II to life. I love seeing people follow their dreams!

I think Prisoner of War would make a great family read aloud for people studying heroes in general or World War II specifically. It’s based on much real history and the author has done much research to inform her writing. Don’t take my word for it, though – read more reviews from the Homeschool Review Crew by clicking here.

Four Reasons to Teach Gordon Korman’s Novel Linked

February 14, 2022 by Amy 2 Comments

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When I read Gordon Korman’s new book Linked a few months ago, I knew immediately that it would make for a perfect book club pick – and that’s why we’re reading this book next week. Most of Gordon Korman’s books are funny and easy to read with some sort of positive lesson, but Linked is his strongest book yet. I can’t wait to discuss the many themes of history, free speech, connectedness, and why history and truth matter with my kids.

That’s really one of my favorite things to do with books. I love when a book brings up themes or events that are controversial enough for us to have really deep discussions about them without being too heavy or depressing, and despite the fact that this book delves into the Holocaust and touches on KKK rallies, Korman walks the perfect line of respectful balance between these two huge events and his young readers.

Linked provides excellent opportunities for having these discussions. There are many openings for how to handle past events that are uncomfortable, how to consider the perspective and feelings of other people, and what to do when you’ve gotten your feelings hurt and have hurt the feelings of others.

If you prefer a more hands-on approach to your book clubs or classes, there are many ways to bring this story to life, whether you want a full unit study or simply plan to spend an afternoon recreating some of the more fun aspects of the story. From simple paper chaining to research, tech, or cooking, there are lots of options here.

I also love that this book is presented as a coming-of-age story in many ways as Link wrestles with what it means to be a man, yet the book is perfectly clean and respectful towards everyone. Unlike many contemporary books with these themes, Link’s general questions concern maturity, respect, and future goals, and these are appropriate for kids of all ages to consider, but ones that definitely deepen with growth.

Because compassion, truth, and good manners are traits that everyone needs. Even though this book deals with heavy topics, it’s written in an easy to read manner, and it’s accessible to a wide range of ages. If you have older students who aren’t ready to read the usual Holocaust texts, I feel that Linked is a great alternative because many of the issues and themes are still there – just in an easier-to-read format.

4 Reasons Students Should Read Gordon Korman’s Linked – Find out why and get the resource here.

We’re reading Linked next week, and since I’ve done all of the planning for our club meeting, I wanted to share my work with you! I’ve created a resource with discussion and creative writing prompts, and you can find it here. There are more than 100 questions perfect for discussion, whether in small groups, whole classes, or families, and they’re also reorganized for you into a format that works well for assessment, study, or homework. The creative writing prompts ask students to create chapters for new situations, write simple essays, journal entries, newspaper articles, ads, to turn a scene into a graphic novel page, and more. Included are rubrics to make scoring each type of writing simple.

Get the resources you need to help your students dig into Gordon Korman’s *Linked* here – just click on the image above.

To recap? Here’s why your students will benefit from Gordon Korman’s Linked:

It provides natural opportunities to discuss weighty issues, like dealing with painful past events, both on personal and historical levels.
It’s easy to read, making it accessible to readers of all skill levels.
It’s a clean coming-of-age story with themes of respect, maturity, compassion, and empathy: traits that everyone should consider.
There are easy ways to extend this story in hands-on and interdisciplinary ways.

How do you use discussion to deepen novel studies and story time?

Why Strange Star is the Perfect Autumn Read

September 21, 2021 by Amy Leave a Comment

When the leaves start to change color and the temperature drops, when pumpkins and apples rule every roadside market and suddenly orange is everyone’s favorite color, … one can’t help but think of autumn. Of color and beauty and abundance but also of the coming winter and full moons and stark branches. It can be a bit spooky, and anything that draws strong emotions just begs for a story. Especially when it’s a whole season.

That’s why Strange Star is the perfect autumn read for your middle-school classroom or your family. It’s great for book clubs – that’s where I taught it – or in lit class or for a student choice read. It’s a fast-paced adventure story that will engage your students immediately.

Because it’s the imagined backstory to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.

How did she write that story, anyway? What prompted a woman to tell a tale of corpses and surgeries and scientific experiments gone awry? What made this young woman pen a tale of heartbreak and horror?

Emma Carroll’s imagined version is definitely a modern idea of what might have happened – but that’s part of what makes it so great. It’s a colorful tale of adventure, of a diverse cast of characters considering what if: What if I could have saved that baby? What if people had the power to reverse death? What if, despite my history and reputation, I can be different? What if my past didn’t dictate my future? What if a person’s gender or skin color doesn’t define who they are or what they can do? What if society’s norms can be changed?

Carroll’s story is a work of historical fiction at its best: it acknowledges historical ideas and cultural norms but puts characters in place who challenge them in ways that fit the parameters of the story. It’s based on real science and real history, so it’s meaty, but it involves folklore and crushes and scientific experiments and gossip and enough murderous intent to engage any student. Strange Star will prompt your students to challenge old ideas and encourage lively discussions and creative writing – and I enjoyed digging into this book so much that I made it a book club read for both of the groups I work with.

Our book clubbers chose to discuss this at night, in the country beside a roaring bonfire at the side of a pond, while we roasted hot dogs and made s’mores and generally got into the spooky groove of the whole thing. We enjoyed being able to consider kid and adult opinions alike – but whether you meet in a classroom or a campsite, your students will have a great time with this story.

That’s why I’m sharing these Discussion Questions and Creative Writing Prompts for Emma Carroll’s Strange Star.

Emma Carroll’s *Strange Star* is the perfect autumn read for your family, book club, or classroom.

This resource includes discussion questions sorted by chapter for teacher use and organized additionally with a single chapter’s questions per page for student use for cooperative learning, homework, or assessment. There are also essay questions and creative writing prompts, all designed to encourage interaction with the story and to demonstrate comprehension.

There is so much to dig into with Strange Star – I know you’ll have great conversations with it!

What are you reading this season?

Five Reasons Why Your Students Need Mock Trials

June 8, 2021 by Amy Leave a Comment

There are so many reasons I love teaching with literature, but one of the biggest is that it can spark learning in so many ways. That’s what happened when I chose to use The Lemonade Crime with my kids’ book clubs a few years ago – a book that lends itself well to mock trials.

I created a few simple mock trial resources for my students to use so that they could practice what they had learned about the American legal system – and they went far beyond what I expected. I’m a huge fan of mock trials now, and here’s why I think you should be, too.

5 Reasons Your Students Need Mock Trials

PS – The following is totally applicable if you’re a classroom teacher. With larger numbers, there are many ways you could hold your own mock trial! You don’t need a full class, though – I’ve done these with only a handful of kids, and they work beautifully.

A mock trial is a simple PBL (project-based learning) assignment. Students are given a problem to solve (is so-and-so guilty or innocent?) and then they work to find an answer to that question. This is a real-life type of assignment, and students can see the point in it. PBLs are easy for teachers to use, because once you give the assignment and provide the basic motivation and materials, the students run with it. This leaves the teacher free to conference with students and to guide as necessary.
Mock trials are interactive. A basic American courtroom trial involves two legal teams, a judge, a jury, and others. That means people who are working together, listening to each other, trying to refute arguments – teamwork! Kids typically like to work together – and a mock trial has enough roles for kids to be able to plan their parts individually or in small groups and then to use their natural strengths. Those students who usually have a hard time sitting still, taking notes, or just listening have a chance to shine! –> How does one have students work together during a pandemic? No worries! I created this digital mock trial so that students can still collaborate and host an online event. This version can be done together online or individually.
A mock trial assignment is creative. It’s never the same twice, as no two students will think of the same reasons and rationales, and so a certain amount of thinking-on-your-feet is required. There’s not necessarily a right or wrong answer. This allows students to piggyback off of each others’ work and can extend learning in new directions.
Mock trials ask students to think from new perspectives. This inherently involves higher-order thinking and takes students deeper into the minds of characters and events than they may go otherwise. It also provides scaffolding for students who may have trouble doing this independently.
Mock trials are engaging. Students are people and most people are competitive. We want to win! By ramping up the drama when you present the assignment, you create buy-in for the students – and they will automatically want their legal team to win. With that goal in mind, they’re engaged – and engaged, motivated students are more likely to learn – and to behave. It’s a double win!

I’ve created two mock trials to pair with fairy tales. These are stories that most kids know and can easily relate to – but directions are included for using these with a literature class.

The great thing, though? You can teach so many things with these mock trials: character traits, civics, teamwork, public speaking, and more. To that end, these mock trials can be used with a wide variety of purposes in mind – an equally diverse age range.

Put the Third Little Pig on trial with these print and digital resources.

Put Goldilocks on trial with this mock trial resource.

Here’s what other teachers had to say about these resources:

What to teachers say about these mock trials?

I created these resources using fairy tales that most American children know – but that doesn’t mean they should only be used by children! Older students are able to dig deeper into the nuances of the stories, and others can use them, too! These resources have been used with classroom teachers for literature and social studies work, but also with homeschoolers, scout troops – even a pre-law college class! The sky’s the limit for these open-ended, flexible plans.

Have you used a mock trial with your students? I’d love to hear about your experience in the comments!

Book Club, Dystopian Edition: The Hunger Games

January 21, 2021 by Amy Leave a Comment

One of the things I love about homeschooling is our ability to study literature in any way that we choose – and we choose to make it as hands-on and interactive as possible. Which, of course, has gotten much more complicated with this pandemic and the need for social distancing.

That’s one reason I was super excited to teach The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, though. It’s the perfect book to study outside!

We had a lot of fun with this book, though – not just at our interactive, outdoor book club event, but with the reading and the analysis. Suzanne Collins is a master of symbolism and meaning, and that made it super fun to peel back the layers of this story.

Book Club, Dystopian Edition: The Hunger Games

We spent time discussing the story and having some competitive contests in teams. The kids built things, hunted for things, and got creative, all in the spirit of teamwork and fun and competition.

I think that digging into a story really helps color in the meaning for kids. It helps them take the story deeper and relate it to their own lives. When they debate the issues and think about how the characters might act under different circumstances or what they might do themselves in similar situations, it gives them the opportunity to see the issues in a new light.

That’s why I’ve enjoyed creating these discussion guides and creative writing prompts to accompany The Hunger Games. They’re specifically designed to engage your students in the themes and layers of meaning of the story, as well as to think analytically about what’s happening and to write creatively about the their opinion of the story’s events.

Print-based Discussion Questions & Creative Writing Prompts for ‘The Hunger Games’

There are two versions of this product. One is print-based and formatted just like other discussion guides I’ve created. It’s great for whole classes, book clubs, literature circles, co-ops, or anywhere you need a print-based, in-person resource.

Digital version of the Discussion Questions & Creative Writing Prompts for ‘The Hunger Games’

The digital version is all new. Designed specifically for on-screen use, it features widescreen slide sizes with large fonts for easy reading. The slide layout is simple so that it’s not distracting. It contains all of the discussion questions in short-answer slide formats, as well as the (most of the) creative writing prompts. I did create one creative writing project just for the digital version. The discussion questions and answer key are included in the pdf of teacher materials, giving you a total of 167 pages + slides.

I’m still having fun with this story and am busy creating more resources to make teaching The Hunger Games both easy for you and fun for your students. Stay tuned – there’s more to come!

What books are you reading with your students right now?

Are you looking for more creative resources? Click here to find ideas for your interactive book club event and here for more teaching resources!

Now Available: Three Little Pigs Mock Trial in Print & Digitally

August 17, 2020 by Amy Leave a Comment

I love planning our book club events; I mean, I really love it. They are some of my very favorite lessons to plan and to hold. Still, the boys surprised me when they asked to hold a trial in connection with one of our books a few years ago, but I dug in and created a whole mock trial plan. We put the Third Little Pig on trial that day for his attack on the Wolf, and the boys couldn’t have been more excited! I loved seeing their faces and how engaged they became in the lesson.

That kind of engaging, interactive lesson is what I shoot for – and this pandemic-quarantine had me stumped for a while: how could we turn this kind of creative thinking loose in a digital way? How could we still put the Third Little Pig on trial?

So I’ve created a digital version of the trial that is compatible with Google Apps. It has a landscape layout to maximize ease of reading and is full of color. The lesson still asks you to discuss bias and point of view with your students, but this version also includes that throughout the lesson. Going forward, it still teaches about the people involved in a criminal trial and what their responsibilities are – but it’s fully interactive. Most slides have textboxes where students can respond to the information presented. When the trial begins, students can type in what they think each lawyer, witness, or person might say. This gives them the opportunity to consider the bias of each speaker, to think critically and creatively, and to see how one character might respond to another. There are also slides for students to consider the evidence impartially, as a jury should, and to write their verdict.

I’m really excited about this new digital version because it can be used by anyone, anywhere! Did you know that I’ve heard from many people about how this resource is being used – everywhere from elementary school to pre-law students and even with scouts studying citizenship? It will still work beautifully for your book club or co-op, but it’s also perfect for cooperative learning, whole class events, or even classes working in a paperless or 1:1 format. It’s exciting to see how this project has grown!

That made me want to spruce up the print version – so I’ve worked on that, too. The new, updated print version has almost twice as many pages. It has all the same components, but many are included in different versions so as to be accessible for students of different ages and abilities. Additionally, they have all been reformatted for a cleaner look.

I’m going to work on updating the mock trial product for Goldilocks and the Three Bears next, so if these mock trials are something you can use, stay tuned!

I’m almost finished choosing books and planning book club events for this year, too. That means making lots of plans since I don’t know which events will be in person and which might have to be digital, but I’m so excited to read and dig into these new books with the kids! If you’re looking for creative ways to have fun with literature or to encourage reluctant readers, stay tuned for this year’s plan – and find more about our past adventures here.

Pin this image to share this mock trial resource with your friends!

Want to know more about the benefits of mock trials? Find out five reasons they work here.

Have you used a mock trial with your students? Share about your experience in the comments!

Little Women Study Guide by Progeny Press – Review

July 8, 2020 by Amy 2 Comments

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

As a professional teacher, I love planning schoolwork for my kids. It’s really fun for me – but I definitely love working with some subjects more than others, and sometimes I need a break even in the subjects I love. That’s one of the reasons I’ve enjoyed having my Big Helper work with the Little Women Study Guide by Progeny Press. It’s a high quality product by a great company, and we know we can trust their products!

I love that these literature guides are from a Christian perspective. Scripture is compared to characters’ actions and examined throughout the story. This both takes the student deeper into the story and can help them learn real life lessons in a way that the story alone cannot teach. (See the top question in the picture below for an example of this.)

The variety of activities within this guide is another element that we liked. Throughout the guide, there are suggestions for activities that the student can do that go beyond books and paper. It’s an opportunity to work with one’s hands and to use talents and gifts that take place away from a desk (usually). I love this part of the guide, and My Big Helper really liked working on these activities.

This study guide is digital, and that means that beyond reading the story, everything must be done on the computer. That makes these interactive activities even more important. With pages and pages of digital content, though, My Big Helper felt that sometimes it became difficult to see where she left off – especially on pages like the one above, where there are several optional activities to choose from. She used a digital tool to circle them as she completed them to make it very easy to see.

Another great element of the Progeny Press study guides is the overall structure itself. There are prereading activities available, and background reading about the author and the work itself; but then the student reads the literature – all in the same week. That is a huge plus for my kids; as fast readers who hate to put a book down, nothing makes them despise schoolwork more than interrupting their reading time. Because Progeny Press introduces the work and then lets the student read it uninterrupted, you get to enjoy the flow of the story and can then analyze it afterwards, and that works beautifully. My kids both have a much better appreciation for what they’re reading when they can do it this way.

As far as the written work itself goes, My Big Helper enjoyed the vocabulary work the best. This work was the most unlike the rest, and she enjoyed this variation in even the digital, onscreen activities.

Each of these digital guides is worth 1/4 high school credit, so using four of these high-school level guides equals one year’s worth of literature credit. It’s easy to open the file and type in your answers, and they work through the story thoroughly. They walk students through story analysis well and in a variety of ways. My Big Helper did have trouble with her work being saved, however. Despite doing this correctly, she had some answers delete themselves several times, and so she started opening a separate file and typing her answers into that so that they would not get lost. I’m not sure how this could be fixed, but it is very frustrating to the student.

Because these guides are so thorough in analysis and are each worth 1/4 credit, there are a lot of questions to answer. That equals a lot of days and weeks sitting in front of a computer, answering short essay-style questions; and that just isn’t our favorite style of learning on a day-to-day basis. However, at some points of our school year, my kids are busier than others, and this type of repetitive work would be easier to manage than other assignments. I think these could also be really great for people who don’t like to plan literature assignments or who just want that off their plate. Progeny Press‘ work is easy to use, detailed, and predictable. If your student likes knowing exactly what to do each day, this is the perfect curriculum piece for you! Also, with much of education potentially headed online, this is a great option if that’s your style, but don’t take my word for it. Click on the graphic below to read other reviews from the Homeschool Review Crew.

Study Guides for Literature - A New Coat for Anna, In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson, My Side of the Mountain, Animal Farm & Little Women {Progeny Press Reviews}

Want to read another Progeny Press review? Check out this one for The Hound of the Baskervilles!

“Millionaires for the Month” by Stacy McNulty – Review

May 17, 2020 by Amy Leave a Comment

How would you spend five million dollars in 30 days? A billionaire’s wallet, a bizarre challenge, and an unlikely friendship send two kids on a wild adventure. From the author of The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl Stacy McNulty.

Felix Rannells and Benji Porter were never supposed to be field-trip partners. Felix is a rule follower. Benji is a rule bender. They’re not friends. And they don’t have anything to talk about. Until . . .

They find a wallet. A wallet that belongs to tech billionaire Laura Friendly. They’re totally going to return it-but not before Benji “borrows” twenty dollars to buy hot dogs. Because twenty dollars is like a penny to a billionaire, right?

But a penny has value. A penny doubled every day for thirty days is $5,368,709.12! So that’s exactly how much money Laura Friendly challenges Felix and Benji to spend. They have thirty days. They can’t tell anyone. And there are LOTS of other rules. But if they succeed, they each get ten million dollars to spend however they want.

Challenge accepted! They rent cool cars, go to Disney World, buy pizza for the whole school-and that’s just the beginning! But money can’t buy everything or fix every problem. And spending it isn’t always as easy and fun as they thought it would be. . . .

Could you spend $5M in a single month? That’s the question author McNulty asks in her latest middle-grade novel.

Stacy McNulty’s new book Millionaires for the Month asks the question “Could you spend $5 million in a single month?” as middle-schoolers Felix and Benji try their best to answer it. The book is a fun ride through the advantages that money provides but with serious reminders that money can’t provide those things that are most important to us all: family, friendship, kindness, and generosity. It’s a warning against greed and selfishness and peer pressure and dishonesty all wrapped up in a fun kids’ story.

I see being able to do a lot of fun and educational activities with this book. There are potential lessons about legal contracts, budgets and finances, event planning, social media use, and much more here. It would make a great book club book or a whole class/family read-aloud! The icing on the cake is that the McNulty includes some bonus pages in the back with information about the penny challenge and a tipping schedule from the beginning of the story. I like that these are provided and they could definitely be a springboard for more learning.

I enjoyed the boys’ inherent differences, too. Felix and Benji come from very different families and social classes, too, with seemingly different values, at least in a few places. That allows McNulty to pit them against each other in several places throughout the book, providing obstacles and conflict while they (and the reader) learn valuable lessons. Best of all are the great character lessons that are taught throughout the story, especially at the end.

Spoiler alert: this book does contain social diversity. I could have done without that, but I appreciate that McNulty does not try to justify it or push others towards this in the story.

It can be hard to find books that feature middle school-aged boys with sound character and great lessons. Even harder to find ones that are not dumbed down or full of potty humor. This is one of those rare gems. I look forward to using it with book club next year.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Looking for more book reviews? Find mine here.

What are your kids reading this month?

Book Club, Sherlock Holmes Edition: “Death Cloud”

April 17, 2020 by Amy Leave a Comment

My Big Helper is a freshman in high school now, and finding good books for her to read with her friends – who range in age by a few years on either side of that – has been increasingly tricky. I look for challenging yet interesting stories in a variety of genres, and oddly, mystery stories have been especially difficult to find – at least until I found Death Cloud.

A book named Death Cloud may not seem the type to have a positive message, but it’s a fascinating story on many levels! Written by Andrew Lane, this book is the first in a series about Sherlock Holmes as a teenager. It’s also the only book (series) approved by the family of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle – and with the wealth of Sherlock spin-offs out there, that says something.

Death Cloud is a YA book for obvious reasons. It includes fights, death, murder, weapons, first crushes, and more, but it does not glorify the violence. Instead it concentrates on the ways that young Sherlock defends himself and his friends against it, on the lessons that he learns from his mentor, and the ways that he takes a stand for what he believes is right. There are moral and ethical dilemmas within that make for great discussion, and the vocabulary alone makes for a challenging read.

Best of all, though, Lane nails the essence of the famous detective. He proves that even at the age of fourteen he has the ability to make amazing observations and enough scientific knowledge to draw wise conclusions from them. These situations make the reader want to cheer Sherlock on and propel the reader through the story.

For all of these reasons, I was excited to choose Death Cloud as our book club pick for February. We started out by discussing the story and many of the ethical dilemmas within. Is it ever okay to lie? Does truth ever trump obedience? To what lengths should you go to defend yourself? Your friends? What is a friend?

I was really excited about our second activity – an escape room! My kids love to pit themselves against characters from their favorite stories, so I created an escape room-style challenge based on this book.

With only four girls in attendance that day, they opted not to split up but to solve the puzzles together. I love seeing how happy they are to stick together!

Although it was February, the weather was mild, so we held our meeting outside. One puzzle required the pieces to be hidden, so I hid them around our yard for the girls to find.

After collecting all the pieces, they moved to the deck, where they worked to put together all the pieces. In the end, they were able to solve the whole thing – but just a few minutes late!

Finally, as marionettes play a role in the story, the girls each crafted her own. They brought long-limbed stuffed animals from the local dollar store and used craft sticks and string to create a simple puppet.

It was a lot of fun, easy to do, and they each got great results!

I really enjoyed making the escape room challenge for Death Cloud, and so I’ve added it to my TpT store here. It’s completely printable and utilizes skills and information from the story. There’s a vocabulary challenge, math puzzles, a bee puzzle, literary elements from Charge of the Light Brigade, and more. Check it out!

What are you reading right now? Do your students like escape rooms? Let me know in the comments!

Heroes of History: Meriwether Lewis – Review

March 24, 2020 by Amy 1 Comment

Meriwether Lewis: Off the Edge of the Map

One of my favorite benefits of homeschooling is being able to customize our educational activities to my kids’ specific interests and skills. One way that we do this is with unit studies. We love being able to choose a theme or a book and to dive deep into it – and YWAM Publishing makes this easy to do with their their digital unit studies that accompany their Heroes of History books. Our most recent pick? The leader of the Corps of Discovery – the Lewis and Clark expedition – Meriwether Lewis himself in Meriwether Lewis: Off the Edge of the Map.

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My Little Man has loved explorers for a long time. He’s fascinated with the outdoors and adventure and animals, and so he’s been working hard on a big project centered around Meriwether Lewis. I knew that the YWAM biography of this man would be an excellent way to learn more about him.

The stories in the Heroes of History series really focus on what makes each figure stand out. I liked the way that Lewis’ leadership qualities were portrayed, from the time he was a young boy until the expedition’s end. The authors showed the cause-and-effect of his early experiences and how they played a large role in shaping who he became. This wasn’t said in so many words but in the events and anecdotes that they chose to include, and it was very well done.

My Little Man has been working hard to learn everything he can about Lewis, and his research has been quite extensive. I love having him run to me, excited to share a new fact he’s just learned. With all of this new knowledge, I appreciate even more the way that the authors explain certain events – especially Lewis’ death. With the mystery surrounding exactly what happened, the authors are careful to share the story truthfully but tactfully, keeping it family friendly but real. Knowing that you can trust an author with your kids is important, and that’s definitely true here.

The unit study that accompanies this book is chock-full of great ideas for learning. I love the creative writing projects that are included. I want do to them all! They’re so fun!

My Little Man enjoyed the related resources section. He watched several of the recommended documentaries and read other books about Lewis, too. I like that this provided an easy way for the whole family to take part in My Little Man’s interest and learning. We watched documentaries at night as a family, and everyone could learn together.

Creating a thematic quote poster for Meriwether Lewis: Off the Edge of the Map — Creating a thematic quote poster for ” Meriwether Lewis: Off the Edge of the Map”

My Little Man really liked the quote section. As suggested in the unit study, he made a sign with one of the thematic quotes and decorated it. We love art activities that we can do during our read aloud time, and this was great for that.

Another neat aspect of the unit study is the suggestion of a culminating activity. This is flexible, of course, but could easily be a party or event where your student(s) can share what’s been learned. Think of it as show and tell on a larger scale! The current virus craziness has pushed ours back a little bit, but we’re looking forward to a simple, super small event outside in a few days. My Little Man will bring the items he’s created during this study and will have the chance to share his knowledge with a (very) few others (from a safe distance away). He’s going to dress up a bit and show his stuff, and that kind of wrap-up to a unit provides an authentic audience that’s super important. We’re all looking forward to it!

I love the unit studies and books in YWAM Publishing‘s Heroes of History series. They’re flexible enough to use with your whole family but rigorous – and creative – enough to customize to each person’s needs. There are waaayyyy more ideas than you need, so you can easily pick what works best for you. Best of all, you can trust the authors to have your kids’ best interests at heart: they are truthful and inspirational but kind and mindful of the children who read them.

We love YWAM Publishing, but don’t take our word for it – hop over here to read other reviews from the Homeschool Review Crew.

32 Heroes of History {YWAM Publishing Reviews}

Check out my review of YWAM’s Christopher Columbus book and unit study, too!