Middle School History Through Literature with Beautiful Feet Ancient History
As you know historical fiction is not only one of my favorite genres to read myself, but one of my favorite methods of teaching history in our homeschool. Teaching History Through Literature is a fun and engaging way to help your kids feel and understand the plights of the people and times throughout history. Instead of just facts, they are engaging in stories, rooting for their favorites, and better understanding the hardships of the times.
Throughout our homeschooling years we have read many historical fiction books (way more than I have covered here on the blog). I find that having a story-line, a person to follow, something to engage in, increases their depth of knowledge and willingness to continue learning more.
In recent years I have also started to add movies into the mix to enhance our history studies. With each historical topic, person, or time period we are covering I try to find a movie (not a documentary, although we are using some) that features what we are covering. I am so pleased with how much more conversation, recollection, and more research has come from watching a movie as part of our history studies!
Middle School History Through Literature
After spending an enormous amount of time creating a Timeline Based Middle School American History plan for my youngest (which I loved, but it was SO time consuming – lucky for all of you I laid it all out here) I was thrilled to switch gears and dive into Ancient History Through Literature using the NEW Beautiful Feet Books Ancient History for Intermediate. {Disclosure: I received a copy Beautiful Feet Ancient History for Intermediate and a few of the required reading books for free. I am being compensated for my time to write this review. I was not required to post a positive review. Please see my full Disclosure Policy for more details.}
“This study will take you and your 5th-8th grader from the beginnings of civilization in Mesopotamia and Sumer, on to ancient Egypt, through the wanderings of the Jews and the splitting of the Israelites into the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah, to the cradle of democracy, ancient Greece, and into the rising Roman Empire and the birth of Christianity.
Hands-on activities add depth to the history while vocabulary lists, comprehension questions, research topics, and website links make this both an academically strong study and one that will engage your entire family in stimulating discussions. Our teacher guide provides the structure you want and the flexibility you need to successfully teach this complex time period.”
Using Beautiful Feet Ancient History Through Literature Guide
The Beautiful Feet Literature Teacher Guides are your “how to”. They are organized into easy to follow lessons, incorporating hands-on activities, vocabulary, notebooking, geography, and so much more. These guides, along with the required reading selections, are designed to be a complete history course.
I love the extra little things they include, like the Pronunciation Guide pictured below that was with the section on Ancient Greece to go along with D’Aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths. Also included in the back of the guide is an Answer Key and Glossary of Vocabulary Words with definitions.
The Ancient History Intermediate study is divided into 5 units:
- Ancient Sumer and Mesopotamia
- Ancient Egypt
- Ancient Israel and Judah
- Ancient Greece
- Ancient Rome
Besides reading, there are tons of other learning activities included in this literature guide. While each section begins with a list of supplemental books (ones I usually pick up at the library right before we start the section), they also begin with a list of hands-on activities you can include with your children. There are tons of various art project ideas, hands on crafting ideas, cooking, and more that go along with each section.
Independence Driven! Each section is broken down into Lessons where you will find reading assignments, mapping, vocabulary, comprehension questions, websites to visit and even report ideas! It is simply laid out making it easy for your middle schooler to follow the plan all on their own.
Flexible! These are guides, meaning you shouldn’t feel bound to them. You may want to skip the suggested Bible verses, making it less religion focused. Or maybe you want to add a movie, or not do all the reading!
Recommended Course of Study for Beautiful Feet Books History Through Literature
Beautiful Feet Books, “believes great literature has the power to unlock history and make it come alive.” They help families do this by choosing the best literature available and making their Teacher Guides easy to use. They offer resources for Teaching History Through Literature across all grade levels. Click Here to find their recommended study sequence.
K-3rd – Early American History, Around the World with Picture Books Part I and Part II, Teaching Character Through Literature
4th-6th – Early American History, History of Science, History of the Horse, Geography Through Literature, Teaching Character Through Literature, History of California, History of Westward Expansion
7th & 8th – Modern American and World History, Ancient History Intermediate, Medieval History Intermediate, History of Classical Music
9th-12th – Early American and World History, Ancient History Sr., Medieval History Sr., Modern U.S. and World History, Government and Economics
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