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EXTENSION PACKAGE FOR OLDER STUDENTS:
$133.25 - Save $23.52 [Add to Cart]
Adding this optional package to the Economy Package extends the areas of history and science to include more independent, advanced reading material. This allows your 4th and 5th grade students to learn along with your younger students.
Note: If you enjoy reading literature that corresponds with your history studies, another option would be to read-aloud these titles to your younger students. This would be in addition to the read-alouds you are doing for the storytime part of the plans. (An optional schedule of readings for these books is provided in the Appendix of Bigger Hearts for His Glory.)
The history readings from A Child's Story of America correspond to each unit in Bigger Hearts for His Glory by topic or by time period. Older students will first listen along with younger students to the scheduled history readings from the resources in the Economy Package. Then, older students will independently read the assigned text and literature from the Extension Package for each unit. These readings will provide more details about people and events already being studied and help older students become immersed in the time period.
 The
story of this great work comes from the "History of the United States."
You do not need to sit and dream about how the wonderful work of
building our noble nation was done, for you can read it all here. Here
you are told how brave explorers came over the seas and found beyond the
waves a land none of them had ever seen before. You are told how they
settled on these shores, cut down the trees and built villages and
towns, met the Indians and learned to cultivate the land, and made
themselves homes in the midst of fertile fields. You are told how others
came, how they spread wider and wider over the land, how log cabins grew
into mansions, and villages into cities, and how at length they fought
for and gained their liberty.Read on and you will learn of more wonderful things still. The history of the past two hundred years is a story of a God-blessed land. In it you will learn of how the steamboat was first made and in time came to be seen on all our rivers and lakes; of how the locomotive was invented and railroads were built, until they are now long enough in our country to go eight times round the earth; of the marvels of the telegraph and telephone - the talking wire; of the machines that rumble and roar in a thousand factories and work away like living things, and of a multitude of computer-driven marvels. You will also learn how men kept on coming, and wars were fought, and new land was gained, and bridges were built, and canals were dug, and our people increased and spread until we became one of the greatest nations on the earth. This little history will be of great service, in showing how, from a few half-starved settlers on a wild coast, this great nation has grown up. I need say no more, however, for the book has its own story to tell. |
 Pedro,
one of three ship's boys on board the Santa Maria, acknowledges that he
was hired on not for his seamanship, but for his ability to read and
write. Conrad uses the device of a journal to tell of his adventures
with Columbus. Pedro's journal is a vivid revelation of the
details of the voyage as well as the time period. Readers see the boy's
discomfort in the explorer's proprietary treatment of the natives and,
in particular, his shame that these people are allowed to believe that
the Spaniards are deities. Koeppen's line drawings, many of the ships
and their equippage, add dimension to the plot. Conrad's story will
serve as an attractive alternative to nonfiction reading on the subject. |
 Famous for saving the life of Captain John Smith in 1608, Pocahontas was the favorite daughter of the Native American chief of the Powhatans. This introduction to the Native American legend shows how she made enormous contributions to the survival of the Jamestown colonists in Virginia and her lasting impression on American history. Illustrations. |
 Almost
Home is the story of the Pilgrims' journey to America, and of God's
providence and provision in their journey. Several of the characters
mentioned in the story - Mary Chilton, Constance Hopkins and Elizabeth
Tilley - were actual passengers on the Mayflower! Mary Chilton was a
young girl when she left her home in Holland and traveled to America
onboard the Mayflower with her parents. The journey was filled with
trials, joys, and some surprises, but when she reaches the New World she
experiences a new life, a new freedom, a new home. Wendy Lawton has
taken the facts of the Pilgrims' journey to the New World, and from this
information filled in personal details to create a genuine and
heart-warming story.Eugene A. Fortine, Governor General of the General Society of Mayflower Descendants says, Almost Home is well researched. . . well-written. . . the Pilgrim story seen through the eyes of 13-year-old Mary Chilton. |
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Unit 8 The New Americans :Colonial Times:1620-1689 by Betsy Maestro, Giulio Maestro, Reading Level - 6.5 $7.99 [Add to Cart]  This
ongoing series introduces our country's history to young readers in an
appealing picture-book format. Clear, texts combine with informative, accurate illustrations to help
young people develop an understanding of America's past and present. The New Americans is the story of the colonists - the more than two hundred thousand new Americans - who came over from Europe and struggled to build a home for themselves in a new world |
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Units 9-10-11 Ben and Me: An Astonishing Life of Benjamin Franklin by His Good Mouse Amos by Robert Lawson Reading Level - 6.7 $7.99 [Add to Cart]  In A New and Astonishing Life Of Benjamin Franklin As Written by His
Good Mouse AMOS, young readers will discover that while the good Mr.
Franklin got considerable credit, many of his most important
contributions really originated with Amos, a less-than-humble
rodent. Oh sure, his manuscript was found by author-editor Robert
Lawson and published first in 1939, but discerning readers ever
since have figured that it's the mouse who's the fellow with the ...
tale. This book is also in the Classic Set Deluxe Package of Bigger Hearts for His Glory. |
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Units 12-13-14 Guns for General Washington by Seymour Reit, ISBN 0152164359 Reading Level - 6.1 $7.99 [Add to Cart] 
A novel about a little-known event in American history--the great cannon
trek of 1775. Colonel Henry Knox conceived a plan to take desperately
needed cannons and ammunition from New York's Fort Ticonderoga to Boston
where rebel forces feared that a British attack was imminent. The huge,
ungainly guns had to be moved during the winter over hundreds of miles
of mountainous wilderness. This is a fast paced, well-told adventure
story. Dialogue among the characters sounds authentic and never forced.
Will Knox, the colonel's 19-year-old brother, goes along on the trek and
provides a character with whom readers can readily identify. Guns for
General Washington is a satisfying piece of historical fiction
that provides a clear telling of an important chapter in American
history. |
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Units 15-16 Toliver's Secret, by Esther Wood Brady, ISBN 0679848045 Reading Level - 4.7 $6.50 [Add to Cart]  When her grandfather is injured, 10-year-old Ellen Toliver replaces him
on a top-secret patriotic mission. Disguised as a boy, she manages to
smuggle a message to General George Washington. This is an unusually
fine historical novel for this age level. |
Andy and his family are taking a flatboat a thousand miles down the Tennessee River to a new home at a place called French Salt Lick. The boat is supposed to be safe - that's why the women, children, and animals are all put on board, while Ralph and Uncle Az hike cross-country through Indian Territory. But not before Andy's uncle gives him a buffalo hunting knife.
Yet the big boat hits all sorts of trouble. It runs aground again and again, plunges through rapids and waterfalls, and is attacked by bands of Chickamauga Indians - first in broad daylight, then by cover of night using flaming arrows. What with all the surprise, Andy almost forgets about his buffalo knife - which disappears when he needs it most. |
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Units 19-20-21-22 Once on this Island by Gloria Whelan, ISBN 0064406199 Reading level 5.4 $6.99 [Add to Cart]  When
war erupts between England and America in 1812, it brings change and
uncertainty-even to Michigan's remote Mackinac Island. For young Mary
O'Shea, the hardest change is the departure of her father, who leaves
Mackinac to join the American Army. With her sister and brother, Mary
must tend the farm, deal with the hardships of British occupation, and
hope for the safe return of their father. The story, told with quiet
humor, brings to life this episode in history. The readers feels the
beauty of the island, the pain of separation, [and] the anxiety and fear
produced by war. |
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Units 23-24-25 By the Great Horn Spoon by Sid Fleischman, ISBN 0316286125 Reading Level 5.5 Price $8.99 [Add to Cart] 
Brimming with humor and adventure, this story is set during the Gold Rush. The fast-moving plot follows the high spirited young Jack and his aunt's faithful
butler, Praiseworthy, as they set out to strike it rich in order to
support the financially strapped and beloved Aunt Arabella. As Jack
and the loyal butler travel by sea and land, the pair meet a series
of memorable characters such as the daring, crusty sea Captain Swain
and the diabolical Cut-Eye Higgins. This book is also in the Boy Interest Set Deluxe Package of Bigger Hearts for His Glory. |
 Born
into slavery, young Harriet Tubman knew only hard work and hunger.
Escape seemed impossible--certainly dangerous. Yet Harriet did escape
North, by the secret route called the Underground Railroad. Harriet
didn't forget her people. Again and again she risked her life to lead
them on the same secret, dangerous journey. |
 The
year is 1905. Automobiles are little more than rich men's toys and many
short-sighted people feel that everything that can be invented has been
invented! In the early 1900's there are only 150 miles of paved road in
the entire country. Fifty percent of Americans live and work on farms.
Radios and refrigerators are still years away. Women are not allowed to
vote yet and Teddy Roosevelt is in office. Against this background come
two adventuresome boys, Temple and Bud Abernathy. Raised by their
widowed father, "Catch-'em-Alive" Jack Abernathy, known as the man from
Oklahoma who catches wolves with his hands . . . the boys, ages 5 and 9,
set out on a series of daring rides across America. First, alone on
horseback from Frederick, Oklahoma to Santa Fe, New Mexico and back.
Then to New York City, alone on horseback and back to Oklahoma driving
their own "Brush" automobile. Bud & Me is one of the 20th
Century's most exciting true stories of courage and adventure. |
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Units 31-32-33-34 Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan, ISBN 043912042X Reading Level - 5.3 $7.99 [Add to Cart]  Esperanza
thought she'd always live with her family on their ranch in
Mexico--she'd always have fancy dresses, a beautiful home, & servants.
But a sudden tragedy forces Esperanza and Mama to flee to California
during the Great Depression, and to settle in a camp for Mexican farm
workers. Esperanza isn't ready for the hard labor, financial struggles,
or lack of acceptance she now faces. When their new life is threatened,
Esperanza must find a way to rise above her difficult
circumstances--Mama's life and her own depend on it. |
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In the area of science, Exploring Planet Earth is used to provide more advanced science material on topics not already covered in the science portion of Bigger Hearts for His Glory. This text was not chosen to use as a substitute for the science in Bigger Hearts for His Glory, rather it was selected to use in addition to the science resources and experiments already found in Bigger Hearts for His Glory, Exploring Planet Earth covers a similar time period in history to that being studied in Bigger Hearts for His Glory. Blending a creationism perspective of science with definitions of terms and identification of famous explorers and scientists, this book gives students an excellent knowledge of people and places. Rather than corresponding by unit to the science plans, it is meant to be used as a stand alone text that introduces students to even more men of science in a biographical way.  The
first in a series of books on science, this book has broad appeal
for any elementary-age child, but is written specifically as a resource
tool for fifth grade through junior high level.Blending a creationism perspective of history with definitions of terms and identification of famous explorers, scientists, etc., this book gives students an excellent initial knowledge of people and places, encouraging them to continue their studies in-depth. Supplemented with photographs, illustrations, and chapter review activities, Exploring Planet Earth brings to life people like Marco Polo and Christopher Columbus, and gives students the opportunity to read history that hasn't been altered or erased altogether. Table of Contents Chapter 1
How Big is the Earth? |
 The Story of Thomas Alva Edison is scheduled in the Appendix in
addition to the biography of Edison already used in Bigger Hearts for
His Glory. It provides more events and details from Edison's life.
Thomas Edison set up a laboratory in his basement when he was just ten years old. Soon after, he sold candy on a train so he could buy chemicals for a lab he'd installed in the baggage car. When he got older, he worked as a telegraph operator and found ways to make the telegraph work faster and more efficiently. He went on to invent the phonograph, motion pictures, and even the electric light bulb - revolutionary inventions that forever changed the way people live. |