U.S. History I

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The U.S. History I guide includes the following 6 ½ high school credits:

• U.S. History I (1 full-year credit)
• Government/Civics (½ credit)
• Bible: New Testament Survey (1 full-year credit)
• Constitutional Literacy (½ credit)
• Foreign Language: Spanish II (½ credit)
• English III: American Literature (composed of ½ credit of Literature and ½ credit of Composition/Grammar = 1 full-year credit)
• Science: Chemistry with Lab (1 full-year credit)
• Suggested Math: Algebra II (1 full-year credit)

Total Credits Earned: 6 ½

Note: For students in states that require a full credit in Government or Civics, the ½ credit in the “Constitutional Literacy” course combines with the ½ credit in the “Government” course to earn one full credit in Government or Civics.

Each guide in the “Hearts for Him Through High School” series includes everything you need to earn all required credits for a full year of high school study. With Heart of Dakota, your child will be well-prepared for college and beyond. 

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U.S. History I covers pre-colonial America through the Civil War and Reconstruction period – as it chronologically covers U.S. and church history.

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U.S. History I features 35 units with complete daily plans.  Each unit last 4 days, which gives your child the 5th day of each week to pursue outside interests.  The 4-day plan can be stretched over 5 days if needed.

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U.S. History I has engaging daily lessons that take approximately 6 ½ hours for the student to complete.  More time will be needed if your child lingers on activities or you choose to draw out discussions.

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We recommend reading through the “Overview” of U.S. History I at the beginning of the school year.  Then, take some time to look over the “Course Descriptions, Required Resources, Course Materials, and Grading” provided for each subject.  This will help you know which materials you should have and what you need to do to prepare for the school year.  After that the time you spend planning daily is almost none.  We want your child to be able to wake up in the morning, open his/her guide, and begin the day.

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Each box of the daily plans is coded with a letter that designates whether that subject is to be “T = Teacher Directed,” “S = Semi-Independent,” or “I = Independent.”  Dividing the plans in this manner helps you know your expected level of involvement and guides your child toward more independent work.

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At the high school level, the daily plans are written directly to the student.  This means we are intending for the high school student to have ownership of the U.S. History I guide and read directly from the guide’s plans to complete all needed subjects.

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The U.S. History I Journal pages are an integral part of the United States History I study.  Journal assignments include graphic organizer-style notes, written opinions, historical maps, talking points with visual aids, critical thinking questions and answers, analysis of primary source documents, multi-paragraph written narrations, quotations in context and more!

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To understand the flow of history, students keep a timeline within the Book of Centuries of the major events and people studied throughout the year.  The timeline consists of both a portrait gallery of drawings by Amy Pak as well as lined timeline entries keyed to readings within the U.S. History I guide.  In Charlotte Mason-style fashion, students continue to add to their Book of Centuries throughout their high school years, making the Book of Centuries a one-time purchase.

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If you have more than one student using this curriculum, you will want to order additional copies of items that are consumable (one-per-student). In our website’s online store, we list all the consumable items for each guide, as well as the package where each item is included. In this way, you can decide which consumables to order based on the packages you chose to purchase.

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While our first high school guide, World Geography, does set the stage for further high school study, it is not necessary for older high school students to begin with that guide.  Instead, it is more important to place your child in the high school guide that best fits his/her skill level and allows your child to earn needed high school credits.