YWAM Publishing - Heroes of History - Benjamin Rush Review

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

We recently had the opportunity to review the book and study guide for the Benjamin Rush - The Common Good - Heroes of History book from YWAM Publishing.  We also received the PDF Study Guide that went along with this title.  My history fan devoured this book!
I am a huge history fan, and I gradually have turned Caty into a history fan also.  We were very excited to get the opportunity to review the Benjamin Rush book in the Heroes of History series.  This series has been a fun way to learn more about history in the United States and around the world.  

The Heroes of History series from YWAM Publishing is a biography series written for upper elementary through high school students to that bring to life 29 different individuals from history.  These include historical figures like George Washington, Elizabeth Fry, Clara Barton, Milton Hershey, Orville Wright, John Smith, John Adams and so many more!

The series is written in a way that is not just reading facts about the historical figures life, but the child feels like they are reading an actual story.  
From the publisher, we received a paperback copy of the title - Benjamin Rush - The Common Good .  The chapter book is well printed, and sturdy.  Caty is not always the most gentle with her books.  She carries around her current books interests in a bag that gets dragged all over.  She falls asleep with the books while reading them also.  So for this book to still look as though we may have just received it, is saying a lot. 
We also received the PDF Study Guide - Benjamin Rush - The Common Good.  This easy to download file is packed full of extra information and activities to really bring the historical figure you are learning about to life.  Activities include chapter review reading comprehension questions, creative writing prompts, essay writing ideas for older students, ideas on how to bring the historical figure more to life in your classroom area, field trip ideas, vocabulary, art projects, and even printable maps. 

All of this material is easily presented in a way that you can use it with multiple learning styles.  One way we made an adjustment was for Caty and I to review her comprehension questions orally, instead of writing her answers.  She struggles big time with writing, so I knew that even though she knew the answers, she would not be able to put her thoughts on paper and would be frustrated.  We changed these to an oral review.  I would assign her chapters to read (which she didn't follow since she couldn't stop reading it...lol) and then I would review the comprehension questions from the study guide with her.  We worked on the printable maps together and she has been reviewing important events of the American Revolution.
We have had the opportunity to review other books from the Heroes of History series in the past, and I have always found them to be well-written and fun to read.  Several of them are available on audiobook also, so that makes it easier for students who struggle with reading disabilities and comprehension problems.   
The Heroes of History series really are great for students that have high comprehension levels (through both reading or listening), because they are packed full of life  experiences that are beyond just basic facts.

The Study Guides that you can purchase to go along with the stories are excellent for all ages and all learning styles.  They are packed full of ideas and activities that really help your student to experience history and bring it to life for them.  I love the fact that I can print the materials that I choose to print, thus saving paper.  I leave the PDF opened on my laptop and we just read it off the screen as we were working.

Several members of the Homeschool Review Crew were given the opportunity to review various titles from YWAM Publishing Heroes of History and the Christian Heroes series.  Click on the link below to read how they used this series in their homes and what they thought of it.

 

Renita

YWAM Publishing - Heroes of History - Milton Hershey Review

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.




We recently had the opportunity to review Heroes of History - Milton Hershey: More Than Chocolate by Janet & Geoff Benge and the accompanying study guide Milton Hershey Unit Study Curriculum Guide from YWAM Publishing.  YWAM Publishing Heroes of History series helps to make history more fun for kids to study!

Who knew that man who is known world-wide for chocolate bars, was so much more.  

Milton Hershey grew up poor and suffered through two failed businesses that bankrupted him.  Several members of his family did not even support him and considered him a failure.  Yet he did not let any failures or hurdles that came into his path stop him.  He did allow his experiences to shape him and his past even influenced him to help children who did not have enough by opening The Hershey Industrial School in 1909.  

He was a humble man.  He and his wife helped others and helped to build their community up.  He believed in treating his employees fairly and they would be loyal to the business.  

Caty really enjoyed reading the story of Milton Hershey.  A few years ago we had the opportunity to visit Hershey, PA, so this book gave her a little more of an understanding of the factory we toured and the city we drove through.  I mean what kid wouldn't enjoy reading about the creator of one of her favorite candies?!?!  

YWAM Publishing does a very good job of publishing books that will keep children's interest.  The Heroes of History series features many men and women that have made an influence not only in their lifetime, but also made an impact on history.  These chapter books have been created for late elementary through middle school reading levels, but a High School student could easily use this series for research materials for writing/history fair projects.

We have used several titles from the Heroes of History series from YWAM Publishing.  Through the years we have had the opportunity to review several titles in this series, including George Washington, Alan Shepherd, John Adams, Davy Crockett, Harriett Tubman, Laura Ingalls Wilder, and Clara Barton. 

In order to ensure your student gets a well-rounded education from the story they are reading, YWAM Publishing also offers an easy to downloadable study guide that accompanies most stories, including Milton Hershey, More Than Chocolate.

The Milton Hershey Unit Study Curriculum Guide is a downloadable PDF file.  It's broken into two parts.  The first part includes suggestions on how to use the book and study guide individually or in a group setting.  I love the idea of creating a corner or poster area to create a display about the individual you are studying.  This area could include a display of the products the individual you are studying created or just a poster of sayings and quotes that inspired the person you are studying.  

During this time frame, we did study Inventors and Innovations of our state.  This was one of the suggested topics to help your student to delve into while studying about Milton Hershey.  There are roughly 25 different suggested activities to help students really dig into the life and times of the individual they are reading about.  Suggestions for Milton Hershey also included studying about the Civil War, Spanish-American War, studying candy making, and geography ideas such as map-making.

There are comprehension questions already created for each chapter in the book.  Each set of chapter questions are meant to draw out the student and help them to work on their short-answer skills and increase their vocabulary.  To increase the success in parents creating a well-rounded study, there are several suggestions for creative writing projects and language arts activities.  

In fact, there are activity suggestions for art projects, social studies activities, science studies (who doesn't want to learn how to make and temper chocolate!!), and suggestions are made for further books, magazine and article suggestions to increase your study materials about the person you are learning about.  YWAM Publishing has done such a wonderful job on creating the Milton Hershey Unit Study Curriculum Guide as a companion study to Milton Hershey, More than Chocolate.

Our study of Milton Hershey did not take us deep into the science of chocolate, but we were able to learn more about this man and the legacy that he left.  Caty is a reader, so she actually finished the book in under a week.  I tried assigning chapters to match up with the study guide, but gave up.  She and I discussed the comprehension questions. You could really adjust your study to be roughly a week, but extended out to what length you would like.  Using the Heroes of History series with your family is very flexible and you can adjust it to fit your needs and your student's learning styles..

I highly encourage your to check out Heroes of History as you begin planning your studies for the next school year.  Or even check them out for easy summer studies.  You can easily find a full list, in historical order, on the YWAM Publishing site.  They are a great, and inexpensive way to enhance your history studies.  And even better.....the downloadable Unit Study Curriculum Guides have all the hard work already done for you!!!

Several members of the Homeschool Review Crew were given the opportunity to review books from the Heroes of History from YWAM Publishing.  Click on the link below to see how they used these in their homes and what their family thought of this book series.

Memoria Press - The Story of the Thirteen Colonies & the Great Republic Set Review

We recently had a chance to review The Story of the Thirteen Colonies & The Great Republic Set by H. A. Guerber and also 200 Questions About American History Set compiled by Sean Brooks and published by Memoria Press.

I will admit openly that I do not love modern history books.  It's really hard to find history that doesn't leave out important details, but also is not overwhelming with details.  The Story of the Thirteen Colonies & The Great Republic Set by H. A. Guerber was originally published in two separate volumes in the late 1800s is a great example of how history should be taught.  Memoria Press republished both volumes written by H. A. Guerber into one soft cover book.  Created also for this great history book is a Student Guide and Teachers Guide.  Written to be used with Grades 5 - 8, you can purchase the print set from Memoria Press for $48.00.

The Story of the Thirteen Colonies & The Great Republic student textbook is broken down into 85 easy-to-read "chapters".  They are short, so those who are attention span challenged can easily handle the brief reading assignment either together or on their own.  The chapters cover Pre-Columbus American history through the Spanish-American War.  In the beginning of the book, suggestions are offered to parents on how to use the material so that their children can get the maximum benefits.  The suggestions follow the classical education approach, so famously promoted by Memoria Press publications.

After you determine your child's speed in working their way through the material, the Student Guide comes in very handy for review.  Roughly three chapters are connected together in each Lesson.  Vocabulary terms are explored, and important facts/persons are also reiterated.  Short answer comprehension questions are also included, as well as map work, timeline suggestions and also extra research project ideas.

We have been studying American history for a couple of years now, and I wish I would have had this set when we first started.  The brief, yet thorough material in each chapter would have been great for our boys short attention spans.  It just shows that the new way of teaching things is not always the right way.  We have read through the final chapters of the book, and it went so smoothly with the boys in their understanding.  Since there was not an overabundance of material being thrown at them in each chapter, they didn't feel overwhelmed.   Thus the feeling of anxiety was avoided.  Let me emphasize, that less doesn't mean they were missing out on anything.  It simply means that it was presented in an easier-to-understand form and there were no facts missing.

We also had the opportunity to try out 200 Questions About American History Set compiled by Sean Brooks ($27.90).  This resource can be used right alongside your American History studies using The Story of the Thirteen Colonies & The Great Republic.  Along with the question cards, there is also a student workbook and teacher's guide.  These contain a schedule of drill questions to go along with the reading from The Story of the Thirteen Colonies & The Great Republic.  Included also in the student workbook is a timeline, quote guide of sayings of famous Americans in history and also a President guide your student can fill out through President Barack Obama.

The durable review cards feature the drill questions from the Student workbook.  So your student can lay out the questions and play a game to help them remember the facts they have been studying.  They contain 150 drill questions, 30 timeline dates, and presidential information.

I really wish that we would have had both of these resources when we first started studying American History last year.  The Story of the Thirteen Colonies & The Great Republic Set and 200 Questions About American History Set have been wonderful.  I only wish that it went through modern history.  I know that would not have been possible due to the publishing date, but hey, I could dream.  As we begin to prepare for the next round of American History study soon, I plan on starting out and using both of these resources from Memoria Press for our study.  The ease of use.  The economical cost.  And the fact that it kept our kids attention so makes it worth it!!  The only thing I will need to add is our use of historical movies, which is easy to do.  Thanks for another great addition to our homeschool Memoria Press!!!

Several members of the Homeschool Review Crew were given the opportunity to review various products from Memoria Press, including First Form Greek Complete Set and Iliad and Odyssey Complete Set.  Be sure to click on the link below to see how they used these resources in their homes and how they liked them.