Schoolhouse Crew Review: Famous Men of Rome

I became a fan of Memoria Press a few months ago when I had an opportunity to review First Start Reading.  I was so excited to be able to review another one of their wonderful products, Famous Men of Rome Set. Memoria Press produces affordable, easy to use, classical ,Christian materials for private schools and homeschools.  Their products are designed with high academic standards but are made to be easy to teach with no previous knowledge of the subject matter required of the teacher.  You can read more about Memoria Press and their philosophy at this link.
The Famous Men of Rome Set ($39.95) is geared for students in grades 4-8th, but it can be used with children a little below and above that age range.  In this study there is 30 lessons covering Ancient Rome's history beginning with the founding of Rome and ending with the end of the Roman Empire. 
Each lesson features a famous man of Rome. The set contains three different products.  The Student Text has the illustrated stories.  The Student Guide is a consumable book that has famous quotes, list of key people and places, vocabulary questions, comprehension questions, and an activities section with mapping activities, discussion questions, research projects and more for every lesson.  The Student Guide also has an appendix with maps of Rome and Italy, a timeline worksheet, drawing pages, drill questions, and a list of Who Said That? The Teacher's Guide has the complete student guide along with the answers.
Text Sample Student Guide Sample Teacher's Guide Sample
I have been using the Famous Men of Rome set with my 8,9,11, and 13 year olds.  I read the lesson from the text aloud and then we work on all the questions in the Student Guide together and I write them down.  If I had only been using it with my two older boys, I would have bought an extra student guide and had them complete it on their own, but I also wanted to include my younger two so it worked out better for us to work on it altogether.  You can complete one lesson per week and have it last a full year, but we completed 2-3 lessons per week so we could finish in a shorter period of time.

My children just love studying the color illustrations!

Famous Men of Rome teaches about the history of Rome through the fascinating stories of her greatest champions and opponents.  It is told in a story like format and has beautiful illustrations. The length of the reading varies from lesson to lesson but they are no more than 8 pages long.  We have been entertained and fascinated by the stories of Romulus, Junius Brutus, Horatius, Coriolanus, and many more.  

Inside the Student Guide

The Student Guide is a wonderful tool.  It has everything and more that you will need for your student to show understanding of the lesson that was taught.  I love the vocabulary section.  Often when reading aloud I don't take the time to stop and explain vocabulary words.  By going over the words with the children, I knew for sure that they would understand what I was reading.  The comprehension questions made them active listeners that could answer the given questions.  There is a review section after every 5 lessons to go over what has been learned so far. There are a variety of activities that you can choose from depending on the student.  I LOVE the maps that are included. We made our timeline using an app on the iPad but there is a timeline sheet that is included in the student guide.

Family Tree of Romulus and Remus and a Drawing of the battle between Horatii and Curiatii

Once again I have found that Memoria Press has stood up to their goal of providing quality curriculum that is affordable and easy to teach.
Members of the Crew also reviewed Latina Christiana I and The Book of the Ancient Romans.  Click on the banner below to see what my Crew Mates had to say.