Back in 2013 we had our first opportunity to do a review for YWAM Publishing. The book we reviewed was George Washington True Patriot and we loved it. My 9 year old son said it was his favorite review product of the entire year. Ever since then we have made books from YWAM a regular part of our curriculum. We were excited to have an opportunity to review Heroes of History Abraham Lincoln: A New Birth of Freedom along with the downloadable study guide.
YWAM Publishing commits themselves to producing and distributing books that encourage Christians and make a difference in the world. The Heroes of History series is a biography series that tells the story of fascinating men and women who shaped the course of history. The series contains books on presidents, scientists, authors, inventors, explorers and so much more. Recommended age for the series is 10 and up if they are reading independently, but it can be used with younger children if you are reading aloud.
Abraham Lincoln: A New Birth of Freedom is a 220 page paperback book that has 19 chapters. It tells the fascinating story of one of the United States most well known presidents, Abraham Lincoln. We learn about Abe's life as a boy and how he lost his mother, aunt, and uncle to milk sickness. We learned what a hard worker Abe was and how he learned to educate himself. We read about the different jobs Abe had through his young adult life and how he worked to become a lawyer and got involved in politics and about his thoughts and feelings on the issue of slavery. We followed his life through his presidency, the Civil War, and his assassination.
The downloadable study guide is 64 pages. In it you will find:
Key Quotes: 6 quotes that relate to the topic of study that your student can memorize, discuss, or use as copywork.
Display Corner: Ideas for things you can collect or gather to display relating to Abraham Lincon's life.
Chapter Questions: Each chapter has a vocabulary question, a factual question, a comprehension question, and an open ended question.
Student Explorations: Suggestions for a variety of activities students can learn from such as essay writing, creative writing, hands on activities, audio/visual projects, and arts and crafts to enhance their studies.
Community Links: Suggestions of places students can go or people they can talk to that relate to the study of Abraham Lincoln.
Social Studies: Has 6 different sections: places, journey, terms/vocabulary, geographical characteristics, timeline, and conceptual questions.
Related Themes to Explore: Suggestions in the areas of history, geography, math, rhetoric, and politics and law that relate to Abraham Lincoln.
Culminating Event: Ideas for an event to mark the end of the study.
It also has a list of books and resources for further study and answers to chapter questions.
In Part 2 of the study you will find a blank facts sheet for the student to fill out, maps to fill in, and a timeline page to complete.
I have been reading Abraham Lincoln: A New Birth of Freedom aloud to my 7,9,11, and 12 year olds. We chose this book because we are studying American History this year and were in the years leading up to the Civil War when this review came up. I thought it would be the perfect read aloud to supplement our history studies and I was right.
We love the YWAM books. The chapters are the perfect length for a read aloud and we can finish a book in 4-5 weeks. The books are written in a way that is very interesting to read and understand. It is full of facts but written in a story like format. I love reading these books aloud to my children because I have a chance to learn right along with them. Often things that we read in the books cause us to go on little rabbit trails to learn more about the topic. For instance when we read about Abe's mother dying of milk sickness we had to stop reading and do some investigation in to what that was. We had never heard of it before and the children we fascinated by what we learned. Also at the end of the book when they were discussing the assassination of President Lincoln, we never knew that there was a conspiracy to kill three different men that night. The book paints a picture of the president with information that most history books do not cover and we really enjoyed reading it.
The study guide is so much more then questions and answers. It contains a variety of activities that will enhance your studies. The different types of activities will suit may kinds of learners. It is so easy for families to pick and choose the items they want to do, or they can choose to complete all of it. By reading several books and completing the unit studies you can turn this series into a history curriculum.
I highly recommend any of the books from YWAM Publishing. We have read several from the Heroes of History including: George Washington, Thomas Edison, Orville Wright, Benjamin Franklin, and Meriweather Lewis. We also have read several of the Christian Heroes: Then and Now series including: George Muller, Amy Carmichael, Brother Andrew, Corrie ten Boom, C.S. Lewis, William Booth, David Livingstone, Gladys Aylward, Jim Elliot, Nate Saint, and John Wesley.
To see what my Crew Mates had to say, stop by the Crew Blog!
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