200 Questions About American History/Story of the Thirteen Colonies (Review)

The Story of the Thirteen Colonies & the Great Republic Set and 200 Questions About American History Set from Memoria Press is our latest history product to review.   Once again, one of my children was thrilled to see this box arrive, the other, not so much.   Funny how one is such a history lover and the other cringes at the thought of history.

In opening the products there was one thing that caught my eye immediately, a recommended text and weekly schedule printed right in the front of the book!   This resource is in the 200 Questions About American History, in both the student and the teacher books.    The schedule lays out a 34 week plan to turn the two combined products into a year long history study (with the need to purchase one other book for under $12 from a separate vendor).    I love it when I don't have to spend my time figuring out how to use a product!

The 200 Questions About American History includes a 25 page student book, and the teacher guide.   The student guide contains the questions, and the reference chapter in The Story of the Thirteen Colonies & the Great Republic.  A President's of the United States section (this is fill in the blank and does not cover term dates, but rather things like  "president during the Compromised of 1850').  Also included in the student book is the Star Spangled Banner (all verses),  Old Ironsides, and  O Captain! My Captain!  The teacher's guide includes everything listed in above as being in the student book, the answer key, 7 reproducible tests and answer keys to those tests as well. There is also a handy set of  flashcards that can be purchased separately to help students memorize those 200 questions.

The Story of the Thirteen Colonies & the Great Republic set consists of the 85 chapter reader, a student text and a teacher's guide.   The reader, while it is 85 chapters, only consists of 210 pages, and of those pages many have more than one photo or graphic.  This reader is written in an engaging way that provides facts, but doesn't stifle the students love of history.  The student guide (workbook) offers 32 lessons (each lesson covers several chapters in the reader), maps, colonies timeline, the Mayflower Compact (both a photo copy of the original and typed out),  Paul Revere's Ride, a typed copy of a letter from George Washington to his wife Martha, the Declaration of Independence (photo copied and typed), the U.S. Constitution, excerpts from Thomas Paine's Common Sense,  the Gettysburg Address (photo copied and typed), and Daniel Webster's 1830 Senate Speech.   The source documents are a HUGE bonus and asset to this set.

Olivia loved this set of products, and especially enjoyed the reader.  The way the books are laid out and overlap, she was able to use both together to begin to get a  firm American history foundation in place.  The flash cards offered a quick way for her to study and memorize facts during her down time.
The recommended grade level for both sets of product is 5th-8th.  However, you could turn this into a high school course simply by adding additional reading and project work.

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