Core E

Experience America's history from the 1850s on!

• Complete the epic adventure you started in Core D.
• Relax as you enjoy fascinating books; just follow the daily lesson plans.
• Get to know heroes like Abraham Lincoln, William Wilberforce, Eleanor Roosevelt and the Wright brothers!

The best of the best books

I just get plain excited when I talk about Core E. Ask for my favorite book and I'll rattle off 20 titles. I designed this Core as the second half of the American History journey you started in Core D. Just like Core D, your History, Read-Alouds and Readers are intricately connected for a seamless learning adventure!

This Core is best for 10-, 11- and 12-year-olds and advanced 9-year-olds.

Breathe life into your study of history

Core E gives a breathtaking look at America from the Civil War through 2000. With Core E books, walk alongside families whose lives intersect with major events in our history. The Civil War, Westward Expansion, the Industrial Revolution, WWI, the Great Depression, WWII and modern history come to life as characters grapple with the difficulties around them and overcome in the end.

An overview of Core E

I first read the history spine for Cores D and E straight through in one sitting. I had read countless American History books, trying to find one I liked. When I picked up The Landmark History of the American People, I knew I held a gem. The book completely gripped me! While The Landmark History covers the key events you want to teach, it focuses more on the social history of America. The result is a work that gives children a fresh view of life in the U.S.

If The Landmark History leaves a gap in fully explaining crucial events, we more than make up for it with the other components of the Core.

Besides the main tour through U.S. history, Core E also includes a side trip south to discover the history and cultures of South America.

Why I created Core E

Students need to study American History. But who wants a dry program full of memorized dates, names and numbers? I created Core E to engage children, give the real-life context in which history happened, and get them excited about the American spirit of creativity and entrepreneurship.

Find out how Americans' unique perspective--our egalitarianism, our desire for change, and our "can-do" spirit--contributed to inventions such as ready-to-wear clothing, department stores and skyscrapers. Discover why time zones and "fast food" came into existence. Examine how mass immigration, women's suffrage, the labor movement and the Great Depression impacted the social, political, and economic climate of the country. Discuss how racism has influenced life for individuals and the entire nation throughout the years.

Meet courageous men and women who persevered through hardship and put their creativity to good use--the Wright brothers, George Washington Carver, Thomas Edison and others! Discover the story behind the building of the Brooklyn Bridge and the invention of elevators.

Find answers to intriguing questions: What was life like for normal families during the Civil War? How was it to travel West with a wagon train? How did the Civil Rights movement gain momentum?

Compared to earlier Cores, Core E has a beefier History component. As your kids grow older, you get to add more dimension and depth to your History study through additional biographies and other books that flesh out their studies.

With Core E, you receive:

Instructor's Guide

Without your Instructor's Guide (IG), Core E would be just a pile of great books. Fun to read, but not really a "curriculum." Your IG organizes all these books into a complete learning plan. It helps you use your books in the most effective and strategic way. Your books and timeline fit together to reinforce the concepts you're teaching and add depth to your study. Your prep work is already done. You can focus on learning alongside and enjoying your children! Request a free sample of this guide at sonlight.com/3-week-samples.

Hands-on activities

A convenient CD-ROM suggests tons of hands-on activities that coordinate directly with your Core E studies. Choose from weekly suggestions that reinforce concepts. Keep your kinesthetic learners busy and have some fun while you're at it.

History & Geography

Read, grow and learn together. History books, biographies and enriching "extras" add depth to your study this year. Highlights here include:

• The only biography to win a Newbery Medal.
• A CD with great songs of Americana. These are songs your children should know for the sake of cultural literacy, from "Camptown Races" to "America the Beautiful."
• Timeline figures to continue your ever-expanding timeline. This tool helps you see exactly how history unfolds.
• An accessible look at World Wars I and II, with plenty of appropriate photographs and detailed maps.

Bible

Start your children on the journey of personal Bible study this year. The practical study guide Starting Strong helps them discover profound truths about God in Scripture.

You'll read together each day from the Bible and your children will hide the Word in their hearts each week to the tunes of a delightful Sing the Word CD.

Read-Alouds

Oh, the joy you'll discover as you read these books with your kids! Read about real life for Americans through the centuries and ...

• Meet one of my all-time favorite heroines: an 11-year-old girl who helps keep peace between Indians and pioneers.
• March through the American Civil War with Jethro. Watch him become a man and begin to understand the issues behind the conflict.
• Join the delightful story of a poor Jewish family in a crowded section of New York City at the turn of the century.
• Hunt buffalo, live in a teepee and ride bareback as you discover what it's like to live as a Crow Indian.
• Enjoy my husband's all-time favorite Read- Aloud: Little Britches.

I hope you enjoy these endearing books as much as my family has!

Readers

Your kids will meet inspiring characters such as Helen Keller, Harriet Tubman and a 19-year-old missionary to the jungles of South America. A few Readers are for pure fun, but most tie directly in with Core E's history content.

Language Arts

Core E's complete Language Arts program coordinates with your Readers and Read-Alouds to help your children develop essential writing skills. Weekly dictation exercises give children opportunities to recognize and imitate good writing, while a variety of creative and unique writing assignments encourage them to explore various writing styles. Children learn advanced writing techniques such as varying sentence length, using active voice, creating authentic dialog and more.

You get the tools you need to guide your children successfully, including student activity sheets, teaching helps, parent instructions, full answers, definitions and more.

The reading bug

With so many delightful books this year, your kids are sure to catch the reading bug. This might even be the year they start begging to do more school!