20th Century World History

Overview of the History

Instructor's Guides

Like the other upper-level IG teaching tools, your 320 History and Bible Parent and Student Guides walk you through each school day, so students are free to embark on their own independent study. As they work through the Student Guide, you can easily engage and track their progress with tools that include your corresponding Parent Guide (with answers and extra notes), your students' journaling and discussion.

20th Century World History

Today's world was shaped – in national boundaries, in economic policy, in technological advances – by the 20th Century. Sonlight 320 takes a year to look at this transformative century.

In earlier programs, we don't study this century in depth. These years brought incredible suffering. There are the familiar tragedies: trench warfare in WWI, the Holocaust, the atom bomb. And there are the less-familiar tragedies: genocides in Europe, Asia and Africa; mass starvation in China and the USSR; drug wars, child labor, and human trafficking.

So it isn't as enjoyable to study this century. But it is important. And in 320, I tried to balance the horrors that occurred, with the hope of the Gospel. We include four missionary biographies (compared to the more typical one or two), because in the midst of darkness, it's good to remember that God is still at work.

Yes, the Nazi concentration camps were horrible. But God was at work even there, caring for his children in miraculous ways.

The history spine is a book that wouldn't have been possible in 1900. The History of the Modern World is an affordable book, filled with photos. In an age of phones and tablets that take photos, it's easy to forget that color photography was not the dominant form until the 1970s (if Wikipedia can be trusted). That's likely around the time you were born, not that long ago.

So the book itself is a marvel, even apart from the history included, which takes you year-by-year from 1900 through the 2000s. Timelines, concise articles, and photos chronicle the individuals and events that made history.

In 1900, it took days to travel from Europe to America. In 2000, it took hours. In 1900, only a wealthy few owned a car. In 2000, cars were common, if not quite universal. In 1900, even the radio had barely been invented and broadcasts were still several years away. By 2000, the radio had come and gone as primary entertainment, replaced by the television at first, and then an increasing array of electronics: cable, video games, computers, and the internet. In 1900, the airplane had not yet been invented. By 2000, men had gone to the moon, and satellites in orbit allowed many advances in communication.

It was an astonishing century.

Biographies & Historical Fiction

Sonlight's 320 History includes 18 additional books. Among them are several biographies: suffragette Lizzie Stanton; scientist Albert Einstein; and statesman Winston Churchill.

There are two classic works of fiction: All Quiet on the Western Front, set in the trenches of World War I; and One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, set in a Stalin prison camp in Siberia.

One book covers the establishment of Israel after World War II. One covers the unsettled experience of being a refugee.

One is about the 6000-mile trek that Mao made before he came to power. Imagine: the equivalent of fleeing across the United States and back. To write this book, the author traveled to China and interviewed survivors, 50 years later. The author's trip was 30 years ago now. An eyewitness account would no longer be possible. What a gift to be given.

This is a powerful course. I like what one customer said:

Why is 320 so important and different? Because it covers in-depth a century of human atrocities, genocide, horrible wars, achievements, accomplishments – a century that was supposed to be civilized. The other programs do not even come close to the in-depth study of the 20th Century. At all. And yes – there are dark and depressing books, books that make you sad and furious at the same time, and yet books that leave you with hope for the human race. I can't imagine skipping Sonlight 300. It was my daughter's absolute, 100% favorite course because she learned SO much about the truth of the century, and got a glimpse of where we're headed or could be headed.

Bible / Apologetics

The Bible 310 program helps guide your older students on their way to adulthood.

Know What You Believe and Know Why You Believe are wonderful introductory texts on the Christian faith and apologetics. The compelling Mere Christianity has helped countless Christians answer those who have questions about faith. Though not as deep, How to Ruin Your Life by 40 is a highly practical wake-up call. Help kids see that the choices they make now have long-term implications for good or bad.

Estimated daily time for 20th Century World History: Student: 1 hr.

Our high school courses are separated by subject to allow customers maximum flexibility. Feel free to buy either the History or the Literature, or both, or to mix-and-match with the History and Literature of other Sonlight courses.

• History-Bible 320 Parent Guide Sample.pdf | 28.62 MB
• History-Bible 320 Student Guide Sample.pdf | 28.72 MB