Just as with science, for the younger years we advocate learning history through reading biographies, while the critical skills of reading and writing are being developed. Here is another free eBook to get you started. The Child’s Book of American Biography by Mary Stoyell Stimpson will take you through the lives of thirty Americans.
In every country there have been certain men and women whose busy lives have made the world better or wiser. The names of such are heard so often that every child should know a few facts about them. It is hoped the very short stories told here may make boys and girls eager to learn more about these famous people.
Published in 1924 and illustrated by Frank T. Merrill. The author does not “dumb down” the material for a child and writes in an engaging style.
The American presidents, founders, authors, and inventors covered include:
- George Washington
- William Penn
- Benjamin Franklin
- Dorothea Lynde Dix
- Abraham Lincoln
- John James Audubon
- Robert Fulton
- Daniel Webster
- Louisa May Alcott
- Samuel Finley Breese Morse
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
- Luther Burbank
- Thomas Alva Edison
Suggestions
- The book lends itself extremely well to oral or written narrations. By covering one chapter each week, you will have an entire school year of history lessons for younger students.
- Read aloud one chapter each week. Afterward, ask for oral or written narrations depending on the skill of your child.
- Place the narrations (transcribed if oral) in a history notebook.
- Add a timeline.
- Illustrate one narration.
You will find many resources here at DIY Homeschooler to complement the readings. But while these tie-ins work wonderfully for bringing older students along, our suggestion is not to “school it up” too much, especially with younger readers.
Great resource — and it is free!
DIY Homeschooler 