
Some of you may be enjoying our free history studies built around the easy-to-read book Stories of Great Americans for Little Americans by Edward Eggleston. Here is another great history option for those new to reading — The History of the United States: Told in One Syllable Words by Josephine Pollard.
This beautifully illustrated public domain work contains sixteen chapters covering the history of America starting with the Northmen and ending after the Civil War. Though written in primarily in one-syllable words, longer words being broken into syllables, the text remains interesting and well written.
Subjects covered include:
- The Vikings.
- Columbus.
- Jamestown.
- The Pilgrims.
- How the states were settled.
- The French and Indian Wars.
- The American Revolution.
- George Washington.
- The Presidents.
- The War of 1812.
- Statesmen.
- Slavery.
- Gettysburg.
- The Civil War.
Pollard wrote other books in the one-syllable series that have found their way onto homeschool books lists, such as The Life of George Washington and Young Folks’ Bible. Some may also be familiar with this living history book as one included in the Robinson Curriculum.
All young folks should be glad to learn of the land in which they live; to know who were its chief men: and to tell of the wars which were fought, in which the foes of the land were put to flight. They should know, too, what a bright and glad thing it is that we now have peace in the land, after all the wars we have been through.
God has led us on through ways that have been strange, to reach the place where we now stand. The men of all the earth look on our land, and we are glad to have them call it
THE LAND OF THE FREE
and
THE HOME OF THE BRAVE.
Free eBook
Suggestions
- There are 16 chapters. By covering one chapter every two weeks, you’ll have 32 lessons — enough for one school year with a bit of wiggle room. A chapter can be read and narrated the first week; the second week can be used to read other books about the subject, create a timeline, do map work, or complete a hands-on project. Or, since some of the chapters are rather long, each chapter can simply be divided into two readings, one per week.
- Another option is to cover one lesson each week for 16 weeks, using the next 16 weeks to cover science.
- Create a notebook page for each individual covered.
- Map the locations where events take place.
- Create a timeline including the images and dates of people covered. You should be able to find all of the necessary images in the public domain.
Additional Resources

10 Ways to Use Notebooking: #6 History
Ideas and resources for creating a history notebook.
Activities
Animated Atlas of the United States {Freebie}
Great way to see the growth of the nation.
Books

The History of the United States by Josephine Pollard
Paperback edition for those interested. Also available on Kindle.

All Through the Ages by Christine Miller
Wonderful resource for finding other books about an individual, place, or time period. Read our entire review.
Printables & Notebooking Pages
Book of Centuries {Free Blank Timeline}
Helpful start to a timeline notebook.
Famous People Notebooking Pages {Free}
Pages already set up for some historical figures including all of the presidents.
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