Saturday, January 30, 2010

Friday, December 11, 2009

Middle school fieldtrip

Merry Christmas to a great group of kids!


Wednesday, November 25, 2009

IRA Biographical Interpretation

IRA = Individual Reading Assignment

This assignment was a biography. After reading the book, the student had to make a lapbook of the person's life and then present the lapbook to the class dressed in character of the person.

Here are some lapbooks (front and inside) and some students dressed in character.











Saturday, November 14, 2009

Lapbooks






So that you don't get lost in your travels to the links below, keep this page open when you go to the links by
right clicking on the bold-faced link. In the little box that opens, left click on Open in New Tab.

Here are some lapbook links that will help you get some ideas for your own lapbook.

Read about what lapbooks are and how to make them at this link. This page is full of other specific links.

Planning a lapbook is like writing an outline. First you must decide on the topic. Then you break that topic down into different main topics, each with subtopics and points. This link will help you understand how to plan a lapbook.

A nice overview of lapbooks is found here. It is a pdf and takes a minute to load; be patient!

Don't try to plan your entire lapbook at first. The best thing is to start making several mini-books and store them in a ziplock bag. Keep them until you have several, and then you can begin to build your lapbook.

Pictures and descriptions of minibooks

Another link for pictures of minibooks These use scraps from leftover wallpaper books.

YouTube videos on how to make lapbooks

Monday, November 9, 2009

Next IRA project -- November 23

Saturday, October 31, 2009



©Mental Multivitamin

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Mrs. Dye goes to Venice, Italy

Link to Venice pictures.

This link is not active from the school computer lab, so if you want to see these pictures, you will need to link to them from somewhere other than the computer lab.

Eighth graders, notice that St. Mark's Square is where one fight took place in the 1848 Italian Revolution between Mazzini's Young Italy, or Carbonaria, and the Austrians. That's history-alive! Also notice the name of the street in the street sign.

Enjoy!

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Photos of Paris, Switzerland, Pisa, and Florence

Addendum:

Students, or parents, or teachers.....

You will not be able to view these pictures in the computer lab. These pictures are stored on a Facebook account, and Facebook is not accessible in the lab. But, you can access it from anywhere else. :)

If you would like to see all of my photos from my trip to Paris, Switzerland, and Pisa and Florence, Italy, click the links below. I will add more places as I get the photos ready.

Enjoy!

Paris, France

Lucerne, Switzerland

Pisa, Italy

Florence, Italy

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Akeelah and the Bee Games

Play some spelling and vocabulary games on the Akeelah and the Bee site.


Directions:
Until you can navigate on the site easily, keep this tab open.

Open this Akeelah site in a new tab.

When on the site, click on GAMES.

Then choose between word search, memory, and falling letters.

Have fun!

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Students: See if you can figure this out!

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

5th grade historical book list

Old Testament

Adam and His Kin, by Ruth Beechick
Behold Your Queen (Esther) by Gladys Malvern (older)
Exodus by Brian Wildsmith
Foreigner; The: The Story of a Girl Named Ruth by Gladys Malvern (older)
Hittite Warrior by Joanne Williamson (older)
Joseph by Brian Wildsmith
Moses by Leonard Everett Fisher
Sumer of Mesopotamia: The First Civilizations, by Caselli
Tirzah by Lucille Travis (older)

Egypt

Ancient Egypt by Daniel Cohen
Boy of the Pyramids by Ruth Fosdick
Cat of Bubastes G A Henty (older)
Children's Homer (older)
Egyptian Pyramids by Anne Steel
Egyptian Town by Scott Steedman
Flash Dog of Old Egypt
Golden Goblet by McGraw
Great Pyramid by Elizabeth Mann
I Tut; Boy Who Became Pharaoh by Schlein
Mara Daughter of the Nile by McGraw (older)
Pepi and The Secret Names (easy)
Pharaohs & Pyramids in Usborne's Time Traveler set
Pharoahs of Ancient Egypt by Payne (Landmark) (medium)
Pyramid by Macauley
Pyramids by Anne Millard
Senefer: A Young Genius in Old Egypt

Greece & Rome

Adventures of the Greek Heroes by Mollie McLean & Anne Wiseman.
Adventures of Ulysses by Gottlieb 1200 BC (Landmark) (medium)
Alexander the Great by Gunther 336 BC (Landmark) (medium)
Archimedes and the Door of Science by Bendick (medium)
Barabbas by Par Lagerkvist (also has a movie version)
Ben Hur by Lew Wallace (also has a movie version)
Beric the Briton: Roman Invasion by GA Henty (older)
Black Ships Before Troy by Rosemary Sutcliff
Bronze Bow by Speare
Buried City of Pompeii by S. Tanaka
Caesar Augustus' World by Foster (older)
Children of Ancient Greece by Louise Lamprey
Children of Ancient Rome by Louise Lamprey
Children's Homer by Padraic Colum
City by Macauley
Cleopatra by Stanley
Cleopatra of Egypt by Leonora Hornblow 69-30 BC (Landmark) (medium)
Conqueror and Hero: The Search for Alexander
Dark Ships Before Troy by Sutcliffe
Detectives in Togas by Winterfeld (older)
Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff
Eratosthenes: The Librarian Who Measured the Earth. (easy)
Exploits of Xenophon by Geoffrey Household 354 BC (Landmark) (medium)
For the Temple: Fall of Jerusalem by GA Henty (older)
Golden Days of Greece by Olivia Coolidge
Golden Fleece by Padraic Colum
Great Caesar by Plantagenet Somerset Fry. (older)
Greek Gazette from Usborne (medium)
Greek Myths & Stories by D'Aulaire )
Greek News etc. (medium)
Hannibal and His 37 Elephants (easy)
Herodotus for Boys and Girls by John S. White
In Search of Troy
Jesus of Nazareth by Fosdick (Landmark) (medium)
Julius Caesar by John Gunther 100-44 BC (Landmark) (medium)
Last Days of Pompeii by Lord Bulwer-Lytton
Life of Saint Patrick (Landmark) (medium)(Roman Britain)
Life of St. Paul by Fosdick (Landmark) (medium)
Lives of Famous Romans by Olivia Coolidge
Masada by Neil Waldman
Mystery of the Roman Ransom by Winterfeld (sequel to Togas)
Parthenon; The
Picture History of Ancient Rome by Richard Erdoes (medium)
Plutarch: Ten Famous Lives edited by Charles Robinson Jr. (medium)
Plutarch's Parallel Lives the translation by John S. White
Robe; The by Lloyd Douglas
Roman Colosseum by E. Mann
Roman News (medium)
Roman Record from Usborne (medium)
Rome & Romans in Usborne's Time Traveler set (picture)
Spartacus (also has a movie version)
Tombs and Treasures by Catherine Charley
Traitor Queen by Nancy Faulkner (Minoan) (older)
Trojan Horse by Emily Little
Vinegar Boy by Hauwse
We Were There With Caesar's Legion by Webb
Wonderbook by Nathaniel Hawthorne.
Young Carthaginian by Henty (older)

Monday, June 1, 2009

6th grade Historical book list

The Middle Ages in Europe

Adam of the Road by Gray
Adventures & Discoveries of Marco Polo 1300's (Landmark) (medium)
Augustine Came to Kent by Willard (medium)
Brendan the Navigator by Fritz (medium)
Chief of the Cossacks (Landmark) (medium)
Crusades by Anthony West 1100's (Landmark) (medium)
Door in the Wall by de Angeli
The Dragon and the Raven: Or the Days of King Alfred by GA Henty (older)
Fall of Constantinople (Landmark) (medium)
Gabriel and the Hour Book (older)
Genghis Kahn & the Mongol Horde by Harold Lamb 1200 (Landmark) (medium)
Great and Terrible Quest by (medium)
Hidden Treasure of Glaston by Eleanore Jewett (older)
If You Lived in the Days of the Knights by Ann McGovern
In Freedom's Cause: A Story of Wallace and Bruce by GA Henty (older)
Innocent Wayfaring by Chute (older)
Ivanhoe by Scott (older)
Jackaroo by Voight (older)
Joan of Arc by Diane Stanley
Joan of Arc by Nancy Wilson Ross 1400's (Landmark) (medium)
King Alfred the Great by Johnson (older)
King Arthur & His Knights by Mabel Louise Robinson 500 AD (Landmark) (medium)
Knights & Castles in Usborne's Time Traveler set (picture)
Magna Charta by James Daugherty 1215 (Landmark) (medium)
Medieval Feast by Aliki (picture)
Minstrel in the Tower by Skurzynski
Mongols by Nicholson (older)
Otto of the Silver Hand by Pyle
Parcel of Patterns by Walsh
Pendragon series by Lawhead (older) (preview)
Red Keep by Allen French (older)
Robin Hood by McGovern
Robin Hood by Pyle (older)
Saint George for England: Hundred Years War by GA Henty (older)
Scottish Chiefs by Porter (older)
Secret Beyond the Mountains by Ritchie (older)
Sign of the Green Falcon by Harness (older)
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight by Tolkein (older)
Son of Charlemagne by Willard (older)
Sons of the Steppe by Baumann (older)
Story of King Arthur by Howard Pyle
Striped Ships by McGraw (about the making of the Bayeaux Tapestry) (older)
Sword in the Stone (various versions)
Trumpeter of Krakow by Kelly (older)
Viking Raiders in Usborne's Time Traveler set (picture)
Vikings by Elizabeth Janeway 800 AD and on (Landmark) (medium)
We Were There With Richard the Lionhearted (medium)
White Stag by Seredy (medium)
William the Conqueror by Thomas B. Costain 1040 AD (Landmark) (medium)
Winning His Spurs: Crusades by GA Henty (older)
Writing on the Hearth by Harness (older)
Wulf the Saxon: Norman Conquest by GA Henty (older)


7th grade Historical Book List

The Renaissance

Barbary Pirates by C. S. Forester 1520-1830 (Landmark) (medium)
Bard of Avon: The Story of Wm. Shakespeare by Stanley
Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare for Children by E. Nesbitt
Black Arrow by Stevenson (older)
Boy Knight of Reims by Lownsbery (older)
Cargo of the Madalena by Harnett (older)
Cathedral by Macaulay (medium)
Catherine the Great by Katherine Scherman l. 1762 (Landmark) (medium)
Dick Whittington and His Cat by Marcia Brown (easy)
Elizabeth Captive Princess by Irwin (older)
Executioner's Daughter (older)(preview)
Flight and Adventures of Charles II by Charles Norman 1640 (Landmark) (medium)
Good Queen Bess by Malkus (Signature) (older)
Great Escapes From the Tower of London by Abbott (medium)
I Juan de Pereja by De Trevino
Kidnapped by Stevenson (older)
King's Cavalier by Shellabarger (older)
Knight of the White Cross: War of the Roses by GA Henty (older)
Lady in Waiting by Sutcliff (older)
Leonardo da Vinci by Diane Stanley (medium)
Leonardo da Vinci by Emily Hahn 1450 (Landmark) (medium)
Life and Times of Louis XIV (older)
Lion of St. Mark: Venice by GA Henty (older)
Long Meg by Minard (older)
Mary Bloody Mary (older)
Mary Queen of Scots by Emily Hahn 1542-1587 (Landmark) (medium)
Master Cornhill by McGraw (older)
Master Skylark by Bennett
Michelangelo and da Vinci by Mike Venezia from his Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artist's series
Perilous Gard (older)
Piece of the Mountain: Blaise Pascal by McPherson (medium)
Queen Elizabeth & the Spanish Armada by Frances Winwar 1533-1603 (Landmark) (medium)
Red Hugh by Reilly (older)
Royal Diary series: Elizabeth Red Rose of Tudor (older)
Second Mrs. Giaconda; The by Konigsburg
Stars of Fortune by Harnett (older)
Three Musketeers by Dumas (older)
Will Shakespeare and the Globe Theater by White (Landmark) (medium)
World of Lady Jane Grey by Gladys Malvern (older)

The Reformation

By England’s Aid: Spanish Armada by GA Henty (older)
By Pike and Dyke: Rise of the Dutch Republic by GA Henty (older)
The Escape by Van der Jagt (older)
The Hawk That Dare Not Hunt by Day, by O'Dell
Huguenot Garden by Jones
Ink on His Fingers, by Vernon
Lion of the North: Thirty Years War by GA Henty (older)
The Man Who Laid an Egg by Louise A. Vernon (medium)
Martin Luther 1483-1546 (Landmark) (medium)
The Monk Who Shook the World, by Davey
Morning Star of the Reformation, by Thompson
St. Bartholomew's Eve by Henty (older)
Watch for the Morning by Oliver (older)
Won by the Sword: Thirty Years War by GA Henty (older)

The Age of Exploration

Balboa by Syme
Balboa: Swordsman & Conqueror by Riesenberg 1450-1500 (Landmark) (medium)
Brendan the Navigator: A History Mystery About the Discovery of America by Jean Fritz (easy)
By Right of Conquest: With Cortez in Mexico by G.A. Henty (older)
Brendan’s Journey by Jean Fritz
Captain Cook Explores the South Seas 1741-1778 (Landmark) (medium)
Captain Cortes Conquers Mexico by Wm Johnson 1519 (Landmark) (medium)
Columbus by D’Aulaire (medium)
Columbus Finder of the New World by Ronald Syme (easy)
Conquista by Clyde Robert Bulla (easy)
The Discovery of the Americas by Maestro; goes beyond Columbus and the Vikings (medium)
Explorations of Pere Marquette by Jim Kjelgaard 1672 (Landmark) (medium)
Far Voyager by Jean Lee Latham
Ferdinand Magellan: Master Mariner by Seymour Pond 1480-1521 (Landmark) (medium)
Hawaii Gem of the Pacific by Lewis 1767 (Landmark) (medium)
Hudson's Bay Company 1670 (Landmark) (medium)
I Columbus: My Journal 1492-3 by Peter & Connie Roop (easy)
I Discover Columbus by Robert Lawson
If You Were There in 1492 by Barbara Brenner (easy)
Pedro's Journal by Conrad (Columbus)(easy)
Picture Book of Christopher Columbus by David Adler (easy)
The Quest of Captain Cook by Millicent Selsam (medium)
Vasco de Gama by Syme
Voyages of Christopher Columbus (Landmark) (medium)
Voyages of Henry Hudson 1607-1631 (Landmark) (medium)
Walter Raleigh 1507-1603 (Landmark) (medium)
Westward With Columbus by John Dyson (older)
Where Do You Think You're Going Christopher Columbus by Jean Fritz (easy)
Who Discovered America? by McKissack (medium)
World in 1492 by Jean Fritz (easy)


U.S. History: Colonial Period

1620 Year of the Pilgrims by Genevieve Foster (easy)
America Builds Homes; The Story of the First Colonies by Alice Dalgliesh (easy)
Bannekers of Bannaky Springs by Harrison
Brown Shadow by Craig Massey (older)
Crucible; The by Arthur Miller (older)
Daniel's Duck by Bulla (easy)
Deerslayer by James Fenimore Cooper (older)
Double Life of Pocahontas by Jean Fritz (easy)
Down Ryton Water (older)
Early Thunder (older)
Eating the Plates: A Pilgrim Book of Manners by Lucille Recht Penner (easy)
Finding Providence-The Story of Roger Williams (easy)
First Thanksgiving by Dalgliesh (colonial)(easy)
Good News From New England by Edward Winslow (older)
Hatmakers Sign by Fleming (easy) A story from Ben Franklin usually in picture book area
Hiawatha by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (easy)
Homes in the Wilderness: A Pilgrim's Journal of Plymouth Plantation in 1620 edited by Margaret Wise Brown.
If You Grew Up With George Washington by Ruth Belov (easy)
If You Lived in Colonial Times by Ann McGovern (easy)
If You Lived in Williamsburg in Colonial Days by Brenner (easy)
If You Lived With the Iroquois by Ellen Levine (easy)
If You Sailed on the Mayflower by Ann McGovern (easy)
Indian Drums and Broken Arrows (older)
Jamestown, New World Adventure
James Printer: A Novel of Rebellion (1675 King Philip's War) (older)
John Smith of Virginia by Ronald Syme (easy)
John Smith: Gentleman Adventurer by C.H. Forbes-Lindsay (older)
Landing of the Pilgrims by James Doughtery (older)
Legend of Bluebonnet by Tomie de Paola (easy)
Mary Geddy's Day : Colonial Girl in Williamsburg by Kate Waters (easy)
Matchlock Gun by Walter Edmonds (French & Indian War)(easy)
Mort’s Relation by William Bradford (older)
On the Mayflower : Voyage of the Ship's Apprentice & a Passenger Girl by Kate Waters (easy)
Pocahontas by D'Aulaire (medium)
Pocahontas and the Strangers by Bulla (medium)
Prisoners' Sword by Barbara Chamberlain (story on Quakers in London; Christian)
Puritan Adventure by Lenski
Samuel Eaton’s Day by Kate Waters (Pilgrims)(easy)
Sarah Morton’s Day by Kate Waters (Pilgrims)(easy)
Small Wolf by Nathaniel Benchley (easy)
Squanto: Friend of the Pilgrims by Clyde Robert Bulla (easy)
Story of William Penn by Aliki (easy)
Tapenum's Day: A Wampanoag Indian Boy in Pilgrim Times by Kate Waters (easy)
This Dear-Bought Land by Jean Lee Latham (Jamestown) (older)
Three Ships Come Sailing by Gilchrist Waring (easy)
Three Young Pilgrims by Cheryl Harness (easy)
Thunder From the Clear Sky by Marcia Sewall (King Philip's War)
Tomahawks and Trombones by Barbara Mitchell (colonial)(easy)
Two Mighty Rivers by Mari Hanes (Son of Pocahontas)
What Are You Figuring Now Benjamin Banneker by Jeri Ferris (easy)
Whistle; The by Ben Franklin (easy)
White Sails to China by Bulla (easy)
Who's That Stepping on Plymouth Rock? by Jean Fritz (easy)
William Bradford: Plymouth’s Faithful Pilgrim by Gary Schmidt (older)
Witchcraft of Salem Village by Shirley Jackson (Landmark) (older)
World of Captain John Smith by Foster (older)
Young John Quincy by Cheryl Harness (easy)

Europe in the Age of Reason (1700's)

Adventures of Roderick Random by Smollett (older)
Bonnie Prince Charlie (1745) by GA Henty (older)
Catherine the Great by Scherman (Landmark) (medium)
Commodore Perry & the Opening of Japan by Kuhn 1853 (Landmark) (medium)
Dark Frigate by Hawes (older) (preview)
Daughter of the Seine by Eaton (older)
Famous Pirates of the New World by A. B. C. Whipple 1700's-1820 (Landmark) (medium)
Following the Phoenix by Trevor (older)
Heart Strangely Warmed by Louise Vernon (Wesley) (medium)
Hero of Trafalger by Whipple (Landmark) (medium)
Journal of Madame Royale by Powers (older)
Last Prince by Wallower (older)
Lorna Doone by Blackmore (older)
Marie Antoinette by Belloc (older)
Marie Antoinette by Bernadine Kielty 1755 (Landmark) (medium)
Marquis de Lafayette: Bright Sword of Freedom by Carter 1757-1834 (Landmark) (medium)
Mississippi Bubble by Costain France & French America (Landmark) (medium)
Peter the Great by Stanley (SL)
Queen Elizabeth and the Spanish Armada (Landmark) (medium)
Queen's Necklace by Duman (older)
Reb and the Redcoat by Savery (Bethlehem Books) (older)
In the Reign of Terror (1793) by GA Henty (older)
Scottish Seas by Douglas Jones (Veritas) (older)
Sea King: Sir Francis Drake by Marin (older)
Slave Who Freed Haiti:Story of Louverture by Scherman 1750's (Landmark) (medium)
Songs for a Sixpence by Blackstock (story of Newbery) (older)
Susanna Wesley by Ludwig (Sower series) (medium)
Tale of Two Cities by Dickens (older)
Three Against London by Varble (older)
Young Lafayette by Eaton (older)
Young Walter Scott by Elizabeth Jane Gray

American Revolution

Aaron and the Green Mountain Boys by Patricia Lee Gouch (easy)
American Revolution by Bliven 1773 (Landmark) (medium)
American Revolution How we fought the War of Independence by Dolan
And Then What Happened Paul Revere? By Fritz (easy)
Arrow Over the Door by Joseph Bruchac (meeting between Quakers & Indians)
Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (older)
Battle of Trenton by Mc Phillips
Bells of Freedom by Dorothy Gilman
Ben and Me by Ben Lawson (easy)
Ben Franklin of Old Philadelphia by Cousins 1709 (Landmark) (medium)
Benedict Arnold by Syme
Benjamin Franklin by D’Aulaire (medium)
Betsy Ross and the Flag by Mayer 1764 (Landmark) (medium)
Bill of Rights R. Conrad Stein (Cornerstones of Freedom series) (easy)
Boston Coffee Party (easy)
Can't You Make Them Behave King George? By Fritz (easy)
Daughter of Revolution: A True Story of the American Revolution by Quackenbush (easy)
Day of Glory by Philip Spencer
Deadly Chase (v. 2 in the series "Colonial Captives") by Angela Elwell Hunt
Deborah Sampson Goes to War by Stevens (easy)
Drums at Saratoga by Banim (easy)
Drums by James Boyd (older)
Ethan Allen The Green Mountain Boys by Brown 1775 (Landmark) (medium)
George the Drummer Boy by Benchley (easy)
George Washington by North 1735 (Landmark) (medium)
George Washington: A Picture Book Biography by James Gilblin (easy)
George Washington's Breakfast by Fritz (easy)
George Washington's Mother by Jean Fritz (easy)
George Washington's Socks by Elvira Woodruff
Give Me Liberty: The Christian Patriotism of Patrick Henry by David Vaughn (older)
Give Us Liberty by HS Peterson (Declaration of Independence)
Green Mountain Boys
Guns for General Washington by Seymour Reit (older)
Heroines of '76 by Anticagila
Home on Stoney Creek by Wanda Luttrell (V. 1 of 3 in a series; Christian)
If You Lived at the Time of the American Revolution by Kay Moore (easy)
If You Were There in 1776 by Barbara Brenner
If You Were There When They Signed the Constitution by Elizabeth Levy (easy)
James Madison and Dolley Madison and Their Times (easy)
John Paul Jones by Dorothea J. Snow
John Paul Jones by Sperry 1770 (Landmark) (medium)
Johnny Tremain (older)
Joke's On George by Michael Tunnell (easy)
Journal of a Revolutionary Woman by Greenberg
Journey to Monticello by James E. Knight (easy)
Katie's Trunk by Turner (easy)
Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper (older)
Liberty: The American Revolution; PBS Home Video.
Meet George Washington by Heilbroner (easy)
Meet Thomas Jefferson by Barrett (easy)
Minute Boys of Bunker Hill by Edward Stratmeyer (older)
Minute Boys of Lexington by Edward Stratmeyer (older)
A More Perfect Union: The Story of the Constitution
My Brother Sam is Dead by James L & Christopher Collier
Narrative of Colonel Ethan Allen by Ethan Allen (VP) (older)
Night Journeys by Avi (older)
Our Independence and the Constitution by Fisher 1848 (Landmark) (medium)
Paul Revere (Childhood of Famous Americans Series)
Paul Revere and the Minutemen by Fisher 1770 (Landmark) (medium)
Paul Revere's Ride Ted Rand illus.
Phoebe the Spy by Judith Berry Griffin (easy)
Picture Book of Benjamin Franklin by David Adler (easy)
Picture Book of George Washington by David Adler (easy)
Picture Book of Paul Revere by David Adler (easy)
Picture Book of Patrick Henry by Adler (easy)
Picture Book of Thomas Jefferson by David Adler (easy)
Poor Richard by James Doughtery (older)
Private Yankee Doodle by Martin
Pop Goes The Weasel & Yankee Doodle by Robert Quackenbush (British Occupation of NYC)
Revolutionary Poet: A Story About Phyllis Wheatley by Maryann N. Weidt (easy)
Rules of Civility & Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation by George Washington (GL)(older)
Sam the Minuteman by Benchley (easy)
Samual Adams: The Father of American Independence by Dennis Fradin (older)
Samuel's Choice by Berleth (easy)
Sarah Bishop by Scott O'Dell (older)
Shh! We're Writing the Constitution by Fritz (easy)
Shot Heard Round the World by Nolan
Silver for General Washington by Meadowcroft
Six Silver Spoons by Lowery; about Paul Revere (easy)
Spies on the Devil's Belt by Betsy Haynes
Spy and General Washinton; The by Wise
Spy in Old Philadelphia by Anne Emery
Story of Lexington and Concord by Stein
Story of the Boston Massacre by Phelan
Story of the Boston Tea Party by Stein
Story of the U.S. Marines by Hunt 1775 (Landmark) (medium)
Swamp Fox of the Revolution by Holbrook 1776 (Landmark) (medium)
The Great Little Madison by Jean Fritz
The Keeping Room by Myers

Thomas Jefferson by Sheean 1760 (Landmark) (medium)
Thomas Jefferson: Architect of Democracy by John Severance (older)
Traitor: the Case of Benedict Arnold by Fritz
We the People by Peter Spier (picture book)
What's the Big Idea Ben Franklin? by Fritz (easy)
Where Was Patrick Henry on the 29th of May? by Fritz (easy)
Why Don't You Get a Horse Sam Adams? by Fritz (easy)
Why Not Lafayette? by Jean Fritz (easy)
Will You Sign Here John Hancock? by Fritz (easy)
Williamsburg Years by Nancy Rue
Winter at Valley Forge by James Knight (easy)
Winter at Valley Forge by Mason 1777 (Landmark) (medium)
Winter Hero by J.L. Collier & C. Collier
Winter of The Red Snow by K. Gregory (older)
World Turned Upside Down by Richard Ferrie (Washington at Yorktown)
Yankee Doodle Boy ed. Joseph Plumb Martin (older)
Yankee Doodle by Gary Chalk (Dorling Kindersley) (E)
Young Patriot by Jim Murphy (older)
Young Paul Revere's Boston by Epstein

War of 1812

18 Penny Goose; true story (easy)
1812, The War Nobody Won, by A. Marin
Abigails Drum by Minahan a true story (easy)
American Army of Two by J Greeson (easy)
Carry On Mr. Bowditch (older)
Cornstalks and Cannonballs by Barbara Mitchell (easy)
Dolly Madison by Mayer (Landmark) (medium)
General Brock and Niagara Falls by Adam (Landmark) (medium)
Keep the Lights Burning Abbie by Peter & Connie Roop (easy)
Lafitte the Pirate by Ariane Dewey (easy)
Once On This Island, by G. Whelan
Pirate Lafitte and Battle of New Orleans by Tallant (Landmark) (medium)
So Proudly She Sailed, by Cabral. about the U.S.S. Constitution
Star-Spangled Banner by Peter Spier (easy)

Westward Expansion & Frontier Life

Addie Across the Prairie by Laurie Lawlor
Addie's Dakota Winter by Laurie Lawlor
Ahyoka and the Talking Leaves by Peter & Connie Roop (Sequoya) (easy)
Amazing Impossible Erie Canal by Cheryl Harness (easy)
Back of Beyond; The: A Story About Lewis and Clark (Lerner Bio) by Andy Russell Bowen (easy)
Ballad of Lucy Whipple about the Gold Rush (older)
Bandit's Moon by Sid Fleischman
Bears on Hemlock Mountain by Dalgliesh (easy)
Beyond the Divide by Kathryn Lasky
Bonanza Girl by Patricia Beatty (Haven't read this one yet recently purchased)
Boy in the Alamo by Margaret Cousins (VP) (older)
Bread-and-Butter Indian by Anne Colver
Buffalo Bill and the Pony Express
Cabin Faced West by Fritz (easy)
California Gold Rush by McNeer 1849 (Landmark) (medium)
Captain's Dog: My Journey with the Lewis and Clark Tribe by Roland Smith
Carolina's Courage by Elizabeth Yates
Children of the Wild West by Russell Freedman (easy)
Coming of the Mormons by Kjelgaard 1845 (Landmark) (medium)
Courage of Sarah Noble by Alice Dalgliesh (easy)
Custer's Last Stand by Reynolds 1843 (Landmark) (medium)
Daniel Boone by Brown 1750 (Landmark) (medium)
Davy Crocket by Holbrook 1786 (Landmark) (medium)
Donner Party by Marian Calabro (older)
Empires Lost and Won: The Spanish Heritage in the Southwest by Albert Marrin (older)
Erie Canal by Adams (Landmark) (medium)
Facing West: A Story of the Oregon Trail by Kathleen Kudlinski (easy)
First Overland Mail by Pinkerton 1857 (Landmark) (medium)
Flaming Arrows by William O. Steele
Gathering of Days by Joan Blos (easy)
Geronimo by Moody 1829 (Landmark) (medium)
Going West by Jean an Leeuwen (easy)
Gone and Back by Nathaniel Benchley
Great American Gold Rush by Rhoda Blumberg
Great Turkey Walk by Kathleen Karr; light-hearted (med)
Head Full of Notions: A Story About Robert Fulton by Andy Russell Bowen (easy)
Heroines of the Early West by Ross 1804 (Landmark) (medium)
I am Houston by Wade
If You Lived With the Cherokee by Peter Roop (easy)
If You Lived With the Hopi by Anne Kamma
If You Lived With the Sioux Indians by Ann McGovern (easy)
If You Traveled West on a Covered Wagon by Ellen Levine (easy)
Indian Crafts by D'Amato
Indian Summer by F.N. Monjo (easy)
Indian Winter by Russell Freedman (easy)
It's Only Goodbye by Virginia T. Gross (medium)(immigrants)
Jericho's Journey by Wisler; 1800 time frame
John James Audubon by Kieran 1793 (Landmark) (medium)
Kit Carson and the Wild Frontier (LM)
Kit Carson by Moody 1824 (Landmark) (medium)
Kit Carson; Childhood of Famous Americans
Lewis and Clark by Neuberger 1804 (Landmark) (medium)
Life of David Crockett by himself (older)
Light in the Forest by Conrad Richter (older)
Little House on the Prairie series by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Lone Star: A Story of the Texas Rangers by Kathleen Kudlinski (easy)
Louisianna Purchase by Talbot 1801 (Landmark) (medium)
Make Way for Sam Houston by Fritz (medium)
Moccasin Trail by Eloise Jarvis McGraw (older)
Mr. Blue Jeans : a story about Levi Strauss by Maryann N. Weidt
Night Bird: A Story of the Seminole Indians by Kathleen Kudlinski (easy)
Of Courage Undaunted by James Doughtery (older)
Oh What an Awful Mess! : A Story of Charles Goodyear by Robert Quackenbush (easy)
On to Oregon by Honore Morrow
Overland in 1846: Diaries and Letters of the California Oregon Trail ed. Dale Morgan (older)
Picture Book of Davy Crockett by David Adler (easy)
Picture Book of Sacagawea by David Adler (easy)
Picture Book of Sitting Bull by David Adler (easy)
Pioneers Go West by George R. Stewart (GL)(older)
Piper's Ferry by Wisler about Texas independence
Pony Express by Adams 1859 (Landmark) (medium)
Prairie Visions by Pam Conrad (easy)
Quick Annie Give me a Catchy Line!: A story of Samuel F.B. Morse by Robert Quackenbush. (easy)
Remember the Alamo by Warren 1803 (Landmark) (medium)
Retreat to Glory by Latham (Sam Houston)
Riding the Pony Express by Bulla (easy)
Robert Fulton and the Steamboat by Hill 1795 (Landmark) (medium)
Rough and Ready Prospectors by A.S. Gintzler
Saga of Lewis and Clark from DK
Sam Houston a Discovery Book by JL Latham (easy)
Sam Houston by Johnson 1814 (Landmark) (medium)
Sam Houston the Tallest Texan (LM)
Samuel F.B. Morse by Tiner (SL)(older)
Sante Fe Trail by Adams 1830 (Landmark) (medium)
Sarah Plain and Tall by Patricia McLachlan (easy)
Sarah Witcher’s Story by Elizabeth Yates (easy)
Sequoyah by Riger. 1780 (Landmark) (medium)
Shaking the Nickel Bush by Moody (SL)(older)
Soft Rain by Cornelissen
Story of General Custer by Margaret Leighton
Story of San Francisco by Jackson 1775 (Landmark) (medium)
Story of the Gold at Sutter's Mill by R. Conrad Stein
Story of the Homestead Act by R. Conrad Stein (easy)
Susanna of the Alamo by John Jakes (easy)
Swift Rivers (older)
Texas Rangers by Henry 1830 (Landmark) (medium)
They're Off! The Story of the Pony Express by Cheryl Harness (easy)
Tippecanoe and Tyler Too by Young 1811 (Landmark) (medium)
To California in a Covered Wagon by Stewart 1844 (Landmark) (medium)
Trappers and Traders of the Far West by Daugherty 1810 (Landmark) (medium)
Tree in the Trail by H.C. Holling
True Book and New True Book series, Native American tribes
Voices of the Alamo by Sherry Garland (GL)(older)
Wagon Wheels (easy)
War Chief of the Seminoles by McNeer 1823 (Landmark) (medium)
Watt Got You Started Mr. Fulton? : A Story of James Watt & Robert Fulton by Robert Quackenbush. (easy)
Way West; The by A.S. Knight (wagon trains)(picture book)
Who Let Muddy Boots Into the White House? : A Story of Andrew Jackson by Robert Quackenbush (easy)
Wilderness Wife by Degering
Words by Heart by Ouida Sebestyen
Wyatt Earp: U.S. Marshall (Landmark) (medium)
York; about the slave with Lewis and Clark. (easy)

8th grade Historical Book List

Europe in the Nineteenth Century

Abraham Lincoln's World by Foster
Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Doyle (older)
Charles Dickens by Stanley
Country Doctor by Balzac (older)
Cure of Ars by Windeatt (older)
Dash for Khartoum (1885) by GA Henty (older)
Doctors Who Conquered Yellow Fever by Hill 1860 (Landmark) (medium)
Emma by Austin (older)
Facing Death: Welsh mines by GA Henty (older)
First Transatlantic Cable by Nathan 1854 (Landmark) (medium)
Florence Nightingale 1839-1856 (Landmark) (medium)
Florence Nightingale: God's Servant at the Battlefield by Collins
French Foreign Legion by Wyatt Blassingame 1815+ (Landmark) (medium)
Garibaldi: Father of Modern Italy by Marcia Davenport e.1800 (Landmark) (medium)
General Brock and Niagra Falls (War of 1812) (Landmark) (medium)
George Washington's World by Foster
In Search of Honor by Hess (very good!)
King's Giraffe by Collier (medium)
Lord Nelson Hero of Trafalgar by A. B. C. Whipple 1805 (Landmark) (medium)
Man Who Changed China: The Story of Sun Yat-sen by Buck 1866+ (Landmark) (medium)
Michael Strogoff by Verne 19th century (older)
Mr. Midshipman Hornblower by C.S. Forester (or get the A&E movie it's wonderful)
Murder for Her Majesty by Beth Hilgartner (a great story) (older)
Napoleon & the Battle of Waterloo 1815 (Landmark) (medium)
Napoleon by Carroll (SL)
Picture Book of Florence Nightingale by David Adler (easy)
Picture Book of Louis Braille by David Adler (easy)
Picture Book of Simon Bolivar by David Adler (easy)
Queen Victoria by Noel Streatfeild 1819-1901 (Landmark) (medium)
Rose Round by Trevor (older)
Royal Canadian Mounted Police by Richard L. Neuberger 1874 (Landmark) (medium)
Russians series by Pella 19th century (older)
Secret of the Ruby Ring by Yvonne MacGrorry (Ireland) (older)
Seeing Fingers Louis Braille by de Gering (older)
Simon Bolivar the Great Liberator by Arnold Whitridge 1820 (Landmark) (medium)
Story of Scotland Yard by Laurence Thompson e.1800 (Landmark) (medium)
Tom Brown's School Days by Hughes (older)
Victoria by Chiflet (older)
Wilberforce by Pollock (older)
Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Aiken (older)

Civil War

Abe Lincoln: Log Cabin to Whitehouse by Sterling North (Landmark) (medium)
Abe Lincoln Goes to Washington by Cheryl Harness
Abe Lincoln's Hat (easy)
Abraham Lincoln by D'Aulaire (easy)
Across Five Aprils (SL)
Allen Jay and the Underground Railroad by Marlene Brill (easy)
Among the Camps: Young People’s Stories of the War by Thomas Nelson Page (older)
Battle of Gettysburg by Col. Frank A. Haskell (older)
Be Ever Hopeful Hannalee by Patricia Beatty (older)
Billy Yank: The Union Soldier in the Civil War (easy)
Boys' War, The, by Jim Murphy (older)
Brady by Fritz (medium)
Bull Run by Paul Fleischman (VP)(older)
Call of Duty: The Sterling Nobility of Robert E. Lee by J. Steven Wilkins
Captured by a Spy by L. Travis
Charley Skedaddle by Patricia Beatty (GL)
Commander in Chief: Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War by Albert Marrin
Drinking Gourd, The, by F. N. Monjo (easy)
Drummer Boy's Battle, The, by Dave & Neta Jackson
Freedom Crossing by Margaret Goff Clark
Gettysburg by MacKinlay Kantor (Landmark) (medium)
Go Free or Die: A Story About Harriet Tubman (easy)
Golden Book of the Civil War (great maps, photos, etc.)
Good Morning Mr. President: A story About Carl Sandburg by Barbara Mitchell (easy)
Grace's Letter to Lincoln (easy)
Harriet and the Promised Land by Jacob Lawrence (easy)
Harriet and the Runaway Book by Johanna Johnston (easy)
Harriet Beecher Stowe and the Beecher Preachers by Jean Fritz
If You Grew Up With Abraham Lincoln by Ann McGovern (easy)
If You Lived at the Time of the Civil War by Kay Moore (easy)
If You Traveled on the Underground Railroad by Ellen Levine (easy)
John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry in American history by R. Conrad Stein (easy)
Johnny Reb: The Confederate Soldier in the Civil War (easy)
Just a Few Words, Mr. Lincoln : the Story of the Gettysburg Address by Fritz (easy)
Last Safe House: A Story of the Underground Railroad by Barbara Greenwood
Lincoln: A Photobiography by Russell Freedman (older)
Long Journey Home by Julius Lester
Long Road to Gettysburg by Jim Murphy (VP GL)
Meet Abraham Lincoln by Barbara Cary (easy)
Perilous Road, The, by William O. Steele (older)
Picture Book of Abraham Lincoln by David Adler (easy)
Picture Book of Frederick Douglass by David Adler (easy)
Picture Book of Harriet Tubman by David Adler (easy)
Picture Book of Robert E. Lee by David Adler (easy)
River of Fire by Bettie Wilson Story
Robert E. Lee by Carol Greene (easy)
Runaway to Freedom by Barbara Smucker
Slave Dancer by Paula Fox (older)
Slave Ship, The, by Emma Gelders Sterne
Slopes of War (older)
Story of the Battle of Bull Run by Zachary Kent (COF) (medium)
Story of the Battle of Shiloh by Zachary Kent (COF) (medium)
Story of the Gettysburg Address by Kenneth Richards (COF) (medium)
Story of the Surrender at Appomattox Court House by Zachary Kent (COF) (medium)
Story of the Underground Railroad by R. Conrad Stein (medium)
Thief from Five Points by L. Travis
Thunder at Gettysburg by Patricia Lee Gauch (easy)
To Be A Slave by Julius Lester (older)
Undying Glory by Clinton Cox
Value of Helping : The Story of Harriet Tubman by Ann Donegan (easy)
Vicksburg Veteran by F.N. Monjo (easy)
War Comes to Willy Freeman
(V. 1 in a series) by James Lincoln Collier & Christopher Collier (older)
Who Comes With Cannons? by Patricia Beatty
With Lee in Virginia by G.A. Henty (older)

US in the Late 19th & Early 20th Century

Call of the Wild (SL) (older)
Alaska Gold Rush by McNeer 1897 (Landmark) (medium)
Alexander Graham Bell by Leonard Evrett Fisher
Along Came the Model T! How Henry Ford Put the World on Wheels by Quackenbush (easy)
Andrew Carnegie by Shippen 1847 (Landmark) (medium)
Big Balloon Race by Eleanor Coerr (easy)
Bite of the Gold Bug: A Story of the Alaskan Gold Rush by Barthe Clements (medium)
Bobbin Girl by EA McCully (Lowell cotton mills)(picture book)
Buffalo Bill's Great Wild West Show by Havighurst 1860 (Landmark) (medium)
Building of the First Transcontinental Railroad by Nathan (Landmark) (medium)
Carolina’s Courage by Elizabeth Yates (easy)
Clara and the Bookwagon (easy)
CLICK! : A Story about George Eastman by Barbara Mitchell (older)
Conquest of the North and South Poles by Owen 1884 (Landmark) (medium)
Copper Kings of Montana by Place 1876 (Landmark) (medium)
Cowboys of the Wild West by Russell Freedman (older)
The Day it Rained Forever by Virginia T Gross (medium) (Johnstown)
Dear America/So Far From Home by B Denenberg (Irish immigration)(older)
Disaster at Johnstown by Dolson 1889 (Landmark) (medium)
Dragon’s Gate (older)
Earthquake! A Story of Old San Francisco by Kathleen Kudlinski (med)
Ellis Island Series by Joan Lowery Nixon (Immigrant stories)
George Washington Carver by White 1861 (Landmark) (medium)
Golden Age of Railroads by Holbrook 1830 (Landmark) (medium)
Golden Spike by R. Conrad Stein (easy)
Great Fire; The by Jim Murphy (medium)
Great Wheel by Lawson (medium)
Here a Plant.There a Plant.Everywhere a Plant Plant!: A Story of Luther Burbank by Robert Quackenbush
(easy)
Hero of the Titanic by Joan Blos
Hooray for Oklahoma by Carolyn Kirschstein
Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
If You Lived 100 Years Ago Today by Ann McGovern (easy)
If You Lived at the Time of the Great San Francisco Earthquake by Ellen Levine (easy)
If You Lived in the Alaska Territory by Nancy Levinson (easy)
If Your Name Was Changed at Ellis Island by Ellen Levine (easy)
Immigrant Kids by Russell Freedman (older)
In the Heart of the Rockies by G.A. Henty (older)
It's Only Goodbye: An Immigrant Story by Virginia T. Gross (easy)
Julie by Catherine Marshall (older) (railroads, Johnstown, unions)
Journey to Ellis Island by Carol Bierman (easy)
Kate Shelly and the Midnight Express by Margaret Wettorer (easy)
Lily and Miss Liberty by Carla Stevens (easy)
Long Way to a New Land by Joan Sandin (easy)
Mark Twain and the Queens of the Mississippi by Cheryl Harness (medium)
Mark Twain by Clinton Cox
Mr. Bell Invents the Telephone by Shippen 1870 (Landmark) (medium)
Ordinary Genius: The Story of Albert Einstein (Lerner Bio) by Stephanie Sammartino McPherson (medium)
Orphan Train Quartet by Joan Lowery Nixon (1856; 4 books in a series)
Picture Book of George Washington Carver by David Adler (easy)
Picture Book of Sojourner Truth by David Adler (easy)
Picture Book of Thomas Alva Edison by David Adler (easy)
Pocketful of Goobers : a story about George Washington Carver by Barbara Mitchell (Lerner Bio) (medium)
Redskin and the Cow-Boy; A Tale of Western Plains by G.A. Henty (older)
Rooftop Astronomer (Maria Mitchell) by Stephanie McPherson (easy)
Run Away Home by Patricia McKissack (Apache boy 1888 in Alabama)
Shoes for Everyone: A Story About Jan Matzeliger by Barbara Mitchell (medium)
Story of Oklahoma by Tinkle 1803 (Landmark) (medium)
Story of the Naval Academy by Riesenberg 1845 (Landmark) (medium)
Story of the Secret Service by Kuhn 1875 (Landmark) (medium)
Story of Thomas Alva Edison: Wizard of Menlo Park by Davidson (medium)
Then Darkness Fled: The Liberating Wisdom of Booker T. Washington by Stephen Mansfield
Thomas Alva Edison by Margaret Cousins (Landmark) (medium)
Train to Somewhere by Eve Bunting about the orphan trains
Up the Trail from Texas by Dobie 1865 (Landmark) (medium)
We'll Race You Henry: A Story About Henry Ford by Barbara Mitchell (easy)
Wild Bill Hickock Maryann Weidt (easy)
Wild Bill Hickok by Holbrook 1840 (Landmark) (medium)
Will and Orv by Walter Schulz
Willie Jasper’s Golden Eagle by F.N. Monjo (easy)
Wizard of Sound: A story about Thomas Edison by Barbara Mitchell (med)
World's Greatest Showman by Bryan 1834 (Landmark) (medium)
Wyatt Earp by Holbrook 1875 (Landmark) (medium)
You Want Women to Vote Lizzie Stanton? By Jean Fritz (medium)
Young Mark Twain by Kune 1843 (Landmark) (medium)

US in the Late 19th & Early 20th Century

Call of the Wild (SL) (older)
Alaska Gold Rush by McNeer 1897 (Landmark) (medium)
Alexander Graham Bell by Leonard Evrett Fisher
Along Came the Model T! How Henry Ford Put the World on Wheels by Quackenbush (easy)
Andrew Carnegie by Shippen 1847 (Landmark) (medium)
Big Balloon Race by Eleanor Coerr (easy)
Bite of the Gold Bug: A Story of the Alaskan Gold Rush by Barthe Clements (medium)
Bobbin Girl by EA McCully (Lowell cotton mills)(picture book)
Buffalo Bill's Great Wild West Show by Havighurst 1860 (Landmark) (medium)
Building of the First Transcontinental Railroad by Nathan (Landmark) (medium)
Carolina’s Courage by Elizabeth Yates (easy)
Clara and the Bookwagon (easy)
CLICK! : A Story about George Eastman by Barbara Mitchell (older)
Conquest of the North and South Poles by Owen 1884 (Landmark) (medium)
Copper Kings of Montana by Place 1876 (Landmark) (medium)
Cowboys of the Wild West by Russell Freedman (older)
The Day it Rained Forever by Virginia T Gross (medium) (Johnstown)
Dear America/So Far From Home by B Denenberg (Irish immigration)(older)
Disaster at Johnstown by Dolson 1889 (Landmark) (medium)
Dragon’s Gate (older)
Earthquake! A Story of Old San Francisco by Kathleen Kudlinski (med)
Ellis Island Series by Joan Lowery Nixon (Immigrant stories)
George Washington Carver by White 1861 (Landmark) (medium)
Golden Age of Railroads by Holbrook 1830 (Landmark) (medium)
Golden Spike by R. Conrad Stein (easy)
Great Fire; The by Jim Murphy (medium)
Great Wheel by Lawson (medium)
Here a Plant.There a Plant.Everywhere a Plant Plant!: A Story of Luther Burbank by Robert Quackenbush
(easy)
Hero of the Titanic by Joan Blos
Hooray for Oklahoma by Carolyn Kirschstein
Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
If You Lived 100 Years Ago Today by Ann McGovern (easy)
If You Lived at the Time of the Great San Francisco Earthquake by Ellen Levine (easy)
If You Lived in the Alaska Territory by Nancy Levinson (easy)
If Your Name Was Changed at Ellis Island by Ellen Levine (easy)
Immigrant Kids by Russell Freedman (older)
In the Heart of the Rockies by G.A. Henty (older)
It's Only Goodbye: An Immigrant Story by Virginia T. Gross (easy)
Julie by Catherine Marshall (older) (railroads, Johnstown, unions)
Journey to Ellis Island by Carol Bierman (easy)
Kate Shelly and the Midnight Express by Margaret Wettorer (easy)
Lily and Miss Liberty by Carla Stevens (easy)
Long Way to a New Land by Joan Sandin (easy)
Mark Twain and the Queens of the Mississippi by Cheryl Harness (medium)
Mark Twain by Clinton Cox
Mr. Bell Invents the Telephone by Shippen 1870 (Landmark) (medium)
Ordinary Genius: The Story of Albert Einstein (Lerner Bio) by Stephanie Sammartino McPherson (medium)
Orphan Train Quartet by Joan Lowery Nixon (1856; 4 books in a series)
Picture Book of George Washington Carver by David Adler (easy)
Picture Book of Sojourner Truth by David Adler (easy)
Picture Book of Thomas Alva Edison by David Adler (easy)
Pocketful of Goobers : a story about George Washington Carver by Barbara Mitchell (Lerner Bio) (medium)
Redskin and the Cow-Boy; A Tale of Western Plains by G.A. Henty (older)
Rooftop Astronomer (Maria Mitchell) by Stephanie McPherson (easy)
Run Away Home by Patricia McKissack (Apache boy 1888 in Alabama)
Shoes for Everyone: A Story About Jan Matzeliger by Barbara Mitchell (medium)
Story of Oklahoma by Tinkle 1803 (Landmark) (medium)
Story of the Naval Academy by Riesenberg 1845 (Landmark) (medium)
Story of the Secret Service by Kuhn 1875 (Landmark) (medium)
Story of Thomas Alva Edison: Wizard of Menlo Park by Davidson (medium)
Then Darkness Fled: The Liberating Wisdom of Booker T. Washington by Stephen Mansfield
Thomas Alva Edison by Margaret Cousins (Landmark) (medium)
Train to Somewhere by Eve Bunting about the orphan trains
Up the Trail from Texas by Dobie 1865 (Landmark) (medium)
We'll Race You Henry: A Story About Henry Ford by Barbara Mitchell (easy)
Wild Bill Hickock Maryann Weidt (easy)
Wild Bill Hickok by Holbrook 1840 (Landmark) (medium)
Will and Orv by Walter Schulz
Willie Jasper’s Golden Eagle by F.N. Monjo (easy)
Wizard of Sound: A story about Thomas Edison by Barbara Mitchell (med)
World's Greatest Showman by Bryan 1834 (Landmark) (medium)
Wyatt Earp by Holbrook 1875 (Landmark) (medium)
You Want Women to Vote Lizzie Stanton? By Jean Fritz (medium)
Young Mark Twain by Kune 1843 (Landmark) (medium)


World War I

America's First World War: General Pershing by Henry Castor 1915 (Landmark) (medium)
Bold Leaders of World War I, by Col. Red Reider, (Landmark) (medium)
Flying Aces of World War I by Gene Gurney 1915 (Landmark) (medium)
Gay Neck, Story of a Pigeon (a Newberry about a carrier pigeon)
House on Walenska Street by Herman
Lawrence of Arabia by MacLean 1915 (Landmark) (medium)
Medal of Honor Heroes, (Landmark) (medium)
Story of Albert Schweitzer 1875-1965 (Landmark) (medium)

US in the 20th Century Until World War II .

Ahoy! Ahoy! Are You There?: A Story of Alexander Graham Bell by Robert Quackenbush
Along Came the Model T! How Henry Ford Put the World on Wheels by Quackenbush
America I Hear You: A Story About George Gershwin by Barbara Mitchell
Arctic Explorer: A Story of Matthew Henson (1866-1955 Lerner Bio) by Jeri Ferris
Between Two Worlds: A Story About Pearl Buck by Barbara Mitchell
Bud & Me: The True Adventures of the Abernathy Boys by Alta Abernathy (older)
Bully for You Teddy Roosevelt by Jean Fritz
Carry A Big Stick: The Uncommon Heroism of Theodore Roosevelt by George Grant
Charles A. Lindbergh: A Human Hero by James Cross Giblin
Cheaper by the Dozen (SL) (older)
Child Star by Lydia Weaver (medium)(talkies)
Children of the Dust Bowl: The True Story of the School at Weedpatch Camp by Jerry Stanley.
Clear the Cow Pasture I'm Coming in for a Landing!: A Story of Amelia Earhart by Robert Quackenbush
Clyde Tombough and the Search for Planet X (Pluto) by Margaret Wetterer
Doctors Who Conquered Yellow Fever (Landmark) (medium)
Dragonwings (SL)(SF Earthquake) (older
Early Days of Automobiles by Janeway (Landmark) (medium)
Endurance: Shakleton’s Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing (older)
Exploring the Titanic by Robert Ballard
FBI by Reynolds 1924 (Landmark) (medium)
Fire at the Triangle Factory by Holly Littlefield
Fire! by Barbara Goldin (medium)(Triangle fire, unions)
General Pershing and World War I (Landmark) (medium)
Ghost Liners: Exploring the World's Greatest Lost Ships by Robert Ballard
Hard Times by Nancy Artley
Hero of the Titanic by Joan Blos
Hero Over Here by Kudlinski (easy) (WWI, flu epidemic)
Loner; The (older)
Long Way to Go by Zibby Oneal (medium) (Women's Suffrage)
Marven of the Great North Woods by Kathryn Lasky. (E)
Matter of Pride (dustbowl) by Emily Crofford
Medal of Honor Heros by Reeder 1914 (Landmark) (medium)
Moonshiner’s Son by Carolyn Reader (older)
My Daddy Was a Soldier by Deborah Ray
Nothing to Fear (depression) (older)
One Bad Thing About Father (T. Roosevelt) by F.N. Monjo (easy)
Panama Canal (Landmark) (medium)
Panama Canal by Considine
Picture Book of Amelia Earhart by David Adler (easy)
Picture Book of Eleanor Roosevelt by David Adler (easy)
Picture Book of Helen Keller by David Adler (easy)
Raggin': A Story About Scott Joplin by Barbara Mitchell
Remarkable Ride of the Abernathy Boys by Robert B. Jackson (?)
Sergeant York and the Great War ed. Tom Skeyhill (GL)
Sergeant York: His Life Legend and Legacy by John Perry (GL)
Seventeenth Swap (SL) (older)
Story of the U. S. Air Force by Loomis 1903 (Landmark) (medium)
Story of the U.S.Coast Guard by Rachlis 1915 (Landmark) (medium)
Strawberry Girl by Lois Lenski (medium)
Stubby; Brave Soldier Dog by Richard Glendinning (WWI) (easy)
Take Me Out to the Airfield!: How the Wright Brothers Invented the Airplane by Robert Quackenbush
Teddy Roosevelt and the Rough Riders by Castor 1890 (Landmark) (medium)
Titanic Lost and Found by Judy Donnelly
U.S. Border Patrol by Hellyer 1924 (Landmark) (medium)
Will and Orv by Walter Schulz
Wright Brothers: How They Invented the Airplane by Russell Freedman

World War II

Battle for Iwo Jima by Leckie WWII 1944 (Landmark) (medium)
Battle for the Atlantic by Williams WWII 1944 (Landmark) (medium)
Battle for the Bulge by Toland WWII 1944 (Landmark) (medium)
Battle of Britain by Quentin Reynolds 1940 (Landmark) (medium)
Ben-Gurion and the Birth of Israel 1940's (Landmark) (medium)
Chestry Oak by Seredy (I read this book and just loved it)
Combat Nurses of World War II by Wyatt Blassingame 1941 (Landmark) (medium)
Commandos of World War II by Hodding Carter 1940 (Landmark) (medium)
Escape from Warsaw by Serraillier (SL)
Flat Top Aircraft Carriers by Castillo 1910 (Landmark) (medium)
Flying Tigers by Toland WWII 1941 (Landmark) (medium)
From Casablanca to Berlin by Bliven WWII 1942 (Landmark) (medium)
From Pearl Harbor to Okinawa by Bliven WWII 1941 (Landmark) (medium)
Great American Fighter Pilots of World War II by R. Loomis 1941 (Landmark) (medium)
Guadalcanal Diary by Richard Tregaskis 1945 (Landmark) (medium)
Hiroshima by John Hersey (VP)
JFK and the PT-109 by Tregaskis WWII 1942 (Landmark) (medium)
Medical Corps Heros of World War II by Blasingame WWII 1941 (Landmark) (medium)
Midway: Battle for the Pacific by Castillo WWII 1942 (Landmark) (medium)
North to Freedom (SL)
Number the Stars (SL)
Pearl Harbor is Burning by Kudlinski (medium)
Picture Book of Anne Frank by David Adler (easy)
Rise and Fall of Adolf Hitler by William L. Shirer 1945 (Landmark) (medium)
Seabees of World War II by Castillo WWII 1942 (Landmark) (medium)
Sinking of the Bismarck by William L. Shirer 1940 (Landmark) (medium)
Snow Treasure by McSwigen (SL)
Story of Atomic Energy 1940's (Landmark) (medium)
Story of D Day by Bliven WWII 1944 (Landmark) (medium)
Story of D-Day (Landmark) (medium)
Story of Submarines by Weller 1850 (Landmark) (medium)
Story of the Paratroops by Weller (Landmark) (medium)
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo by Lawson WWII 1940 (Landmark) (medium)
Twenty and Ten (SL)
U.S. Frogmen of WWII by Blasingame WWII 1944 (Landmark) (medium)
Winston Churchill by Reynolds England 1874 (Landmark) (medium)
Young Underground Series by Robert Elmer (WW II; Christian; 10 or more books in the series)


The World Since 1945

Cry the Beloved Country by Alan Paton (older)
Exploring the Himalayas by William O. Douglas (Landmark) (medium)
The Good Master, by Seredy (SL)
Kon-Tiki by Thor Heyerdahl (older)
Plague by Carol Balizet sci-fi (older)
The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger (Canada)(older)
Red Scarf Girl, by ?? (about the Korean War)
United Nations in War and Peace by Fehrenbach WWII 1945 (Landmark) (medium)
War in Korea 1950's (Landmark) (medium)
Watership Down by Richard Adams (older)
Within Reach: My Everest Story by Mark Pfezer & Jack Galvin (older)

US After World War II

Americans in Orbit by Gurney America 1955 (Landmark) (medium)
Boy Who Dreamed of Rockets; The (Robert Goddard) by Robert Quackenbush
Cracking the Wall: The Struggles of the Little Rock Nine by Eileen Lucas
Dwight D Eisenhower by Moos America (Landmark) (medium)
Fearfully and Wonderfully Made by Paul Brand and P. Yancy (older)
First Circle by Solzhenitsyn (older)
Gifted Hands by Ben Carson (older)
Green Book; The sci-fi (older)
I Can be an Astronaut by June Behrens
If You Lived at the Time of Martin Luther King by Ellen Levine
If You Lived With the Circus by Ann McGovern
Johnny Hong of Chinatown by Bulla
Journey to Jericho by Scott O'Dell
Korean War Soldier at Heartbreak Ridge by Carl R. Green and William R. Sanford (medium)
Korean War: The Forgotten War by Stein
Neil Armstrong Space Pioneer by Paul Westman
New Americans : Vietnamese Boat People by James Haskins
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Solzhenitsyn (older)
Paper Caper; The (computer program theft) by Caroline Cooney
Picture Book of John F. Kennedy by David Adler (easy)
Picture Book of Martin Luther King Jr. by David Adler (easy)
Picture Book of Rosa Parks by David Adler (easy)
President is Dead; The by Virginia Gross
Riders of the Pale Horse by T. Davis Bunn (older)
Run Baby Run (SL) (older)
Sally Ride Astronaut : An American First by June Behrens
Space Trilogy by C.S. Lewis (older)(preview)
Spacebusters: The Race to the Moon (Lerner Bio) by Philip Wilkinson
Stateswoman to the World : a story about Eleanor Roosevelt by Maryann N. Weidt
Thurgood Marshall : First African-American Supreme Court Justice by Carol Greene
To Kill a Mockingbird (SL) (older)
Walk in Space by Gurney America 1965 (Landmark) (medium)
Wall of Names : the story of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial by Judy Donnelly
Wrinkle in Time (SL)(sci-fi)(older)
Young Rosa Parks Civil Rights Heroine by Anne Benjamin

Summertime Good Books for Middle School

(some favorites are highlighted)

Adventures of Mabel by Harry Thurston Peck
Adventures of Tintin by Herge
All Sail Set and others by Armstrong Sperry
All-of-a-Kind Family and others by Sydney Taylor
Arabian Nights translated by Edward Lane
Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare by Edith Nesbit
Bevis by Richard Jefferies
Big Day For Scepters by Stephen Krensky
Big Red by Jim Kjelgaard
Black Beauty: the Autobiography of a Horse by Anna Sewell
Black Ships Before Troy by Rosemary Sutcliff
Black Stallion and others by Walter Farley
Blue Willow by Doris Gates
Book of Cowboys by Will James
Book of Three and others by Lloyd Alexander
Borrowers and others by Mary Norton
Boy Apprenticed to an Enchanter by Padriac Colum
Boy's Life of Edison by William Meadowcroft
Bright April by Marguerite de Angeli
Brighty of the Grand Canyon by Marguerite Henry
Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare
Buffalo Knife by William O. Steele
Cabin Faced West by Jean Fritz
Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Brink
Calico Bush by Rachel Field

Canyon Winter by Walt Morey
Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham
Cattle Brands by Andy Adams
Charlotte's Web by E. B. White
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang by Ian Fleming
Cricket in Times Square by George Selden
Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary
Destination Moon by James Irwin
Dobry by Monica Shannon
Doctor's Boy by Karin Anckarsvard
Dog on Barkham Street by Mary Stoltz
Doll's House by Rumer Godden
Door in the Wall by Marguerite de Angeli
Dragon Slayer by Rosemary Sutcliff

Dvora's Journey by Marge Blaine
Eagle of the Ninth and other historical fiction by Rosemary Sutcliff
Episode of Sparrows by Rumer Godden
Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl
Far Frontier by William O. Steele
Five Children & It by Edith Nesbit
Five Little Peppers and How They Grew and others by Margaret Sidney
Follow My Leader by James B. Garfield
Four-Story Mistake by Elizabeth Enright
Freedom to Dream by Cynthia Blair
From Anna by Jean Little
Further Adventures of Nils by Selma Lagerlof
Gentle Ben by Walt Morey
Ginger Pye by Eleanor Estes

God Made Them Great by John Tallach
Gone Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright
Good Master by Kate Seredy
Grandfather's Chair by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Great Brain and others by John Fitzgerald
Great Glass Elevator by Roald Dahl
Guns for General Washington by Seymour Reit
Hannah by Gloria Whelan
Henry Huggins and other Henry books by Beverly Cleary
Henry Reed, Inc. by Keith Robertson
Home of the Sailor by Rumer Godden
Homer Price by Robert McCloskey
House at Pooh Corner by A. A. Milne RA
House of Sixty Fathers by Meindert de Jong
Hundred and One Dalmatians by Dodie Smith
In Grandma's Attic & others by Arleta Richardson
Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnford
Journey from Peppermint Street by Meindert de Jong
Journey to America by Sonia Levitin
Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
Jungle Doctor and others by Paul White
Justin Morgan Had a Horse by Marguerite Henry
Kateri Tekakwitha: Mohawk Maid by Evelyn Brown
Kildee House by Rutherford George Montgomery
King of the Golden River by John Ruskin
King of the Wind and others by Marguerite Henry
King Without a Shadow by R. C. Sproul
Lad: a Dog and others by Albert Payson Terhune
Lassie Come Home by Eric Knight
Little Britches: Father & I Were Ranchers and others by Ralph Moody

Little Fishes by Erik Christian Haugaard
Little House in the Big Woods and others by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Little Lame Prince by Dinah Maria Mulock
Little Lord Fauntleroy by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Log of a Cowboy by Andy Adams
Lone Cowboy by Will James
Lone Journey by Jeanette Eaton
Lost Princess by George MacDonald
Magic Pudding by Norman Lindsey
Magic Summer by Noel Streatfeild
Magical Melons by Carol Brink
Many Moons by James Thurber
Mary Poppins and others by Pamela L. Travers
Master Cornhill by Eloise Jarvis McGraw

Master Skylark by John Bennett
Mine for Keeps by Jean Little
Miracles on Maple Hill by Virginia Sorensen
Miss Happiness and Miss Flower by Rumer Godden
Moffats by Eleanor Estes
Moth Manor by Martha Bacon
Mountain Born by Elizabeth Yates
Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard Atwater

Mr. Small and others by Lois Lenski
Mrs. Frisby & the Rats of NIMH by Robert O'Brien
Mrs. Piggle Wiggle and others by Betty MacDonald
My Daniel by Pam Conrad
My Indian Boyhood by Luther Standing Bear
My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George
Myths of the World by Padraic Colum
National Velvet by Enid Begnold
Niko, Sculptor's Apprentice by Isabelle Lawrence
Old Yeller by Fred Gipson
Outlet by Andy Adams
Owls in the Family by Farley Mowat
Paul Bunyan and His Blue Ox by Wallace Wadsworth
Paul Bunyan by James Stevens
Peppermints in the Parlor by Barbara Wallace
Perilous Road by William O. Steele
Peter Pan by James Barrie
Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
Phoenix and the Carpet by Edith Nesbit
Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi
Pippi Longstocking and others by Astrid Lindgren
Pollyanna by Eleanor Porter
Prairie Boy's Summer by William Kurelek
Prairie Boy's Winter by William Kurelek
Prairie School by Lois Lenski
Princess and Curdie by George McDonald
Princess and the Goblin by George McDonald
Problem With Pulcifer by Florence Parry Heide
Proud Taste for Scarlet & Miniver by E. L. Konigsburg
Pushcart War by Jean Merrill
Rabbit Hill by Robert Lawson
Railway Children by Edith Nesbit
Rainbow Garden by Patricia St. John
Rascal by Sterling North

Rescuers series by Margery Sharp
Return to Gone-Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright
Ride the West Wind by Barbara Chamberlain
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor
Roller Skates by Ruth Sawyer
Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan
Saturdays by Elizabeth Enright
Secret at Pheasant Cottage by Patricia St. John
Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Seven Years From Home by Rose Blue
Seventeenth Swap by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
Shadrack by Meindert de Jong
Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare
Silver Chief: Dog of the North and others by Jack O'Brien
Singing Tree by Kate Seredy
Skylark by Patricia MacLachlan
Smoky the Cowhorse by Will James
Sounder by William Armstrong

Spiderweb for Two by Elizabeth Enright
Star of Light by Patricia St. John
Story of Holly and Ivy by Rumer Godden
Story of Rolf and the Viking Bow by Allen French
Strawberry Girl and others by Lois Lenski
Striped Ships by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
Stuart Little by E. B. White
Swallows & Amazons and others by Arthur Ransome
Sword and the Sundial by Phyllis Prokop
Swords of the Vikings by Julia Davis Adams
Tales of Uncle Remus retold by Julius Lester
Tanglewood Secrets by Patricia St. John
Thee, Hannah by Marguerite de Angeli
Then There Were Five by Elizabeth Enright
They Shall Be Mine by John Tallach
Thimble Summer by Elizabeth Enright
This Dear Bought Land by Jean Lee Latham
Three Children and Shakespeare by Anne Terry White
Three Go Searching by Patricia St. John
Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll RA
Time at the Top by Edward Ormondroyd
To Catch a Golden Ring by Marilyn Donahue
Tough Winter by Robert Lawson
Treasures of the Snow by Patricia St. John
Trumpet of the Swan by E. B. White
Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
Turn Homeward, Hannalee by Patricia Beatty
Twenty One Balloons by William Pene DuBois
Twice Freed by Patricia St. John

Uncle Remus and others by Joel Chandler Harris
Understood Betsy by Dorothy Canfield Fisher
Viking Tales by Jeannie Hall
Vinegar Boy by Alberta Hawse
Voyage to Freedom by David Gay
Way Things Work by David Macaulay
Wharton & the Castaways by Russell Erickson
What Katy Did and others by Susan Coolidge
Wheel on the School by Meindert de Jong
Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
Where the River Begins by Patricia St. John

White Stag by Kate Seredy
Why the Chisholm Trail Forks by Andy Adams
Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame RA
Winged Watchman and others by Hilda Van Stockum
Wonderful Adventures of Nils by Selma Lagerlof
Yankee Doodle's Cousins by Anne Malcomson
Year of the Black Pony and others by Walt Morey

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Patick Henry





Patrick Henry gave his famous "Give me liberty, or give me death" speech on March 23, 1775 at St. John's Henrico Parish Church in Richmond. Read the speech here or listen to it here.

Patrick Henry was a native Virginian and lived not far from here. He retired to nearby Red Hill.

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Plan for the final nine weeks:

Monday, March 2, 2009

No School!

Have fun!


Saturday, February 28, 2009

Poetry Recitation Champions

Way to go, 6th graders!!

You did a fantastic job learning and reciting
"If"
by Rudyard Kipling.

Congratulations!



Thursday, February 19, 2009

Lay vs. lie

Learn the principal parts for the verbs "to lay" and "to lie."

Memorize them!

Write them at the top of every homework paper and every test.

Remember the principal parts: ________, ________, ________.
The first blank is the present. Think: Today, I _____.
The second blank is the past. Think: Yesterday, I _____.
The third blank is the present participle. Think: I have _____ before.

Lay means to put or place something.
The principal parts are lay--laid--laid.
Think: Today, I lay the book down. Yesterday, I laid the book down. I have laid the book down before.

Lie means to rest or recline.
The prinicpal parts are lie--lay--lain.
Think: Today, I lie down for a nap. Yesterday, I lay down for a nap. I have lain down for a nap before.

For practice, and we all need to practice these (even Mrs. Dye), go to these online quiz links.
If you want, open them in a new tab (press Ctrl-T and choose "open in new tab"). That way you can take the quiz and post your grade in a comment on this blog. (You do not need to register; choose "anonymous" and leave your name within the comment.) The comments will not show up until I enable them to, so I am the only one who sees your score.)

Quiz 1
Quiz 2
Quiz 3
Quiz 4
Quiz 5
Quiz 6

Friday, February 13, 2009

Poetry Memorization

If
by Rudyard Kipling


If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on";

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!

The sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students finished memorizing "If." They will be reviewing the entire poem next week in preparation for a special Poetry Recitation Championship to be held the week of February 23 to determine which class recited the best.

Check out this link for a song the students listened to as a review. The tune is Pachelbel's Canon with guitar.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

8th grade: Irish Potato Famine -- 1845




Read about the Great Irish Potato Famine in these two well-researched and believable books: Nory Ryan's Song and Maggie's Door by Patricia Reilly Giff.

Having descendants from Ireland, Giff researched the history, the land, and the people accurately, which is portrayed in the authenticity of her storytelling.

Also, check out this presentation of the Irish Potato Famine.

Saturday, January 31, 2009

February Focus


People who gave unselfishly to the Underground Railroad and Abolition movement were often not regarded for their efforts during their lifetime. In our country, these figures are keys to our national celebration of Black History Month this February.

To learn more about these people, visit the bulletin board.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

7th grade: Maps of Pilgrim's Progress

After finishing Pilgrim's Progress, the 7th graders end-of-book project was to design a map of Pilgrim's journey with the major places and people. These are a few of the eighteen maps they did.

Great job!









Wednesday, December 24, 2008

How we should play the game

Sports activities have been involved in schools for decades.

This story
is a beautiful example of the attitude we should display during those games.

Sure, we should play the game to best of our ability, but how different would our schools be if we displayed the attitudes as those in this story.

Think about it.

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Pilgrim's Progress

Seventh graders begin reading The Pilgrim's Progress today. Those students who were here in the fourth grade were privileged to read a children's version, but today, we start Pilgrim's Progress in Today's English. The length is about the same, though some of the more archaic language is updated.

"Why We should read The Pilgrim's Progress" is an interesting article about how Pilgrim's journey is our journey.

Monday, October 20, 2008

Homonyms


Homonyms are words that sound the same but have different meanings.
haul--hall---------pale--pail-----------rain--rein--reign
This week's spelling words for grades 6, 7, and 8 are all homonyms.

For some fun games, see these sites:

FunBrain

Concentration at Quia

Self-Study Homonym Quizzes

To help you with your study, a list of short definitions of many homonyms is found here.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

GeoBee, anyone?

Check out the new link under Geography in the sidebar.

See how many questions you can complete!

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Memorization

For any parents reading (kids, go get you parent and have them read this!), you will be interested to know the selections your child has memorized as a group during our classes this year.

Memorization is an important tool in a student's life. Memorization causes students of begin to appreciate language and the sound it makes when it is carefully constructed. Also, students have young minds which can make memorization especially easy andthe ability to recall memorized material decades later. The article, "In Defense of Memorization," is particularly helpful and interesting to read.

All three grades (6th, 7th, and 8th) learned "Ideas have Consequences" which is found in the sidebar. Since we are reading The Hobbit in the sixth grade, they worked on ten stanzas from "Over the Misty Mountains Cold" as the seventh grade memorized "A Mighty Fortress is our God" and a small part of Martin Luther's famous speech before the Diet of Worms. Both sixth and seventh grades learned "The Night has a Thousand Eyes" and "The Vulture." The next memorization selection for both grades is "The Quality of Mercy" from Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice.

The eighth graders memorized "The Charge of the Light Brigade" and has begun to work on "The Gettyburg Address."

More selections are ready and waiting for the rest of the year!

Thursday, October 2, 2008

The Hobbit, Chapter 8: Flies and Spiders

Do these pictures make you think of the "Flies and Spiders" chapter?

These are incredible webs!







Sunday, September 28, 2008

Abraham Lincoln's World: pages 143-222

Question 2. Read about the Opium Wars here, here, here, or here to answer question 2 in the section "When Abe Lincoln Kept Store in Illinois."

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Enjoying life in our world

Often school and all its work, sports practice and games, and requirements at home all seem to merge together and demand our attention at the same time. Frustration usually results. Tempers flare. We are happy with ourselves or anyone else.

Times like those keep us from seeing the forests for the trees. When things get too frustrating, take a few minutes and enjoy the wonderful world God has made. When I do this, I realize how minor my frustrations are in comparison to the grandeur of the universe.

Look at some of the links in the sidebar under "The Heavens Declare the Glory of God." The Astronomy Sight of the Day is always fascinating. Once at that site, you can click on the archives and find lots of interesting pictures of our universe.

The World Sunlight Map is a current picture of how sunlight is distributed throughout the world. It is current. If you check back an hour or so later, you will see how the sunlight has moved.

The Moon Phase link is to the current phase of the moon. The moon is always interesting to me.

A new link, Night Lights on Earth, shows the lights on Earth from space.

The more we know about and see this wonderful world, the more we will appreciate this creation and the more gratitude we owe to the Creator God.

Also, notice the new text in the sidebar, Children's Beatitudes. Recently, I heard a minister from Barbados share this during his sermon. I remembered enough of it to find the entire text online later. It seems that these thoughtful statements originated in Zimbabwe. Good thoughts to ponder.

Monday, September 8, 2008

Abraham Lincoln's World: Garibaldi

Use these links to answer "When Abraham Lincoln was a Boy in Indiana," question 22 about Garibaldi:

Monday, September 1, 2008

The World of Christopher Columbus (7th grade)

For each link, hold cursor over the link, right click mouse, click on Open in a New Tab. Having both tabs open enables you to move back and forth without losing the first page.

Use the dictionary! Look up any words you do not know. Be sure to write the word and a short definition down in your answers. For example, if you do not know what the word monastery means, then look it up in this online dictionary.

  • Again, hold cursor over the link "online dictionary" in the last sentence. It is bold-faced and stands out to show you it is a link.
  • Right click mouse, then click Open in a New Tab.
  • Once the dictionary page opens, you can type in the word to look up OR you can cut-and-paste the word into the search box. Leave the dictionary tab open so you can use it again.
  • When you look up the word monastery, you find that it means "a house or place of residence occupied by a community of persons, esp. monks, living in seclusion under religious vows." When you use the word monastery in your answer, put a simple definition beside it in parenthesis like this: "...lived in a monastery (place where monks live)....".
...........................................................................................................................................

Links for The World of Christopher Columbus:


Pages 24-64

1. Printable map of Africa, map of the Gambia, another map of the Gambia, map of Cape Verde.

5. Use these Fra Mauro links to answer the questions on your reading sheet:

Choose one of these two activities:

Activity 1:

  • Keep the printed map in front of you and open up this link. Look carefully. Can you see the land and the water? With a light brown or green colored pencil, shade in the land areas. With a light blue colored pencil, shade in the water areas. The map still looks strange, doesn't it? Try this: turn it upside down. Does it look more familiar now? Compare it with this image (remember to open in a new tab!). The difference is explained in the last nine lines of this link. Isn't that interesting?!

Activity 2:

  • This is named Fra Mauro. What is it?
  • Here is a look from a little farther away. Notice the white arrow?
  • Find Fra Mauro here. Look for number 14. It is located in one of the darker areas called mare, which means "sea" in Latin. Additional help in finding #14: from in the center, look west (to the left) until you find "Copernicus," then look south. You will see #12 and to its right will be #14.
  • Why do you think it is named Fra Mauro? Go here, scroll down about halfway to "The Moon." Read the description beside the "crater" column. Compose a good written answer.
  • Use the dictionary link above and look up "fra." What does it mean?


9. Italian Renaissance artists: Gozzoli, Botticelli, Donatello, Fra Angelico, Brunelleschi, Ghiberti, and Verrochio.


Pages 90-114

2. Read this link about Ptolemy. Record your findings on your answer pages.


Pages 360-400

4. Find Albrecht Durer information here. Find the two painting which he did of Emperor Maximilian here and here.

Monday, August 25, 2008

Bilbo, Gandalf, Thorin and company

The long-awaited day has arrived.

Several sixth graders have waited for the big green books to be pulled from the shelves.

The Hobbit is now in their eager hands. The first assignment is to take Tolkein's description of a hobbit and illustrate their visual image of a hobbit.

The students are about to embark on an expedition that will remain in their memories for years to come.

Find out your Hobbit Name or make some Hobbit runes.

And don't miss a modern day hobbit house.

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Words and Rice

Challenge yourself! And send some rice to needy people at the same time. Grain by grain.

The link to Free Rice is in the sidebar under Vocabulary Practice .



As you begin, first go to the OPTIONS tab. Once there, choose the level below that corresponds to your grade level. If it is too easy, choose a higher level; if too hard, choose a lower level.

6th graders: Start at Level 10
7th graders: Start at Level 15
8th graders: Start at Level 20


After choosing your option, click on the HOME tab and begin.

Have fun and learn!

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

What we will read....

Click on the picture for a closeup look of our new books!

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Grammar

Find grammar help in the following links:

Interactive grammar quizzes

How to diagram

Grammar songs

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Catechism

Print the Westminster Shorter Catechism here.

Holly Dutton's CDs of catechism songs that we sing in class.

Westminster Shorter Catechism with Scripture proofs.

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Parent Helps

As parents, we often want to help our children succeed in every area of their lives. Helping them succeed academically is often difficult because we sometimes don't know exactly what to do or how to do it. Below are some articles that I have found helpful. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to post them here.

Encouraging Your Child to Work


Why Do Copywork and Dictation?


A Classical Approach to History