The American Republic, second edition

Bob Jones University Press

Written for eighth grade students, this course is an introduction to United States history that continues up through the Clinton presidency (2000). If your teen has already studied United States history at an elementary or junior high level, and if he or she is mature enough to handle the deeper philosophical questions, you can skip to the BJUP eleventh-grade-level United States History, which is more interesting.

This second edition has a much improved appearance over the first edition with better graphics, illustrations, and maps. The printed text remains essentially the same until the last section, which has been reorganized and updated. I found this last section to be very opinionated toward a conservative viewpoint.

This text has useful discussion questions, with thought questions added to each section review. American geography and social development coverage, plus periodic original documents and biographical sketches enhance the text.

The two-volume teacher’s edition includes valuable background information that will significantly enhance lessons if you are able to use it. It also has complete lesson plans and slightly-reduced, full-color reproductions of student pages without answers, so you might purchase the teacher’s edition along with both the student activity book and its teacher’s edition, skipping a separate student text.

The Student Activity Book is useful. While it includes some fill-in-the-blank questions, it also features construction of graphs and charts, map work, and other more analytical, thought-provoking activities. For example, one assignment is to write war memos as an American commander summarizing the details of a battle. Then, assuming the role of a historian, the student is to describe the significance of the battle. You will want the teacher’s edition for the student activity book.

The homeschool kit includes the student edition, Student Activity Book, teacher’s editions for both books, tests, and tests answer key.