History Links

by Jennifer Alles, Barbara Little, and Kim Staggenborg

Wooly Lamb Publishing

This is one of my 100 Top Picks!

See the complete review in 100 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum.

History Links is a Catholic approach to unit studies for preK through high school. There are ten books available at present, with others in development. Volumes are in chronological sequence, although you need not use them in that order. Each volume should take from two to four months to complete, so you would complete approximately three per school year. (Page counts range from 55-83 pages per book, but different font sizes make it impossible to directly compare amount of content.) History Links is designed such that you can go back through the entire series at least once more, using the more challenging activities suggested for upper grade levels. The books available thus far are General Studies, Creation, Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Israel, Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome: The Republic, Ancient Rome: Pax Romana, Ancient Rome: The Roman Empire, and Early Medieval. Late Medieval should be available soon.

This is a family-designed curriculum with activities presented for four levels: “P” for preschoolers, “1” for kindergarten and early elementary grades, “2” for intermediate through middle school levels, and “3” for advanced junior high through high school. In addition, ideas for keeping toddlers occupied are included at the bottom of many pages. (History Links also works well for co-op groups.)

You will need reference resources such as an encyclopedia, a Bible, dictionary, globe or world map, and the Catechism of the Catholic Church. (You might use the web for some of this!) Some other resources such as Usborne Book of World History, English from the Roots Up, National Geographic Magazines, and The Antiquities of the Jews by Josephus are recommended but not essential. The units incorporate ideas from Teaching Writing: Structure and Style (Institute for Excellence in Writing)—another of my top picks.

History Links provides complete coverage of history, religion, critical thinking, research, music, art, and crafts. While it also includes science, language arts, and some math, activities in these areas should be considered supplemental. The authors suggest using other science unit studies (e.g., those from Media Angels) between some of the History Links units to maintain the unit study approach while ensuring adequate science coverage.

Unit One: General Studies is the starting place for everyone. The first half of this book explains the methodology used through all the units. The format for each unit is identical. Each unit begins with prayers and hymns to learn, vocabulary lists, punctuation and capitalization items to be learned, a “Library List” of recommended resources (books, recordings, periodicals, encyclicals, church documents, etc.). The bulk of each unit or book is presented under subtopics with brief introductory, background or explanatory information followed by activities coded by subject area and level of difficulty.

Multi-sensory activities are included for all levels, but activities for the two upper levels direct tudents toward more independent research, reading, and writing than traditional curricula and some other unit studies do. For example here is one activity from Ancient Rome: The Roman Empire:

“Do you think it is true to say the ancient philosophers lacked ‘faith, humility, and chastity?’ (Although we have already studied the works of Cicero, advanced students might want to do a research project and locate Cicero’s and Ambrose’s De Officiis to compare them.).” (p. 42)

Lest you think all the activities a bit overwhelming, here is one example of the activities for younger students:

“Divide an orange, cantaloupe, or other fruit. Draw a line around it, and then cut it on the line. Then discuss the concepts of hemisphere and symmetry. Did Diocletian actually divide his empire in ‘half’? Did he divide the Empire along a line of symmetry?” (p. 31)

Like other unit studies, History Links requires parental preparation and presentation time. You will probably need to work quite closely with young children, while older students will need occasional assistance. Once students have developed their own research skills, they can work more independently than they might at first. However, you will not have simple answer keys to consult to “check” their work.

One of the unique benefits of History Links is that because it is presented in small units, it’s a great way to try out unit study without making an expensive commitment.