Heart of Dakota's Visual History sets of children’s picture books are used alongside other resources within their programs to teach history to children in kindergarten through about fifth grade. Children can read the picture books on their own once they've reached the independent reading stage, and each set has a "Picture the Past" component that helps children process what they are learning. The picture books correlate with history lessons laid out in the Heart of Dakota course guides. Visual History sets are included in four of their complete programs, but Visual History sets also can be used as standalones. Visual history sets are available for:
- Little Hearts for His Glory - biblical and U.S. history (30 picture books)
- Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory - exploration and early American history up through westward expansion (29 picture books)
- Bigger Hearts for His Glory (due in 2026) - continuation of U.S. history to modern times
- Preparing Hearts for His Glory - biblical and world history (24 picture books)
Children learn about key people and events through both pictures and stories in the books in each set. For example, among books included in the Visual History set for Beyond Little Hearts for HIs Glory are Leif Eriksson by Shannon Knudsen, Christopher Newport, Jamestown Explorer by Sharon K. Solomon, The Discovery of Longitude by Joan Galat, The Very First Americans by Cara Ashrose, If You Were a Kid on the Mayflower by John Son, Martha Washington by Candice Ransom, and Abe Lincoln: The Boy Who Loved Books by Kay Winters. The stories are drawn from the periods of exploration, the colonization of America (with several stories related to the Pilgrims), and the American Revolution, plus some from later years about westward expansion, Abe Lincoln, Johnny Appleseed, Buffalo Bill, Laura Ingalls Wilder, and the steam engine.
There are a few ways you might use the Visual History set of books. Heart of Dakota uses spine books for each course, then expands history coverage with the Visual History books. If you’re not using a Heart of Dakota course, you can choose one or more spine books that provide more comprehensive coverage of history, but it isn’t always necessary to add spine books at this level. Young children begin to learn about particular people and events through the picture books, and they gradually put the pieces together to understand the bigger picture. If, on the other hand, you prefer to rely more heavily on spine books, you can supplement them with Visual History books, spreading learning over more than a year.
Picture the Past Bookmarks
Little Hearts and Beyond Little Hearts include Picture the Past Bookmarks to support the first two Visual History sets. These large (3.5” x 8.5”), full-color bookmarks—one for each book—have discussion, comprehension, and narration questions on one side and a "Picture Clues" activity on the reverse. The activities on the bookmarks help homeschoolers ensure that children are learning from the picture books.
The questions include some “Who did what?” type questions but also take students into deeper levels of critical thinking by asking questions such as these for the book, Leif Eriksson: “How did the story of Bjarni’s discoveries inspire Leif?” and “Name some reasons why the land the men explored seemed good to Leif.” A few questions serve as narration prompts, such as “Use the pictures to retell what the family made for market over the winter. What did they do in March, April, and May?“ (Question 12 for Ox-Cart Man by Donald Hall in the set for Beyond Little Hearts).
The Picture Clues activity on the reverse of each card should be especially fun. For each book, children are given four clues, and they are to identify the picture in the book that matches the clues. The four clues are identified as having to do with setting, action, character, or mood. For example, for Martha Washington, two of the clues are:
Picture Clue 3 – Mood: Pay attention to how each picture makes you feel. The “Mystery Picture” looks joyful and welcoming, with fresh spring colors. George and Martha look content.
Picture Clue 4 – Setting: Examine the setting of each picture. The “Mystery Picture” is set outdoors, with blooming trees and Mount Vernon’s white walls and red roof in the background.
You can see how the questions and Picture Clues help students develop literary analysis and critical thinking skills while reinforcing knowledge of historical events.
If you prefer to borrow the books from the library, you can purchase the Picture the Past Bookmark set on its own.
Picture the Past Visual History Notebook
The Visual History set for Preparing Hearts for His Glory is accompanied by the Picture the Past Visual History Notebook for Preparing Hearts for His Glory. The notebook pages are printed in lavish color on heavy paper—the pages really are beautiful! The pages are to be inserted into your own binder and used for copywork, drawings, and written responses based on the Visual History books. Copywork includes some cursive models and some slant print models. Often, students are provided with cursive models for part of their copywork, then are directed to copy the rest of a paragraph from one of their books. To use these notebook pages, students must be able to read and write cursive.
Summary
The Visual History set of books and Picture the Past activities work very well together as age-appropriate ways to learn history through picture books.
