Grades 1-4

Journey into these pages to experience real life American history! Learn the story of America as you learn about every day people and the lives, they lived. Hear their poems and songs, learn their dances and games, see pictures of them and their treasures. Meet the famous, and not so famous Americans, who shape our country AND created Our Srat Spangled Story!

The Our Star-Spangled Story Textbooks, in two parts, are the heart of the course. Each weekly unit focuses on a major historical event/theme and tells its story through the eyes of several persons or families in three lessons. The carefully chosen photographs and illustrations are mostly in full color, but sometimes period photos are found in their original black and white. Lessons are 6-7 pages long and take 10-15 minutes to read through, concluding with a Bible verse. Lesson Activities (assignments from the Student Workbook, map locations, and literature selections), Review Questions, and Hands-On Projects (1 per Unit) are included with each Lesson. The beginning pages of Part 1 provides some very basic teacher/course instructions. Several maps are included with each Part including an All Around the USA Map which is used for lesson assignments. 

We recommend eight works of literature that complement the lessons in Our Star-Spangled Story. These books are not essential for understanding the lessons, but each one adds a valuable perspective on a different time period.

Your elementary student may be ready to read the books on his or her own, or you can use them as family read alouds. The curriculum allows 3-5 weeks to read each book. The first four books go along with Part 1 and the other four books with Part 2.

Benjamin West and His Cat Grimalkin by Marguerite Henry (Units 1-4)
Toliver’s Secret by Esther Wood Brady (Units 5-9)
Freedom Crossing by Margaret Goff Clark (Units 10-12)
Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder (Units 13-15)
Mountain Born by Elizabeth Yates (Units 16-18)
Emily’s Runaway Imagination by Beverly Cleary (Units 19-22)
The Year of Miss Agnes by Kirkpatrick Hill (Units 23-26)
Katy by Mary Evelyn Notgrass (Units 27-30)