This curriculum utilizes the plan described in Christine Miller’s History in the Grammar Stage article, of chronology, literature, and biography, all with a classical and Biblical worldview emphasis. It is preferable to go through the history of Western Civilization once during the grammar stage, focusing on what happened: who were the key players, what were the key events, where did it happen, and when, and memorizing that information through interest, exposure, and drill. Each history section also contains suggestions for older students learning the history of Western Civilization for the first time.
1st Grade: The Ancient World
Begin a study of Western Civilization with the foundation for all of history, the book of
Genesis. A proper understanding of our beginning is also vital to build a Biblical
worldview in our children. The book of Genesis closes with Joseph and the Israelites
sojourning in Egypt, and a study of ancient Egyptian civilization is next in the
chronology of Western Civilization. The Ancient Near East is overlooked by many curricula,
but the civilizations of the Sumerians, the Assyrians, the Phoenicians, the Hittites, the
Babylonians, and the Persians were just as powerful and influential as Egypt, and play the
major role in the unfolding of ancient and Old Testament history.
2nd Grade: Ancient Greece & Rome
The history of the Ancient Greeks is pivotal to understanding the growth of Western
Civilization, and sets the world stage in more ways than one for the coming of the
Messiah, Jesus Christ. Many of Rome’s institutions were incorporated part and parcel
into those of Western Civilization, including representative government, federal
government, and Roman law. Ancient Roman history also contains the story of the birth of
the Christian church.
3rd Grade: Dark & Middle Ages
The time of chaos and uncertainty when Europe was finding herself after the Fall of Rome
is known as the Dark Ages. Into the void left by the Roman Empire, Christianity brightly
took the lead. The Middle Ages were a time when Christian society reigned supreme, and yet
clouds were on the horizon: while at times true Christian love showed through, also at
times everything evil was practiced in the name of Jesus Christ.
4th Grade: Renaissance, Reformation, &
Exploration
The renaissance, or rebirth, of interest in classical antiquity: their literature,
languages, and philosophies, brought about, indirectly, by the Crusades and Marco
Polo’s travels, and directly by the Fall of Constantinople in 1453, began in Italy
and spread to the rest of Europe. Dissatisfaction with the immoralites of the Church had
been building for centuries: almost all Medieval literature contains the archtype of the
corrupt church official. But with the Fall of Constantinople in 1453, Europe was
reintroduced to the Greek New Testament, and the time was right for the Reformation. Like
the persecution of the early church during the Roman Empire, the more “heretics”
burned, the more the witness went out to the pure truth of Scripture. The Fall of
Constantinople to the Turks was a catalyst whose ripples had far-reaching effects. The
land route to the spices and silks of the East was now cut off, and prompted a race for a
sea route to India and China. Coupled with the invention of the sawmill the century prior
which made ship-building cheaper and faster, the Age of Exploration was born.
5th Grade: American History through the
19th century
The 17th century saw the colonizing of the Americas by the Spanish, French, Dutch, and
English, and the first of many clashes with the Native Americans which would continue
throughout this century and into the next. These clashes grew into large scale terrorism,
known in American history as the French and Indian Wars, among three nations: the Native
Americans, the French, and the English; each of whom used the others for their own ends.
The spoil going to the victor was control of the continent. When that conflict finally
ended, abuses by the English crown sparked the second major conflict of the century: the
American Revolution. The new American nation had many challenges to face in not only
getting itself taken seriously by the millennia-old nations of the Old World, but also in
working out the details of a new government experiment in a largely unexplored and untamed
land, peopled with fiercely independent and sometimes unruly citizens and hostile
indigenous tribes. How she rose to the challenge further defined her character.
6th Grade: Modern World History through
the 20th century
By the 18th century the religious wars sprung from the Reformation had calmed, and change
of every type flourished - so much so that this century is known as “the century of
revolutions,” as political revolutions took place in many parts of the world, and as
revolutions in science, technology, medicine, farming, industry, transportation, the arts,
and literature flourished. In the 19th century, countries continued to search for their
own national identities and to control their own national destinies, through fierce
struggles for independence, and wars which enveloped all of Europe. The only colonies
still under the yoke of European control, it seemed, were those of the British Empire,
upon whom the sun never set. Meanwhile, a young man raised on a hatred of Christianity
would take a trip on the Beagle and write a scientific work, even though he was not
trained as a scientist, which offended science, but which, through propaganda and the help
of the clergy, gradually became the standard by which all science was judged. His name was
Charles Darwin. In the 20th century in North America, immigrants from the wars and abuses
of the Continent poured in as never before, but in this century, with the country settled
and the states established, they were unable to claim land on the frontier as they had
done previously. They crowded into the cities instead, where the industrial revolution
made room for them. Europe still convulsed with war, as it has done unceasingly, it seems,
since the old Roman Empire: as Germany fought against Europe; the Russian Revolution
traded the oppression of the czars for the oppression of the state; and the greatest war
yet, World War II, taught us the results of Darwin’s philosophy lived out.
This online catalog is made possible through an association with Barnes&Noble.com. Clicking on the book title or book cover will take
you to Barnes&Noble.com’s information page about that book. You can look at its
price, availability, any discounts currently taken for that title, reviews of the book,
and other information, as well as order it if you decide to purchase the book. You can
even place books in your shopping cart and save them for purchase at a later time. You can
continue to add or delete books from your shopping cart until you are satisfied with your
order and ready to purchase. Clicking on any link to Barnes&Noble.com will open a new
window; to return to CCH, click on the “Window” menu on your browser’s menu
bar, and choose Classical Christian Homeschooling.
Locating Out of Print Books
Sometimes books go out of print, or the publisher runs out of stock. Any book not
available from Barnes&Noble.com for any reason can be searched using AddAll.com, a book shopping site which
will scan Barnes&Noble.com as well as Amazon.com, Powell’s Books, Book Close Outs
and many other new and used book sites. Be sure to also check BookFinder.com for out of print book
searches.
If all else fails, and you cannot find a book you need, check it out from the library, or request it from your library through interlibrary loan. Once you have the book home, take it to a copy store and copy it. You can even have color copies done of key maps or photographs. Copy stores can now do nice bindings on your copy projects. The U.S. Copyright Law contains a fair use provision which allows an educator to make a single copy of out of print (not in print) works if needed for use in teaching (not for profit or publication). Then return the book to the library, and you have your own book to keep, usually for less than it would be from a collector’s book shop.
Still have questions? Ask me!
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