The Story of the World, Activity Book 1: Ancient Times - From the Earliest Nomad to the Last Roman Emperor

I LOVE THIS ACTIVITY BOOK! We recently switched to using Story of the World Vol. 1 from another curriculum and have been having such a blast thanks to the ideas in this book. It is extremely well organized with chapter by chapter activities, reading lists, narration questions, etc. to add a rich experience to the Story of the World experience. I was on the fence about buying the activity book, but decided to try it after reading so many positive reviews on Amazon, on the Cathy Duffy Review site, etc. However, I am so glad that we bought it! We are only a few weeks in, but my kids have loved the suggested, simple activities such as creating cave painting, a mock archaeological site, and soon...mummifying a chicken (ancient Egypt--you get the idea!). Everything is simple, yet deep, and that's how I love to teach. It creates teachable moments for building critical thinking and inquiry skills in the kids so that they are truly encouraged to engage with the subject as active participants. As a former high school history teacher turned homeschooling mama, I love it! In fact, I wish I had known about it when I was teaching in a formal classroom because it enhances the material so much more. If you're on the fence, spring for the activity book. You won't regret the memories you'll make and the time you'll save by having such a valuable resource available for your planning.

The Story of the World: Activity Book 1: Ancient Times My daughters are 4th and 5th Grade and we use The Story of the World Volumes for History. (The Parentheses are subtitles in The Activity Book but not necessarily in each chapter) First, NO Book is a catch all for what your kids will enjoy or need to learn. This book though offers a variety of activity options for each chapter in The Story of the World Vol 1. I think if your going to embark on the Education Plan listed in The Well Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at home this activity book is just a stepping stone in developing your child's curriculum. This is a hands on curriculum path so scour the world and decide just how far into each chapter and how much time you want to spend, the key is your individual child! Mine tend to spend about a week on each chapter then want to move on so that's what we do. What's in the book: Each chapter has recommended reading from one of four major history encyclopedias. Then(Review questions) and (narration exercises). The Narration Exercises are important for auditory learning and memory! I go to the local library and use the (Additional History Reading) and (Corresponding Literature Suggestions) as a guide to picking out books that add to the chapters reading. (Map Work): The maps are accurate and easy to use. I would recommend reading the instructions prior to your student doing the activity and see if you want to change up what the activity asks which is usually coloring with crayons. The recommended activity is usually just too easy. (Coloring Pages): My 4th and 5th graders have not complained about doing coloring with each chapter. I cut out the pages once they are colored and put them up around the walls as a timeline. They are eye-catching which helps when you review the last couple of chapters. (Activity Projects): Usually these can be done easily, but they are not quick activities. I have to give about an hour most activity days to accomplish the task. The activities are educational and hands on. This is a great time to read an additional book aloud on the topic, I usually choose fables. Some of the activities are games with dice and my kids do like to play them. (Review Cards): These are at the end of the book and we have not used them yet. Overall I will be continuing with this series as I believe in the completeness of the curriculum as a whole not this singular piece of it.

After using Bauer's "Story of the World" with three of my children for first grade, I thought I could give an opinion on the first volume. Susan Wise Bauer uses an easier to read writing style with Vol. 1, Therefore, it is a wonderful book for a beginner reader, but an older child would find it quite childish. I never read the book to my children, but had them read it to themselves. So it was nice to have a book written at a fairly easy to read level. I would say a child who could read at a 2nd or 3rd grade level will do just fine reading the textbook themselves. As for the activity book, it is a must have. Not only does the activity book provide questions and answers for each chapter, it gives corresponding pages to read in Kingfisher and Usborne Encyclopedias (I believe the newer publications no longer use the Kingfisher as it is no longer published), and provides a list of books for further reading. At the back of the book maps and other hands on activities are included along with short synopsis pages which the child can cut out, color and then put together to make a small book. If that wan't enough there are numerous activities to pick and a parent can find those to fit the personality and learning style of the student. As a side, the test books are not necessary, but provide the parent with a way to verify the student's retention. Tests for the early volume consists of multiple choice, true/false, fill-in-the-blank and 1 essay. One problem I did notice with the test books is they do not always correlate with the questions and answers in the activity books. Many times the questions in the activity books would focus on a certain topic, but the student would be tested on something else. (To be fair the information is covered in the textbook.) The reason I highly recommend the activity book is there is almost no prep time on the parents part. This is perfect for a busy parent and exactly what I needed as I have quite a few children and, thus, I needed something to keep the kids on track and also which had everything at my fingertips. Plus, the kids learned quite a bit about ancient history and also retained it as well. If you are going to use the Story of the World text to teach history, then I would highly recommend the activity book as well.

I just received this in the mail today, so this review is based off of my first impression. We start our 4th grader's first year of homeschooling next week and let me tell you, this book looks like it's going to offer us an awesome year of history. Again, we haven't used it yet, so I'll try to do a review at the end of the year, but as of now, I am highly impressed! Each chapter has everything you need to have an awesome history lesson: •Encyclopedia Cross-References •Review Questions •Narration Exercises •Additional History Reading Recommendations •Corresponding Literature Suggestions •Map Work •Coloring Pages •Review Cards •And the projects! ♡ There's activity, crafts, art, and even some cooking projects (like making Hanukkah Latkes). I'm excited to have this valuable resource! Initially I thought it to be a bit pricey, but it looks to be worth it so far! History is my son's least favorite subject and with what I'm seeing, this is going to make it enjoyable for him. Shoot - I'm looking forward to it! My only complaint thusfar, is I wish that the Parent's Guide and Student Pages were in separate books. The pages are perforated at least, but you got to really look for it. Initially I didn't think that they were. Other than that, again, this so far looks to be a valuable resource for our homeschool history lesson!

I have been using the Cengage Advantage History books and I must say these compliment them BEAUTIFULLY and nearly seamlessly in the order, narrative and topics. It is almost as though Wise write these following the same textbooks I have been using since early 2000s in college. They are college textbooks but I believe in building my children's vocabulary by doing read alouds with these books and having them write words they do not know and discussion. I have struggled for over a year to find complimentary sources to go along with reading. This has just completed and balanced the World History curriculum. I believe the workbook and texts should come with a digital printable copy on kindle. Combined with the textbooks this is now all complete. The tests questions cover the essential walkaway knowledge your kid should have. I was only given one age choice in question below. I am doing this for 8-13 yo boys. The activity books are FAR BETTER than I anticipated and did not realize what would be in them and feel I missed out. It comes with Actual activities to do and art and resources for further research so it can be as difficult or easy as you make it. It is truly meant for every age but you are missing out if you do not get this.

Although not entirely necessary, this activity book is useful in a number of ways as a backup to the main textbook of The Story of the World: Ancient Times. First, there is a choice of things to do, ready to suit the different learning styles of children. My own son finds doing the colouring-in and mapwork while I read aloud the related text helps the information to sink in. The other, more hands-on activities are great for children who learn best by 'doing'. The parent (or teacher) can adjust the activities to suit the age of the child, for instance, by adding a challenge to the mapwork. Secondly, the suggested Review Questions can be typed out and presented as a comprehension exercise to a child. I do this so my son is also reading the text for himself, and practising the skills of fact-finding. The Narrative exercise is a fine excuse to raise interesting topics over dinner with the rest of the family - basically finding out what the child learned that day. Overall, a good addition to The Story of the World series.

I admit I was a little skeptical about this book — having seen previews, it looked like endless blocks of text. Not very exciting, right? Now that I’ve been using it for a couple of months, I’d say it’s absolutely necessary if you’re using Story of the World with your kids! There’s a variety of tools & activities for each chapter and you can pick & choose what you want. There are review questions, narration exercises, map work, literature suggestions, and activities including coloring pages and word games. We usually use the review questions, do the map work, use the games/coloring sheets, and often track down the corresponding recommended literature. Story of the World is absolutely WONDERFUL — my child & I adore it! It’s fabulous for families who don’t want a Christian curriculum (difficult to find in the homeschooling world) and for those who love to incorporate literature into their learning. Highly recommend!

We homeschool our 5 and 6 year old children. We haven't had a real history book yet, but I wanted to try sparking interest in history for them early. When I read Susan Wise Bauer's "The Well-Trained Mind" a guide for classical education at home, she suggested this book so I checked the reviews. I just bought the first volume, but will be buying the rest of them as we go forward. I think the activity book is an absolute MUST HAVE to accompany the book. My kids have been interested in the way she writes, they remember the stories well, and I especially appreciate the pronounciation guide she gives in the back of the book. I couldn't begin to pronounce some of these names or places-thank goodness for the extra "help". I look ahead to the next chapter and reserve the books at our library that she recommends to supplement that lesson. That way, there are other resources to amplify their learning. I love the review questions, maps, and coloring pages. It gets my 5 year old involved too. All of Susan Wise Bauer's books are wonderful. I just keep adding to my collection. Most of all, the kids are loving their education at home-with me!

Myself and my children love this book. We use the cd's to listen to the stories then use the activity book for our history lessons. This is a great resource for any home educators who want to learn history from the beginning of time and enjoy making things and bringing history to life. I have just ordered our third book now can't wait to start it with the children. Great Book and great series The Story of the World: Ancient Times - Activity Book One: Ancient Times Bk. 1 The Story of the World: Middle Ages - from the Fall of Rome to the Rise of the Renaissance v. 2: History for the Classical Child (Story of the World: History for the Classical Child) The Story of the World: Ancient Times v. 1: History for the Classical Child (Story of the World: History for the Classical Child) The Story of the World: Middle Ages - From the Fall of Rome to the Rise of the Renaissance v. 2: History for the Classical Child (Story of the World: History for the Classical Child) !!!

Nunca pensei em estudar a história do mundo de forma tão agradável. As tarefas (junto com a leitura do Story of the World) fazem com que a criança (e os pais) se sintam dentro da história contada. Eu e minha família estamos amando aprender história com a Susan Bauer.

This is actually a bible study book. Seller was not explicit with this.

Je suis fan de cette collection de livres.. Enfin un livre d'histoire qui va du début à la fin.. pas de retour en arrière intempestif. Les activités proposées rendent cette matière beaucoup plus attrayante.. Le seul bémol, pas de traduction française, il est donc indispensable de bien comprendre l'anglais.

The content and the workbook are great. My kids are 6, 4, 2 yr olds could participate all together while learning from this story book. It is convenient that it has all the questions and art projects in teachers manual( which is in the beginning of the book) and then coloring tasks in the 2nd half of the book. The only thing I would do next time if I bought these series of books, to buy digital version of coloring book. I had to make copies for all of my kids to be able to involve them to color together.