Our homeschool style has varied over the years – from Charlotte Mason to Classical to Unschooling and most recently dual-enrollment with an umbrella school. One thing that has held true through the whole journey is our love of timelines.
We started with a small pictorial images we glued into a notebook but it became so overwhelming to manage all the little clip art graphics and to stay up to date with our history reading. I’ve been looking for something better. Something that will enable us to dive a little deeper while also seeing how all the events and people affect the larger picture. I have now found the answer with The Giant American History Timeline from Sunflower Education.
*I received this product for free and have been compensated for my time, but was not required to write a positive review. This post contains affiliate links; See disclosure for more information.*
Since October, my son has been enrolled in an umbrella school. {I haven’t written anything about it yet – I promise to do so soon.} While we are not homeschooling independently any longer, I have been assured that we can maintain the freedom we are accustomed to and that he can work at his own pace. His works independently through the coursework assigned to him on Odysseyware (the software program) and I do my best to supplement and extend what is offered.
The Giant American History Timeline aligned perfectly with his history course this year and provided the perfect hands-on approach to compliment the mundane testing format of the online course. In lieu of writing an additional 500-word essay on the industrial revolution (there were initially three required), my son selected a timeline project from Book 1: Pre-Colonization to Reconstruction. He reached out to his instructor who responded,
“A timeline project is a wonderful idea. I think it would be the perfect substitute for the essay. I look forward to seeing your completed project.”
The Giant American History Timeline Overview
There are many great things about this comprehensive product but what we liked best are the critical thinking skills promoted in the activity pages. These are not just fill in the blank or vocabulary matching worksheets. The students will be required to give thought to their responses. Not to fear, an answer key is included.
This immense, two-volume bundle, includes over 260 activity sheets that can be organized into 32 timeline projects. There are six types of activity sheets used throughout the program:
- Title Activity Sheets – featuring the main ideas fo the historical period
- Map Study Activity Sheets – featuring demographic components (population growth)
- Biography Activity Sheets – showcasing significant people from the historical period
- Voice from the Past Activity Sheets – provide primary source materials from the historical period
- Time Machine Activity Sheets – provide students an opportunity to compare / contrast the historical period with present day
- Postcard from the Past Activity Sheet – provides a creative challenge for students to create a postcard to “send” from the historical period
While timeline plans are included for each of the projects, you can also easily customize your timeline project. Creating a giant American History timeline would be a fabulous way to visualize our nation’s history.
The Giant American History Timeline Giveaway
You can learn more about The Giant American History Timeline by visiting Sunflower Education. While you’re there, remember to use coupon code TIMELINE20 at checkout so that you can save 20% off the digital bundle.
Best of all, Sunflower Education is giving away a timeline workbook to a lucky reader. Enter to win through the giveaway widget below:
You’ll also want to follow Sunflower Education so that you can stay up to date with their latest offerings. You can find them on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.