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Elementary students can learn a lot about the world around them, without making history, social studies and geography monotonous subjects to wade through. Here’s what we are using this year for 4th grade.
A special thank you to Timberdoodle Co. for sponsoring this post by providing complimentary copies of these materials in exchange for our honest review.
4th Grade Overview
Timberdoodle’s 4th grade curriculum comes with Story of the World v. 4 The Modern Age, Skill Sharpeners Geography 4, and the option of two graphic novels: 24-Hour History and True Stories of War.
Story of the World v. 4
Story of the World is a curriculum that offers a written textbook, an activity book, and an MP3 Audiobook. I appreciate that you can choose between these elements to make history work for your family. We have chosen to use the audiobook as a way to lighten my teaching load and encourage independent learning.
I load the week’s history chapter MP3s into playlists for our Yoto Player and upload them to a MYO (Make Your Own) Yoto card. Then I let my daughter listen to her chapters while doing puzzles, crafting, or playing with slime. She tends to listen better when her hands are busy.
For Christmas our kids both got these neat Yoto Cases that hold their headphones, Yoto mini player, and a flipbook for cards so they can take their listening on the go. In the car, at appointments, or outside, this has made audiobooks a natural part of our life. So having history in audio format works wonderfully.
I really appreciate the soothing narration and the storytelling approach to history that SOTW presents. Much of history is filled with sad, gruesome, and scary events that can leave children questioning their safety and the world around them. While it’s important for them to learn about the past, I believe it is very critical that it be done in an age-appropriate way.
SOTW v. 4 covers events from 1850-1994 including world wars, civil rights, space exploration, and revolutions.
Graphic Novel: 24-Hour History
When ordering our curriculum, I looked at the information page on True Stories of War and made the decision to forgo that book as I do not feel my child is ready to see graphic images of war. I did choose to get 24-Hour History, but after reading it myself, I will probably not be letting my daughter look at it until she is older.
Every family and every child has a different level of comfort and acceptance for graphic images. If your child is used to movies and video games with war and fighting, or if they are very interested in such topics in history, then these books may be a great fit for your family.
However, if your child is more sensitive and has not been exposed to those kinds of images, I would encourage parents to preview the novel and take into account how sensitive their child is before handing them over.
Listening to or reading stories of war in Story of the World feels very different than seeing the intensely detailed visuals in the graphic novels. I listened to the audio track about JFK, then looked at the chapter in 24-Hour History. For an elementary student, the information told in SOTW was more than enough. I personally found the images in 24-Hour-History to be too graphic for my taste. There are also some instances of strong language, but those could be whited-out if needed.
Skill Sharpeners Geography 4
We have always been big fans of Skills Sharpeners Geography. We complete about 4 pages once a week to stay on track for the year. I read the short story and we discuss the pictures and questions. There are also activities, crosswords, writing exercises, and map skills. I appreciate that the book can be done together for a struggling reader/writer, or independently for a more confident student.
With topics like national parks, plants, glaciers, ancient ruins, time zones, water sources, space, weather and more, each week is a fun and simple adventure in global exploration.
Final Thoughts
4th graders are nearing the end of their elementary journey and should have a solid grasp on history and the world around them. Social issues will become more important in their lives, and understanding how people have made a difference in the past, and even given their lives for their cause, is an important realization for children. Done well, we can engage our kids into a life of learning and making a difference in the world around them.
You can see the Timberdoodle 4th grade curriculum kit here.