FORGOT YOUR DETAILS?

The Old Schoolhouse® Product & Curriculum Reviews

With so many products available we often need a little help in making our curriculum choices. The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine family understands because we are in the same boat! Do you need more information on a product before you buy? With over 5,500 products listed in 52 easy-to-use categories, much of the information you need to know is only a click away! Let our reviewer-families help yours.
Do you want to get the word out about your product or service to the homeschool community? Email Jenny Higgins and share a little about what you´d like showcased, and we can help with that!

How the Pilgrims Came Review by Kim Kargbo

Dorothy Robbins
11037 Erickson Way #79
Redding, CA 96003
530-241-1149
http://www.americanchristianhistory.com/

How the Pilgrims Came is a Parent-Teacher Manual for teaching students about the earliest days of our nation's history from a Biblical perspective. Mrs. Robbins uses excerpts from William Bradford's "Of Plimoth Plantation" as a springboard for discussion about the Pilgrims' motivations for coming to America and their actions upon arrival. She also contrasts the settlers of Plymouth with those of Jamestown in terms of their heart and motivations. Each lesson is followed by activities that can be done in a notebook, and these include Bible study to analyze the lessons. These activities are primarily essay and short writing assignments that help the student to delve deeply into the material presented and analyze the actions of the Pilgrims.

This manual would be an excellent resource for homeschoolers wanting to study the journey of the Pilgrims in more depth than the usual Thanksgiving overview. The material is probably best suited for high school students, but it could also be used by some middle schoolers as well. In combination with Mrs. Robbins book The Governor's Story, it would make a good early American history module. The incorporation of Biblical principles in the lessons is an added bonus. Students are asked questions about motivations, property ownership, the spread of the gospel, the treatment of others, and other pertinent issues related to the Pilgrims and their journey. Then they are given Scripture passages to look up to help them answer questions with Biblical reasoning.

For those who appreciate a notebooking and Socratic approach to learning, this manual would be a real asset. The only drawback I can see is that it only covers a few years of American history. It would be a wonderful addition to a unit study for upper school students.

Product review by Kim Kargbo, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, May 2010

TOP