Each child is different in how she prefers to learn. This was brought home to me when my youngest daughter spurned using what I considered the best resource for studying high school level American history. Nothing we had did the trick. Looking for something that would suit her, I found Exploring America by Ray Notgrass. This complete high school level American history curriculum also covers American literature and Bible for an entire year, three credits in one curriculum. It pulls together many resources and through a variety of assignments and questions, helps the students to synthesize the material and evaluate it from a biblical worldview. Notgrass uses a framework of events in history from which he hangs biographies of important individuals, documents and literature from the period, and scripture passages to develop the student’s understanding of the influences that led to these events.

The primary text is divided into two volumes. The first volume takes the student from Columbus through the Reconstruction period. The second volume moves forward from there to the present. There are 15 units each with five lessons. That’s 75 lessons per volume for 150 lessons. The layout and organization of this curriculum is what drew my daughter to it. She likes to be able to chart her studies out, both where’s she’s been and where she has to go, and to know exactly when she’ll be done. This curriculum allowed her to do that without mom providing an assignment chart, which often changed when mom added new stuff to her lessons.

Each unit consists of a unit introduction and five lessons. The introduction provides an overview of what will be studied in the unit, the memory verse for the unit, books used in the unit, and information about writing assignments for the unit. Each lesson includes a reading selection and the assignments for that lesson. Assignments are provided for history, English, and Bible. Not all lessons will have assignments in each of these areas. Often the history assignment will be to read a selection from American Voices, a supplemental book for this curriculum, which comes in the package with these books. (Read related review.) When assignments call for writing, this is usually limited to short answer questions or a paragraph, since the students will also be working on a longer writing assignment for each unit. The longer unit-based writing assignments require research or synthesis from the student and usually are two to three pages in length. The curriculum lightly covers writing tips, so students will benefit from an English handbook or writing handbook from which you may pull information to help them with their own writing weaknesses.

The final lesson of each unit focuses on religion in America. Notgrass titles his Bible credit Issues in American Christianity. Events such as the Second Great Awakening, the founding of Mormonism and other 19^th century religious movements, and topics such as protest and war are studied in these lessons. When American Reconstruction is studied, students look at Nehemiah and the reconstruction of Jerusalem. These lessons present students with a strong Biblical worldview from which to understand the events and people they have just learned about in the preceding lessons of the unit.

When these lessons center on religious events, the focus is historical, relating the facts of what happened and describing the participants. Lessons centering on topics, such as success or protest, are framed in Christian terms from a biblical perspective. I cannot determine what denominational label you’d place on the author. I recognize a Biblical worldview when I read it. I’ve found this worldview in reading authors from many Christian backgrounds, evangelical, Catholic, Reformed, and charismatic. Since the focus is getting students thinking and then writing, parents can assure the material is covered from their own particular perspective.

Also available with the curriculum are a Quiz and Exam Book and an answer key to the Quiz and Exam Book (Read related review.). American Voices, mentioned previously, is also required. The literature package required to complete the English credit includes the following books: The Scarlet Letter, Narrative of the Life of David Crockett, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Company Aytch, Little Women, Humorous Stories and Sketches by Mark Twain, Up From Slavery, In His Steps, Mama’s Bank Account, Christy, To Kill a Mockingbird, and The Giver. To get the most from the history curriculum, I advise that the student do the literature and Bible portions, too. The Notgrass Company sells the books in a package for $79.95, or you may choose to use your own copies or library copies.

The amount of work required for this curriculum is not overwhelming because it integrates the three subjects so well. Daily assignment writing is usually limited to one subject, while the longer weekly writing assignments are chosen from a selection of possibilities. That weekly writing assignment is the writing portion of the English credit and shouldn’t be skipped. It will help students to develop the ability to write essays in college. However, the curriculum is not limited to the college bound. It’s a good curriculum for those who will be pursuing a trade or non-college bound career, giving them a broad knowledge of American history and an ability to express themselves and their own beliefs. For those who prefer curriculum that’s not too textbooky, but just textbooky enough for their student who prefers textbook style learning, Exploring America is a perfect choice.