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How do you incorporate
"Living History" into your curriculum??? 
 
 
 
 
 
Medieval History Portfoliomed hist pf 2med hist pf 6  
How to Read a BookFamous Figures Series Activity Books      Questions for the Thinker series     History Pockets available in paperback or eBook
        (Click on the covers to read all about them on the website!)
 
"Living history" is infectious and constitutes a deep level of understanding.  For our family, history is a family adventure, we immerse ourselves in a variety of time periods, even to point of having joined a local Fife and Drum Corps,  attending local Civil War balls in period costumes, visiting historical sites and attending electronic field trips on the web. Our family library is well stocked with great historical fiction for a wide variety of ages and time periods. When my husband and I are enthusiastic about history it becomes contagious to our children.
 
It is definitely worth reading Mortimer Alder's How to Read a Book, especially his section on history. This book will give you excellent, practical ways to teach reading for deeper understanding. In doing so, the student develops the habit of asking questions and seeking the answers, which fosters a love of learning and a deeper knowledge base. This is essential if one wants to eventually be able to speak or write about what they are studying, which is excellent preparation for college work too!  Deciding on which historical fiction books to use can be tricky, we hope our offerings help, since we are very selective and carefully read each book we offer. New books are added daily, click NEW ARRIVALS.
Here are a few things we look for: What is the author's agenda? Is it fair and balanced? Does it have a rich bibliography? Is it age appropriate? Does it include primary sources?
A natural place to improve our writing skills is in the area of history. For those of us not secure in our own ability to teach writing to our children, an excellent resource is Teaching, Writing, Structure and Style and the corresponding History Based Writing Lessons Source Material books.This program has given us a solid foundation in teaching our children how to,  begin outlines, form topic sentences, and organize their ideas in a variety of writing styles, from creative writing to persuasive essays.
Use a good, reliable, Catholic textbook as your framework for the time period you are studying, like From Sea to Shining Sea and Light to the Nations. Round out the study with age-appropriate, well-written, historical fiction or primary sources. Then add on hands-on projects and timelines, and your family will see clearly God's Divine Providence throughout history while having a ton of fun and knowing that real sustained skills are being mastered.
Try our History Worth Remembering Timeline Figures where the contributions of Catholics throughout time are highlighted.
 
 
If you prefer to use SHOP our
here are some places to start:
2011 Cover
Emmanuel Books 2012-2013 online catalog, just click on the cover to begin!
 Just one click to start your "Living History" journey:
  REMEMBER.....with our NEW on-line Catalog you will:
* Never lose another paper catalog because it is always available on-line.
* Quickly access the booklists by grade  to instantly see personal descriptions of all the books we recommend.  
* Read the "Parent as Teacher" helpful hints, and share them with friends with just one click to your favorite social network or email address.
May God Bless you and your family abundantly,
The Ciskanik Family & the entire Emmanuel Books Staff 
P.O. BOX 321
New Castle, Delaware 19720
  
 

 

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