The Story of the World, Activity Book 1: Ancient Times - From the Earliest Nomad to the Last Roman Emperor

I LOVE THIS ACTIVITY BOOK! We recently switched to using Story of the World Vol. 1 from another curriculum and have been having such a blast thanks to the ideas in this book. It is extremely well organized with chapter by chapter activities, reading lists, narration questions, etc. to add a rich experience to the Story of the World experience. I was on the fence about buying the activity book, but decided to try it after reading so many positive reviews on Amazon, on the Cathy Duffy Review site, etc. However, I am so glad that we bought it! We are only a few weeks in, but my kids have loved the suggested, simple activities such as creating cave painting, a mock archaeological site, and soon...mummifying a chicken (ancient Egypt--you get the idea!). Everything is simple, yet deep, and that's how I love to teach. It creates teachable moments for building critical thinking and inquiry skills in the kids so that they are truly encouraged to engage with the subject as active participants. As a former high school history teacher turned homeschooling mama, I love it! In fact, I wish I had known about it when I was teaching in a formal classroom because it enhances the material so much more. If you're on the fence, spring for the activity book. You won't regret the memories you'll make and the time you'll save by having such a valuable resource available for your planning.

After using Bauer's "Story of the World" with three of my children for first grade, I thought I could give an opinion on the first volume.Susan Wise Bauer uses an easier to read writing style with Vol. 1, Therefore, it is a wonderful book for a beginner reader, but an older child would find it quite childish. I never read the book to my children, but had them read it to themselves. So it was nice to have a book written at a fairly easy to read level. I would say a child who could read at a 2nd or 3rd grade level will do just fine reading the textbook themselves.As for the activity book, it is a must have. Not only does the activity book provide questions and answers for each chapter, it gives corresponding pages to read in Kingfisher and Usborne Encyclopedias (I believe the newer publications no longer use the Kingfisher as it is no longer published), and provides a list of books for further reading. At the back of the book maps and other hands on activities are included along with short synopsis pages which the child can cut out, color and then put together to make a small book. If that wan't enough there are numerous activities to pick and a parent can find those to fit the personality and learning style of the student.As a side, the test books are not necessary, but provide the parent with a way to verify the student's retention. Tests for the early volume consists of multiple choice, true/false, fill-in-the-blank and 1 essay. One problem I did notice with the test books is they do not always correlate with the questions and answers in the activity books. Many times the questions in the activity books would focus on a certain topic, but the student would be tested on something else. (To be fair the information is covered in the textbook.)The reason I highly recommend the activity book is there is almost no prep time on the parents part. This is perfect for a busy parent and exactly what I needed as I have quite a few children and, thus, I needed something to keep the kids on track and also which had everything at my fingertips. Plus, the kids learned quite a bit about ancient history and also retained it as well.If you are going to use the Story of the World text to teach history, then I would highly recommend the activity book as well.

The Story of the World: Activity Book 1: Ancient TimesMy daughters are 4th and 5th Grade and we use The Story of the World Volumes for History. (The Parentheses are subtitles in The Activity Book but not necessarily in each chapter)First, NO Book is a catch all for what your kids will enjoy or need to learn. This book though offers a variety of activity options for each chapter in The Story of the World Vol 1. I think if your going to embark on the Education Plan listed in The Well Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at home this activity book is just a stepping stone in developing your child's curriculum. This is a hands on curriculum path so scour the world and decide just how far into each chapter and how much time you want to spend, the key is your individual child! Mine tend to spend about a week on each chapter then want to move on so that's what we do.What's in the book:Each chapter has recommended reading from one of four major history encyclopedias. Then(Review questions) and (narration exercises). The Narration Exercises are important for auditory learning and memory!I go to the local library and use the (Additional History Reading) and (Corresponding Literature Suggestions) as a guide to picking out books that add to the chapters reading.(Map Work): The maps are accurate and easy to use. I would recommend reading the instructions prior to your student doing the activity and see if you want to change up what the activity asks which is usually coloring with crayons. The recommended activity is usually just too easy.(Coloring Pages): My 4th and 5th graders have not complained about doing coloring with each chapter. I cut out the pages once they are colored and put them up around the walls as a timeline. They are eye-catching which helps when you review the last couple of chapters.(Activity Projects): Usually these can be done easily, but they are not quick activities. I have to give about an hour most activity days to accomplish the task. The activities are educational and hands on. This is a great time to read an additional book aloud on the topic, I usually choose fables. Some of the activities are games with dice and my kids do like to play them.(Review Cards): These are at the end of the book and we have not used them yet.Overall I will be continuing with this series as I believe in the completeness of the curriculum as a whole not this singular piece of it.