Writing Trails in American History
by Laurie Barrie
Reviewed by Martha Robinson
Purchase details: Writing Trails in American History by Laurie Barrie. Spiral bound paperback, 31 pages, $15. Published by Logos School. Please support HomeschoolChristian.com by buying this program from our Christian Book Distributors link or Amazon affiliate link.
Following along in the tradition of Andrew Pudewa's Teaching Writing: Structure and Style, Laurie Barrie, a fourth grade teacher at Logos School, has created a writing program to complement young elementary-aged students' study of American history. Writing Trails in American History includes fourteen writing lessons and three patriotic selections for cursive practice.
For each writing lesson, a fill-in-the-blank form follows a brief reading selection. The form leads the child to write a new title for the reading, define and write synonyms for vocabulary words, and do a keyword outline of the numbered sections, usually a sentence each. The student then may write the story using the keyword outline and underlining the synonyms when used. The topics of the readings begin with the Mayflower and progress chronologically up to World War II.
Basic teaching instructions, grading methodology, and a suggested classroom schedule are included. While a completed example is shown, there is no answer key. No specific references to religion are in Writing Trails in American History.
Recommendation: Writing Trails in American History is a nice supplemental program for families studying American history in the third to fifth grades. While it does not offer enough meat to stand alone as either a language arts or a history program, it will gently assist your beginning or reluctant writers.
HomeschoolChristian.com resources related to this review:
HomeschoolChristian.com's Language Arts Resources Section for tons of ideas, links, and more!
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