BOOK LIST (to print) -- 1500s: AGE OF EXPLORATION
PODCASTS:
Month 1's topic of exploration is all about daring adventures and courageous feats. While most of these men were far from being saints, you can't help but be inspired by the sacrifices they made and the suffering they endured to open up new lands. And there are lessons to be learned in how they treated others. Those who were cruel were treated with cruelty while those who were kind were treated with kindness.
While most of the explorers included in this month's resource options lived in the 1500s, don't feel like you need to limit yourself to studying the explorers of that time era. Bring in a study of the Vikings who came several hundred years before Columbus as well as the French explorers who primarily came in the next hundred years. You'll revisit French explorers in Month 5 and Spanish explorers in Month 9.
BOOK SPOTLIGHTS:
There are a number of fascinating books in the F1 library. If this is your first time through, I recommend taking a look at Hutchinson's The Men Who Found America. It's a good readaloud for young children (7+). Also, check out the George Towle and Ronald Syme books in the Middle School section.
Just a word on Messner Biographies-- Julian Messner contracted with some of the best children's authors starting in the 1940s like Enid LaMonte Meadowcroft, Jeannette Covert Nolan, and Gladys Malvern. These are well-researched, engaging living biographies written for young people. You'll find many stories of lesser-known but inspirational people as well as familiar names. I've read several of them and haven't been disappointed yet. If you're out shopping for used books, it will usually say 'Messner' on the spine or just check the bottom of the title page. I'm putting them in the High School section, not because they're difficult reads--they're not difficult at all for the most part-- it's more of a developmental level. I see High Schoolers more interested in these lives than Middle Schoolers.
I recently read the Landmark book about Henry Hudson. I never knew his story before and I recommend it. It can be fun to tie him into The Legend of Sleepy Hollow in Month 3 where Washington Irving includes him in his story. Although no one knows what happened to Hudson after his crew set him adrift, when you think of how many tough predicaments he previously made it through, it's fun to let the imagination create a 'rest of the story' of what might have happened to him.
While most of the explorers included in this month's resource options lived in the 1500s, don't feel like you need to limit yourself to studying the explorers of that time era. Bring in a study of the Vikings who came several hundred years before Columbus as well as the French explorers who primarily came in the next hundred years. You'll revisit French explorers in Month 5 and Spanish explorers in Month 9.
BOOK SPOTLIGHTS:
There are a number of fascinating books in the F1 library. If this is your first time through, I recommend taking a look at Hutchinson's The Men Who Found America. It's a good readaloud for young children (7+). Also, check out the George Towle and Ronald Syme books in the Middle School section.
Just a word on Messner Biographies-- Julian Messner contracted with some of the best children's authors starting in the 1940s like Enid LaMonte Meadowcroft, Jeannette Covert Nolan, and Gladys Malvern. These are well-researched, engaging living biographies written for young people. You'll find many stories of lesser-known but inspirational people as well as familiar names. I've read several of them and haven't been disappointed yet. If you're out shopping for used books, it will usually say 'Messner' on the spine or just check the bottom of the title page. I'm putting them in the High School section, not because they're difficult reads--they're not difficult at all for the most part-- it's more of a developmental level. I see High Schoolers more interested in these lives than Middle Schoolers.
I recently read the Landmark book about Henry Hudson. I never knew his story before and I recommend it. It can be fun to tie him into The Legend of Sleepy Hollow in Month 3 where Washington Irving includes him in his story. Although no one knows what happened to Hudson after his crew set him adrift, when you think of how many tough predicaments he previously made it through, it's fun to let the imagination create a 'rest of the story' of what might have happened to him.
Art Credit: Christopher Columbus meets the Catholic Monarchs in the Alhambra ... Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze, Columbus Before the Queen, 1843