TruthQuest History: How to Choose

Two Levels from which to Choose | How to Place Multiple Children | Common Placement Questions | Long Range Planning

7 yr. plan   |   6 yr. plan   |   5 yr. plan   |   4 yr. plan   |   3 yr. plan   |   2 yr. plan   |   1 yr. plan

(To see larger cover photos, sample pages, Table of Contents, and descriptions of any of these guides, just click on the small cover photo of choice.)

Two Levels from which to Choose The American History for Young Students guides (three volumes which together cover the scope of American history) were written with elementary students (Grades 1-5) in mind. The commentary is gentler, the issues lighter, the lessons more positive. The wealth of living literature about American history designed for students to enjoy during this 'window of time' is phenomenal! You'll have a rich memory of the books shared together while snuggled on the couch, as well as the dress-up plays the kids create in response! The ThinkWrite™ exercises lead young children to internalize the most foundational understanding of history and God's active role in it. These guides are ideal for the majority of young students who best relate to their own national history. They feel connected to pilgrims and pioneers, cowboys and Indians, Pocahontas and Sergeant York, George Washington and George Washington Carver. Your little Kit Carsons and Harriet Tubmans will have such fun! And we've gone to great effort to highlight the don't-miss books, especially those which engage rambunctious boys! Key lessons of early American history begin with a positive tenor: good things happen when some people seek to obey God. This is a gentle and meaningful place to begin your child in his first connected study of history, even if he has already dabbled in American topics. As the guides progress through American history, and the issues get more involved, the gentleness of approach is measured to the child's advancing maturity. In fact, "American History for Young Students III: 1865-2000" is actually ideal for Grades 1-6; it offers more than enough meat for older elementary students. Occasionally, families choose to put older students in the "American History for Young Students" series because they want to easily introduce students new to the topic or to move through American history more quickly. Or, they may want an older sibling to fit in with what the younger children are doing. In any case, the reading recommendations are still helpful because though they are targeted for Grades 1-5, all books which can be read by a fifth-grader are included, and most of those are appropriate for Grades 5-12! Thus, there are rich reading recommendations right at hand for older students, as well.

Level I: America History for Young Students I American History for Young Students II American History for Young Students III

"It thrills me when my son says something like, 'You mean because this happened, that happened?' or 'What the people believed about God caused all that?'"       — R.P., Tennessee

Level II: Ancient Egypt/ Ancient Greece Ancient Rome Middle Ages Renaissance Reformation Exploration Age of Revolution I Age of Revolution II Age of Revolution III

The main TruthQuest History series (seven guides which begin with ancient history and fully cover European and American history to just after the year 2000) are designed for Grades 5-12. These guides will take you deeper than you ever dreamed you'd go, but the learning is so lively, so personal, and so incremental that the students hardly realize all they've absorbed until the truths begin to meld in their hearts. The depth of commentary and topics increasingly advances as the series progresses, so your graduating seniors are fully prepared to understand and minister to the needy world they are inheriting. Younger siblings can often tag along (see further discussion of this below), and though the commentary and ThinkWrite™ exercises are deeper in these upper guides, the reading lists include all the book titles for the younger set as well. These upper TruthQuest History guides can be used by non-Americans as well, for all are interested in ancient and medieval history, and even the three guides which cover American history (Age of Revolution I, II, and III) have about half of their material on European history. We try to mention a couple key events in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand when possible, as well.

Still trying to decide between the special American guides for younger students and the world history guides for older students? Maybe we can prime your prayerful consideration with the following questions:

• "Does my (American) child have a firm grounding in the spiritual lessons revealed by American history?" This is more than just knowing the chronological flow and key characters. These issues are not only foundational, they are also a more 'positive' way to first explore the spiritual underpinnings of God's leading role in human history.
• "Is my child ready to tackle the deeper and more complex issues of world history? Is he/she ready to honestly evaluate pagan culures and see where their beliefs drove their culture? Is he/she ready to extrapolate those lessons to modern culture?"
• "Does my (American) child need a more relaxed learning experience this year which affords lots of opportunities for 'living' history, such as dressing up and play-acting as Pilgrims, Indians, soldiers, woodsmen, and pioneers? Has he/she yet had an opportunity to enjoy the special children's literature on these fascinating topics meant just for younger children?"
• "Even if my child is mature enough to handle the more advanced issues of world history, is he/she coming out of an unpleasant learning situation and therefore in need of a lighter and more relaxed experience with history to set a new outlook on learning, meaning I should more seriously consider working through the American history guides for younger students?" These guides include lots of wonderful reading for upper-elementary students too, so they can be a good transitional experience for students of that age. If time is drawing short with an upper-elementary student who soon needs to begin the world history series for older students, remember that you can use just the first two 'American History for Young Students' guides, as the modern era covered in the third guide is probed deeply in our Age of Revolution III guide for mature students, and your student will thus study the modern period successfully before graduation.

"Mrs. Miller does a great job of creating interest and a sense of momentum through excitement by strategic mention of tidbits to come, something I was unable to do without specific knowledge of the era. Though it is so well organized and helpful, TruthQuest History avoids the pitfall of predigested pap. It points out, but does not paraphrase. The user is directed to dig, and while digging watch for signs of XYZ."             — Sarah

*****

The Big Question…How to place multiple children!

This has been a question we're often asked, so we'll put some sample answers right here. There are many factors to consider, but the most important step is to seek God's will for your family! He knows each of your children, their unique needs now, and the learning required for their future.

Many families find that their younger children tag along quite well with their older siblings in our world history guides (for Grades 5-12). It is always amazing how much young children can pick up as they follow along with older siblings who need to study world history before graduating. Just be certain your younger children have the spiritual maturity to handle the more complex and sometimes darker topics covered by the older students, which often yield lessons on what not to do! Let's get more specific however….

"I have a child in junior high (or senior high) and one in elementary. My older student needs to begin the upper-level world history guides, which begin with ancient cultures, but I'm not sure if my younger student should tag along. What would you advise?"

It is important to determine whether your younger child has the spiritual maturity to join their elder sibling in studying world history, including the deep truths which contrast starkly with the ancient pagan cultures to be covered (such as Egypt, Greece, and Rome). Please remember that the focus of TruthQuest History is the spiritual root of each era. The pagan cultures elected to create their own spiritual belief system, which we call their mythology. We do address this mythology in our guides, but not merely as a famous story collection. Rather, our probing is for an uncovering of the culture's Big 2 Beliefs: what did the ancient Greeks, let's say, believe true about God, and what, as a result, did they believe true about mankind? Their government, art, science, literature, social structure, and philosophy all grew out of those Big 2 Beliefs, out of their worldview. The question, then, may be whether your young child is capable of this analytical look at Greek beliefs, or will he be spiritually confused if, in his immaturity, he is able to hear mythology only as adventurous stories? Families with both older and younger children can, of course, feel free to cautiously include the youngsters in studying ancient history as God directs, and many, many families have successfully and enjoyably done so. The guides include reading recommendations for younger students for that very reason. Other families decide to have their younger children wait to study the ancients until they are older, and instead help their younger (American) children through our special "American History for Young Students" series, thus ensuring that their younger children do not miss the special interests and wonderful literature not to be missed at their age, while also allowing their older student to have a more independent learning experience, something which may be well-timed for them.

"My children are widely spaced in Grades 2, 4, and 8. Should I keep them together, and if so what guides should I use? If I put them into two groups, is it difficult?"

Let us first say again that it is the direction of the Lord which should decide this question! Families have done every possible combination. We will simply add a few thoughts to consider. The overall history plan for most families is to get the eldest student through world history before graduation, and the younger ones tag along just fine. On the other hand, if there is a very large age gap, if the eldest student must move quickly through history in order to complete his studies, or if the topics being studied by the eldest student are consistently too difficult/mature for younger siblings, it may be easier and wiser to let the older student study world history more independently and put the younger children in the "American History for Young Students" guides. This often works well for three reasons: 1) older students often need the opportunity to practice self-directed study before college and/or adulthood, especially if Mom realizes she has been afraid to let them go; 2) older students are often held back in depth and pace unnecessarily while Mom juggles the needs of both older and younger siblings; and, 3) it can often be 'time' for the younger students to get the same focused attention their elder siblings received when young, and to have their chance to enjoy the fun topics, books, and activities of American history best suited to their precious young age. Surely, some families do not want two topics being studied by two groups of children, but it may help to realize that even this is easier than the traditional textbook method, which has each child in his own era. If the older student is quite independent, the parent's time investment is almost exclusively in the younger set.

Keep in mind, though, that our "American History for Young Students" guides are designed to run parallel with the "Age of Revolution" guides that cover American (and European history) at the upper level. If your elder student is in the Age of Revolution guides, then, you can either have the young ones tag along, or you can have them in the companion "American History for Young Student" guides. This brings us to our next question…

"My older students are doing the 'Age of Revolution' guides. Should I include my younger children as well, or put them in the parallel 'American History for Young Students' guides?"

You're right, the three "American History for Young Students" guides cover the same time periods as the three "Age of Revolution" guides, only the latter is for older students and thus also includes European history (about a 50/50 mix). All we can say is that there are TruthQuest History families doing it both ways. Since the "Age of Revolution I, II, and III" guides include all the book recommendations listed in the "American History for Young Students" series, we've tried to help you work out of one guide. The "Age of Revolution" commentary and topic coverage is much more advanced, however. Some families find it easy to rephrase this advanced commentary for their younger students, and they simply skip or simplify the complex issues of European topics. Others families, though, find this difficult to do since the commentary these younger students hear is then less connected. These families put their elementary children in the "American History for Young Students" guides and let our commentary do the work of explaining history's issues to the youngsters at their own level, and with smooth connections. Just remember that your young children will have a chance to do the "Age of Revolution" guides at the end of their own high school career. The choice is yours! To help you decide, you may wish to purchase both guides, and return the young student guide if you deem it unnecessary. (Returns are allowed for a full refund, less shipping, within 30 days of purchase if the guide is in mint, resaleable condition.)

Other Common Placement Questions

"I have two children, ages 11 and 13. We want to study American history. Since both your 'American History for Young Students' series (Grades 1-5) and 'Age of Revolution' series (Grades 5-12) cover American history, which should I use? One of my children is on the grade-level cusp, this is our first time visiting the topic, and I'm not sure what depth I'd like to pursue."

Because both our "American History for Young Students" series and our "Age of Revolution" series (the deeper guides designed for older students covering both American and European history in an approximately 50/50 mix) cover American history, we are often asked this question. Here is a sample answer:

"Your question is a good one, and we pray God guides you clearly. That said (and meant!), we throw out some points for your prayerful consideration.

It can be helpful in such situations to step back a bit, and get a sense of the overall plan, especially for the eldest child who will be graduating in just five short years. He will then be head-to-head with the issues, challenges, and needs of the greater world. What do you think God would have you do to prepare him through history studies?

As far as TruthQuest History is concerned, our final guide in the upper world history series - Age of Revolution III: America/Europe, 1865-2000 - purposely pursues that entering-the-world-so-be-ready-to-understand-and-minister goal. It is a great place to end one's history career. Backing up from that point, then, it would be ideal to spend the last five years of your student's history studies preparing for that grand finale, because it is when a student runs the course of history from the early stages to the latter stages that he can most clearly see the continued hand of God, and see the tremendous cause-and-effect nature of a culture's spiritual beliefs as they play out in that nation's government, art, science, economy, literature, etc. Furthermore, your student will then see how the actions of both God and man have built toward the present day.

The schedule would look something like this:

• Age 13: Ancient Egypt/Ancient Greece & Ancient Rome
• Age 14: Middle Ages
• Age 15: Renaissance/Reformation
• Age 16: Age of Revolution I (USA/Europe, 1600-1800)
• Age 17: Age of Revolution II (USA/Europe, 1800-1865)
• Age 18: Age of Revolution III (USA/Europe, 1865-2000)

(If your student will graduate at age 17, you could put both Middle Ages and Renaissance/Reformation into one year.)

Your 11-year-old could most definitely run this course with the elder sibling. In fact, many students purposely begin their world history run right at that age. When your elder student graduates, your younger child would have two more years to revisit the earliest epochs of history while at a more mature age. This, also, is excellent preparation.

However, you said that your plan is to study American history at this time. To offer input on your question – whether to use the "American History for Young Students" (AHYS) or "Age of Revolution" (REV) series – brings us again to the question of long-range plans. If your elder student will not have time to cover American history again before graduation, he/she should probably do the REV guides now. They are critical for adult preparation, as stated earlier. If you intend to begin your run of chronological world history next year, ending with the REV guides at the end, then you would first have one year of lighter history time which could be enjoyably spent in the AHYS guides. While the commentary in these guides is written for elementary students (Grades 1-5), the commentary does gradually get meatier as the AHYS series progresses, and we include in our booklists anything that can be read by a fifth grader. There are, therefore, oodles of books appropriate for Grades 5-12!

If you decide to use the AHYS guides, you may want to use just the first two, and do them pretty quickly, so you still have time for other eras. You needn't do the third guide in the AHYS series if you'll soon be doing the REV guides anyway, as the first two are the most essential in understanding America's foundations.

You're welcome to purchase both guides, and return which ever you'd rather not use (Return Policy). That way, you can pore over both while making your decision. We hope that helps!"

"How do I talk with my teenagers about switching to TruthQuest History? I let them decide which curriculum they use because I hated having material shoved down my throat in school. But they oppose almost all of my suggestions!"

In answer, we share from a letter written by Michelle Miller to a dear mom with just that question...

Dear Sister,

As I continue to lift you up before the Father, it comes to my mind that you may be walking a path which many of us have walked…homeschooling in a way that reacts against the way we were educated when young. While it is gracious of any mother to save her children from suffering as she suffered, God's way of educating is not in reaction to anything. Rather, it is in and of itself life. If we are thinking anything like "I'm not going to force things down my kids' throats like it was forced down mine," it may be a clue that we are reactively homeschooling. This severely limits us because our negative education is in control; it is determining our reactions. We are not letting God be in control, even if that is the furthest thing from our intentions. On the other hand, if we want to homeschool in a way that duplicates what we had as students, we might be letting a better educational system rule...yet still not the Lord. It is a very fine balance, isn't it?!  read more...

******

Long-Range Planning

Establish an Overall Plan —

Especially if beginning TruthQuest History with older students, it is ideal to seek the Lord for His overall long-range plan for your children's history studies. How many years do you have left with your child (see sample schedules further below), and how many historical eras is he/she to study before graduation? It is usually ideal to complete a full run of ancient and western civilization, from Creation to the present day. Furthermore, we urge you to make the completion of the final guide in the series (Age of Revolution III: America/Europe, 1865-2000) an achievable reality, because it provides crucial preparation for students about to enter the adult world. It readies them to fully understand the thinking of their future neighbors and co-workers, and to respond effectively with ministering truth.

Of course, most families have multiple children, but even then, most plan around the needs of the first child to graduate, while the younger siblings follow along. This usually works well since the younger students can-after the eldest's graduation-revisit the first eras studied when young. If there is a large gap between the children, however, we do make particular suggestions: How to place multiple children.

Determine a Yearly Pace —

Once you know how many years you have left, and what historical periods you need to cover, you can determine your yearly pace. Once you know your yearly pace, you can divide by the number of topics in the guide (numbered in the guide's Table of Contents) to determine your weekly/daily pace. Most families-at least those with plenty of time left in their children's school careers-spend a full year doing each TruthQuest History guide, but you may need a quicker pace. It has been done many, many times. In fact, some families like to rotate through all of history in a four-year cycle, so they move through the TruthQuest History guides quite quickly. For a glimpse at the many ways real TruthQuest History families schedule their days and years, see: TruthQuest History families share.

You may wish to look at the sample long-range plans (just below) which are based on a varying number of years to finish the full history cycle. You can customize these schedules as needed if you've already covered particular eras of history.

Multi-Year Planning: "American History for Young Students" series (Elementary grades)

If you have elementary students doing the "American History for Young Students" series, planning is a snap! Since the three guides in this series are designed for Grades 1-5 (actually, "American History for Young Students III: 1865-2000" is best for Grades 1-6), simply finish the three volumes by the end of Grade 5 or 6. This is true whether you start at Grade 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5! If starting in the later elementary grades, though, you will probably want to do just the first one or two "American History for Young Students" guides to get a sense of the essence of America's founding and growth. When your student is finishing his high school career, he/she will again be revisiting American history (only at a much deeper level), and can then learn anything in regard to modern American history missed earlier.

Remember, the "American History for Young Students" series is designed for gentle, relational learning. Feel free to set a leisurely pace. Follow some 'bunny trails' of interest within reason. Take advantage of special seasons or events. Plan family vacations, if you can, to visit topics of study. Above all, do not stress. Our warm commentary and yummy book recommendations will lead to memorable hours of reading, talking, discovery, and play, so we certainly hope you parents can participate to some degree in this foundational history experience with your children!

Just one word of caution. Do keep moving along in the "American History for Young Students" series. Completing the series by Grade 5 or 6 means your child's time in our main world history guides (ideally beginning in Grades 6/7 through Gr. 12) will not be rushed. Dawdling too much now-because you're having such fun-could create problems if your student is later forced to hurry through the crucial upper levels of history. You'll want to enjoy them all in peace! (If you do begin later, just choose one of our more concentrated sample schedules below.)

New to homeschooling? Don't fret! Some of this discussion is far beyond the planning scope of a young mother just beginning to teach her first little student. For those of you in that dear season of life, simply jump into "American History for Young Students I" and enjoy! Leave this planning talk for later years when you have many children and many schedules to consider! You'll be a seasoned veteran by then, and will actually enjoy this chatter!

Multi-Year Planning: Junior High and Senior High grades —

Be sure to move at a pace which guarantees your children time to finish the series. That way, they're sure to cover recent history (probed in our final guide, "Age of Revolution III"), which is essential to their preparation for the adult world and the issues they'll face therein. As mentioned above, younger siblings can often progress with the oldest child through the plan. They can then cycle back to the beginning of history for their last high school years, learning at a much deeper level the material they first covered when so much younger. Please feel free to review our detailed discussion of this topic at: How to place multiple children.

While it is good to have a long-range plan, don't agonize over what your five-year-old will be doing twelve years from now. God will guide, you will gain experience, your child will grow and mature. These are just supportive guidelines, not binding protocols!

Just jump in, and as you become familiar with the vivid and natural TruthQuest History experience, your overall plans will prayerfully gel quite while!

Seven-year plan (when beginning at Grade 6):

• Grade 6) Ancient Egypt/Ancient Greece
• Grade 7) Ancient Rome
• Grade 8) Middle Ages
• Grade 9) Renaissance/Reformation
• Grade 10) Age of Revolution I
• Grade 11) Age of Revolution II
• Grade 12) Age of Revolutions III

Six-year plan (when beginning at Grade 7):

• Grade 7) Ancient Egypt/Ancient Greece; begin Ancient Rome
• Grade 8) finish Ancient Rome; do most of Middle Ages
• Grade 9) complete Middle Ages; do all Renaissance/Reformation
• Grade 10) Age of Revolution I
• Grade 11) Age of Revolution II
• Grade 12) Age of Revolution III

Five-year plan (when beginning at Grade 8):

• Grade 8) Ancient Egypt/Ancient Greece; Ancient Rome
• Grade 9) Middle Ages; Renaissance/Reformation
• Grade 10) Age of Revolution I
• Grade 11) Age of Revolution II
• Grade 12) Age of Revolution III

Four-year plan (when beginning at Grade 9):

• Grade 9) Ancient Egypt/Ancient Greece; Ancient Rome
• Grade 10) Middle Ages; Renaissance/Reformation; begin Age of Revolution I
• Grade 11) finish Age of Revolution I; Age of Revolution II
• Grade 12) Age of Revolution III

Three-year plan (when beginning at Grade 10):*

Do the 'two-year plan' (below) in three years, since the Ren/Ref era is an important crossroad in history, and is thus a good starting point for studying the latter centuries crucial to a graduate's understanding of his/her world.

Or, if wanting to do all eras at a very rapid rate:

• Grade 10) Ancient Egypt/Ancient Greece; Ancient Rome; Middle Ages
• Grade 11) Renaissance/Reformation; Age of Revolution I
• Grade 12) Age of Revolution II; Age of Revolution III

Two-year plan (when beginning at Grade 11):*

• Grade 11) Renaissance/Reformation; Age of Revolution I
• Grade 12) Age of Revolution II; Age of Revolution III

One-year plan (when beginning at Grade 12):*

It is rarely feasible to cover several epochs in one year using TruthQuest History, though we have seen it done. We recommend that you either select one guide, especially "Age of Revolution III," or, more preferably, that you simply read four intensely insightful books (available through most homeschool suppliers, Christian bookstores, and church libraries):

• How Should We Then Live? by Francis Schaeffer (video version is equally excellent)
• Story of Liberty by Charles Coffin (filter intensity of some statements regarding popes)
• Seven Men Who Rule the World from the Grave by Dave Breese
• Postmodern Times by Gene Edward Veith

Nevertheless, we have been asked to outline a quick sweep through the TruthQuest History guides for those elder students who need not only to glean the spiritual lessons of history from the booklist above, but who also need to quickly grasp the factual information of history before graduating, and who therefore need to work chronologically through all the TQH guides themselves in one year.

To accomplish this great and worthy task will meaning using TQH in a different way. Rather than taking time to read the recommended literature, the student wiill need to use a key "spine" book (a thorough, narrative-style history book) for each era, and will need to read the comentary in the TruthQuest History guide to gain the spiritual insights. The TQH guides will also note the appropriate time for reading the four books mentioned in the list above. The ThinkWrite™ exercises in each TruthQuest History guide can still serve as potent vehicles for stimulating the most essential learning and discussion along the way. Supplementary reading from the TQH bookslists on topics of special interest can be enjoyed only when there is an especially important topic or there is clearly extra time in the schedule suggested below.

We mentioned using a "spine," and therefore recommend those by H.A. Guerber (edited by Christine Miller, who is not related to Michelle Miller, author of TruthQuest History) since they seem to give the best balance of coverage, detail, and readability for a quick sweep through ancient, Greek, Roman, medieval, and Renaissance/Reformation history. Once American history begins, you may want to stick with Guerber's "spine" books, or consider other options, as cited in our guide on that era.

Families tackling this special and meaningful project would certainly need to move quickly, especially in the early part of the year, as the final guides in the series--Age of Revolution I, II, and III--are the most important to devour before entering the adult world as a graduate. They should not be missed! We therefore recommend the following time allotments:

    1 month  Ancient Greece (if Egypt must be covered, spend only a day or two in that introductory section)
    1 month  Ancient Rome
    1 month  Middle Ages
    1 month  Renaissance/Reformation
    1 month  Age of Revolution I
    2 months  Age of Revolution II
    2 months  Age of Revoluton III

By planning the work and working the plan, it can be a powerful, rich, and meaningful year!

*  When planning for students with just one, two, or even three years available to study history, parents will need to confidently decide which topics to study and which to omit. Please note that you can move through the guides more quickly by relying most heavily on "spine" books.