Pages of History Volume 2: Blazing New Trails

Instead of isolating Bible and Christian history from what was happening in the rest of the world, the folks at Veritas aim to incorporate it. They offer four different history time periods (each aimed at a different grade level and designed to take one school year) which take students from creation to the present. The program originally had three parts: teacher's manual, history cards (an absolutely essential element of the curriculum) and a memory song on audio CD. The song is sung by a woman with a pleasant voice at varying tempos and is designed as a type of auditory time line.

The history cards are fantastic! They have many interesting facets (the more you study them, the more you learn). The cards from the various time periods are color coded and numbered - there are 32 cards in each pack. If the cards also relate to Bible history they have another color and another number. Each card has a picture (usually in full color) representing what it is about. For example, the card for Creation has a reproduction of the Creation of the sun and moon from the Sistine Chapel Ceiling by Michelangelo. Many of the other pictures on the other cards are famous paintings as well. Each card has a title and a Scripture reference (if appropriate). They also contain a summary of the event they represent and a list of resources. This information can only be found on the cards and is not duplicated in the Teacher Manual. On the Creation card, examples of the resources are: Child's Story Bible, pages 3, 4 and Streams of Civ, Vol 1, pages 11-14. Reading whatever is set out on the cards provides the ‘text'.

The Teacher Manual is split into 32 weekly lessons. Each lesson has a worksheet, a project or two, and a test. An example of what you might find in the appendix is a literature unit, an Egyptian decor bulletin board pattern, an Egyptian Feast project, reproducible sheets, great games, and lyrics for the memory song. An enhanced CD-ROM is also available, which includes the memory song for that level, an electronic version of the Teacher Manual, and an instructional video. The enhanced CD will work on either Windows or Macintosh. Because the enhanced CD contains the complete Teacher's Manual, we sell two kits; one which includes the Teacher Manual book, the card set, and the audio CD (Homeschool Kit), and one which includes only the enhanced CD and the cards (Homeschool Kit w/ CD). ~ Genevieve

Not quite ready for Omnibus? Or maybe you have an older student who's just a little too old to start the Veritas history cycle. These new Transition Guides are the perfect solution. For a spine they use the Pages of History volumes and the Veritas history cards. Add to that an excellent selection of classic literature and you have a one year classical world history survey course for your middle school student that will provide the perfect preparation for Omnibus or will allow your student to "catch-up" to students who have had the benefit of the five-year Veritas world history series.

Technically a worktext, the Guides actually "feel" more like lesson plans. Volume One has 19 lessons; Volume Two has 13. The lessons each have five sessions and follow a general format of reading and History Card assignments, discussion and comprehension questions, and projects. Both the discussion and the comprehension questions are provided for you along with a complete answer key. There's at least one project in each lesson. Projects include a variety of activities such as worksheets (answers in the back), writing assignments, art projects, or flashcard activities. Some weeks there are additional, optional activities which tend to be things like field trip suggestions, video options, and review worksheets. Although in black and white, the books are full of illustrations - artwork and drawings. Volume Two includes a Chronology and a Final Exam (again, answers in the back). The books are non-reproducible although there will be times when you wish they were. There are just enough activities - worksheets and exams - that will work best if written directly upon that one would have to classify these books as consumable worktexts.

Volume 1 covers Creation through the Reformation and corresponds to Pages of History Volume 1 and the first three sets of History Cards (Old Testament and Ancient Egypt, New Testament Greece and Rome, and Middle Ages Renaissance/Reformation). Volume 2 covers Explorers through the Present and corresponds to Pages of History, Volume 2 and the last two sets of History Cards (Explorers to 1815 and 1815 to Present).