History studied in Year 5: 1800-1914 up to WWI
Term 1: 1800-1840's; Term 2: 1840's-1860's; Term 3: 1860's-1914
Note: These booklists and curriculum suggestions are incomplete without a thorough understanding of Charlotte Mason's ideas and methods. We cannot emphasize enough that you take time to familiarize yourself with her philosophy by reading her books.
If you're planning to use Ambleside Online, your first stop should be the FAQ for some information about the curriculum and basic instructions. It is not advisable to attempt this curriculum without first reading the FAQ. Homeschoolers hoping to raise their children to be readers, as Charlotte Mason urged, owe it to themselves to take the first step in reading by looking over the instructions for the curriculum they plan to use. The FAQ has all the questions that people routinely ask, with detailed answers and explanations collected from two years of responses to user questions. Ambleside Online has provided detailed weekly schedules for these books in various formats: Html List; PDF; DOC, ODT
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KEY TO SYMBOLS
DAILY INSTRUCTION OR PRACTICE
WEEKLY INSTRUCTION OR PRACTICE
Asterisks refer to which term the book is used:
In order to complete the curriculum additional instruction should be provided in the following areas.
Penmanship or Copywork
Musical Instrument Practice
Grammar (AO's Language Arts Scope and Sequence for this level is here.) Year 5 exam questions will focus on nouns, pronouns, proper nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs.
Correspond history readings with a timeline or century book [tl] and map
Music Appreciation, including folksongs and hymns
One Life from Plutarch per term
A Shakespeare play each term
This Country of Ours, by H.E. Marshall β Δ ($; K) Ω 
* ** Abraham Lincoln's World, by Genevieve Foster ($)  OR Story of Mankind, by Van Loon β Δ ($ K) Ω 
*** The Story of the World Volume 4, The Modern Age, by Susan Wise Bauer ($ K) 
OR *** What Everyone Should Know About the 20th Century, Axelrod, Phillips ($) 
Optional: A Child's History of the World, by Virgil Hillyer; An Island Story, by H. E. Marshall β Δ Ω 
Trial and Triumph, by Richard Hannula ($; K) 
* Of Courage Undaunted: Across the Continent with Lewis and Clark, by James Daugherty ($)
** Passion for the Impossible: The Life of Lilias Trotter, by Miriam Huffman Rockness ($)
OR possibly a book about Beatrix Potter (some options)
*** Carry a Big Stick: The Uncommon Heroism of Teddy Roosevelt, by George Grant ($ K)
The Book of Marvels: The Occident and/or Second Book of Marvels: The Orient, by Richard Halliburton ($), (see contents here), OR A Child's Geography of the World, by Virgil Hillyer ($), (see contents here), both out of print but wonderful if you have access to them.
OR Explore the Holy Land, by Ann Voskamp ($), also available here
Ten minutes of map drills each week [geo]
Locate places from the day's reading on a map
In addition, these geography concepts should be explained and taught this year: [Geo]
Term 1: Land forms such as continent, island, mountain, hill, isthmus (neck), mainland, peninsula, cape, plain, prairie, shore, forest, field, plain, tundra, desert, oasis. Bodies of water such as brook, creek (stream), river, pond, lake (inlet, outlet), sea, ocean, cove, bay, gulf, strait
Term 2: Food crops (vegetables, grains, fruit) and other useful plants
Term 3: Trees, flowers; what plants need to grow.
The Handbook of Nature Study, by Anna Botsford Comstock Δ ($), as scheduled in Nature Study. You may find it helpful and fun to participate in the Outdoor Hour Challenge blog.
Supplies for Nature Study:
Nature notebook and pencils or paint for each student
Begin to build a library of regional field guides
Plenty of time to allow Nature Study to be a fun learning experience for both parent and child
* Wild Animals I Have Known, by Ernest Thompson Seton β Δ ($) Κ
Christian Liberty Nature Reader, Book 5, by Worthington Hooker, edited, by Michael J. McHugh ($) 
Madam How and Lady Why, by Charles Kingsley β Δ ($) Ω Κ 
The Story of Inventions, by Michael J. McHugh and Frank P. Bachman Δ ($) 
Optional: Physics Lab in a Housewares Store, by Robert Friedhoffer (K) ($earch) 
* biography of Isaac Newton; there is a chapter about him in Robert S. Ball's Great Astronomers β Δ ($) Κ There's also a chapter on Newton in Nathaniel Hawthorne's True Stories from History and Biography. Δ
** biography of Alexander Graham Bell, like Always Inventing, by Tom L. Matthews ($), or Talking Wire, by O.J. Stevenson ($)
*** biography of George Washington Carver ($)
A curriculum or program for handwriting is not necessary, but if you want to use one, these are some we've used and can suggest:
A Reason for Writing (Level A: $) (Level B: $)
Getty Dubay Italic Handwriting Series ($)
Select a program that meets your family's needs from our page of Math Options.
The Age of Fable, by Thomas Bulfinch β Δ ($ K) Ω Κ 
* King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table, by Roger Lancelyn Green ($ K)
OR The Story of King Arthur and His Knights, by Howard Pyle Δ (also illustrated here, but with ads ($ K) 
** Oliver Twist, by Charles Dickens β Δ ($ $ K) Ω Κ ☊
*** Kim, by Rudyard Kipling β Δ ($earch K) Ω
Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott β Δ ($) Ω ☊
A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens β Δ ($) Ω Κ ☊
Captains Courageous, by Rudyard Kipling β Δ ($ K) Ω Κ
Puck of Pook's Hill, by Rudyard Kipling β Δ ($) Ω Κ
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain β Δ ($ K) Ω Κ ☊
The Prince and the Pauper, by Mark Twain β Δ ($ K) Ω
Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson β Δ ($ K) Ω Κ ☊
Lad: A Dog (or another book in the Lad series), by Albert Payson Terhune Δ ($)
The Treasure Seekers, by Edith Nesbit β Δ ($ K) ΩΚ
The Wouldbegoods, by Edith Nesbit β Δ ($) Ω Κ
Anne of Green Gables, by Lucy Maud Montgomery β Δ ($ $eries K) Ω ☊
The Long Winter, by Laura Ingalls Wilder ($)
Little Town on the Prairie, by Laura Ingalls Wilder ($)
These Happy Golden Years, by Laura Ingalls Wilder ($)
The First Four Years, by Laura Ingalls Wilder ($)
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, by Kate Douglas Wiggin β Δ ($ K) Ω Κ
Hans Brinker, or The Silver Skates, by Mary Mapes Dodge β Δ ($earch) Ω Κ
Michael Faraday, Father of Electronics, by Charles Ludwig ($ K )
* Carry On, Mr. Bowditch, by Jean Lee Latham ($)
** Rifles for Watie, by Harold Keith ($)
** Across Five Aprils, by Irene Hunt ($ K)
*** Rilla of Ingleside, by Lucy Maud Montgomery; shows WWI effects on a community. Eighth book in the Anne of Avonlea series; those who like these books might enjoy Rilla more if they read some of the earlier ones first. β Δ ($ $ K) Ω
*** Falcons of France, by Charles Nordhoff, James Norman Hall (K)
*** Goodbye Mr. Chips, by James Hilton ($ K)
The Story of My Life, by Helen Keller β ($) Ω Κ
If your students in years 4-6 could benefit from some easier, but still excellent living books for free reading, consider choosing four or five books from this list:
The Good Master, The White Stag, The Singing Tree and others, by Kate Seredy
Mrs Frisby and the rats of NIMH, by Robert C. O'Brien
The Rescuers, and others in the series, by Margery Sharp
The Cricket in Times Square, by George Selden
Homer Price, by Robert McCloskey
The Great Brain, by John D. Fitzgerald, particularly interesting to boys
Noel Streatfeild books (Ballet Shoes, Skating Shoes, Dancing Shoes, etc) are appealing to girls in particular.
Note on Audiobooks: While links to audio books are added as a courtesy, Miss Mason's approach to grammar and composition is heavily dependent upon the children receiving an immense amount of visual exposure to the written word over many years, so parents should exercise extreme caution in how many audiobooks they use each year. Our brains just work differently when we see the words. For children who have difficulty reading, one solution is to have them follow the audio version along in a written text. (Back)
Timeline: At this age, students should be keeping a simple, single-page timeline of major events and a Book of Centuries. Instructions for making your own timelines and charts are included in these Parents' Review articles: Book of the Centuries; Teaching Chronology; The Correlation of Lessons. For more details about the why, when, how of keeping CM timelines (and other notebooks), we recommend Laurie Bestvater's book, The Living Page ($). (Back)
1. It is preferable for a child to become accustomed to the language and flow of the King James Version of the Bible, as a familiarity with King James English will make other literature more accessible. Please read Lynn Bruce's article on the King James Version by clicking here.
The weekly schedule lists readings taken from J. Paterson Smyth's and Eugene Stock's commentaries, with Old Testament readings focusing on the kings and prophets in Israel, and New Testament on the first part of the life of Christ from all the gospels in harmony. Not every week has assignments from both OT and NT. (see AO's Bible plan) Charlotte Mason taught with commentaries, reading the Bible passage first, then narration, then reading the commentary, but Smyth's and Stock's commentaries may reflect the doctrine of their era and denomination; they are not necessary to follow the Bible schedule. You can follow this schedule without commentary, or choose your own.
Optional Bible Resources: Timeline; Study questions with maps. (Back)
2. This Country of Ours: Charles I-George III this year.
Term 1: ch 64-75 (Washington-Tyler, George III - George IV- Victoria, 1783-1845)
Term 2: ch 76-87 (Monroe-Buchanan, George IV-Victoria, 1818-1863)
Term 3: ch 88-99 (Johnson-Wilson, Victoria-George V, 1865-1919)
This Country of Ours is our first choice for this term's US history book, and is used in all terms. The 'OR' options are world history selections; they are not an adequate substitute for this book. Year 5 uses the chapters that cover the time period between 1783-1914. Be aware that the edition for sale from Wilder Publications has no Table of Contents or chapter numbers. Public domain texts are available for anyone to copy, paste and publish, and many new companies are springing up publishing and selling these texts without editing for typos.
For planning purposes, there is a Table of Contents with dates for This Country of Ours here. (Back)
3. Read Charlotte Mason's book review of Van Loon's "Story of Mankind" here.
Term 1: ch 53-56 Napoleon, 1804; Holy Alliance; The Great Reaction; 1860, National Independence, 1791-1871, Age of the Engine, stone age 1878.
Term 2: ch 57-61 Social Revolution/1848; Emancipation/1831-1867; Age of Science/1846; A Chapter of Art/1827.
Term 3: ch 62-65 Colonial Expansion and War 1868-1914; A New World, Part of the 20th century text up through WWI.
For planning purposes, there is a Table of Contents with dates for The Story of Mankind here. (Back)
4. Story of the World: The historical books that were recommend for Years 1-6 such as An Island Story, A Child's History of the World, Abraham Lincoln's World, The Story of Mankind were carefully selected based on literary quality and availability for those historical periods and we believe that Susan Wise Bauer's Story of the World Volume 4 is the best book for the twentieth century that meets that same criteria. The book is not used until Term 3.
Term 3: ch 1-22 (Back)
5. Full title is What Everyone Should Know About the 20th Century: 200 Events That Shaped the World, by Alan Axelrod and Charles Phillips. This book went out of print and has been replaced in our schedule by The Story of the World Volume 4 The Modern Age, by Susan Wise Bauer. However, if you have this book, you can still use it.
The Advisory did not feel that there was an adequate children's level book available on the 20th century. What everyone should know about the 20th century" is written for adults. We chose a number of the short chapters for our use in year 6. Parents should realize that chapters not selected may have material deemed unacceptable for their family, and they should keep that in mind when giving the book to their children. Parents may wish to read surrounding chapters to the chapters assigned. For instance, the chapter about the Moon Walk concludes on the page that a chapter on Woodstock begins. The Advisory did try to note any questionable wording in the chapters recommended. Parents should preview chapters where possible, as the author occasionally displays a bias that would not be acceptable to all families. This book has no photos - Parents are encouraged to select appropriate [non-graphic] photos of the century to show to their children, after they have read about the events ahead of time, in their context. Used in year 5 and 6.
This book has gone out of print; AO support group members have worked on a compendium that may be used. You can see that here.
Term 3: The United States Goes to War with Spain (1898)--The Treaty of Versailles Ends the Great War (1919) (Back)
6. For those who wish to supplement, or to combine students in the same year, corresponding chapters of A Child's History of the World for younger children are as follows:
Term 1: ch 77 Waterloo, 1821-ch 79 (Composers)
Term 2: ch 80 (1860's)
Term 3: ch 81 (1870)-83 (Industrial revolution)
Corresponding chapters of An Island Story for this year would be This time period is 1820-1914, George IV-George V:
Term 1: ch. 97 (Trafalgar 1805)-ch. 101 Victoria (1837)
Term 2: ch. 102 (Corn Laws repealed 1846)-ch. 107 Pipes at Lucknow (1857)
Term 3: ch. 108 (Australia; Arthur Philip 1787; 1867)-ch. 110 Boer (1899-1902)
Kings and Queen timeline figures (Back)
7. Abraham Lincoln's World:
Term 1: first half, 171 pages
Term 2: second half, 171 pages (Back)
8. Trial and Triumph: Descriptions of some trials of the Christians may be intense; parents should preview chapters to determine suitablity based on their children's sensitivities. If you prefer, you can skip this book and cover church history in Years 7-9 with a different book, Saints and Heroes, by George Hodges.
This book tells church history from a definite Protestant perspective; some families may wish to skip this book or find an alternative.
Trial and Triumph used to be online, but now only a sample of the book is available online. This is what we used to post about the online posting: Google Books does have permission from Canon Press to have Trial and Triumph in full online. Here is a statement from Canon Press: "I believe we have extended permission to them to display that title. Obviously we would love for folks to purchase hard copies but we understand the limitations of many folks. If they do benefit from the online version though, we would be grateful for some sort of review whether it be on a blog, on Amazon, or on our own website. Thanks for contacting us to check. We really appreicate it." - David Hoos, Canon Press - Customer Service www.canonpress.com (Back)
Geography. Geosafari (available now on CD-rom) would be sufficient. ($ purchase basic geography card set) SeterraOnline offers Free Map Quiz Games. If you have an iPad or iPhone, TapQuiz is a free map quiz app. (Back)
The Following geography concepts should be explained and taught this year; a book is not necessary as these can be explained informally during walks and outings. AO's complete list of geography topics is here.
Term 1: Land forms such as continent, island (archipelago), mountain, hill, isthmus (neck), mainland, peninsula, cape, plain, prairie, shore, forest, field, plain, tundra, desert, oasis. Bodies of water such as brook, creek (stream), river, pond, lake (inlet, outlet), sea, ocean, cove, bay, gulf, strait
These topics are covered in these chapters:
Long's Home Geography Δ 24. A Map
Long's Home Geography Δ 25. Forms of Land and Water
Long's Home Geography Δ 26. More About Forms of Land and Water
Long's Home Geography Δ 27. A Trip to the Highlands
Term 2: Food crops (vegetables, grains, fruit) and other useful plants
These topics are covered in these chapters:
Long's Home Geography Δ 29. Useful Vegetables
Long's Home Geography Δ 30. Useful Grains
Long's Home Geography Δ 31. Fruits
Long's Home Geography Δ 32. Useful Plants
Term 3: Trees, flowers; what plants need to grow.
These topics are covered in these chapters:
Long's Home Geography Δ 33. Forest Trees
Long's Home Geography Δ 34. Flowers
Long's Home Geography Δ 35. What is Necessary to Make Plants Grow (Back)
9. Christian Liberty Nature Reader, Book 5: either the 1992 edition, or the 2002 edition, which is organized slightly differently. (Back)
10. Anne White has written a Study Guide with links for Madam How and Lady Why. The book has been scheduled slowly over two years. Madam How and Lady Why is an earth science book; if you use the study guide, you'll see that it takes time to adequately cover the subject matter. Researching the topics is what makes this useful as a science book. This year, the second half of the book is covered:
Term 1: Madam How's Two Grandsons, The Coral Reef
Term 2: Field and Wild, The World's End
Term 3: Homeward Bound (Back)
11. 'The Story of Inventions' is online, except for the last 2 chapters, which were a later addition and still copyrighted. The online edition does not have the two later chapters. If you have the second edition, the chapter order may not match the AO schedule. AO member Amy H. posted a revised list on her blog here. Great Inventors and Their Inventions, by Frank P. Bachman is an earlier version of the same book. If you have a copy, you can substitute. Or, boys might enjoy War Inventions, by Charles R. Gibson (the Advisory hasn't read this yet.) All About Famous Inventors and Their Inventions Δ, by Fletcher Pratt is similar; The Story of Great Inventions, by Elmer Ellsworth Burns Δ might be another option. (Back)
12. Friedhoffer's "Physics Lab in a . . ." books are a great resource, but they're out of print; don't spend more than $10 on a used copy. (Back)
13. Longfellow, used in Year 3, is repeated in Year 5 because his longer poems are more historically appropriate for this year; try breaking up longer poems and reading them over a few days. (Back)
14. Age of Fable, used over three years, is a book about Greek mythology, and some editions use illustrations of nudes, which some families might find objectionable. This year: ch 15 (Graeae) - ch 28 (Troy)
Term 1: ch 15 (The Graeae, Perseus and Medusa, Perseus and Atlas) to ch 20 (Theseus)
Term 2: ch 20 (Olympic and other games, Daedalus, Castor and Pollux) to ch 24 (Amphion-Muusaeus)
Term 3: ch 25 (Arion) to ch 28 (Agamemnon-Troy) (Back)
15. King Arthur: Students should have some familiarity with King Arthur in preparation for Year 7. Roger Lancelyn Green will be easier for students to read on their own; if you use Pyle's, you may need to read it aloud. If you have The Boy's King Arthur, by Sidney Lanier, you may opt to use that, although, for scheduling, it doesn't break down as neatly into the 12-week term. It's also more difficult to read than Green's. Pyle's has a sequel, Champions of the Round Table, for students who want more King Arthur tales. NOTE: Editions not specifically for children (including Steinbeck's) may be racy and not family-friendly. Malory and Caxton, the earliest editions, on which all others are based, can be explicit about knghts' exploits with ladies. (Back)
16. Free Reading books are books that no child should miss, but rather than overloading school time, these can be read during free time. No narrations need be required from these books. Advisory member Wendi C. suggests, "How you handle these is up to you . . ." (more) Parents should also explain to students that historical fiction, while often well-researched, is still fiction, and contains the author's ideas of how things might have happened. Books with asterisks pertain to that term's historical studies. (Back)
For those on a strict budget, recommended purchases are:
Handbook of Nature Study, by Anna Botsford Comstock (used for 6 years; ($) - this is online, but would be cumbersome to utilize that way
a math program
Abraham Lincoln's World, by Genevieve Foster ($)
Explore the Holy Land, by Ann Voskamp ($; also available here), or Complete Book of Marvels, by Richard Halliburton or other geography book (try the library or used book vendors)
The Story of the World Volume 4 The Modern Age, by Susan Wise Bauer (used in year 5 and 6) ($ K)
Of Courage Undaunted, by James Daugherty (check library) ($)
Carry a Big Stick: The Uncommon Heroism of Teddy Roosevelt, by George Grant ($)
Biography of Alexander Graham Bell (check library)
Biography of George Washington Carver (check library)
Christian Liberty Nature Reader grade 5 ($)
a Latin/foreign language program
Laura Ingalls Wilder books if your library doesn't have them (purchase 9-volume set)
Other books can be read online or borrowed from the library.
Last update July 30, 2014
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