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Cycle 4 History Form 4+

Cycle 4 History

This is the independent reading schedule for students in Forms IV, V and VI. Forms IV, V and VI are students in grades 9 through 12. In a smaller community, all Form IV, V & VI students meet together and use the following schedule.

Reading is only part of the learning process. Make sure your Form IV, V or VI student is practicing the following:

  • Narration: sometimes spoken and sometimes written
  • Studying Maps: look at the locations mentioned in the history books and draw and label maps
  • Keeping a timeline, or, book of centuries

And last, students should be discussing these topics with others. This can be with other teens and a tutor in a community, or it can be with mom and/or dad at home.

Do not be tempted to waste time on quizzes, word finds, crossword puzzles with history vocabulary words or other work that might be deemed twaddle. Encourage your child to read these good books, keep a detailed timeline book, draw maps (as beautifully as she can), to write some narration passages about what she learned, and to discuss all of these things.

Growth of the British Empire by M.B. Synge

This is the last book in the Story of the World series by M.B. Synge. This book is scheduled at a pace of three chapters per week for the first two terms (fourteen weeks).

You can download the pdf here:

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Cycle 4 History Form 3

Cycle 4 History

Form III includes students who are ages 12 to 14. The following books can be read aloud to the whole family or read independently by a student who is able.

Abraham Lincoln’s World  by Genevieve Foster

This book is scheduled at a pace of eleve to fourteen pages per week for all twenty-eight weeks. This book covers world history from 1809 to 1865.

Freedom Walkers by Russell Freedman

This book is scheduled at a pace of one to two chapters per week during Term 4.

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Cycle 4 History Picture Books Form 1

Cycle 4 History


Form I includes students who are ages 6 to 9. It is sometimes broken down into Form IB (6 to 7 year olds) and Form IA (7 to 9 year olds). The following books can be read aloud to the whole family or read independently by a student who is able.

There is no history scheduled for students who are 4 to 5 years old, because Charlotte Mason did not include these children in her schools. That said, there is no harm in reading some historic literature to younger children, or having them play nearby while older siblings hear a history book being read aloud.

There is one picture book scheduled per week. A lot of these books are about humans who lived during the Cycle 4 history time period. Also See Cycle 4 Biographies and Cycle 4 Picture Books By Week.

  1. If You Lived During the Civil War by Denise Lewis Patrick
  2. A Picture Book of Robert E. Lee by David A. Adler
  3. Abe Lincoln: The Boy Who Loved Books by Kay Winters
  4. Abraham Lincoln by Ingri d’Aulaire and Edgar Parin d’Aulaire 
  5. A Picture Book of Abraham Lincoln by David A. Adler
  6. Henry’s Freedom Box: A True Story from the Underground Railroad by Ellen Levine 
  7. If You Traveled on the Underground Railroad by Ebony Wilkins 
  8. A Picture Book of Florence Nightingale by David A. Adler
  9. A Picture Book of Sojourner Truth by David A. Adler
  10. The Wright Brothers’ First Flight by Thomas Kingsley Troupe
  11. A Picture Book of Harriet Tubman by David A. Adler 
  12. This is the Rope: A Story from the Great Migration by Jacqueline Woodson
  13. A Picture Book of Thomas Alva Edison by David A. Adler 
  14. A Picture Book of Frederick Douglass by David A. Adler
  15. Potato: A Story of the Great Depression by Kate Lied
  16. Across the Blue Pacific: A World War II Story by Louise Borden
  17. A Picture Book of Anne Frank by David A. Adler 
  18. A Picture Book of Jesse Owens by David A. Adler 
  19. A Picture Book of Thurgood Marshall by David A. Adler
  20. A Picture Book of Amelia Earhart by David A. Adler
  21. A Picture Book of Jackie Robinson by David A. Adler 
  22. A Picture Book kof Helen Keller by David A. Alder 
  23. A Picture Book of Martin Luther King, Jr. by David A. Adler 
  24. A Picture Book of John F. Kennedy by David A. Adler
  25. A Picture Book of Rosa Parks by David A. Adler 
  26. The Story of Ruby Bridges by Robert Coles
  27. A Picture Book of Cesar Chavez by David A. Adler
  28. Mother Teresa of Calcutta by Francine Bay 

You can download the pdf here:

Note, links on this page are affiliate links, in which I will make a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting the work I do!

If you have book suggestions or comments about these books, please share! 🙂

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Cycle 3 History Form 2+

STAR Homeschool Cycle 3 History

Form II includes students who are ages 9 to 12. The following books can be read aloud to the whole family or read independently by a student who is able.

American History Stories Volume I by Mara L. Pratt

and

American History Stories Volume II by Mara L. Pratt

and

American History Stories Volume III by Mara L. Pratt

Lined Up with Memory Work

 These three volumes are scheduled over twenty eight weeks at a rate of four or five chapters per week. Chapters range from two to ten pages each. Samples can be seen on the Yesterdays’ Classics website.

Volume I

Volume II

Volume III

You can download the pdf here:

You can download the schedule that is lined up to the memory work here:

America: Our Stories by Lorene Lambert

Christian Worldview

Lined Up with Memory Work

This book from Simply Charlotte Mason is lovely, and there is a second volume that lines up with the Cycle 4 time period. This book was written with a clear Christian Worldview. The chapters in this book contain approximately seven to ten pages. The cover-to-cover reading schedule includes one to two chapters per week over all twenty-eight weeks. For reading that is lined up to the memory work, there is reading scheduled for weeks 3, 5, 12, 19, 22 and 27.

You can download the pdf here:

You can download the schedule that is lined up to the memory work here:

A First Book in American History by Edward Eggleston

Lined Up with Memory Work

Eggleston was a Methodist minister, but his books do not mention much about God, and there is no mention of Jesus. This book has interesting stories about real people and contains black and while pictures. Each chapter is about six to eight pages. For cover-to-cover reading, this book is scheduled weekly, each term, with one to two chapters of reading per week. The last few chapters give a preview of some of the events that we will learn about in Cycle 4. For reading that is lined up to the memory work, there is reading scheduled for weeks 3, 5, 12, 19, 20, 21, 22 and 27. A sample of this book is available on the Yesterday’s Classics website.

You can download the pdf here:

You can download the schedule that is lined up with the memory work here:

George Washington’s World by Genevieve Foster

Includes World History

Genevieve Foster’s writing is beautiful and interesting! This book is scheduled in two ways-reading it cover-to-cover over twenty-eight weeks, or to read the book cover-to-cover over weeks fourteen to twenty-eight, after spending fourteen weeks in another one of Foster’s books; The World of Captain John Smith. If you are reading the book over the entire year, you will be reading approximately eleven or twelve pages per week. If you choose to read the book in fourteen weeks, you will be reading approximately twenty-two to twenty-four pages per week. Note that this book, as well as The World of Captain John Smith, and another book by Genevieve Foster, The Year of the Horseless Carriage are all scheduled for Form 4 independent reading.

You can download the pdf here:

The Light & the Glory for Young Readers by Peter Marshall & David Manuel

Christian Worldview

This is the first book in a series of three books by Peter Marshall. This will be read at a pace of two chapters per week (approximately twenty pages) during Term 1 and finished off the first week of Term 2. This is a great read aloud and also good for students in Form 3 to read independently.   

You can download the pdf here:

From Sea to Shining Sea for Young Readers by Peter Marshall & David Manuel

Christian Worldview

This is the second book in a series of three books by Peter Marshall. This will be read at a pace of two chapters per week (approximately twenty pages) during most of Term 2 and for two weeks of Term 3. This is a great read aloud and also good for students in Form 3 to read independently

You can download the pdf here:

Sounding Forth the Trumpet for Young Readers by Peter Marshall & David Manuel

Christian Worldview

This is the third book in a series of three books by Peter Marshall. This will be read at a pace of two chapters per week (approximately twenty pages) during Terms 3 and 4. This is a great read aloud and also good for students in Form 3 to read independently.

You can download the pdf here

The Mystery of History Volume III by Linda Lacour Hobar

and, optionally;

The Mystery of History Volume IV by Linda Lacour Hobar

Christian Worldview

Includes World History

Lined Up with Memory Work

The Mystery of History books check all the boxes. The pages are also smooth and glossy and there are lots of interesting and colorful pictures. The size of the book is like a textbook–but don’t let that fool you! This book is filled with fascinating stories of people who really lived and events that really happened.

There are three ways this book has been scheduled in the syllabus: cover-to-cover reading of Volume III, reading part of Volume III and Volume IV, and reading selections that are lined up to the memory work. For cover-to-cover reading, there are three lessons scheduled every week, in Terms 1-4. In fact, this book was designed to be read over 28-weeks. It’s like it was made for the 28-week GLC cycle! (Note: I believe that a 28-week school year is so much more doable than anything longer!). The volume III book does begin a little earlier than our 1550-1850 timeline for Cycle 3 (and, therefore, covers several topics that are scheduled in Cycle 2), but it isn’t wasted reading.

Lessons are typically around four to seven pages total. The amount of reading, with three lessons per week, may be too much for children in Form 1. I recommend looking at the reading schedule that is lined up with the memory work for that age, or if you simply do not have much time for reading aloud.

If you would prefer to read only topics that fit into the 1550-1850 timeline that the Cycle 3 memory work covers, you will want to read part of volume III and part of volume IV. I have provided that schedule, as well, and volume III is read in Terms 1, 2 and part of 3 and volume IV is read in part of Term 3 and each week in Term 4.

For reading that is lined up to the memory work, there is reading scheduled for weeks 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12, 13 and 15 in volume III and in weeks 3, 11, 19, 20, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 and 27. 

Volume III

You can download the pdf here:

Volume IV

You can download the pdf here:

You can download the schedule that is lined up to the memory work here:

Our Island Story by Henrietta Elizabeth Marshall

Includes World History

Our Island Story, or, An Island Story mixes folktale with real history and tells the story of England from the Roman Empire to the time period just after World War I.

This book is scheduled at a pace of one to two chapters per week, beginning at chapter 67 and ending at chapter 101. This book is also read during Cycle 2 and Cycle 4.

You can download the pdf here:

Stories of the Nations Vol. 1 by Lorene Lambert and Sonya Shafer

Christian Worldview

Includes World History

Lined Up with Memory Work

This is an excellent Charlotte Mason-style book to read alongside America: Our Stories, in order to go through some American history and some world history all at one time. There are twenty-eight chapters in this book, which means that if you read this book cover-to-cover, you will read one chapter per week. Chapters are typically four to six pages. For reading that is lined up to the memory work, there is reading scheduled for weeks 4, 9, 11, 13, 15, 16, 18, 20 and 23. 

You can download the pdf here:

You can download the schedule that lines up to the memory work here:

The Story of the World Volume 3 by Susan Wise Bauer

Includes World History

Lined Up with Memory Work

The Story of the World is a series of books by Susan Wise Bauer are a three volume set, spanning perfectly over the four Claritas Publishing cycles. Chapters are 6 to 11 pages long and there are one to two chapters scheduled each week. These stories are brief and interesting. Chapters contain two stories. For reading that is lined up to the memory work, there is reading scheduled for weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 25, 26, 27 and 28. 

You can download the pdf here:

You can download the schedule that is lined up to the memory work here:

:

This Country of Ours by H.E. Marshall

Christian Worldview

Lined Up with Memory Work

This is a classic book and was originally published in 1917. Since Cycle 3’s history ends in 1850, the majority of this book is a perfect choice for Cycle 3. This is also an excellent fit with the Cycle 3 geography, because there are chapters dedicated to the founding of the earliest states. If you plan to purchase this book, make sure to examine whether it is a full book or if it is a particular volume (a partial version of the book). You will want a copy of this book that, at minimum, contains chapters 13 through 77. 

For cover-to-cover reading, this book has one or two chapters per week scheduled for Terms 1 and 2. The book begins in chapter 13 because chapters 1-12 are scheduled in Cycle 2. The scheduled readings end with chapter 77 out of 99 chapters, because the final chapters fit best with the time period studied in Cycle 4. There are two or three chapters scheduled each week. Each chapter contains six to twelve pages. For reading that is lined up to the memory work, there is reading scheduled for weeks 3, 9, 12, 19, 22 and 28. A sample can be found on the Yesterday’s Classics website.

You can download the pdf here:

You can download the schedule that is lined up with the memory work here:

The World of William Penn by Genevieve Foster

Includes World History

This is another one of Genevieve Foster’s excellent history books. Note that this is scheduled for Form 5 to read in Cycle 3, as well. For Forms 1, 2 and 3, this book is scheduled at a pace of about thirteen pages per week during Terms 3 and 4.

You can download the pdf here:

The Year of the Horseless Carriage by Genevieve Foster

Includes World History 

This short book is a great introduction to Genevieve Foster’s writing. It is only scheduled during Term 4, because the time period covered in this book begins in 1801.There are two chapters scheduled per week, and each chapter is approximately five to ten pages. If you would like to read a book that covers Terms 1, 2 and 3 and leaves an opening in Term 4 for this book, consider  The Story of the Thirteen Colonies. Note that this book, and The World of Captain John Smith, and George Washington’s World are all scheduled for Form 4 independent reading, as well.

You can download the pdf here:

The World’s Story 3: The Modern Age by Angela O’dell

Christian Worldview

Includes World History

This book is published by Master Books and contains a Christian worldview. The stories are interesting and there are large, colorful pictures throughout the book. The chapters are typically twelve to fifteen pages long. I have heard feedback that families with children in Form 1 struggled to get through so many pages with their young child(ren). This would be a great independent reader for a student in Form 3. There is an optional Teacher Guide, but if you are teaching Charlotte Mason-style, I do not believe you will need this additional book. Instead, read the book aloud or hand this book to your child, and then ask the child to narrate. If you want to stick within the exact history cycle of the Claritas Publishing memory work, you will only want to read to chapter 14 in this book, as it quickly moves on to the 20th century, and Cycle 3 stops at 1850 (The California Gold Rush). I have scheduled this book at a pace of one chapter, every two weeks, over the twenty-eight week school year. The remainder of this book is scheduled in Cycle 4.

You can download the pdf here:

Note, links on this page are affiliate links, in which I will make a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting the work I do!

If you have book suggestions or comments about these books, please share! 🙂