Last year we started A History of the English-Speaking Peoples: A One-Volume Abridgment by Winston Churchill, as recommended by the Mater Amabilis™ high school plans, available in the Facebook group. First Son will read this over two years for British History, which is really pre-American History, so it fits into a National History slot. I have personally really enjoyed the Churchill book. His character shines through the words. This is no text book pretending to be objective; he has definite views on the achievements of England's kings, or the lack thereof. More than anything else, I feel like he's focusing on the foundations of English government as it "progressed" and developed into the system in place in modern times.
As I read the chapters ahead of First Son, I would identify challenging vocabulary and terminology for him. I'd underline them and write the definition right there on the page. Churchill is a serious academic and some of his words were outdated when he wrote them half a century ago.
Even with the vocabulary help, First Son struggled a little with this text. He would read it easily enough, but narrating was difficult. The text reads like a story, but at the end it can be hard to condense it because Churchill packs a lot of action and thought into each sentence. First Son would narrate, but he'd often only narrate a few paragraphs. When it came time for an exam or test, he struggled to really remember anything of substance other than the little bit he had actually managed to narrate or he would confuse different people who'd appeared in the same chapter.
So next year, in tenth grade, I'm going to adapt our narrations using advice from one of the wise moderators of the Facebook group. First Son will write one sentence about each paragraph, ideally answering the question: What did you learn about the person or event described? I will probably still give tests, but I might make them open-note. The more he writes (which would really help him remember anyway), the easier he'll find the tests.
Last year, there were a few recommendations for primary source material to read alongside Churchill. I asked First Son to read and narrate those, but didn't have any test or other assessment for them. For the second half of Churchill, there weren't as many recommendations, so I spent some time searching online and came up with...something for each week. Some of these will, I think, be marvelous. I haven't read them yet myself, but I'll link them below for anyone interested in giving them a try with us.
I didn't make a post like this for the first half of Churchill, but I'm going to go ahead with the second half and maybe someday get back to the first half. Below you'll find our Churchill readings for chapters 25-49 with some map work from Map Trek (affiliate link; I don't have the hardcover atlas, just the CD-ROM) and the primary source material I'm going to try. I printed the primary source material and put it all in a binder for my son. That way, it avoids additional internet time and means I won't have to check for broken links before my other children reach tenth grade.
Week 1
1. Chapter 25: The Protestant Struggle pp 254-260 (whole chapter) AND MapTrek Medieval Map: The Reformation Map 24 p. 67
2. Chapter 26: Gloriana pp 261-268, stop before second paragraph, "War was not certain..."
Primary Source Reading - Roper's Life of Sir Thomas More pp 2-15, stop before the last paragraph. (I printed the whole book from the Center for Thomas More Studies website.)
Week 2
1. Chapter 26: Gloriana pp 268-277 (end of chapter) AND MapTrek New World: Elizabethan London Map 2 p. 28
2. Chapter 27: The United Crowns pp 278-285, stop before second paragraph, "The struggle with Spain had long..."
Primary Source Reading - Roper's Life of Sir Thomas More pp 15-30, stop before the last paragraph.
Week 3
1. Chapter 27: The United Crowns pp 285-290 (end of chapter)
2. Chapter 28: Charles I and the Personal Rule pp 291-297, stop before last paragraph, "By all these means under a modest..."
Primary Source Reading - Roper's Life of Sir Thomas More pp 30-42, stop before the last paragraph.
Week 4
1. Chapter 28: Charles I and the Personal Rule pp 297-303 (end of chapter)
2. Chapter 29: The Revolt of Parliament pp 304-310, stop before second paragraph, "During September and October..."
Primary Source Reading - Roper's Life of Sir Thomas More pp 42-49, stop at the second to last paragraph, before "When Sir Thomas…".
Week 5
1. Chapter 29: The Revolt of Parliament pp 310-315, stop before the last paragraph, "From the beginning of 1643…"
2. Chapter 29: The Revolt of Parliament pp 315-324 (end of chapter)
Primary Source Reading - Roper's Life of Sir Thomas More pp 49-59.
Week 6
1. Make-up / study day
2. Quiz on chapters 25-29
Primary Source Reading - The Diary of Samuel Pepys Sunday 2 September 1666 (I printed all of these diary readings from this website.)
Week 7
1. Chapter 30: The Axe Falls pp 325-332, stop before "The English Republic had come…"
2. Chapter 30: The Axe Falls pp 332-343 (end of chapter) AND MapTrek New World Map: Puritan England Map 17 p. 58
Primary Source Reading - The Diary of Samuel Pepys 3-4 September 1666
Week 8
1. Chapter 31: The Restoration pp 344-352, stop before last paragraph, "It is inevitable that…"
2. Chapter 31: The Restoration pp 352-358 (end of chapter)
Primary Source Reading - The Diary of Samuel Pepys 6-7 September 1666
Week 9
1. Chapter 32: The Popish Plot pp 359-364, stop before first paragraph, "During this year 1680…"
2. Chapter 32: The Popish Plot pp 364-369 (end of chapter)
Primary Source Reading - The Test Act
Week 10
1. Chapter 33: The Bloodless Revolution pp 370-375, stop before second paragraph, "The national fear and hatred…"
2. Chapter 33: The Bloodless Revolution pp 375-380 (end of chapter)
Primary Source Reading - Declaration of Indulgence of King James II, April 4, 1687
Week 11
1. Chapter 34: William of Orange pp 381-388, stop before second paragraph, "The Continental ventures…"
2. Chapter 34: William of Orange pp 388-395 (end of chapter)
Primary Source Reading - Declaration of the Prince of Orange, October 10, 1688
Week 12
1 - Make-up / study day
2 - Quiz on chapters 30-34
Primary Source Reading - The Mathematical Principals of Natural Philosophy (1729), Author's Preface
Week 13
1. Chapter 35: The War of the Spanish Succession pp 396-402, stop before the last paragraph, "All Europe was hushed..."
2. Chapter 35: The War of the Spanish Succession pp 402-412 (end of chapter)
Primary Source Reading - Memoirs of the Reign of King George the Second by Horace Walpole ch. 1 (I think you could use a lot more of this book if you wanted.)
Week 14
1. Chapter 36: The Last of the Stuarts pp 413-419 (whole chapter)
2. Chapter 37: The House of Hanover pp 420-426, stop before the first paragraph, "George I died in 1727..."
Primary Source Reading - The World According to Pitt from The Public Domain Review (This article is fun because it uses childhood letters of Pitt the Younger saved by Pitt the Elder and shows how primary sources can inform the study of history.)
Week 15
1. Chapter 37: The House of Hanover pp 426-435 (end of chapter)
2. Chapter 38: Pitt the Elder pp 436-440, stop before the first paragraph, "The year 1756..."
Primary Source Reading - The Interest of Great Britain Considered, with Regard to Her Colonies, 1760 by Benjamin Franklin AND The Royal Proclamation of October 7, 1763
Week 16
1. Chapter 38: Pitt the Elder pp 440-444 (end of chapter)
2. Chapter 39: The Quarrel with America pp 445-449, stop before the last paragraph, "The political history..." AND MapTrek New World Map: Early Battles of the Revolutionary War Map 25 p. 74
Primary Source Reading - William Pitt's speech on the Stamp Act (1766) AND Earl of Chatham Speech to Parliament (1774) - both of these are speeches by Pitt the Elder
Week 17
1. Chapter 39: The Quarrel with America pp 449-454 (end of chapter)
2. Make-up / study day
Primary Source Reading - Make-up / off week
Week 18
1. Quiz #3 on chapters 35-39
2. Chapter 40: The Indian Empire pp 455-463 (whole chapter)
Primary Source Reading - Woolen Workers Petition, 1786
Week 19
1. Chapter 41: Pitt the Younger pp 464-469, stop before the last paragraph, "The convulsion which shook France…"
2. Chapter 41: Pitt the Younger pp 469-475 (end of chapter) AND MapTrek New World Map: The French Revolution Map 28 p. 80
Primary Source Reading - selection from Thomas Jefferson's The Autobiography on the beginning of the French Revolution from Paris in Mind (For some reason, I had trouble finding Jefferson's work online, but Paris in Mind includes an excerpt from Autobiography that covers exactly what I wanted. Our library had a copy of this, so I didn't have to buy it to use just one chapter.) This is not strictly British, of course, but having Jefferson's view of the French Revolution seemed to good to skip. I did eventually find it online at Fordham University's Modern History Sourcebook. Search for "On my return from" here.
Week 20
1. Chapter 42: The Napoleonic Wars pp 476-483, stop before first paragraph, "Napoleon turned his attention…" AND MapTrek New World Map: The Napoleonic Wars Map 29 p. 82
2. Chapter 42: The Napoleonic Wars pp 483-490, stop before the first paragraph, "All through the spring..."
Primary Source Reading - Letters and Dispatches of Horatio Nelson (Oct 15-21, 1805) AND The Death of Lord Nelson, 1805 (Other letters and dispatches can be found on the site, too.)
Week 21
1. Chapter 42: The Napoleonic Wars pp 490-497, stop before the second paragraph, "There seems no doubt…"
2. Chapter 42: The Napoleonic Wars pp 497-501 (end of chapter)
Primary Source Reading - Farewell to the Old Guard (1814) AND Remembrances of Napoleon
Week 22
1. Chapter 43: The Victory Peace pp 502-508 (end of page)
2. Chapter 43: The Victory Peace pp 508-517 (end of chapter)
Primary Source Reading - Peterloo Massacre (1819) AND Roman Catholic Relief Act of 1829
Week 23
1. Chapter 44: Reform and Free Trade pp 518-522, stop before the first paragraph, "The new electors…"
2. Chapter 44: Reform and Free Trade pp 522-528 (end of chapter)
Primary Source Reading - Victoria Becomes Queen, 1837 AND Condition of Ireland from Views of the Famine which has lots of other options as well
Week 24
1. Make-up / study day
2. Quiz #4 on chapters 40-44
Primary Source Reading - Voice from the Ranks: Trench Work before Sevastopol
Week 25
1. Chapter 45: The Crimean War pp 529-536, stop before first paragraph, "The Treaty of Paris…" AND MapTrek Modern World Map: The Crimean War Map 3 p. 33
2. Chapter 45: The Crimean War pp 536-545 (end of chapter)
Primary Source Reading - Voice from the Ranks: Sevastopol Stormed AND Mary Seacole excerpt
Week 26
1. Chapter 46: The Era of Emigration pp 546-553, stop at the first paragraph, "In small parties…"
2. Chapter 46: The Era of Emigration pp 553-561 (end of chapter)
Primary Source Reading - A Narrative of the Expedition to Botany Bay Ch 1-6.
Week 27
1. Chapter 47: The Rise of Germany pp 562-568, stop before third paragraph, "The war seemed over…"
2. Chapter 47: The Rise of Germany pp 568-574, stop before last paragraph, "While his great adversary..."
Primary Source Reading - A Narrative of the Expedition to Botany Bay Ch 7-12.
Week 28
1. Chapter 47: The Rise of Germany pp 574-581 (end of chapter)
2. Chapter 48: The Fin De Siecle pp 582-589, stop before last paragraph, "The position of the Liberal Party..."
Primary Source Reading - A Narrative of the Expedition to Botany Bay Ch 13-18.
Week 29
1. Chapter 48: The Fin De Siecle pp 589-596, stop before third paragraph, "It ws not immediately perceived…"
2. Chapter 48: The Fin De Siecle pp 596-605 (end of chapter)
Primary Source Reading - General Act of the Berlin Conference on West Africa (1885) AND the Anglo-German Treaty (1890)
Week 30
1. Chapter 49: The South African War pp 606-614 (end of chapter) AND MapTrek Modern World Map: South Africa Map 16 p. 59
2. MapTrek Modern World Map: World Empires Map 19 p. 65
Primary Source Reading - Letters from soldiers of the Boer War
The usual disclaimer: This post contains my own honest opinions. I have received nothing in exchange for this post. Links to Amazon and RC History are affiliate links. The links to primary sources above are to sites that may contain material inappropriate for children and don't indicate a blanket recommendation.
