History Year 2: Quick Start

The History Year 2 Course Set includes the four individual items listed below.

Are you missing an item? Compare your packing slip to your order. You may have ordered the “course book” rather than the “course set.”

If something is missing, contact our Customer Support Team at [email protected] and we will be happy to help you.

You also have access to two digital items: Student Explorers and Audio Dramatizations. Both items can be found here. The access code is located in the About This Course pages in the front of the course book.

About This Course

Click here for a printable download of this information.

Course Pacing

This family-style course is broken into four units for a total of 60 lessons, each about 60 minutes long. This also includes 20 minutes for a family read-aloud book of your choice. We encourage you to also discuss and explore the topics that spark interest in your family.

If you complete two lessons per week, it will take one school year to complete a course. We recommend completing three lessons a week if you are teaching children in grades 6 and above.

Four-Year Outline

All history courses (years 1–4) cover ancient times to modern history; each course stops in different places and periods to explore in depth. Thus, children see the whole sweep of history and how it fits together during each course. Each of the four history courses places an emphasis on US history, the Founding Fathers, and principles of freedom.

Download the Four-Year Outline here.

Lessons

There are a few lessons that require additional items. We suggest that you look ahead a few lessons to gather the items. 

Bold text indicates instructions to you. Regular text is what you read to children. [Text within brackets are the answers to questions you ask the children.]

Maps & Images

This full-color book is a compilation of maps and images. The Year 2 Course Book indicates when to refer to the Maps and Images book.

History Timeline

This course set includes stickers for both Year 2 and Year 1 to review previously learned events and figures. The Year 2 Course Book tells you when and where to place the stickers on the timeline. The Year 3 and Year 4 courses also come with stickers.

Student Explorers

The lessons indicate when to use the Student Explorers. Not all lessons use them, and in some lessons the older children use the Student Explorers while younger children do not.

Print a Student Explorer for each child (based on their grade level), and place each Student Explorer in a 3-ring binder. For how to access the Student Explorers, read the About This Course pages in the front of the course book.

Audio Dramatizations

The password for the audio dramatizations page is in the About This Course section at the beginning of your history course book. Once you open the audio online, you can stream the audio or download it. To download, right-click and choose “Save As.”

Explorers and Settlers Game

The Explorers and Settlers Game helps children learn and review key information about important historical figures. Review is a vital part of learning. This game also adds variety and family or class interaction. The course book indicates when to play this game at different points throughout the course. In addition, we recommend (and directed by the course books) that you play this game occasionally during Year 3 and Year 4 history courses, again providing a wonderful review of key information learned in the Year 2 course. An instruction card is included with the game, and it may be played by 1–8 students.

Teaching Older Children

Students in grades 7–12 create a history notebook from loose leaf paper that students put in a binder. The course book and student explorers guide students through creating this notebook.

The Grades 10–12 Student Explorers contain in-depth reading assignments and activities that students complete independently to prepare them for college-level learning.

Teaching Younger Children

Occasionally, in a big box under the lesson heading, you will see a message that suggests you skip the lesson if you are teaching only children in younger grades. All lesson material is appropriate for all ages, but these particular lessons may be too complex for younger children.

If you have both older and younger children, it is suggested you do all the lessons and let younger children participate to the degree you choose.

Recommended Resources

As part of the course, we encourage you to select and read four books to your children, one for each of the four units in the course. For a list of suggestions, click on this link Read-Aloud Suggestions. 

Reading engaging books with high literary, moral, and educational value is a powerful way to teach and instill a love of history. Most lessons set aside 20 minutes for the teacher read-aloud, but to finish a book by the end of the unit, most read-aloud books require that you read outside of lesson time as well.

For your convenience, we offer a Read-Aloud Book Pack for each year of history. Click below for more information.

History Year 2 Read-Aloud Book Pack

New History Updates

See all the latest information about the updates for History Years 1–4. If you have our current editions, you will still be able to access all the digital extras on the website as described in the About This Course pages in the front of the course book.

Click here to see the latest updates.