History Rocks Part 1 {a review}

This post includes affiliate links.  Thanks for your support of this site!  Please see my disclosure for more information.

My family was recently blessed with the opportunity to review the History Rocks Part 1 curriculum from fellow blogger and homeschooler, Jill at Enchanted Homeschooling Mom. You can get the History Rocks Part 1 curriculum at her members only website where she offers over 250 printable curriculums, unit studies, activity packs, and more.  To obtain the History Rocks Part 1 curriculum and all of the other 250+ printables {and Jill is adding more all the time} become an E.H.M member for a one-time lifetime payment of $15.

The History Rocks Part 1 curriculum is a biographical history study based on the book Boys Who Rocked the World: Heroes from King Tut to Bruce Lee by Michelle Roehm McCann, geared toward 1st – 5th graders.  You will need to buy this book or borrow it from your local library to use this curriculum.

Book description from Amazon:

This engaging and thought-provoking collection of influential stories provides forty-six illustrated examples of strong, independent male role models, all of whom first impacted the world as teenagers or younger. This updated and expanded edition of Boys Who Rocked the World encompasses a variety of achievements, interests, and backgrounds, from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Steve Jobs to Crazy Horse and Stephen King—each with his own incredible story of how he created life-changing opportunities for himself and the world. Personal aspirations from today’s young men are interspersed throughout the book, which also includes profiles of teenagers who are rocking the world right now—boys like John Collinson, the youngest person to climb the Seven Summits, and Alec Loorz, who founded the nonprofit organization Kids vs. Global Warming.

History Rocks Part 1 contains 46 units – one for each of the 46 role models found in Boys Who Rocked the World; a world map to plot where each male figure lived or lives; a review and tests sections; and a ‘My History Records’ book to create and add to as you study each person.

This is the front page of the ‘My History Records’ book.  You then add a round, record, ‘Recording Page’ for each person you study and write in the answers to several questions on the page about that person.

You start off each unit by reading a chapter in the book and then answering several questions from the curriculum about that particular person.  I appreciate that Jill leaves an adequate amount of lined, writing space for the student to answer these questions.  

 

After the questions, there is a page for the student to practice their research skills by using an encyclopedia to fill in information about the person they are studying – yes, with a real encyclopedia!  I like that Jill included this feature because this is becoming a lost skill with the internet right at our fingertips.  

 

Next you will find, a hands-on, complementing activity to go along with each person studied.  For example – you will learn about physics as you play with foam dart guns when you are studying Albert Einstein; listen to music as you learn about musicians such as Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, and the Billy Elliott Boys; work through the scientific method as you do a science experiment to prove Galileo’s theory; plant a peanut plant and journal its growth when you study George Washington Carver; time your own 100-meter dash as you learn about Jesse Owens; and make your own comic book after you read about Stan Lee.  

 

Each unit ends with a page of additional resources to expand on your research and learning, with links to related movies or videos, storybooks, and printable activity/coloring pages.  I love it when a curriculum provides ideas and sources to further your learning if you choose!

When we received the curriculum, my 8 and 10 year old sons and I jumped right in and began learning about Albert Einstein.  The boys absolutely loved that they got to play with foam dart guns for school as they learned about him.  Then we moved on to King Tut and my boys enjoyed imagining how they would rule if they were a child king.  One nice thing about this curriculum is that you can skip around and learn about whomever you choose, and you can decide how much or how little of it you’d like to do (you don’t have to do all 46 units; just choose the ones you like).  Then I let the boys look through the book and decide who we should learn about next; it was no surprise when they decided on Tony Hawk.  When beginning a new unit, I would read aloud the appropriate chapter in the book and then they would independently answer the questions and then we would do the activity together.  We would finish up by doing the mapwork and putting a new ‘record’ page in our book.  For some of the units, I also had the boys watch a related video and read a book about that person with the suggestions that are included in the ‘Additional Resources’ section at the end of each unit.

Overall, I feel that the History Rocks Part 1 curriculum is a well-thought-out program that would be a great supplement to your history curriculum, would work well as a stand alone biographical history curriculum, or it would be great for some additional, lighter learning during the summer.  Children at the older end of the age spectrum (1st – 5th grade) could most likely use this curriculum independently, but a younger child would need parental involvement.  There are definitely some units that I would skip over, simply because there were several people I didn’t care for my kids learning about and I appreciate the fact that before a lot of the activities, Jill starts out by saying ‘With your parents’ permission.’  Overall a fun and unique curriculum, and you can’t beat the price!

Are you wondering what Part 2 is?  Part 2 is based on the book Girls Who Rocked the World: Heroines from Joan of Arc to Mother Teresa by Michelle Roehm McCann.

This post includes affiliate links.  Thanks for your support of this site!  Please see my disclosure for more information.