The Giant American History Timeline

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Do you need a giant American history timeline?

I received The Giant American History Timeline for free and was compensated for my time. All opinions are my honest opinions and I was not required to post a positive review.

I’m certain you know what a timeline is: a long sheet of paper that shows dates and events in history.

Usually, the timeline entries are brief:

Gutenburg first printed the Bible in 1454 or 1455.

A blurb like that doesn’t help you make many connections. It certainly doesn’t show the historical context.

But what if you could use a set of activity sheets, not simply to record what children learned, but to help them make connections. To help them understand the historical context. Activity sheets that guide kids towards an understanding of what was going on and why, and how the event fits within the story of history.

What a difference it would make in your homeschool!

Kids would begin making connections on their own. They’d see how events fit together and build upon each other, to create the world we know.

The Giant American History Timeline includes activity sheets which guides kids towards an understanding of how the event fit within the story of history.

And that’s just what The Giant American History Timeline does!

It gives kids an understanding of American History by teaching not only what happened, but also why it happened within the historical context. Kids walk away understanding the why behind history.

To do this, kids fill out activity sheets and sort the sheets into a timeline. You can hang the sheets on a wall or simply lay them out on the table as we did. My house doesn’t have the wall space for a timeline. Too many books!

The Giant American History Timeline includes activity sheets which guides kids towards an understanding of how the event fit within the story of history.

No, you don’t assemble every single page into one HUGE timeline, although you could. But I can’t imagine most houses have space for hundreds of sheets of paper lining the walls! Instead, American history is broken down into 16 different units.

You work through each unit before moving on to the next.

And you don’t even need to have specific books to use the timeline! You can use the computer, use the books on your shelf, or use the books at your local library!

The Giant American History Timeline includes activity sheets which guides kids towards an understanding of how the event fit within the story of history.

American History Timeline Activity Sheets

Sunflower Education divided American History into two parts and offers each part as a physical book or a PDF file to download. Book 1 covers from Pre-Colonization through Reconstruction. Book 2 covers from 1870 through the present.

The Giant American History Timeline includes activity sheets which guides kids towards an understanding of how the event fit within the story of history.

The Giant History Timeline Book 1 (Pre-Colonization-Reconstruction)

  • Unit 1: Discovery and Exploration: Prehistory -1606
  • Unit 2: Colonial America: 1585-1776
  • Unit 3: The Revolutionary Period: 1765-1783
  • Unit 4: Creating the Constitution: 1781-1803
  • Unit 5: Expanding the country: 1790-1860
  • Unit 6: An Age of Advancements: 1790-1860
  • Unit 7: Social Issues: 1790-1860
  • Unit 8: The Civil War and reconstruction: 1850-1877

The Giant History Timeline Book 2 (1870’s – Present)

  • Unit 1: Industrial Growth and Technological Advancement: 1870-1910
  • Unit 2: Big Business and Social Reform: 1870-1910
  • Unit 3: America and the World: 1867-1910
  • Unit 4: World War I: 1910-1020
  • Unit 5: The Roaring Twenties and the Great Depression: 1920-1940
  • Unit 6: World War II: 1930-1950
  • Unit 7: The Cold war: 1940-1990
  • Unit 8: The Civil Rights Movement, Technology, and Terrorism: 1854-Present

Each of the units includes 14-18 activity sheets and teaching notes.

The teaching notes include a unit overview, focus activities, instructions for constructing the timeline, critical thinking skills, and specific instructions for each activity sheet. Let’s just say, you have all the hand-holding you need to complete each unit!

The Giant American History Timeline includes activity sheets which guides kids towards an understanding of how the event fit within the story of history.

And at the back of each book, you’ll find assessments for each unit and even an answer key for each activity sheet.

I received both the books and the PDFs. Please note that the PDFs and the two books are the same. The key question is do you prefer to store books or print activity sheets?

Let me tell you, the books are super helpful as a reference to look up teaching notes and the answer key. They’re easier to read than a PDF file. And the activity sheets in the book are only printed on one side of the paper, so you can easily hang them on the wall. But the sheets are not perforated for easy removal. You’ll have to cut out the sheets in order to create the timeline.

The Giant American History Timeline includes activity sheets which guides kids towards an understanding of how the event fit within the story of history.

And if you have more than one middle school or high school student, you’ll need to copy the activity pages for each child.

Whereas the PDFs are so much easier to print! I opened the file, chose the pages I wanted, and printed the appropriate activity sheets for my kids. If I had only the PDF, I’d just copy the teacher’s notes while I was printing up the pages and file them for easy reference.

The Giant American History Timeline includes activity sheets which guides kids towards an understanding of how the event fit within the story of history.

No cutting sheets out of a book in order to fill out the activity sheets or create the timeline! Just print and go!

The Giant American History Timeline is a fun and novel approach to creating a timeline. Kids fill out the activity sheets, assemble the timelines, and see how people and events fit together to create the world we know!

Your kids will have the historical context to understand history instead of simply regurgitating historical facts!

The Giant American History Timeline includes activity sheets which guides kids towards an understanding of how the event fit within the story of history.

So take a look at The Giant American History Timeline, and remember to use the promo code TIMELINE20 at checkout for a 20% discount on the digital bundle!