Story of the World Volume 1: Ancient Times

Story of the World is a complete history program for young children. The whole series is designed for grades 1-4 (and slightly older or younger) and covers Ancients through Modern times. I’ll often refer to The Story of the World as SOTW. Volume 1 covers Ancient Times and is what will be covered on this page.

If you want to follow this program, below is a listing of what you’ll need, as well as suggested secondary spines. Wherever possible, I’ve linked to the most inexpensive version, which is usually Amazon.

SOTW Main Text – Required

The Story of the World: History for the Classical Child: Volume 1: Ancient Times: From the Earliest Nomads to the Last Roman Emperor by Susan Wise Bauer – Hardcover, Paperback, Kindle, Audiobook (7-CD set), PDF

You will probably one version of SOTW to read, whether it be electronic or paper. The audio CD set has been invaluable for us to review in the car.

SOTW Activity Guide – required

The Story of the World Activity Book 1: Ancient Times by Susan Wise Bauer- Paperback, PDF, Student Pages only PDF

A student PDF file is very handy, as you can print out multiple copies of the activity pages as needed. I also enjoy having the Paperback version on hand to quickly view the suggested reading lists, review questions, and activity descriptions.

Additional History Spines

The following are possible additional history spines to supplement (or replace) SOTW. They are all suitable for K-6 ages. Other history programs such as History Odyssey or Myths, Maps, and Marvels may use these books in addition to SOTW. I’m simply being thorough here, it would be overkill to use them all! We are using just SOTW and UILE on a weekly basis ourselves, and read the others as a review after we cover the topics. I have some of these on Kindle, so I can read from them anytime the opportunity arises.

LHW and CHOW are similar formats to the main SOTW text, read-aloud stories with minimal pictures.

1. A Little History of the World [LHW] by E.H. Gombrich – Hardcover, Paperback, Kindle, Unabridged Audio CD
2. A Child’s History of the World [CHOW] by V.M. Hillyer - Used copy on Amazon or new from Sonlight

I highly suggest getting one of the following children history encyclopedias. They have photos and images that can be helpful to visualize the past. If you have to choose one, I suggest the UILE version, it is more suitable for younger children and has great Internet related links! The KHE is more suited for older children.

1. The Usborne Encyclopedia of the Ancient World – Internet-Linked [UILE] by Jane Bingham. This is the 2007 version that covers just the Ancient World. The Usborne World History book that I used to link to has been out of print and used copies are going for $200.
2. Kingfisher History Encyclopedia [KHE] by Charlotte Evans

Timelines

I like to try everything, so we have quite a few timelines on hand. My favorites are:

• Classical Education Laminated Timeline Set – This is preprinted, but it looks nice on the wall. They were supposed to be coming out with a new version this year, but think they sold out right away. They restock quickly, if I recall from last year. See them up here: http://satorismiles.com/homeschool-room-photos/history-hangout/
• Blank Timeline Set – I got a whole set of prehistory though modern, blank timeline set, with stickers, but I cannot find the link right now. I think they’re re-making this one as well. See a sample we have here: http://satorismiles.com/2010/01/30/making-your-own-timeline-figures-with-dymo-label/
• Add-A-Century Timeline – Awesome huge binder with a timeline as flexible as a paper one can get! Also comes out so you can hang on the wall.
• Easy Timeline Creator software – Just got this, this is so easy to use, I find myself really getting my money’s worth out of this software program. I can print out the timelines as needed.
• TimelineMaker – Trying this trial version out, and it is even better than Easy Timeline Creator! More features, flexibility, and more! Student download version is $49.95.

I just started using the timeline software, and am finding myself using these all the time! So much fun. I do plan to post a detailed comparison of these timelines one day.

Adults may like:

Since I am also educating myself, I’ll list the books I am loving!

• History: The Definitive Visual Guide (From the Dawn of Civilization To The Present Day) by Adam Hart-Davis
• The New History of the World by J.M. Roberts
• Cartoon History of the Universe Vol 1-7 – From the Big Bang to Alexander the Great by Larry Gonick – LOVE this series! I have almost all his books now up through Modern Times as well as his other subjects.
• Atlas of World History by Patrick O’Brien

SOTW 1 Lessons

Here are all the SOTW lessons in book 1, Ancient Times – 1 through 42. For each lesson I’ll list the main topics covered, suggested spine readings, relevant read-along books, DVDs, activities and Internet links we plan to use. As we get to each lesson, I’ll also link to blog posts that cover the activities we did. The lesson link will be bolded after we finish the lesson. For each lesson, any book, movie, or activity we did is also bolded.

I’ll also break each lesson out to its own category so you can go directory to all related blog posts on the lesson. To see what we’ve done so far, head up top and click “Story of the World History”, then “SOTW 1: Ancient Times” and the particular lesson.

• 0 – Introduction – What is History
• 1 – Earliest People
• 2 – Egyptians Lived on the Nile River
• 3 – The First Writing
• 4 – The Old Kingdom of Egypt
• 5 – The First Sumerian Dictator
• 6 – The Jewish People
• 7 – Hammurabi and the Babylonians
• 8 – The Assyrians
• 9 – The First Cities of India
• 10 – The Far East: Ancient China
• 11- Ancient Africa
• 12 – Middle Kingdom of Egypt
• 13 – New Kingdom of Egypt
• 14 – The Israelites Leave Egypt
• 15 – The Phoenicians
• 16 – The Return of Assyria
• 17 – Babylon Takes Over Again!
• 18 – Life in Early Crete
• 19 – The Early Greeks
• 20 – Greece Gets Civilized Again
• 21 – The Medes and the Persians
• 22 – Sparta and Athens
• 23 – The Greek Gods
• 24 – The Wars of the Greeks
• 25 – Alexander the Great
• 26 – The People of the Americas
• 27 – The Rise of Rome
• 28 – The Roman Empire
• 29 – Rome’s War with Carthage
• 30 – The Aryans of India
• 31 – The Mauryan Empire of India
• 32 – China: Writing and the Qin
• 33 – Confucius
• 34 – The Rise of Julius Caesar
• 35 – Caesar the Hero
• 36 – The First Roman Prince
• 37 – The Beginning of Christianity
• 38 – The End of the Ancient Jewish Nation
• 39 – Rome and the Christians
• 40 – Rome Begins to Weaken
• 41 – The Attacking Barbarians
• 42 – The End of Rome

0 – Introduction: How Do We Know What Happened?

Topics: history, historian, archaeology, archaeologist, timeline

Spine Readings

• SOTW: 1-6 (INTRO How Do We Know What Happened? – What is History? | What is Archaeology?)
• UILE: 104-105 (Looking at the Ancient World)
• KHE: viii-ix (What is History?)
• CHOW: 3-10 (CH 2: How Things Started – Prehistory)
• LHW: 1 (CH 1 Once Upon a Time)

Additional Books

• Archaeologists Dig for Clues by Kate Duke
• The Magic School Bus Shows and Tells: A Book About Archaeology by Joanna Cole (not in print, check your library or buy used)
• Me and My Family Tree by Joan Sweeney
• Archaeology for Kids: Uncovering the Mysteries of Our Past, 25 Activities, by Richard Panchyk – (Activity Book targeted for 9-12 age range), also available in Kindle version

DVD/Videos

• Magic School Bus “Shows and Tells” episode
• Secrets of Archaeology – Netflix or Amazon – 6-Disc series

SOTW Activities

We personally did a lot with timelines and archaeology when we studied prehistory so we didn’t do all these activities. Check out our prehistory activities.

• Writing/Craft: Make a History of My Family Book
• Writing/Craft: Make a “This is My Life” Timeline
• Activity: A Dirty Dig! - simulate an archaeological dig

Other Activities

• History Pockets: Ancient Civilizations – What is History
• Dig-It Games Roman Town – Archaeology Video Game for kids, Download or on CD
• Broken Pottery Activity – Carefully break a few old dishes and bury them in the yard for your child to find and attempt to assemble again. Be sure to leave out a few pieces, to simulate a realistic ancient pottery found.
• Dig! And Discover: Archaeology USA – Excavate, discover and restore your 12 artifact finds

Internet

• Mysteries of Catalhoyuk

1 – Earliest People

Readings

• SOTW: 7-13 (CH1 The Earliest People – The First Nomads | The First Nomads Become Farmers)
• UILE: 108-109 (The First Farmers | The First Towns)
• KHE: 8 (The First Farmers)
• CHOW: 11-16 (CH2 People Who Lived in Caves); 17-21 (CH3 Fire)
• LHW: 5 (CH2 – The Greatest Inventors of All Time)

Additional Books

• The First Dog by Jan Brett – Cave boy Kip is followed by a dog who wants his Wooly Rhino bones. We love this book!
• Stick and Stone Age by Jacqui Bailey. A great series starting from the birth of the earth, beginning of life, through the dinosaurs.
• The Best Book of Early People by Margaret Hynes – Great for my daughter who is interested in anthropology
• The Boy of the Painted Cave by Justen Denzel – cave boy aspires to be a cave painter. This was a fun read-aloud we did one week. Also in Kindle version.
• You Wouldn’t Want to Be a Mammoth Hunter by John Malam
• One Small Blue Bead by Byrd Baylor
• Mik’s Mammoth by Roy Gerrard (out of print, we found at our library while checking out another book by Gerrard)
• Little Grunt and the Big Egg: A Prehistoric Fairy Tale by Tomie dePaola – We know that a human could never find a freshly hatched dinosaur, but it’s a cute story.
• My Little Round House by Helen Mixter – follow a Mongolian child and his nomadic family
• Ancient Agriculture: From Foraging to Farming by Michael Woods
• It’s Disgusting and We Ate It! True Food Facts from Around the World and Throughout History by James Solheim
• History News: The Stone Age News by Fiona MacDonald

DVD/Video

• Just the Facts: Prehistoric Man – Human Evolution – 3 dvds to this series, we watched the first one
• Walking with Prehistoric Beasts
• Walking With Cavemen (I highly recommend just purchasing the entire Walking With collection!) If you get the chance, be sure to see the amazing show where you get to see life-sized dinosaurs walking around!
• Before We Ruled the Earth: Mastering the Beasts (2003)
• Before We Ruled the Earth: Hunt or Be Hunted (2003)
• Journey of Man (2002)
• Prehistoric America: A Journey Through the Ice Age and Beyond (2003) 2-Disc

SOTW Activities

2 – Egyptians Lived on the Nile River

Readings

• SOTW: 14-20 (CH2 Egyptians Lived on the Nile River – Two Kingdoms Become One | Gods of Ancient Egypt)
• UILE: 114-115 (Farmers on the Nile Valley)
• KHE: 10-11 (Ancient Egypt)
• LHW: 10 (CH3 The Land By The Nile part 1)
• CHOW: 22-26 (CH2 From an Airplane)

Read-Alongs

• Bill and Pete Go Down the Nile by Tomie de Paola – A crocodile and his toothbrush friend take a tour down the Nile
• Croco’nile by Roy Gerrard -  A talented Egyptian brother and sister befriend a crocodile. Not in print, find at your library or buy used.
• Egyptian myths by Jacqueline Morley – Not in print
• Tales of Ancient Egypt by Roger Lancelyn Green – we did this as a read-aloud for the month
• Egyptian gods and goddesses by Henry Barker
• The Egyptian Cinderella by Shirley Climo
• History News: The Egyptian News by Scott Steedman
• The Nile River by Allan Fowler
• Egyptian Treasures: Mummies and Myths by Jim Weiss – audio CD

SOTW Activities

• Craft: Make a Model of the Nile – watch your grass grow when the Nile floods – very cool!
• Craft: Make the White Crown of Upper Egypt (see photo below)
• Craft: Make the Shepherd’s Crook of the Pharaohs – meh…
• Map: Egypt, SP 6
• Coloring: Osiris and Set, SP 7

25 – Alexander the Great

Readings

• SOTW: 180-187 (CH25 Alexander the Great – Philip and his Son | Alexander’s Invasions | Death of Alexander)
• UILE: 160-161 (Alexander the Great)
• KHE: 56 (Alexander the Great 336-323 BC)

• Map: Alexander the Great, SP 76
• Coloring: Alexander the Great and Bucephalus, SP 77
• Craft: Make Bucephalus Stick Horse
• Activity:Tie a Gordian Know
• Activity: Pharos Lighthouse
• Story: Being Brave
• Activity: Alexander the Great Game

26 – The People of the Americas

Readings

27 – The Rise of Rome

28 – The Roman Empire

29 – Rome’s War with Carthage

30 – The Aryans of India

31 – The Mauryan Empire of India

32 – China: Writing and the Qin

33 – Confucius

34 – The Rise of Julius Caesar

35 – Caesar the Hero

36 – The First Roman Prince

37 – The Beginning of Christianity

38 – The End of the Ancient Jewish Nation

39 – Rome and the Christians

40 – Rome Begins to Weaken

41 – The Attacking Barbarians

42 – The End of Rome

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