Mystery of History Volume III Lesson Plans (With American and Texas History)

In this third volume of Mystery of History, I will add two things: a deeper dive into American history with additional books and units integrated into our lessons, and the Discover Texas history curriculum. Instead of separate units for American history and (our) state history, I want the flow of all parts of world history to be natural. The first settlers and colonists in North America are not a disconnected part of world history, and neither are the first Spaniards to explore Texas. These events happened for reasons that originated in Europe.

I’ve seen this question come up a lot, “What American History curriculum can I use with Mystery of History?” or, “What can I use for a full high school credit of American History?” I’m going to address all of that with this lesson plan. American history is world history. There’s no need to teach a separate course. Simply expand on the amazing content and chronology in Mystery of History with some additional reading and projects!

Our schedule is our own, so I do not focus on finishing a book a year. Instead, I focus on a love and knowledge of all of world history. So that might mean we do three lessons per week, or one lesson for two weeks. It will depend on the lesson, and how much expansion we add.

I have two children remaining at home now, and they are 13 and 15. We do all of these lessons and activities as a family.

This post is updated regularly as we complete our lessons. I will pin it to the top of my blog for easy access, and at the end of each quarter, I’ll provide a handy PDF for printing. (See Quarter 1 PDF below.)

See my video/post about setting up my teacher notebook and the student notebooks.

See my main Mystery of History page here.

See my Amazon list of Mystery of History III resources here.

Mystery of History Volume III resources we use:

• The Student Reader (new copies include a code for digital companion guide)
• Companion Guide
• Notebooking Pages
• Planning Pages
• Challenge Cards
• This printable timeline from Master Books

Other resources we will use throughout this volume:

• Adams Synchronological Chart of World History
• History of the World Map by Map
• History of Britain & Ireland
• The New World by Winston Churchill
• The American Story by David Barton
• Berean Builders: Science in the Ancient World
• Berean Builders: Science in the Scientific Revolution
• IEW U.S. History Based Writing Lessons

Quarter 1: Around the World

You can do a few things along with this preview:

• Pull out the Adams Synchronological chart of world history and review what you’ve studied so far.
• Do a quiz with the Volume II challenge cards.
• Review your timelines from Volumes I and II.
• Watch a movie from the companion guide.
• Assemble student notebooks together.
• Play the Timeline game.
• Search your area for art and history museums that will showcase Renaissance art and renaissance inventions, and also look for a local Renaissance Fair. Put these on your calendar for a field trip!

If you’re using Berean Builders: Science in the Ancient World like we are, Quarter 1 is the perfect time to do lessons 68-90 on Leonardo da Vinci. (I know these are books written for elementary students, but they are not “childish” and are a perfect companion to Mystery of History. I am a firm believer in the history of science on the historical timeline. It just makes sense! My kids are also taking higher science courses this year, in case you’re wondering.) See the Berean Builders/Mystery of History plan here.

As with the previous volume, we are adding a bit of a focus on British history. My favorite book for this is Winston Churchill’s History of the English Speaking Peoples. He wrote it in the 1950s, so that’s where his history ends. It is a refreshing history without the Zinn-ist revision that we are so accustomed to today. For Mystery of History Volume III, we are reading Part 2: The New World. (It’s easy reading, so would be a great read-aloud for elementary to high school, or could be a reading assignment for high school. I highly recommend parents read it, as it is a wonderful in-depth look at many lessons. It’s also on Audible if you prefer.)

When reading the Quarter 1 intro, read The New World preface and Chapter 1: The Round World.

Additionally, for everyone in the family, especially the visually oriented, I recommend continuing the DK History of Britain & Ireland. It’s similar to (but even better than) Usborne Books.

Before this quarter began, we read The Second Mrs. Giaconda (a historical novel about the possible real Mona Lisa) as well as My Escape from the Auto de Fe (a true story of the Spanish Inquisition).

For a quiet activity during read-alouds, the kids pieced this puzzle of a sailing ship, since this quarter will include the Age of Exploration. (We used this puzzle cover for after-school hours to store and protect the unfinished puzzle.)

See my Amazon Storefront for the Mystery of History Volume 3 Resource List.

Lesson 1: The Wars of the Roses

Optional Activities: we made the flip chart

The New World by Winston Churchill: Chapter 2 The Tudor Dynasty

DK History of Britain pgs 122-125

Timeline activity

Lesson 2: Cosimo de Medici and the Rise of the Italian Renaissance

Optional Activities: We did the art gallery/internet photo report

 The kids are reading through the Eyewitness Book of the Renaissance, a couple of pages at a time with this first Quarter, and I am choosing some of their copywork from that.

History of the World, Map by Map pgs 160-165

 Over the years, we have collected old “encyclopedic sets” of books that were cheap or free, and they make a wonderful addition to our home library. Two of those that are very applicable with this volume (and previous volumes) of Mystery of History are the Time-Life Great Ages of Man series, and Newsweek Wonders of Man. From Great Ages of Man, we are pulling out Renaissance, and from Wonders of Man, we are using Florence.

 

YouTube video: The Renaissance – The Age of Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci (some nude sculptures and art, and once brief mention of erotica). The video mentions “da Vinci’s homosexuality,” which is purely a 21^st century supposition. This video is best suited for teens, but it is a perfect follow-up to Lesson 2, referencing Medici, artists, architecture, and so much more.

 In Mama Bear Apologetics, the chapter on postmodernism is applicable to this lesson. There’s definitely a good discussion to be had on the devout beliefs of the Middle Ages, the impact of the printing press on knowledge, and the juxtaposition of mostly religious art and the rising humanist thought. I believe postmodernism is less likely to gain a foothold in those who are well-versed in world (and church) history.

Timeline activity.

Lesson 3: Ferdinand, Isabella, and the Spanish Inquisition

Optional Activities: We read a portion of Foxes Book of Martyrs Chapter V: The Inquisition.

We did Modern Europe and Europe in the 1500s maps, added these three lessons to our timeline pages, and reviewed the Challenge Cards for lessons 1-3.

Lesson 4: Ivan the Great

Optional activities: Byzantine Fashion (because learning about the culture is always fun) and Three Romes.

Mapping: The Volga River

Age of Exploration

Before Lesson 5, I recommend getting to know the ships that carried explorers! There are lots of ways to do this.

• UnitStudy.com has a perfect unit study called Sailing Ships that’s applicable for K-12. It’s a four-week unit, but her studies are very flexible and adaptable.
• See the different videos of a caravel on my Mystery of History III YouTube playlist.
• In the excellent “History of the World, Map by Map” I like the Explorers section on pages 150-151

Valiant Navigators: Sailors’ Narratives of Voyages Along the New England Coat (1524-1624) is one of the books in my Knowledge Keepers series, and includes actual letters and reports from North American explorers during the period between Columbus and the Pilgrims. I will utilize this book throughout this volume of Mystery of History. There are 11 narratives in all, and I’ll note when to read each one. You can also download a handy (free) PDF of this reading schedule here.

Note: I don’t like to teach “the age of exploration” or “the renaissance” or “the reformation” as individual units. They are all woven so closely together, and should be taught as world history. However, including a unit within your world history lessons is a great way to expand an important topic.

Lesson 5: Dias and da Gama Round the Cape of Good Hope

We watched several YouTube videos about caravels (the type of ships they sailed) and da Gama’s route.

Study the geography

Optional activities: History and the Bible, in the words of da Gama (read his journal!)

Timeline.

Lesson 6: Lorenzo the Magnificent

We did a bit of a study on Botticelli’s art. This YouTube video is a nice, short overview of his life and work. Art Masterpieces to Color is a book of many art classic coloring pages. (I’ve had this book for years, and used it over and over by making copies for my kids.) The Botticelli work is Birth of Venus, which does have a nude (exposed breast) woman. If you’d like to skip nude coloring pages, try this free printable of “Portrait of Simonella Vespucci” or “The Melancholy.”

Optional Activities: Art Appreciation (see above)

We finished up this week with the timeline activities, mapping, Week 2 quiz, and reviewed the challenge cards for Lessons 1-6.

The American Story: The Beginnings by David Barton is an excellent resource for American history alongside MOH. Now is a great time to read the Introduction.

Lesson 7: Christopher Columbus Sails to an “Other World” AND Lesson 8: The Return of Cristobal Colon

Columbus has been completely misrepresented in recent decades. I encourage everyone to go back to the original sources. (You probably have heard that “he raped and murdered millions” but that is absolutely untrue. His journals and the journals of his fellow sailors give the true picture — even when it is not pretty.)

For a great, short overview of Columbus’ story, read The American Story Section 1, Chapter 1. Explore the footnotes, too! (It’s also available on Audible, if you prefer.)

We read my Knowledge Keepers book Christopher Columbus: His Story and His Journals. It’s a 2-part book; 1) an easy-to-read biography based on Columbus’ journals, and 2) the actual journals of his voyages. (Knowledge Keepers Bookstore is my primary source project, where I republish old, out of print histories that were written by the people who lived American history. See KnowledgeKeepersBookstore.com for more info.)

I also used the study guide I created for this book. It includes all sorts of reading, thinking, copy work, mapping, and bonus links to online videos and such. It’s free to download here, or you may purchase a printed copy.

Since my children are 13 and 15, I am adding in a bit of a lesson in revisionist history. After reading His Story and His Journals, we will read Chapter 1 of Howard Zinn’s incredibly awful People’s History of the United States of America and Chapter 1 of Mary Grabar’s Debunking Howard Zinn. These two together will illustrate how and why Americans have been trained to hate their history, and how this “history” is absolute trash. We will continue to integrate these two books into our American history lessons. You can read my full post about that here.

Lesson 9: Ghana, Mali, and Songhai: Empires of West Africa

After reading the lesson in the textbook, we watched Africa Geography & Medieval Ghana, Mali, and Songhai Activity – History by Instructomania. It was well done, and almost like it was created for this Mystery of History lessons! My kids did the geography assignment with the help of an atlas.

I did not choose to assign the Week 3: Exercise this time, but we added Lessons 7-9 to the timelines.

**Note: At this point in our schooling, my children requested permission to do independent study, rather than the group study we have previously done. I am allowing a trial run to see if they are still learning and retaining important concepts from the lessons.**

Lesson 10: The Death of Savonarola

This week’s lessons were very basic for us, so the students read the lesson, took notes on the notebooking pages, and added it to their timelines. They also watched two videos on YouTube: Religion and the Renaissance, and Savonarola and the Bonfire of the Vanities.

Lesson 11: The Safavid Empire of Persia

Again, we did the basics: read the lesson, took notes on the notebooking pages, and added to their timelines. They also completed the geography assignment with Map 05-Middle East, using an Atlas or the globe for help.

Lesson 12: Leonardo da Vinci Paints the Mona Lisa

My students read this lesson, and took notes on the notebooking pages. We all watched The 10 Most Famous Paintings of Leonardo da Vinci on YouTube. Before we began this Quarter of MOH, we watched The Renaissance – The Age of Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci on YouTube (it’s two parts), and we had already read The Second Mrs. Giaconda, which is more of a fun and fictional idea of how the Mona Lisa came to be. We added da Vinci and the Mona Lisa to the timeline.

Throughout this Quarter, my students have been reading through Berean Builders Science … lessons on da Vinci’s scientific side. There is so much to da Vinci that it is worth spending more than one day studying!

There are lots and lots of fun ideas to extend your da Vinci study, including this plaster fresco art activity on YouTube, or this Mona Lisa parody project.

Review: time for the Week 4: Quiz! Prepare by going through the Challenge Cards for Lessons 1-12.

Lesson 13: Michelangelo

My children read the MOH lesson and took notes in their notebooking pages. Next, they explored his artwork library on WikiArt here, and we watched Michelangelo: Artist and Genius (a full documentary). We talked about his amazing talent, and how it really shows us life and beliefs in the Renaissance era with such detail. Here’s a really short video inside the Sistine Chapel for even more fun.

At this point in the school year, I gave my kids a spelling test from their history lessons. I think historic names, places, and events are important words to know and spell:

• Leonardo da Vinci
• Michelangelo
• Renaissance
• Medieval
• Protestant Reformation

Lesson 14: Artists of the Northern Renaissance

We split this lesson into pieces over four days, focusing a little more time on each artist and their art. You don’t have to do this, of course.

Jan van Eyck 1390-1441 – We read his portion in the MOH textbook, and then viewed all of his works at WikiArt (there is one nude painting, FYI). We also watched The Stay at Home Museum: Episode 1 Jan van Eyck. There are some coloring pages based on his artwork that might be fun for your students, like The Arnolfini Marriage, Portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini, and Margareta van Eyck. If your kids would like to try to recreate one of his paintings, there are several paint-by-number versions on Amazon. Visit Gent has a great article on van Eyck’s art methods, which might be very interesting to a budding artist. After finishing up this portion of Lesson 14, we added van Eyck to the timeline and completed the notebooking page.

Jerome Bosch (1450-1516) -The kids read the short portion on Bosch in the MOH book, took notes in the notebooking pages, and then added him to the timeline. We then all watched Hieronymus Bosch: A collection of 147 paintings on YouTube. It’s 12 minutes with no dialogue (but does include music) that just show all of his art. Again, we talked about the way his (more normal) art portrays life in the Renaissance era.

Albrecht Durer (1471-1528) After reading Durer’s portion in the lesson, we watched this YouTube video of 157 of his paintings. My kids followed up with the notebooking page portion and added him to the timeline.

Pieter Bruegel the Elder (c. 1525 – 1569) We did the same process with Bruegel: read the lesson, watch a video of his artwork, and complete the notebooking page and timeline activity. (This video has a bit of nudity, as some Renaissance art does. Use your discretion for your family.)

I think I don’t have to mention that this is a great time to visit an art museum that features at least some of the artists of the Renaissance. Seeing a video exposition (as in these lesson plans) is the next best thing. Art Masterpieces to Color is a fun activity if you have kids who enjoy coloring or recreating famous art.

If you want a fun way to review, check out this Renaissance Artists crossword puzzle on TPT.

Lesson 15: Erasmus Writes In Praise of Folly

Along with the regular lesson activities, I watched this video lecture (I believe it’s important for parents to stay up on history, too). It’s suitable for high schoolers, though some teens might find it a bit dry. You can also listen to the actual book In Praise of Folly. It’s free on YouTube. I think it’s interesting, and there’s nothing like being exposed to primary sources! It’s a little over 5 hours of listening time.

Review: time for the Week 5: Quiz! Prepare by going through the Challenge Cards for Lessons 1-15.

Lesson 16: Niccolo Machiavelli and The Prince

Here’s another classic work that is worth reading (or listening to). I read this the last time we cycled through world history (with my grown kids). You should, of course, determine if and when your kids are up for the challenge of medieval and renaissance literature. But even an overview or cliff-notes type thing is a good way to expose them.

Lesson 17: Rafael

This YouTube video showing 168 of Rafael’s paintings is another good “museum visit.” Ask your kids if the cupids are familiar to them! They have probably seen them somewhere at some point. This lesson is a fun time to read (or re-read) the story of Saint George and the Dragon. If your kids are into this story, consider the paint-by-number of Raphael’s artwork by the same name, or for budding artists, watch Paint A Face Like A Renaissance Master – Raphael Technique on YouTube.

Before we proceed to the Martin Luther lessons, I’ll share what we did for this portion. We are solidly in the Protestant camp, so we enjoy reading about the Reformers of this very important period in church history. When we studied this, it was nearing October 31 (Reformation Day)! I love it when the timing is so perfect. So before we got to lessons 18 and 21, my kids read Luther: over a few weeks, and they copied Luther’s “Here I stand” speech and the 95 Theses over several days.

Read The American Story Section 1, Chapter 2: Awaiting the Reformation.

Lesson 18: Martin Luther Posts His “Ninety-Five Theses”

As mentioned above, we did our own extra activities besides reading the textbook lessons, notebooking pages, and timeline activity.

Review: time for the Week 6: Quiz! Prepare by going through the Challenge Cards for Lessons 1-18.

Lesson 19: Cortes and Pizarro: Conquistadors of Spain

Both of these stories are mixed with sadness and speculation, for sure, and the author of MOH handles it well. The Aztecs practiced human sacrifice to their gods, but Cortes was a greedy conqueror. The same was true of the Incas and Pizarro. I agree with the conclusion of this lesson: “The good news is thtat whether we understand it or not, the Bible says that God is in control of the rise and fall of nations.”

I have read the book Columbus and Cortes: Conquerors for Christ by John Eidsmoe, as mentioned in the Companion Guide. I recommend it. I can say the same of any G.A. Henty book, as referenced in the guide, as well.

As the book notes, one of the lighter parts of this history is chocolate! UnitStudy.com has a fun chocolate unit that is perfect for this week!

My kids did Geography project #2 with a copy of Outline Map 07/Central and South America.

*Texas History Note: At this point, we will begin adding Texas History with the Discover Texas homeschool curriculum. I began with The Explorers section, Chapter 1, about Cortez and Pineda. (We will include chapters 2-4 of Discover Texas in this volume of Mystery of History.)

Lesson 20: Ferdinand Magellan Sails West

I just love this volume of Mystery of History, and this time period in general. The age of exploration, renaissance, and reformation was such an explosion of everything! Words, art, discoveries, science, geography, Christianity…I really want to keep it slow and focus on the importance of the things happening, and help my children to really understand the sweeping changes taking place.

Everyone probably remembers Magellan’s name from some dark corner of their childhood school memories, but what a great refresher! As the textbook states, I highly recommend having a glob or map handy as you read this lesson. As I mentioned at the beginning of this quarter, in the excellent “History of the World, Map by Map” I like the Explorers section on pages 150-151. We have referred to it many times.

Antonio Pigafetta’s diary is available to read here, with a little information about it here. Students don’t have to read the entire diary, but it’s always interesting to peruse primary sources, even if just to skim. This YouTube video recaps the story with an animated map.

It’s just one more amazing story in a very amazing time in history!

My kids aren’t making the “Explorer’s Placemat” but they are mapping these voyages just the same.

Lesson 21: Martin Luther and the Spread of the Protestant Reformation

Because we spent so much of our own time on Martin Luther, we did not do any extra Companion Guide activities at this point. (See Lesson 18, above.)

As usual, they completed the notebooking pages and timeline. We reviewed Challenge Cards for lessons 1-21.

End of Quarter 1. It’s time for the quarterly test: Putting it all together – Worksheet 1 – Lessons 1-21.

You might consider watching a movie suggestion from the Companion Guide in the first 21 lessons as a wrap-up after your test.

Download the Quarter 1 PDF:

Download the free guide to using Knowledge Keepers American history books with Mystery of History:

Quarter 2

I enjoy these quarterly introductions! This one prepares students for a lot of Reformation history and the continuing rise, expansion, and fall of empires.

Lesson 22: Suleiman and the Ottoman Turks

There are such large and important world events in this quarter, and the ongoing story of the Ottoman Turks is one of them. This YouTube video recap is very helpful when beginning Lesson 22. We simply read this lesson, added it to our timeline, and did the Ottoman Empire mapping activity.

Lesson 23: Ulrich Zwingli Leads the Swiss Reformation

Keeping the Reformation movement straight is important, so after reading this lesson, we did the Family Tree of Reformers as suggested in the activities section of the Companion Guide.

Valiant Navigators: At this point on the world timeline, we also read Chapter 1: Verrazano in Valiant Navigators (mentioned at the beginning of Quarter 1. This book, as you might remember, contains 11 journal entries or personal narratives of Explorers along the American coastline. Add 1524: Verrazano to your timeline.

Lesson 24: The Anabaptist Movement and Menno Simons

We read this lesson, continued the Family Tree of Reformers, and discussed Mennonites and Amish families we have seen in our travels.

Discover Texas: As mentioned at the beginning of Quarter 1, we are integrating Texas history with the Discover Texas curriculum. At this point, we read the portion in Explorers, Chapter 2: Cabeza de Vaca.

It’s time to make sure that these lessons were all added to your timeline, and to do the Week 8: Exercise (crossword puzzle). Follow up with Challenge Cards from Lessons 1-24.

Lesson 25: Babur, Akbar, and The Mughal Dynasty of India

You might remember that I noted (somewhere) how much I love History of the World Map by Map. We use it for nearly every lesson. In the case of Lesson 25, we studied the map of Mughal India on pages 176-177 before doing the geography lesson on India in the Companion Guide (Map 09 – India). We discussed the Taj Mahal and watched a video tour.

***As we embark on more British history, you might want to jump back into The History of the English Speaking Peoples by Winston Churchill, and read chapters 1-7 of Volume 2: The New World.

Additionally, or alternatively, consider The History of Britain Part 3: Tudors and Stuarts, pages 127 – 137.

You must watch the series Life in a Tudor Era with Tom and Ruth on Absolute History!

Sometimes we have a day where we don’t read any books, but will watch a few videos and/or do a hands-on project instead. Do whatever fits your schedule best!

Lesson 26: Henry VIII and His Many Wives

We read this lesson and the kids took careful notes on their notebooking pages about each wife of Henry VIII. I clarified that while Henry was not an actual Protestant Reformer, his actions helped to spread Protestantism throughout England. We did the Family Tree of Henry VIII as suggested in the Companion Guide, and I played the famous old song about Henry’s wives on YouTube. In The New World by Winston Churchill, this is a good time to read chapter 3-7. It’s good for middle and high school (and parents, too!). In addition, read the illustrated DK History of Britain, pages 132-137 for this lesson and the next one (Sir Thomas Moore).

Because the Tudors influenced the culture of England, we dug a little deeper into the architecture and fashions of the time:

• The Tudor Monastery Farm series on YouTube is excellent
• Tudor Men’s Fashion Explained in 8 Minutes
• Getting Dressed: Royal Tudors | National Museum Liverpool
• Tudor Houses Explained in 10 Minutes
• The Renaissance English History Podcast is amazing! Short episodes full of interesting facts about this time period. You can skim the topics and just pick out those that you are curious about. Family-friendly.

The Tudor World History Channel on YouTube is fun!

Literature: On this day, we began The Hawk that Dare Not Hunt by Day by Scott O’Dell for our read-aloud, a historical fiction about William Tyndale. We will read 4-5 chapters per day. There is a 2-page map in the front of the book; I made copies of it for my kids to study as we read. They keep this in their binder.

We occasionally read a chapter from Trial and Triumph: Stories from Church History. At this point, Chapter 22: Anne Askew is a good fit.

Lesson 27: Sir Thomas Moore

Along with lesson, choose some of the activities from the Tudor era mentioned above. We continued reading The Hawk that Dare Not Hunt by Day, did the Week 9 Quiz, and added these lessons to the timeline.

For review, we took a day off from lessons and went through past notebooking pages. I would ask questions, and my kids would find the answers in their notes. They both liked this way of reminding them of things they had already forgotten.

Lesson 28: Titian and the Rise of Venice

We only read the lesson in the book, and read several more chapters in The Hawk that Dare Not Hunt by Day.

Lesson 29: Women of the Renaissance and Reformation

In addition to this lesson, we did the Companion Guide activity 29C: Poetry of Vittoria Colonna, as well as reading about Anne Askew in Trial and Triumph and copying a selection of her verses. We continued reading The Hawk that Dare Not Hunt by Day, and watching the Tudor Monastery Farm series on YouTube.

Lesson 30: John Calvin

As noted in this lesson, Calvin had a profound influence on the Reformation and in the Protestant church. Whether you consider yourself a Calvinist or not, his works are important to be familiar with. You can read or listen to the Institutes of Christian Religion, and I recommend it! Since the theology of Calvinism is something of a controversial topic within Protestant groups, I wanted to help my children understand the differences between Calvinism and Arminianism. So I had them do the activity 30D: The Five Points of Calvinism. We also added to the ongoing Family Tree of Reformers.

At the end of this lesson, we did the Week 10 Exercise and added these lessons to the timelines. We continued reading The Hawk that Dare Not Hunt by Day and watching The Tudor Monastery Farm series on YouTube.

Lesson 31: Ivan the Terrible

In addition to the lesson text, the kids copied Galatians 5:19-23, and we watched a video about St. Basil’s Cathedral, plus Companion Guide activity 31 E: Russian Tsars (and I explained it could also be spelled czars). We read a few more chapters in The Hawk that Dare Not Hunt by Day.

Lesson 32: Ignatius Loyola, Francis Xavier, and the Jesuits

We simply read the lesson, and then read a few more chapters in The Hawk that Dare Not Hunt by Day.

Lesson 33: Explorers of North America (including Texas)

At this point, we slowed way down and spent a few days in this lesson, and to add in some Texas History from our Discover Texas curriculum. As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, I don’t teach a separate unit on explorers, or Texas history; it’s integrated as one big story in world history.

For example, in The Hawk that Dare Not Hunt by Day, the story centers around William Tyndale and a young man who owns a ship, who is willing to smuggle Bibles into England. However, near the end of the book, the story turns to talk of exploring the “East Indies” just like Columbus. That’s how the world was in the 16th century; reformers, renaissance men, and the natives of the “new world” were clashing. That’s the big picture I want my children to see.

Lesson 33 has a lot going on because of the multiple explorers and the additions from Texas history. I’ve noted where each discovery took place, in case you’d like to group them by region.

Juan Ponce de Leon (FLORIDA): We read his story, and mapped it on World Map 03 from the Companion Guide (or you could do the Explorer’s Placemat in the activities). We also watched this video on YouTube (12 minutes).

This short video from the Texas Historical Commission is a good one to watch before or after these three lessons.

[Discover Texas] Hernando Cortez (MEXICO): This is in Volume II of Discover Texas. Using the Power Point presentation, we read about Cortez and his destructive reign in Mexico, labeling the map of the Gulf of Mexico as noted in the lesson. We started to listening to By Right of Conquest: With Cortes in Mexico by G. A. Henty (narrated by Jim Hodges) on Audible. (It was a suggested book in Discover Texas.) I absolutely love Henty’s historical novels! This one starts right off with talk of sea voyages, explorations, and William Tyndale! It’s perfect how seamlessly these lessons come together when you study history chronologically. (Just having finished a historical novel about Tyndale was perfect. Lesson 34 in Mystery of History is all about Tyndale and his Bible translation.)

[Discover Texas] Alonzo Álvarez  de Piñeda (FLORIDA/GULF OF MEXICO): We did as above, discussing the “Thinking More” sections, and adding to the map of the Gulf of Mexico. Continue By Right of Conquest.

[Discover Texas] Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca (TEXAS): As above. Continue By Right of Conquest.

Jacques Cartier (NEWFOUNDLAND): We read the Mystery of History portion, added information to notebooking pages, put him on our timelines, and added his voyage to our map of explorers (using The History of the World Map by Map pgs. 150-151).

If you’d like something more in-depth about Cartier and French exploration in the New World, The Other States of America history podcast is a great addition for your high schoolers (or history buffs at any age). Season Two is all about New France. Episodes 4 and 5 are about Cartier specifically, but the whole season is good.

Note: Keeping so many explorers straight is confusing for kids, so I tried to help them think in terms of Spanish and French to sort what we have learned so far. French names and French words are connected to Canada, and Spanish names and Spanish words are connected to Mexico, the Caribbean, Florida, and Texas. I will continue to say names and see if they can remember who went where.

Hernando de Soto (FLORIDA): This is the third explorer in Mystery of History lesson 33. We read the lesson portion, and pulled up this basic map of Hernando’s route to copy on to our Explorer maps. (Since we’re doing Texas history, we also added this to our Gulf of Mexico map from Discover Texas.

[Discover Texas] Luis de Moscoso: Since Moscoso was a member of de Soto’s expedition, we studied him next. He became commander of the expedition after Hernando died. We pulled up this map to see where Moscoso traveled. Since we have been to Waco many times, I pointed out that we have seen, walked by, and driven over the Brazos river (which is the same river reached by Moscoso).

Francisco de Coronado (Mystery of History and Discover Texas): We read both the Mystery of History lesson and the Discover Texas lesson while looking at the map of Coronado’s route from Discover Texas. The kids then drew his route on their Discover Texas map and the world map of Explorers. We have been to the Continental Divide in Colorado and the Llano Estacado in Texas, so I brought that up to tie it to our family’s experiences.

If you’re using History of the World Map by Map, explore Spanish Conquests in the Americas on pgs. 152-153, and The Spanish in America on pgs 154-155.

Whew! That was a lot for one lesson! Now it’s time to do the Week 11 Quiz. Prepare with a review of the Challenge Cards from Lessons 1-33. Make sure all of these explorers are added to your timeline.

Reading

Along with our current reading of By Right of Conquest: With Cortes in Mexico by G. A. Henty, my 16-year-old son is reading Johannes Kepler: Giant of Faith and Science.

Lesson 34: William Tyndale: Father of the English Bible

As I mentioned above, we’ve encountered Tyndale in several other points along the way to this lesson, including The Hawk That Dare Not Hunt by Day and By Right of Conquest: With Cortes in Mexico, so this was a great recap lesson.

Go online and look at the Tyndale Bible if you don’t have a copy in your home. Here’s a snippet from Genesis 1:

• 1 In the begynnynge God created heaven and erth.
• 2 The erth was voyde and emptie ad darcknesse was vpon the depe and the spirite of god moved vpon the water
• 3 Than God sayd: let there be lyghte and there was lyghte.
• 4 And God sawe the lyghte that it was good: and devyded the lyghte from the darcknesse
• 5 and called the lyghte daye and the darcknesse nyghte: and so of the evenynge and mornynge was made the fyrst daye
• 6 And God sayd: let there be a fyrmament betwene the waters ad let it devyde the waters a sonder.
• 7 Than God made the fyrmament and parted the waters which were vnder the fyrmament from the waters that were above the fyrmament: And it was so.
• 8 And God called the fyrmament heaven And so of the evenynge and morninge was made the seconde daye

This would make great copy work!

I also recommend this video on Bible translations from Melissa Dougherty on YouTube, as well as the book The Bible in English by David Daniell. The book would be great for teens and adults!

Lesson 35: Nicholaus Copernicus We read this lesson in MOH and then began Berean Builders: Science in the Scientific Revolution. There are 4 lessons on Copernicus, so we spent three days studying him and doing the experiments in the science book. See the Mystery of History/Berean Builders guide here.

As we continue the next lessons, my kids are also reading through Lessons 5-20 in Science in the Scientific Revolution.

Lesson 36: Bartolome de Las Casas

Let’s revisit some primary sources + some revisionist history in this lesson! Remember the Columbus lesson, where we explored Christopher Columbus: His Story and His Journals, as well as Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States and Debunking Howard Zinn by Mary Grabar? With this lesson on de Las Casas, it’s important to understanding how history is taught today, and why so many people hate America and its history.

Much of the narrative surrounding Columbus today comes from Howard Zinn, and he relies loosely on the works of Las Casas. That’s why this is very important to this MOH lesson.

Read Narrative of the third voyage of Columbus as contained in las Casas’s history, starting on page 478 of Christopher Columbus. In A People’s History, read page 5 (starting in paragraph 2) through page 8 (ending with paragraph 5), and follow up with Debunking Howard Zinn, page 15 (starting in paragraph 3 through page 22, paragraph 3).

Lesson 37: Mary Tudor (“Bloody Mary”)

This lesson continues the history of the House of Tudor, so we reviewed what the kids had learned so far, as the lesson text does. In addition to reading the lesson, we followed the recommendation of the Companion Guide supplemental books and resources and read Foxe’s Book of Martyrs about Lady Jane Grey and other martyrs under Mary. We also watched the 1986 movie called Lady Jane Grey with Helena Bonham Carter and Cary Elwes. There are a couple of scenes that imply “marriage relations,” so you might want to watch this first, before showing your teens. It was mild enough for us. Add Mary Tudor to your timeline.

In Science in The Scientific Revolution, we did Lesson 21: Michael Servetus.

Lesson 38: Elizabeth I

This lesson begins a long history that spans 12 lessons (some are about Elizabeth directly, and others happen during her reign). Take your time and feel free to dive deeply into the Elizabethan Age (consider some of the suggestions about the Tudors in Lesson 26).

For this lesson, we read the MOH text, completed the Notebooking Page, and added Elizabeth to the timeline. We will also begin the G. A. Henty novel Under Drake’s Flag (here’s a great abridged, dramatized version on Amazon music — if you choose this shorter version, it could wait until Lesson 47), and will watch Elizabeth I: The Virgin Queen by Masterpiece Theater.

Lesson 39: John Knox and the Scottish Reformation

After reading about John Knox, we added John Knox and the Presbyterians to the Family Tree of Reformers. For geography review, I printed a blank copy of the map Review 01-4 and asked the kids to fill in what they could from memory, and then I helped with the rest.

Now it’s time for the Week 13 Quiz, timeline entries, and reviewing the Challenge Cards for lessons 1-39. You could do these activities on a separate day, if necessary.

Lesson 40: Mary, Queen of Scots

There was a lot of review of names (once again) in this lesson. So many Marys! There’s an interesting YouTube video about Mary, Queen of Scots’ Escape from Lochleven Castle.

Lesson 41: Jeanne d’Albret

After reading this lesson, we did the France map work, and copied the scriptures that Jeanne loved from the textbook lesson as copy work. As recommended in the Optional Activities, we added to the Family Tree of Reformers, and looked up Jeanne d’Albret in our encyclopedia set (she was not there).

Valiant Navigators (Knowledge Keepers) – Chapter 2: David Ingram 1569

Read the preface to this chapter that starts on page 25, plus the chapter itself. Here’s an article examining the story.

If your kids are interested in the possibility of mammoths or other similar creatures being seen in North America in the 1500s, read this article from Answers in Genesis.

Lesson 42: St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre

This lesson is kind of a continuation from Lesson 41, and also many lessons before. We read the lesson and reviewed what we knew about Catherine de Medici, added this date to the timeline, and then reviewed our challenge cards.

For a couple of days, we alternated reviewing the kids’ notebooking pages and challenge cards, preparing for the Worksheet 2 quiz over Lessons 22-42 and then the Semester 1 Test over Lessons 1-42. Along with that, we watched a couple more videos from the Tudor Monastery series on YouTube.

Download the printable PDF for Quarter 2 here:

Quarter 3

Lesson 46: Sir Francis Drake

This lesson includes the Lost Colony of Roanoke. We watched a short National Geographic video of this story, but you could really let your students research this mystery as much as they like! You might like this CSI activity from Teachers Pay Teachers! I also printed a specific map for my kids to see just where Roanoke Island is (it’s behind a paywall, but you can access it from your search engine). They added this to their notebook, behind the notebooking page, and then added the event to their timelines.

We are finally ready for Lesson 2 of our IEW U.S. History Writing Lessons! The edition we have is focusing on the lost colony for its subject matter. The kids will spend 2-3 days on this lesson.

Lesson 47: The Spanish Armada

This lesson is one that could be stretched for a couple of hours, or over a couple of days. It’s a very important point in British (and world) history. Suggested activities:

• History of the English Speaking Peoples: The New World by Winston Churchill, chapters 9 & 10
• DK History of Britain pages
• YouTube video The Spanish Armada: How England Became a Superpower (9 minutes)
• Dramatized audio of G. A. Henty’s Under Drake’s Flag (1 hour 58 minutes)
• Teachers Pay Teachers learning activity
• This post by Adventures in Mommydom has a great hands-on lesson, using these paper ships and battle info
• The Renaissance English History Podcast has at least three episodes on the Spanish Armada, beginning with this one

I chose to assign copywork from Elizabeth’s speech to the English fleet as they prepared for the battle, and included a map of the battle. You can download my free PDF below:

stay tuned for upcoming lessons…