From Adam to Us Curriculum Package

From Adam to Us

From Adam to Us by Ray and Charlene Notgrass is a one-year world history and literature course designed for grades five through eight students. The daily lessons are written narratively and richly illustrated with color photographs and maps. Primary sources, literature, and hands-on activities help the student connect with history personally.

All of the instructions for using the course are included in From Adam to Us Part 1 and Part 2, so you do not need a separate Teacher's Manual. The daily instructions are so easy to follow that most children will be able to follow them on their own. 

At the beginning of each weekly unit, an introductory page gives:

• An overview of the unit
• A list of the lessons
• A list of what additional books the student will be using while studying that particular unit. 

Following the unit introduction is five daily lessons, one to be read each day. While this course is designed for children in grades 5-8, younger children can listen to the lessons and participate in the family activities.

Most students will need 45-90 minutes to complete one lesson. Your child can read the daily lessons independently, or you can read the lessons aloud. They are richly illustrated with color photographs, historical illustrations, and detailed maps. 

At the end of each lesson is a list of assignments. Students are not necessarily expected to complete all of these assignments. You may choose which ones you wish to assign. The types of assignments vary from day to day. They include:

• Reading assignments from Our Creative World
• Activities work in the Map Book
• Entries in the Timeline Book
• Assignments in the Student Workbook or Lesson Review
• Thinking Biblically
• Vocabulary
• Creative writing
• Reading assignments in the recommended literature

One special family activity is assigned each week. Projects include arts and crafts, recipes, and games. Each activity is given with its related lesson, but you may do it any day of the week. You will need to plan for extra time when you do the family activity.

Types of Lessons

The curriculum has thirty chronological units of five lessons each. Each weekly unit has one lesson from each of five categories.

Our World Story: We use major events to provide a framework for understanding the chronology of world history. Examples include the Tower of Babel, the conquests of Alexander the Great, the early church, the invention of the printing press, and the fall of Communism in Europe.

God's Wonders: We explore the world's created wonders and show how they have influenced history and culture. These lessons include the Mediterranean Sea, the Indus Valley, the Potosi Silver Mine of the Andes, the Gobi Desert, and the Cape of Good Hope.

World Landmark: These lessons explore places that demonstrate the amazing abilities of people made in the image of God and their place in history, including the Pyramids of Egypt, the Great Wall of China, the moai statues of Easter Island, Macchu Picchu, and modern skyscrapers.

World Biography: These lessons relate to the life and times of history's most influential personalities, including Ramses II, Judas Maccabeus, Johann Sebastian Bach, Queen Victoria, and C. S. Lewis.

Daily Life: We give an inside view of everyday life from the beginning of history to modern times, exploring how new ideas and inventions make a difference for ordinary people. These lessons include early writing, Chinese porcelain production, the missionary work of Methodius and Cyril, the Industrial Revolution, and globalization.

The Books Used

The From Adam to Us Curriculum Package includes the first six books listed below, enough for one child to complete the curriculum. You can purchase additional consumable books for other children, including the Map Book, Timeline Book, and the Student Workbook or Lesson Review.

From Adam to Us Part 1: Creation to Cathedrals

This book has seventy-five lessons, designed to be completed in one semester, which begin in the week of Creation and continue through the time of the cathedrals of the Middle Ages.

From Adam to Us Part 2: Castles to Computers

This book has another seventy-five lessons, also designed to be completed in one semester, exploring history from castles' days to modern times.

Our Creative World

This collection of historical documents from around the world includes short stories, poems, songs, letters, diary entries, and speeches. It also features images of art and architecture.

From Adam to Us Map Book

This collection of 43 maps was created primarily to accompany this curriculum. At the end of many lessons, your student will do activities using the maps.

From Adam to Us Timeline Book

This timeline of history from Creation to the present is designed specifically to accompany this curriculum. After most lessons, your child will add one or more events to the timeline.

From Adam to Us Answer Key

This book has all of the answers needed for the assignments at the end of the lessons, the activities and tests in the Student Workbook, and the questions and tests in the Lesson Review.

We offer these books to supplement the curriculum. It is recommended for parents who wish to have their students do workbook activities or answer questions after reading the lessons. We recommend choosing either the Student Workbook or the Lesson Review, but your student can complete both if you prefer.

Student Workbook

This collection of crosswords, word searches, matching, and other handwork activities reviews and reinforces information learned in the daily lessons. It also includes literature review questions and unit tests.

Lesson Review

This features daily lesson review questions, literature review questions, and unit tests.

The Literature

Ten works of literature are assigned in the From Adam to Us curriculum to give your child a richer perspective on the various periods studied. The student usually has 2-3 weeks to read each book, with 1-2 chapters assigned each day.

The Golden Goblet by Eloise McGraw (Units 3-5)

The Fables of Aesop by Joseph Jacobs, editor (Units 6-7)

The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare (Units 9-11)

A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park (Units 13-14)

Otto of the Silver Hand by Howard Pyle (Units 15-16)

The King's Fifth by Scott O'Dell (Units 18-21)

Madeleine Takes Command by Ethel C. Brill (Units 22-23)

The Switherby Pilgrims by Eleanor Spence (Units 24-25)

The Chemistry Oak by Kate Seredy (Unit 26-28)

Children of the Storm by Natasha Vins (Units 29-30)