Timelines are undeniably useful in forming a complete understanding of history. Rather than learning history in random chunks, timelines promote learning in a way that connects the people, places, and events that shaped history.
Even so, I struggle finding homeschool timelines that work for us. Most options simply require more effort and upkeep than I’m willing to put into it. I can’t deal with the little cards and velcro strips each day. Tell me I’m not the only one.
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Also, since we’re homeschooling in a small space, I don’t have wall space for a massive timeline even if I wanted to have one on display. In a nutshell, we need timeline options that are hassle-free and don’t require a permanent place on our apartment walls.
That’s why I’m excited to share The Giant American History Timeline with you. This gives all the benefits of learning with a timeline without the hassle or sacrificing wall space. It’s a gamechanger, for sure.
The Giant American History Timeline: Overview
Before I share how we’re using this timeline solution to enhance our homeschool history lessons, here’s what you need to know about The Giant American History Timeline from Sunflower Education.
This timeline is different from the others I’ve seen before because it’s a timeline built through pages. It’s broken up into two books, Book 1, which focuses on pre-colonization through Reconstruction, and Book 2, which focuses on the 1870s through present day.
The books are split into eight units each and contain dated activity pages that focus on significant people, dates, events, and ideas within each unit. The timeline comes together through those activity pages.
Each book also contains detailed teaching instructions and talking points for each unit, suggestions for constructing the timeline, unit assessments, and complete answer keys.
Also worth noting, the workbooks remove any guesswork you may have, but also allow for customization. You can follow the timeline assembly suggested in the book or create your own like we did.
It’s also not necessary to have your kids complete each worksheet in order to build a timeline through one of these books. Each unit comes with a basic timeline plan with as few as five activity pages and a comprehensive plan with ten or more pages. You can create a timeline for one unit, one book, or work through both books and build one over time.
Assembling Our American History Timeline
Now that you know more about The Giant American History Timeline, I want to share how we used it to make a timeline that works for us. Since we’re low on display space, I decided the best way to build this timeline was to use the activity sheets to build a display board for a single unit. This allowed us to work on it a little each day, but then fold it up and put it away at the end of the day.
We started with The Giant American History Timeline Book 1 so we could use it to review our recent Colonial America study. As for timeline options, we opted for the basic assembly for this unit.
Although we didn’t use the pages for the comprehensive timeline in our display, I plan to use some of the additional activity pages for the unit with my oldest kid in coming weeks and file them in his history binder when he’s finished.
As we worked through the unit together, my 11 year-old did most of the writing on the activity pages while my 6 year-old prepared our display board.
Note: the books come with all of the elements needed to create a fantastic timeline, but we only used the activity pages on our display. We could have used the arrows and date pages included in the book, but my little one wanted to contribute to our timeline project by making arrows for us.
As my big kid finished the activity sheets, my kids worked together to arrange the sheets on our display board, add arrows, and fill in the timeline dates.
The Giant American History Timeline: Our Experience
As I look back at our finished Colonial America timeline, a few things about The Giant American History Timeline stand out: the flexibility, the comprehensive content, and critical thinking skills promoted in the activity pages.
As a (former) timeline grinch, I’m grateful to find this option for our history lessons. The display options alone make this a wonderful timeline for homeschool families who are working in homes rather than classrooms with access to long hallways.
Also, by approaching timelines through worksheets, we’re doing much more than adding pieces to a wall each day. Instead, we’re reviewing dates, events, and movements. We’re answering questions, viewing these events from a fresh perspective, and then adding to the timeline.
Bottom Line: The Giant American History Timeline is a great way to enhance homeschool history lessons without all the fuss of traditional timelines. It would be a great supplement to your history curriculum and could even be used to piece together your own history plans through online resources or books.
Where to Get The Giant American History Timeline
You can learn more about The Giant American History Timeline by visiting Sunflower Education. While you’re there, remember to use coupon code TIMELINE20 at checkout so that you can save 20% off the digital The Giant American History Timeline Bundle.
You’ll also want to follow Sunflower Education so that you can stay up to date with their latest offerings. You can find them on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.
