Tag: Study Guide

  • Free Oregon Trail Homeschool Study Guide

    Free Oregon Trail Homeschool Study Guide

    The 9th book in our series is here, and to accompany it, we’ve created a free Oregon Trail homeschool study guide to use with all ages! Freighters and Pilgrims: Two Stories of Western Immigration is two books in one, telling the true stories of traveling west in 1865.

    Oregon Trail Free homeschool study guide

         I create my guides for the way I homeschool: large family-group style, with all of my kids learning together as much as possible. With a book like this, I read the story aloud to all ages. We will follow the rabbit trails together. Younger kids may do less, while older kids will certainly do more.

         Each chapter will look a bit different throughout the guide, depending on the topics. Since this is a historical narrative, I follow the flow of the timeline.

         Homeschooling allows for so much flexibility in ages and grade levels, and I want you to have that flexibility with this guide! So it’s up to you to choose which activities to use in your home.

    Free Oregon Trail Homeschool Study Guide
    Free Oregon Trail homeschool study guide



    (Scroll down to order a printed version for just $3.)

    How to use this free Oregon Trail homeschool study guide

    Every study guide I create for Knowledge Keepers books is a little different, but they each contain geography, some copywork, research prompts, notebooking pages, and vocabulary.

    Freighters and Pilgrims and the accompanying guide may be used as a stand-alone study, or alongside your favorite homeschool history curriculum.

    Copywork: Print or cursive copywork is suitable for all ages, from beginning readers to high school students. I have inserted various quotes from Freighters and Pilgrims for copy work use. Feel free to adjust the length of the assignment to fit the needs of your own children. One sentence is perfect for younger students, while paragraphs are wonderful for high schoolers.

    Map Activities: Wherever possible, geography activities are included. Seeing historic places on a map is so important, and is a natural way to learn geography. These are great for most ages, from elementary through high school. If your students are well-versed in world geography, you can certainly skip these.

    BONUS LINKS: There are lots of fun added resources on the internet, so I’ve created a special page for you to access them all in one place on my website. Just go to KnowledgeKeepersBoostore.com/BonusLinks and click on the Freighters and Pilgrims book. The links are divided by chapter, along with more reading recommendations.

    For Freighters and Pilgrims, there are several lins to free Oregon Trail downloads, such as worksheets, lapbooks, and other fun helps!

    Download your free study guide here.

    Every Knowledge Keepers Study Guide includes a Bonus Links page right here on our website. These are links to other great resources online, like unit studies, printables, videos, and field trips!

    If you prefer, you may order a printed copy of the guide for $3 + shipping at this link.

    If you haven’t ordered Freighters and Pilgrims yet, get it right here at Knowledge Keepers Bookstore, or on Amazon.com.

    Oregon Trail Computer Game T-Shirt

    If you grew up playing the old computer game, you need this shirt! Designed by Nicki Truesdell for Knowledge Keepers, it features the classic green pixel design you remember. Order here!

    Oregon Trail
  • Bonus Links: Christopher Columbus

    Bonus Links: Christopher Columbus

    I have created a free study guide to use with this very important book!

    Age level

    This book is actually two books in one, and adaptable to all ages.

    Book One is a narrative of the life and discoveries of Columbus, written by Edward Everett Hale in 1892, and based on the journals and letters of Columbus (and others). It is easily appropriate for elementary through high school, as well as a family read-aloud.

    Book Two is a collection of those actual letters and journals for reference and details. It is sometimes harder reading, so it would be better for advanced or curious elementary students, and great for middle and high school students.

    How to use the book and guide

    The book and this study-guide make a great stand-alone study of the life and voyages of Christopher Columbus, or they can be used as a supplement to any world history or American history curriculum you currently use. This guide includes maps, notebooking pages, illustrations, and research topics.

    The Bonus Links here help to extend your fun! Here you will find a chapter-by-chapter guide to websites and activities that perfectly accompany this guide.

    Whether studying explorers of the world or the beginnings of American history, this book will add significant detail and the guide will provide ideas for more research and activities for all ages.

    Get the Christopher Columbus Study Guide free PDF download here

    Christopher Columbus Study Guide

    Study Guide helps:

    • a globe or world atlas
    • colored pencils
    • 3-ring binder

    Recommended reading for high school and adult:

    Suggested supplemental books for children:

    Geography and Navigation

    Chapter I

    Chapter II

    Chapter III

    Explore an interactive map of the four voyages here

    Chapter IV

    Chapter V

    Chapter VI

    Chapter VII

    Chapter IX

    See a video of “gold washing” below:

    Chapter XI

    Chapter XIII

    This page has links to articles about the remains of Columbus, portraits, and a lot more!

    The movie 1492: Conquest of Paradise is a decent one for Hollywood. I would allow it in my home for at least ages 10 and up, maybe younger. There are naked buttocks because of the native islanders, of course. But if you want a fairly accurate portrayal of Columbus, this is good.

    Nicki’s blog posts about Columbus and history revisionists:

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