I have compiled a list of the websites, additional reading materials and projects that we have used to supplement our learning.
I always buy both the book and the Activity Guide for each level. On several occasions we had friends who had a volume or two that they were not using and that is SO helpful--my girls could read along or we could all take turns reading.
My children each have a binder with a section for each volume and a section for vocabulary.
I am only going to share additional resources, please note that we read each chapter, answered the review questions in the Activity Guide and the girls wrote a summary of the chapter. I photocopied student pages that I wanted to use and the girls punch holes in them and include them with the summary for the chapter. In this way, the girls have a nice binder filled with their summary of the story of the world. For chapters where we did not do any supplemental activity, I will note that we just read and summarized the chapter.
Please Note: This post contains affiliate links. I do benefit if you click on the link and make a purchase. All of the products I link to are products that I have either bought or borrowed from the library and found to be worthwhile.
A word of caution: Parents should preview the books and videos before showing them to their children, what I may find appropriate for my children another parent may not find suitable.
A word of caution: Parents should preview the books and videos before showing them to their children, what I may find appropriate for my children another parent may not find suitable.
Story of the World Volume 1
Intro: What is History?
- We printed out a Book of Centuries
- We created a Timeline for our Homeschool Room
- We simulated an archaeological dig: I buried several things in a section of our yard. We roped the area off, the girls used screens to sift the dirt and found what I had buried. Even at 8 & 11 they found this really fun!
Vocabulary: archaeology, history, archaeologists, historians, ancient, civilization
Chapter 1: The Earliest People
The First Nomads
- we made cave paintings on brown paper bags as suggested in Activity Guide
Vocabulary: nomads
The First Nomads Become Farmers
Vocabulary: fertile
Chapter 2: Egyptians Lived on the Nile River
Two Kingdoms Become One
- We made a replica of the Nile and flooded it every day as suggested in the Activity Guide
Vocabulary: delta, silt
Gods of Ancient Egypt
Vocabulary: pharaoh
Chapter 3: The First Writing
Hieroglyphs and Cuneiform
- We made cuneiform tablets and hieroglyphic scrolls as suggested in the Activity Guide
- We looked at examples of both using Google Images, there is so much to see that providing a link does not do it justice. I encourage you to Google Image cuneiform and hieroglyphs to see some examples of both.
Vocabulary: hieroglyphs, cuneiform, Mesopotamia
Chapter 4: The Old Kingdom of Egypt
Making Mummies
- We made Canopic Jars and Scented Oils
- We DID NOT make the chicken mummy, but I know a lot of homeschool moms who did and said it was great. You can check out my friend Julie mummified a rubber chicken.
Vocabulary: BC, AD, embalm, priest
Egyptian Pyramids
- We built pyramids out of Legos and Kapla blocks
- We took a virtual tour of a pyramid on youtube
- We checked out this video on how Pyramids were built
Vocabulary: pyramid, sphinx
Chapter 5: The First Sumerian Dictator
Vocabulary: city-states, dictator, military
Sargon and Akkadians
- We made the Sumerian seal as suggested in the Activity Guide
Quiz on this chapter
**I also gave a Vocabulary Quiz at this time and made sure our Timelines & Book of Centuries were up to date.
**I also gave a Vocabulary Quiz at this time and made sure our Timelines & Book of Centuries were up to date.
Chapter 6: The Jewish People
God Speaks to Abraham
- We read Abraham-God's Brave Explorer
Joseph Goes to Egypt
- the girls crafted Joseph's coat of many colors using fabric scraps
- We read Joseph and the Coat of Many Colors
Chapter 7: Hammurabi and the Babylonians
Vocabulary: ziggurats, constellations
Hammurabi's Code
- We discussed the laws and which we thought were fair and why or why not
- We found Ancient Egyptians and the Neighbors in our library, the girls had fun with the activities
Chapter 8: The Assyrians
Shamshi-Adad, King of the Whole World
- we read, answered the review questions and summarized this chapter
The Story of Gilgamesh
- We read Gilgamesh the King
- We watched The Epic of Gilgamesh on youtube
** I was not always great about adding everything to our Timeline or having the girls add things to their Book of Centuries, but every few chapters I made sure we were caught up!
Chapter 9: The First Cities of India
Vocabulary: citadels
The River-Road
- We had the experience of making bricks in Williamsburg the summer before we read this book, otherwise it is a great experience, as suggested in the Activity Guide
The Mystery of Mohanjo-Daro
- My girls enjoyed building a clay model of the dwelling described in the Activity Guide
Chapter 10: The Far East: Ancient China
Vocabulary: pictogram, dynasty
Lei Zu and the Silkworm
- My girls enjoyed this story
The Pictograms of Ancient China
- We made our own pictograms as suggested in the Activity Guide
Farming in Ancient China
- We looked at this book: Ancient Agriculture from Foraging to Farming
- We watched this documentary on Ancient China on youtube
**I gave a Vocab quiz at this time.
Chapter 11: Ancient Africa
Vocabulary: artifacts, oases
Ancient Peoples of West Africa
- We invited friends over and made all of the recipes suggested for this chapter in the Activity Book--I was surprised at how easy it was to make really yummy fried plantains!
- the kids also made some paper beads necklaces (from Activity Guide) and still have them three years later!
Anansi and Turtle--
We took an aside here, followed a rabbit trail for a couple of weeks:
- We found more Anansi stories at the library
- We did a unit on the differences between folk tales, fairy tales and fables.
- We printed this graphic out: Folk Tale, Fairy Tale, Myth or Legend
- We did some of these writing exercises: Scholastic: Myths, Folktales & Fairy Tales
- We looked at these slides
- We watched videos in this online series.
- This was another helpful site
Anansi and the Make Believe Food
Chapter 12: The Middle Kingdom of Egypt
Egypt Invades Nubia
- we burned incense as suggested in Activity Guide, read and summarized this chapter
The Hyksos Invade Egypt
**We made sure our Timelines & Book of Centuries were all caught up around this time.
Chapter 13: The New Kingdom of Egypt
Vocabulary: polytheism, monotheism
The General and the Woman Pharaoh
- we watched this video on youtube: Thutmose III, the Greatest Warrior
- we watched this video on youtube: The Female Pharaoh
Amenhotep and King Tut
- we watched this video on youtube: Amenhotep
- we also watched this video on youtube: The Rise and Fall of Amenhotep
- we also watched: Mummies and the Wonder of Ancient Egypt
- the girls liked this from the Discovery Channel: King Tut
- We also spent time on this website: King Tut
- King Tut's Tomb, Ancient Egypt for Kids
Chapter 14: The Israelites Leave Egypt
Vocabulary: reeds, exodus
The Baby Moses
- This is one of my favorite Bible stories, we read this story from our beautifully illustrated Children's Stories from the Bible
The Exodus from Egypt
- We read this in our Bible as well.
- We also watched this video below:
Chapter 15: The Phoenicians
Vocabulary: craggy, bellows, colonies
Phoenician Traders
- We read, reviewed, summarized and did the map work for this chapter.
The Founding of Carthage
- We read, reviewed, summarized and did the map work for this chapter.
Chapter 16: The Return of Assyria
Vocabulary: siege, siege tower
Ashurbanipal's Attack
- We read, reviewed, summarized and did the map work for this chapter.
The Library of Nineveh
- We read, reviewed, summarized and did the map work for this chapter.
** I was not always great about adding everything to our Timeline or having the girls add things to their Book of Centuries, but every few chapters I made sure we were caught up!
Chapter 17: Babylon Takes Over Again!
Nebuchadnezzar's Madness
- We watched this Discovery Channel documentary: Who Was Nebuchadnezzar?
- We listened to 1001 Arabian Nights on StoryNory
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon
- We looked at some illustrations of the Hanging Gardens and then the girls drew the Hanging Gardens as suggested in the Activity Book
Chapter 18: Life in Early Crete
Vocabulary: sacrifice, dreadful, legendary, pumice
Bull-Jumpers and Sailors
- we read, reviewed and summarized this part of the chapter
King Minos and the Minotaur
- the girls drew detailed mazes
- we attempted to watch a video of the Minotaur, but my girls found it too scary
The Mysterious End of the Minoans
Chapter 19: The Early Greeks
Vocabulary: uncivilized, barbarians
The Mycenaeans
- We made a volcano out of clay, poured baking soda in and then vinegar so it erupted and talked about how the lava could wipe out a city.
The Greek Dark Ages
- we made the paper mache vase as suggested in the Activity Guide and then the girls painted their vases
Chapter 20: Greece Gets Civilized Again
Vocabulary: merchants, pentathlon, penta-
Greece Gets an Alphabet
- we wrote out names in the Greek alphabet as suggested in the Activity Guide (Greek letter sheet provided in Activity Guide)
The Stories of Homer
- We read these graphic novels. At 11 & 13, I felt my girls needed the illustrations from the graphic novel to help them understand and to keep their interest. We loved these graphic novels!
The First Olympic Games
Chapter 21: The Medes and the Persians
Vocabulary: taxes, democracy, vote, forum, domestic
A New Empire
- we read, reviewed, summarized and did map work for this part of the chapter.
Cyrus the Great
- we read, reviewed, summarized and did map work for this part of the chapter.
**I gave a Vocab quiz around this time and made sure our Timeline and Book of Centuries was caught up.
Chapter 22: Sparta and Athens
Life in Sparta
- the girls wrote a story about a child growing up in Sparta
Life in Athens
- the girls wrote a story about a child growing up in Athens
After we read both sections, the girls wrote a Compare/Contrast essay on which of the two parts of Greece they would want to live in and why.
Chapter 23: The Greek Gods
**My girls were fascinated by mythology, we took a month out of Story of the World to do Literature pockets and read the Percy Jackson series.
The Golden Apple
Chapter 24: The Wars of the Greeks
- We had a lot of fun with this book and it was also helpful when we learned about Ancient Rome ( a few chapters later).
Vocabulary: architecture, frieze, defeat
Greece's War with Persia
- we read, reviewed and summarized this part of the chapter.
The Greeks Fight Each Other
- We read, reviewed and summarized and did the Map Work as suggested in the Study Guide for this chapter.
- We looked at photos of the Parthenon.
- We got this book from the library Parthenon (it's great if you get it from the library, I wouldn't buy it).
- And this book Greek Temple
** I was not always great about adding everything to our Timeline or having the girls add things to their Book of Centuries, but every few chapters I made sure we were caught up!
Chapter 25: Alexander the Great
Vocabulary: chariot, axle
Philip and His Son
Philip and His Son
- We discussed being brave, what it means, when the girls have been brave, etc.
- The girls wrote a personal narrative about a time when they faced their fears and how it turned out, how they felt, etc.
Alexander's Invasions
- We read this picture book aloud: Alexander the Great
The Death of Alexander
- We watched this documentary: Alexander the Great
- I DID NOT watch this, but just found it when writing this post, it is a National Geographic documentary on Alexander the Great
Chapter 26: The People of the Americas
Vocabulary: meso-
The Nazca Drawings
The Nazca Drawings
- I splurged and bought the girls these Sand Painting Kits - the kits have nothing to do with history but sand painting was suggested in the Activity Guide and I could not see myself dying sand.
The Heads of the Olmecs
- I LOVE the History Teachers, so if they have a video we watch it over and over. I love how they use popular music to help students remember history: The Olmecs by the History Teachers.
- We also watched this documentary: The Olmecs (Nat Geo)
- If you do nothing else, make sure your kids see the heads and get an understanding of their size.
Rabbit Shoots the Sun
Chapter 27: The Rise of Rome
Vocabulary: peninsula, patricians, consuls
Romulus and Remus
- We found this sweet little book Romulus and Remus
- We also watched this video on youtube: Romulus & Remus
The Power of Rome
- We watched this video about the Rise of the Roman Empire
Chapter 28: The Roman Empire
Vocabulary: mile stones, aqueducts
The Roman Gods
- We had done a lot with Roman and Greek Gods with the Evan Moore Literature Pocket, so the girls were familiar with them.
- We have this book at the library and it is pretty good: Roman Myths
The Roman Builders
- We built the Roman Archway and Aqueduct as suggested in the Activity Guide.
The Roman Gladiators
The Gladiator School
Quiz on this chapter
**I gave a Vocab quiz around this time and made sure our Timeline and Book of Centuries was caught up.
Chapter 29: Rome's War with Carthage
The Punic Wars
Chapter 30: The Aryans of India
Vocabulary: Hinduism
Life on the Ganges River
- We played Tiger Hunt as suggested in the Activity Guide
The Castes of Ancient India
- I explained to the girls the difference between a caste system and a class system.
Siddhartha
- I was disappointed not to find any children's books/graphic novels of the life of Siddhartha
- I did find this video for kids on the life of Siddhartha
Chapter 31: The Mauryan Empire of India
Vocabulary: brahmin, Buddhists, merciful
The Empire United
- The Story of India on Amazon video was excellent! (Again, parents should preview to make sure it is suitable/appropriate for their family.)
The Jataka Tales
Chapter 32: China: Writing and the Qin
Vocabulary: characters, calligraphy
Calligraphy in China
- We practiced Chinese writing with the worksheets in the Activity Guide.
Warring States
- We made paper
- We read Ch'l-Lin Purse: A Collection of Ancient Chinese Stories
The First Emperor and the Great Wall
- We looked at images of the Great Wall
- And from space
The First Emperor's Grave
Chapter 33: Confucius
China's Wise Teacher
- We looked at some Confucius quotes and used them for cursive practice
- We picked several Confucius quotes to memorize as well
** I was not always great about adding everything to our Timeline or having the girls add things to their Book of Centuries, but every few chapters I made sure we were caught up!
Chapter 34: The Rise of Julius Caesar
Vocabulary: rhetoric, possessions, triumvirate, legendary
Caesar is Kidnapped
- We were VERY fortunate to be able to see the play Julius Caesar at a Shakespeare Theatre in our area. If Julius Caesar is being performed in your area, I highly recommend taking your children to see it. I always struggled to understand Shakespeare until I saw it performed--it makes all the difference, as the play were written to be performed not just read.
- My girls and I read this together before we saw the play: The Young Reader's Caesar
- I do not have experience with this, but it looks cute: Julius Caesar for Kids
The Consuls of Rome
- we made the Roman mosaic suggested in the Activity Guide
Caesar and the Senate
Chapter 35: Caesar the Hero
Vocabulary: conquer, Rubicon
Caesar Fights the Celts
- Julius Caesar movie on youtube - I have only watched parts of this, not the whole thing.
Caesar Crosses the Rubicon
- Caesar Cross the Rubicon youtube video
Caesar and Cleopatra
- The girls memorized what "Veni, Vidi, Vici" means.
The Death of Caesar
- We studied the Roman numerals :)
Chapter 36: The First Roman Prince
Vocabulary: princeps
Augustus Caesar
- My girls loved learning that July is named after Julius Caesar and August is named after Augustus Caesar. We made the mosaic calendar as suggested in the Activity Guide
Chapter 37: The Beginning of Christianity
Vocabulary: Pax Romana, crucifixion, resurrection
The Birth of Jesus
- We read this story in our Bible Stories for Children book
Jesus Crucified and Resurrected
- We painted wooden crosses
- We made Resurrection cookies
Chapter 38: The End of the Ancient Jewish Nation
Vocabulary: imperator, rickety, catacombsThe Destruction of the Temple
- We played dreidel and made latkes
- We listened to the Festival of Lights song
Chapter 39: Rome and the Christians
Vocabulary: tartan
Nero, the Evil Emperor
- We made the salt dough map of Italy as suggested in the Activity Guide
Christians in the Catacombs
- the images of Catacombs were really creepy, but here is a video tour of some if you are daring
The Emperor is Christian!
- We talked about how Christianity was relatively new. We refreshed ourselves on the other religions that had gone before and how the birth of Jesus changed things. We talked about the message of Jesus and how it was different. The girls each wrote about an essay on how Jesus Changed the World.
Chapter 40: Rome Begins to Weaken
The British Rebellion
- We did the North, South, East, West project in the Activity Guide
- BBC Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire
Rome Divided in Two
- We discussed how things weaken and why divisiveness weakens any entity
Chapter 41: The Attacking Barbarians
Vocabulary: warhorses, hun, visigoth, barbarian, execution
Attila the Hun
Stilicho, Roman and Barbarian
- We looked at this book on Pompeii
- I am fascinated with Pompeii, so we explored this quite a bit. I challenged the girls to look it up at the library and find books and read about it and tell their dad and I some facts.
The Coming of the Visigoths
- The Siege of Rome (again, please preview and decide if this is ok for your kids)
Chapter 42: The End of Rome
Vocabulary: scrolls
The Last Roman Emperor
The Gifts of Rome
- We made a poster of the "Gifts of Rome" and the girls cut photos out of magazines of some of the gifts :)
** I was not always great about adding everything to our Timeline or having the girls add things to their Book of Centuries, but every few chapters I made sure we were caught up! I also gave a Vocab quiz when we finished the book.
Additional Resources:
Story of the World Lapbook (Free, donation requested)
Story of the World Video Links
Story of the World Pinterest
Story of the World Resources on Pinterest
Story of the World Resources
Additional Resources:
Story of the World Lapbook (Free, donation requested)
Story of the World Video Links
Story of the World Pinterest
Story of the World Resources on Pinterest
Story of the World Resources
