I have found this book to be a nice break from dry textbooks. My only problem is that when I read it I find it kind of depressing. Most of the information I am familiar with but not to this depth. For example, I knew that Columbus was not exploring out of curiosity but for the hope of financial gain. I knew that he wasn't some noble man with altruistic motives. What I didn't know was how bad he was. It made me sad to contemplate it.
I found the story of Squanto much more interesting than the watered down version I got in grade school. His resilience was amazing. I remember reading a biography about him in probably the 3rd grade and didn't know any of this. I always felt like there was more to the story. I think as educators we need to not be so afraid to share the whole story with children. (maybe not every detail at young ages)
So, perhaps, as you shared below, primary documents and sources, and interrogation of them, would be a way that you would like to go about doing this. . .
ReplyDeleteYou know Brenda...I sometimes feel like that.. though I do have a really tough time getting all this history because I was one of the students who was left out because the teacher always gave us worksheets. Lame! :(
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