Full Program with Presidential Resources - #AC2 - $566 Value for $459
Reduced Program without Presidential Resources - #AC22 - $529 Value for $425

This is a new program, and will release after our WinterPromise Retreat in April.

Experience American Times and Innovation . . .

Delve into our American culture, from the struggle of the Civil War, and how it changed our national identity, to the toppling of the twin towers on September 11th, and how this has changed today’s world. Along the way, you’ll discover the westward-moving, invention-creating, city-building, store-establishing, business-making, future-loving, fad-introducing American people that created a new American culture.

As you journey along, you’ll enjoy the many learning experiences that will help your student get to know our American culture. They’ll conduct secret missions, help with the war effort, be a robber baron for a day, sing cowboy songs, live the pioneer life, design a city tenement, host a 50’s night, and create their own newfangled fad!

Not only will your student love the hands-on activities we’ve scheduled for you, they’ll also create their own American culture magazine for their “Make-Your-Own” pages this year. They’ll create articles and headlines on the key events and cultural changes going on around America. Students will also get to study later American painters, and discover the lives of the presidents who served America

Best of all, the books in this program are just outstanding! One book takes you into the inner workings of the financial world during the Great Depression, while another transports you to Lincoln’s side as he uses the latest Civil War-era technology. Still another gains you inside access to World War II spying, and another title puts you in Dallas on the day President Kennedy was shot. You’ll want to venture inside these books!

Features you'll love in the American Culture Program Guide:

Parent helps that are practical and help you “learn together” with your student
36-week schedule laid out so clearly, you’ll “open and go” every day
Fantastic activities and related learning opportunities that are perfect for middlers
Introductory pages for each week that help you explain cultural information to students
Supply lists for activities that will help you plan your year
Rating system that ranks the ease of use or supplies needed for an activity
Click here to see a sample of this program guide.

Decide on Which Option is Right for Your Family!

The Full American Culture Program
Your family will delve into our American culture and experience the life and times of the last American century. Students will also complete their state geography study and get to know all our former presidents. Together with the other resources, you are purchasing a truly complete program. We feel most parents will be happy with the integration we have
planned and the effortless way everything comes together.

The Reduced American Culture Program
This program might be a better choice if you have a student who needs to focus their attention on other areas of academic development and you'd rather bypass the state/presidential study for now. It might also be a better choice if you have a student who is at the youngest end of the recommended age group and struggles a little academically. It may help to know that the state geography and presidents study isn't harder material, but it does add more content. Therefore, a student who needs to put time and attention into developing another portion of their academic life may be better off with a trimmer program.

American Culture Resources

Highlights of Your American Culture Guidebook
AC2-101 - $70 - Free with Package Purchase

Simple and Ready-to-Go!
You’ll find this program guide is laid out so simply - just open and begin! Each of your 36 school weeks is laid out to reduce your paperwork! Each week also includes activity ideas, geography and timeline work, important advice on how to teach concepts, web search ideas, and much more!

Supply List for Activities
By parent request, we’ve put together a supply list in your guidebook so you can plan your activities ahead of time, and gather any supplies (other than routine items) you need.

Student Independent Work Schedules
Each week, your student will have a schedule all their own to complete the work they need to do on their own. No more writing out “homework” schedules!

Rating System for Activities
Activities have a rating on their supplies & skill level so you’ll always know what will work for you.

Notebooking Resource

"Make-Your-Own" American Culture Magazine | AC2-151 | $15
Create magazine headlines, stories, puzzles, letters to the editor and more for the big events in recent American history -such as Antietam, the Oklahoma land rush, D-Day battles, presidential assassinations, and the moon landing. Click here to see a sample of this resource.

History Resources
The Road to Civil War to the Toppling of the Towers

Your students will love this year's book choices. Amazing books have intriguing photographs, marvelous drawings, and stories that will draw them into the culture and experiences of Americans from every walk of life. They'll follow important developmental milestones in America's industry, and discover background on innovations such as mass production, the elevator, subway systems, dams and bridges, and so much more! It's a year that will help them understand later American history and our American culture!

Civil War for Kids AC2-201 | $15
Year by year, watch the Civil War unfold as you complete activities such as planning your own reconnaissance mission. You'll follow all the major battles and regions of conflict, as well as learning about life during the war: a soldier's life in camp, survival in prison camps, hospitals and medical care, and the struggle of families to survive back home.

Mr. Lincoln's High-Tech War | AC2-202 | $19
Fascinating narrative shows Lincoln as our nation’s first hands-on Commander-in-Chief, whose appreciation for the power of technology played a critical role in the North’s Civil War victory over the less developed South. Learn how the North used the idea of total war and up-to-date technology to win this bitter conflict.

Into the West | AC2-203 | $23
James McPherson writes 39 chapters on the days following the Civil War. He journeys through the upheavals and difficulties of Reconstruction, including the debate over presidential versus congressional reconstruction, the Ku Klux Klan, and the impeachment of Andrew Johnson. Later chapters cover the Homestead Act, cattle drives, outlaws, and the forced removal of Native American tribes.

The Central Pacific Railroad | AC2-204 | $6
Follow the tracks being laid across the plains to create the First Transcontinental Railroad.

Shutting Out the Sky | AC2-205 | $18
Through the stories of five immigrants, the world of New York City's tenements comes alive with descriptions of the newcomers' struggles and triumphs as they acclimate to life in America.

Chicago History for Kids | AC2-206 | $15
Travel through Chicago's varied history as you try your hand at projects like making a miniature glacier or a Ferris wheel, or planning a fire-escape route.

Building the New York Subway | AC2-207 | $6
Go underground to see below city streets into an underground labyrinth of transportation tunnels.

Remarkable, Rough-Riding Life of Theodore Roosevelt | AC2-209 | $17
Fabulous illustrations take you inside empire in America, and the life of the one-of-a-kind Teddy.

Ground-Breaking, Chance-Taking Life of George Washington Carver | AC2-208 | $17
Learn more about science and invention as you discover amazing facts about this inventor and American educator.

World War I | AC2-210 | $16
Excellent pictures will help students understand this conflict. This volume helps explain the war's origins in Europe, and the political events that made such a conflict all but inevitable. Then, it will take you inside life on the front, in the trenches, on patrol, in tanks and zeppelins, and on the sea. Photographs show uniforms and weapons, daily life at home and abroad, and how everyday people were affected by the fighting.

Louis Armstrong & the Jazz Age | AC2-211 | $6
After World War I, people felt a renewed optimism about the future. Musicians gave Americans a new type of music that fit this optimism -- jazz.

Six Days in October | AC2-212 | $17
This fast-paced account of the Stock Market Crash of 1929 puts a human face on the crisis, and also serves as a useful primer of financial basics. Wonderful!

Hoping for Rain | AC2-213 | $7
Live through the dust bowls that whipped through the Plains states. Discover how the farming techniques of the early century combined with a drought to produce one of the most devastating geological events of the century.

World War II for Kids | AC2-214 | $15
Follow the course of the war and get in on some of the action with activities that will take you right there. Go inside Hitler's advances and the responses of the Allies. Be there at the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the invasion of France on D-Day. Students will love the marvelous activities in which they'll explore rationing, staging a radio adventure program, knowing military ranks and military lingo, and more!

Great World War II Projects | AC2-215 | $15
Learn about America's World War II culture -- on the front lines and the home front. Plus, activities allow you to build WWII spotter planes, signal lights, victory pins and more.

The Civil Rights Movement in America | AC2-216 | $6
Walk along with civil rights leaders and watch African Americans' struggle for equal rights and equal recognition under the law.

Kennedy Assassinated! The World Mourns | AC2-217 | $18
A minute-by-minute chronicle of what happened that momentous afternoon . . . as the world reacted with shock and disbelief to word of the President's death in Dallas. Historic news photographs accompany the gripping story.

10,000 Days of Thunder | AC2-218 | $18
Beginning with an affecting introduction, the author then shares a history of communism and the origins of the Vietnam War. Following this, the American involvement in Vietnam is traced in numerous two- to four-page sections dealing with various aspects of the conflict, such as the Viet Cong, the Ho Chi Minh Trail, and the draft.

Team Moon: How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11 on the Moon | AC2-219 | $20
How do you go from walking on the earth one day and skipping amongst the stars the next? What this book does is take kids through the entire Apollo 11 experience from the perspective of those who worked on the project. Fantastic detail on what it took to successfully put men on the moon!

September 11, 2001: Attack on New York City | AC2-220 | $10
The tragic events of 9/11 are told through the experiences of a married couple who worked in the World Trade Towers, one of whom was lost; a blind man and his dog, both of whom escaped; and firefighters, office workers, and Mayor Giuliani.

On Hand in History with Adventure Reading

The Long Winter | AC2-301 | $ 7
A gripping account of the Ingalls family's struggle to survive during a blizzard-filled winter on the prairie. This story, one of Laura Ingalls Wilder's finest, spends the winter with the Ingalls, following the harrowing tale of their small town's dwindling supplies and the crushing news that the supply train would not make it through until spring. Amazing!

Little Town on the Prairie | AC2-302 | $7
Laura's story continues as new folks settle the town, including a man named Almanzo Wilder, and his sister -- an ineffective schoolteacher who takes a dislike to Laura.

The Trouble Begins at 8 | AC2-303 | $ 19
A marvelous biography of Samuel Clemens and the stories he created using the pseudonym Mark Twain. The gifted author Sid Fleishmann succeeds in turning this into a romping tale of wonderful episodes in the writer's life.

Bread and Roses, Too | AC2-304 | $ 7
Rosa's mother is singing again, but she's singing union songs out on the streets -- she's joined the strike against corrupt mill owners, and Rosa is terrified. Then, she and other children in the middle of the strike are offered an opportunity to live with strangers in Vermont. Should she go?

Quake: Disaster in San Francisco | AC2-305 | $ 7
It is 1906, and 13-year-old Jacob Kaufman, who lives in San Francisco with his father and little sister, is outside when a major earthquake shakes the city, cracking streets and toppling buildings. After Jacob and his dog save the life of San, a Chinese boy, the two join together to search for their families and for food and temporary shelter. Though San occasionally faces racial hostility, the boys meet many strangers who help them through the difficult days.

Letters from Rifka | AC2-306 | $ 7
Twelve-year-old Rifka's journey from a Jewish community in the Ukraine to Ellis Island is anything but smooth sailing. Modeled on the author's great-aunt, Rifka surmounts one obstacle after another in this riveting novel. First she outwits a band of Russian soldiers, enabling her family to escape to Poland. But her journey is not yet over.

Moonshiner's Gold | AC2-307 | $ 8
It's 1927, and Riley lives with his mother and brother on the family's ranch in west Texas. The trouble begins when the law refuses to help with outlaws on his property. What can Riley do to protect his family with his father dead and no help from the law?

Hoodwinked! | AC2-308 | $ 15
Students will relish this account of the spy techniques used by the Allies in World War II. See how fake tanks, coded messages, and misinformation deceived the enemy and helped win the war.

Rascal | AC2-309 | $ 6
This touching story of a boy and his raccoon is both heartwarming and hilarious. You'll enjoy following their fun adventures and developing relationship.

Art History: Picture Study

Later American Painters Picture Studies | AC2-501 | $29
Meet six American painters whose work is outstanding and memorable -- Mary Cassatt, James McNeill Whistler, Charles M. Russell, Grant Wood, Norman Rockwell, and Jackson Pollock. Students will learn about each artist by looking at included full-color reproductions of their work and learn to appreciate it with interactive picture study activities and questions.

Bible Study Resource

Christian Cultural Values for Kids | AC2-401 | $19
Your student will discover and evaluate values such as seeing all people created by God, nurturing contentment, or their personal work ethic as they encounter how American cultural values through history, such as racism, materialism, and greed have affected our country. Click here to see a sample of this book.

Culturally-Rich Activity Resource

American Can Do It! Activity Book | AC2-251 | $29
Learn about all things American! Discover cultural information about how American ideas were invented, built, created and more by Americans who brought them to life. You'll also discover cultural information about the different periods in later American history, getting to know what was fun, hip and happening! All along the way, activities are included that will help your student get a feel for the times. Click here to see a sample of this book.

Presidential Resources
(These three resources not included in reduced program.)

Encyclopedia of the Presidents and Their Times | AC2-601 | $22
Learn about each president's background, and their term in office. Discover the important decisions each made, and the events he encountered (or created) while in the White House.

Presidential Elections & Other Cool Facts | AC2-602 | $7
Discover how our American elections work and how the process affects our democratic way of life.

Completer Set of State Study Worksheets | AC2-603 | $8
A completer set of worksheets for the rest of the states in the student's state study; each provides a place on which the student can map cities and landmarks, and collect other information.

What Do I Need to Complete the Learning?

Timeline Building Resources!
Include these for each student:
Homeschool in the Woods "America's History Set" Timeline Figures
Timelines in History
Old Style Map Set

Consumables for Additional Students
"Make-Your-Own" American Culture Magazine (AC2-151)
Christian Cultural Values for Kids (AC2-401)
Completer Set of State Study Worksheets (AC2-603)
Additional Student Set #AC2-901 - $42 includes consumables #AC2-151, 401, 603.

A Language Arts Program that coordinates with your American Crossing 1 Program:
Fifth Grade Language Arts
Sixth Grade Language Arts
Seventh Grade Language Arts
Eighth Grade Language Arts

A Math and Science Program
You may want to consider Saxon, Horizons, or Math Mammoth, the math programs that we offer, and a science program, either one of our published programs or another stand-alone program. Our science programs are designed with a level of content that is a good complement to how much content is in our themed programs.

Frequently Asked Questions Regarding this Program

How does the American Culture coordinate with the American Story 2?
These two programs are designed so that you are working on the same concepts on the same week. This means you can complete joint activities from time to time, perhaps share some adventure reading, and visit landmarks as a family knowing you are working on the same concepts and periods in history.

What is the difference between this program and American Story 2?
American Culture is designed specifically for fifth through eighth grade students, whereas American Story 2 is designed to meet the needs of second through fourth grade students. Compared to American Story 2, American Culture has a higher level of content, more abstract concepts, more work requirements, and a greater proportion of text-only books. While there are still many illustrations, the pictures tend to require more base knowledge and be less concrete than those found in the American Story 2 book selection. American Culture also spends a lot of time connecting American events to the cultural events that influenced the times. This requires the student to have a little more maturity to understand and make sense of these connections. As always, we've included great activities, but here again, more art skills, and other fine motor skills are required to successfully complete the heart of the program. By contrast, the American Story 2 spends more time on books that tell straightforward stories, stressing simple events and people to help young learners master the basics of early American history in a way that connects well to their maturity level and learning strengths.

Can I purchase and use only American Culture for students between 2nd grade and 8th grade?
As you'll see in the question above, there are significant differences in the goals and approaches used by these two early American history programs. While it may seem easy to use American Culture for all these ages and simply require less of a younger student, the themes and concepts covered often require more maturity to grasp, and thus enjoy. This problem won't really disappear by using less of the resources. Your younger student will benefit far more from having books and materials that are right at their level, and designed to help them learn and retain important facts. We strongly encourage you not to pursue this option, as we feel your young student would most likely be "left behind" in their learning.

Can you tell me why I shouldn't just use the American Story 2 for all my students, including middlers?
Again referring you to the first question above, we'd like for you to really understand that your older students are going to benefit most from learning the material in a way that is right at their level. American Culture offers material that will encourage your student to connect up facts and use them to evaluate people's motivations, historical movements, and other abstract concepts along the way. Also, there is no independent work in American Story 2 -- something that must be a part of your older student's learning experience. Finally, the books in this program are really going to interest your middle-grade student.

How can I best combine all of my students using your American resources, then?
If you have several students, we'd probably encourage you to complete both programs. We also offer another great option for families. We offer the All-American II Set, which includes a good mixture of books from both programs so that younger learners are less-likely to be left behind, and older learners are still challenged. This program comes with a separate guide book which is a blend of the other two and is more expensive, of course, than either of the programs alone. This option will work fairly well if you've got students who are a blend of ages. It may not be a great option for families who have students whose ages are at the extreme lower and upper ends, such as a family with a 2nd and a 7th grade student, who would more likely do better having their own sets of resources.

I'd love to have my Senior High student join our study -- is this possible?
We do offer an add-on set that will allow your junior or senior high student to complete the American Culture with some additional resources for a complete upper level experience. This American Culture High School Add-On Set includes an Older Learner's Guide for American Culture that includes substitute independent study schedules. These schedule additional resources and provide a place where your student can keep track of their own work and still have American Culture assignments on the same independent work planning page.

I’ve already got a few of the items in the package. Can I still get the package price and leave them out?
We love to offer our package prices to our parents to help them purchase a great program with a great discount. We do, however, have to sell all the items in the package in order to honor the discount. Usually the discount outweighs the value of the resources you might already have. If not, you can choose items individually to build your program, but remember --the purchase of a themed program package ensures you also get free shipping, another discount you’ll want to take into account as you look at your total purchase.

How do the Language Arts coordinate with this program?
We have several language arts programs that coordinate with our American Culture program. “LA 5,” “LA 6,” "LA 7," and “LA 8” have a reader set right at their respective grade levels to enable students to experience comfortable reading growth. They also include creative writing suggestions for your student to complete that coordinate with their main study. You can link to any of these programs in the section above these questions.

Full Program with Presidential Resources - #AC2 - $566 Value for $459 Reduced Program without Presidential Resources - #AC22 - $529 Value for $425