The Noah Plan Curriculum Guides (NPCG) can be a great blessing to anyone wanting to teach by Biblical Principles. Even if you don’t plan to strictly follow the “Principle Approach” (PA), you will learn much that will be of great value to you.
The Noah Plan History & Geography Curriculum Guide is my favorite. I have spent much more time with it than the others. Also, history is the foundation for all studies (all “subjects” have a “history”) so it is a great place to start.
SOME PRACTICAL IDEAS for using NPCG – History —
I’d recommend reading the book through first. Not even worrying about taking notes – yet. Just read through, getting an idea of the “big picture” – the main gist of PA-style History. This will familiarize you (better) with the terms and components. [ My hesitantly given, not recommended, possibility: I suppose if someone is a really slow reader and has almost no time and is already somewhat familiar with NP and PA they could just very CAREFULLY, spending some time at it, go over the Table of Contents. BUT it will not produce the same effect.]
THEN go back to the beginning of the book, with paper and pen in hand and begin reading again – taking good notes, that make it make sense to you.
Chapter 1 – Skip the grade level curriculum charts for now!
Chapter 2 – Foundations for Teaching History will give you a good philosophy of History. Read it – 2-3 times before moving on, if you need to. Take good notes – or better yet, write a narration for each article, for which you’d probably have to go paragraph by paragraph – many times I just do this narration orally, in whatever I’m reading, to be sure I’ve understood. Then at the end of the chapter (several articles) try to write a summary of a Biblical philosophy of History in your own words, from your notes. This will prove very valuable to you when you go to teach your children the Biblical – Foundations of History. (This would be a great study for your Jr/Sr High student.)
Chapter 3 – Enlivening the History Curriculum will help you understand the components of PA history. Read it over until you have a good idea of what makes up a history course PA-style. They are: the Principles, the Leading Ideas (short explanations of both referenced to T&L*, and CHOC* for further understanding), the Chain of Christianity, and teaching History through Individuals – then, using primary sources, geography (as the “stage” for history), and enrichment methods (literature, arts, field trips, etc.). Get a good understanding of each component and why it is used (otherwise you won’t use it). Of course you can always CHOOSE not to use them, for your own purposes! It would be of great benefit to you if you would take each component and write an “informal essay” of it and its importance in the curriculum (for the ones you choose to include).
Chapter 4 – Teaching History will help you understand how to actually plan the lessons. (See how we’ve progressed from philosophy, to methodology, to now application?) This, I think for most people, is probably the hardest part to “catch” – the pulling it all together. This is where we need to be careful to not get caught up into bondage of “the letter of the law”. WHEN the first two parts are well internalized, this part should almost “flow”. The SPIRIT will come forth. This, of course, is where I do not believe a home needs to follow the pattern of a school. The HOME way is the “better” way, the institution has constraints that require it to not have the freedom that we do. Therefore, the school is in bondage to the “letter” much more so than the home. The lessons should flow in the lifestyle of the home. There still is much info in this chapter to help us learn – notebooking, 4 R-ing, distinctives of a PA lesson, the “art of learning”. Good things to internalize, so they can flow naturally, and not be “applied legalistically”.
This part does not make sense if the first 2 parts aren’t well understood and internalized. This frustrates parents, who feel the time-clock ticking away. They just want to teach history, and they can’t even understand how to plan a lesson. But most likely the frustration is there because they haven’t internalized, don’t have a good understanding of the philosophy and components. I’m not saying that every lesson idea will just spontaneously flow onto the paper – there’s more prep for that. I’m saying that HOW to plan a lesson will make sense.
OK —
NOW you can look at the grade level curriculum charts! They will make so much more sense now. Skim through the grade levels. You’ll notice many of the aspects are the same, grade to grade. Note the Principle Emphasized/area of history studied for each and look through the “set up” – scope and sequence. Note the progression through the grades.
Choose a “grade level” to study more closely.** Read through it carefully. Do you see how all the pieces come together? BUT you certainly don’t have to follow these curriculum charts. You now have all the tools to make your own! Well, to get a GREAT start on it anyhow. You can start teaching your children history the “PA way” now. Even if you don’t use these charts, they help you understand what a PA history course looks like.
WHAT ABOUT THE REST OF THE BOOK —
Chapters 5 and up take you into the Geography aspect. I wouldn’t even go there yet. Get the History internalized first. THEN, go for it – in the same way. It will “come together” much quicker once the history is internalized. The Geography will dovetail into your history, and there is much actual “teaching content” in the guide.
*NOTE: T&L = Teaching And Learning: America’s Christian History
CHOC = Christian History of the the Constitution: Volume 1
** NOTE: K really is a pretty good place to start, if you want to use these charts. It’s a good “foundation”. You can take it a little faster and move on, or integrate a couple of years together. Do you have young ones and older, teen aged ones? How about integrating K and 8?
