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Modern History Bridge

A Study Guide for Grades 3 to 7

Main Reference Spines

1. Usborne Encyclopedia of World History with Internet Links

2. The Story of the World, Volume 4: The Modern Age by Susan Wise Bauer

Literature

3. Your choice of one of the following adapted novels from the Classic Starts series:

Classic Starts: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, edited by Chris Sasaki

Classic Starts: Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, edited by Chris Tait

Classic Starts: Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens, edited by Kathleen Olmstead

4. Your choice of one of the following Thomas Edison biographies:

Great Minds of Science: Thomas Edison by Katherine Krieg

Britannica Beginner Bios: Thomas Alva Edison, Inventor and Entrepreneur by Greg Roza

National Geographic Kids: Thomas Edison by Barbara Kramer

5. Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

6. The Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis

If your child is interested in how continents form, check out this TEDED video about the formation of North America: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzqnUvE66HA

This animated map is a good overview of the European colonization of North and South America. (Note that it does not go in depth into the atrocities committed against Indigenous peoples in these regions. It is a matter-of-fact look at the age of colonialism through geography.): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOMx4Edz3Pk

To learn more about the history of the colonization of Canada, check out this brief video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J04aoVjtsBo

A TEDED video about the founding of Jamestown: https://ed.ted.com/best_of_web/mz20AmLy

A TEDED video to learn more about the 13 British colonies (via a hip-hop song) that eventually became the United States: https://ed.ted.com/best_of_web/49m6kVP5

Watch this overview of the Atlantic Slave Trade from TEDED. We recommend watching this together with your child so that you are able to discuss this upsetting period in history: https://www.ted.com/talks/anthony_hazard_the_atlantic_slave_trade_what_too_few_textbooks_told_you

This video shows the history o the Atlantic Slave Trade with a silent animated map that depicts the flow of captive Africans from regions in Arica to the Americas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKo-_Xxfywk

Here is a video option that briefly explains the history of slave trade: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnqhdNxqmpc

A humorous/kid-friendly look at the history and geography of Australia from Geography Now, a YouTube channel that seeks to help kids and adults learn about the countries of the world: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynHIlx5RgtI

Check out what a Didgeridoo sounds like in this video of Aboriginal artist Lewis Burns: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yG9ZX1FS20A

A video about the Boston Tea Party from TEDEd: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cT_Z0KGhP8

A kid-friendly biography of George Washington: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2X9f2waOKU8

A good summary of the American Revolution: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWtW0gmh3kg

Three Revolutionary ladies (from the musical Hamilton) explaining their philosophy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bkqXVc_1go

TEDED video about the French Revolution: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBn7iWzrKoI

TEDED video that explores "History vs. Napoleon": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aq_gRfmjgY

Here is a famous revolutionary song from the movie version of Les Misérables: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1q82twrdr0U

An overview of the Industrial Revolution, which does a nice job of explaining how home production of goods was gradually replaced with factory production: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nl_-6WPQ4Sg

Here is a brief animated overview of the Industrial Revolution: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLhNP0qp38Q

A brief biography of Simón Bolívar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxuxFg_8nkI&t=40s

Listen to a maraca solo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lF4pfhxlTr0

Listen to a portion of music from the Ring Cycle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJf8G1E_hBU

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