American History First Semester Curriculum Package: Hands-On History for Kids and Teens

Start your students’ journey through American history where the story truly begins—before the continents collided. The American History First Semester Curriculum Package introduces learners to the rich and diverse cultures of Africa, Europe, and the Americas, showing how these worlds came together to shape the nation we know today.

This semester-long package includes six themed boxes filled with creative, hands-on activities, lesson plans, reading lists, and educator resources for everything you need to bring early American history to life for students in grades K–12.

Perfect for homeschool families, classrooms, co-ops, and history clubs, this curriculum helps learners understand history in a meaningful, memorable way.

What’s Inside?

This package includes six exciting boxes, each focusing on a key chapter of early American history. Each box contains age-appropriate activities, educator resources, and everything you need for an immersive lesson:

1. Mali: Why begin an American History course in Africa? Because the study of our nation (as opposed to the study of a continent) begins with the merging of three broad cultures: European, African, and Native American. We have chosen to begin our American story in the days before these three cultures came together in the New World. Learn about the richest man in the world, Mansa Musa, and his amazing and beautiful kingdom.
2. Powhatan: Visit one of the Eastern Woodland native tribes and learn more about the indigenous peoples of America. Try your hand at farming, baking and bead work, and read a traditional Powhatan folktale.
3. Explorers: All aboard for a fantastic insight into the ups and downs of life at sea, the men who braved the journey, and the legacy they left behind.
4. St. Augustine: Take an up-close look at the volatile life inside this fort, the truth about pirates and privateers, and the lives of the native Timucua people.
5. Jamestown: Have you ever wondered what life was like in this early settlement? What John Smith and Pocahontas talked about? When and where the first enslaved people arrived in America? Find the answers (and more) inside this box!
6. Plymouth: Explore this early settlement and learn new and exciting details about some of the most iconic early American people and events – the Pilgrims, the Wampanoag, and the first Thanksgiving. Jump forward a few decades and try to survive the Salem Witch Trials in a Choose Your Own Adventure story.

Each box includes crafts, stories, and educator materials that make it easy to adapt lessons for learners of all ages.

Why Choose our American History Curriculum Package?

This secular, hands-on history curriculum engages students with creative projects, meaningful stories, and thoughtful discussions. Kids and teens learn by crafting, playing, and imagining, all while building a deeper connection to the people and cultures that shaped America.

Everything you need such as supplies, directions, and background information is included so you can focus on teaching while your students experience history firsthand.

Product Details

• Includes six themed boxes with lesson plans, reading lists, and educator resources

• Covers a full semester of early American history

• Designed for students in grades K–12

• Secular, inclusive, and adaptable for homeschool, classroom, or group learning

• Welcome Boxes with introductory materials

• Please see our FAQs for additional information

Introduce your students to the people, places, and stories that shaped America with the American History First Semester Curriculum Package for a creative, hands-on way to explore our nation’s origins. Order today and spark their love of learning!