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RAR # 164: Our Favorite Way to Read through History (and a new FREE resource)

by Sarah Mackenzie | Oct 5, 2020 | Homeschooling, Picture Books, Podcast

In this very special episode of the podcast, the RAR team is discussing our favorite way to study history: through picture book biographies. We’re also sharing a brand new FREE resource – a huge list of our favorite picture book biographies, organized by time period and category.

This resource will be a huge help to your history studies, because we’ve matched the books up to each time period. We’ve also got categories for:

Artists
Athletes
Inventors & Explorers
Musicians
Scientists & Mathematicians
U.S. History
Writers

And of course, we have the whole list available for you uncategorized, as well, if you like your booklists to lead to wild spontaneous discoveries. 😏

The list is available to view online, or to print. Pop your email in below to get it.

Download the FREE categorized list

Get the full printable list of our favorite picture book biographies, organized by time period and category, including tips and open-ended questions

The printable also includes:

tips for using picture book biographies in your homeschool
open-ended questions to discuss them
ideas for how to use these books with older kids and high schoolers, as well as younger kids

In this podcast episode, you’ll hear:

what makes picture books special and unique learning tools
the best ways to read them and use them in your homeschool
how picture book biographies help us answer the so what question

Click the play button below to start listening:

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We talk about…

1:48	Meet the team
3:20	‘Expanded, revised and better than ever’
5:33	Why use a picture book biography?
6:46	Sarah reads aloud (she can’t help herself!)
8:51	Sophisticated language
10:28	Immersive art
13:00	Design makes a difference
15:18	Engaging back matter
17:53	Empathy and compassion
20:51	How to read a picture book biography
21:58	Expanding the story
24:05	Delight as a teacher
25:03	Picture book bios for different age groups
28:16	So what?
31:46	Back matter as a “jumping off point”
33:43	Unit studies with meaning
34:51	Going deeper
36:48	With older kids (and adults!)
39:45	Open-ended questions
42:25	Great conversations
44:23	Let the Kids Speak

Quotes to remember:

“The picture books created a context for him. We did this without timelines or chanting or quizzes. He has those facts in his mind already, because he was given worthy things to contemplate, and he made connections himself that were meaningful.”
Kortney Garrison

“You’re experiencing what a real person saw, heard, felt because of the language, illustrations, and design that go with it. I feel like that’s one of the best ways that we can build empathy in our kids and compassion.“
Kara Anderson

“I think it’s important to remember that the story itself is enough. Reading a story out loud with people you love and who love you, is always going to be the most powerful part of any kind of learning and reading experience.”
Sarah Mackenzie