The Literature

We chose four literature titles to go along with this curriculum. You can find a list of the books and when they are assigned on page x in the introduction section of the Exploring Government lesson book.

If you want your student to earn English credit, the literature is a vital part of the course. However, if you want to focus only on the government credit, reading the literature is not essential to understanding the lessons.

We included instructions on when to read each book in the lesson assignments at the end of lessons. The first literature book we assign is Mornings on Horseback by David McCullough. Your student starts it in Unit 1 (see the literature introduction on page 2 and the assignments on page 8). The Student Review has literary analysis and review questions for each book.

Notes About the Literature

We deliberately chose quality literature that will enrich your student's study of history. The books we recommend have some content that we want you to be aware of in advance. We provide specific notes about each book in the Guide for Parents and Answer Key. If you did not purchase the Student Review Pack, you can download the Guide for Parents at no charge.

Suggested Supplements

Notgrass History curriculum is self-contained. You don't need to add anything else unless you want to. However, if you are looking for videos, virtual field trips, interactive websites, and other resources to supplement your studies, check out the resources we have listed at Homeschool History.

Each lesson in Exploring Government has a link to the suggested resources that go along with that lesson. You can access the full list of lessons and supplements using the button below.

Need an extra book or two?

If you ever need an extra consumable quiz book or a specific literature title, you can shop for any of the individual books on our website.

Looking for our bonus downloads?

All of the instructions and assignments for each lesson are included in the Exploring Government lesson book. Some of our customers have requested that we provide a lesson assignment checklist to help keep track of what their students are doing. You can download this checklist from our website.

We also have a handful of corrections and supplemental links available, including a link to each of the fifty state constitutions (see Unit 10, page 276).

Don't feel like you have to use all of these extra downloads to do a good job! They are tools that some parents find helpful. We don't want you or your child to feel overwhelmed by our curriculum. We trust you to teach each child the way you know works best for him or her.

Have other questions?

We've posted answers to frequently asked questions about using our high school curriculum. If you don't find the answer you need there, please email, call, or text us. You can also join one of our online communities to connect with other parents.

Keep up the good work!

We admire your dedication to giving your child a great education at home. May God give you strength, courage, and wisdom. Sincerely, Ray and Charlene Notgrass