Digital Format

Not an e-book, not an e-course

We have created a unique format for our Ancients Primary grade 1 books. It is not an e-book, and it is not an e-course.

Our digital format allows parents to have all the materials in one place and teach their child. Lesson plans are placed side by side with the worksheets and resources.

All you need for the entire year in one place.

No shipping needed!

What is Included?

The History Connections Book 2 Middle Ages digital program includes the following: 

• History Connections Book 2 – Middle Ages 
• History Connections Book 2 – Middle Ages  Maps & Worksheets (Needs to be printed)
• World Wall Map & Wall Icons (Needs to be printed & assembled)
• River of Life Poster (Needs to be printed & assembled)
• Usborne Internet Linked History Encyclopedia
• History Intersections, edition 2
• BONUS: Shama'il Poster!

That is a total value of $137!

If you pay for the entire year, you only pay $119.99!

That is less than 10$ per month!

Don't want to pay upfront?

A payment plan is available for $9.99 per month for 13 months.

All you need for the entire year in one place online!

No hassle with shipping, no heavy books to carry!

You will get access for 13 months to complete the 30 weeks of lessons.

Not sure yet if this is there right fit for you?

Try the curriculum for a day in a FREE trial!

Elements in the Lessons

All lessons have scripted discussion questions and detailed instructions. The digital program us broken up into 30 weeks. Each week will list the material needed for that week. All resources are included. You will need to prepare the materials for the activities, which are listed separately every week for your convenience. In every lesson there are several elements: 

The Task Card on the first page of every weekly lesson lists an overview of the topic and the materials needed. 

Materials: The teaching materials needed are listed in the first column. 

Time: This time indication is based upon twice a block of 45 minutes.

Inquiry: throughout this curriculum, the parent is modeling asking questions. Students learn how to ask questions and extract information from images and maps. This is a pre- research skill. 

Reading: Learning how to read a historical text is a skill that will benefit a child throughout his/her life. The goal is not to read as many lines as possible, but to read each line with attention, looking to comprehend the text.  

Discussion: Discussion questions help students recap the major events in a story and practices comprehension.

Narration: Narration is intended to practice recalling and retaining information from a story.

Activities: Every week the child will complete an activity that relates to the topic of the week. This will help students internalize the information covered. Activities are varied and alternated, in order to keep students engaged.

Tracing a Map: The program asks the child to trace the Location Maps (provided). The action of physically tracing a map assures the information is integrated into memory. The mapping activity allows students to get familiar with geography and teaches them to pay attention to certain geographical landmarks, such as rivers and seas, mountain ranges and oceans. 

World Wall Map & Wall Icons: Every week, the child will cut out and stick small icons on the World Wall Map to remember the events that have been discussed. It also gives a sense of where most of the events are happening on a global scale.

River of Life: The River of Life poster is used with lessons that are directly about Muslims such as lessons about the Prophet (saws) or about Muslim powers that emerged after the Prophet (saws) died.  At the end of the year, the child will have a timeline that depicts all the important Muslim events in the Middle Ages, one after the other. This helps children visualize information. 

Extra Resources: At the end of every lesson, there are extra resources listed. We recommend that if your child expresses a particular interest in a topic, you allow extra time for the extra resources. Extra resources are optional and not part of this curriculum.

History Connections

History in Context

Learning about what happened in the past is essential to understand what is happening in our current society. Giving children a sense that they belong to a larger community is essential for their sense of belonging. Learning about a proud heritage teaches children self-esteem. Infusing this knowledge with Islamic concepts, teaches them good character. Mastering 21st century skills allows them to function in modern society.

Our History Connection series covers the ancients all the way up to the modern history and current issues. This series is intended for grade 1 through 8.

Every year students will take a chunk of this history. In the first book, students will cover from Creation to about 500 C.E. In the second book, they will cover from 500 C.E. until about 1650 C.E. The third era will cover from 1650 C.E. until the Industrial Revolution, approximately 1850 C.E. The last era, the Modern Era, will cover from 1850 C.E. until our current day.

All Eras have Islamic History integrated within global history, with more attention and time spend on important topics in the history of our Ummah.

The four books in this curriculum are consecutive, not only in chronological information but also in building skills.

This series does all that, and more. 

Each curriculum covers a full year of 30 weeks. The curriculum is gradually progressing in skills and knowledge and is packed with activities and extra resources. Islamic concepts and knowledge are integrated as part of the history content.

Starting with an older student

Older students may still enjoy looking at the images and extracting information from these, but this should be supplemented by a more challenging task.

For late primary students starting in Book 2, we recommend they read the paragraphs in the encyclopedia independently and outline the information. Outlining is the process where the student writes down the most important point of each paragraph and numbers these points with Roman Numerals.

The crafts are enjoyable for older students as well, although they may read the instructions themselves and complete the craft independently.

Some students find it difficult to read from a digital screen, and in this case we recommend you buy an actual hard copy of the resources (the Usborne Internet Linked History Encyclopedia and History Intersections) for ease of reading.

Differentiation means tailoring instruction to meet individual needs. Differentiation is a framework for effective teaching that involves providing all learners a range of different avenues for understanding new information.

Experiential learning is the process of learning through experience, and is more specifically defined as "learning through reflection on doing".

Aptitude Training determines how well-equipped students are to make good decisions and solve problems in their academic, professional and personal lives. Skills are the building blocks that allow students to apply the knowledge they acquire in an academic context to real world problems and situations.

Lens of Islam integrates Islamic knowledge into elements of the academic program in order to provide students with an Islamic lens to view the world and to create connections between the deen and the world at large. Viewing the world through an Islamic lens will increase a sense of purpose and meaning, and allows students to foster their Islamic identity and live with integrity.

Social-emotional Learning is the process through which students acquire and apply the skills necessary to manage emotions and social relationships. According to Goleman, social-emotional intelligence “emerges as a much stronger predictor of who will be most successful, because it is how we handle ourselves in our relationships that determines how well we do once we are in a given job”.