Product reviews for History Pockets: The American Revolution, Grades 4-6 - Teacher Reproducibles, E-book

I love all the History Pockets and this is no exception! I teach all subjects to kids who have significant disabilities and the information and activities in this book were just perfect for them! Some of the reading material is still a bit high for my kids, but I did read-alouds and then had the kids retell and add drawings to the other Pockets materials. The cutting, gluing and coloring are all excellent fine motor practice and I added my own cardstock page of games native children played, then punched holes around it and had the kids sew around it. I bought it in e-format which makes it much easier when making copies.

Like I said, I'm torn.  While I loved how well this book was organized and how thorough it was, my kids weren't crazy about it.  (I'm a homeschooler of two boys, ages 5 and 9)  To them, it felt like busy work and a waste of time with the coloring, cutting, assembling, etc.  I however, loved it.  I enjoyed the time and loved having the finished product at the end.  This really comes down to learning style, if your kids don't love the coloring and cutting aspect, this won't suddenly convince them that it's fun.  I could totally see me putting this all together and the kids still getting a lot out of it.

The activities are not very engaging. I don't think I will purchase a similar item again.

My homeschoolers love using this book to learn about the American Revolution. We like how it engages more of the senses by using coloring, cutting and gluing in addition to reading the text. This visual format helps my kids remember the information longer and they find it more fun.

We bought this to accompany our World History unit on Native Americans. It gave me a jumping off point to begin discussions and some relevant crafts. My crafty boys loved this, however it may seem like busywork to those that aren't into crafts. I found the factual information on point and easy to supplement when needed. They were great additions to our history notebooks.

My 9 year old daughter really loves crafts, but got stuck with a mom who is not all that enthralled about setting up that kind of thing. But the activities were really fun for her without being a major chore for me.

She did get a good overview of ancient Egypt. Good ideas went into developing different activities. If you want a really deep study of Egypt, use this resource as a high-interest supplement for other reading and/or class discussion.

I do wish there was a single list of all the materials needed to get through the whole book so I could buy it all at once, but I was able to piece that together fairly easily. Each activity did have a materials list.

We liked it enough that we ordered the one for ancient Greece to do next.

I love the book. It works great for my students with special needs. I love the hands on activities.

This is a great supplement to my unit on Westward Expansion as well as the Gold Rush. My students are really enjoying it.

I bought this to use to enhance my Westward Movement stories. I enjoyed adding pieces for this book to my stories. My students gained a better understanding of the Westward movement.

While there is a great collection of activities and information related to Ancient Egypt, most of them were quite boring and repetitious for my 4th & 5th grade boys. We ended up pulling out a couple of the activities and using them as a supplement for another history course.

This has been a great introduction to ancient history that has had the added benefit of encouraging handwriting and short-answer responses. My son isn't all that keen on colouring in and craft work but his interest in history has encouraged him to be a bit more hands-on and so has helped to improve his motor-skills and penmanship.
Also very suitable for non-USA curricula.

Great entry level activities for significantly impaired students integrated into grade level classes.

Great project and lots of content. I have been using Evan Moor for years to supplement homeschooling.

I bought this for my 3rd grade Native American Unit. I used it as a basic starting place. For each tribe, we added other activities with videos, technology, powerpoints, etc. I love using this History Pockets as a baseline.

I love the History Pockets books!!! My 4th graders learn while having fun making the pockets and activities that fill the pockets! I also use Colonial America and the American Revolution History Pockets and would highly recommend all three!

I love all the History Pocket Books! I use Ancient Egypt, Ancient Rome, Ancient Greece, Explorers of North America, Colonial America, and now The American Civil War. Sometimes I actually make the Pocket Book, but mostly I just pick and choose activities. I also like Literature Pocket Tall Tales. Highly Recommend to extend your History lessons!!!

We used this Colonial America History Pocket e-book as a supplement for our son's "The History of US" curriculum series. It was fantastic and very engaging. He especially enjoyed the lesson where he got to design his own colonial town. All the lessons in the e-book provided us with great discussions about life in colonial America. The drawings are well done and each lesson is able to be completed in a very reasonable timeframe. Highly recommend! We are moving on to the Civil War and will definitely purchase that History Pocket e-book, as well.

I teach English language learners and I've found these to be a great resource. I don't always do all of the crafts with the older students, but I really like the way the topics are broken down into different mini-articles. It's not a curriculum, but it helps my students to better comprehend the content.

My children have really been enjoying the use of this product this year. We are using it as a supplement or reinforcement to our History Books, and the kids are THRILLED! I think it helps them remember what we've learned and the cool crafty way things are done really engages them. I am using this product along with the Colonial America (Gr. 4-6) version as well. I don't use all the items, or in the same order, so it's great to tweak it to your needs. FUN stuff, which I have already recommended. I already ordered the Ancient History Pockets for next year as well. Good stuff!

My students loved working on the European Explorers unit. They took pride in their finished products and had information in one convenient place for review.

I used this product to complete are research on explorers. It had great fact cards, and easy to do activities.

We are having so much fun with our History Pockets. The kids enjoy the projects, and I love getting them ready - it feeds my scrapbooking craving, which I never have time to do anymore!

Good to leave for a substitute teacher or TA

Good resource

I loved this product. Perfect use for younger kids. I just supplemented with some books that Tapestry of Grace suggested. Very easy to use and not complicated.

This guide is great for teachers who want to engage their students with hands-on minds-on learning. It is great for teachers who need appropriately leveled, yet still in-depth social studies reading material for their students. It is perfect for kids who find worksheets boring. After this theme, social studies became my students favorite class. When they are finished they have a beautiful portfolio to show off. Not only was this theme more in depth than the 1-2 Grade textbook, it was more engaging for the kids AND hundreds of dollars cheaper. However, it is also wise to supplement it with trade books and/or library books as well as vivid pictures to help students visualize the colonists.

use it to introduce concept. Students read aloud in small groups. great for study guide; offers differential instruction for tactile and visual learners

As a homeschool family, it is always wonderful to find a resource that has activities that appeal to several different age groups - this one certainly fits that description!

We used this for my daughter to have some kind of activity to do while I was reading her historical fiction books about the Revolutionary War. She loved doing the activities and kept her hands busy while she was listening. We are planning to use the Civil War History Pocket as well. It was probably one of our favorite subjects we worked on this year.

I use portions of this product as "mini-projects" for my 5th grade social studies students during our American Revolution unit. The kids particularly enjoy the clever pop-up and foldable features.

I used this in my classroom Social Studies class.

I used this product for working with a special needs student at her home to supplement her developmental programming. She loves working with the included activities and thinks the pockets are the most amazing things. It is a great visual representation of the work we have accomplished and is easy to find past lessons.

Wonderful resource with activities to learn about various tribes.

This is filled with excellent age-appropriate activities - as all the "pockets". Easy to assemble. Easy to use independently, however, it's lots of fun to do together.

These books really helped my son to love history. It adds just enough to spur on thought and exploration.

I used this product with middle school students who are struggling readers as a supplememntal support along with the regular history curriculum. This was a great way for them to participate in being actively engaged in their own understanding of the Civil War and to feel success with that learning.

These pockets are a great way to review colonial life. Children enjoy the activities and engage in some great conversations as they work on each pocket.

We have used history pockets for projects and as a tool for resource(s)

We use this as supplemental to our history lessons and a reason to get a little crafty. As I read aloud a history story this keeps the hands busy cutting, coloring, and gluing. At times the instructions are a little unclear as to how to assemble the pieces.

There were some great activities in the book, but it is definitely for the ages/grades listed. A little easy for middle school. However, it did provide some added activities for centers.

This was a fun supplemental product to add to our current material on Ancient Egypt. It has a lot of good activities that the students enjoyed.

This was a fun way for the kids to "wrap up" the information that they had learned in a concise format.

The visual representations are perfect for my students. This book utilizes two modalities:visual and kinesthetic.

I have used this for years

I use this with my class several times during the week. I've used similar books with my students and they have loved them all. This book really appealed to my 6th grade special education students. They really were engaged and eager to learn more and to go home and share it with their families.

Buying the E-book is a must! I just stapled the pockets and it was much easier than punching holes and tying a ribbon.

I love all the pocket books that you have. I have about 10 of them. They are easy to use and the directions are basic. I like that you have all the directions and supplies listed. The rome pocket book is very educational.

Being a military family, we move frequently; this was a huge factor in deciding to homeschool our children during their early years. Moreover, both our girls are accelerated learners and need material that is engaging, offers depth of instruction and opportunities for further exploration, and can be studied and manipulated as quickly as they wish to tackle it. I have turned to Evan-Moor repeatedly, and continue to be pleased with their products. The books are clearly formatted and grade/age-level appropriate. Plus, the information is simple enough to follow at home, yet offers many ideas for additional hands-on activities to further explore the topics at hand. I like that we can explore a subject as deeply as we wish, yet have guidelines that help me keep our study on par with the girls' level of understanding. I use this history book primarily with my second grader, but the information is presented in a way that is very engaging, and my four-year old often wants in on the action! (The Evan-Moor science materials I own can be used for little ones too, so my pre-schooler is getting a head start on science concepts while her sister works with the corresponding materials for slightly older grade levels - very cool!). I consider these materials to be very good, and I think myself a tough critic.......again, due to repeated moves, I found myself frustrated with the inconsistency within the public school systems: Some schools were happy to challenge my daughter, others felt it was too much to ask and repeatedly gave her material that she had already learned with no promise of a challenge in sight. These materials allow me to provide instruction for a bright and eager child while stimulating her intellect, maintaining her interest, and keeping her in track with state education guidelines - I am one happy mama!

Using this for my 5th grade daughter who is homeschooled. She loves this-plenty of variety, hands-on activities which break up the monotony of just reading, interesting presentation of topics and the way the material is broken into units is very helfpul for grasping a complex topic. Nice visuals too!

A great way to teach the important facts about historical events. GREAT activities that allow for creativity, group work, and brainstorming. I use these now for every history unit I do. Great for differentiation. Makes what some kids may think as "boring" become interesting. My kids LOVED doing these. Especially learning about the recipe for squirrel!

This was a great activity to use as we finished the unit. It gave insightful information and allowed the kids to create the mini projects by following the directions OR thinking "outside of the box" by allowing the students to create their own mini project using the idea from the pockets.

The pop-up books are really engaging for the students. The activities are very hands on and grab the student's attention.

This history pocket was used instead of text book. Was easy for my students to comprehend, use at their own pace, and the students had fun while they were learning.

This is far more interesting than the text we try to use. It gives students the opportunity to use different skills such as finding the main idea, and timeline reading. Love it!

Great for Social Studies. I love this company and have ordered other products that I have also enjoyed.

We did a year-long study of ancient civilizations and built a theme-based notebook for our work. We didn't use the construction paper pockets, but all the activities adapted very easily to our notebooks. The prepared pages make it easy for the teacher to have the materials ready before class. It also works well for those who do lap-booking. The activities were fun for the students. They continued talking outside of class about the things they had learned. My students loved the "Fast Facts" cards.

I am so very SATISFIED, EXCITED and GRATEFUL for your products! I am a middle school special education teacher who teaches both Science & Social Studies to various levels of 7th & 8th grade special needs students. I discovered your books in a bookstore last year (2010) and immediately saw how I could use them to supplement my curriculum in BOTH subjects. Not only do your books allow me to add more interesting & engaging activities to the curriculums that I teach, but they are at a level that is both appropriately challenging AND accessible for my students. Each unit of material is easy to connect to other units, but is also able to stand by itself if needed. Each activity from the books not only make great displays of student work, but they bring kinesthetic/interactive learning alive for my students, making them feel capable & intelligent when traditional readings can be challenging & overwhelming. On a personal level, your products have helped & inspired ME on multiple levels. When I discovered your books last year it was the first time I was going to teach both subjects; your books gave me creative ideas & helped save me some valuable time in prepping for my classes. Also, I have had many compliments by students, parents, other teachers & administrators about the activities that I have used from your books. Most importantly, my kids WANT TO LEARN in my classes, they WANT TO DO THE ACTIVITIES, and WANT TO SEE THE END RESULTS of what they have accomplished - there is no greater joy to me than this! At this present moment, I own the SS books: Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, and Ancient Civilizations - all usable for my 7th & 8th grade students! I also own three levels of your Daily Science books - grades 4, 5 & 6 - again, to use with my 7th & 8th grade students. Please keep making such great books! I look forward to more topics that I can continue to use with my students. Thank you again! - C. Hill October 2nd 2011

Since school will be starting in another week, and the Revolutionary War hasn't been taught yet, it is difficult to assess its usefulness. Many of the pages with activities look very promising as far as getting students motivated. Time will tell its success!

I absolutely love all of the History Pockets! What an engaging way to learn about an otherwise dry topic! I'd love to see this concept expand to other Social Studies strands and also to other subjects.

Took a lot of prep but students had a great summary of the theme.

We love this series, because they learn history while having fun. And because its a little each day, its not overwhelming and it sinks in. We are doing all of these in the series.

This is one we are half done with due to summer. LOL But its another great one in the series. The kids beg to do history and because they are learning we are exploring other books now and they want to. Thats the key, history plus fun. Led us to reading about presidents and now famous people. So they want to do history not pressured to do it. Highly recomment them all. Civil War one is great too.

I used this in my classroom & they loved it! It was also fun to show parents at Open House