Disclosure: I received this complimentary product through the Homeschool Review Crew
Memoria Press is known for their great classical education curricula and programs. We’ve used their Latin program, and a few other products. The last few weeks my 11 year old has been working through their Famous Men of Rome program. This is geared towards grades 4-5, and is an introduction to the great drama and action, beginning to end, that was the men of Rome. This is going to be a wonderful addition to any classical history, or eclectic homeschool.
What It Is
Famous Men of Rome is a year long study consisting of 3 books and flash cards. The text or reader contains 30 stories documenting the rise and fall of this civilization via 30 biographies of men from Rome. The illustrations and artwork in the textbook are absolutely beautiful; this is one of my and my daughter’s favorite parts of this book! The pages are thick, and glossy. The pages are not hard on my eyes, but are just glossy enough to make the artwork pop. The pages are also the thickness and material that allows the pages to stay open more easily, which I really like!
There are 160 pages in the textbook, including the maps, pronunciation guide, and glossary. The program covers
the biographical stories of:
- ROMULUS
- NUMA POMPILIUS
- THE HORATII AND THE CURIATII
- THE TARQUINS
- JUNIUS BRUTUS
- HORATIUS
- MUCIUS THE LEFT-HANDED
- CORIOLANUS
- THE FABII
- CINCINNATUS
- CAMILLUS
- MANLIUS TOR
- QUATUS
- APPIUS CLAUDIUS CÆCUS
- REGULUS
- SCIPIO AFRICANUS
- CATO THE CENSOR
- THE GRACCHI
- MARIUS
- SULLA
- POMPEY THE GREAT
- JULIUS CÆSAR
- CICERO
- AUGUSTUS
- NERO
- TITUS
- TRAJAN
- MARCUS AURELIUS
- DIOCLETIAN
- CONSTANTINE THE GREAT
- END OF THE WESTERN EMPIRE
The student guide is where most of the work will be done by the student. This newest edition also contains maps of: Rome, Italy, and the Roman Empire, as well as a glossary of people and places. These pages are a regular paper, easy for writing, and do not feature any distractions. Students will find interesting lessons that include famous quotes, key people and places, vocabulary words, and comprehension questions. There is map work as well, which most homeschool parents love to include in our studies. =)
Along with all the comprehension questions, facts to know, vocabulary, and review lessons, I really like the activities listed for each lesson. The lessons help make this an even more comprehensive program, but add hands on elements.
example of activities at end of lesson
These activities include discussion questions, but also many will translate well to discussion questions and starters. There are also research activities in some lessons. My daughter really enjoyed the family tree activity, and because we enjoy mapping, that has been fun for her as well.
In true classical education style, the program includes memorization for the student. The Drill Questions found in the appendix of the study guide and on the flashcards, will be memorized to help student have instant recall. How to do this, and how to use the program in general is all outlined for the teacher in the teacher’s guide. The teacher’s guide is just that- you will find detailed answers, examples, and what is expected of the student. I *love* this because it helps those of us learning right along side our children know what is expected of them, and how to better help them get there. I also like to have my child look at the teacher’s guide once we have completed a lesson, so they can see where they needed improvement and where they did exactly what was asked of them.
I am working more closely with my 5th grader on this program, because she is ready for more detailed responses in her work (clearly … haha). This is a great program for student to begin more independent work, or to be used as a family/with the parent. The text can be shared between students in a family, or read aloud by the teacher during morning time. Each child can have their own student book, or some students may work from the student guide, and others work orally (for younger kiddos), or maybe orally and by drawing illustrations.
I think this is going to work well for any family that is learning about Rome in history (one of our favorite things we have studied!), whether they are a classical education family, or more eclectic like ours. We love learning using many educational philosophies, and tweak anything we use to work for us! So if memorization isn’t your thing, this program can still work well for you. This is also going to work well for independent learners or as a family subject. The possibilities are truly endless.
Lastly, the flashcards are exactly that. They feature questions about people and places learned about in the stories from Famous Men of Rome, and are used to help their recall and easy memorization of what they are learning.
Memoria Press always offers great programs and supplements, and their Famous Men of Rome set is no different. I highly recommend this for any family studying this phase of history.
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