My World Social Studies

Pearson has been a big name in school curriculum for a long time and now they are branching into the homeschool market. Pearson Homeschool offered several products from their homeschool selection to members of the Homeschool Review Crew.

We received The Growth of Our Country 5B from the Pearson myWorld Social Studies Series. This is the second half of the 5th grade Social Studies curriculum. Included in our kit was a 330 page student handbook, a myStory Video on DVD-Rom, and a Teacher Resource Library on DVD-Rom.

The Growth of Our Country 5B is divided into 9 chapters:

• 9. Civil War and Reconstruction
• 10. Expanding West and Overseas
• 11. Industry and Immigration
• 12. Struggle for Reform
• 13. Good Times and Hardships
• 14. World War II
• 15. The Cold War
• 16. America Changes
• 17. Americans Today

The colorful student handbook is an 8 1/2 X 11 inches with a softcover glossy finish. Before you get into the lessons there is a section to help the student with Reading, Writing, and Map Reading skills along with an introduction to Government. Each chapter is divided into lessons and starts with a question that will get the student thinking about what is being taught. The vocabulary words are listed at the start of each lesson & then they are highlighted in the text. There are maps, charts, graphs, time lines, and questions throughout the lessons. Real photos and realistic pictures are included throughout the book. The questions include Cause and Effect, Critical Thinking, & Learning Objectives.

The myStory Video on DVD-Rom contains a short video for each chapter.

The Teacher Resource Library on DVD-Rom contains the complete text that is in the student handbook. A Lesson Plan Summary is included with a suggested time frame spent on each area. All questions are answered on the page in bright pink. Activities, activity cards, blank maps, forms, outlines, charts, and colored maps are also included. There is a Podcast for the teacher in each chapter, it explains how the chapter works & the main points a child should know after completing the chapter. When you run this DVD it has a drop down list on the left side to access each chapter & what is included within each one. The tests open up as a word document or PDF form but the text & maps will open up in Adobe Reader.


The Growth of Our Country is a 5th grade curriculum but all 3 of my girls participated somewhat while using this. All three of them (age 7, 10, & 11) loved the videos. We thought they were very informational but held the attention of all three of the girls. They have watched the DVD several times, even in their free time. Each video has an adult & child discussing the issue while they are out at national parks, museums, Ellis Island, and more.

The student handbook is very attractive. I like that there are questions, charts, summarizing, and sequence include throughout the text and not just at the end of the chapter. I think that helps my kids to think about things while they are reading. My kids really liked the pictures, there are actual photos from the event or place, copies of actual newsprint and posters from the time being discussed.

I listened to the Podcast from the Teachers Resource DVD for each chapter first, and then we watched the video for the chapter before reading the text. I like having the video first because it got my kids thinking and asking questions before we actually started the book. We didn't actually write in our book since we were all doing this together, we just discussed the questions and charts in the lessons we completed. Now that the review period is over I will have Delaney (age 10) complete the rest of the book & she can answer the questions in the book. I am usually very involved in each class with my kids and I feel this curriculum worked well together and I think it will work great to have the child read and answer the questions on their own with discussion and help from the teacher.

The myWorld Social Studies bundle for 5th grade is $69.99 each and can be purchased at Pearson Homeschool.

Members of the Schoolhouse Review Crew reviewed several grades in Reading Street, VisionMATH, MyMathLab, and World Social Studies. Sail over to the Crew Blog to read about them all.

Disclaimer: As a member of the Schoolhouse Review Crew, I received My World Social Studies free of charge from Pearson to use with my children in exchange for my review.