YWAM Jacob Deshazer Review #hsreviews #YWAMPublishing #ChristianHeroes #ChristianBiographies #Truebiographies #HeroesofHistory #HeroBiographies #TrueStories #ChristianHeroesThenandNow #Homeschoolcurriculum #Teachthemwell

I think my kids remember history better when we add good quality biographies to our studies. We were recently given our choice out of several biographies from the Christian Heroes: Then & Now from YWAM Publishing. Since my husband and I lived in Japan for four years we decided we wanted to read Christian Heroes- Jacob Deshazer.  Jacob Deshazer was one of the Doolittle Raiders who first attacked Japan after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Jacob grew up as a shy hardworking boy on his families wheat farm. When he was eight years old his mother bought him and his brother a brand new pair of overalls. Normally Jacob and his brother had to wear hand me down clothes remade to fit them, so they were all proud of their new clothes. When he wore them to Sunday School the teacher told them that overalls were not appropriate for church and that they should wear their best clothes to honor the Lord. Jacob was humiliated and he couldn't figure out why his new clothes weren't good enough for God. It would be many years before he would become a missionary. At twenty-seven years old Jacob decided to join the Army before he got drafted to fight in WWII. He would serve our country on an important secret mission with the Doolittle Raiders. We get to see how he was treated while a prisoner of war and how he learns what it is really like to serve God. 
YWAM also produces study guides for their Christian Heroes and Heroes of History biographies. We received the PDF download of the Jacob Deshazer Unit Study Curriculum Guide. When you first access the study guide it opens in a web browser where you have access to the study guide, a section about Jacob, and information about the authors. Some study guides also have bonus material of crossword puzzles, word searches, and coloring pages. They are adaptable for multiple grade levels and different learning styles. Everyone will go through the unit studies at a different pace. There is enough information for further study and plenty of assignments to last awhile or you can do the minimum to finish it quickly. 
The unit study for Jacob contains two parts. The first part is the 77-page curriculum guide and the second part contains a fact sheet for Japan, and blank maps of the US & Japan. There are eight chapters to cover history, geography, essay writing, creative writing, reading comprehension, public speaking, drama, and art plus a section of additional books and resources for further study.

1. Key Bible Verses~ This section contains Bible verses that can be memorized, studied, and made into something to display. 
2. Display Corner~ It is recommended to have a place to keep and display the things you complete or gather during this unit study. There are also suggestions of things to include. 
3. Chapter Questions ~ There are six questions for each of the nineteen chapters of the book. 
4. Student Explorations~ This sections includes assignments that the children can be more creative in including art, essay topics, creative writing, hands-on projects, and more. 
5. Community Links~This chapter encourages you to get out in your community. There are recommended things to do and how to prepare for them. 
6. Social Studies~ There are four sections here that include places mentioned in the story, map studies, vocabulary, geography, and conceptual questions. 
7. Related Themes to Explore~ There are suggested topics that will allow you to study related topics while learning about Jacob.
8. Culminating Event~ When kids are excited about something they want to show off their hard work. This section gives ideas how students can plan an event to finish off this unit study. 

Jacob Deshazer: Forgive Your Enemies is a 221-page softcover book with nineteen chapters. I chose to read the book out loud to my girls during our daily read aloud time. We also answered the chapter questions together and discussed things we had just read. Since we lived in Japan for four years before our three youngest girls were born we were able to also talk about how some things were during the time we lived there. This also gave us an excuse to get out some of our yen and other mementos we still have. 
We have studied WWII and the Doolittle Raiders before, but we had never studied Jacob Deshazer. Not only did we learn more about how Japan treated their prisoners, but this biography gave us a good example of forgiving your enemies. Forgiveness not only with our words but with our actions that follow. 
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