Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.
This year my fifth grader has enjoyed completing many different literature studies in our homeschool. Last month, I was thrilled to be given the opportunity to choose a biography for him from YWAM Publishing’s Heroes of History series. We chose to do a unit study with the biography of Orville Wright: The Flyer.
YWAM Publishing’s Hero Series
This was the first book from YWAM Publishing that I have had the opportunity to use in our homeschool. They have a huge selection of historical biographies in their Heroes of History and Christian Heroes Then and Now series. These books are recommended for students ages 10 and up. However, I could see them being excellent homeschooling curriculum for students in upper elementary, middle or even high school students. The books are versatile and are excellent for a read-aloud or shared reading for elementary students, or independent studies for strong readers in upper elementary or middle/high school students.
The books are paperback but are of good quality. The binding is good and has held up well. My 10 year old has been reading a chapter each day and the book is still in excellent condition. Our book, Orville Wright: The Flyer has 17 chapters and 203 pages. It is the perfect length for a good unit study. The chapters are not too long and have been good length for my 5th grade to read each day.
Reading Orville Wright: The Flyer
My son Daniel and I have enjoyed reading our book from YWAM Publishing. We chose this biography of Orville Wright for several reasons. First of all, since we live in North Carolina, it was a great opportunity to study a figure important to our state’s history. Also, my son loves inventing and learning about how things work, therefore I knew he would enjoy learning about the Wright brother’s process of inventing the first powered airplane to complete the world’s first controlled sustained flight.
The book begins with telling about Orville Wright’s life as child. It then continues to tell how he and his brother became interested in flight and moves into how they began their process to later create an aircraft that became the first powered flight. Many biographies end there, with the one event the subject is known for, but this book goes further. It also tells the story of what happened afterwards in Orville’s life, so you get a complete story. The other difference in this book is that it actually reads more like a fiction story. The text it not full of dry facts, but gives a story, telling about specific events throughout Orville’s Wrights life.
Daniel’s thoughts About This Book…
“This if the first type of book I’ve read like this. I liked how it told about how he grew up in the beginning. Also, I enjoyed that the book explained how they had to solve all the different problems so that the plane would fly. I liked learning about how they went from having kites to inventing an aircraft. It was interesting to learn the whole story of him being a kid, growing up, and then inventing the first aircraft.”
~Daniel, 10 year old, 5th Grader
How We Used This Book in our Homeschool
Daniel has been reading one chapter each day independently for his Homeschool reading assignment. We also have been using the companion Unit Study from YWAM Publishing. It has been an excellent resource. Each day before he reads we look at the Comprehension questions about the chapter first. Then he reads the chapter and answers the question. I look over what he has done with him after he has completed his assignment. If he is struggling or has not understood what he has read, we sometimes go back and read part of or the whole chapter together. We have almost completed this unit study with just a few more chapters left to read this week. We are excited to read the book this week!
The Unit study had more resources than we were able to use. We focused on the reading and comprehension portion with this study. However, the unit study provided many different project ideas, and extension activities. You could easily use these ideas and activities to expand this book study over to other subjects in your homeschool! I now know, after my experience with a YWAM Publishing book, that they provide more than just a book to read with my kids! I see how you could easily use the Heroes of History series as a basis for your Social Studies and Reading curriculum for your Homeschool.
We can’t wait to read more!
We have thoroughly enjoyed our first experience with this biography from YWAM Publishing. My son, Daniel, has enjoyed reading Orville Wright: The Flyer and at the same time learned about an important person in History. I look forward to be able to use more books from this series in our homeschool. Other reviewers from the Homeschool Review Crew also had the opportunity to review different titles from YWAM Publishing. To read about more books from the Christian Heroes then and now series, or the Heroes of History series click here!
