This post is part of our Teaching History with Magic Tree House Books series.
This year we are using the Magic Tree House books as my 2nd grader’s reading ‘curriculum’. I have organized them to correlate with what what we are learning in history and some times science. Check out Teaching History with Magic Tree House Books to see why we love these books, how they are organized, and to get some simple extension activities for using them in your homeschool or classroom. I also explain the difference between the Magic Tree House line of books (noted as MTH below) and the Merlin Missions line of books (noted as MM below).
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This list contains the books that cover the Middle Ages through the Renaissance. These books would align with Story of the World Volume 2 or other history studies about the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.
History of the Middle Ages
Viking Ships at Sunrise (MTH 15): Jack and Annie visit long ago Ireland and learn about monks and Vikings.
Fact Tracker: Vikings: Everything your kids will want to know about Vikings.
The Knight at Dawn (MTH 2): Jack and Annie visit a castle and learn about knights.
Fact Tracker: Knights and Castles: Learn all about castles, knights and their horses as well as the culture in England at that time.
Literature Based Upon the Middle Ages
The books in this section do not teach historical facts. Instead, they are based on the myths and legends written and told throughout history into the Middle Ages. Jack and Annie go on many adventures on behalf of Camelot and are accompanied by a variety of mythical and legendary creatures. Since they involve Camelot, we are reading them during our study of the Middle Ages, knights and castles. The fact tracker listed at the end of this section would be good to have on hand while reading all of these books.
Christmas in Camelot (MM 1): Jack and Annie are invited to the mythical Camelot for Christmas.
Haunted Castle on Hallow’s Eve (MM 2): Annie and Jack must go to a haunted castle to find the Stone of Destiny.
Summer of the Sea Serpent (MM 3): Jack and Annie travel underwater to find a magical sword.
Winter of the Ice Wizard (MM 4): Annie and Jack travel to a frozen world to find their friends.
Night of the Ninth Dragon (MM 27): Jack and Annie are back at Camelot to find a missing dragon.
Fact Tracker: Dragons and Mythical Creatures: This fact tracker could be used with any of the five books in this section as it talks about all sorts of creatures from myths and legends.
The Renaissance Period
Monday with a Mad Genius (MM10): Jack and Annie travel to Italy in the late 1400s and meet Leonardo da Vinci!
Fact Tracker: Leonardo da Vinci: This book is great to learn more about da Vinci and crosses into studies of science and art, too.
Stage Fright on A Summer Night (MTH25): Annie and Jack go back to England in the late 1500s and help Shakespeare with a problem.
A Crazy Day with Cobras (MM17): Jack and Annie go to India around 1600 CE to search for an emerald.
Fact Tracker: Snakes and Other Reptiles: While this book won’t help much with a study of history, it would make an interesting book for science!
Dragon of the Red Dawn (MM9): Annie and Jack visit Japan during the Edo period and meet the famous Japanese poet, Basho.
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This Post Has 2 Comments
I BEYOND love this! Thank you! We use Magic Tree House books paired with “A Trip Around the World Books” for history, geography, even some science activities. My husband was just saying we should do it based on a timeline and here you are doing just that! Thanks for doing all of this work!
Awesome! I am so glad they are helpful to you! I will have to check out the A Trip Around the World books…sounds interesting!
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