Story of the World 23-Week Reading Plan

for Classical Conversations Foundations, Cycles 1-3

The goal for this reading plan is to have students read all four volumes of
The Story of the World series as they learn the Classical Conversations
Foundations Timeline and song.
This reading plan is not a one-to-one correlation between the Timeline
events and The Story of the World chapters. Instead it is a guide to reading
history in the same number of weeks as the Timeline is introduced. Bauer
has done a wonderful job of telling the chronological stories of history,
and I find that her books are best read from beginning to end.
Most events in the Timeline fall within the same week as the reading plan
or in the week before or after. Having a profoundly dyslexic child in
Foundations, I learned that she is better able to remember and understand
the Timeline song if we read the stories at around the same time as the
events are introduced.
It may seem like a daunting task to read all four volumes in twenty-three
weeks, but it’s quite manageable if students read an average of one to two
chapters a day, five days a week. Although Bauer has suggested reading
one volume a year, which gives plenty of time of in-depth study of each
topic, the stories are so enjoyable that my child will happily read at a
faster pace.
The titles in the Story of the World series are:
• Volume One: Ancient Times: from the Earliest Nomads to the Last
Roman Emperor (revised edition, 2007)
• Volume Two: The Middle Ages: from the Fall of Rome to the Rise
of the Renaissance (revised edition, 2007)
• Volume Three: Early Modern Times: from Elizabeth the First to
the Forty-Niners
• Volume Four: The Modern Age: from Victoria’s Empire to the End
of the USSR
For students with print-related disabilities, note that all four Story of the
World books are available in audio format at Learning Ally, a nonprofit
organization that serves dyslexic, blind, and visually-impaired students.

SOTW 23-Week Reading Plan 1 by Cheryl Allison

 Week CC Timeline Event The Story of the World
AGE OF ANCIENT EMPIRES
Creation and the Fall
The Flood and the Tower of Babel
1 Mesopotamia and Sumer Volume 1: Introduction –Chapter 5
Egyptians
Indus River Valley Civilization
Minoans and Mycenaeans
Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
Patriarchs of Israel
Hittites and Canaanites
2 Kush Volume 1: Chapters 6–11
Assyrians
Babylonians
China’s Shang Dynasty
Hinduism in India
Phoenicians and the Alphabet
Olmecs of Mesoamerica
3 Israelite Exodus and Desert Wandering Volume 1: Chapters 12–16
Israelite Conquest and Judges
Greek Dark Ages
Israel’s United Kingdom
Early Native Americans
Israel Divides into Two Kingdoms
Homer and Hesiod
4 Rome Founded by Romulus and Remus Volume 1: Chapters 17–22
Israel Falls to Assyria
Assyria Falls to Babylon
Lao-Tzu, Confucius, Buddha
Judah Falls to Babylon, Temple Destroyed
Babylon Falls to Persia
Jews Return and Rebuild the Temple
5 Roman Republic Volume 1: Chapters 23–28
Golden Age of Greece
Peloponnesian Wars
Persia Falls to Alexander the Great
India’s Mauryan Empire
Mayans of Mesoamerica
Punic Wars
6 Rome Conquers Greece Volume 1: Chapters 29–34
Roman Dictator Julius Caesar
Caesar Augustus and the Pax Romana
John the Baptist

SOTW 23-Week Reading Plan 2 by Cheryl Allison

 Jesus the Messiah
Pentecost and the Early Church
Persecution Spreads the Gospel
7 Herod’s Temple Destroyed by Titus Volume 1: Chapters 35–38
Diocletian Divides the Roman Empire
Constantine Legalizes Christianity
India’s Gupta Dynasty
Council of Nicea
Augustine of Hippo
Jerome Completes the Vulgate
8 Visigoths Sack Rome Volume 1: Chapters 39–42
THE MIDDLE AGES
Council of Chalcedon
Western Roman Empire Falls to Barbarians
Byzantine Emperor Justinian
Benedict and Monasticism
Muhammad Founds Islam
9 Zanj and Early Ghana in Africa Volume 2: Chapters 1–7
Franks Defeat Muslims at the Battle of Tours
Golden Age of Islam
Vikings Raid and Trade
Japan’s Heian Period
Charlemagne Crowned Emperor of Europe
Alfred the Great of England
10 Erik the Red and Leif Eriksson, Norse Explorers Volume 2: Chapters 8–14
Vladimir I of Kiev
Byzantine Emperor Basil II
East-West Schism of the Church
Norman Conquest and Feudalism in Europe
The Crusades
Zimbabwe and Early Mali in Africa
11 Aztecs of Mesoamerica Volume 2: Chapters 15–20
Francis of Assisi and Thomas Aquinas
Japan’s Shoguns
Incas of South America
Genghis Khan Rules the Mongols
England’s Magna Carta
The Ottoman Empire
12 Marco Polo’s Journey to China Volume 2: Chapters 21–27
The Hundred Years’ War and Black Death
The Renaissance
China’s Ming Dynasty

SOTW 23-Week Reading Plan 3 by Cheryl Allison

 AGE OF EXPLORATION
Prince Henry Founds the School of Navigation
Slave Trade in Africa
13 Gutenberg’s Printing Press Volume 2: Chapters 28–35
Songhai in Africa
Czar Ivan the Great of Russia
The Spanish Inquisition
Columbus Sails to the Caribbean
AGE OF ABSOLUTE MONARCHS
Protestant Reformation
14 Spanish Conquistador’s in the Americas Volume 2: Chapters 36–42
Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion
Council of Trent
Baroque Period of the Arts
Japan’s Isolation
Jamestown and Plymouth Colony Founded
THE AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT
15 Hudson’s Bay Company Volume 3: Chapters 1–10
The First Great Awakening
Classical Period of the Arts
The Seven Years’ War
AGE OF INDUSTRY
James Cook Sails to Australia and Antarctica
American Revolutions and General George Washington
16 Madison’s Constitution and the Bill of Rights Volume 3: Chapters 11–21
French Revolution
Second Great Awakening
Louisiana Purchase and Lewis and Clark Expedition
Napoleon Crowned Emperor of France
Liberation of South America
The War of 1812
17 The Missouri Compromise Volume 3: Chapters 22–32
Immigrants Flock to America
The Monroe Doctrine
Romantic Period of the Arts
Cherokee Trail of Tears
U.S. Westward Expansion
Marx Publishes The Communist Manifesto
18 The Compromise of 1850 and the Dred Scott Decision Volume 3: Chapters 33–42
U.S. Restores Trade with Japan
British Queen Victoria’s Rule Over India
Darwin Publishes The Origin of Species

SOTW 23-Week Reading Plan 4 by Cheryl Allison

 Lincoln’s War Between the States
Reconstruction of the Southern States
Dominion of Canada
19 Otto von Bismarck Unifies Germany Volume 4: Chapters 1–9
Boer Wars in Africa
The Spanish-American War
The Progressive Era
Australia Becomes a Commonwealth
Mexican Revolution
World War I and President Wilson
20 Lenin and the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia Volume 4: Chapters 10–17
U.S. Evangelist Billy Graham
Modern Period of the Arts
The Great Depression and the New Deal
World War II and President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Stalin of the USSR and the Katyn Massacre
The United Nations Formed
21 The Cold War Volume 4: Chapters 18–26
Gandhi and India’s Independence
Jewish State Established
Mao and Communist Victory in China
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
The Korean War
Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement
22 Jim and Elisabeth Elliot, Missionaries to Equador Volume 4: Chapters 27–34
The Antarctic Treaty
The Vietnam War
U.S. Astronauts Walk on the Moon
AGE OF INFORMATION AND GLOBALIZTION
Watergate, President Nixon Resigns
Fall of Communism in Eastern Europe
23 European Union Formed Volume 4: Chapters 35–42
Apartheid Abolished in South Africa
September 11, 2001
Rising Tide of Freedom

SOTW 23-Week Reading Plan 5 by Cheryl Allison