Master Books American History Review: High School Christian Homeschool Curriculum

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A quality high school American history curriculum should do more than check a box, it should help your teen understand and appreciate the story of our great country while leaving them wanting to learn more. If you’ve been considering the Master Books American History curriculum, One Nation Under God, as part of your Christian high school homeschool lessons, you probably want to know if it’s solid, manageable, and worth the money.

Let’s chat!

About Master Books One Nation Under God

One Nation Under God: Exploring the Melting Pot of American History is a full Christian homeschool curriculum, at the high school level, from one of my favorite homeschool curriculum companies: Master Books! Designed as a full-year curriculum, it’s best suited for 10th grade and up and, when complete, results in the earning of a full high school credit.

I don’t know about you, but I remember sitting through seemingly endless hours of high school history classes and being expected to retain “important” dates, names, and battles so I could pass a test. The textbooks were dry, the hands-on activities were slim to none, and the information was not up to date.

The class was merely a formality. A requirement. And I know you don’t want that for your high schooler just as I want a better experience for mine.

You guys, the fine folks at Master Books feel the same.

What Does the Curriculum Cover?

This curriculum follows American history chronologically and actually begins way before you’d likely assume! The student textbook starts with a “Welcome to One Nation Under God” reading – including photos of author Angela O’Dell alongside the real Declaration of Independence and sitting in George Washington’s rising sun chair – before starting the first of 9 units:

• Unit 1: The Road to Exploration and Colonization
• Unit 2: Revolution and Independence
• Unit 3: Becoming One Nation
• Unit 4: America Grows and Changes
• Unit 5: The American Civil War
• Unit 6: Growing America
• Unit 7: America and the World Wars
• Unit 8: Postwar American Culture
• Unit 9: Entering the Twenty-First Century

While it may be tempting to skip the “Welcome” reading, don’t! It’s a brief 2-page text that really gets the curriculum off to a great start by explaining the author’s journey in creating the content and encouraging the students look for evidence of God’s hand in the creation & growth of our country.

A Biblical Worldview

Master Books is a Christian homeschool company, so it’s no surprise that One Nation Under God has been written with a Christian Worldview.

Instead of separating faith from history, students are encouraged to learn about, and examine, historical events through the lens of Scripture while discussing the cultural, moral, and spiritual influences that shaped America.

In addition to weaving faith throughout the curriculum, this course addresses often-difficult subjects and time-periods – including slavery, religious persecution, war, political conflict – with the the appropriate depth and maturity for a high school student.

Open-and-Go!

You know I used to be a teacher, right? I’m not shy about mentioning one of my least-favorite parts of teaching – the lesson planning. It’s necessary, but can be so so so boring and tedious. I’m the type of person that just wants to dive into an exciting learning activity, you know?

The ability to literally unpack a brand-new curriculum and start lessons minutes later is one of my favorite features of Master Books curriculum, and One Nation Under God is no exception.

The curriculum set comes with a student textbook – the “meat and potatoes” of the curriculum if you will – and a Teacher Guide. Within the Teacher Guide, you’ll find all of the consumables (student worksheets and assessments), optional supplemental activities along with a fabulously laid out weekly lesson schedule – my favorite!

Designed to be completed within 180 days, the lesson plans break down all 9 units and all 34 lessons into a 5-day-a-week schedule. Of course, you’re free to manipulate the schedule as you wish, but the provided lesson plans are a homeschool parent’s dream come true for a truly open-and-go American history curriculum.

You can check out samples of the Student Text here and the Teacher Guide here.

Worth noting: if you plan on using this curriculum to teach multiple children at once, like I am, be sure to get a complete Teacher Guide/Student Text curriculum set for each child since they’ll each need their own worksheets and assessments.

A Typical Day

If you’ve made it this far – first, I’m glad you’re enjoying the review! Second, you’re likely wondering what a typical day’s worth of work with One Nation Under God may look like. How long will it take to complete the exercises each day? What will your student do? What supplemental materials do they need?

Here are the answers you’re looking for:

• it should take approximately 45 minutes to complete the day’s exercises. Of course, this will vary depending on a number of factors. Like, my kids take longer to get their work done when it’s gloomy and gray outside – go figure!
• each lesson has 5 different exercises. Those exercises are spread throughout a week’s worth of assignments, resulting in one full, completed lesson per week (this curriculum has a total of 9 units and 34 lessons)
  • Exercise 1: traditionally includes glossary words, opportunities for extra credit, and copy work in addition to learning about people, places, and events pertaining to the specific lesson.
  • Exercise 2: includes questions in the following format: true/false, fill-in-the-blank, circle the correct answer
  • Exercise 3: includes engaging questions about the people, places, and events in the lesson
  • Exercise 4: can include a variety of questions in varying formats
  • Exercise 5: tends to include questions based on the Cultural Development & Biblical Worldview Analysis of the lesson
• no special materials required! To complete the curriculum, students really only need the Student Text & consumables in the Teacher Guide and a writing tool of choice. Colored pencils and a globe or world map would be helpful, but they are not required at all.

My Thoughts on this Master Books American History Curriculum

My kids and I come from a long line of patriots. Many of our ancestors made their way overseas and through Ellis Island in search of a better life. We have a number of family members that have served (and are currently serving) in the United States military. We’ve visited many historical landmarks, museums, and events focused on American history. Earlier this year, 12 year old son joined our local Civil Air Patrol squadron so he can do his part in serving his country.

So many lives have been sacrificed so we can live with the freedom we enjoy today. We take American history, and American pride, seriously…and Angela O’Dell has done an amazing job summing up the history of our country in one year’s worth of curriculum.

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I love it…

I love that Angela O’Dell started our history from the very beginning. Our founding fathers didn’t just haphazardly decide to start a country one day. Nope, the creation of the United States of America was guided by the hands of God through years and years of seeds being planted along the way. Pretty wild to think of it that way, right?

I love that this American history curriculum includes the whole history – not just the pretty, happy parts we’re proud of. It can be difficult to approach topics like slavery, assassinations, war, and politics in a graceful, age-appropriate way, but Angela O’Dell did it!

I especially love that this curriculum includes American history all the way up to 2025! It’s one of the most comprehensive, up-to-date high school American history curriculum sets out there. As a teacher turned homeschooling mom, I certainly appreciate this because you know the students in government schools likely do not get to learn from up-to-date history textbooks.

Just for the heck of it, I just did a search to check the publication date of the American history text used by high schools in my county here in Florida. One Nation Under God was published in April 2026 – a mere 2 months before this review. The government school text was published in…wait for it…January 2019.

I’m actually surprised the date is so recent, but…so much has happened since then! One Nation Under God includes American history exercises through 2025! I count this as a major advantage for homeschoolers!

I also love that:

• this curriculum is truly open-and-go, freeing me from the stress and time I’d otherwise spend writing lesson plans
• the student text includes full-color historical photographs, maps, timelines, charts, illustrations, and primary source excerpts, making for a high school history curriculum that is truly meaningful and memorable
• optional activities for extending and supplementing lessons are included, leaving the decision to complete up to the parent and student. I’m ALL for including hands-on, immersive activities in lessons, but appreciate that Master Books doesn’t require them for the full high school credit
• the text is written in a way that’s enjoyable to read! So many history texts are so dry and boring. Angela O’Dell instead writes the text in a comfortable, conversational style making this curriculum especially nice for our kids that may not share the same love of history so many of us exhibit
• this curriculum is Christian without it being overwhelming. Faith and God’s part in our history are woven into the reading passages in a way that feels natural.

It’s pretty obvious that I’m a fan of One Nation Under God (and pretty much all of the offerings from Master Books!). When my kids found out that we’ll be including this curriculum in our homeschool days, they were totally on board, too. As a parent, I have to admit – it’s pretty awesome when my kids look forward to learning, right?!

A Good Fit for Your Family?

At the end of the day, while it’s wonderful that this Master Books American history curriculum is a great fit for my family, that doesn’t necessarily mean much for you, huh? To sum up the past 1700 words (woah!), this curriculum may be a great fit if you’re looking for:

• a Christian homeschool American history curriculum
• a full-year high school history course
• an engaging alternative to traditional textbooks
• an American history curriculum written from a biblical worldview
• a transcript-ready high school American history credit
• an American history homeschool curriculum your child can complete with increasing independence

Maybe your child isn’t in high school? Maybe you’re not familiar with Master Books and you’re not ready to order a whole curriculum just yet? Maybe you don’t need a full year’s worth of American history lessons?

Whatever your reason may be, consider entertaining an additional option: Master Books has a free America 250 Unit Study! It comes with 30 days worth of daily lessons, is appropriate for all ages, and includes a number of hands-on, meaningful lessons!

Enter the Giveaway

If you happen to be reading this review shortly after publishing, you can enter to win your very own set of the One Nation Under God curriculum from Master Books!

So, what do you think? Will you be including One Nation Under God in your high school homeschool days? Do you have any questions I can answer for you? Let me know!