The Story of the World 1 Expanded Edition Student + Teacher Set
New and updated hands-on companions to help bring The Story of the World to life. The Student Workbook is packed with maps, activity pages, and new coloring pages. The Instructor Guide features easier planning, parenting scripts, and updated and expanded reading recommendation lists.
$48.90
Quantity:
Consumable
In a Curriculum Kit
Multiple Grades
Nonreligious
2026 First-Grade Curriculum Kit
The Story of the World 1 Expanded Edition Student + Teacher Set
The Story of the World 1 Expanded Edition Student + Teacher Set transforms The Story of the World Volume 1: Ancient Times into a complete, full-year history course for grades 1–4 (and easily adaptable for older students). Covering 5000 BC through 400 AD, this set includes the Student Workbook and Instructor Guide that accompany Susan Wise Bauer's 25th Anniversary Expanded Edition text. (The main text is sold separately.)
Important: This Expanded Edition is only compatible with the 25th Anniversary Expanded Edition of The Story of the World Volume 1. It does not work with earlier editions of the text, activity book, or audiobooks.
The reorganized Instructor Guide turns each chapter into a ready-to-teach lesson. Instead of piecing lessons together yourself, you'll have scripted narration prompts, review questions, mapping activities, sample answers, and organized lesson plans that guide you through the entire year. More than 30 new activities, low-prep options, cross-curricular connections, updated book recommendations, memory work, and field trip ideas give you plenty of flexibility without adding hours of planning.
The Student Workbook puts those lessons into your child's hands with activity pages, map work, puzzles, game boards, craft templates, coloring pages, memory work, and other hands-on assignments that reinforce each chapter. Perforated pages tear out cleanly, making daily lessons easier to manage.
The 25th Anniversary Expanded Edition also broadens the original program with two new chapters on East Asian history, expanded coverage of the Roman Republic, the Han Dynasty, the Silk Road, and Herod the Great, ten additional historical biographies, and dozens of new illustrations and maps. The chapter sequence has been reorganized to create an even smoother chronological journey through the ancient world.
More important than the updates, though, is how the curriculum teaches history. Rather than memorizing isolated facts, your child follows one continuous story from the earliest civilizations through the fall of Rome. Along the way, narration, map work, crafts, and activities help history become something he experiences instead of simply reads.
For parents, that's where this set shines. The Instructor Guide provides the structure, prompts, and answers that keep lessons moving, while the Student Workbook gives your child meaningful ways to interact with the material. Together, they turn an engaging history text into an organized, low-prep history curriculum that's easy to teach and easy to enjoy.
How to Use The Story of the World 1 Expanded Edition Student + Teacher Set
- Begin each lesson by reading the corresponding chapter from The Story of the World Volume 1: Ancient Times (sold separately). Then open the Instructor Guide and follow the lesson as written. The narration prompts, review questions, and map activities are already organized, so there's very little planning required.
- Choose one or two hands-on activities from the Instructor Guide for each chapter. Whether your child is completing a craft, working on a map, or tackling a review game, these activities help reinforce what he's learning without turning history into busywork.
- Use the Student Workbook throughout the week as your child completes maps, coloring pages, puzzles, memory work, and other activities tied directly to the lesson. Tear out the perforated pages as needed to keep assignments organized.
- Move through the 42 chapters at a steady pace, completing about one chapter each week for a full school year. Adjust the schedule to fit your family, spending extra time on civilizations or historical figures that spark your child's curiosity.
- Keep the Instructor Guide nearby as you teach. The built-in answers, discussion prompts, and lesson plans make it easy to lead meaningful conversations while spending less time preparing and more time exploring history together.
Features include:
- Student pages for all Instructor Guide activities, including puzzles, board games, activity pages, creative exercises, and more
- New memory work lessons
- Coloring pages
- Perforated pages for ease of use
This Instructor Guide and accompanying Student Workbook turn The Story of the World, Volume 1: Ancient Times, 25th Anniversary Expanded Edition into a full-year history curriculum that brings the wonders of the ancient world to life for elementary students.
Perfect for families, co-ops, and classrooms, the 25th Anniversary Expanded Edition includes:
- Teacher script for narration exercises, review exercises, and map activities
- Sample answers for narration prompts, review questions, and student page activities
- Field trip ideas
- 300+ interactive activities
- Easy instructions to adapt activities for group use
- Memory work suggestions
- Updated reading lists for history and literature
- Low-prep and no-prep activities for busy days
- Adaptable schedules
This Instructor Guide is designed for use with The Story of the World, Volume 1: Ancient Times, 25th Anniversary Expanded Edition and the corresponding Student Workbook—both sold separately. It is not compatible with the classic (2001/2006) editions.
Publisher's Information
Author: Susan Wise Bauer
Number of Pages: 272
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Well-Trained Mind Press
Edition/Copyright: 2006
Made In: USA
ISBN: 781933339054
Consumable: Yes
Reproducible: 123 reproducible student pages
For families: You may make as many photocopies of the maps and other Student Pages as you need for use WITHIN YOUR OWN FAMILY ONLY. Schools and co-ops MAY NOT PHOTOCOPY any portion of the Activity Book.
Faith-Based: No
Awards and Endorsements:The Old Schoolhouse Excellence in Education Winner
Find answers to the most frequently asked questions about this product below:
New Features in The Story of the World: Volume 1 – 25th Anniversary Expanded Edition (Main Text):
• The same engaging storytelling and readability that children love
• Two new chapters on East Asian history
• Additional material in the existing chapters on key historical events, including: The rise of the Roman Republic, The beginning of the Han dynasty, The Silk Road, The rule of Herod the Great and the siege of Masada
• Ten new biographies of fascinating historical figures (Spartacus, Zhang Heng, and more)
• Twenty new illustrations and maps
• Updated pronunciation guide
• New chapter order for better chronological flow
• Clearer formatting, distinguishing ancient texts, myths, and stories from historical narrative
And for customers who want to turn The Story of the World into a full History & Geography curriculum:
Instructor Guide (formerly the front half of the Activity Book):
• Now fully organized into lessons for easier planning
• Parent scripts for narration, review, and mapping exercises
• Sample answers for narration prompts and review questions
• Updated and expanded reading recommendation lists, combining the best of the classics with the best of what's been published in the past 25 years
• 40+ brand-new activities
• Specially designed group activities
• Cross-curricular challenges connecting history to science, math, writing, and more
• Suggested memory work and field trip ideas
• Low-prep, no-prep, and movement activities
Student Workbook (formerly the back half of the Activity Book):
• Dedicated student pages
• Puzzles, game boards, craft templates, and other interactive activity pages
• Suggested memory work activities
• Map exercises to teach the geography of our world
• New coloring pages
What This Means for You:
We believe the 25th Anniversary Expanded Edition will be a bestseller, just as the classic edition has been. You'll want to plan ahead for stocking it in early 2026.
Please Note:
The new edition is not compatible with the older (2001/2006) editions, or with their activity books or MP3 audiobooks.
Families can successfully begin with whatever time period most interests them. Some families prefer starting with ancient times and unraveling the story sequentially until modern times. Yet because the full scope of history is taught repeatedly up through high school, it is okay to skip volumes, knowing that the same events will be covered later.
One difference between the two series is their target age. The Story of the World is primarily for elementary students, with Volume I recommended for 1st through 4th grade and Volume IV for 4th through 8th grade. The Mystery of History's reading level begins at about 4th or 5th grade in Volume I and progresses to 10th or 11th grade in Volume IV, although it is easily adaptable for multiple ages.
Another key difference is the religious perspective. The Story of the World aims to narrate from a neutral perspective. It covers major religious characters and historical events but does not endorse a particular religious view. The Mystery of History is written from a clearly Christian perspective and integrates biblical and church history into the text.
A minor difference between the two series is the student work involved. The Story of the World revolves around the narrative, so all activities, while engaging, are optional. The Mystery of History is also narrative-based but expects more student work. Nonetheless, it is highly adaptable to each student's age and family preferences.
Throughout history, religion has played a major role in shaping the world for significant reasons:
- Religion has shaped the development of civilizations. Many of the world's major civilizations, such as ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome, were founded on religious beliefs. Religion has also played a role in law, government, and education development.
- Religion has been a source of conflict and violence. Wars have been fought over religious differences, and religious persecution has been common throughout history.
- Religion has influenced art, music, and literature. Religious themes have been a source of inspiration for artists, musicians, and writers for centuries.
In short, religion is mentioned in world history because it has greatly shaped human societies and cultures throughout history. Religion has been a complex and multifaceted force in human history, and its influence continues to be felt today.
- April 17, 2026
KitMama
My kids have liked listening to the stories from the book. It makes history enjoyable to read about and easy enough to understand. We don’t do all of the activities, most of them are coloring pages and maps but they’re a nice addition here and there.
- March 15, 2023
love the coloring pages
Bina
Our kids love the coloring pages and the activities. They also review thee questions together after we're done listening to the cds.
- March 13, 2023
Nice activity book
Jen
I feel like this is almost a necessary part to go with the Story of the World book. The questions for comprehension are a great way to make sure my 3rd grader is listening! The maps are really nice and something my student really likes. But the coloring pages don’t get used much. My student does like coloring, but is not interested in any of them. There’s also craft project activities as well as information on other history materials provided in this book.
- February 28, 2023
A Great resource!
Kaitlin T.
Far more material than you will use! Maps, coloring pages, review questions and more. My only mistake was not purchasing this for my youngest who, to this day, informs me of his disappointment.
- February 3, 2023
Great review book
Kristen F.
This is a great review book to go along with The Story of the World Book. I like that after we read the story there are review questions to make sure she comprehended the lesson. The map is a great visual to understand what part of the world is being developed at the time in the story. I like that it also has coloring pages to help visualize what she learned. Overall this has been one of our favorite subjects this year because of these Story of the world book and activity book.
- December 12, 2022
Activity book
Hayes
This isn't NEEDED, but it's nice to have. So many different ideas and activities in this book. It's huge. Definitely adds to the textbook.
- July 11, 2022
Great activity book
Aerie B.
This book is great it has so many things to do. It has questions, maps, coloring, craft ideas, recipes, facts, essay prompts , etc. we didn’t do all the things because its too much for a little kid but its nice to have those options .
- July 7, 2022
Excited to start
Amy B.
I've been looking for a secular history program, so I'm excited to start this. I think my children will like following along with the audio.
- April 30, 2022
Fun Activities
Heather E.
This activity book has added a lot to our study of history this year. We usually do the map work for each chapter, which my kids really enjoy. I'm primarily using it for my 6- and 8-year-olds, but even my 4-year-old likes to help color the maps. We generally skip the coloring pages unless it's something really cool (I have boys so they liked the viking ship and the warrior pictures, but weren't interested in Greek paper dolls). There are lots of hands-on activities that we've enjoyed, such as making a sand cube pyramid, making Ming bowls from clay, doing Nazca line drawings, etc. - all of which are ideas I wouldn't have come up with on my own. I will definitely purchase an activity book to go with the next level too.
- April 25, 2022
Great book
Aerie B.
This book is awesome you can do the lessons long or short and has lots of activities like map work, coloring and crafts. We dont get too involved in doing all of it but its fun to do a quick reviews and some coloring pages and my son doesnt get too overwhelmed with it and has learned a lot! Its also been informative for me!
