America the Beautiful (Notgrass)

America the Beautiful is Notgrass History's one-year U.S. history course for grades five through eight, organized into 30 units of five lessons each and taught from a Christian worldview.

Last updated: 2026-10-06 · Every Homeschool Editorial Team

At a glance

Method	Subject-specialist / literature-based
Worldview	Christian worldview, per the publisher; no formal statement of faith
Grades	5-8, per the publisher's course page
Formats	Print books (Curriculum Package) and a digital download of the 2nd edition
Cost tier	Standard
Parent intensity	3
ESA-common	Notgrass History lists purchasing details for programs in 15 states
Accredited	Not stated on the publisher's pages
Publication history	First edition copyright 2011 (a short run was published in 2010) and second edition 2021, per Notgrass's editions page. Notgrass History's About page dates the start of its curriculum development to 1999
Website	shop.notgrass.com

Our scoreboard (1-5)

Criterion	Score	One-line reason
Academic rigor	4	150 narrative lessons with readings in We the People, a primary-source volume, at the level Notgrass recommends for grades five through eight
Ease of teaching	4	Notgrass says no teacher's manual is needed because instructions are in the introduction and at the end of each lesson
Content quality	4	Lessons draw on historical and modern photographs, illustrations, and artwork and a primary-source volume
Flexibility	3	Designed as one year of 150 lessons; end-of-lesson activities are optional and components are sold individually
Value for money	4	Curriculum Package at $125.00 (October 5, 2026); Notgrass says the course can serve as all or part of a family's literature, writing, vocabulary, art, handwriting, and Bible learning
Worldview scope	2	Notgrass says all of its curriculum is written from a clearly Christian perspective
Visual/design	4	Part 1 and Part 2 are full-color hardcover books with many photographs and illustrations
Support resources	3	Answer Key and Literature Guide available as a free download, plus a Bonus Downloads page of checklists, a grading chart, and a supply list

Who the publisher is

Notgrass History states that it exists to glorify God by producing materials centered in His Word that help parents train their children to honor God with heart, soul, and mind. The About page's "Our Story" passage, signed by Ray and Charlene Notgrass, says that in 1999 they began to combine their homeschool experience with a love of history to develop Bible-based, easy-to-use homeschool curriculum. The same page describes Ray Notgrass as the president of the publishing company and a lead curriculum author, and Charlene Notgrass as overseeing curriculum development at Notgrass and a lead curriculum author.

America the Beautiful is credited to Charlene Notgrass. The title page of America the Beautiful Part 1 (2nd edition, copyright 2021) reads "by Charlene Notgrass," and Notgrass's video walkthrough page for the course names Charlene Notgrass as its author. The title page of We the People, the course's primary-source volume, says it was edited by John Notgrass and Charlene Notgrass.

Notgrass sells curriculum for grades one through four, five through eight, and nine through twelve. Its FAQ comparing its U.S. history courses lists three: Our Star-Spangled Story for grades one through four, America the Beautiful for grades five through eight, and Exploring America for high school. Its scope and sequence page lists From Adam to Us (world history) and Uncle Sam and You (government) as the other middle school courses. Notgrass says its products are available through its website or by phone and that most are also sold through retail stores and online distributors it lists.

Notgrass says all of its curriculum is written from a clearly Christian perspective and includes Scripture quotations connected to the topics studied. In its statement-of-faith FAQ, the publisher says it has no formal statement of faith, believes in the inspiration and authority of the Bible, has no denominational bias or agenda, and generally quotes the New American Standard Bible. The course page says students dig into Scriptures that connect to topics in the lessons, and the scope and sequence page lists Bible study among the course's components.

The core pedagogy

Notgrass divides America the Beautiful into 30 chronological units with five lessons each and says families can finish in one year by doing one lesson per day for 150 days. The introduction adds that five lessons a week takes 30 weeks and four lessons a week takes 38 weeks. Each unit has one lesson in each of five categories: Our American Story (major events of the period), God's Wonder (a created wonder in America and what happened there in that period), An American Landmark (a man-made site), An American Biography, and Daily Life.

The Curriculum Package includes America the Beautiful Part 1 and Part 2, We the People, Maps of America the Beautiful, Timeline of America the Beautiful, and the Answer Key and Literature Guide. The introduction describes Part 1 and Part 2 as full-color hardcover books of 75 lessons each, for the first and second semesters, and describes We the People as a full-color hardback collection of primary sources that includes original letters, poems, songs, stories, and other writings from American history. The Student Workbook and Lesson Review are optional. According to the introduction, the Student Workbook has one worksheet per lesson, the Lesson Review has five questions per lesson, and both include a test over each of the thirty units.

Signature mechanics: (1) Five lesson types in every unit, so each unit combines events, a created wonder, a landmark, a biography, and daily life. (2) An activity list after each lesson, from which the parent chooses; Notgrass says an eighth grader might complete all of the assignments while a fifth grader might complete only a few, per the course page. (3) Assigned literature: ten works that, per the introduction, students read in assigned portions during specific units. (4) A family activity in each unit; the introduction lists art, crafts, recipes, games, parties, and a play.

A day in the life

Notgrass says students can read the daily lessons independently or have them read aloud. The publisher's estimate is that most students need 45 to 90 minutes per lesson, depending on how many activities are assigned; the introduction adds that a student who only reads the lesson can finish in less than 30 minutes.

The end-of-lesson activity list, described in the introduction, draws on readings in We the People, map activities, one timeline fact per lesson, and a Student Workbook or Lesson Review page. Per the introduction, vocabulary, Thinking Biblically (a Bible study or Christian worldview assignment), and creative writing assignments each appear two or three times per unit, and students using the Student Workbook or Lesson Review take a unit test on the last day of each unit. The introduction also says the ten literature titles are not required and that the Answer Key and Literature Guide lists pages parents may want to review ahead of time. Notgrass says each lesson includes the text to read and the assignments for that day.

What they do exceptionally well

Integrated subjects. Notgrass says America the Beautiful gives families the opportunity to combine multiple subjects in one integrated course, and that a family can use it as all or part of its literature, writing, vocabulary, art, handwriting practice, and Bible learning, per the introduction. The scope and sequence page lists Bible study, geography, literature, vocabulary, creative writing, and hands-on activities alongside U.S. history.

A primary-source volume. The We the People shop page describes a collection of original journal entries, newspaper articles, advertisements, poems, songs, letters, short stories, speeches, and other historic documents from American history. Notgrass's FAQ says the course introduces students to more primary source documents (letters, speeches, and newspaper articles) than Our Star-Spangled Story does, and the Bonus Downloads page offers recordings of the songs from We the People.

Illustration. The introduction says that, except for the Lesson Review, each component is richly illustrated with historical photographs, historical illustrations, works of art, and modern photographs of God's wonders, American landmarks, and historic sites, many of them from the Library of Congress, the National Park Service, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Notgrass says the second edition's design was completely updated with many new photographs and illustrations.

What they do poorly

A single worldview throughout. Notgrass says all of its curriculum is written from a clearly Christian perspective, and, per the introduction, the course includes a Thinking Biblically assignment two or three times per unit.

Review material and literature are sold separately. Notgrass says the Curriculum Package does not include any review or test material or the recommended literature. Because students write in the Maps, Timeline, Student Workbook, and Lesson Review, Notgrass says families teaching more than one child can buy extra copies of those books as needed.

Grades five through eight only. Notgrass generally does not recommend using its curriculum outside the stated levels. Its FAQ on high school credit says one school might accept America the Beautiful as a high school level credit while another might not, because the courses are not intended to be high school courses. Notgrass's high school U.S. history course is Exploring America.

Who it fits / who it doesn't

• Pick America the Beautiful if: you want a one-year U.S. history course for grades five through eight taught from a Christian worldview; you want each lesson's instructions built into the books rather than a separate teacher's manual; you want primary-source readings, map work, a timeline, and assigned literature in one program; you want to choose which end-of-lesson activities a student completes; you plan to use one course with more than one child in grades five through eight.

• Skip America the Beautiful if: you want a U.S. history course that is not written from a Christian perspective; you want a course designed to align with state or College Board standards, which Notgrass says it did not design its curriculum to do; you want a course intended for high school credit; you already use separate Bible and literature programs and do not want this course's Thinking Biblically assignments and assigned literature.

Cost honest assessment

As displayed on the Notgrass shop on October 5, 2026, the America the Beautiful Curriculum Package (2nd Edition) is $125.00. It includes Part 1, Part 2, We the People, Maps of America the Beautiful, Timeline of America the Beautiful, and the Answer Key and Literature Guide. Notgrass says it does not include review or test material or the recommended literature. The Student Workbook is $14.00, the Lesson Review is $12.00, and the Literature Package of ten works is $78.00. The Bundle, which includes the Curriculum Package, Literature Package, Student Workbook, and Lesson Review, is $221.00. A digital download of the 2nd edition is $151.00. The Answer Key and Literature Guide is listed at $6.00 and is also available as a free download.

ESA eligibility notes

Notgrass says that as a company it takes no position for or against state funding programs. Its FAQ pages for Alabama CHOOSE, the Arizona Empowerment Scholarship Account, Arkansas Education Freedom Accounts, Florida Step Up for Students, the Georgia Promise Scholarship, the Indiana Education Scholarship Account, North Carolina Education Student Accounts, the South Carolina Education Scholarship Trust Fund, Texas Education Freedom Accounts, and Utah Fits All each state that Notgrass History is registered as a vendor. Depending on the state, the pages direct families to a Notgrass ClassWallet store, the Odyssey Parent Portal marketplace, the Step Up for Students website, or ClassWallet invoices. Notgrass also publishes ordering instructions for Montana and West Virginia families. Families should confirm with their program administrator that a specific course and package are eligible before ordering.

Alternatives

• Bright Ideas Press All American History, a family would choose Bright Ideas over Notgrass for a two-volume American survey that splits across grades.
• Sonlight American History cores (Core D and E), a family would choose Sonlight over Notgrass for an American history approach organized around a literature reading schedule.
• Beautiful Feet American History, a family would choose Beautiful Feet over Notgrass for a Charlotte Mason literature-based approach with living books as the spine.