A Teacher's Guide to Land of Hope

A wonderfully written, sweeping narrative history of the United States that will help Americans discover the land they call home.

Guide for Teachers using Land of Hope: Young Readers Edition. Middle School-Grades 6-8

The FIRST Teachers Guide to accompany the two-volume narrative Land of Hope: Young Readers Edition

This Teacher's Guide to the Young Reader's Edition of Wilfred McClay's Land of Hope: An Invitation to the Great American Story is an invaluable supplemental resource for teachers who use the Young Reader's Edition as a textbook for middle-grade courses in US history. Prepared by McClay in collaboration with John McBride, a master teacher with more than thirty years of secondary and collegiate teaching experience, it is an exceptionally rich and useful tool for classroom instructors.

Each chapter of this Teacher's Guide receives a five-part treatment: a short summation of the chapter's contents questions and answers about the chapter, a list of key names and terms appearing within each one, a crossword puzzle based on those names and terms, and one or more primary source documents for class analysis with accompanying questions and answers. Longer documents are broken into shorter passages with questions interspersed to help younger readers.

This Teacher's Guide also features a collection of map exercises as well as special units to assist instructors in teaching students about the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the two-party system.

“"Professor McClay has brought faith, hope, and charity to this comprehensive and readable narration of our National Story." --Will Fitzhugh, The Concord Review "This affirmative, evenhanded review of American history, institutions, and character is refreshing, and comes none too soon, when so many accounts are merely trying to settle scores. Beautifully written and fair-minded, Land of Hope ranks among the finest surveys of the nation's past." --Gilbert T. Sewall, American Textbook Council "Every page pops with the extraordinary achievements, near misses, and frustrating failures of a nation formed by the common pursuit of liberty and happiness." --Robert L. Jackson, Institute for Classical Education "Our children stand at risk of not knowing who they are as inheritors and keepers of American freedom. Enter Wilfred M. McClay. This latest edition of his beautiful narrative forms a compelling vision of America's past." --Andrew J. Zwerneman, Cana Academy "Students fortunate enough to encounter these volumes will become better readers and more knowledgeable citizens." -- Lucien Ellington, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga "Our nation is facing challenges from those who contend that America was founded on evil principles and should be effectively dismantled. This superbly readable volume tells the story of America accurately--critiquing what we got wrong but praising the many things we got right. This approach will produce fair-minded citizens who are loyal to our ideals but who are also willing to challenge our leaders to live up to them." -- Michael Farris, president & CEO, Alliance Defending Freedom, and founder, Home School Legal Defense Association "This Young Readers Edition brings the great American story into the lives of late primary and middle-school children. We use it in Hillsdale College's affiliated K-12 schools, and enthusiastically recommend it to any teacher or parent." -- Dr. Kathleen O'Toole, Assistant Provost for K-12 Education, Hillsdale College”

“Professor McClay has brought faith, hope, and charity to this comprehensive and readable narration of our National Story.” 

—Will Fitzhugh, The Concord Review

“This affirmative, evenhanded review of American history, institutions, and character is refreshing, and comes none too soon, when so many accounts are merely trying to settle scores. Beautifully written and fair-minded, Land of Hoperanks among the finest surveys of the nation’s past.”

—Gilbert T. Sewall, American Textbook Council

“Every page pops with the extraordinary achievements, near misses, and frustrating failures of a nation formed by the common pursuit of liberty and happiness.”

 —Robert L. Jackson, Institute for Classical Education 

“Our children stand at risk of not knowing who they are as inheritors and keepers of American freedom. Enter Wilfred M. McClay. This latest edition of his beautiful narrative forms a compelling vision of America’s past.”

—Andrew J. Zwerneman, Cana Academy 

“Students fortunate enough to encounter these volumes will become better readers and more knowledgeable citizens.”

—Lucien Ellington, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

“Our nation is facing challenges from those who contend that America was founded on evil principles and should be effectively dismantled. This superbly readable volume tells the story of America accurately—critiquing what we got wrong but praising the many things we got right. This approach will produce fair-minded citizens who are loyal to our ideals but who are also willing to challenge our leaders to live up to them.”

—Michael Farris, president & CEO, Alliance Defending Freedom, and founder, Home School Legal Defense Association

“This Young Readers Edition brings the great American story into the lives of late primary and middle-school children. We use it in Hillsdale College’s affiliated K-12 schools, and enthusiastically recommend it to any teacher or parent.”

—Dr. Kathleen O'Toole, Assistant Provost for K-12 Education, Hillsdale College

Wilfred M. McClay is professor of history and the Victor Davis Hanson Chair in Classical History and Western Civilization at Hillsdale College.

John D. McBride was educated at Rice University (BA 1968, MA 1971) and the University of Virginia (PhD 1977). He taught high-school history in Chattanooga, Tennessee from 1974 to 2010 at the Baylor School and the David Brainerd Christian School. He has also taught political science and history as an adjunct for twenty-five years at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. After retirement, he spent six years mentoring and teaching as a volunteer at Walker State Prison, Georgia's faith-and character-based prison.

Designed to accompany the Student Workbook, the Teacher's Guide provides chapter summaries which teachers may use in teaching students to read for the main idea. There are reading questions with answers for each chapter of the LAND OF HOPE text; the Students Workbook has the same questions with blank spaces for students to write answers. Primary documents accompany each chapter, broken into shorter segments to help with reading comprehension; these documents also have reading questions with answers. Documents are often the text of speeches but may include diary entries and song lyrics. There are about two dozen map exercises, with keys. (The maps, without the answers, are also in the Student Workbook.) Extensive testing materials are included: multiple choice and put-in-order short answer questions, quote identifications, and synthetical essay questions for each chapter and for final exams. Teaching strategies are suggested, as well as supplementary materials to "thicken" topics covered in the text when teachers or students desire further details or alternate interpretations. The authors have long experience with teaching US History and know, and share here, a lot of tricks. Did you know the original Wizard of Oz was a spoof of the Populist Party in the late 18th century? The Populists wanted to get off the gold standard (the yellow brick road) and into greenbacks (the Emerald City). Dorothy is accompanied by an industrial worker (no heart), a farmer (no brain), and the Cowardly Lion (William Jennings Bryan). Any student who has seen the movie then remembers the Populists!

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