The core component of The Story of the World curriculum is the text. In four volumes, this series tells the world's history as a story. Most families complete one volume per year, but the timing is up to you.
You can see a sample of each product on our online store--click the Sample button under the product's photo.
The Story of the World Activity Books include all the materials in the Student Pages and the Coloring Pages (not included in Volume 4, Original Edition). In other words, these companion products are subsets of the Activity Book.
The Activity Book has two parts: the first part is the Instructor Guide. It includes vocabulary, review questions, directions for all of the suggested activities and assignments, and additional reading lists to help the Instructor/Parent.
The second part of the Activity Book is the Student Pages, which you copy/print for each student's use. These are perforated for easy removal from the Activity Book. They include maps, puzzles, games, and, except for Volume 4, Original Edition, the Coloring Pages. You can purchase a separate copy (looseleaf or PRD) of the Student Pages if you wish to leave your Activity Book intact or if you need more than one copy for your family's use. Everything in the Student Pages is in the Activity Book.
The Coloring Pages are a subset of the Student Pages. If you have purchased a printed copy or PDF of either the Activity Book or the Student Pages, you already have the Coloring Pages, which you may copy / reprint as often as you wish for use in your own family. This product comes in PDF format only; you can see a sample on our web store. (Please note that the Original Edition of Volume 4 does not include the Coloring Pages, but they are available as a PDF from our website.)
The teacher guide in the Activity Book has a set of "Questions for Review" for each chapter, with suggested student responses. Parents and young children do these orally. When you use The Story of the World with older students, you might ask the student for written responses to these questions. To make it easier on you, we created the Review Questions Worksheets (formerly known as the Written Comprehension Responses). It presents each review question and provides space for a student response--you don't have to type them out yourself. The suggested answers are in the Activity Book. The Review Questions Worksheets product available only as a PDF; you can see a sample on our web store.
The Test Booklet has a test for each chapter, in a format ready to give to the student. It includes questions in a variety of formats including multiple-choice and short-answer. The answers are included on separate pages. Both the paperback and PDF include the questions and the answers. You can see a sample on our web store. The Story of the World at Well-Trained Mind Press store.