Review of The Book of Ancient Romans Set

Today's review is from Memoria Press who has brought back into publication some history books written by Dorothy Mills in the 1920's. They have added in some illustrations to update the books a little but overall they are the same history books that children would have learned from many years ago. The set I reviewed was The Book of the Ancient Romans Set. This classical history set is recommended for middle school grades but can also be used by high schoolers.  

The set currently sells for $39.95 and includes physical products of the student text, student guide, and teacher manual.   The student text takes you through the beginnings of Rome, the various lines of kings, the rise of the greatness of Rome, her triumphs as well as her decline and eventual fall. Mrs. Mills includes quotes from ancient historians such as Livy, Polybius, Appian and more. The illustrations and maps are in black and white like the ones you see below. See a Text Sample.

The student guide helps the student find the important components of each lesson with several sections including facts to know, vocabulary, comprehension questions, and activity questions including a timeline and map activities. This is a consumable book. See a Student Sample page.

The teacher manual is an exact replica of the student guide containing your answer key which really came in handy for us. The teacher manual also includes the the 5 tests and final exam along with those keys. See a Teacher Sample page.

How We Used This In Our Homeschool 

I had my middle schooler, Stephen, who is in 8th grade, work on this course. There are 26 lessons plus 5 reviews, 5 tests, and a final exam. There is no guidance on how to break the course up so we focused on completing 1 lesson per week for 3-4 days per week. Stephen started out independently working on the course himself and we went over the study guide together. He was comprehending what he was reading but often times found the vocabulary frustrating and hard to get through. So, by week 3, we began to work on the reading portion together as well. It helped him for me to read aloud some of the text and I too found some of the vocabulary and reading difficult. 

 
Lessons ranged from 2 pages of text reading to 17 pages so we adjusted our original plan of 1 lesson per week when needed. I would never assign more than 5 pages to read in one day hoping to keep the frustration levels low and comprehension levels high. This is not an easy course but we did find it stretching our vocabulary and pushing us both out of our comfort zones. 

I could definitely see where this could be used as a high school course as well considering the vocabulary and activities that are made available. The map illustrations were some of our favorites parts.

Check out the Table of Contents page and sample pages to see if this might be a good fit for your family. 

You can also find Memoria Press on Facebook and Twitter. They have lots of classical Christian curriculum choices available including Logic & Rhetoric, History, Latin, and more.

Click the banner below to see what my crewmates thought of The Book of the Ancient Romans Set, the Famous Men of Rome Set, and the Latina Christiana I Complete Set.