FAQs about the new Tennessee History for Kids booklets

1) How does one obtain copies of the booklet?

Click here to get a copy of the order form. Print the form, fill it out, and send it to the address given, along with a check for the amount. You will receive the booklets in less than two weeks.

2) How much do booklets cost?

$2 each, plus shipping and handling.

3) What do the booklets cover material wise?

The booklets cover the period from the Civil War through the Civil Rights Movement, along with high points about Tennessee government and the Tennessee constitution. (These are the same topics and eras that social studies teachers in Tennessee are supposed to cover in the fifth grade.) Each section contains questions about that section and recommendations on places where more information can be found on that topic. There are lengthy sidebars about the Battle of Shiloh, the Nashville & Chattanooga Railway, the Ducktown Basin, Martin Luther King's "I have been to the mountaintop" speech, and other topics.

4) Why produce the booklets?

Teachers have been asking us to do this for some time now. Although teachers have been using the grade-specific texts on Tennessee History for Kids in class, they haven't been able to assign sections of the page to read because not every student has internet access at home. Some teachers have been printing out parts of the Tennessee History for Kids page, then taking it to the school's copier and making copies for all students. But, alas, teachers are limited in how many copies they can make. The print editions look great and actually cost less than if a teacher spent hours making Tennessee History for Kids "textbooks" on her own.

5) When will future versions of Tennessee History for Kids booklets come out?

We will move ahead with production of the Fourth Grade booklet as soon as we find sponsors for it. We hope  this will occur in the fall of 2010 or the spring of 2011. Booklets for grades 8 (early American history), 11 (late American history), 7 (geography), and a special booklet on Tennessee civics would ideally come later.

If all goes well, we hope to produce updated versions of booklets every year or two. For instance, NEXT FALL the new Tennessee History for Kids booklets could contain information about the new Tennessee governor.

6) How does one sponsor the Tennessee History for Kids booklets?

Please notify Bill Carey, the executive director of Tennessee History for Kids. He can be contacted by emailing him here.