Exploring America (2026)
If you want to compare how we cover U.S. history in our elementary, middle school, and high school courses, check out this chart:
Comparison Chart of Notgrass U.S. History Courses
Bonus Downloads
You can download and print these PDF files for use within your family.
Assignment Checklist (coming soon)
Grading Chart (coming soon)
Project Ideas (coming soon)
Assigned and Alternate Literature
Guide for Parents and Answer Key
If needed for your recordkeeping, download a description of what is covered in this curriculum: PDF / Text
Mobile Web App
The Notgrass History mobile web app allows you to quickly access music, audio, and video resources related to our curriculum.
Suggested Supplements
Notgrass History curriculum is self-contained. You don't need to add anything else unless you want to. However, if you are looking for videos, virtual field trips, interactive websites, and other resources to supplement your studies, check out the resources we have listed at Homeschool History. The Notgrass History team is creating this ever-growing database.
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Editions
The 5th edition of Exploring America, released in 2026, commemorates the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. This is a major update with a new layout and new content.
The final two units now provide more coverage of 21st century events, including the war on terror in Iraq and Afghanistan, technological changes, and the presidencies of Donald Trump and Joe Biden.
We used many new illustrations and photographs throughout the curriculum and returned to a one-column format to improve readability. We dropped one literature title (Humorous Stories and Sketches) and added another (Thunder Dog).
For the 2019 printing, we made minor corrections and updates to the curriculum, primarily in Lesson 150. We made some significant changes to the Exploring America Student Review Book to address concerns some parents had expressed about the difficulty level. We also updated the Answer Key to match.
The 2019 components are essentially compatible with the 2014 components. However, if you have a 2014 Student Review Book or Quiz and Exam Book, you need the 2014 Answer Key. If you have a 2019 Student Review Book or Quiz and Exam Book, you need the 2019 Answer Key. All of our answer keys are available as free downloads.
Look for the red bar that says "2019 Edition" on the cover of your books to distinguish between the 2014 and 2019 editions. American Voices did not change, so it does not have a red bar on the cover.
Released in 2014, this edition covers essentially the same material as the second edition with some changes to Unit 30 to cover events up to the date of publication. It has a completely new page layout with full-color photographs and illustrations and a hardcover binding. We modified the literature list, dropping Little Women and Christy and adding Miracle in the Hills. The new Student Review Pack, which replaces the former Quiz & Exam Pack, also includes literary analysis.
For the 2007 edition, we reformatted the entire curriculum with some modifications to the table of contents and published it in a paperback binding. We created our own one-volume book of speeches, documents, poetry, and short stories called American Voices. The Quiz & Exam Pack for the second edition is available for purchase as a digital download.
You can also download the Guide for Parents and Teachers at no charge.
2007 Guide for Parents and Teachers
This lesson is a special addition to the 2007 edition of Exploring America. There are no questions in the Quiz and Exam Book, no activities related to it, and no quiz that includes it. It is simply a way to extend the curriculum package to include events in 2008 and 2009.
The first edition of Exploring America was published in 2002. It had a plastic coil binding and used three supplemental document books (World's Great Speeches, Documentary History of the United States, and 101 Great American Poems). The Quiz & Exam Book for the first edition is available for purchase as a digital download.
Additional Links
Notgrass History does not control the content accessed through outside links, and a link to any site does not imply endorsement. Please use care and discretion while browsing the Internet, and let us know if any of these links are outdated or inappropriate.
Links
Institute for Excellence in Writing
National Assessment of Educational Progress Writing Assessment
Unit 2 - Lesson 9
Unit 27 - Lesson 135
The Feminist Case Against Abortion