Description
Windows to the World: World History through Missionary Biographies
This class is approved by the NCAA.
Windows to the World is a full-year, discussion-rich world history course that explores history, culture, and faith through the lives of Christian missionaries. Rather than following a traditional chronological textbook model, students travel across time and geography through powerful biographies, literature, projects, and hands-on learning.
History comes alive as students encounter ordinary believers who demonstrated extraordinary courage, faithfulness, and perseverance — shaping cultures and impacting nations through obedience to God’s calling.
How the Course Works
This course runs on a two-year rotation. Each school year focuses on different regions of the world, allowing students to enroll for two separate years without repeating content. Students who return will encounter entirely new regions, biographies, historical settings, and projects.
Regions of Study (Rotating by Year)
- China and East Asia
- The United States and England
- Additional regions in future rotations
Because regions rotate, the historical time periods and cultural contexts also vary from year to year.
What Your Student Will Experience
This is a discussion-based class built around meaningful reading and interaction. Students engage deeply with both historical context and spiritual worldview.
Throughout the year, students will:
- Read missionary biographies (primarily YWAM)
- Write short reports designed to teach classmates about culture, history, and spiritual climate
- Work with maps and timelines in a year-long project
- Explore how belief systems shape societies and historical events
- Participate in interactive activities and review games
- Experience music, customs, videos, and occasional cultural “culinary adventures”
The literature spans multiple time periods, helping students see how God is at work across centuries and continents.
What This Class Is Not
This is not a traditional, chronological, fill-in-the-blank history course.
Instead of racing through dates and events, we step into different eras and regions through the lens of real people and real faith journeys.
The course includes a meaningful amount of reading. Students and parents should be prepared to complete assigned books. If a student has reading challenges, it is perfectly acceptable for a parent to read aloud, as long as the material is completed.
Course Structure & Expectations
- Full-year course
- Approximately 30–60 minutes per week, plus reading time
- Discussion-rich, interactive format
Curriculum
- Primarily YWAM (Youth With A Mission) missionary biographies
- Additional fiction and non-fiction titles depending on region
- A detailed book list is provided after registration
- Families may purchase books, borrow from libraries, use eBooks, or borrow from others
Teacher Background
This course is taught by a former history-hating student turned “retired” homeschool mom. Teaching history through the stories of real people transformed her own view of the subject, and her goal is to help students discover that history is anything but dry — it is full of adventure, faith, courage, and meaning.
What Families Are Saying
I hated history—it was dry, boring, fill-in-the-blank. After studying it this way, it’s my favorite class of all.
Grade Levels
- Middle School to early High School
Prerequisites
- No prerequisites
