YWAM Christian Heroes: Billy Graham {TOS Review}

My dad is a retired Baptist pastor, and I grew up listening to and watching Billy Graham. I was super excited to have the opportunity to read and review the Christian Heroes: Billy Graham - America's Pastor and accompanying Digital Unit Study from YWAM Publishing with my children.

We have read several of the biographies in the Christian Heroes series: David Livingston, Mary Slessor, and Nate Saint to name a few. My two oldest children love these books! I was hoping to use this book as our family read aloud, but after the first chapter, I realized my younger three would not be able to "hang" with this biography. I allowed them to play quietly while Eli, 10, and Mikaela, 13, listened to me read.

The biography is very interesting, but the chapters are very lengthy and wordy - too lengthy for my 8, 5, and 3 year old children {and they listen to some long books!}. My two older children enjoyed this book, and it contained a wealth of information! Billy Graham was born in 1918 in North Carolina, raised by dairy farmers. His mother brought him up in church, but it wasn't until he was almost 16 years old that began a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. He wasn't comfortable speaking in front of people, and the first time he did {in a jail!}, he swore he never would again. The kids thought this was funny, as he eventually would speak to tens of thousands of people at once.

The books talks of the world wars, several U.S. Presidents that Billy knew personally, and the civil rights movement in the U.S. I learned so much from this biography - such as, Billy Graham and Martin Luther King, Jr. were friends and Billy once bailed him out jail! There truly is a ton of history in this book.

The Digital Unit Study is also packed with information and extension ideas. Here are the chapters in the Unit Study, along with a brief explanation:

• Key Quotes - quotes by Billy Graham and other famous people mentioned in the book
• Display Corner - ideas for collecting and displaying items that relate to Billy Graham and the places he visited
• Chapter Questions - six questions for each chapter of the biography - 1 vocabulary question, 1 factual question, 2 comprehension questions, and 2 open-ended questions
• Student Explorations - a variety of topics your child can explore - essay/research topics, creative writing, hands-on activities, audio and visual projects, and arts and crafts
• Community Links - field trip and classroom visitor ideas
• Social Studies - places, journeys, terms and vocabulary, geographical characteristics, timeline and conceptual questions
• Related Themes to Explore - natural links to other topics - geography, history, government, current events, science and technology, and religion
• Culminating Events - ideas to share your child's knowledge 

The Digital Unit Study is a full 74-pages! There are so many good ideas and activities to choose from. I was pleasantly surprised at the information and organization in the unit study. The appendix also includes a list of books and resources to learn more about Billy Graham and the events that occured during his lifetime, and the answers to the chapter questions. There is a Part 2 of the unit study that provides maps, timelines, and a Billy Graham fact sheet. 

If unit studies are your method of homeschooling, these Digital Unity Studies and Christian Heroes biographies would be an excellent guide for you! Check out YWAM Publishing on their blog, Facebook, and Pinterest!