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Have you ever wondered what the 

 world would be like today if one 

 important event had not happened?

 What if slavery hadn't ended through 

 the Civil War? Or perhaps, maybe you

 don't know much about history. 

 Because most likely, the person reading

 this right now is just a wee fourth grader,

 aren't they? Take a look at what you'll 

learn in Mr. Vaught's class.   Welcome to

The Big Book of History.

How are you supposed to know where 

you are at when you are lost in 

Antarctica? We use latitude and 

longitude. Latitude lines range from east 

to west, or across the Earth. Longitude 

lines range from north to south, or up-

and-down the Earth. And just to keep 

you from confusion, these lines are 

invisible. Each point where the lines 

cross have a certain degree, or number. 

Some people care about money a lot 

more than others. This can be a good 

thing, or a bad thing. But it depends on 

the type of economic system. A 

traditional economic system uses trade 

and makes things based on their 

culture. On the other hand, command 

economy is controlled by the 

government, and they boss all the 

workers around based on what they 

want.

Who really controls your country? Not all 

countries have a king or queen. Sometimes a 

country has a democracy, or where all people 

make the rules. Or a country may have a 

dictatorship, which is where one single person 

creates all rules. Some countries are a little 

tricky when it comes to their type of 

government. For example, some counties have 

a monarchy, where there is a king or queen, 

but they have no power. The government rules 

while the royalty is just a model. Great Britain, 

for example, has a monarchy.

All regions have their own ways of culture. Culture 

is a group of customs, religions, beliefs, race, 

laws, and many other things that create a way of 

living. Culture ranges from the food you eat to the 

jobs you have. For example, American culture is 

very developed. People go to school, get a job, live 

where they want, eat the food they want, wear 

what they want, and believe in what they want. 

But, some areas are not like that. For example, 

Africans do not drive cars or eat hamburgers for 

dinner. Everybody has their own way of living. 

Religion can be very similar to culture. 

Religion is a series of beliefs and 

customs. Some religions are 

polytheistic, while others may be 

monotheistic. Polytheistic means to 

believe in more than one god. 

Monotheistic means to believe in or 

worship one singular god. Some of the 

most popular religions make up of 

Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Judaism, 

and Buddhism. 

Just because your country is free, 

doesn't mean the ones around you are. 

Slavery in Africa is a very sad 

situation. Slaves were captured to work 

for white Europeans. Slaves worked to 

pay off their debts, and some even 

worked just because they were forced 

to. Slaves were also sold. Some slaves 

were shipped across seas on boats, and 

stacked on top of each other like cards.  

Back in the days B.C.E. (Before Common 

Era), on the continent of Asia, China had 

a series of empires that took place one 

after another. These were called 

dynasties. Dynasties were empires that 

had their own customs and cultures. Each 

dynasty had their own way of living. For 

example, some dynasties had house made 

of mud bricks, and some had huts. After 

one dynasty fell apart, another was 

formed.

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