1. Why do I need Catholic textbooks that are not religion books?

All over the country, dioceses, bishops, and superintendents are calling for a return to “Catholic Identity” in our schools. The number one mission goal for the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., is “Catholic Identity.”

 

The Western Catholic Education Association just passed a resolution to include “Catholic Identity” as an essential element of accreditation for Catholic schools. In the tract The Holy See’s Teaching on Catholic Schools, the Church emphasizes that Catholic identity is achieved, in part, through a curriculum infused by the truth of the Catholic faith. This is the newest and greatest need in Catholic schools, and Catholic Textbook Project (CTP) is proud to be at the forefront of providing “Catholic Tools for Catholic Schools”®.​

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2.  What is covered in each book?

Our textbooks highlight the saints and heroes who helped shape civilization, ensuring your students encounter inspiring Catholic role models as meaningful historical figures. You can see the full scope and sequence of each book on this page.

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3.  What is included in the Teacher’s Manual?

The Teacher’s Manual includes outlines, timeline information, lists of key words and key people, quizzes, tests, chapter summaries, suggested related literature titles and other reference works for research projects, extra activities, pronunciation guides, and other information. Also available are PDF test booklets for each title. Go to the Teacher Resources page for more information.

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4.  Do you have Student Workbooks?

We provide printed workbooks for most of our textbooks. Go to the History Student Workbooks page for more information.

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5. Do you offer eBook versions of your textbooks?

Yes, all of our books can be purchased in eBook format. Many families use our eBooks as Catholic homeschool textbooks or as a flexible and affordable option for Catholic schools. Contact our Sales Representative, Thomas McAnerney, to learn more.

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6. What other digital resources do you offer?

We are excited to offer a wide variety of trusted digital resources for your 5th–8th grade textbooks. We have carefully selected primary sources, videos, maps, timelines, and much more to enhance the textbook experience. Our resources save teachers time by providing high-quality and trusted tools useful for both traditional classrooms and homeschool students.

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7. What is the best way to pace a chapter, and how many days should each chapter take?

After purchase, you can log in to our resources portal to access the pacing guide for each book. These guides outline a chapter-by-chapter roadmap for the school year. They were developed with input from real classroom teachers, so you can trust that the pacing is practical, realistic, and truly doable.

 

You can also gather insights from this video featuring teacher Vincent DeLuca. While the whole video is fantastic, he discusses lesson implementation and pacing at the 12:30 mark. The pacing guide is relevant for implementation in both a traditional classroom and a Catholic homeschool curriculum.

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8. What is the best way to implement the workload into a chapter lesson?

History workbooks can be implemented in a variety of ways. Some teachers use them for guided reading before the lesson, while others use it as review afterward. We have also had teachers use the workbook as a framework for creating multiple-choice answers for quizzes and tests.

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9. How do you verify that your historical facts are accurate?

Catholic Textbook Project curricula are built on sound scholarship and rigorous fact-checking. Our authors and editors consult primary sources, peer-reviewed research, and respected historians to ensure each account is historically sound and faithfully presented. Multiple rounds of editorial review confirm accuracy in chronology, context, and interpretation. We present history in light of the Catholic worldview—never distorting facts, but revealing their full meaning within the human story.

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10. Do the textbooks meet State Standards?

Our curricula are written for the broad-based national norms for teaching history. With a focus on academic excellence, our books meet—and even exceed—most state standards. Correlation charts can be found on the State Standards page of our website.

 

Our textbooks are also ideal tools for the Common Core Standards requirements for Reading Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies. Important note: There are currently no Common Core Standards for History/Social Studies.

 

11. Will you be publishing any other textbooks besides history textbooks?

We’re expanding our curricula to include both science and language arts volumes following completion of the social studies/history books. It is essential to introduce sound scientific thought, with the essential deference to our Creator and loving God, to our children in Catholic schools so we can teach them to think through the myriad of moral/scientific issues facing our and future generations.

 

In preparation for living out the call to become disciples, young people need to have a broad understanding of the body of excellent literature and become masters of the written and spoken word. CTP will make this possible with a first-rate language arts program based on the time-honored traditions of literature, grammar, logic, and rhetoric.

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12. Do your science books align to the NGSS?

We are happy to report that these academically excellent textbooks align with NGSS standards and often go beyond them. Each Novare Science text, from life science textbooks to physics, is built on sound scientific understanding and designed for true mastery of the material. You can view that correlation at this link.

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13.  Can we purchase your textbook using state funds?

Catholic Textbook Project books can be purchased with state funding in many cases. Contact Thomas McAnerney to see if the Catholic Textbook Project is a qualified vendor for your state.

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14.  What can I do to get these textbooks into my child’s school?

Familiarize yourself with the compelling movement to increase Catholic identity in Catholic education today. Almost every principal and teacher, and even superintendents, have been very excited about the opportunity offered by CTP to provide a more academically excellent Catholic education. A strong Catholic school curriculum will strengthen schools’ Catholic identity, something more and more schools are now making a priority. 

 

You can help arrange a “sponsorship” relationship between a benefactor (such as the local Knights of Columbus chapter) and the school. A sponsor could offer a grant to purchase a set of books for a classroom or several classrooms. This has already worked in other schools around the country.

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15.  Why do your textbooks have less infographics and reading check questions
        than other textbooks?

Those have both been intentionally limited in our history textbooks. What has contributed to history illiteracy the most is the lack of stories to remember. Combine that with the great slippage of students in literacy in general, and it becomes clear why we lean into the approach to teaching and learning history as narrative. The most recent brain theory studies show the vast advantage of story as a mode to learning and building both attention and imagination over recent educational materials that have become more and more image based. Images and checklists benefit short term recall for episodic testing, but narrative builds deep learning.

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16.  Do your history texts promote a particular religious doctrine or specific religious teachings?

Our texts are history and do not promote a particular religion or religious teaching. The texts are, however, written for Catholic schools, so in conjunction with standard historical events and themes, our books describe persons and events that are of importance to Catholics. Given that we do not minimize standard history in any of our texts, Catholic historical events and figures enhance but do not minimize the standard account. In other words, these are standard history textbooks based on the national history standards. Read more here.

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17.  Should Catholic History Textbooks Emphasize All Civilizations and Cultures Equally?

Most modern textbooks follow what might be called a distribution model of history — attempting to give roughly equal exposure to many cultures based on modern academic frameworks or standards. This approach often grows out of good intentions, but it can unintentionally treat civilizations as interchangeable rather than asking which ones most directly shaped the world our students actually live in.

 

Catholic education has always taken a different approach. Historically, Catholic schools have taught what might be called a civilizational inheritance model of history. This asks a more formation-centered question: Which cultures most directly shaped our faith, our intellectual tradition, our moral framework, and the development of Western and American civilization? Read more here.