PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Make American history come alive for your students! Scholastic's
Our America project covers American history in seven parts:
• The Colonial Period
• The Revolutionary War
• Westward Expansion
• The Civil War
• The Turn of the Century
• The Great Depression
• World War II
Students are transported through America's history through
an interactive timeline. By deciding to explore a time period,
students are presented with an itinerary that gives them
insight into this historical era. The itinerary provides
links to historical background information, journal entries
written by kids taken from Scholastic's Dear America, My
Name Is America, and My America book series. Students will
also watch selected video clips from the Dear America television
show.
There is also the opportunity for students to complete
an arts and crafts project and design a room from the historical
era. The hands-on activities provide students with a feeling
of what life was like during this time in American history.
After students have submerged themselves in America's past,
they write a journal entry from the point of view of someone
living during that era. Students can then publish their
journal entry online.
This project is suitable for students in grades 3–8.
See Lesson Planning Suggestions for a prescribed plan on
using this project with your students.
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ASSESSMENT AND RUBRIC
Several assessment components are embedded in this lesson
plan. Skill labels 
highlight activities that
address specific target skills. Targeted skills are listed
in the Learning Objectives. Assessment Rubric assesses
student proficiency with the Journal Entry.
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LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Scholastic’s Online Activities are designed to support
the teaching of standards-based skills. While participating
in the Our America project, students will:
[1] Use Web technology to access time periods in
American history.
[2] Conduct research by gathering information about
the culture of a time period by reading background material,
journal entries, historical fiction, and by viewing online
video dramatizations of people's lives.
[3] Evaluate journals as historical artifacts, especially
the concept of firsthand account vs. history text.
[4] Study the people of the past by completing an
arts and craft activity that connects students, hands-on,
to the culture of a past era.
[5] Communicate their discoveries about the time
period by presenting their completed arts and craft activity.
[6] Use Flash technology to enhance learning and
promote creativity by appropriately furnishing a period
room.
[7] Synthesize information about American history
and past culture to write a journal entry from the point
of view of someone from that era.
[8] Use Web technology to publish American history
journal entries online.
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PROJECT COMPONENTS
Interactive American
History Timeline
Students scroll through the timeline and choose a time period
to visit. The time periods mark important historical points
in American history: the Colonial Period, the Revolutionary
War, Westward Expansion, the Civil War, the Turn of the
Century, the Great Depression, and World War II.
When students enter a time period they are presented with
an itinerary of activities that offer background information
as well as firsthand journal entries, video clips of historical
dramatizations, and arts and craft activities related to
the time period. Students also have the opportunity to write
a journal entry as if they were alive during that time in
history.
Time Period Home
Page
Each time period has a landing page that gives students
an overview — an itinerary — of what they will be learning in this section.
Historical Background
Information
Each period will have an introduction to the time period
with a background piece. Created with Grolier Online material,
this overview will give students a background to understanding
the journals.
Historical Journal
Entries
The itineraries also offer links to historical journal entries.
These journals are taken from Scholastic's Dear America,
My Name Is America, and My America book series and give
students a glimpse of what life was like for the people
living during these moments in history. They also present
students with insight into the thoughts and feelings of
people living during another time in America.
Each journal has a brief background introduction to give
students a better understanding of the context in which
the journal is written.
Video Clips from
Dear America
Selected Dear America books have video clips from the Dear
America television show. These video clips include dramatization
of events in American history and offer students insight
into what the era was like. Details such as clothing and
mannerisms give students a perspective of the way people
lived in the past.
Arts and Craft Activities
Students can also link to arts and craft activities that
are typical of the time period. For instance, while visiting
the Colonial period, students will make fresh ginger cakes.
These activities connect students to what life was like
during these past eras.
Design A Period Home Interior
This feature is coming soon. Using a Flash game, students will have to build a period
room. Using furniture that they think works for that period,
students will be evaluated by a period character who will decide
whether she likes the finished result.
Write a Journal Entry
Students have the opportunity to turn their trip into America's
past into journal entries of their own. Using their experiences
and impressions of the era they visited, students write
an imaginary journal entry from that time period. Students
can then post their entries and read those of other students.
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LESSON PLANNING SUGGESTIONS
Class Management:
As you plan your lessons, you may wish to print out any
reading assignment pages and staple them into a book for
individual students. If you have several computers in your
classroom, assign computer time to small groups of same-reading-level
students.
American History Timeline
(45–60 minute blocks over 3 days)
(Day 1)
Introduced students to the Our America timeline. You
may wish to assign a time period that coincides with your
social studies curriculum. You may also have students browse
through the timeline and read the historical overviews to
select a period that interests them. You can also continue
to visit as you progress through the school year.
Have students visit the time period homepage and read through
the itinerary. Explain that they will immerse themselves
in the time period by reading historical background information
and journal entries. Students can also view video clips
of dramatizations of people's lives during the time they
are studying.
Explain that they will complete an arts and craft activity
from their time period that will give them a sense of what
it was like to live during that point in history. Tell them
that the Our America project will culminate
with them transferring their thoughts and impressions of
the time period into a "you are there" historical
journal entry.
Have students read through the background information and
the journal entries and view any video clips that are available
for the time period they are visiting. Remind them that
they will be writing a journal entry from this time in history
so they should take note of important or interesting information
they might want to write about.
Suggest that a good strategy to keep track of all the new
information they learn is to organize it in a chart. Have
them create a graphic organizer to fill in as the project
progresses. Encourage them to arrange their thoughts and
information in a three-column chart:
What I want to learn, What I did learn, What new questions
do I have?
After students have completed their reading, ask them to
compare and contrast the information they learned from each
source. Spark a discussion by asking questions, such as:
- What did they learn from the background material? From
the journal? What information was similar? What was different?
- What information did they learn from the video clips?
- What did they learn from the video clips that they
didn't learn from the background information and journals?
- Do you think journals are an important historical artifact?
Explain why or why not.
Explain to student that they will work on their arts and
crafts activity during their next class time. Have them
choose an activity and print out a list of the materials
they'll need. Take time to briefly review students' activity
choices. Make note of any preparations that need to be taken
care of beforehand.
(Day 2)
Have students work on their arts and craft activity during
this class time. Encourage them to imagine what it was like
to have been alive during the time that their project originated.
For instance, if they are making sweater mittens, have them
imagine what it was like to live during the hardships of
the Great Depression. Have them keep notes of any thoughts
and perceptions they have now that they have a new hands-on
perspective to the past culture.
Have students present their arts and crafts projects to
the class. Encourage them to talk about the discoveries
they made about the way of life during that period of time.
To spark a class discussion, ask questions such as:
- What do you think was the hardest thing about the way
of life during this period in American history?
- What in particular about that time in history do you
wish you could have experienced firsthand?
(Day 3)
Suggest that students review the chart they began on Day
1. Is their anything else they want to find out? How will
they go about finding more information? After they are satisfied
that they have enough information, have students imagine
they were alive during the historical period they studied.
Remind them that journals are usually written in an informal
language and report about an individual's day-to-day life.
Journals may also contain a person's thoughts and comments
about current events. Encourage students to write in the
manner of speech that was common for that period in history.
Suggest that they return to the journal entries to refresh
their memory of their style and content.
After students have completed their historic journal entries,
encourage them to share them with the class. Launch a wrap-up
discussion, by asking questions such as:
- What was the most interesting thing you discovered
about the time period?
- Which source of information — background, journal
entry, activities — did you learn the most from?
- What questions do you still have about the time period?
- What other time periods do you want to learn about?
Afterwards, students can go to "Write a Journal Entry" in order
to submit their journal entries for online publication.
Encourage students to read other students’ journal
entries that are posted there.
Extending the project:
For ideas on extending Our America using Classport, click here.
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NATIONAL STANDARDS CORRELATIONS
This project aids students in meeting national standards
in several curriculum areas.
Reading Language Arts
International Reading Association (IRA) and the National
Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)
-
Students participate as knowledgeable,
reflective, creative, and critical members of a variety
of literacy communities.
-
Students use spoken, written,
and visual language for learning, persuasion, and exchange
of information.
-
Students conduct research by
gathering, evaluating, and synthesizing data from a variety
of sources, and then communicate their discoveries to
different audiences for a variety of purposes.
-
Students use a variety of technological
and informational resources (i.e. libraries, databases,
computer networks, video) to gather and communicate knowledge.
-
Students apply a wide range of
strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate
texts.
-
Students conduct research on
issues and interests by generating ideas and questions,
and by posing problems.
Social Studies
National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS)
- Culture (Students study culture and cultural diversity.)
- Time, Continuity, and Change (Students study the ways
human beings view themselves in and over time.)
- Individuals, Groups, and Institutions (Students study
interactions among individuals, groups, and institutions.)
- Time, Continuity, and Change (Students study how the
world has changed in order to gain perspective on the
present and the future.)
- Production, Distribution, and Consumption (Students
study how people organize for the production, distribution,
and consumption of goods and services.)
Technology
Technology Foundation Standards for Students:
- use technology tools to enhance learning, increase
productivity, and promote creativity
- use technology tools to collaborate, publish, and
interact with peers, experts, and other audiences
- use a variety of media and formats to communicate
information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences
- use technology to locate, evaluate, and collect information
from a variety of sources
- use technology tools to process data and report results
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CROSS-CURRICULAR EXTENSIONS
Language Arts
Invite students to start a Dear America Book Club. Have
the students organize a group meeting time, choose which
books to read, and reading assignments. When the book
club meets, members should take turns keeping notes
of the discussion and raise topics to discuss at the
next meeting. Challenge the Book Club to write a chapter
of a Dear America book that they'd like to read.
Drama
Encourage students to dramatize a moment from American
history. Refer them to the video clips they watched
from Dear America, and have them note how the costumes
and setting contribute to the authenticity of the time
period. Encourage students to notice how the people
talk and their mannerisms. Tell them to keep in mind
how the actors’ performance makes it seem like
they are stepping back into history. Allow time for
students to rehearse and present their dramas.
Science
What would it have been like to see the first plane
in the sky? The first TV broadcast? Or, the first moon
landing? Have students conduct research and find out
what were the top new inventions of the time period
they studied. Students should also find out what impact
the invention had on the culture and society. After
students have conducted research have them write a newspaper
article reporting on the new invention of the day.
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Resources
Dear
America at the Teacher Store
If You Lived in Colonial Times
Ann McGovern , June Otani (Illustrator)
What kind of food would you eat in colonial times? What did colonial people wear? Readers learn about the fascinating lifestyle of the colonists.
Grades 1–4
Paperback, 80 pp.
Shop Now!
Scholastic Encyclopedia of the United States at War
June A. English , Thomas D. Jones
A complete, full-color chronicle from the American Revolution through the Gulf War, with timelines, maps, eyewitness accounts, and more.
Grades 4–8
Hardcover, 192 pp.
Shop Now!
Children of the Wild West
Russell Freedman
Historic photographs show what life was like for pioneer and Native American children growing up in the American West during the 19th century. An index is included.
Grades 4–6
Paperback
Shop Now!
Immigrant Kids
Russell Freedman
In the late 1800's and early 1900's, millions of immigrants sailed by the Statue of Liberty and took to heart her words: "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free ..."
Immigrant kids sold newspapers, hauled firewood, worked in sweatshops, and did many other kinds of work. They played, fought in gangs, and became integrated into the life of America.
Illustrated with 50 authentic and fascinating photographs.
This collection contains 6 paperback copies of the same book.
Grades 3–6
Paperback, 64 pp.
Shop Now!
For more American History resources, shop the Teacher Store.
