Helping Your Child Learn History
Helping Your Child Learn History
with activities for children
aged 4 through 11
By Elaine Wrisley Reed
Edited by Jacquelyn Zimmermann
Contents
Introduction
History Education Begins at Home
Children and History
Parents Make a Difference
History Is a Habit
Enjoying Your Child and History
The Basics of History
The Meanings of History
A New Look at History
Asking Questions
Activities: History as Story
What's the Story?
Our Town
History on the Go
What's News?
History Lives
Cooking Up History
Rub Against History
Activities: History as Time
Time Marches On
Weave a Web
Put Time in a Bottle
Quill Pens & Berry Ink
School Days
Time To Celebrate
The Past Anew
Appendices
Parents and the Schools
Resources
Local and National Resources
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Imagine waking up one morning to find
out that you have no
memory! You are not able to remember who you are
or what
happened in your life, yesterday or the day before
that. You
are unable to tell your children from total strangers,
you
cannot communicate with people because you no
longer know how
to greet them, or understand their conversation.
You don't
remember what "the election," "war,"
or "the movies" mean.
Lack of historical memory is parallel
to this loss of
individual memory. The link on which we depend
every day
between the past and present would be lost if
we had no memory
of our history. And we would miss a great source
of enjoyment
that comes from piecing together the story of
our past.
Today American educators are working to
promote the study
of history in the schools and at home. Knowledge
of our history
enables us to understand our nation's traditions,
its
conflicts, and its central ideas and values. Knowledge
of world
history enables us to understand other cultures.
We hope to encourage children to love
history and to enjoy
learning about it. This booklet is a tool you
can use to
stimulate your children's active involvement in
the history
that surrounds them every day. It includes:
* Basic information about history, and approaches
to
enjoying history with your children, aged
4-11;
* History activities that you and your children
can do--at
home, in your community, and out of town--for
no or little
cost; and
* History resources in your community and
nationally, in
bookstores, and libraries.
History Education Begins at Home
Children and History
As parents we are in the best position
to encourage our
children's natural interest in history. It is
to us they
address their first historical questions: "Where
did I come
from?" and "Was I always here?"
These two questions contain
the two main meanings of "history":
it is the story of people
and events, and it is the record of times past.
Now is the time to bring out the historical
evidence and
to share family stories with your child. Birth
and adoption
certificates, immunization records, first pieces
of your
child's writing and art, as well as photographs
all count as
historical sources that tell the story of your
child.
The stories you tell and read to your
children, or make up
with them, are part of their cultural heritage
and reinforce
the two basic parts of history: "Once upon
a time, and long
ago."
Parents Make a Difference
Your child is born into history. She has
no memory of it,
yet she finds herself in the middle of a story
that began
before she became one of its characters. She also
wants to have
a place in it.
As parents we can prepare our children
to achieve the
lifelong task of finding their place in history
by helping them
to learn what shaped the world into which they
were born.
Without information about their history, children
don't "get" a
lot of what they hear and see around them.
Your attitude about history can also make
a difference for
your child. Showing your interest in history--your
belief that
knowing history makes a difference for your life--encourages
your child's own interest.
Many parents say they love history. If
you are one of them
you can share your particular interests in history
with your
children as well as help them develop their
own.
Many other parents say they find history
boring. If you
are among these, try one of the following: start
writing your
own life story; read the diary of Anne Frank,
or the
autobiography of Frederick Douglass; read the
Declaration of
Independence, or rent a video about the Civil
War. As you
rediscover history your children may be inspired
by your
interest.
History Is a Habit
The activities in this book can help you
start doing
history with your child. You will probably get
more ideas of
your own. In addition, you can develop some of
the following
"history habits" that make history important
not only during an
activity but every day.
History Habits for Parents
Habits are activities we do on a regular
basis. We acquire
habits by choosing to make them a part of our
life. It is worth
the time and effort to develop good habits because
they enhance
our well-being. We suggest the following history
habits to
enrich your life experience and your children's.
Share family history with your children,
particularly your
memories. Help your own parents and other relatives
know your
children and talk with them about family stories.
Participate in your community by voting
and helping to
make changes in areas that interest you. Encourage
your
children to vote in school elections, to present
themselves as
candidates, and gain knowledge of history and
the values and
behaviors that are the basis of their citizenship.
Read newspapers and news magazines, and
watch television
news programs to maintain an informed judgment
about the world.
Talk about current events and your ideas about
them with your
children and other adults, and explore different
points of
view. Check the encyclopedia or your local library
for
additional historical information.
Watch television programs about important
historical
topics with your family, and encourage conversation
about the
program as you watch. Get library books on the
same topic and
learn more about it. Check to see if the books
and television
programs agree on significant issues, and discuss
their
differences.
Read with your children about people and
events that have
made a difference in the world, and discuss the
readings
together. The list of publications at the end
of this book
serves as a support to you for choosing materials.
Help children know that the makers of
history are real
people like themselves, who have ideas, work hard,
and
experience failure and success. Introduce them
to local
community leaders in person if possible, and national
and world
leaders via the media and biographies.
Make globes, maps, and encyclopedias available
and use
every opportunity to refer to them. A reference
to Africa in a
child's favorite story, or the red, white, and
green stripes on
a box of spaghetti can be opportunities to learn
more about the
world.
Have a collection of great speeches and
written documents
to read from time to time with your child.
Your own involvement in history, in any
of the forms
referred to in this book, is a good habit you
can pass on to
your children.
Enjoying Your Child and History
We have intentions of good fun as we plan
any activity
with our children. We also want them to learn
something from
most activities. They probably would say they
want to have fun
and learn something new too. But sometimes the
difference in
abilities between us and them, or the demands
of time, end up
leaving us disappointed. Keeping the following
in mind can help
keep your time together fun and productive:
You don't have to know all the facts or
fully understand
history to help your children learn. Your willingness
to learn
with them--to read, to ask questions, to search,
and to make
mistakes--is the most important gift you can bring
to the
process. By viewing their mistakes as sources
of information
for future efforts, your children gain confidence
to continue
learning.
Conversation gets you past the difficult
moments. Keeping
open the communication between you and your children,
and
encouraging continued discussion no matter how
off the mark
your children may seem, tells them you take them
seriously and
value their efforts to learn. The ability to have
a
conversation with your children profoundly affects
what and how
they learn.
Children have their own ideas and interests.
By letting
them choose activities accordingly, you let them
know their
ideas and interests are valuable. Often they will
want to teach
you as a way to use what they know. Share their
interests and
encourage them to learn more.
Make the most of everyday opportunities
to do history:
visits from grandparents, reading books, telling
stories,
holidays, elections, symbols like the flag, the
national anthem
before sporting events, pictures in newspapers
and magazines,
visits to museums. If your child asks about a
person in a
painting, stop to find out who it is. Keep asking:
"What does
this mean? How do I know?"
Choose your activities well. The activities
in this
booklet are for children aged 4-11. Each of the
activities can
be adapted to a child of any age and ability level.
Even a
preschooler can "read" a newspaper with
your help, for a short
period of time. While an activity that is too
difficult will
frustrate your child, an activity that is too
easy will lose
his interest. Challenges bring feelings of accomplishment.
Have a goal. When you choose or begin
an activity you may
not have a clear idea of where it's going. But
keep in mind
that the purpose of doing the activities in this
book is to
learn something about history. The first section
of this book,
the introduction to each activity, and the question
boxes can
help you. As you complete each activity discuss
with your child
what you learned together. Making bread is one
thing, knowing
that bread has historical meaning is another.
Achieving a goal
for an activity also helps your child sense the
pleasure of a
completed project.
The Basics of History
The Meanings of History
If you look for the meaning of "history"
in the dictionary
you may be surprised to find that history is not
simply the
past itself. The first meaning of history is "tale,
story," and
the second meaning is "a chronological record
of significant
past events." The opening of tales for children--"Once
upon a
time"--captures both the story and time nature
of history.
When we study history we are involved
in a branch of
knowledge that records and explains past events.
Many would say
that history is not just one branch of knowledge
among others,
but that it is the most essential one because
it is the
complete story of human endeavor. It happens that
the word
"history" comes from the Greek "to
know."
The activities in this book are organized
according to the
two meanings of history as story and time in order
to help you
explore these meanings with your child.
The Story in History
The work of doing history is to consider
people and events
that are no longer in our presence. Unlike doing
science, we do
history without being able to observe behavior
and its results.
This work is fun when we make the past
meaningful. We do
this by weaving together various pieces of information
about
the past. In doing this we create a pattern that
gives shape to
"just a bunch of facts." Doing history
is a way of bringing the
past to life, in the best tradition of the storyteller.
But not just any story will do. While
there are many
possible tales of the same event, good history
is based on
evidence and several perspectives.
The history with which we are most familiar
is political
history--the story of wars, peace treaties, and
changes of
government. But anything that has a past has a
history. This
includes the history of ideas, for example the
concept of
freedom, and cultural history, for example the
history of
music.
The story of history is interesting to
us because it tells
us about real people who had ideas and beliefs,
worked and
struggled to put them in action, and shaped the
present in
which we find ourselves.
Time in History
Human events take place in time, one after
the other. It
is important to learn the sequence of events in
order to trace
them, reconstruct them, and weave the stories
that tell of
their connections. Children need to learn the
measures of time,
such as year, decade, generation, and century.
When they hear
"Once upon a time in history" they need
to be able to ask "When
did that happen?," and to know how to find
the answer.
Time in history is a kind of relationship.
We can look at
several events that all happened at the same time,
and that
together tell a story about that period. Or we
can look at the
development of an idea over time, and learn how
and why it
changed. And we can consider the relationship
between the past
and the present, or the future and the past (which
is today!).
The present is the result of choices that people
made and the
beliefs they held in the past, while the past,
in being retold,
is in some way remade in the present. The future
will be the
result of the coming together of several areas
developing
today.
The main focus of history is the relationship
between
continuity and change, and it is important that
our children
understand the difference between them. For example,
the
population of the United States has changed dramatically
over
time with each wave of immigration. With the entry
of these new
groups into American society, bringing their own
ideas,
beliefs, and cultures, American democracy has
continued and
grown stronger. It continues to function according
to its
original purpose of safeguarding our basic values
of freedom
and equality, even as the meanings and effects
of these values
change.
A New Look at History
History is now understood to be more than
memorizing names
and dates. While being able to recall the details
of great
people and events is important, the enjoyment
of history is
enhanced by engaging in activities and experiencing
history as
a "story well told."
Original sources and literature are real
experiences.
Reading the actual words that changed the course
of history,
and stories that focus on the details of time
and place help
children know that history is about real people
in real places
who made real choices that had some real consequences,
and that
they could have made different choices.
Less can mean more. "A well-formed
mind is better than a
well-stuffed mind," says an old proverb.
Trying to learn the
entire history of the world is not only impossible,
it feels
too hard and reduces our enthusiasm for history.
In-depth study
of a few important events gives us a chance to
understand the
many sides of a story. We can always add new facts.
History is hands-on work. Learning history
is best done in
the same way we learn to use a new language, or
to play
basketball: we do it as well as read about it.
Doing history
means asking questions about historical events
and characters;
searching our towns for signs of its history;
talking with
others about current events and issues; writing
our own stories
about the past.
There is no final word on history. There
are good
storytellers and less good storytellers. And there
are many
stories. But very rarely does any one storyteller
"get it
right," or one story say it all. A good student
of history will
always look for other points of view, knowing
that our
understanding of history changes over time.
Your children do well to ask "So
what?" Much that we take
for granted is not so obvious to our children.
We should invite
them to clear up doubts they have about the reasons
for
remembering certain things, getting facts right,
and collecting
and judging evidence. At each step, asking "so
what?" helps to
explain what is important and worth knowing, and
to take the
next step with confidence.
Asking Questions
At the end of each activity in this book,
you will find a
series of questions that can help develop the
critical thinking
skills children need to participate well in society,
learn
history, and learn from history. The questions
help them know
the difference between what is real, fantasy,
and ideal, and
make the activity more
Critical thinking is judging the value
of historical
evidence; judging claims about what is true or
good; deciding
what information is important to have; looking
at a topic from
different points of view; being curious enough
to look further
into an event or topic; being skeptical enough
to look for more
than one account of an event or life; and being
aware that our
vision and thinking are often limited by our biases
and
opinions.
The following two sections contain a sampling
of history
activities, organized by the meanings of history
as story and
time. Each group of activities is preceded by
a review of three
elements of story and time from the perspective
of history. The
review is meant to inform and support conversation
between you
and your child, which is the most important step
in each
activity by far.
Activities: History as Story
Records
History is a permanent written record
of the past. Because
recording history is an essential part of doing
history, a
"history log" is indicated for each
activity. More recently,
history is also recorded on audio and video tape,
and many of
the activities lend themselves to this type of
recording as
well. Your children may be interested to know
that the time of
their favorite dinosaurs is called "prehistory"
because it is
unrecorded history. They should also know that
some written
languages have been invented because telling stories
orally,
without recording them in some form, is not by
itself a sure
enough way to preserve the identity of a people.
Narration
George Washington, in his Farewell Address
in 1796, said:
"Though in reviewing the incidents of my
administration I am
unconscious of intentional error, I am nevertheless
too
sensible of my defects not to think it probable
that I may have
committed many errors." This reflection is
a good reminder that
history, with its facts and evidence, is also
an interpretation
of the past. There is more than one cause for
an event, more
than one kind of outcome, and more than one way
of looking at
their relationship.
Evidence
All good histories are written on the
basis of evidence.
Your children need to learn the importance of
evidence, and to
distinguish it from biases, propaganda, stereotypes,
and
opinion. They need to judge whether the many stories
about John
F. Kennedy or World War I, for example, are based
on solid
enough evidence to provide an accurate account
of the life and
times.
What's the Story
History is a story well told. Through
storytelling
children can understand what's involved in writing
the stories
that make history.
What you'll need
Family members and friends
A fairy tale or folk tale
History log
What to do
1. Tell a story of a person you know. Gather
your children,
other family members, and friends to have
a storytelling
session. Choose a person you know about whom
the group
will tell the story. Decide who will begin,
and go
clockwise from there with each person adding
to the story.
Set a time limit so that you must end the
story somewhere.
2. Read a folk story or fairy tale, for example,
Little Red
Riding Hood or The Story of Johnny Appleseed.
Talk about
how the story begins and ends, who the characters
are and
what they feel, and what happens. Ask how
this story based
on fantasy is different from the story you
told about the
real person you know.
3. Read a story about an historical event.
Now pick a moment
in world history, for example the fall of
the Berlin Wall,
the French and Indian War, or a current event
in the news
headlines. Ask the librarian for help in
choosing material
that is at your child's reading level.
4. Help your child write in the history log
about this
storytelling experience.
In the storytelling session about the
person you know, how
did you verify the "truth" when there
were differences of
opinion about what "really happened"?
If you were to write the
story of a real event for the newspaper, what
would count for
you the most in preparing it? What else would
you include?
Where would you get your information? How would
you check the
accuracy of the information?
Our Town
Your phone book, newspaper, and other
resources can serve
as your best guide to history in your town. Not
only does
referring to them save time, it teaches how to
use tools to get
information.
What you'll need
Phone books, both yellow and white pages
Daily city newspaper
Community newspaper
History log
What to do
1. Newspaper search. Look in your city and
community
newspapers. They list "things to do."
Look for parades,
museum and art exhibits, music events, children's
theater,
history talks and walks.
Participate in an event and help your
child write about it
in the history log when you get back home.
For more help, call education services
at your city
newspaper. Ask about their education programs
that use
newspapers.
2. Phone book search. Look in your phone
books under
"History" or "Historical Places."
You will find a few
places under this heading but many more are
listed
elsewhere.
Brainstorm with your children about what
other words to
look under in the phone book to find local
history.
Call the places you find. -Ask about their
programs,
hours, and upcoming special events. Ask to
be put on their
mailing list. Also ask where else you should
go to learn
about your town's history.
Your younger children should listen to
your phone
conversation. They learn how to ask for information
by
listening to you.
3. Begin a list in the history log of local
historical sites.
Include phone numbers, addresses, hours of
operation, and
other useful information for future visits.
What is the most surprising thing you
learned about your
town? If you were asked to be a tour guide for
visitors to your
town, what would you show them? If you went to
another town,
how would you go about visiting it?
History on the Go
Visit the historical places in your child's
history book,
either in person or by collecting materials.
What you'll need
Your child's history book
Maps, guidebooks
History log
What to do
1. Find out what historical events your child
is studying in
school. Perhaps a historical site is near
your town.
Choose a site of one of these events to visit
in person or
through the materials you collected.
2. Prepare the trip together in advance.
Ask the librarian to
help you and your child find books and videos
on the
history of the town or the historical figures
who lived
there.
3. Call the Chamber of Commerce of the area
for maps and
guidebooks.
4. Make a list. Think of some questions you
want answered on
your trip.
5. Talk about the place you are visiting.
6. Have your child write about the trip in
the history log.
Include answers to the questions that were
answered that
day.
7. Have your children make up a quiz for
parents, or a game,
based on the trip.
8. Encourage your child to read more stories
about the place
you visited and the people who were part
of its history,
and historical documents that are associated
with the
site. For example, in visiting Akron, Ohio,
the site of
the Ohio Women's Rights Convention in 1851,
you might read
Sojourner Truth's address, known also as
And Ain't I a
Woman?
What was historical about the place you
visited? What
kinds of things communicated the history of the
place? When you
returned, did you see your town in a new way,
or notice
something you hadn't seen before?
What's News?
What's new today really began in the past.
Discussing the
news is a way to help your child gain a historical
perspective
on the events of the present.
What you'll need
Daily or Sunday newspaper
Weekly news magazine
A daily national news program
Highlighter
History log
What to do
1. Decide on how often you will do this activity
with your
children--current events happen every day.
This activity
can be most useful to younger children if
it is done from
time to time to get them used to the idea
of "news." Older
children benefit from doing it more often,
at least once a
week if possible.
2. Look through the newspaper or news magazine
with your
child. Ask him to decide what pictures or
headlines are
related to history. Highlight these references.
Some
examples are the Yalta Treaty, the French
Revolution,
Lenin, Pearl Harbor, or Brown v. Board of
Education.
3. Together read the articles you have chosen.
Write down any
references to events that did not happen
today or
yesterday, or to people who were not alive
recently.
4. Have a conversation with your child about
what these past
events and people have to do with what's
happening today.
Help your child write in the history log
the connections
you find between past and present.
5. Watch the evening news or a morning news
program together.
Write down as many references as possible
to past history
and discuss the links you find between these
references
and the news story you heard.
6. During another viewing, help your child
focus on how the
information was communicated: did the newscaster
use
interviews, books, historical records, written
historical
accounts, literature, paintings, photographs?
7. Help your child compare several accounts
of a major news
story from different news shows, newspapers,
and news
magazines.
"There is nothing new under the sun,"
according to an old
saying. Did you find anything "new"
in the news? What "same old
stories" did you find?
History Lives
At living history museums you can see
real people doing
the work of blacksmiths, tin workers, shoemakers,
farmers, and
others. Children can see how things work, and
can ask questions
of the "characters."
What you'll need
Visitor brochure and museum map
Sketch pad and pencils, or camera
History log
What to do
1. Awaken your children's expectations of
what they will see
and what to look for. Write or call the museum
ahead of
time to obtain information brochures and
a map. Living
history museums are located in Williamsburg,
VA and Old
Sturbridge Village, MA, among other places.
2. Plan how to actually "visit history."
Pretend to be a
family living in the historical place. What
would it be
like to be a family living in the place you
choose to go?
3. When you visit the museum, ask your child
what his
favorite object or activity is, and why.
4. Help your children sketch something in
the museum, and put
it in the history log. Tell your children
that this is the
way history was visually recorded before
there were
cameras.
5. Use your camera, if you have one, to make
a "modern day"
record of history, and create a scrapbook
with the
photographs of what you saw.
6. When you get home, talk about what it
would have been like
to live in that historical place in that
period of time.
Compare this to the image you had before
your visit.
How were days spent in the period of time
you experienced?
What kind of dress was common, or special? What
kinds of food
did people usually eat, and did they eat alone
or in groups?
What kind of work would you have chosen to do
as an adult? If a
living history museum were made of the late 20th
century, what
would people see and learn there? Reminder: if
you can't visit
a museum, travel by reading books.
Cooking Up History
Every culture has its version of bread.
"Eating it, one
feels that the taste one cannot quite put to words
may almost
be the taste of history."* Children enjoy
making this American
Indian fried bread.
What you'll need
2 1/2 cups all-purpose or wheat flour
1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon dried skimmed milk powder
3/4 cup warm water
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Oil for frying
Mixing bowls and spoons, spatula
Large skillet
Cloth towels
Baking sheet
Paper towels
History log
What to do
1. In a large bowl, stir together the flour,
baking powder,
and salt.
2. In a small bowl, stir together the dried
milk, water, and
vegetable oil.
3. Pour this liquid over the dry ingredients
and stir
until the dough is smooth (1 or 2 minutes).
Add 1
tablespoon of flour if the dough is too soft.
4. Knead the dough in the bowl with your
hands about
30 seconds. Cover it with a cloth and let
it sit 10
minutes.
5. Line the baking sheet with paper towels
to receive the
finished loaves.
* From Edward Behr (see Acknowledgments).
6. Divide the dough into eight sections.
Take one section and
keep the rest covered in the bowl.
7. Roll the dough into a ball and flatten
with your hand.
Then roll it into a very thin circle 8 to
10 inches
across. The thinner the dough, the puffier
the bread will
be.
8. Cover this circle with a cloth.
9. Continue with the other seven sections
of dough in the
same way.
10. In the large frying pan or skillet, pour
vegetable oil to
about 1 inch deep.
11. As you begin to roll the last piece of
dough, turn on the
heat under the skillet. When the oil is hot,
slip in a
circle of dough. Fry for about 1 minute or
until the
bottom is golden brown. Reminder: Parental
supervision is
necessary at all times around a hot stove.
12. Turn the dough over with tongs or a spatula.
Fry the other
side for 1 minute.
13. Put the fried bread on the baking sheet
and continue with
the other rounds of dough.
14. Eat your fried bread while it is hot and
crisp. Put honey
on it if you like. Write in your history
log what you
learned about this bread and others you have
tried.
How is this bread different from other
breads you have
tried? Think of common expressions that use the
word "bread."
For example, "the nation's breadbasket";
"I earn my bread and
butter"; or "breadlines of the 1920s."
What does "bread" mean
in each of these? What place does bread have in
your daily life
and in other cultures?
Rub Against History
Younger children find rubbings great fun.
Cornerstones and
plaques are interesting, and even coins will do.
What You'll Need
Tracing paper or other light weight paper
Large crayons with the paper removed, fat lead
pencil, colored
pencils, or artist's charcoal
History log
What to do
1. Help your child make a kit to do rubbings.
It could
include the items listed. The paper should
not tear easily
but it should also be light enough so that
the details of
what is traced become visible.
2. Have children make a rubbing of a quarter
or half dollar.
Make the coin stable by supporting it with
tape. Double
the tape so that it sticks on both sides
and place it on
the bottom of the coin. Lay the paper on
top of the coin,
and rub across it with a pencil, crayon,
or charcoal.
Don't rub too hard. Rub until the coin's
marks show up.
3. Go outside to do a rubbing. Look for
* Dates imprinted in cement sidewalks
* Cornerstones and plaques on buildings
* Decorative ironwork on buildings and lampposts
* Art and lettering on monuments and around
doorways
4. Your child can ask family members to guess
what each
rubbing is.
5. Have the children tell about each rubbing.
Tell them to
look for designs and dates among the rubbings.
6. Children may want to cut some of their
rubbings out to
include in their history logs. Or they can
fit several on
one piece of paper to show a pattern of dates
and designs.
What showed up in your rubbings? What
did the date and
designs commemorate? Historical preservation groups
in America
have worked to preserve old buildings and to install
plaques on
public historical places. Is this interesting
or important
work? Why have humans left their marks on the
world from early
cave drawings to Vietnam Veterans' Memorial?
Activities: History as Time
Chronology
While our children need the opportunity
to study events in
depth to get an understanding of them, they also
need to know
the sequence of historical events in time, and
the names and
places associated with them. Being able to place
events in
time, your child is better able to learn the relationships
among them. What came first? What was cause, and
what was
effect? Without a sense of chronological order,
events seem
like a big jumble, and we can't understand what
happened in the
past. It matters, for example, that our children
know that the
American and French Revolutions are related.
Empathy
Empathy is the ability to put ourselves
in the place of
another person and time. Since history is the
reconstruction of
the past, we must have an idea of what it was
like "to be
there" in order to reconstruct it with some
accuracy. For
example, in studying the westward expansion your
children may
ask why people didn't fly across the country to
avoid the
hazards of exposure on stagecoach trails. When
you answer that
the airplane hadn't yet been invented, they may
ask why not.
They need an understanding of how technology develops
and its
state at the time. Using original source documents,
such as
diaries, logs, and speeches, helps us guard against
imposing
the present on the past, and allows us to see
events through
the eyes of people who were there.
Context
Context is related to empathy. Context
means "weave
together" and refers to the set of circumstances
in several
areas that framed an event. To understand any
historical period
or event our children should know how to weave
together
politics (how a society was ruled), sociology
(what groups
formed the society), economics (how people worked
and what they
produced), and religion, literature, the arts,
and philosophy
(what was valued and believed at the time). When
they try to
understand World War II, for example, they will
uncover a
complex set of events. And they will find that
these events
draw their meaning from their context.
History means having a grand old time
with new stories.
So, think about the relationship between history
and time as
you do the following activities.
Time Marches On
The stories of history have beginnings,
middles, and ends
that show events, and suggest causes and effects.
A personal
timeline helps your child picture these elements
of story.
What you'll need
Paper for timeline
Colored pencils
Crayons
Shelf paper or computer paper
Removable tape
History log (optional)
What to do
1. Draw on a piece of paper, or in the history
log, a
vertical line for the timeline. Mark this
line in even
intervals for each year of your child's life.
2. Help your child label the years with significant
events,
starting with your child's birthday.
3. Review the timeline. Your child may want
to erase and
change an event for a particular year to
include a more
memorable or important one. (Historians also
rethink their
choices when they study history.)
4. For a timeline poster, use a long roll
of shelf paper or
computer paper. For a horizontal timeline,
fasten it to
the wall up high around the room using removable
tape so
that your child can take it down to add more
events or
drawings. For a vertical timeline, hang it
next to the
doorway in your child's room. Start with
the birthday at
the bottom. Your child can begin writing
down events and
add to it later.
5. For older children, have them do a timeline
of what was
happening in the world at the same time as
each event of
their life. To begin, they can use the library's
collection of newspapers to find and record
the headlines
for each of their birthdays.
What is the most significant event on
the timeline? What
effects did the event have on your child's life?
What are the
connections between the events in your child's
life and world
events at the time?
Weave a Web
A history web is a way of connecting people
and events. Is
there an old ball field in your town you've always
wondered
about? Or did you ever wonder why there are so
many war
memorials in your town? Then you need to do a
history web!
What you'll need
Large piece of paper or poster board (at least
3 1/2 x 2 1/2 ft.)
Colored pencils or markers
History log
What to do
1. Pick a place in your community that has
always seemed
mysterious to you--an old ball field, general
or hardware
store, house, or schoolhouse.
Or ask yourself. "What are there
lots of in my town?"
Churches, fountains? Pick one of these historical
"families."
2. Go to one of these places. Jot down in
your history log
what you see and hear there. For example,
look for marks
on the buildings, such as dates and designs,
or parts of
the buildings, such as bleachers or bell
towers.
3. Find out other information about the place
by asking a
librarian for resources, or by searching
the archives of
your local newspaper. Look for major events
that took
place there, such as the setting of a world
record or the
visit of a famous person. Also look for other
events that
changed the place, such as modernization
or dedications.
4. Find people who have lived in your town
a long time.
Interview them using questions about these
major and
related events, and any others they remember.
5. Draw a web, with the name of the place
you studied in the
middle (like the spider who weaves a "home").
6. Draw several strands from the middle to
show the major
events in the life of the place.
7. Connect the strands with cross lines to
show other related
events.
8. When the web is complete consider the
relationships among
the strands. (See parent box.)
9. Ask the editor of your local newspaper
to publish your
web. Ask readers to contribute more information
to add to
it. This is exactly how history is written!
When was the place you picked built? If
you picked a
"family" of places, when was each place
built? If they were
built around the same time, what similarities
and differences
do you notice about their features, such as style
and what they
commemorate? How is the place you picked connected
to other
events in history?
Put Time in a Bottle
Collecting things from one's lifetime
and putting them in
a time capsule is a history lesson that will never
be
forgotten.
What you'll need
Magazines or newspapers with pictures
Sealable container
Tape or other sealant
History log
Lift up your eyes upon
This day breaking for
Give birth again
To the dream.
Women, children, men,
Take it into the palms of your hands,
Mold it into the shape of your most
Private need. Sculpt it into
The image of your most public self.
Lift up your hearts...
Excerpted from "On the Pulse of Morning",
delivered by Maya
Angelou at the 1993 Presidential Inauguration.
What to do
1. Have your children collect pictures of
a few important
things from their life to date.
2. Tell your children that the items will
be put in a time
capsule so that when future generations find
it they can
learn something about your children and their
time.
Some things to collect that represent
the life and times
of a period are games and toys, new technology,
means of
transportation, slang, movies, presidential
campaign
memorabilia, great speeches, poetry and fiction,
music,
heroes, advertising, events, television shows,
fashions,
and accounts of issues and crises.
Also have them include a letter describing
life today to
the person who opens the time capsule.
3. Meet together for a "show and tell"
of the items.
4. Once everyone is satisfied with the collection,
label the
items by name and with any other information
that will
help those who find them understand how they
are
significant to the history of our time.
5. Place the items in a container, seal the
container, and
find a place to store it.
6. Write in the history log a short description
of the time
period and record the location of the time
capsule.
What did, the collection of items tell
about the period?
Did the items tend to be of a certain type?
Quill Pens & Berry Ink
Knowing how to write has been a valued
skill throughout
history. History itself depends on writing, and
writing has
changed over time from scratches on clay to computerized
letters.
What you'll need
For quill pen:
feather, scissors, a paper clip
For berry ink:
1/2 cup of ripe berries, 1/2 teaspoon
salt, 1/2 teaspoon
vinegar, food strainer, bowl, wooden spoon,
small jar with
tight-fitting lid
Paper
Paper towel
History log
What to do
1. Make the ink: Collect some berries for
your ink. Consider
what color you want your ink to be, and what
berries are
available. Blueberries, cherries, blackberries,
strawberries, or raspberries work well. Fill
the strainer
with berries and hold it over the bowl. Crush
the berries
against the strainer with the wooden spoon
so that the
berry juice drips into the bowl. When all
the juice is out
of the berries, throw the pulp away. Add
the salt and
vinegar to the berry juice and stir well.
If the ink is
too thick, add a teaspoon or two of water,
but don't add
too much or you'll lose the color. Store
the ink in a
small jar with a tight-fitting lid. Make
only as much as
you think you will use at one time, because
it will dry up
quickly.
2. Make the pen: Find a feather. Form the
pen point by
cutting the fat end of the quill on an angle,
curving the
cut slightly. A good pair of scissors is
safer than a
knife. Clean out the inside of the quill
so that the ink
will flow to the point. Use the end of a
paper clip if
needed. You may want to cut a center slit
in the point;
however, if you press too hard on the pen
when you write,
it may split.
3. Write with the pen: Dip just the tip of
the pen in the
ink, and keep a paper towel handy to use
as an ink
blotter. Experiment by drawing lines, curves,
and single
letters, and by holding the pen at different
angles. Most
people press too hard or stop too long in
one spot.
4. Practice signing your name, John Hancock
style, with the
early American letters shown here. Then write
your
signature in your history log.
5. Write your name again using a pen or pencil.
Compare the
results.
Why do write? When do people in your family
use writing?
What written things do you see every day? What
is their
purpose? What effect do different writing implements
have on
writing, for example quill pens, ballpoint pens,
typewriters,
and computers?
School Days
Did you ever wonder why there is no school
in summer? Or
why there might be soon?
What you'll need
Map of the United States
Crayons or colored pencils
History log
What to do
1. Talk about what school was like when you
were a child.
Include how schools looked physically (e.g.,
one-room
schoolhouse or campus?); what equipment teachers
used
(e.g., chalk boards or computers?); what
subjects you
studied; what choices you faced (e.g., transportation
to
and from school, extracurricular activities
); and
favorite teachers.
2. Talk about what school was like 50 or
100 years ago. Ask
your librarian for help in looking this up,
and talk to
older relatives.
Include the history of work in America
and how this
affects schooling. For example, when America
was an
agricultural society, children were needed
to help plant
and harvest crops. It was common then that
children didn't
go to school every day, or in the summer.
Have children draw a variety of crops
or animals raised in
the United States, including those grown
in their own
state or neighborhood. They can draw either
right on the
map or on paper that they will cut and paste
on the
appropriate state. The map can be traced
from an atlas in
the library or from a geography book. Talk
about when
various crops are planted and harvested,
and the effects
of growing seasons on migrant worker families.
Talk about another change in work in America
and how it
affected schooling. For example, when America
was becoming
a manufacturing economy, during the Industrial
Revolution,
laws were made against child labor and for
mandatory
schooling.
Help your child talk about how the work
of parents in
America today affects schooling, for example,
the need for
afterschool programs.
3. Imagine what school will be like in the
future. Younger
children may want to use blocks to build
their future
school, and older children may want to draw
theirs.
What has remained the same about school
from the past to
the present? What has changed? If you could be
the head of a
school 20 years from now, what would you keep
and what would
you change based on your current school? How would
you go about
making the changes?
Time To Celebrate
On quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies
is written the
phrase "E pluribus unum," "One
out of many." What does it mean?
What you'll need
U.S. coins
Map of the world
Calendar
History log
What to do
1. Have your children look at U.S. coins
for the expression
"E pluribus unum", and translate
it for them: "One out of
many." Explain to them that it refers
to America as one
nation with many peoples and cultures, and
that it is not
a common nationality but shared democratic
values that
bind us as a nation.
2. With your children talk about the following
list of
holidays celebrated in the United States.
Look at a
calendar to add other holidays, and next
to each holiday
write when it is celebrated and what is celebrated.
New Year's Day January 1 New
beginning
Martin Luther January 15 Birth
of a leader
King Jr.'s
Birthday
Presidents' Day 3rd Monday Originally,
Presidents
of February Lincoln
and Washington
currently
all former
U.S. presidents
Memorial Day Last Monday War
dead
of May
Independence Day July 4 National
independence;
adoption
of the
Declaration
of
Independence
in 1776
Labor Day First Monday Working
people
of September
Columbus Day Second Monday Landing
of
of October Columbus
in the
Bahamas
in 1492
Veterans Day November 11 War
veterans
Thanksgiving Fourth Giving
thanks
Day Thursday of for divine
goodness
November
Christmas Day December 25 Birth
of Jesus
3. Use the opportunity of talking about what
holidays
celebrate to read original sources. For example:
on
Presidents' Day read one of the great presidential
speeches such as the Gettysburg Address;
on Martin Luther
King's Day read the "I Have a Dream"
speech.
4. Find holidays celebrated in other nations.
Classmates,
neighbors, and relatives from other countries
are good
sources of information.
5. Think and talk about other important holidays
our nation
should celebrate.
6. Discuss what your family celebrates, and
have your
children write about the discussion in their
history log.
What kinds of accomplishments or events
do we celebrate in
America? What similarities and differences did
you find between
American holidays and holidays celebrated by people
from other
countries.
The Past Anew
Reenactments of historical battles or
periods, such as
colonial times, make our nation's history come
alive. And they
get our children involved.
What you'll need
A library card
Local newspapers
Phone book
History log
What was unusual or interesting about
the reenactment?
What role did each of the reenactors play? If
there was
conflict, what was shown or said about its causes?
What
obstacles did the characters face? How did they
overcome them?
What is the difference between the "real
thing" and a
performance of it? What did you learn from the
performance?
What to do
1. Find out where reenactments are held by
looking in your
local newspaper or calling your local historical
society,
State Park, or National Park Service.
2. Choose one, and prepare your child to
see it by visiting a
local museum or historical site that relates
to the
reenactment, or by watching a television
program about the
event or period to be reenacted. Use your
local librarian
and TV guide as resources.
3. Attend the reenactment and participate.
Ask the reenactors
questions about anything--from the kind of
hat they are
wearing to the meanings of the event or period
for the
development or transformation of America.
Finally, help
your child write about this experience in
the history log.
Parents and the Schools
Educators and education policymakers at
the national and
state levels support an expanded history curriculum
in our
schools. Parents and schools can be partners in
this endeavor
as they work toward their common goal of educating
children.
Following are some well-proven measures for supporting
your
children's study of history at school, and for
forming
productive relationships with those responsible
for their
education away from home:
1. Become familiar with your school's history
program. Ask
yourself:
* What do I see in my child's classroom
that shows history
is valued there? For example, are maps, globes,
atlases,
and original source documents visible?
* Are newspapers and current events media
part of the
curriculum? Are biographies, myths, and legends
used to
study history?
* Does my child regularly have history homework,
and history
projects periodically, including debates
and mock trials?
* Are there field trips relating to history?
* Is my child encouraged to ask questions
and look for
answers from reliable sources?
* How is knowledge of history assessed in
addition to tests
based on the textbook?
* Are my children learning history in elementary
and middle
school, and are the history curriculums well
coordinated?
* Does the history curriculum include world
history as well
as American history?
* Does my school require teachers to have
studied history?
Or does it assign history classes to teachers
with little
or no background?
2. Talk often with your child's teachers.
* Attend parent-teacher conferences early
in the school
year.
* Listen to what teachers say during these
conferences, and
take notes.
* Let teachers know that you expect your
child to gain a
knowledge of history, and that you appreciate
their
efforts towards this goal.
* Ask the teachers what their expectations
of the class and
your child are.
* Agree on a system of communication with
the teachers for
the year, either by phone or in writing twice
a semester,
and whenever you are concerned.
* Keep an open mind in discussing your child's
education
with teachers; ask questions about anything
you don't
understand; and be frank with them about
your concerns.
3. Help to improve history education in your
child's school.
* Volunteer in your children's history class,
for example,
to organize visits from the mayor or local
historians, and
to local historical sites.
* If you feel dissatisfied with the history
program, talk to
your children's teachers first, and then
to the principal,
history curriculum division, superintendent,
and finally
the school board. Also talk to other parents
for their
input.
Resources
Listed below are a few of the many excellent
books about
people, events, and issues in American and world
history that
are available for primary and middle school children.
They are
available in most public and school libraries,
as well as in
children's bookstores. Suggestions came from:
The New York
Times Parents Guide to the Best Books for Children,
by Eden
Ross Lipson; History--Social Science Curriculum:
A Booklet for
Parents, by the California Department of Education;
The Horn
Book Guide to Children's and Young Adult Books,
by The Horn
Book, Incorporated; Children's Books in Print;
and from the
1991 bibliography of the National Council for
the Social
Studies-Children's Book Council. The listing includes
author,
title, and publisher.
Primary Level Books
1. American History and Culture
Adler, David A. A Picture Book of Eleanor Roosevelt.
See also
other titles in this series, and Thomas Jefferson:
Father of
Our Democracy, and George Washington: Father of
Our Country.
Holiday.
Barth, Edna. Turkeys, Pilgrims and Indian Corn:
The Story of
the Thanksgiving Symbols. Clarion.
Cherry, Lynne. A River Ran Wild. Harcourt Brace
Jovanovich.
Cohen, Barbara. Molly's Pilgrim. Lothrop.
Faber, Doris. Amish. Doubleday.
Ferris, Jeri. Go Free or Die: A Story about
Harriet Tubman. See
also Walking the Road to Freedom: A Story about
Sojourner
Truth. Carolrhoda Books.
Fisher, Leonard E. The Statue of Liberty. Holiday.
Fritz, Jean. Can't You Make Them Behave, King
George? See also
What's the Big Idea, Ben Franklin?, and Will You
Sign Here,
John Hancock? Coward.
Gibbons, Gall. From Path to Highway: The Story
of the Boston
Post Road. T.Y. Crowell/HarperCollins.
Harness, Cheryl. Three Young Pilgrims. Bradbury
Press.
Jakes, John. Susanna of the Alamo: A True Story.
Harcourt Brace
Jovanovich.
Lawson, Robert. Watchwords of Liberty: A Pageant
of American
Quotations. Little, Brown.
McGovern, Ann. If You Lived in Colonial Times.
Scholastic.
McGuffy, William Holmes. McGuffey's Third Eclectic
Reader. Van
Nostrand Reinhold.
Monjo, F. N. The One Bad Thing about Father
(biography of
Theodore Roosevelt). See also The Drinking Gourd.
Harper.
O'Kelley, Mattie Lou. From the Hills of Georgia:
An
Autobiography in Paintings. Little, Brown.
Provensen, Alice. The Buck Stops Here: The
Presidents of the
United States. HarperCollins.
Rynbach, Iris V. Everything from a Nail to
a Coffin. Orchard.
Sewall, Marcia. The Pilgrims of Plimoth. See
also People of the
Breaking Day (same period from Indian point of
view). Atheneum.
Von Tscharner, Renata, and Ronald Fleming.
New Providence: A
Changing Cityscape. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
Waters, Kate. The Story of the White House.
Scholastic.
Williams, Sherley Anne. Working Cotton. Harcourt
Brace
Jovanovich.
2. World History and Culture
Adler, David A. Our Golda: The Story of Golda
Meir. Viking.
Aliki. Mummies Made in Egypt. T.Y. Crowell/HarperCollins.
Fisher, Leonard E. The Great Wall of China.
See also Pyramid of
the Sun--Pyramid of the Moon, and The Wailing
Wall. Macmillan.
Musgrove, Margaret W. Ashanti to Zulu: African
Traditions.
Dial.
Provensen, Alice, and Martin Provensen. The
Glorious Flight:
Across the Channel with Louis Bleriot. Puffin.
Sabin, Louis. Marie Curie. Troll.
Stanley, Diane. Peter the Great. Four Winds.
Wells, Ruth. A to Zen: A Book of Japanese Culture.
Simon and
Schuster.
3. Historical Fiction and Poetry
Aliki. A Medieval Feast. T.Y. Crowell/HarperCollins.
Baylor, Byrd. The Best Town in the World. Scribner's.
Benchley, Nathaniel. Sam the Minuteman. HarperCollins.
Burton, Virginia Lee. Litle House. Houghton
Mifflin.
Goble, Paul. Death of the Iron Horse. Macmillan.
Hall, Donald. Ox-Cart Man. Puffin.
Kurelek, William. A Prairie Boy's Winter. Houghton
Mifflin.
Kuskin, Karla. Jerusalem, Shining Still. Harper
Trophy.
Lee, Jeanne M. Ba-Nam. Henry Holt.
Le Sueur, Meridel. Little Brother of the Wilderness:
The Story
of Johnny Appleseed. Holy Cow! Press.
Livingston, Myra. Celebrations. Holiday.
Lobel, Anita. Potatoes, Potatoes. HarperCollins.
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. Hiawatha. Dial.
Lyon, George-Ella. Who Came Down That Road?
Franklin Watts.
Spier, Peter. We the People: The Constitution
of the U. S.. See
also Tin Lizzie, New Amsterdam, and The Star-Spangled
Banner.
Doubleday.
Swift, Hildegarde, and Lynd Ward. Little Red
Lighthouse and the
Great Gray Bridge. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
Turkle, Brinton. Thy Friend, Obadiah. Puffin.
Zolotow, Charlotte. The Sky Was Blue. Harper.
Upper Elementary Level Books
1. American History and Culture
a. Original sources and biographies
The Log of Christopher Columbus' First Voyage
to America: in
the Year 1492, As Copied Out in Brief by Bartholomew
Las Casas.
Linnett Books/Shoestring Press.
Brown, Margaret W. (editor). Homes in the Wilderness:
A
Pilgrim's Journal of Plymouth Plantation in 1620,
by William
Bradford and Others of the Mayflower Company.
Linnett
Books/Shoestring Press.
Cousins, Margaret. Ben Franklin of Old Philadelphia.
Random.
Douglass, Frederick. The Life and Times of
Frederick Douglass.
Macmillan. See also The Narrative and Selected
Writings. Modern
Library.
Freedman, Russell. Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Clarion. See also
Indian Chiefs, The Wright Brothers: How They Invented
the
Airplane (Holiday), and Lincoln: A Photobiography
(Clarion).
Harrison, Barbara, and Daniel Terris. A Twilight
Struggle: The
Life of John Fitzgerald Kennedy. Lothrop/Morrow.
Lester, Julius. To Be a Slave. Dial.
McKissack, Patricia, and Frederick McKissack.
Mary McLeod
Bethune: A Great Teacher. Enslow.
Meltzer, Milton. The Black Americans: A History
in Their Own
Words. See also others in this "In their
own words" series, and
Voices from the Civil War. T.Y. Crowell/HarperCollins.
Ravitch, Diane (editor). American Reader: Words
That Moved a
Nation. HarperCollins.
b. Period History and Historical Fiction
Alcott, Louisa May. Little Women. Little, Brown/Orchard
House.
See also An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving. Holiday.
Benet, Rosemary, and Stephen Vincent Benet.
The Ballad of
William Sycamore. Henry Holt.
Blumberg, Rhoda. The Incredible Journey of
Lewis and Clark.
Lothrop.
Brink, Carol R. Caddie Woodlawn. Macmillan.
Brown, Marion Marsh. Sacagawea: Indian Interpreter
to Lewis and
Clark. Childrens.
Fisher, Leonard E. The Oregon Trail. See also
Tracks Across
America: The Story of the American Railroad, 1825-1900.
Holiday.
Flournoy, Valerie. The Patchwork Quilt. Dial.
Forbes, Esther. Johnny Tremain. Houghton Mifflin.
Freedman, Russell. Cowboys of the Wild West.
Clarion.
Fritz, Jean. Shh! We're Writing the Constitution.
Putnam. See
also other books by the same author on Pocahantas,
Paul Revere,
and others.
Hakim, Joy. The First Americans, the first
volume of the series
A History of the United States. Oxford University
Press.
Haskins, Jim. Outward Dreams: Black Inventors
and Their
Inventions. Walker.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. True Stories from History
and Biography.
Ohio State University Press.
Hunt, Irene. Across Five Aprils. Berkley.
Jacobs, William J. Ellis Island: New Hope in
a New Land.
Scribner.
Maestro, Betsy. A More Perfect Union: The Story
of Our
Constitution. Lothrop.
Nixon, Joan L. A Family Apart. Bantam.
O'Dell, Scott. King's Fifth. See also The Serpent
Never Sleeps:
A Novel of Jamestown and Pocahontas. Houghton
Mifflin.
Parker, Nancy W. The President's Cabinet and
How It Grew.
HarperCollins.
Smith, Carter (editor). Daily Life: A Sourcebook
on Colonial
America. Millbrook.
Stewart, George. The Pioneers Go West. Random.
Wilder, Laura I. Little House in the Big Woods.
See also others
in the "Little House" series. Harper
Trophy.
2. World History and Culture, and Historical
Fiction
Blumberg, Rhoda. The Remarkable Voyages of
Captain Cook.
Bradbury.
Corbishley, Mike. Ancient Rome. Facts on File.
Foreman, Michael. War Boy: A Country Childhood.
Arcade.
Galbraith, Catherine A., and Rama Mehta. India
Now and Through
Time. Houghton Mifflin.
Harkonen, Reijo. The Children of Egypt. Carolrhoda
Books.
Macaulay, David. Pyramid. See also City: A
Story of Roman
Planning and Construction; Cathedral: The Story
of Its
Construction; and Castle. Houghton Mifflin. Also
available on
video.
Marrin, Albert. Napoleon and the Napoleonic
Wars. Viking.
Muller, Jorg. The Changing City. McElderry.
Nhuong, Quang Nhuong. The Land I Lost: Adventures
of a Boy in
Vietnam. Harper Trophy.
Rogasky, Barbara. Smoke and Ashes: The Story
of the Holocaust.
Holiday.
Stott, Ken (illustrator). Columbus and The
Age of Exploration.
Bookwright.
Collections
Baker, Charles F., Ill. The Struggle for Freedom:
Plays on the
American Revolution. Cobblestone.
Barchers, Suzanne, and Patricia Marden. Cooking
Up U. S.
History: Recipes and Research to Share with Children.
Teacher
Ideas Press.
Bell, R. C. Board and Table Games From Many
Civilizations.
Dover Publications.
Benet, Rosemary, and Stephen Vincent Benet.
Book of Americans.
Henry Holt.
Boorstin, Daniel J., and Ruth F. Boorstin.
The Landmark History
of the American People. Random House. See also
Visiting Our
Past: America's Historylands. National Geographic
Society.
D'Aulaire, Ingri, and Edgar D'Aulaire. D'Aulaire's
Book of
Greek Myths. Doubleday.
Dorell, Ann (collector). The Diane Goode Book
of American Folk
Tales and Songs. Dutton.
Fearotte, Phyllis. The You and Me Heritage
Tree: Children's
Crafts from 21 American Traditions. Workman.
Hughes, Langston, and Arna Bontemps. The Book
of Negro
Folklore. Dodd, Mead.
McEvedy, Colin. The Penguin Atlas of Ancient
History. Penguin.
National Geographic Society. Historical Atlas
of the United
States.
Walker, Barbara M. The Little House Cookbook.
Trophy.
Children's Magazines
Calliope: World History for Young People. Cobblestone
Publishing, Inc., 30 Grove St., Peterborough,
NH 03458. World
history for grades 6-8.
Cobblestone: The History Magazine for Young
People. Cobblestone
Publishing, Inc., same address as above. An American
history
monthly for grades 4-8.
Videos
An American Tail, Universal Studios. An animated
fable about
19th century immigration, in color.
The Civil War, PBS, directed by Kenneth Burns.
An 11 hour
series in color and black and white.
Eyes on the Prize, PBS. A series on the civil
rights movement
in the United States.
References for Parents
Hirsch, E.D. Jr. What Your First Grader Needs
To Know. See also
titles on second-, third-, and fourth-graders.
Doubleday/Core
Knowledge Series.
Local and National Resources
Federal Government
General Services Administration, Publications
Sales Branch,
NEPS-G, Washington, DC 20408. Write for a list
of available
"documents from the past."
National Park Service, Office of Public Inquiries,
Washington,
DC 20013-7127. Write for maps and guides to national
historic
sites.
National Register of Historic Places, Interagency
Resources
Division, National Park Service, P.O. Box 37127,
Washington, DC
20013-7127. The Register's archives contain information
on
59,000 places of national, state, and local significance.
National Nonprofit Organizations
American Association for State and Local History,
172 Second
Avenue North, Suite 202, Nashville, TN 37201.
The association
maintains an extensive list of museums, historic
sites, and
historical societies.
National Council for History Education, 26915
Westwood Rd.,
Suite B-2, Westlake, Ohio 44145. Write to the
council for the
monthly newsletter, History Matters! The council
also maintains
a Speakers' Bureau.
National History Day, University of Maryland
at College Park,
0121 Caroline Hall, College Park, MD 20742. Write
for
information on local, regional, state, and national
contests
for middle schoolers.
National Trust for Historic Preservation, 1785
Massachusetts
Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20036. Write to them for
lists of
preservation groups in local communities throughout
the United
States. These groups often have walking maps and
special
historical programs.
Acknowledgments
This booklet was made possible with help
from the
following people who provided materials and suggestions:
George
T. Reed, Rodney Atkinson, Gilbert Sewall, Joseph
Ribar, Steven
and Amy Jack, Candece Reed, Joseph and Peter Ryan,
Nancy
Taylor, Joan McKown, Susan Perkins Weston, Carol
Shull, Paul
Regnier, and Joyce Hunley. Special thanks are
given to Judith
J. French, a media specialist in Fairfax County
Public Schools,
for reviewing the bibliography; to the 1990 third-grade
class
of Capitol Hill Day School whose illustrations
of historical
houses in Washington, DC appear on page 13; to
Leo and Diane
Dillon for their advice on how to work with illustrators;
and
to Gerard Devlin, Nancy Floyd, John Fonte, Paul
Gagnon, Wilma
Prudhum Greene, Margery Martin, and many others
at the U.S.
Department of Education.
The Helping Your Chad series was initiated
by Diane
Ravitch when she was Assistant Secretary of OERI,
to expand
educational opportunities for children. In addition,
she
provided a historian's thoughtful review of this
manuscript.
The following sources were consulted in
conceiving the
introductory text: Awakening Your Child's Natural
Genius by
Thomas Armstrong; Building a History Curriculum
by the Bradley
Commission on History in Schools; History-Social
Science
Framework for California Public Schools by the
California State
Department of Education; Framework for the 1994
NAEP U.S.
History Assessment by the National Assessment
Governing Board;
Learning H/story by A.K. Dickinson et al.; and
the Art of
Eating (No.18), a newsletter by Edward Behr with
an article on
the history of breadmaking.
The activities are inspired by suggestions
from John Ahem;
Kid's America by Steve Caney; Great Fast Breads
by Carol
Cutler; Native American Cookbook by Edna Henry;
Claudia J.
Hoone; Kathleen Hunter; Peter O'Donnell, Director
of Museum
Education at Old Sturbridge Village; Janice Ribar;
and My
Backyard History Book by David Weitzman.
What We Can Do
To Help Our Children Learn:
Listen to them and pay attention to their problems.
Read with
them.
Tell family stories.
Limit their television watching.
Have books and other reading materials in the
house.
Look up words in the dictionary with them.
Encourage them to use an encyclopedia.
Share favorite poems and songs with them.
Take them to the library--get them their own
library cards.
Take them to museums and historical sites,
when possible.
Discuss the daily news with them.
Go exploring with them and learn about plants,
animals, and
local geography.
Find a quiet place for them to study.
Review their homework.
Meet with their teachers.
Do you have other ideas?
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