Three weeks ago, the United States of America celebrated its 250th anniversary. At the same time, the California History-Social Science Project wrapped up a week-long teacher institute focused on civic learning and engagement, as part of our three-year Foundations of Freedom program. Conversations throughout the week focused on what “freedom” meant to each participant, how teachers currently teach the founding principles of the USA to their students, and how we can expand our own definitions of the “foundations of freedom” when teaching U.S. history. In light of these conversations and America’s semiquincentennial, our Resource Spotlight this month highlights some lesson plans and picture books focused on the founding of the U.S., our guaranteed (and hard-fought-for) freedoms, and civic participation. Check them out!
CHSSP Lesson Plans:
Government Institutions: This inquiry set for second-grade students is designed to introduce them to the structure and functions of the federal government. It also provides students with sources that help them understand how they – as children and potential voters – can voice their perspectives to government leaders.
Separate is Never Equal: Before Linda Brown, there was Sylvia Mendez: This inquiry set introduces fourth-grade students to the history of school desegregation in California (Mendez v. Westminster, 1947). Featured prominently in the history of this court case is the role of the 14th Amendment and what freedoms U.S. citizens are guaranteed under the Constitution.
Roles of Women in the Revolution: This fifth-grade lesson plan introduces students to primary sources that highlight the roles of women, Native Americans, enslaved people, and free blacks in the American Revolution, providing alternative perspectives to a familiar history.
Road to the American Revolution: This inquiry set helps fifth-grade students explore the major events that led to the American Revolution. Special attention is paid to the Parliamentary Acts and the colonists’ response to them.
United States Abolitionism: This eighth-grade inquiry set examines the actions of the enslaved, free blacks, and whites who worked to bring about an end to slavery. Students interrogate how the enslavement of millions of people in U.S. history directly contradicted the proclamations of life and liberty outlined in the Declaration of Independence – the American paradox.
“Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” by Martin Luther King: This lesson plan aligns with ninth- and tenth-grade reading and writing literacy standards, as well as eleventh-grade history content standards. Students use documents to answer the question: How did the “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” address those opposed to the civil rights movement?
Citizenship: This inquiry set provides twelfth-grade students with legal and historical definitions of citizenship. Students learn about the ways in which the meaning of citizenship has been contested and reshaped over time by court challenges, political decisions, and shifts in immigration.
#KatesBookClub July Reads:
Black Hands: Builders of Our Nation by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie. Award-winning author Carole Boston Weatherford has given us another winner. The illustrations alone are worth the read as Christie uses images of Black hands to take us through history, from the auction block to the future. Some of the images feature well-known historical figures, while others depict ordinary people doing everyday tasks. One particularly powerful page shows a pair of hands holding a steaming bowl of food with the words, “Black hands took leavings and slim pickings and simmered them into soul food, flavors that generations would savor.”
Her Name Was Mary Katharine: The Only Woman Whose Name Is on the Declaration of Independence by Ella Schwartz, illustrated by Dow Phumiruk. Mary Katharine Goddard is not well-known in the history of the Revolutionary War, but she most definitely played a role. After her brother abandoned them, Mary Katharine and her mother were left to run the family printing business. When the need for a particular broadside to be printed arose, Mary Katharine set the type and produced the "Unanimous Declaration of the Thirteen United States of America.” Excellent back matter and one of the few books that focuses on the accomplishments of a woman during the Revolution. Readers may also enjoy a newer title on Mary Katharine – Revolutionary Mary: The True Story of One Woman, the Declaration of Independence, and America’s Fight for Freedom by Karen Blumenthal and Jen McCartney.
This Land by Ashley Fairbanks, illustrated by Bridget George. This beautifully illustrated book reminds the reader that America’s lands are the traditional homelands of Indigenous nations. A lovely way to introduce the idea of Indigenous homelands to younger students using familiar places like homes, neighborhoods, and landmarks.
We the People is All the People by Howard W. Reeves, illustrated by Duncan Tonatiuh. Focusing on the first three words of the Constitution, this sparingly written and beautifully illustrated title challenges the original intention of one of the founding documents. The message of the story? “All the people” is not perfect, but we can still have hope for a better and brighter future for all. Don’t miss the author’s note.