Ongoing Unit Project

Throughout the next Social Studies unit, the children will be learning about our country's history.  After each of the six lessons, the students will think about key words, events, or people they studied.  They will decide what they could draw and label with a complete sentence to summarize that lesson.  I will send home a half of sheet of paper for them to decorate with their ideas.  This will be due two days later.  The students will connect their drawings together to make a time line of our country's history.  Please help them try to keep each lesson uniform.  For example, stay with markers, colored pencils or crayons throughout each lesson, use the same color for labeling and writing the sentences. (thin markers can be read easier than pencil.)  If decorating with a border, stay with the same border on each lesson.  In this way the time line will flow.  Encourage creativity and color for displaying on our hall bulletin board!  The students will bring home their textbooks to help with ideas.

The six lessons are:

#1  America's First People (key concepts:  Native Americans/Traditions)

#2  The Spanish Come to America (key concepts:  Explorers/Christopher Columbus)

#3  The Pilgrims Arrive  (key concepts:  Colonies/Thanksgiving)

#4  From Colonies to States  (key concepts:  Declaration of Independence/George Washington)

#5  Our Country at War  (key concepts:  Slavery/The Civil War)

#6  From Sea to Sea  (key concepts:  Pioneers)

The very first sheet that will come home will be the title page.  It should be decorated and labeled with "Our Past",  "Learning About History",  "A Time Line of American History" or something similar.  Included on this title page should be name and grade. 

The rubrics for grading is as follows:

Heading of lesson labeled      25 points

Colorful hand drawings labeled      25 points

A complete sentence written about the main idea      25 points

Due on time      25 points