The books read aloud to the students were:
John, Paul, George, and Ben by Lane Smith
George Washington by Justin McCory Martin
Writing the U.S.
George Vs. George by Rosalyn Schanzer
The Library of Congress was used by taking the children to our special education room to utilize a smart board. I used the Declaration of Independence to illustrate how corrections were made. They were amazed to see all the lines and words scribbled and written over. This was great to illustrate how a rough draft or sloppy copy is done first. It tied in well with our kid writing since we don’t erase and we cross off so we do not forget our thoughts. It is more important to get our thoughts down on paper then handwriting. I also showed the children pictures of Ben Franklin, George Washington, King George, Thomas Jefferson, and Betsy Ross. I teach Kindergarten so this was a stretch but I tried to utilize.
Our classroom treasure box consisted of: feathers for quills, wooden top, Bilbo catcher toy, sock, buttons, paper money, tobacco, bicentennial quarter, tobacco, seeds, grain, container, map, candle, tea, lead balls, colonial flag, and soap. The children each received a treasure box to take home which was similar but did not have tobacco or lead balls.
I introduced the classroom treasure box and took it one step further by creating 9 centers based on the revolutionary time period that would utilize all the items in our classroom treasure box. So the children were able to handle the items in meaningful ways so they could teach their parents when they took their treasure boxes home. This met all the different learning styles and complied with the brain research we have been studying. It was a homework assignment to teach their parents how each item was used. I teach daily with learning centers and once a month do a larger unit and we do centers all day long. This was the first time I used a treasure box to get the children excited about the upcoming centers. I liked using the treasure box and will continue to use it for my all day centers.
Center #1 - (feathers) -Quill Writing - The children wrote with feathers and black paint was used for the ink. This was a lot harder then the children expected especially since they could not erase. They also did not like that black was the only color. They are so use to all the colors with markers, pens, crayons, and colored pencils.
Center #2 – (tea, seeds, grain, money) -Story Time and Tea center. The children were allowed to see the brick of tea and pretend to toast marshmallows on pretzels rods over a pretend fire. A story was read to them as they had their snack. They were also shown a variety of seeds and grains at this center. They were shown paper money and the bicentennial quarter too.
Center #3 – (Sock and buttons) - Clothing -The children were shown a variety of clothing. These were vintage and the lady who gave it to us did not want the children handling the clothing. Our adult at the center either held up the clothing or tried it on for the children. They were also shown buttons and how the buttons represented how much money you had. We did this with first grade and Jen Miller was nice enough to bring in some family heirlooms to share.
Center #4- (soap) – Washing center - The children actually had to wash pieces of clothing and hang it on a line to demonstrate how clothing was cleaned during the revolutionary times. Then a venn-diagram was done to compare today to back then.
Center #5 (candle, seeds, grain, money, buttons, feathers, sock) – Present vs. Past- Two blankets were put out for this center. One was an old quilt the other a more modern day blanket. We have over 50 items for the children to discuss and decide which blanket to place the items. We have dvd tapes, candles, stuffed animals, wooden bowls, rope, nets, camera, Candyland, etc.
Center # 6 - (flag) – Betsy Ross center - The children were shown a picture of Betsy Ross and had to use chalk to create their own flag. This took preparation and all the flags had stars, a blue square, and stripes drawn on before giving to the children. In math we are working on an ABAB pattern so this was a great reinforcement. It was compared to today’s flag and the children discussed the differences.
Center #7 ( Bilbo toy, top, and buckets) - Toys and Chores center – This center discussed the toys the children had to play with compared to the toys the children today play. Some were amazed the children didn’t have DS’s, Wii’s, tv, electricity, etc. All children enjoyed playing with the Bilbo catcher and top. I only had one child get the Bilbo catcher. I put letters on the top and we did a phonemic awareness activity. We also had to pretend to carry water to the soldiers. This was very difficult for the children and they were walking on a flat surface with only half of the buckets full.
Center #8 (map, money) - Ship and Play center - The children got to steer and go into a cabin of a ship. They learned the difference parts of the ship and what it would have been like to stay on a ship for many, many, days. They did a play pretending to leave England and pack on some items for the voyage to America
Center #9 (homemade book) – Book Binding center - The children made their very own book by threading yarn. The outside was construction paper and the inside was computer paper. Holes needed to be premade for this center. Plastic needles were used at this center.
I also made two life size posters of Betsy Ross and the signers of the Declaration of Independence that the children could take their picture of to remember this day. The faces were cut out and the individual children pretended to be these historical people. The pictures were very cute.
Our introduction for the Revolutionary Centers was a Patriotic Parade on Constitution day. I had over 20 pictures included for this blog demonstrated each center and the posters but my computer was not very cooperative. I took out all but one picture so it would post. I will have the pictures with my final project for everyone to view.
“Pauses and Ponders”
My thoughts are the treasure box I created around the Declaration of Independence really tied in nicely with Constitution day and introduced my students to the revolutionary time period. It was cross curricular and met a lot of different learning styles and the brain research we are studying. In Kindergarten some of the curriculum areas and standards met were reading, writing, fine motor, gross motor, map skills, sequencing, patterning, math, and handwriting to name a few.
I always have utilized centers but have never used a Treasure Box to introduce and excite the children about the upcoming unit. They really enjoyed the classroom treasure box and were very excited about teaching their parents through the individual treasure boxes sent home.
I read Signing Their Lives Away by Denise Kierman. I really enjoyed reading this book and learning about our Founding Fathers. To be honest, I was a little ashamed that I knew so little about our Founding Fathers. I liked that it was divided by the states with the signers in each state. The 3-5 pages of each signer was an excellent way to introduce and highlight the important events in his life. I learned that not one signer in North Carolina was born in North Carolina
