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2019 Holiday Calendar
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January 1
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January 21
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February 2
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February 12
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February 14
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February 18
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March 5
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March 10
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March 17
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April 1
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April 19
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April 21
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April 22
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April 22
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May 5
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May 12
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May 18
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May 27
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June 9
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June 10
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June 14
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June 16
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July 4
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July 28
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September 2
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September 8
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September 11
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September 17
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September 27
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October 14
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October 16
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October 31
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November 3
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November 11
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November 28
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November 29
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December 2
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December 7
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December 25
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December 31
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Friday, February 8, 2019
Books for Kids About
Learn more about the American government with these US Government books for kids. Study our nation’s history, politics, and constitution! Samantha Shank
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We the Kids: The Preamble to the Constitution of the United States – David Catrow
This creative book helps kids understand what the constitution is in a fun way. Laugh along to this story of exactly what our constitution says!
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C is for the Constitution – Baby Professor
Go through this picture book with your kids and introduce them not only to the constitution but the need for the constitution. Discover why we needed the constitution then and why we still need it today.
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Know Your Rights!: A Modern Kid’s Guide to the American Constitution – Laura Barcella
This book introduces kids to the U.S constitution in a way that they can truly understand the importance of the constitution. Not only does it make the constitution easy to understand, but also introduces kids to the founding fathers who helped put it together.
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One Vote, Two Votes, I Vote, You Vote – Bonnie Worth
This book is a simple and fun reading for kids, but one that dives into important information. It tells of how votes matter and what the American presidency means to our country.
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Shh! We’re Writing the Constitution – Jean Fritz and Tomie dePoala
This children’s book about the constitution goes into how it came together. Read this story of how the document was drafted with the kids to give them a deeper understanding of our government!
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A More Perfect Union: The Story of Our Constitution – Betsy and Giulio Maestro
Betsy’s book goes into why the constitution was drafted in the first place as well as how it came to be. Not only is this a retelling of these events, but this book also includes a map and summary table.
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When You Grow Up to Vote: How Our Government Works for You – Eleanor Roosevelt
Eleanor Roosevelt, one of the most well-known first ladies in history shares her perspective on how the people in government work the voters. Her book dives into each government position starting with the local government and moving up to the national level.
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We the People: The Story of our Constitution – Lynne Cheney
This book, written by the wife of former vice president, Dick Cheney, is a retelling of the independence our country fought for and the organization that went into that newly found freedom. She tells of the founding fathers getting together in order to create the constitution and create an organized country.
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See How They Run: Campaign Dreams, Election Schemes, and Race to the White House – Susan E. Goodman
Talk through the presidential process with your kids as well as other steps in government. This book tells of how our votes make a difference in our country’s big decisions.
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Constitution Translated for Kids – Cathy Travis
Another book further explaining what the constitution is so that kids can understand the historic document. This is a simple translation that focuses on the statements within the constitution and what they really mean.
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A Kid’s Guide to America’s Bill of Rights – Kathleen Krull
Learn all about the Bill of Rights and what the document means to our country. Kathleen’s book focuses on the amendments to our constitution rather than the original document.
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How Does the US Government Work? – Universal Politics
This book introduces kids to the process of governmental positions. It also tells of how the government functions and keeps up with the demands of the country. This book is an informational one for the kids who crave facts.
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What Can a Citizen Do? – Dave Eggers
This book dives into our roles, as citizens within the government. It focuses on what it means to be a citizen and what that affects.
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What Are the Three Branches of the Government?: And Other Questions About the U.S Constitution – Ben Richmond
This children’s book dives into parts of our government. It tells of how each one functions and what that means when they all work together.
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The Bill of Rights: Protecting Our Freedom Then and Now – Syl Sobel J.D.
Syl writes about the Bill of Rights and how they came to be. This book discusses the citizen’s concern for the future of their country and how the amendments came from some of that worry.
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We the People: The Constitution of the United States – Peter Spier
Not only does this book provide kids with information on the constitution, but also the complete text of the document within it. Teach your little ones all about the historic document and then go over it together to learn even more.
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What’s the Big Deal About Elections – Ruby Shamir
This book teaches children just how important our country’s elections are. It also reminds us how important our individual votes are.
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Everyone Counts: A Citizens’ Number Book (America by the Numbers) – Elissa D. Grodin
Learn about our government with the help of numbers. This book provides facts about our nation as well as an easy way to memorize them!
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The U.S Congress for Kids – Ronald A. Reis
Learn about what Congress is within the government and how it functions. This book shares facts about this piece of the government and what it means for citizens
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D is for Democracy: A Citizen’s Alphabet – Elissa D. Grodin
After you’ve gone through the government based on numbers, go through it with the help of the alphabet. Not only is the present government discussed, but the early stages of it as well
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What Does the US President Do? – Baby Professor
Discover what the American presidency means for citizens and to the president himself. Read along and learn facts about what the president does within our government.
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Government for Kids: Citizenship to Governance – Baby Professor
Walk through what it means to be a citizen in relation to our country’s government. This book is full of facts that kids will carry with them even after they put the book down.
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The U.S Constitution (American Symbols) – Norman Pearl
Talk about the U.S constitution as a symbol for our country and dive into what it really means for us with the help of this book. Follow along to read about the contents of the document as well.
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If You Were There When They Signed the U.S Constitution – Elizabeth Levy
Hear about what happened in the summer of 1787 as if you were actually there. This picture book goes into what it may have looked like and the impact that summer now has on our country.
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Constitutional Law for Kids: Discovering the Rights and Privileges Granted by the U.S Constitution – Ursula Furi-Perry
This book talks about the laws within our constitution and why they’re so important to our country with your children.
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Monday, February 4, 2019
Thursday, January 31, 2019
Valentine's Day Facts
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St. Valentine's Day falls on February 14th of each year. Although the name is Saint Valentine's Day, most people refer to the day as Valentine's Day. It was originally a day to celebrate Saint Valentinus, who performed weddings for soldiers who were not allowed to marry. He was imprisoned for this, as well as for ministering to Christians. Saint Valentinus wrote a letter to the daughter of his jailer before he was executed. His letter was signed ‘From Your Valentine'. He was buried on February 14th. Valentine's Day was not associated with romantic love until the middle ages. After St. Valentine was buried, Julia, the daughter of his jailor, planted an almond tree with pink blossoms near his grave. The almond tree today is a symbol of lasting friendship and love.
In 1537, King Henry the Eighth declared that February 14th was a holiday. King Henry the Eighth had most of his wives executed because they did not give birth to a son. By the 1700s in England it began to resemble the Valentine's Day we know today. At this time, lovers began to express their love with gifts of flowers, candy and cards, which were called 'valentines'.
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More Interesting Valentine's Day Facts
The first Valentine`s Day candy box was invented by Richard Cadbury in the late 19th century.
On Valentine`s Day every year, there are at least 36 million heart shape boxes of chocolates sold.
There are enough candy hearts made each year to stretch from Valentine, Arizona to Rome, Italy, and back again. The number of these candy hearts produced is approximately 8 billion.
There are approximately 50 million roses given on Valentine`s Day around the world.
There are approximately 1 billion Valentine`s Day cards exchanged every year in the U.S. alone. Valentine`s Day is the second most popular day of the year for sending cards, second only to Christmas.
Cupid is the son of Venus. Venus was the god of beauty and love.
Using Historical Thinking Skills to Analyze the I Have a Dream Speech
The impact of Martin Luther King, Jr. on American society and politics is immeasurable. His efforts to bring equality to all races living in America led to lasting change and still hold an important place in all American history curricula. As we celebrate the legacy of Dr. King on the third Monday of January every year, it is important to find fresh ways to teach our students about his life, while still incorporating some of the essential reading, writing, and thinking skills students need.
Let’s look at Dr. King’s most memorable speech with a focus on historical thinking skills.
Close Reading:
Close reading asks students to determine a source’s point of view and purpose. For example, Dr. King’s famous I Have a Dream speech includes the sections:
And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
Students can break down each line to determine the vision that Dr. King had for his country. They can then summarize the entire section by analyzing the interpretation for each line.
Contextualization:
Contextualizing is the skill that asks students to look at the facts and events surrounding a particular document that may have influenced its creator. To fully understand the context of Dr. King’s message we must look at race relations and segregation in America in 1963. Teaching Tolerance offers a five-lesson teacher’s guide to their film A Time for Justice: America’s Civil Rights Movement which chronicles the civil rights movement from the 1954 ruling in Brown vs. the Board of Education to the 1965 passage of the Voting Rights Act. The guide includes primary sources, interactive activities, and the background information that give Dr. King’s words context.
For upper elementary students, Scholastic provides a brief overview of the same era. It provides context for Dr. King’s speech but does not require a lot of class time to convey much of the same information.
Corroboration:
Corroborating a source’s content is when students locate other sources that back up or contradict the source being analyzed. In trying to corroborate Dr. King’s words, students can be presented with various speeches.
Here are two examples:
The first is by Alabama governor George Wallace, that says, in part,
The first is by Alabama governor George Wallace, that says, in part,
and I say . . . segregation today . . . segregation tomorrow . . . segregation forever.
The second example is from President John Kennedy, which says:
This afternoon, following a series of threats and defiant statements, the presence of Alabama National Guardsmen was required on the University of Alabama to carry out the final and unequivocal order of the United States District Court of the Northern District of Alabama. That order called for the admission of two clearly qualified young Alabama residents who happened to have been born Negro.
Students should use excerpts of these speeches to corroborate Dr. King’s characterization of a country that is divided and unequal. Students can also use these speeches to make a claim about American society in the 1960s.
Sourcing:
To properly source a document, students must determine if the who, when, and where of a document makes it more or less reliable. All three of our speeches were given in 1963. We know from our contextualizing, that America was in a state of racial turmoil at the time. In our corroborating, we learn that the speeches by President Kennedy and Governor Wallace highlight the issues stated by Dr. King. All sources seem to be a reliable source of history of the time they were created.
Dr. Martin Luther King is a monumental figure in American history. His contributions cannot be overlooked. With some of the sources and activities above, you can honor his work and memory, while still integrating the skills our students need.
Taken from Help Teaching
Tuesday, January 15, 2019
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