Researching America's History
By delving into the lives of Americans, both famous and not so famous, students can learn about history.
By Deborah Reynolds
The history of the American continent can be fascinating for students. They can learn about the people who lived here more than 10,000 years ago when a little over one hundred individuals left their familiar continent to venture and settle in a new, unknown territory. They can learn about some the first European settlers and how they disappeared after being left by their leader, only leaving a message carved on a tree. They also can talk about the individuals who make each of these stories interesting and worth learning? They can even be given opportunity to delve into the lives of people beyond the key figures listed in the curriculum. There are so many other interesting people who played a role in each historical drama.
The average curriculum is designed to address the basics of a historical topic. Time and pacing dictate how detailed teachers can get with each topic. This is a perfect time for students to begin independent projects once they have mastered the basic objectives. They can learn about more than Pocahontas and Powhatan. You can have students research Opechancanough and the role he played in the early 17th century. Students may know that John White was with the settlers of the Lost Colony or that Sir Walter Raleigh organized the voyage; however, many may not know about Sir Richard Grenville or Virginia Dare.
Students who are ready to move beyond the standards can benefit from delving into a research project. You can give students a list of names for students to pick from or have them choose individuals that fascinate or interest them. In this way students are still working on the standards, but they are being allowed to expand their learning and work on higher- level projects. What follows are more suggestions for lessons about the history of America.
American History Lessons and Activities:
This lesson is geared toward early elementary students. The teacher writes names of individuals that students can research. They are randomly distributed. This can be modified to allow students to choose whom they would like to research. The students go to the library and practice using the encyclopedia to find information.
This can be adapted for any state. Students choose a Virginian to research. The goal is for students to learn more about someone related to Virginia and enhance research skills. The students create a six-slide Power Point of their findings.
This lesson can be adapted for a study of any state. Students view a video on their state. They choose a person to research.