Spotlight On America

Each of these short history units incorporates information about the featured event, as well as a variety of related activities designed to complement different subject areas. Reproducible student worksheets and accompanying teacher lesson plans are interspersed throughout each unit, grouped by related subject area. The first portion of the book lays a foundation about the event and features a multiple-page passage about the event or people. Several reading comprehension worksheets follow, and additional questions for discussion are included on the teacher sheets. In the next sections, students explore the historical event through other activities touching on other subject areas, including geography, science and English. In the Lewis & Clark Expedition, these activities include using maps to answer questions about the expedition, reading excerpts from Lewis and Clark's journals to spark short writing assignments, studying plants and flower parts, researching a famous person of that time period, and performing a short drama. In the Wright Brothers, activities are geared more towards science, with students building and observing a variety of flying gliders and kites. Some research and geography are also included, where students follow the paths of other famous flights. Each book also includes a related culminating activity, as well as an extensive bibliography of both children's and adult's nonfiction, a glossary and an answer key. Although not exhaustive in scope, these units do feature a nice variety of activities and would make a nice "detour" from your regular history curriculum, especially if you favor a more textbook-bound approach. 48 pgs. - Jess