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Thematic Teaching
american identity: related resources
Activity Ideas | Related Resources
Find Below: PBS Web Sites, Other Recommended Links, Recommended Books
pbs online
P.O.V. Borders: American ID
What does the "Land of the Free" mean to you?.
PBS Democracy Project for Kids
Have fun learning about civics.
Liberty!
Learn about the birth of the American Republic and the struggle of a loosely connected group of states to become a nation.
Religion and Ethics Newsweekly: Dissent During War
Join the debate over when and if dissent can go too far.
American Experience
Examine the people and events throughout U.S. history that defined the nation.
recommended web sites
Walt Whitman Archive
http://www.whitmanarchive.org/
"Here is not merely a nation but a teeming nation of nations." is written
in the preface to Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman (1855). Whitman was a
poet who celebrated the America he knew, especially through aiding
thousands of civil war wounded from both armies. This site has the
electronic text of Leaves of Grass as well as a short 36 wax cylinder
recording of what is thought to be Whitman's voice reading four lines from
the poem "America." Some poems show various stages of editing in Whitman's
handwriting. For the full text of preface about America, see
http://www.bartleby.com/39/45.html.
Subject: Reading & Language Arts
More Recommended Reading & Language Arts Links
Key Ingredients: America by Food
http://www.keyingredients.org/
Travel through 500 years to see how Americans grow, prepare, and serve
foods. The earliest years introduce you to the Native American foods of
the 1500s, to the colonial times, to the introduction of African and
Creole cooking in the 1700s. During the 1800s, the diet of Civil War
troops, Gold Rush prospectors, and pioneers moving west was monotonous and
lacked fresh foods. On the other hand, we also were introduced to chewing
gum, cola, and potato chips. Follow the timeline to learn what food
introductions were made over the generations by many immigrants to the
United States. Try some of the recipes in the "America's Cookbook"
section. Teachers Guide (PDF) has many lesson ideas. The multimedia tour
requires Flash but the text of the tour is available also.
Subject: Health & Fitness
More Recommended Health & Fitness Links
Not By Bread Alone
http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/food/default.htm
Cornell's site about American culinary heritage explores the influences
and inventions that have shaped American food habits over the past two
hundred years. Beginning with an early German cookbook sample, travel
through time to the Frugal Housewife in 1802, to French influences, and
food in the war effort of the 1940s, when even then we were being
encouraged to eat whole grains and lots of vegetables. Compare the ad copy
and images from modern advertising and from this archive, like the ad for
a raisin seeder, "just what every house-keeper needs." 100 years from now,
what kitchen gadget do you think your descendents will be laughing about?
Subject: Health & Fitness
More Recommended Health & Fitness Links
Fourth of July 2006
http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/facts_for_features_special_editionsz/
006825.html
Check out Independence Day 2006 through the numbers.150 million hot dogs
will be consumed, $201.9 million was the value of fireworks imported from
China in 2005, and 34 million foreign-born residents in the United States
accounted for 12 percent of the nation's total population in 2004. Many
more statistics related to July 4th are available at this page from the US
Census Bureau.
Subject: Math
More Recommended Math Links
America the Bountiful
http://old.lib.ucdavis.edu/exhibits/food/index.html
Savor the melting pot of American cooking through ten food groups
including beef, chicken, turkey, pork, potatoes, corn, greens, wheat,
beans, and apples. Each feature on a food type is enhanced by historical
facts and a timeline of what was occurring in the US and the rest of the
world. There are also interesting "Did You Know?" facts such as "to live
high on the hog" means that one is wealthy enough to eat the best meat on
the pig. You can find a stuffed turkey recipe from the first American
cookbook written by Amelia Simmons in 1796, which has changed very little
in 200 years.
Subject: Social Studies
More Recommended Social Studies Links
Reading Revolutions
http://hua.umf.maine.edu/Reading_Revolutions/index.html
There are many revolutionary ideas presented in this collection, beginning
with Confucious, but the focus on American culture highlights two seminal
works: "What is an American?" by Crevecoeur, and "Democracy in America" by
Alexis de Tocqueville. Other documents related to American history include
"A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of
America" written by John Adams and Thomas Paine's "Common Sense." Learning
activities for secondary school students are included from this site
created by the University of Maine at Farmington.
Subject: Social Studies
More Recommended Social Studies Links
Who Do You Think You Are?
http://www.indianahistory.org/programming/immigration/
The information at the Immigration in Indiana site focuses on one state,
but lessons and materials are not confined to only Indiana. The lesson
plans are designed for grades 6-12, and introduce basic concepts about
immigration and the resulting cultural diversity. Other features include
demographic information for Indiana's population for the past century, a
glossary, and digital archives of photos and documents.
Subject: Math
More Recommended Math Links
Ellis Island Passenger Arrivals
http://www.ellisisland.org/Immexp/index.asp
Explore the Immigrant Experience online through two areas on this Ellis
Island site. The first is a collection of six family histories of
Americans from different backgrounds researching immigrant ancestry.
Personal histories portrayed include descendents of slaves, Bohemian (now
Czech Republic) Jews, Italians, Mexicans, Chinese, and Irish. The second
is a timeline of immigration history and graph showing how many people
came from different areas of the world. For some it was to escape famine,
pogroms, revolutions, and for others to begin a new life free from
persecution for religious beliefs and to find economic opportunities.
Subject: Math
More Recommended Math Links
recommended books
97 Orchard Street, New York: Stories of Immigrant Life
by Linda Granfield and Arlene Alda
Published October 2001
Grades: 3-5; 6-8
Subjects: Social Studies
America may have seemed a golden opportunity for thousands of immigrants, but life here wasn't easy. This booK examines the lives of four families who lived in one Lower east side tenement; it also explores Ellis Island, early immigration, and the origin of the house that became the tenement at 97 Orchard Street. This personal account of a major American phenomenon is filled with contemporary photographs.
More Recommended Social Studies Books
America: A Patriotic Primer
by Lynne V. Cheney and Robin Preiss Glasser
Published May 2002
Grades: PreK-2; 3-5
Subjects: Social Studies
This ABC book is packed with drawings and facts about the United States and famous Americans. U is for the United States and a map identifies attractions in all fifty. A notes section provides further information about topics raised in the main text. This primer will make a better resource or discussion starter than read aloud book.
More Recommended Social Studies Books
Building a New Land: African Americans in Colonial America
by James Haskins, Kathleen Benson and James Ransome
Published January 2001
Grades: 3-5; 6-8
Subjects: Science & Technology
This social history of Colonial America from 1607-1763 traces white society's changing attitudes towards the rights of African-Americans. It tells how Africans contributed to the settlement of North America; how slaves resisted oppression; and how they maintained their traditions in music, dance, and story. This picture book includes a timeline and bibliography.
More Recommended Science & Technology Books
Crazy Horse's Vision
by Joseph Bruchac and S. D. Nelson
Published April 2000
Grades: PreK-2, 3-5
Subjects: Science & Technology
Crazy Horse is familiar to most of us, but who knows the boy called Curly who became Crazy Horse? This beautifully illustrated picture book for children 4-8 tells how after witnessing a massacre of Lakotas by soldiers, Curly left his village to seek a vision that could guide him in defending his people.
More Recommended Science & Technology Books
Great American Citizenship Quiz: Can You Pass Your Own Country's Citizenship Test?
By Solomon M. Skolnick
Published February 2005
Grades: 6-8; 9-12
Subjects: Social Studies
Could you pass the test every hopeful immigrant takes to earn U.S.
citizenship? This book contains 91 questions and answers covering the flag, Constitution and Amendments, three branches of government, and more. Sidebars provide additional information and three appendices include the Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution and Amendments, and the Emancipation Proclamation.
More Recommended Social Studies Books
I Pledge Allegiance: The Pledge of Allegiance With Commentary
By Bill Martin Jr., Michael Sampson, and Chris Raschka
Published August 2002
Grades: PreK-2; 3-5
Subjects: Social Studies
The Pledge of Allegiance is presented word by word and phrase by phrase.
Abstract words and concepts are explained. Additional facts about the flag and Pledge are provided. This attractive and useful book will make clear the meaning of a familiar school ritual.
More Recommended Social Studies Books