March 30, 2018

From Past to Present: Famous Americans MEGA Unit

You guys, I am so excited to finally share the pride and joy I’ve been working on and cultivating for the better half of a year. I began this product when pregnant and knowing I wanted to create an engaging note taking flip-book I set to work. Then, you know, I had a baby and all and somehow this sat on the back burner. As I got adjusted to being a new mom (and putting in a lot of effort into my lifestyle blog) I rediscovered this project and set to work on it once again.

Today, I am happy to share with all of you everything you’ll need to engage those little learners of yours when introducing them to your unit on Famous Americans!

Due to every state being different in terms of which Americans one studies in grades K-3rd, I’ve decided to include the majority of the ‘famous’ ones:

- George Washington

- Abraham Lincoln

- MLK

- Jackie Robinson

- George Washington Carver

- Susan B. Anthony

- Harriet Tubman (as seen in photos)

- Rosa Parks

- Thomas Jefferson

- Thurgood Marshall

- Betsy Ross

- Benjamin Franklin

There are two types of note workbooks available for you.

First, I have a basic template that is easily put together and enhances any curriculum you already use to instruct. Each slide is a full page perfect for your little learners to fill in the basic information about each historical figure. Simply print copies and teach one figure at a time or opt to print the ones you need and keep them in one handy workbook.

Second, is this flip-book style of note taking which surely to engage your students and keep their minds thinking about the particular person being covered that day. There are 5 slides per figure (cover page, biography, fun facts, contribution, and timeline) and each page requires the student to either complete the information whether it be through research or copying from a provided presentation by you, the teacher. The contribution page will demonstrate that the student understands the figure’s importance to U.S. history and citizenship, and finally, the timeline is an extra skill practice by filling in important events during that persons life. It’s a great culminating activity!

Pick & Choose What To Teach!

Because it’s a flip-book teachers can also choose whether to omit a page. Don’t need to cover timelines or afraid students aren’t ready for that skill yet? Don’t include it! ;)

Assessments or Anecdotals?

This packet is also great for using as anecdotal notes or assessments with having the first two pages be a guided instruction piece, leaving the writing and timelines to be graded. This download really works in any capacity!

TAKE A CLOSER LOOK!

Biography

Each booklet begins with a section for students to copy the name (a bit of handwriting practice) of the historical figure in which they’re learning. Basic facts such as birth and death dates are provided, a state/colony diagram for students to fill in where they were born, and a few biographical facts to fill or color in.

Fun Facts

After the biography section, students will move onto the chunkiest part of information presented. I’ve personally designed this section to be a mixture of skill practice and requires students to answer simple questions or fill-in-the-blank with specific pieces of information about that person. This section can be used along with any unit plan/PowerPoint slides, etc. or can be easily used as a review packet.

Contributions

The biggest part of learning about our Famous Americans are recognizing the contributions they’ve made on our society or country as a whole. Each person is a valued member of our nation’s history and it’s important for students, as citizens of the United States, to be able to understand how they’ve impacted change, civil rights, and progressed our country over time.

This section ties in writing skills by focusing on a paragraph using the guiding phrases. Students simply take the information they filled in on the previous page (along with any other information they learned) and condense it into a paragraph summing up how that figure contributed to our country. I love this section because each student can reflect and use whichever facts they like; making each paragraph unique.

Timeline

A timeline is a skill students are introduced to and use in first grade. However, timelines make appearances in second grade as well when students begin reading nonfiction books and learn to use them as tools to comprehend their reading. Why not tie, yet again, this skill when studying Famous Americans?

This section can differ depending on which grade you teach.

You may provide your own timeline where students simply copy what you’ve already compiled
Students can be sent to a nonfiction station that provide a variety of text on that person. While reading, they record what they find as they fill in their own timelines.
As a whole group you can project events in that person’s life out of order for students to rearrange based on their knowledge.

See? There’s all kinds of ways to work on chronological order with timelines no matter how facilitated you’d like to be with your students. Either way, they’re engaged in their learning and practicing an important skill all at the same time.

Teacher Answer Keys!

Each packet whether you use the traditional notes or the flip-book comes with a Teacher Answer Sheet. This provides all the answers to the fill-in-the-blanks, which, of course, takes the guesswork out of the equation on your end!

Easy Preparation!

Another reason this packet is an essential product to have for your classroom instruction is because it’s a simple: print, copy, staple and done! You can also print them out and have your students assemble those packets or put your very kind parent volunteers to work on the task! Either way, this download takes all the hard work out of your hands.