Course Sample
Getting Started with American History for Kindergarten
By Jamie Nanton
In this class, students will explore American history from the time of Christopher Columbus to the Revolutionary War. They will travel through time and discover some major events that influenced American society. They will look at important American symbols and their history. They will also learn about some other cultures and compare them to American culture.
There will be fun activities for each lesson, allowing students to retain what they are learning.
This class is divided into the following units:
- Let’s Map It! (Week One)
- Do It for the Culture (Week Two)
- Past, Present, and Future (Week Three)
- The First Americans (Weeks Four–Six)
- Explore (Week Seven)
- Colonial America (Weeks Eight–Eleven)
- Thirteen Colonies (Weeks Twelve–Twenty-Four)
- American Revolution (Weeks Twenty-Five–Twenty-Eight)
- American Symbols (Weeks Twenty-Nine–Thirty)
- All About My Family (Week Thirty-One)
- Cultures Around the World (Weeks Thirty-Two–Thirty-Six)
Please prepare for each lesson ahead of time. Some weeks require art supplies and visits to your local library.
We hope you enjoy this class as much as we have enjoyed creating it!
Week One: Let’s Map It!
Objective: Students will locate the United States of America on a map in order to understand its location on Earth. Students will also locate their state on a map to understand their location within the USA.
Day One
Show your students a world map and explain what the world looks like. Emphasize that on every piece of land are people with different cultures and backgrounds. Ask the students to show you where they think they live. Correct them, if needed. Complete the activity below. Directions: On the map, draw a circle around the continent on which you live.
Day Two
Review the world map and what it looks like. Remind students that the world is full of people with different cultures and backgrounds. Have students locate North America. Complete the activity below. Directions: Now that you have located North America, locate the United States of America and color it green; if desired, color the rest of the map orange and the water blue.
Days Three and Four Activity:
Create a salt-dough keepsake in the shape of the United States of America.
Click this link for the salt-dough recipe: https://www.clay-it-now.com/saltdoughrecipe.html
Please note: Cooking times may vary depending on how thick you want to make the keepsake. The thicker your keepsake, the longer it will take to cook/dry. Use acrylic paint to paint the keepsake after it is dry, and if desired for a nice finished appearance, brush it with a thin layer of Mod Podge after the paint dries.
Suggested: Form the keepsake on day three, allow it to dry overnight, and then paint it on day four.
Day Five
On a map of the United States, locate the state in which you live. On a state map, locate the town or city in which you live. If you have a city map, locate the neighborhood in which you live.
Visit World Book Kids’ Interactive Maps area to help your students find their state and discover some amazing things about where they live.
Here is a direct link: https://www.worldbookonline.com/kids/home#mapsmore
From that page, you can click on “Interactive Maps” and then do a search as needed.
