I am very impressed by Joy Hakim's book, A History of US: From Colonies to Country. I immediately became interested in each chapter through her unique writing style. Her usage of commentary in parenthesis, pictures, orientation of text boxes, and interesting facts kept me engaged from the very beginning. She has a way of making the revolutionary figures feel vibrant and alive with her descriptions. Hakim created a descriptive story that made me, the reader, create a mental picture of the events. I appreciate this because I work with my kindergarten students on using our "marvelous mental images" when we read (and write for an audience).
A few facts that I learned about our country during this time period included:
During the Convention (the ratification of the Constitution) they sat with the windows closed so that no one would hear what they were doing. Some of the delegates almost fainted from the heat. ( I'm impressed by how dedicated these men were for our FREEDOM!)
In the mid 1700's farmers had an abundance of apples. The local women would meet to core and slice the apples. Once they were sliced, they were laid out on wooden slats and covered with bees, wasps, and sucking flies. (Yumm!!)
In 1770 Quakers prohibited slave ownership.
One of the "Firebrands" we may remember is Thomas Paine. Thomas spoke his mind and encouraged others to do the same.
Kristen, Every six day cycle my class gets the privilege to arrive in your classroom and observe how you are implementing left brain/right brain strategies in the Kindergarten classroom. Your comments on Hakim's book reveal how you are projecting to make history come alive through art, text, descriptive words, and people's feelings in the Kindergarten setting!The children will certainly have a reaction as you tell them about the apples!
ReplyDeleteKristen,
ReplyDeleteI like how you talk about the characteristics of our forefathers. During the convention delegates were dedicated and Thomas Paine spoke his mind and encouraged others. Well, Benjamin Franklin was brave, he was one of the few who took a bath. He never allowed others to stop him from experimenting. I believe he made the first jucuzzi! Read page 163 to see how brave he was!
I, too, was impressed with the hardship of the circumstances of the Founding Fathers. We are so accustomed to the comforts of our lives that we forget that not everyone in every time had those advantages. Deprive me of air conditioning and a shower, and I would spill (or make up) any state secret to get out. Thank goodness I wasn't at the convention!
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