Fifth-graders take a year-long journey through U.S. history, from Native Americans who first settled the land, to the colonists from Great Britain (and Spain, and elsewhere), to the American Revolution, and the national expansion that preceded the Civil War. The primary focus is on the Revolution, the Founding Fathers, and the early days of the nation. Textbooks take students inside pivotal clashes like the Battle of Saratoga, and behind the scenes at the Constitutional Convention. Students also read the nation's founding documents in depth and encounter historic figures like Abigail Adams and Benjamin Franklin. Grandchildren will also continue to develop fundamental social-studies skills, such as interpreting primary sources like diaries, letters, and portraits; decoding charts, graphs, and timelines; reading battle maps and other special-purpose maps; creating outlines for writing assignments; and evaluating the credibility of sources.
Founding Fathers Under Fire. Revolutionaries like Thomas Jefferson and George Washington defied Great Britain and created a new nation, based on principles such as "all men are created equal," and hopes to "form a more perfect union." Yet both men owned slaves. Students today sometimes have a hard time reconciling these early Presidents' words and deeds. So do some elected officials, who in some communities have renamed schools that had been named for Jefferson or Washington, because they were slaveholders.
• There are many ways to tell the story of the Revolution. Two of the most engaging for grandchildren are Steve Sheinkin and Tim Robinson's
King George: What Was His Problem?: Everything Your Schoolbooks Didn't Tell You About the American Revolution (Roaring Brook, 2008), and Kay Moore's
If You Lived At The Time Of The American Revolution (Scholastic, 1998).
• Kids can learn more about the Revolution online from PBS, which also offers an engaging multimedia website on the life and letters of that patriotic power couple John and Abigail Adams.
• Yes, children still read Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's "Paul Revere's Ride" in their history classes. In some schools, they even read Esther Forbes's classic young-adult novel Johnny Tremain (Houghton Mifflin, 1943).
Fighting Words. The patriots decided that their grievances with Great Britain were worth the risk of challenging what was then the world's strongest military. Today, people and their governments often have to decide what things they are willing to fight for. Ask your grandchildren what they would fight for. (Their fights may not be physical, but they might include protesting the decision of a teacher, coach, or parent.) Then share with them stories about the things have you fought for in your life, in one way or another. Engaging grandchildren in a discussion like this will help them understand the motivations behind the Revolution.
Are You a Dandy? For generations, children have made up their own irreverent lyrics to the tune of the patriotic anthem "Yankee Doodle." Work with your grandchildren to draft your own fresh lyrics to the timeless tune, either about your family, the Revolution, or something more whimsical.
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