Thursday, April 18, 2013

Learning About Wars

Ken and DJ have really fallen head over heels in love in regards to learning about wars and what causes them.
                                                     
The other day they read through these two Magic Tree House books and haven't stopped asking questions. I love Magic Tree House books especially for children who are ready to read independently and who love history, science, and geography. I do not like the audio versions!  Anyway this unit of history was inspired by the unfortunate circumstances that happened at the Boston Marathon that they were not shielded from. As our conversations went deeper in talking about this tragedy, they began to wonder about anything related to
Boston that they had background knowledge of. By the time the day ended they declared that they wanted to research wars. O.K. fine by me.

Except! I wasn't really prepared and to be honest maybe that is a good thing:) So I asked them if they could be specific about a particular war so I could possibly have some materials ready for them or could send them in the right direction should they have to ask me for any help. They shouted the American Revolution.

                                                           
I also asked them if they could write any questions that they had about this war.

Here are some of the questions they wrote down.

What is the Stamp Act?
The Boston Tea Party, really wasn't a PARTY?
What was the Boston Massacre about?
What happened in Lexington?
What does DAR mean?

                                                                           
They have been finding out some of the answers to their questions while reading this lively written choose your own adventure book. I seriously believe that I would of been more engaged in my history lessons about The Revolutionary War had this book been my textbook that was given to me when this time of history was first introduced to me.


While they have been researching this time in history using their questions as their guide. More questions have arrived like who exactly led the red coats.

                                                                          

Noticing how army and military uniforms have changed over time.

I put together a box of  materials for them to look through and hopefully offer age appropriate materials for both of them. I don't expect them to know every thing about The Revolutionary War, especially since this is truly their work. I also know that they tend to come back to things and add on more knowledge when the opportunity presents itself.

For just $6.30 I purchased this toolkit and made it shelf ready for them, all  I had to do was open the package and place it in the box it has been a huge hit!







That's it and they having been learning about the The Revolutionary War like mad! I'll be sure to keep you updated as they dig deeper into this time in history.
























































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