Women In History - Program - To Be An American

​Women in History will customize to the specific needs of your group. And, yes! We will travel!

Program Description

In addition to our regular programming, Women In History constantly explores ways to improve and create diverse educational tools and presentations. To Be An American brings the richness and diversity of America to life for students in 3rd, 4th and 5th grade social studies classes. The program is based on state of Ohio curriculum for social studies strand and proficiency expectations for grades 3-5.

At the core of our unique approach to learning is a classroom or assembly program consisting of two historical characters. Each character presents a 20 to 30-minute presentation on her life, issues and times. The presentation is designed to be not only a narrative, but to be interactive with the students. A question and answer period and research exercises follow.

Two to three weeks prior to the presentation the school will be sent supplementary written materials to prepare the students for the presentations:
  • a biographical sketch and descriptions of the issues in which the character was involved 
  • a vocabulary list
  • maps
  • timeline of local, national or international history as it pertains to the presentation and curriculum. 
  • exercises and resource suggestions for further exploration of the character, the issues and the history of the period
Special emphasis is placed on using electronic media for research. Students are directed to additional high-quality resources and acquire a comfort level in using electronic resources. Feedback from teachers and students in pilots in selected schools indicates that this interactive program is extremely effective. Women In History is very pleased to have been able to collaborate with Lakewood City Schools and the Lakewood Public Library for this program.

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