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Description:
Year-end review of American History, team-taught using discussion, museum visit, and an art project
Grade level: Eighth
I began this lesson by studying Diego Rivera's Detroit Industry murals. Students discussed Rivera's work and the way he used people and objects to symbolize ideas. [see Preparation] 
Detail, aviation panel, Detroit Industry, west wall. Click the image for more information. |
Then I led students in making a list of symbols that might represent American unity, based on our study of American History:
American flag
Statue of Liberty
Eagle
Bill of Rights
U. S. Capitol building
Baseball
Apple pie
Washington monument
Fourth of July celebrations
Ellis Island
Portraits of George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln,
Dr. Martin Luther King, Frederick Douglass, Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Sacajawea, Clara Barton, Harriet Tubman
Golden Gate Bridge
Empire State Building
Arlington National Cemetery
Liberty Bell
Then we reviewed American History by answering the following questions. These would later be answered in writing on their final exams:
Ferndale students during a tour of the Detroit Institute of Arts
(click the image for a larger version) |
- What were the effects of European colonization on the New World?
- What were the causes of the American Revolution?
- How was the American Government created?
- What challenges did our new republic face?
- How did the nation expand westward?
- What were the causes and effects of the Civil War?
- How was the United States rebuilt?
Then students created 3-D figures that symbolized their ethnic heritage. This was done with the help of the art teacher. See the Celebrating Diversity Figures project.
Mexican heritage figure incorporates cup in skirt | 
African heritage figure | 
Scottish heritage figure | | (click each image for a larger version) |
Finally, students had to explain their figure to the class and answer the following questions in an oral presentation:
- where they came from
- country's location
- language spoken
- type of dress
- country's flag
- Why did their ancestors come to America?
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