Persuasive Compositions and Constitutional Books

My oldest is currently working on a five paragraph persuasive composition.  He chose the topic Why Christians have the right to display religious symbols in public places.  He started coming up with reasons, which then lead him to looking closer at our founding documents and the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence.  Who were these men, what shaped their belief that we all have unalienable rights and the right to religious freedom? 

We have many books on the founding documents in our home.  We also have copies of the founding documents!  Matthew pulled these off the shelf to help with his composition:

• Constitutional Law for Enlightened Citizens by Michael P. Farris, ESQ. 
• The Signers: The 56 Stories Behind the Declaration of Independence by Dennis Brindell Fradin
• The Declaration of Independence: The Story behind America's founding document and the men who created it.

I thought I'd mention these books here.  I love the 56 Signers book.  It gives a detailed account of the life of each of the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence.  If you have never read about these men, you should pick up a copy. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving! In the words of George Washington, I, too, am thankful "for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors he hath been pleased to confer upon us."


Read the full text of George Washington's first Thanksgiving Proclamation:  http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/GW/gw004.html
 
On October 3, 1789, President George Washington issued the first Thanksgiving Proclamation for our new country.  Congress had issued them prior to the founding of our new nation, but this proclamation of Washington's set aside Thursday, November 26, 1789 as a day of Thanksgiving.  Later, on October 3, 1863, President Lincoln issued a proclamation of Thanksgiving setting the last Thursday of November as a national holiday -- a day of Thanksgiving.  I don;t think it was a coincidence that Lincoln dated his proclamation the same day as Washington's.  Amazing, isn't it?

Free History DVD Set!

Get a free 12-DVD set "The History of US."

They really are free to all schools including homeschools ! You do have to list school name, principal name

etc. but it says homeschools are eligible for the free DVD set.

http://classroom.history.com/america-dvd/event/form


From the site:

America The Story of US – premiering on HISTORY™ April 25 at 9pm/8c – is a six week event that provides a fascinating look at the stories of the people, events, and innovations that forged our nation. It will provide you with an unprecedented opportunity to bring our nation's history to life for your students. This 12-hour series will be supported by educational materials tied to curriculum standards and is copyright cleared for Fair Use in the classroom by instructors or pupils in the course of face-to-face teaching activities.



* HISTORY is offering America The Story of US on DVD to every school in the United States. School must be an accredited public, private or home school, grades K-12 and college. In order to receive your school's DVD, your school principal (grades K-12) or Dean of Students (college) should fill out the request form below. HISTORY strictly limits each school to one request. DVD requests must be made prior to July 1, 2010. DVDs will be mailed around August 2010, and free shipping is included in this offer.



After you fill out your request form, you get this message:

You're all set!

Thank you for registering. Make sure to watch America The Story of US on Sunday, April 18th. You will receive your free AMERICA DVD later this summer in time for your fall semester.

- The History Classroom Team

George Washington

With President's day coming up, I thought I'd post about a few of my favorite books on George Washington! One of my favorites is A Child's History of the Life of George Washington by Josephine Pollard. First published in 1896, this book is excellent for young and old alike! We all enjoyed this book a lot. When we later went to Mt. Vernon, we could picture Washington on the bowling green and we could even picture him riding his horse up to Mt. Vernon, too. This book is a wonderful addition to anyone's library.


We also like George Washington's Teeth by Deborah Chandra and Madeleine Comora, a book that goes through significant events in the life of George Washington while at the same time, letting the reader know how many teeth he had at teh time of the historical event and how it was lost, etc. Quite entertaining for young readers. My boys like seeing the picture of George's real teeth in the back of the book!

When Washington Crossed the Delaware by Lynne Cheney is another of our favorites. The ilustrations are DIVINE! Most all would be suitable for framing in your home! A wonderful book for children!

Another book of interest: If You Grew Up with George Washington by Ruth Belov Gross

If you would like to purchase these books, you can help raise money for Shwachman-Diamond Syndrome research and education by going through www.igive.com and selecting Shwachman-Diamond America as your charity. You can shop at stores like Barnes and Noble and a percentage of your sale goes to SDA. Thank you!