Collections

Collections


Baker, Charles F., Ill. The Struggle for Freedom: Plays on the
American Revolution. Cobblestone.

Barchers, Suzanne, and Patricia Marden. Cooking Up U. S.
History: Recipes and Research to Share with Children. Teacher
Ideas Press.

Bell, R. C. Board and Table Games From Many Civilizations.
Dover Publications.

Benet, Rosemary, and Stephen Vincent Benet. Book of Americans.
Henry Holt.

Boorstin, Daniel J., and Ruth F. Boorstin. The Landmark History
of the American People. Random House. See also Visiting Our
Past: America's Historylands. National Geographic Society.

D'Aulaire, Ingri, and Edgar D'Aulaire. D'Aulaire's Book of
Greek Myths. Doubleday.

Dorell, Ann (collector). The Diane Goode Book of American Folk
Tales and Songs. Dutton.

Fearotte, Phyllis. The You and Me Heritage Tree: Children's
Crafts from 21 American Traditions. Workman.

Hughes, Langston, and Arna Bontemps. The Book of Negro
Folklore. Dodd, Mead.

McEvedy, Colin. The Penguin Atlas of Ancient History. Penguin.

National Geographic Society. Historical Atlas of the United
States.

Walker, Barbara M. The Little House Cookbook. Trophy.


Children's Magazines


Calliope: World History for Young People. Cobblestone
Publishing, Inc., 30 Grove St., Peterborough, NH 03458. World
history for grades 6-8.

Cobblestone: The History Magazine for Young People. Cobblestone
Publishing, Inc., same address as above. An American history
monthly for grades 4-8.


Videos


An American Tail, Universal Studios. An animated fable about
19th century immigration, in color.

The Civil War, PBS, directed by Kenneth Burns. An 11 hour
series in color and black and white.

Eyes on the Prize, PBS. A series on the civil rights movement
in the United States.


References for Parents


Hirsch, E.D. Jr. What Your First Grader Needs To Know. See also
titles on second-, third-, and fourth-graders. Doubleday/Core
Knowledge Series.


Local and National Resources


Federal Government


General Services Administration, Publications Sales Branch,
NEPS-G, Washington, DC 20408. Write for a list of available
"documents from the past."

National Park Service, Office of Public Inquiries, Washington,
DC 20013-7127. Write for maps and guides to national historic
sites.

National Register of Historic Places, Interagency Resources
Division, National Park Service, P.O. Box 37127, Washington, DC
20013-7127. The Register's archives contain information on
59,000 places of national, state, and local significance.


National Nonprofit Organizations


American Association for State and Local History, 172 Second
Avenue North, Suite 202, Nashville, TN 37201. The association
maintains an extensive list of museums, historic sites, and
historical societies.

National Council for History Education, 26915 Westwood Rd.,
Suite B-2, Westlake, Ohio 44145. Write to the council for the
monthly newsletter, History Matters! The council also maintains
a Speakers' Bureau.

National History Day, University of Maryland at College Park,
0121 Caroline Hall, College Park, MD 20742. Write for
information on local, regional, state, and national contests
for middle schoolers.

National Trust for Historic Preservation, 1785 Massachusetts
Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20036. Write to them for lists of
preservation groups in local communities throughout the United
States. These groups often have walking maps and special
historical programs.



Acknowledgments


This booklet was made possible with help from the
following people who provided materials and suggestions: George
T. Reed, Rodney Atkinson, Gilbert Sewall, Joseph Ribar, Steven
and Amy Jack, Candece Reed, Joseph and Peter Ryan, Nancy
Taylor, Joan McKown, Susan Perkins Weston, Carol Shull, Paul
Regnier, and Joyce Hunley. Special thanks are given to Judith
J. French, a media specialist in Fairfax County Public Schools,
for reviewing the bibliography; to the 1990 third-grade class
of Capitol Hill Day School whose illustrations of historical
houses in Washington, DC appear on page 13; to Leo and Diane
Dillon for their advice on how to work with illustrators; and
to Gerard Devlin, Nancy Floyd, John Fonte, Paul Gagnon, Wilma
Prudhum Greene, Margery Martin, and many others at the U.S.
Department of Education.

The Helping Your Chad series was initiated by Diane
Ravitch when she was Assistant Secretary of OERI, to expand
educational opportunities for children. In addition, she
provided a historian's thoughtful review of this manuscript.

The following sources were consulted in conceiving the
introductory text: Awakening Your Child's Natural Genius by
Thomas Armstrong; Building a History Curriculum by the Bradley
Commission on History in Schools; History-Social Science
Framework for California Public Schools by the California State
Department of Education; Framework for the 1994 NAEP U.S.
History Assessment by the National Assessment Governing Board;
Learning H/story by A.K. Dickinson et al.; and the Art of
Eating (No.18), a newsletter by Edward Behr with an article on
the history of breadmaking.

The activities are inspired by suggestions from John Ahem;
Kid's America by Steve Caney; Great Fast Breads by Carol
Cutler; Native American Cookbook by Edna Henry; Claudia J.
Hoone; Kathleen Hunter; Peter O'Donnell, Director of Museum
Education at Old Sturbridge Village; Janice Ribar; and My
Backyard History Book by David Weitzman.


What We Can Do
To Help Our Children Learn:


Listen to them and pay attention to their problems. Read with
them.

Tell family stories.

Limit their television watching.

Have books and other reading materials in the house.

Look up words in the dictionary with them.

Encourage them to use an encyclopedia.

Share favorite poems and songs with them.

Take them to the library--get them their own library cards.

Take them to museums and historical sites, when possible.

Discuss the daily news with them.

Go exploring with them and learn about plants, animals, and
local geography.

Find a quiet place for them to study.

Review their homework.

Meet with their teachers.

Do you have other ideas?