Acorn Circle Virtual Educational Programs & Student Reader Booklets
" Student Readers & Virtual Programs that Educate!"
by Jeff Bennett,
Independent Historian & Educator
jeffb97@acorncircle.com
518-669-7227
Virtual Programs
Listing
4th, 5th & 7th Grade
People, Lakes & Land: The Geography of New York State
This hands-on activity presentation introduces students to the natural features of New York and the concept natural versus
man-made borders. The students will label the various features in their own packets that they can be kept for future reference.
Learning Standard: #3
Theme: GEO
* Student work packet included.
Wigwams & Longhouses: The Native People of New York State
Students will learn about the Native People that occupied New York State before the arrival of the Europeans. They will learn about the cultural differences, as well as similarities, between the Iroquois and Algonquian groups and their use of the environment.
Learning Standards: #1,3,5
Themes: ID,MOV,GEO,GOV
* Student work packet included.
Exploration & Discovery: The Explorers of New York State
The program focuses on the explorers that came to New York that eventually led to European settlement. Students will learn about Samuel de Champlain, Henry Hudson and a few others within the context of the Age of Exploration.
Learning Standards: #1,3, 4
Themes: MOV,TCC,GEO,SOC,GOV
* Student work packet included.
Cookies, Crullers & Kills: The Dutch Culture in Colonial New York
Students will be introduced to the Dutch fur trade and settlement of New York. The Dutch culture will be emphasized in the communities that eventually became New York, Albany and Schenectady.
Learning Standards: #1,3,4
Themes: MOV,TCC,GEO,GOV
* Object Oriented Program
From Beaver Furs to Bakers: The Growth of Colonial New York
Students will learn about the growth of the New York colony from the Dutch to English Colonial period for over a century prior to the American Revolution. Various ethnic groups, their communities and the main occupations of the colonists will be the primary focus of the program.
Learning Standards: #1,3,4
Themes: MOV,TCC,GEO,SOC,GOV
* Student work packet included
The Struggle for North America: The Colonial Wars between the French & English in America
The century long competition between the French and English over control of New York will be the primary focus of the presentation. The role of the Native People on both sides will be a significant aspect of the program.
Learning Standards: #1,3,4
Themes: MOV,TCC,GEO,SOC,GOV
* Student work packet included
Patriots in the Wilderness: The American Revolution in New York
This program examines the local patriots and loyalists in New York at the outbreak of the American Revolution. Special emphasis will be on the causes of the war for independence and some of the major battles (Long Island, Valcour Island, Oriskany and Saratoga) in New York. A local emphasis will be part of the presentation to enhance student interest in the War for Independence.
Learning Standards: # 1,3,4
Themes: MOV,TCC,GEO,SOC,GOV
* Student work packet included
West to the Genesee Country: The Westward Expansion into Western New York, 1800-1860
The presentation teaches students about the mass migration into central and western New York in the first quarter of the 1800s. The program looks at the settlement of the Finger Lakes and western New York area, the development of turnpikes and the population growth of New York.
Learning Standards: #1,3,4
Themes: MOV, TCC, GEO,ECO, TECH
*Studnet work packets included
Towpath to the West: The Erie Canal in New York State
The focus of the program is to help students learn about the challenges in building the Erie Canal and the canal's role in the development of New York State.
Learning Standards: #1,3,4
Themes: MOV,TCC,GEO,ECO,TECH
* Student work packet included
Looms & Labor: The Industrial Revolution in New York State
Students will learn about the growth of the cotton textile industry in New York State that was the foundation to Industrial Revolution. After a brief introduction about Samuel Slater's mill and the mill town of Lowell, Massachusetts, students will learn about the reasons for the location of textile mills in certain areas, the "mill girls" of New York and the nearby tenement housing. The operation of the mills, the experience of the workers and their typical work day will be a primary focus of the program.
Learning Standards: #1,3,4
Themes: MOV,TCC,GEO,ECO,TECH
* Student work packet included
Pioneers! O Pioneers! Westward Migration in America
The focus of the program is on the westward expansion in the United States and the migration along the Oregon and California Trails. The organization of the wagon trains and the pioneers will be an emphasis of the presentation.
Learning Standards: #1,3,4
Themes: MOV,TCC,GEO,ECO, GOV,CIV
* Student work packet included
Immigrant Seeds in America: New York's Immigrant Experience, 1820-1920.
The program focuses on the major immigrant groups that arrived in New York during the 19th and first quarter of the 20th centuries. The experiences of the immigrants and aspects of their culture that took root in America will be part of the presentation.
Learning Standards: #1,3,4,5
Themes: MOV, TCC, GEO,ECO, EXCH
* Student work packet included
Swiftness of thy Course: The Underground Railroad in New York State
Students will learn about New York's role in the Underground Railroad. Focus will be on the runaways, the various routes, the Upstate New York communities, and the people who assisted them in their pursuit of freedom.
Learning Standards: #1,5
Themes: ID,TCC,GEO,SOC,CIV
* Student work packet included
Excelsior!: State and Local Government in New York
This program assists students in learning about the three branches of government in New York. Focus will be placed on the NYS Seal, importance of voting, and how bills become law in Albany .
Learning Standards: #1,5
Themes: GOV,CIV
* Student work packet included
The Blessings of Liberty: The Constitutional Convention and the Ratification of the US Constitution
The program examines the different ideas discussed at the 1787 Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, the great Compromise and the Constitution's ratification. Emphasis will be placed on New York's role as the 11th state to ratify in Poughkeepsie.
Learning Standards: #1,5
Themes: GOV,CIV
* Student work packet included
Consent of the People: The US Federal Government
Students will learn about the Preamble and the seven Articles to the US Constitution. Focus will be on the concepts of checks & balances, and separation of powers.
Learning Standards: #1,5
Themes: GOV,CIV
* Student work packet included
Union Forever!: The Causes of the American Civil War
The program will examine the growing antislavery movement in the Northern states and the conflict over slavery. The primary focus will be on the increasing tension between the states in the 1850s.
Learning Standards: #1,5
Themes: MOV,ECO,TCC,GEO,SOC,CIV
* Student work packet included
1861: The Year of Southern Sucession
The focus of the program is on the Election of 1860 and the successionist movement as Abraham Lincoln became president. An emphasis will be on Lincoln's decisions leading up to the firing on Fort Sumter.
Learning Standards: #1,5
Themes: MOV,ECO,TCC,GEO,SOC,CIV
* Student work packet included
Battle Cry of Freedom: The American Civil War
The program looks at the upstate New York regiments and their role in some of the major battles in the Eastern Theater. Period music will be used as part of presentation.
Learning Standards: #1,5
Themes: MOV,ECO,TCC,GEO,SOC,CIV
* Student work packet included
6th Grade
The Great Mortality: The Bubonic Plague in 14th Century Europe
Students will learn about the medical beliefs, cures and the Bubonic Plague that stuck Europe in 1347. An emphasis will be on the primary sources and Plague's impact of Europe's population.
Learning Standards: #1,5
Themes: GEO,GOV,CIV
* Student work packet included
7th Grade
Note: If interested in any of the above 4th Grade programs, they can be converted to a 7th grade 40 minute version.
Cookies, Crullers & Kills: The Dutch Culture in Colonial New York
(7th Grade version)
Students will be introduced to the Dutch founding of New Netherland fur trade and settlement of New York. The Dutch culture will be emphasized in the communities that eventually became New York, Albany and Schenectady.
Learning Standards: #1,3,4
Themes: MOV,TCC,GEO,GOV
* Object Oriented Program
Illnesses & Inoculations: Disease and Medicine of Colonial America
The program focuses on the "believed" cause of disease in Colonial American, medical treatments and major epidemics in the merican colonies.
Learning Standards: #1
Themes: TCC,GEO
* Object Oriented Program
Smallpox: The Sourge of Colonial America
The program examines the deadliest disease in the American colonies during the 1700s. The affect of the smallpox virus on the colonists,the Native People, the Continental Army and the use of inoculations will be the primary focus.
Learning Standards: #1
Themes: TCC,GEO