Testers needed!

Longtime readers will know that we have slowly (too slowly!) been working to create a Montana history curriculum for upper elementary students.

The first unit, Montana Today: A Geographic Study, and the second unit, Montana's First Peoples, are available to download from our website. The third unit, Coming to Montana, is being tested by classroom teachers now and, when we publish it in January, will be much improved through their input! 

The fourth unit is called Montana in the Twentieth Century and will be ready to test in January. Like the other units, it is a mix of previously published lesson plans and entirely new material. Here's a quick look at the contents, with estimates of how long each part will take:

Part 1: Homesteading: The Lure of Free Land (3 class periods)

Description: Through reading and a series of activities, students will learn about the people who came to Montana to homestead and the importance of homesteading to Montana’s history. In Lesson 1, students will analyze and contextualize railroad advertisements promoting homesteading. In Lesson 2, students will illustrate a reminiscence written by an early Danish homesteader.

Part 2: Boarding Schools and Allotment (2 class periods)

Description: Through activities and interactive PowerPoints, students will learn about boarding schools (Lesson 1) and the policy of allotment (Lesson 2), while working on reading fluency.

Part 3: Immigration after 1920 (3-4 class periods)

Description: In Lesson 1, students will watch a PowerPoint and read informational text about Mexican, Hutterite, and Hmong Montanans before cementing their learning with a short notetaking assignment. In Lesson 2, students will conduct an interview with a family member or other important adult about immigration to Montana and then write a report based on their interview.

Part 4: The 1972 Constitution (1 class period)

Description: Students will learn about the 1972 Montana State Constitution by paraphrasing the preamble and through a PowerPoint presentation. They will then write a preamble for a class constitution.

Part 5: Biographical Poems Celebrating Amazing Montanans (2 class periods)

Description: Students will read short biographies about specific Montanans and use them to create biographical poems.

Are you interested in trying this unit out with your class and providing feedback?

I estimate that the entire unit should take 12-14 days (that's one thing we're testing to find out) but I'd be happy to test individual pieces as well.

Email me if you are interested, and I'll send you more information.