I received this complimentary product through the Homeschool Review Crew.
After doing a little research about the White House Holiday Unit Studies offered by Silverdale Press LLC, I knew that I wanted to review it with our family. As a former high school history teacher, I loved the introduction written by Jill Hummer. I agree wholeheartedly that learning about the history behind the holidays is so important – even for elementary-aged children.
The White House Holiday Unit Studies series "uses the American presidency as a window into the holidays" and provides a great number of primary sources. Your family will be reading and reviewing primary sources like:
There are three lessons for K-6 and three for 7-12 grades. I was looking forward to completing Lesson 1: Eleanor Roosevelt and Child Labor with our children so they could learn about how the lives of children have changed over the years. I also love using primary resources.
Of the three that we used during the review period, I enjoyed the Veterans Day Unit Study the most (but then again I love studying the world wars and the American Civil War so this comes as no surprise to me). Of the three unit studies that I have read through for future use, I am really looking forward to using the Christmas Unit Study this year with our family!
As our children get older, I look forward to reading the letters of John and Abigail Adams and Ronald and Nancy Reagan in the Valentine's Day Unit Study. The unit study quotes Nancy Reagan: "I realized how valuable the art and practice of writing letters are..." and I think these are valuable to encourage in our children. Writing letters is something we plan to focus on more this summer.
The White House Holiday Unit Studies series "uses the American presidency as a window into the holidays" and provides a great number of primary sources. Your family will be reading and reviewing primary sources like:
- Speeches (i.e. Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points)
- Posters (i.e. Uncle Sam's I Want You poster)
- Letters
- Photographs (i.e. Korean War Memorial)
- Press releases
There is one set of lessons for grades K-6 and a separate set for grades 7-12 in many of the unit studies. There are some activities that overlap because the lessons work well for a variety of ages.
Currently there are six White House Holiday Unit Studies:
- Labor Day Unit Study
- Veterans Day Unit Study
- Thanksgiving Unit Study
- Christmas Unit Study
- Martin Luther King, Jr. Unit Study
- Valentine's Day Unit Study
How We Used the White House Holiday Unit Studies
Our family primarily worked through two of the Unit Studies: Veterans Day Unit Study and Martin Luther King, Jr. Unit Study, while touching upon some of the information in the others. I downloaded the lessons and then uploaded them to our tablet so that I could read and refer to them during our lessons. I also printed out some of the information so that I could more easily share the photographs and information with our children. I read the lessons at lunch or dinnertime while we were all together as a family so we could talk about the information presented.
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| The materials needed to create our own Poppy Pins. |
Veterans Day Unit Study
The Veterans Day Unit Study has three lessons for each level covering similar topics with age-appropriate information. The materials required are simple – things that most people already have at home. I love that they state: "Our goal is to keep it easy for the parents!"
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| We looked at the calendar as we talked about each holiday so we could properly place it during the year. |
The lessons that I really enjoyed sharing with our family from this unit study included:
- President Woodrow Wilson and the Story of Armistice Day
- President Wilson and Food Czar Hoover at War
- The Story of Dwight Eisenhower and How We Got Veterans Day
We created a poppy pin, read "In Flanders Field," had a meatless day (where we did not eat any meat during our meals), looked at Food Administration Posters, and talked about how to honor Veterans on Veterans Day. (There is a great list of ideas included in the unit study.)
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| In addition to writing the poem In Flanders Field on our white board, I also wrote some key facts from the unit for our children. |
Martin Luther King, Jr. Unit Study
There are a total of five lessons with a read aloud portion included in each lesson. The first lesson (title) is divided into Part A (same for grades K-12) and Part B (different for K-6 and 7-12 grades). We started by reading about the home and family of King and learning about discrimination and segregation. The lesson then continued to discuss the life history of King as he attend high school and then college as well touched upon nonviolent resistance, stereotypes, and his marriage to Coretta Scott.
There are timeline and map activities that can be completed throughout the entire unit study. We focused upon those as well as completing the Rosa Parks Craft to discuss the Montgomery Bus Boycott. We read some of the history presented in the lesson regarding Rosa Parks and talked about why it is not fair to treat people differently just because of the way they look.
What I also like is the inclusion of a video of President Eisenhower speaking about the institution at Little Rock, Arkansas. For grades 7-12, there are also questions included to be answered by your child(ren), as well as a press release from the White House. (Of all the video links – which are from a variety of sources – provided in the Martin Luther King, Jr. Unit Study only three links were 'not found.')
We worked our way through the timeline activity together on the floor. If our children were older, I would have had them write out the the information on the index cards and then create a large timeline on the wall to display while we studied the entire King unit.
What I also like is the inclusion of a video of President Eisenhower speaking about the institution at Little Rock, Arkansas. For grades 7-12, there are also questions included to be answered by your child(ren), as well as a press release from the White House. (Of all the video links – which are from a variety of sources – provided in the Martin Luther King, Jr. Unit Study only three links were 'not found.')
We worked our way through the timeline activity together on the floor. If our children were older, I would have had them write out the the information on the index cards and then create a large timeline on the wall to display while we studied the entire King unit.
Labor Day Unit Study
There are three lessons for K-6 and three for 7-12 grades. I was looking forward to completing Lesson 1: Eleanor Roosevelt and Child Labor with our children so they could learn about how the lives of children have changed over the years. I also love using primary resources.
There are several photographs with descriptions from the Library of Congress and questions to help guide children to evaluating the primary documents. Unfortunately, it was rather hard for our younger children to understand without the descriptions of the photographs and lots of guiding. As a high school history teacher, I found analyzing photographs was difficult even for my advanced students. The inclusion of this activity is fantastic as having the opportunity to start practicing with younger children will help start their skill-building early.
What We Like
We can use these lessons year after year. Each year as our children grow, we will be able to review the information from previous years and eventually move on to the lessons geared towards 7-12 grades with our younger two children. The White House Holiday Unit Studies can grow with our family as our children grow.
What is also great is that you can use these lessons throughout the year as well. We actually studied Veterans Day the weeks prior to Memorial Day. So we were able to discuss how the two holidays were different while still learning about Veterans Day in May. The maps and timeline activities from the Martin Luther King, Jr. unit study are such that you can incorporate the study of the events as they actually occur throughout the year. There is no reason to wait for January, as we worked through the unit in late May and June with little confusion from our children.
What is also great is that you can use these lessons throughout the year as well. We actually studied Veterans Day the weeks prior to Memorial Day. So we were able to discuss how the two holidays were different while still learning about Veterans Day in May. The maps and timeline activities from the Martin Luther King, Jr. unit study are such that you can incorporate the study of the events as they actually occur throughout the year. There is no reason to wait for January, as we worked through the unit in late May and June with little confusion from our children.
Of the three that we used during the review period, I enjoyed the Veterans Day Unit Study the most (but then again I love studying the world wars and the American Civil War so this comes as no surprise to me). Of the three unit studies that I have read through for future use, I am really looking forward to using the Christmas Unit Study this year with our family!
We Look Forward to Future Lessons
Valentine's Day Unit Study
As our children get older, I look forward to reading the letters of John and Abigail Adams and Ronald and Nancy Reagan in the Valentine's Day Unit Study. The unit study quotes Nancy Reagan: "I realized how valuable the art and practice of writing letters are..." and I think these are valuable to encourage in our children. Writing letters is something we plan to focus on more this summer.
As we will be attending a family wedding at the end of June, we will also spend time talking about weddings that were hosted in the White House. I had no idea that there were 17 weddings! Ten for presidential children. What a great opportunity to compare and contrast the various portraits and photographs of White House Weddings.
Thanksgiving Unit Study
There are so many great lessons within this unit study – from opportunities to study the history of the Pilgrims to current events (viewing the current pardoning of the turkey by the president) to baking and cooking using Mamie Eisenhower's recipes. I can't wait to try out some of these recipes this year!
Christmas Unit Study
At Christmas time, I am excited to share the history of the Crèche or nativity scene in the White House as we put up our own nativity. Being able to share family traditions is so important to us and these lessons provide one more way to share our own family history as we explore the history of the holidays and the White House. And since our five-year-old has started to bake cookies with me, being able to use a recipe from the White House is a thrilling idea!
I highly recommend the White House Holiday Unit Studies from Silverdale Press LLC for families who wish to know more about the history and background of holidays in America. We look forward to using these unit studies year after year!
To read more reviews for the White House Holiday Unit Studies or read reviews about the language arts curriculum Creative Writing and Classical Rhetoric: Practicing the Habits of Great Writers for grades 9-12.
What a great program. I love plans that have realistic expectations for supplies, time, ect.
ReplyDeleteYes...so hard when the materials are things one has never even heard of. I like that I could do the lessons with the things we already owned.
Deletea good variety in lessons there. I hope the next ones work well for you as well. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks!
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