Friday, March 13, 2015

Teaching Pennsylvania History: Part 5: Major Events

Temper this section of Pennsylvania history with Bible study time about our security in Christ, God’s provision for his people, and disaster readiness (staying close to God, his word, and his people).




Activities Students Can Do About Each Event: read more
  • Create a timeline.
  • Look for the place on a map.
  • Fill in the chart pictured as they study the event.
  • Make a list of people involved in the event.
  • Draw cartoons of the sequence of the event.


Battle of Gettysburg 1863
Additional Activities:
  • Visit the Visitor Center at Gettysburg Battlefield.
  • Visit the battlefield and write down some of the names of the monuments. Develop a method to organize them.
  • Read articles on the National Park Service website:  http://www.nps.gov/gett/index.htm
  • Create a page of facts about each day of fighting.
  • Do a research paper on one of the key figures and the part they played in the battle: Winfield Scott Hancock, George Edward Pickett, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, Robert E. Lee, George G. Meade, etc.
  • Read “The Gettysburg Address.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gettysburg_Address
  • Construct a model of one of the areas of fighting and show the opposing sides with tiny flags. 


Molly Maguires 1860s-1870s
Additional Activities:


Johnstown Flood 1889
Additional Activities:
  • Read a factual account of the Johnstown Flood: (Look for these books or similar ones in local library) Children: The Story of the Johnstown Flood by R. Conrad Stein, Teens: Johnstown Flood by David McCullough, Reluctant Readers: The Johnstown Flood and Other Stories by Patrick M. Reynolds (cartoon version)
  • Read a fiction book based on the Johnstown Flood: Children: The Day It Rained Forever by Virginia T. Gross, Teens: Julie by Catherine Marshall
  • Compare the details of the fiction account with the factual account.


Three-Mile Island Incident 1979
Additional Activities:

Good Resource about Pennsylvania Major Events: It Happened in Pennsylvania by Fran Capo and Scott Bruce, The Globe Pequot Press, 2005

Gettysburg Battlefield Model
by Matt Sieber



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