READ — Look below to find ideas for places to go, books to read, or games to play! For task #1, you only need to choose one of these options. Note that all of these links take you off this site, so practice good internet safety strategies and be careful out there!
Option A) Personal Field Trip ~ Visit a site in Massachusetts or another state that is important in American history. Here are some favorites, but there are many others too. Choose one that will teach you about the time period of the American Revolution and the early years of our government. Ask an adult to help you choose:
- Paul Revere House
- Freedom Trail
- Minuteman Park (and Old North Bridge)
- The Old State House Museum
- The Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company
- Old North Church
- Old South Meeting House
- The Bunker Hill Monument
- U.S.S. Constitution
- National Historical Park, Boston
- Lexington Green and other sites
Option B) Novel ~ Read a historical fiction novel about the American Revolution. Here are some suggested books (or you may find your own as long as it’s at grade level and related to the American Revolution time period):
- The Journal of William Thomas Emerson, a Revolutionary War Patriot by Barry Dennenberg
- Betsy Zane, The Rose of Fort Henry by Lynda Durrant
- Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes
- Hope’s Crossing by Joan Goodman
- The Winter of Red Snow: The Revolutionary War Diary of Abigail Jane Stewart, Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, 1777 by Kristiana Gregory
- Just Jane: A Daughter of England Caught in the Struggle of the American Revolution by William Lavender
- The Keeping Room by Anna Myers
- Nancy’s Story, 1765 by Joan Lowery Nixon
- My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier
Option C) Online Game ~ Play a game online to learn about topics of study in American government. Note: The website iCivics will invite you to register, but you can just click “no thanks.”
- Do I have a Right? ~ This will teach you about all the ways the Bill of Rights helps us.
- Branches of Power ~ This is about each part of the government and what they do.
- Supreme Decision ~ This will teach you about the highest court in our country and how they make decisions.
- Argument Wars ~ You’ll get to try out solving a sample Supreme Court case.
- Counties Work ~ Imagine you have your own county and help make it run successfully.
- PBS KIDS-Be a President ~ This game will teach you about the responsibilities of the US president (This is a pretty easy one).
- Sheppard Software Government Games ~ Read about the branches of government and see if you can match the different descriptions with the right category.
WRITE — When you are finished, click here to fill out an online form and let us know what you did!
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When you are finished, go back to the Summer Social Studies page to complete Task #2: Ms. Krakauer’s World Geography Challenge.
Innovation on Earth 
I read The Journal of Willliam Thomas Emerson. It is mostly about a 12-year old boy named William who doesn’t have a family. The book was also telling about what was going on in Boston when William moved in. In the 1700s, the british soldiers were a big issue. They try finding a little reason to kill somebody. Once William’s best friend was just watching some big kids throw snowballs at the british soldiers. But the soldiers caught him watching and chased him. They stabbed him with their gun’s bayonet. He got badly injured and died. In revenge, William killed the soldier.
The good thing about this book is that it really tells that we live in world which is way better than the way it used to be. It also told about the lifestyle back then. In the book they never mentioned William going to school. Instead he did jobs when he was a child.