Cardboard castle craft project for social studies, medieval history, book-based activities

Here's a craft project that can be used for anything from home, to classroom to youth theater: a cardboard castle. Make it grand enough to grace a stage or simple enough to stow in the closet for children's rainy day fun. Create one for preschool learning centers or high school history projects. This castle project makes a perfect complement to medieval social studies units. It can be a book-based literature response activity or book report alternative.

To start, make cardboard castle walls. Cut open two large, recycled cardboard refrigerator boxes. Tape two boxes together to make an octagon castle "keep." Cut cardboard castle battlements. Castle walls had a series of crenelations and merlons (squared edge thingys) along the top. Here are free printable patterns for medieval crafts and castle design ideas. Cut cardboard castle keep windows: Draw a four-pane window and cut openings.

Decorate recycled cardboard castle. Draw in bricks and a medieval family crest. Cut a drawbridge opening in the side of cardboard castle. Attach yarn to both sides of to lower and raise drawbridge. Cut holes in the top to tie drawbridge closed when the royal inhabitants aren't receiving company. Place blue blankets around the outside for the castle moat. Fill with stuffed animal dragons, fish, alligators and other aquatic creatures.

Make flags for cardboard castle. Royals had ancient family crests that symbolized their clan. These were placed on banners flown when the family was in residence. Banners were carried standards into battles. Have kids design their royal family crest. Here are free printable heraldry stencils for medieval crafts for kids. Make banners on squares of fabric cut from old bed sheets or towels. Draw or paint crest using permanent marker or fabric paint.

Make secret entrances for your recycled cardboard castle. Line chairs up to make a crawl-through tunnel entrance into castle. Drape sheets, blankets and bed linens over tunnel. Establish a
dungeon. Make a parapet (walkway) by placing several chairs or a bench along the inside edge of the castle. Soldiers keep lookout here and send prisoners to sit under the chairs in the dungeon sit under bench. Fashion a turret. Put a collapsible net laundry hamper upside down on a
chair inside the castle. Children crawl into hamper and onto chair to look out of the turret.

History, Sociology, Culture Detectives on Holiday Travel

Wherever my husband and I travel, we view with an anthropologist's  eye as well as a sight-seer. We're fascinated by history, people, customs, art, food, music, etc. I guess you could call us culture detectives. We explore not just the surface, but the stories beneath. What happened to that big vacant factory? Why is that restaurant going out of business? How was that bridge made? 

Educators and homeschoolers, I encourage you to do this when you travel. Round out your curriculum with practical experience. Help students see the big picture. Help students create travel journals and note what they see. 

Urban Exploration, City Spelunking, a History-Lovers Dream

Warning: do not read unless you want to become instantly obsessed. We're history and travel buffs in my family. We homeschooled our four kids starting in 1995. Since I'm a hands-on kind of teacher, a get out and do gal, I taught my kids on the "I hear, I forget, I see I remember, I do, I learn" mantra. Every outing is an adventure and every adventure a lesson. 

Recently on Youtube we urban spelunking. That's where intrepid (slightly crazy) people explore defunct (or not) urban structures like regular spelunkers explore caves. Sometimes the places are abandoned, like the rocket storage facility in the Florida everglades. The documentary "Into the Darkness" touched on the discovery of a ginormous rocket left in a mine shaft in the 1960s.  The image on the left is an old, abandoned (queue spine-tingles) amusement park. While it might not be safe to explore broken down buildings, you can research the history. You can visit places with an eye to the background. Teach kids to watch for details of old architecture, sealed off rooms, basement structures, etc.

Homemade, Recycle Bin Shoe Box Dioramas, Miniatures, Props with Free Printables

Does this scene sound familiar in your home? It's 8 pm and darling daughter is wailing. She forgot to make her school shoebox diorama project due TOMORROW! Been there done that. I wanted to say "tough luck. Take the F" (which she deserved). But being a forgetful, eleventh-hour girl myself, I confess, I empathized. So I bailed her out. The whole family helped. We made an awesome woodland Native American shoebox diorama with recycled trash and household stuff. 

For homemade shoe box dioramas for any content area, all you need is a recycle bin, craft scraps, household junk and a little ingenuity. Here are free printable dollhouse miniatures and free printable habitat diorama backgrounds. I've included free printable scale model building patterns too. 

* Backdrop. Stand shoe box upright inside box lid. Get little-miss-last-minute busy drawing background inside lid (or on plain paper to attach to lid. Our shoebox diorama required an eastern woodland background. For a science habitat diorama, draw a nature scene. For English literature, create a scene from book. One son made a baseball field for a shoebox diorama from "The Chosen." Glue on cotton balls for clouds. Tape tinsel to box top for rain. 

* Buildings. Make 3-D house from smaller box. For 3-D yard or city scene, cut boxes and attach small portions to sides. Make a row of different sizes boxes for city. Cut doors to open. Decorate as house, church, store, office building, school. We made a longhouse from a butter tub. For a tipi, use a paper cone or cup.

* Furniture.  Use dollhouse furniture. Cover small boxes with fabric, wallpaper or wrapping paper for couch, table, bed or chairs. Cut chairs from cardboard. 

* Figures. Use action figures, dolls, Fisher Price or Lego people or Polly Pockets. Or draw face on round-head peg clothespin, pencil or toilet paper tube. Bend pipe cleaners or twist ties into dolls. Add wooden bead for head or paper face. Stuff a glove. Tie with yarn to make arms from outer fingers, legs from middle, head from thumb. Wrap dolls in scrap fabric or colored paper for clothes. Tie. Glue yarn, twine, plastic or paper scraps for hair. 

* Props. Use game pieces, toy sets, doll and action figure accessories, building sets, miniatures. Postage stamps and stickers make rugs, pictures, decorations. Roll paper strip and tie with yarn for scroll or diploma. Tiny yarn balls, beads and marbles make fruit, balls, rocks, cannon balls. Lids, pill bottle covers and tube caps make glasses and dishes. Thimbles and spools are buckets, hay bales, workshop accessories. For our native American shoebox diorama fire, we used broken pencils as logs and orange and red clear plastic for fire. Cut props from cardboard. Staple fabric scraps for curtains, blankets, doors. 

* Landscape. Use small branches for trees. Draw a"garden" on brown fabric or use striped material. Cover little boxes and pill bottles with fabric, grey for rocks and brown for hills, blue for water. Make paper trees and plants from paper tubes or straws. Use plastic toy animals for farm or nature scenes. 

* Military. Use vehicles, weapons and equipment from toy soldiers or GI Joe sets. Make bandages from brown grocery bags colored red (I used this in my Crimean War diorama from "Lady of the Lamp" in 6th grade). Drape material over tripod of sticks for tent. 

Make shoebox dioramas for literature, science, history or social studies crafts. 

Free Printable Labor Day Coloring Pages and Lesson Plans

Spring is a poignant time in labor history. March 25, 1911 remembers 146 workers, mostly women, lost in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. April 16 mourns Ireland's Easter Rising of slain Feinians. April 28 marks Workers' Memorial Day, on which the organized labor movement pays tribute to the fallen in workplace accidents or in organized labor struggles. May 1 is May Day, honoring International Workers' Day. May 4 commemorates casualties at Chicago's Haymarket riot at a 1886 labor rally. May 19, 1920 is a day when the organized labor movement grieves the Matewan and Mingo County massacre of coal miners. On May 26, 1937 those who would from unions were assaulted at Ford's River Rouge plant "Battle of the Overpass" in Detroit.

Organized labor history is taught as part of American history, but there is no American (or world) history without labor history. Unions, collective bargaining--the fight for workers' rights impact every industry, occupation and person. Teachers and homeschoolers, you can educate students about unions with these free printable May Day and labor history lesson plans. These links include websites, activities, worksheets, movies and books on the organized labor movement.

The American Labor Studies Center offers a gamut of free printable organized labor movement lesson plans. It covers history, events, strikes, lockouts, workplace injuries, child labor, working conditions, collective bargaining, 8-hour workday, sweatshops, slavery, organizing, indentured servitude, socialism and labor, women's rights, African American labor issues, minority discrimination concerns, ULP (unfair labor practices). Lessons cover the Triangle fire (the worst workplace accident in history), West Virginia labor, Pullman Strike (1894), Lawrence Textile Strike (1913), Lowell Strike, Paterson Silk Strike, agriculture strikes and other events. Get free printable union labor worksheets, fill-ins, puzzles and study guides. There are links to films

Explore famous labor leaders: Noam Chomsky, Joe Hill, "Big Bill" Haywood, Pete Seeger, Jimmy Hoffa, Caesar Chavez, the Wisconsin 14 and others from the IWW (Industrial Workers of the World), AFL-CIO, Teamsters and more. This site has biographies of women labor leaders including Elizabeth Gurley Flynn Mary Harris "Mother" Jones and more. To use in lessons, print the list of names on one side and short bios on the other side (mixed up). Students match person with details. Print photos and pin to a map at places they are associated with. Or make a time line along the wall. Plot images in history.

The National Endowment for the Humanities offers two companion lessons in its series The Industrial Age in America. "Sweatshops, Steel Mills and Factories" and "Robber Barons and Captains of Industry" define the problems faced by workers in labor history and the reasons for the organized labor movement. Use the worksheets and activities with middle school and high school students.

The Walter P. Reuther Library of Labor and Urban Affairs at Wayne State University in Detroit maintains the largest organized labor history archive in the U.S. It has an impressive collection of images in physical exhibits and digital archives on The Labor Movement and Organizations. Walther Reuther who was one of several injured at Ford's Rouge factory "Battle of the Overpass" in Detroit.

The United Farm Workers is the union begun by Cesar Chavez that tends to itinerant and agricultural labor issues. Along with labor movement, the UFW educates people about food safety, immigration, deportation, earth and green initiatives, pesticides and more. An important piece is the youth activism page. UFW seeks to take union and agricultural awareness beyond the classroom walls and into real life.

In honor of May Day, here's a quote from the Albert Shanker Institute. "Imagine opening a high school U.S. history textbook and finding no mention of-or at most a passing sentence about-Valley Forge, the Missouri Compromise...Benjamin Franklin, Lewis and Clark. Imagine if these key events and people just disappeared as if they'd never existed...That is what has happened in history textbooks when it comes to labor's part in the American story." Use these lesson plans to keep the May Day stories and message alive.

Free Printable Famous Places Around the World Coloring Pages for Social Studies

 The most interesting social studies activities are hands-on. Explore geography and cultures around the world with free printable coloring pages, maps, famous landmarks, buildings around the world. Students will love taking around the world tours of different countries with these interactive, hands on social studies lessons. Then keep reading for free printable 3D paper models of landmarks and famous buildings.

Our trip around the world begins at Activity Village has free printable coloring pages of famous landmarks, famous buildings of the world and sights to see in different countries. Your free printable around the world tour covers England, Scotland, France, Brazil, Egypt, India, New Zealand, Russia, South Africa and the United States. Print the Loch Ness monster, Eiffel Tower, Table Mountain, Statue of Liberty, Christ the Redeemer statue (to name a few famous landmarks). Print world maps showing national products, landmarks and sights to see.

Now for free printable 3D models of famous buildings to print--hang onto your hats because Paper Toys has free printable 3D paper models galore. Then when you thought you'd seen all the cool 3D paper models of buildings you could want, hit this site for more free printable 3D paper models of famous buildings. Get free printable paper models of castles, Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, a haunted house, a medieval manor house, plus really cool 3D paper models of artifacts, vehicles, ancient wonders of the world and even Jimi Hendrix's guitar and Guy Fawkes mask! There are masks, race cars, pyramids, ships, paper airplanes, paper dolls and more.

Free Printable Castles, Medieval History paper crafts

Cut and paste activities make ideal educational tools. 3D models and dioramas are excellent book activities for reading response lessons. How about some free printable paper castles and 3D castle models for kids? This article includes free printable coat of arms patterns and designs for heraldry crafts to decorate.

Here are free printable cut and paste paper crafts of castle models of Neuschwanstein Castle in the Clouds. This German Cinderella castle is the poster child for fairytale castles. Neuschwanstein is one of the late Medieval castles in baroque renaissance style.

Here’s a website with tons of cool medieval stuff! There are free printable paper crafts of castles, a crossbow, knights, jousting, archery, medieval navigation and more. Visit  Storm the Castle. Print Assassin's Creed and Game of Thrones paper crafts too. 

Use these free printable castle models for dioramas, history lessons, engineering and design history lessons. Make these free printable castles part of a social studies unit on medieval times. It's always good in any unit to incorporate as many different subject areas. Cutting and assembling paper crafts adds science and math components to units. Students may want to design and color medieval castles before construction.

Now how about some free printable medieval castles, paper crafts and coloring pages? Visit--if only virtually--Skipton Castle in Yorkshire, England. Built in the 12th century Skipton Castle is beautifully preserved. The website includes free printable castle models paper crafts, knights, activities on kitchens of medieval castles, Elizabethan lord and lady and more free printable heraldry activities. DL-TK has a bunch more free printable medieval fantasy crafts.

What's heraldry, you ask? Heraldry refers to the crest or emblem associated with royal and noble families. Here are free printable coat of arms coloring pages.  These ancient symbols, also called family crests or coat of arms were used as ornamentation and communication, on battlements, flags, armor and weapons. A coat of arms, worn on shields, signified who led the army. Here are activities to make your own coat of arms. 

Free Printable Boats, Maritime Lessons Plans

Today is International Talk Like a Pirate Day. Schools and businesses get in on the fun. You can, too. Here are free printable pirate coloring pages, paper crafts, boat and ship models, maritime lessons and nautical themed activities. I've included lessons on ancient navigation tools, pirate coloring pages, Disney ship crafts, marine and navy lessons and more. Plenty of cut and paste and hands-on lessons. That way teachers and home-school parents can indulge their inner pirate and call it educational. 

Boat-Links is subtitled "The Mother of All Maritime Links," and it's rightly named. The site is a comprehensive collection of hundreds of free printable maritime and lighthouse activities, resources about nautical science, navigation, sailing, maritime history, merchant marine, the U.S. Navy, naval history in other countries, naval warfare, maritime museums around the world, nautical music and boat images.

Celestial Navigation offers free printable vintage maritime activities. Before modern navigation, pirates and sailors relied on the sky to guide voyages. Ancient instruments such as the sextant, astrolabe, cross-staff, quadrant, kamal (latitude hook) and nocturnal were indispensable. This site shows how to make old navigational tools.

US Lighthouse Society has free printable lighthouse lesson plans, crafts, coloring pages, worksheets and educational materials. You must create a user Id to access. Boats, Ships and Subs has dozens of links for free printable paper boat models. There are sailing vessels from all periods in history, including clipper ships, Chinese junks, Roman warships, Coast Guard boats, viking long boats, pirate ships and models of the Titanic and Thor Heyerdahl's Kon-Tiki.

Disney Experience has free printable nautical toys and crafts from maritime-themed Disney movies. There's a Spanish galleon, Capt. Nemo's Nautilus, Jack Sparrow's compass, dead man's chest, Cortez's treasure chest, a Mark Twain riverboat and several other models. The Toymaker has a free printable puppet theater in which children can act out the adventures of Florimel the Magnificent. Florimel is a rabbit sailor who has adventures on the high seas in a boat that looks very like Sir Francis Drake's "Golden Hind."

Yes, Coloring has has dozens of realistic free printable coloring pages of boats, ships and submarines for many periods in history. There are also coloring pages of pirate ships.

Free Printable Early American History and Pioneer Lesson Plans

Most elementary school curriculum contains a unit on American history. In 4th grade, many states require teachers to study pioneer, settler and early American history in their classrooms. Here are free printable American history lesson plans with ELA connections. 

History Explorer is the Smithsonian Institute's educational resources link. Here are free printable American history lessons and activities. Teachers, check the grade level and specific period of American history for which you need lesson plans. You might also want to simply peruse their catalog of resources and lesson plans for ideas.

New Hampshire Public Television has a extensive web of free printable early American history lessons, interactive games, worksheets, diagrams, maps and charts. A-Z Teacher Stuff offers a compilation of free printable early American history lessons on pioneers and US settlers. Camp Silos has great free printable pioneers and settlers games, scavenger hunt and activities about early American life.

42 Explore 2 covers pioneers and US settlers life state by state. Free printable American history lessons include native Americans, westward expansion and much more. PBS has free printable early American history activities and resources galore. Registration doesn't cost anything, but it will help you access the sites history lesson plans. 

One Room Schoolhouse Lesson Plans for Pioneer Day

As a teacher and home schooler, I have created a complete unit of pioneer and early American history lesson plans and activities. Here is a DIY guide to create your own "One Room School House" experience for  your students or homeschool group. 

I was fortunate to be able to rent a one room schoolhouse from our local Blandford Nature Center Interpretive history facility in Grand Rapids, MI, for our home school group. However I have also taught this unit as an in-school field trip using just my classroom. 

-Choose a time period and compile a workbook of information and activities. Familiarize yourself with that time period and be sure your activities are period correct. 

  -Create a flyer to get parents onboard with your "day in a one room schoolhouse" activity. Request volunteers to help you create an environment, share artifacts and prepare an Early America picnic lunch. Lunch should be simple: hard-boiled eggs, cheese and cornbread, pickles, apples, clam chowder, water with dipper. Serve on cloth napkin, checked tablecloth, mason jar glasses.

  -Each student should be encouraged to create an early American costume. This may be simply overalls, flannel shirts or skirt and blouse.

  -Each child should create quill a pen and a "parchment" journal to write in. Make simple journals using brown paper grocery bags for a cover. Insert several sheets of plain paper, punch holes and tie with twine. In times past, vellum was used but vellum is freakishly expensive. You can also assign students to make a hornbook. Slates were commonly used, too. Make slates by spray-painting chalkboard paint (available from any paint dealer) on square pieces of wood. Here are instructions to make natural homemade ink. Make quill pens, ink and hornbooks or journals as social studies craft projects.

-Contact local high school history classes. Request volunteer high school girl students to teach. In early American schools teachers were generally very young and female. Laura Ingalls Wilder was 15 when she earned her teaching certificate and began teaching.

-Assign each girl a subject and time slot that she will teach that subject. Popular early American school subjects included: penmanship, spelling, nature study, drawing, geography, arithmetic, civics, dictation, recitation and reading. Lesson should be simple and last no longer than 20-30 minutes. Some ideas we've used include:

--copy a proverb from from Poor Richard's Almanac

--trace one of these free printable early American maps appropriate to the time you are setting your one room school house. 

--figure sums (arithmetic

--make butter

--explore natural objects: seeds, leaves, fur pelt (natural science)

--draw a tree

--recite a poem (Samuel Taylor Coleridge "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" or Henry Wadsworth Longfellow "The Wreck of the Hesperus" were commonly used.

--Read from McGuffey Readers

--Use early American textbooks. Common textbooks included, the McGuffey Readers series. McGuffey Readers are available online for 1836, 1869 and 1889. Spencerian Handwriting/Penmanship (1848 and 1874). Ray's Arithmetic 1834, Harvey's Grammar 1868) and History/Civics Under God. You don't need to purchase textbooks if you can borrow from your local library or historical society. 

Teachers should create a simple historical costume for the day. Local history museums or community theater guilds may have costumes to rent or borrow. The costume can be as simple as a long skirt, blouse, bonnet and shawl. The girls who participated in my one room schoolhouse events had a wonderful time preparing their lesson plans and creating their costumes. It was a great experience for all of us.

Write the schedule on a chalkboard. Begin the day with the pledge of allegiance, prayer and a song. "Good Morning to You" was a popular one. At recess children can play jump rope or one of these group games. Assign follow up social studies activities to your one room schoolhouse. Here are free printable one room schoolhouse lesson plans. 

  

Free Printable American History Lesson Plans: Battle of Yorktown

 The year is 1781. The colonial army of the United States has been at war with Great Britain for over six years. On April 19, 1775 'the shot heard round the world' began the bloody war for American independence. Yorktown ended the war. Here are free printable American history lessons on the Revolutionary War from Bunker

Hill, Lexington and Concord to the Battle of Yorktown. 

The Revolutionary War began when Paul Revere made his famous ride to warn American Continental Army of the American Revolution, of British "redcoat" troops arriving Lexington and Concord where the Revolutionary War commenced. Fighting continued at the Battle of Bunker Hill and the Battle of Quebec, led by American General Benedict Arnold. 

General George Washington led the Continental army of the American Revolution into battles at Fort Ticonderoga, Brandywine, Germantown, Saratoga and Camden and other New England sites. After terrible suffering over the winter at Valley Forge (click here for free printable American history lessons on Valley Forge) troops regrouped for a confrontation which came to be known as the Battle of Yorktown in Virginia.

The Battle of Yorktown (click here for free printable Battle of Yorktown lesson plans) lasted for

21 days from September 28 to October 19, 1781. General George Washington was helped by French

troops under General de Rochambeau. General Lord Cornwallis led the British troops. The British

soldiers hired German soldiers from Prussia to help them. These soldier were called Hessians and

both they and the British troops were highly trained in warfare and military tactics. Compared to the

Continental Army, the British "Lobsterbacks" and Hessians had more supplies, better weapons and

superior fighting skills.

But despite that, by 1781, things weren't going well for General Cornwallis and the British. His army

had suffered much. He took over the towns of Yorktown and Gloucester, but the help he was

supposed to receive from General Clinton never came until it was too late. French Admiral De Grasse

arrived in time to help General George Washington and together their armies attacked the British

from the York River. This river separated the two towns where Cornwallis had his troops. Without food

and ammunition from General Clinton, General Cornwallis was forced to surrender to General

George Washington on October 19, 1781. The Battle of Yorktown (click here for free printable

American history lesson plans, war maps and battle info) had ended the horrific Revolutionary War of

Independence in favor of the Continental Army.

Why did the superior forces of the British lose the Revolutionary War? They shouldn't have. The militia

of the American Revolution were glorified to Continental army, but they were just farmers, not

soldiers. They lacked guns, ammunition and training. Few soldiers in the American Revolution wore

uniforms. They wore regular clothing of homespun, animal skin leggings and fur trim. And that may

have saved their lives. Their uniforms may not have been as fancy, but they made great camouflage

in the wilderness battles. The British redcoats were easy to spot their bright uniforms.

British soldiers had also been trained on battlefields. British soldiers were used to life in a military

camp, not a rugged wilderness. The Continental army of the American Revolution knew all about

wilderness survival. They lived this every day! Colonials had learned hunting, trapping and fighting

skills from the native American Indians. They had learned to protect themselves. The Continental

army knew the land, the trails, how to stay hidden and how to navigate the area. In short, they fought

using guerrilla warfare. The Continental army was also fighting for their homeland. They had

families, loved ones, homesteads and farms to protect. They had risked more and so had more to

lose if they lost the war. British soldiers had homes to return to, so this war didn't mean as much to

them.

Free Printable American History Lesson Plans:French and Indian War

French and Indian War History Lesson Plans with Internet Links When you hear the name French and Indian War, it sounds like a war between the French and the Indians. It was really a war fought between the British and the French over land in North America. The French fought with the Indians against the British. 

August 15 is National Acadian Day, when French Canadians celebrate their heritage. A big part of French Canadian and American history, in fact all history is shaped by war. The French and Indian Wars were the first fought on North American soil. When you hear the term French and Indian War do you think of a war between French and Indians? The French and Indian War was really a war fought between the British and the French over land in North America. The French fought with the Indians against the British. The French and Indian War lasted from 1756 to 1763. It was also called the Seven Years War. Here are free printable American history lessons on the French and Indian War as well as French Canadian(called Acadian or Cajun) history lessons.

There were actually several battles fought between 1689 and 1763 that were called the French and Indian Wars. King William's War, Queen Anne's War and King George's War, or the inter-colonial wars were fought mostly in Canada (called Acadia in French). The French and Indian War  was the engagement of 1756-1763 which was fought in what was called America. What caused the French and Indian War? The New World, as North America was called, was a big area. Many countries like Spain, France, Holland and England controlled different parts of the land.

The English and Dutch had set up 13 colonies along the eastern seaboard (Atlantic sea coast). Here are free printable American history lessons on those 13 colonies. The original 13 colonies included Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. Spain controlled areas in the southern parts of North America and France controlled northern areas, including parts of Canada.

Each nation wanted to expand its empire (land it controlled). There are four ways to add more land to your empire--settle it, take it away from someone, buy it or go to war over it. The French and Indian War was fought along the British colonial frontiers (boundaries) from Virginia to Nova Scotia. The British and French Canadian fought over the "confluence" (coming together) of two important rivers, the Monongahela and Allegheny Rivers. This area is present day Pittsburg, Pennsylvania (click that link for free printable American history lessons on that region). A confluence where two bodies of water meet is a strategic area for trade. Rivers are important natural resources. Rivers are natural travel and trade routes. The country who controls the rivers controls the land.

In 1755, British troops led by General Braddock attacked Fort Duquesne (du-cane) in what would be called the Battle of the Monongahela in Acadia (Canada or New France). Braddock was killed. The British tried to invade Acadia and take over French territories in in 1755, 1756, and 1757. These attempts didn't succeed, mainly because British troops lacked proper organization and argued among themselves. The French Canadian also got along very well with the Native Canadian and American Indians and had their support. Instead of fighting, taking from and trying to control the Native American Indians, as the British did, the French befriended and cooperated with the Indians.

In 1755, the British took the French Canadian Fort Beausejour (click here for free printable French Canadian and American history lessons on Acadia or Cajun culture. This fort was in Acadia where the British had several major setbacks. Campaigns failed both at Louisbourg and the Siege of Fort William Henry. When William Pitt took control things turned around for the British. Between 1758 and 1760 British troops were able to gain ground in Acadia New France. The British took control of the French capital at Montreal in September, 1760.The French ceded control of Louisiana (New Acadia) to Spain, because Spain had lost Florida to the British. The French and Indian War ended France's control in North America and England was now the super power. William Pitt was granted the area which is now Pittsburg. 

American History Lesson Plans: 3 Branches of Government

Some American government lessons are easier to teach than others. The three branches of government, with its system of checks and balances can be tricky to explain. So here are free printable American government lessons with objects lessons to help kids understand. To understand checks and balances and three branches of government, imagine a table or stool resting on three equal legs. The three legs are the three branches. Each of the three legs has equal strength and equal responsibility for holding the table straight. Each of the three branches of government (three legs) has its own functions and all three have equal power--each checks and balances the other. Each checks the other two make sure neither becomes to powerful and balances the others in carrying its fair share. 

Use these free printable American government lesson plans to explain that the three branches of government are-- the Judicial, Legislative and the Executive Branches. Each of the three branches of government has its own functions and all three have equal power. The Executive Branch includes the President of the United States, Vice-President and the Presidential Cabinet, which has 15 departments. The Executive Branch carries out laws. The president can veto laws also and appoints judges. The head of each department is called a Secretary, except for the Department of Justice whose head is called the Attorney General. 

These are the Presidential Cabinet departments. Department of State- international relations with other countries, Treasury, Defense, Justice, Department of the Interior - wildlife and natural resources, Agriculture, Health and Human Services, Labor, Urban Development, Commerce, Transportation, Energy, Education, Veterans' Affairs, Homeland Security 

The Legislative Branch: This branch, also called Congress checks and balances by making laws. The Legislative Branch has two branches--the Senate has 100 senators, two from each state. The House of Representatives has 435 members. Each state gets a certain number of representatives depending upon state population. For a bill (suggested law) to become a law it must be approved by both houses. The Judicial Branch: This branch includes judges and the court system. 

The Judicial Branch checks and balances the others by interpreting or examining and explaining the laws and Constitution. The courts decide how laws should applied in different cases. The Supreme Court decides the most important cases

Living History Wax Museum Lesson Plans

History is about more than dead people long past. It's a medium for learning new ideas and processes. It's a vehicle for change. History lesson plans should include historical reenactment, cultural immersion and student-directed, hands-on history activities. Students should experience history activities through all five senses. They should engage in interactive history activities. Then they begin to see the big picture. Here are cross-curricular history activities that teach reading, writing, speaking, research, art and drama. Students will create tableaux for historical reenactment in the Living History Wax Museum.

How to create a living history wax museum: Have students choose figure for historical reenactment from whatever social studies content you're studying: exploration, colonial period, a country, inventions, mythology. Kids should research their person, her life, work and lifestyle. Another living history variation is a cultural diversity wax museum, where students represent famous people who share their ancestry. Students might choose literary figures or famous characters of their heritage for historical reenactment. Then students will create a living history tableaux with a costume, props, artifacts and an appropriate backdrop for historical reenactment of their chosen figure.

Individual tableaux will be set up like wax museum exhibits that guests will visit. Arrange living history exhibits in a multipurpose room, series of smaller classrooms, along a hallway or outdoors. Divide tableaux with portable partitions or use large cardboard pieces to create individual niches for each students tableaux. Each student should have a table to display props. Organize work days for students to construct props/backdrops. Provide paper, recycled materials and large cardboard boxes.

Next, students should write a 1-2 minute first-person script in the character's voice. Encourage them to include interesting biographical details and vignettes. Their historical reenactment should end with a quote from their chosen person. Have students practice their narratives with each other and provide each other with feedback. Students should memorize their monologue and recite it to guests who come to the wax museum.

Have students write a transcript of their speech. Assemble narratives into a printed booklet for guests to take home. Attach a map noting where each child is located. Encourage younger guests to collect "autographs" on their programs. Save programs for student portfolios. Have students invite guests and create promotional advertising for their living history project and wax museum. During the performance, guests travel from character to character. It could be done onstage as a pageant, but booths where guests can circulate is more informal and comfortable for families with small children or senior grandparents.

Encourage kids to be prepared for questions from guests. Place a notebook at each booth so visitors can leave responses. Consider using feedback to determine overall living history project grade. Grades should reflect creativity and participation. Extend lesson plans by having students create foods from their time period or country to to serve as refreshments.

Free Printable Cut and Paste Vehicles and Famous Buildings

The most interesting social studies activities are those that explore geography and cultures around the world. Here are free printable coloring pages of world maps, country maps, famous landmarks, building and points of interest from countries around the world. Students will love taking around the world tours of different countries with these interactive, hands on social studies lessons. Then keep reading for free printable 3D paper models of landmarks and famous buildings.

Our trip around the world begins at Activity Village has free printable coloring pages of famous landmarks, famous buildings of the world and sights to see in different countries. In London, England, get free printable coloring pages of the London Eye, London Bridge, the Tower of London, Buckingham Palace and the changing of the guard, a Beefeater, Big Ben, a London cab a double-decker bus and more. Then go around the world to nearby Scotland and Wales.

Your free printable famous buildings around the world tour at Activity Village continues to France, Brazil, Egypt, India, New Zealand, Russia, South Africa and the United States. Print the Loch Ness monster, Eiffel Tower, Table Mountain, Statue of Liberty, Christ the Redeemer statue (to name a few famous landmarks). Print world maps showing national products, landmarks and sights to see.

Now for free printable 3D models of famous buildings to print--hang onto your hats because Paper Toys has free printable 3D paper models galore. Then when you thought you'd seen all the cool 3D paper models of buildings you could want, hit this site for more free printable 3D paper models of famous buildings. Get free printable paper models of castles, Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, a haunted house, a medieval manor house, plus really cool 3D paper models of artifacts, vehicles, ancient wonders of the world and even Jimi Hendrix's guitar and Guy Fawkes mask! There are masks, race cars, pyramids, ships, paper airplanes, paper dolls and more.

Free Printable World War One/ World War Two Lesson Plans for Veterans Day

Free Printable World War 1 and WW2 Activities Free printable military and World War history activities. Soldiers, vehicles, uniforms, battles, campaigns. Print coloring pages, battle maps, worksheets, games, puzzles, vocabulary crosswords, charts and fill-in the blank diagrams. 

Here are free printable activities to help your children or students explore the history of our two world wars. You can print over 100 interactive lessons on World War One and World War Two. There are free printable coloring pages of battle scenes, vehicles, soldiers, uniforms, weapons and military insignia. You can print puzzles, games, word searches, crosswords, fill-in-the-blanks, charts, maps and other activities.

Edupics has a lot of free printable military coloring pages. 

Super Coloring Pages has many World War Two and World War One printables. There are many very realistic free printable military vehicles. Print tanks, half-tracks, trucks, troop carriers, battleships, destroyers, bombers, fighter planes, gun carriages, armored cars, motorcycles and more.

The Holiday Zone has a page of free printable activities for Veteran's Day. Print coloring pages, military word searches and crossword puzzles and other military and world war two worksheets. The Holiday Zone helps us explore our nation's involvement in both world wars. It preserves the memory of those who served and what they were fighting for. The holiday zone includes songs, poems, books, movies and other educational resources to help educators teach lessons on World War One and World War Two.

Use these free printable activities to create a complete booklet of interactive lesson plans to explore world war one and world war two. This booklet makes a great unit supplement for history. Perfect for homeschool, classroom units and military holiday observances. Libraries, VFW, American Legion and historical museums may want to use these resources for military displays. Children learn best when they are actively involved in their learning. Free printable activities are an excellent source of hands-on learning.