Young historians explore the identity of the early United States in this four-part instructional activity series. Working in groups of three, students research the political, economic, and cultural atmosphere of each member of the union prior to 1812, creating and presenting state quarter designs that reflect the characteristics of each young state.

Concepts

diversity, unity

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Additional Tags

diversity, obverse, reverse, united states mint, unity, social studies

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Instructional Ideas

• Use this lesson series in a middle or high school social studies unit on early United States history
• With younger learners, be sure to spend time clearly explaining the terms political,  cultural, and economic before having them perform their research
• Extend the lesson series by having the class work together creating a design for a US quarter that incorporates characteristics of each of the original states

Classroom Considerations

• This lesson calls for the use of your school's computer lab, so be sure to plan ahead and reserve that space for your class

Pros

• Provides students with a project description that clearly explains the steps for completing the assignment
• Lesson calls for young researchers to take notes on their classmates' presentations, using the information to write an essay at the end of the unit
• A rubric is included for assessing students' presentations

Cons

• The Quarter Designs page referenced in the lesson is not included with the resource, but pictures of state quarters can easily be found by searching the Internet

Common Core

RI.6.1 RI.6.4 W.6.2.a W.6.7 W.6.8 SL.6.4 SL.6.5 RH.6-8.1 RH.6-8.4