My Town Tutors is a great resource for parents & teachers.
- US History Lessons
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- Geography Jokes for Teachers
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The School House Rock videos (most if not all the clips can be found on schooltube) are a useful and different way to review some major events and themes covered during a U.S. History course. (It also might be useful to show these just as a review for a final exam or state assessment.) The clips are short and can be covered in a relatively short amount of class time.
Prior to watching, the students complete a viewing sheet to see how many students already know they answers. At the end of each segment, the class discusses the themes associated with each cartoon. The cartoons also can be show individually during the point of the year that you cover a particular topic.
The goal for each video is to share
- Pre-veiwing questions.
- The video.
- The lyrics.
- The themes.
Below is the worksheet I give to the students along with a few “teacher” notes. Hopefully both are useful.
Question:
Great American Melting Pot
Pre-Viewing Questions (to test prior knowledge)
1. Define immigration?
2. Do you have ancestors from other countries?
3. How do immigrants adapt to American culture.
4. If you have been to another country, describe the cultural differences.
5. Have you ever been to the Statue of Liberty.
Great American Melting Pot
Great American Melting Pot
My grandmother came from Russia
A satchel on her knee
My grandfather had his father’s cap
He brought from Italy
They’d heard about a country
Where life might let them win
They paid the fare to America
And there they melted in
Lovely Lady Liberty
With her book of recipes
And the finest one she’s got
Is the great American melting pot
The great American melting pot
America was founded by the English
But also by the Germans, Dutch, and French
The principle still sticks
Our heritage is mixed
So any kid could be the president
You simply melt right in
It doesn’t matter what your skin
It doesn’t matter where you’re from
Or your religion, you jump right in
To the great American melting pot
The great American melting pot
Oh, what a stew, red, white, and blue
America was the New World
And Europe was the Old
America was the land of hope
Or so the legend told
On steamboats by the millions
In search of honest pay
Those 19th-century immigrants sailed
To reach the U.S.A.
Lovely Lady Liberty
With her book of recipes
And the finest one she’s got
Is the great American melting pot
The great American melting pot
What good ingredients
Liberty and immigrants
They brought the country’s customs
Their language and their ways
They filled the factories, tilled the soil
Helped build the U.S.A.
Go on and ask your grandma
Hear what she has to tell
How great to be an American
And something else as well
Lovely Lady Liberty
With her book of recipes
And the finest one she’s got
Is the great American melting pot
The great American melting pot
The great American melting pot
The great American melting pot
Themes:
Immigration
American Melting Pot
Statue of Liberty
American Culture