Poster Advertising Land
Homestead Act was created by Congress in 1862. Any person over the age of 21 or who was the head of a family could procure 160 acres of public land. He/she had to be willing to live on it for five years and to make improvements on it. The act enticed between 400,000 and 600,000 families to the West. Children could learn more at: Homestead Act.
Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis received a patent in 1873 for denim jeans with copper rivets. Strauss and Davis made heavy-duty pants for hard-working miners in California and Nevada. They received Patent #139121. Children can watch an interesting video about how jeans are made at: Jeans.
Charles Lindbergh
Charles Lindbergh started his solo flight across the Atlantic in 1927. He left Long Island, New York, in the Spirit of St. Louis at 7:52 AM. He arrived at Paris, France, at 10:24 PM on May 21. “Lucky Lindbergh” won a $25,000 prize for his efforts. He instantly became a national hero. Idea: Children could read more about his life and the fame he faced.
Amelia Earhart
Amelia Earhart started her solo flight across the Atlantic in 1932. She was the first woman to fly alone over the Atlantic. She departed from Harbor Grace, Newfoundland. Thirteen and a half hours later she landed in Londonderry, Ireland. Children could learn more at: Amelia Earhart.
Honoré de Balzac (born Tours, France, 1799; died Paris, France, August 18, 1850) was a writer. Older children can read some of his works at: Project Gutenberg.
Caralyn Buehner (born St. George, Utah, 1963) writes books for children. Her husband Mark Buehner often illustrates her books. Their books include Taxi Dog and Snowmen at Night. Children can visit their website at: Buehner.
Carol Carrick (born Queens, New York, 1935; died Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, June 6, 2013) wrote about 50 books for children. Her books include Upside-Down Cake and The Washout.
Sorche Nic Leodhas (born LeClaire Gowans Alger in Youngstown, Ohio, 1898; died Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania, November 14, 1969) wrote books for children. She received a 1963 Newbery Honor Award for Thistle and Thyme: Tales and Legends from Scotland. She also wrote Always Room for One More. The book’s illustrator, Nonny Hogrogian, was awarded the 1966 Caldecott Medal. Another book, All in the Morning Early earned its illustrator, Evaline Ness, a 1963 Caldecott Honor Award. Children could learn more at: Sorche Nic Leodhas.
Dolley Madison
Dolley Payne Todd Madison (born Guilford County, North Carolina, 1768; died Washington, DC, July 12, 1849) was America’s First Lady from March 4, 1809 to March 3, 1817. She was the wife of James Madison, the fourth president of the United States. She often served as hostess for the widower Thomas Jefferson when he was president. When her husband became president in 1809, she held the first inaugural ball. The British attacked and burned the White House during the War of 1812. She gathered up much of the building’s treasures before the British arrived. Children could visit a website at: Dolley Payne Madison. Idea: Children could research her life and then write about some of her adventures.
Mary Pope Osborne (born Fort Sill, Oklahoma, 1949) is an author. Her books include the Magic Treehouse series. Children can visit her website at: http://marypopeosborne.com/. They could also visit the Magic Tree House site at: http://www.magictreehouse.com/.
Dan Yaccarino (born Montclair, New Jersey, 1965) has written and illustrated at least 40 books for children. He has illustrated books by other authors, including Jack Prelutsky and Kevin Henkes. He also is a television producer. His books include If I Had a Robot and Where the Four Winds Blow. Children can visit his website at: Dan Yaccarino.
Hundred Years’ War began in 1369 and ended in 1453. The English and the French actually fought a number of different battles over the control of France. Idea: Children could find out who won the Hundred Years’ War and what part Joan of Arc played in it.
American Red Cross was created by Clara Barton and associates in Washington, DC, in 1881. Today over one million volunteers help in activities ranging from collecting donated blood to providing disaster relief. Children can learn more at: Red Cross. Children could read Clara Barton’s A Story of the Red Cross at: Project Gutenberg.
Michelangelo’s Pieta
Michelangelo’s Pietá was damaged in 1972 in Saint Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City when Lazlo Toth, a geologist, attacked the sculpture. Using a hammer, Toth shattered Mary’s left arm, her nose, her left eye, and her veil. The damage was repaired. Michelangelo had completed the sculpture around 1498 to 1499, and it is the only sculpture that bears his signature.
Mary Anning
Mary Anning (born Lyme Regis, Dorset, England, 1799; died Lyme Regis, Dorset, England, March 9, 1847) was a paleontologist who changed the scientific community’s views of dinosaurs. Because she was a woman, she was given little recognition for her scientific work. She always struggled with poverty, even though she risked her life to collect her fossils. Children could read Jurassic Mary: Mary Anning and the Primeval Monsters by Patricia Pierce.
Bonnie Bryant (born Barbara B. Hiller in New York, New York, 1946) writes books for children. She has written at least 100 Saddle Club books, six Pony Tails books, and two Pine Hollow books.
Albrecht Durer (born Nuremberg, Germany, 1471; died Nuremberg, Germany, April 6, 1528) was a Renaissance artist. Children could visit the Met website at: Albrecht Durer. Idea: Durer did a great deal of engraving. Children could research the process. They could make potato prints to get the feel of engraving.
Beverley Naidoo (born Johannesburg, South Africa, 1943) has written at least twelve books for middle schoolers and at least nine picture books. Her books often focus on apartheid and South Africa. She has twice received the Jane Addams Award, in 2002 for The Other Side of Truth and in 2004 for Out of Bounds: Seven Stories of Conflict and Hope. Children can visit her website at: Beverly Naidoo.
Rousseau Self-Portrait
Henri Julien Felix Rousseau (born Laval, Mayenne, France, 1844; died Paris, France, September 10, 1910) was an artist. Children could learn more at: Rousseau. Idea: Rousseau was deemed a primitive painter because he had no formal training. Students could view some of his work and compare him to other painters.
Andrei Sakharov (born Moscow, Russia, 1921; died Moscow, Russia, December 14, 1989) was a Soviet physicist and dissident. He developed the atomic bomb for the Soviets, but he later spoke out against the government. He was exiled to Gorky, Russia, for a number of years. He was appointed to the Soviet Congress of Peoples Deputies a few months before he died. He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1975. Older children could read a short autobiography at: Autobiography.
Erica Silverman (born Brooklyn, New York, 1955) has written at least 20 books for children. Her books include On Grandma’s Roof and Big Pumpkin. Children can visit her website at: Erica Silverman.
Flag of Yemen
Yemen celebrates Unification Day. In 1990 the Republic of Yemen and North Yemen united to form Yemen. This Middle Eastern country is about 1.4 times the size of California, and the geography is mostly desert. About 25.4 million people live there, mostly along the coasts and western portion. The country depends on petroleum reserves, and Sanaa is the capital. Children could learn more at: Yemen.