George+Washington

Kaitlyn Nunez ECD 418 – Social Studies and the Creative Arts Bibliography Signature Assignment

1. Blitt, B., & McNamara, M. (2012). //George Washington’s birthday: A mostly true tale//. United States: Schwartz & Wade Books As a young boy, George lived with his family on the farm. On his birthday, he spent his time practicing his math skills, visiting his horse, and creating the 10 rules that he would eventually carry with him daily. Washington eventually got so upset that nobody remembered his birthday that he ended up chopping down one of his father’s cherry trees. After apologizing and cleaning his mess, George’s mother invited him to the dining room. There he found his family prepared for a celebration in honor of his seventh birthday. This book could also be integrated into language arts curriculum. Similar to the 10 rules that George Washington wrote about being a gentleman, students could also make a similar list of rules or guidelines to follow. This could include classroom rules, how to be a friend, how to be a responsible pet owner, and more. This is an assignment that students could benefit from working together one because they would all have to participate and decide as a group what their most important rules are.
 * Fiction**

2. Cullen, L. (2015). //Dear Mr. Washington.// New York, NY: Dial Books for Young Readers //Dear Mr. Washington// is a fiction story written from the point of view of a young girl named Charlotte Stuart who lives with her two younger siblings, mother and father, and a cat and dog. Charlotte’s father is an artist who has the opportunity to paint a portrait of President George Washington. The story comprised of Charlotte’s letters to the president. In the letters, Charlotte apologizes for the children’s poor behavior while in the presence of Mr. Washington, and pleads that he come back so their father can finish his portrait. After apologizing, Charlotte points out one particular thing to Mr. Washington – she has never seen him smile. She agrees to be on her best behavior in hopes that it will please him enough that he will smile for his portrait. Despite their efforts, chaos ensues, in the household. However, as the family members began to think that finishing George Washington’s portrait was a lost cause, he smiled at the scene that was occurring around him. This book could be integrated into language arts. Students could use the letters written by Charlotte as inspiration to write a letter to a famous figure that they have been researching. This could be a historical figure like Washington, an inventor, or even a celebrity.

3. Fritz, J. (1992). //George Washington’s mother//. New York: Grosset & Dunlap. Mary Washington was the mother to President George Washington. Mary was born in 1708 in the English colony Virginia. In 1731, she ordered Augustine Washington and gave birth to George a year later, followed by his other four siblings. After all the children were born, they moved to Ferry Farm where they had no neighbors. When Augustine died in 1743, the family lost much of the land that had belonged to him. As George grew older, he had interest in joining the navy. However, Mary declined this request. Instead, George decided to join the army, but stayed nearby at his new home in Mount Vernon. Eventually, George was asked to go fight in war, and Mary became distraught over her lack or resources and money. When he returned, George convinced his mother to move to a new city near his sister so she wouldn’t be alone. While living in her new home, the colonists went to war with English, and Mary again felt vulnerable. Despite her pleas for money and goods, George would not allow her to take any charity. After he returned home from war, Mary continued her low-maintenance lifestyle until she passed away at the age of 81. This book can be integrated into language arts curriculum. Students will be able to write a letter to George from the point of view of one of his family members. They will be required to use the letter formats they have learned in class and will be encouraged to use similar vocabularies as in the 1700s when George Washington was alive. In their letters, they can ask George what the war is like as a general, or discuss similarities and differences in school systems from when he was a boy.

4. Doeden, M. (2006). //Winter at valley forge//. Mankato, MN: Capstone Press. American colonists were displeased with Great Britain’s taxes on the goods that they needed to obtain from the countries. With George Washington as their leader, the colonists went to war with the British army. This book, set up in comic book form, shows the struggles that General George Washington and his soldiers faced during the harsh winter that they had to spend at Valley Forge. Despite the cold night, minimal food, and lack of warm clothing, the American army was eventually able to reach a peace agreement with the British, giving the colonists their independence. This book can be integrated into language arts curriculum. Students can use this book as an example to help them write dialogue for their stories. They can use George Washington or other historical figures create their dialogue while in an important event in a comic strip as the book did and include their own illustrations representing the events they are writing about.
 * Non-fiction**

5. Knox, B. (2004). //George Washington//. Mankato, MN: Pebble Books. The book follows a timeline through George Washington’s life. He born in Virginia in 1732. In 1759, he married Martha Custis and became the stepfather to her two children. 16 years later, Washington led the American colonists in the Revolutionary War. After the end of the war, Washington became the first president in 1789. His duties including crafting the government, making a court system, and establishing a capital city. After eight years, Washington left his position as president to return home to Mount Vernon. This book can also be integrated into language arts and science. For a language arts integration, students can practice finding answers to the 5 W’s. For example: Who did George Washington marry? Where did he live? What was the name of the war that he led? Why did George want to be president? When was he born? For science, students can make predictions about why George stopped attending school at a young age, and what they would do if they did not attend school.

6. Jackson, G. (2000). //George Washington: Our first present//. New York: Scholastic. George Washington was born on a farm in Virginia. There, he lived with his parents, siblings, and farm animals. He was known in school for being the smartest and the most honest student. Reading, writing, and numbers were his favorite things to do in school, and he eventually became a surveyor. Growing up, George was a “natural-born leader” and continued growing as a leader during the French and Indian War. In 1759, Washington married Martha and they moved into a mansion in Mount Vernon. In 1775, the Revolutionary War began, and the colonists selected George to be their leader once again. After the war as finished and America won, the colonists elected George Washington to become the first President of the United States. Washington proved to be a great President and paved the way for modern day America. This book can be integrated into science and math curriculum. For both of these subject areas, students can learn what it means to be a land surveyor and practice these skills at school. They can survey their classroom, their playground, or even the cafeteria. Students can explain what types of professions there are today that are similar to the surveying job that Washington held. This activity will also help them develop their measuring skills by measuring a certain amount of space.

7. Mara, W. (2002). //George Washington//. New York: Children’s Press. George Washington was born in Virginia. Before Virginia was a state, it was one of the 13 colonies. Washington lived on a farm with his family and enjoyed studying math when he was growing up. He joined the military when he was 20 years-old, and returned home in 1759 to marry Martha Custis. Washington became a politician and was the leader in the Revolutionary War with England because of the taxes that Americans had to pay on their goods. In 1783, America won the war. Six years later, George Washington was elected to be the first president of America. As president, he created a small government and passed a law to make currency. He stayed as America’s president for eight years, and passed away in 1799. George Washington is now known as “The Father of Our Country” and has America’s capital named after him. This book can be integrated into math and language arts curriculum. For math, students can compare currency values today with the values in Washington’s time as president. They can calculate how much money it would be to buy their goods in modern day, compared to how much they would have cost in the past. For language arts, students can show their topic comprehension through putting on a play and acting out different parts, such as Washington, Martha, colonists in the war, and the new politicians.

8. Nettleton, P.H. (2004). //George Washington: Farmer, soldier, president//. Minneapolis, MN: Picture Window Books. George Washington was born in 1732 in Virginia. When he was in his 20s, Washington joined the army to fight in the French and Indian War. After the war, George returned to his home in Mount Vernon and married Martha Custis. Washington and the other colonists of the 13 colonies were upset that the King of England put taxes on the goods that they could not yet get in America since it was not its own country yet. As a retaliation, the colonists elected Washington to lead an American army and start the Revolutionary War. The colonists struggled through bad weather and supply shortages, but were eventually able to win the war thanks to their leader. They had asked George to be their new king, but he decided to be their president instead. During his eight years as president, he was able to create a more stable government and turned the colonies into states. Washington created many laws and rules that we still follow today. He passed away at home home at Mount Vernon at the age of 67. Aside from social studies, this book can also be integrated into language arts and science curriculum. In language arts, the text can give readers the opportunity to find a topic to research, such as the 13 colonies or the Revolutionary War. They can also complete activities using the vocabulary words and familiarizing themselves with the glossary. For science, students can use the knowledge that have from other materials as well as what they learned from this book to make predictions about what kinds of inventions and tools colonists had access to during this time period.

9. St. George, J. (2000). //So you want to be president?//. New York: Philomel Books. There are many pros to being President – they live in the White House, have their own bowling alley, and never have to eat anything they don’t want to eat. On the other hand, being President is also a hard job. They always have to be dressed nice, and the people in America become upset with them at them at times. Some of the Presidents had many things in common, whether it be their names or the kinds of houses they lived in. They also had many differences, such as their ages and personalities. The Presidents had choices to make not only about the country, but also about how they would live their personal lives. Some of the Presidents spent as little money as themselves as possible, while others wanted luxuries. They also possessed many different talents, such as dancing and playing sports. Many Presidents were also members of the army at some point before they took residence in the White House, but Presidents also came from a number of different backgrounds with different jobs and educations. Almost all Presidents, however, were honest and tried their hardest, and most were able to have successful terms because of it. This book can be integrated into the language arts curriculum. Students can have the task of comparing and contrasting George Washington with the other Presidents. They could look at his personality traits, his living conditions, and what the did during his terms as President. This could also be integrated into the math curriculum. This can be done using a Venn Diagram or other graphic organizers.

10. Thomas, P. (2008). //Farmer George plants a nation//. Honesdale, PN: Calkins Creek. When George Washington returned home from the French and Indian War, he was given the task of raising crops on his farm to feed many mouths. To help him learn to be a more successful farmer, Washington read farming books from England to find inspiration in. By researching and observing, he was able to create a new plow that did the work of three men at once. He also experimented with different manures and different crops to find what combinations would work best in large fields. After noticing the taxes that the English were making American colonists pay, Washington decided to minimize the amount of trading he did with England and maximize his trading with other colonies. As he was able to provide more to the colonies, the Americans grew tired with the taxes from England and decided to rebel. While he was gone at war, Washington still found time to write letters home to his friends and family and make diary entries. After the war, George returned home and did not have as much time to find new combinations to plant his crops. Washington ended up receiving four different donkeys as gifts from other countries, and bred them with horses to create mules. He believed that these animals would benefit American farming. When he became President, he created a design for a new farm that would allow farmers to harvest wheat inside. He also continued his experiments with manure and new seeds to create a more successful crop field. After his eight years as President, Washington returned home to keep up with him farms and watch his livestock. With Washington’s leadership, America was able to become a leader in farming. This book can be integrated into science and math curriculum. For science, students can conduct an experiment and find out how a plant will grow best. They can use different soils and manures, different containers, and different living conditions. Students will make predictions about what they believe will work best and why, and test their hypothesis. In math, students can measure their plant’s growth, how much it is growing per day, and what kinds of living conditions the plant is better suited for, such as the temperature.