Posted on Dec-21-2009
History Pockets: Life in Plymouth Colony, Grades 1-3
I agree with all of teachingmytwo's comments, so I'll try not to repeat her points. I would add that while the projects have too much coloring, we minimalized this by just not coloring everything. The projects still look good not fully colored.
I do feel that if History Pockets are one's only hands-on supplement for your history/social studies program year after year (from one grade to the next), the projects from the various books do start to feel repetative. However, as each book stands on it's own, I think they're very well done, including this one, Life in Plymouth. The authors seem to choose just the right things in terms of subject matter to highlight from one's history study. So while one is, of course, reading text, real books, viewing videos, etc., Life in Plymouth will provide each child a way to walk away with a "scrap book" of the topics typically touched on.
By the way, the projects could actually be done as a family or in small groups in a classroom with each child doing one of the several projects per pocket. It would just depend on how independently your kids can work and what pace you'd like.
ISBN: 155799899X
Number Of Pages: 96
Original Language: English
Unknown: English
Published: English
In History Pockets?Life in Plymouth Colony, Grades 1?3, you?ll find eight memorable discovery pockets. The following pockets provide a comprehensive view of the Pilgrims and their way of life.The book includes the following pockets: Voyage to the New World?crossing the Atlantic Ocean on the ship Mayflower, The New World?Native Americans and the first Thanksgiving, Building a Village?houses, shops, a meetinghouse, and the village green , Home Sweet Home?furniture and tools in the keeping room, The Family?food, clothing, and manners, Working in Plymouth Colony?jobs for men, women, and children, Going to School?reading, ?riting, and ?rithmetic , What Did the Pilgrims Give Us??customs, games, and recipes. In each of the pockets, you will find the following: a reproducible pocket label, four dictionary words and pictures, a fact sheet of background information for the teacher, a reproducible student information booklet complete with illustrations, arts and crafts projects, plus writing activities. Evaluation forms are provided at the end of the book to give students a chance to reflect on all they have learned.
- high quality
- Special outlet purchase.
- Classic design.
List Price: USD 14.99
Lowest Used Price: USD 5.99
Lowest New Price: USD 8.89
History Pockets Plymouth Colony
We loved this product. We use it as an addition to our current curriculum, My Father's World. We liked the books and the word cards in addition to the other projects. I would recommend this product to anyone. 12x18 construction paper can be found at Millers Pads and Paper on line. Great hands on project with easy to follow instructions.
A little better than the other History Pockets
While the History Pocket books are great for making a book, they are a little boring by themselves. There is too much coloring and not enough learning. We have learned more by reading library books, the encyclopedia, watching an educational show, or talking about the subjects.
When we purchased these, I liked the idea. But, after wasting a lot of our homeschool day with the children coloring (by day 3, coloring had turned into scribbles) I decided to use these as supplemental activities. We read and do art projects. We talk about the subjects.
My kids liked their pilgrim puppets, the diorama of the room... and that is about it...
We have several of the HP products. Now, we let the kids chose which ones looked "fun", and skip the rest.
While it is nice to have a book to look at afterwards, I feel they do not serve a great purpose. (And they are a waste of printer paper and ink.) They are nice if you need a "work sample" for school, but I feel they are just "busy work". History can be learned in much more interesting ways.
Fun addition to our study of early American history
I used this with my children, ages 7 and 9, to supplement our study of the colonies. It is a fun, hands on way to learn about the different aspects of colonial life. There are eight chapters with simple projects to do in each, and a pocket to store the things in for each chapter. The eight chapters are Voyage to the New World, The New World, Building a Village, Home Sweet Home, The Family, Working in Plymouth Colony, Going to School, What Did the Pilgrims Give Us? The projects involve paper, cutting and pasting, some writing, coloring, diaramas, and a vocabulary page for each chapter/pocket. My only complaint is that some of the projects get pretty repetitive, lots of cutting and glueing. I have other History Pockets books and we will probably only use parts of them, rather than do all the projects in all the pockets.
