Inside: Fun and free educational resources for learning about the United States and celebrating America 250.
This year we’re excited about the America 250 celebration and learning about the United States in a fun and easy that actually works for our family.
For our history curriculum this past year we did The Good and The Beautiful US Constitution and Government course and loved it. I want to build on what we learned in that course with some fun activities, videos and printables.
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Since I’ve been looking for resources to use with my own kids I decided to pull all the resources I found together into this blog post for other parents looking for ideas.
As I’ve been searching, I’ve found organizations across the country have created free resources specifically for the America 250 milestone anniversary.
These resources are not all just simple downloads (some of them are!). These are comprehensive unit studies, professional documentary series, interactive activities, and beautifully designed printables.
America 250 Summer Learning Plans
During the summer months we do lighter school days following our summer routine.
This year for the celebration of America 250 I want to continue learning about the history of The United States but we’re keeping it simple.
The plan:
- Read alouds like What is the Declaration of Independence
- Watch videos
- Do some fun activities
- Maybe add in a worksheet or two
- Play Games
I’m going to incorporate a little bit of our America 250 studies into our morning time (so 20ish minutes) and then have the kids do some independent learning. Once or possibly twice a week we will do a little more durning our afternoon learning time.
America 250 isn’t the whole focus of our summer we will also be learning about life skills and doing some fun themed weeks like sewing week and 90’s week.
Free Resources for Learning about the United States
I’ve rounded up some of the best free America 250 education resources (I’ve found in my summer homeschool planning) so you can spend less time searching and more time learning and teaching your kids.
Just because I’ve included the resource in this list does not mean I agree with all the ideas included. I haven’t had time to deeply research each of these resources. So do your own research and pick what works best for you.
Master Books America 250
The America 250 study from Master Books has 6 unit studies with a ton of information, writing activities and coloring pages.
I’m planning on using this as kind of an outline for our America 250 study…but we aren’t going to do it all. I will be picking and choosing things to include in our morning time and learning activities.
Link: America 250 for Homeschool | Christian Unit Study & Lesson Plans
iCivics Founding Documents Unit
iCivics has so many amazing resources including lesson plans, videos and games. We will definitely be using this a lot with our studies this this summer.
The Civic Star Challenge page has a great outline of topics with links to lessons and activities for different grades.
I’m planning on using the games and private i units. I might use a few of the lessons/videos I’m still planning it out.
Link: Play and Learn | iCivics
Colonial Williamsburg Digital Resources
Colonial Williamsburg transformed decades of living history expertise into digital resources bringing 18th century America into your home.
Virtual Field Trips guide students through historically accurate colonial town with stops at important buildings, interactions with historical interpreters, and deep dives into daily life.
Printable Activity Sheets extend video learning through period-appropriate crafts, recipes, games, and writing activities.
I’m planning on using some of the crafts and recipe ideas.
Link: Discover – Colonial Williamsburg
Liberty Kids Videos
This fun animated series follows two teenage reporters as they cover the events of the Revolutionary War for Ben Franklin’s newspaper, The Philadelphia Gazette.
I loved watching Liberty kids when I was growing up and now, I’m having my kids watch them. You can find them included on Prime or on YouTube.
Links: Liberty Kids on Amazon or Liberty Kids on YouTube
Related Post: Why is the statue of Liberty Green Science Activity
America250.org Official Resource Library
The official America 250 Foundation website has all kinds of information about celebrating America 250 from America’s Soundtrack, and time capsule to local events and educational ideas.
The website also has details about the America’s Field trip contest (which has closed) and downloadable lesson plans for 3rd grade through high school.
Link: Teacher Resource Materials – America250
I’m planning on watching the videos and possibly doing the activities in each of the ready to use activity under each grade. We might also talk about the time capsule that’s being created and make our own … I’m still deciding on that one.
Library of Congress America 250 Collection
The Library of Congress has so much information and so many lesson plans for the classroom. This is definitely a resource to remember and come back to.
A few of the lessons I feel like would work really well for learning about the United States and celebrating 250 years are:
- America at the Centennial
- The American Dream
- The Constitution: Drafting a More Perfect Union
- The Declaration of Independence: Created Equal?
I’m not currently planning on using any of these lessons this summer, but I want to save this so I remember the resources for the future. I might pull from them this summer but I won’t be doing the full lessons.
National Archives DocsTeach Platform
DocsTeach hands you the same documents professional historians use, in formats designed for family education rather than academic research.
The site has so many resources including an America 250 Specific Collection.
Inside this collection you’ll find documents and activities perfect for learning about the history of the United States.
Link: America 250 – DocsTeach
I’m planning to use this resource to show my kids pictures of the documents as we learn about them.
C-SPAN Classroom America 250 Video Library
C-SPAN compiled hundreds of hours of educational video content specifically curated for the America 250 celebration, all commercial-free.
Constitution Clips and Declaration Clips are ones I will probably pull from for our America 250 Study. The On This Day clips are something I’m thinking about adding to our morning time for the upcoming school year.
Link: C-SPAN Classroom
PBS Learning Media America 250 Collection
PBS has thousands of video clips, lesson plans, and interactive resources from their documentary archive perfect for learning about the United States. We will pull from these clips as part of our studies.
Link: PBS LearningMedia | Teaching Resources For Students And Teachers
National Park Service Teaching with Historic Places
The National Park Service developed lesson plans around historically significant places across all 50 states, connecting local history to national narrative.
Complete Lesson Plans include historical background, primary source documents, maps, photographs, student activities, and assessment suggestions organized by region and theme.
Link: Teaching with Historic Places (U.S. National Park Service)
I’m going to be using these as we study the 50 states. I’m not sure yet if I will be using them for our America 250 Study.
Related Post: Free Printable National Park Bucket List
Discovery Education America 250 Resources
Discovery Education has put together free handpicked resources to celebrate the U.S.’s 250th anniversary.
As a way to connect with the past the resources include ideas for grades K-12.
I’m planning on using the videos this summer.
Link: Free Social Studies Resources for Teachers | Discovery Education
Other Resources to Learn About America (that aren’t free)
Exploring the Great United States – This fun curriculum includes unit studies for all 50 states and Washington DC including lesson plans, activity ideas, worksheets and more.
A Chicken Was There – I’ve heard a lot about this silly historical series about American history from the view of a chicken.
Who Was HQ – We love the Who Was HQ books and will be reading some of them as read alouds this summer and my older kids will also be reading them and using them for reports.