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United States LandmarksBy: Katie E. Wright

ED 417-02

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Unit of Landmarks

• Grade Level: 2nd grade• Lesson: Learning the importance of

some of the United States landmarks and understanding the ideals that each of them represent.

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Objective

• The students will be able to explain the importance of landmarks in the United States and the ideals that they represent.

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Materials Needed

• Presentation slides• Paper, pencils, markers, crayons• Blank postcards• Jeopardy game on smartboard• Posterboard• Map of the United States of America.

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Websites

• www.ushistory.org• www.monticello.org• www.pbs.org• www.whitehouse.gov• www.historic-landmarks.com

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Activity #1

• Make a book using information from the presentation slides.

• Facts and pictures should be drawn and written on their own.

• Include a cover page and an about the author page.

• Publish for the students to use as a reference for future activities.

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Activity #2

• Create a postcard.• Pick one landmark from the

presentation slides and have the students write to someone about where they have been and what they have seen.

• Be sure to include at least one detail about the landmark of their choice.

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Activity #3

• Play Jeopardy.• Create the game using a smartboard.

You can separate class into teams, but be sure they know this is for learning purposes and not about winning or losing.

• Use this a way to help the students review their US landmarks.

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Activity #4

• Have the students create their own landmark.

• Make sure they are able to describe why the landmark they make has a purpose.

• They can present their landmark in a poster presentation.

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Activity #5

• Map Worksheet.• Have a blank map of the United States

of America.• Allow students to review presentation

slides and place proper keys to indicate where each landmark is on the map.

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Presentation Slides:

• Washington Monument• Lincoln Memorial• Jefferson Memorial• Statue of Liberty• Mount Rushmore• Liberty Bell

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Washington MonumentWashington D.C.

• Built to remember our 1st president, George Washington.

• Honors George Washington as the Father of Our Country.

• It is about 555 feet tall and has a pointed top.

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Lincoln MemorialWashington D.C.

• Built to remember Abraham Lincoln, our 16th president.

• Honors his work to end slavery.

• A 19 foot statue that shows President Lincoln sitting in a chair.

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Jefferson Memorial

• Built to remember our 3rd president, Thomas Jefferson.

• President Jefferson was the author of the Declaration of Independence.

• Built the plantation, Monticello.

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Statue of LibertyNew York City

• The seven spikes on the crown represent the light of liberty shining on the seven seas and continents.

• The torch stands for lighting the way to freedom.

• The tablet shows the date the Declaration of Independence was signed.

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Mount RushmoreSouth Dakota

• Honors George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln.

• Faces are about 60 feet tall.

• About 400 workers help build the monument.

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Liberty BellPennsylvania

• Rang in 1776 when the Declaration of Independence was signed.

• Rang for many years until it cracked in 1835.

• You can see the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia.