U.S. Mint Releases New Jefferson Nickel
Subjects
Grades
Grades 2-up
News Content
The U.S. nickel has been redesigned in celebration of the 200th anniversary of Lewis and Clark's expedition to the Pacific.
Anticipation Guide
Before reading, write Lewis and Clark on the board or a chart. Ask students if they are familiar with the names. (No, Lewis and Clark is not a new boy band or a new comedy team.) Meriwether Lewis and William Clark were the two men who in the early 1800's were chosen to lead an expedition of the Louisiana Purchase territories of the United States. At that time, the United States had only 16 states. President Thomas Jefferson played a key role in helping the United States acquire the land that would later become the western states, but that land was pretty much unexplored. Lewis and Clark hoped to map a route across this newly acquired land to the Pacific Ocean. In honor of the 200th anniversary of Lewis and Clark's brave journey, the U.S. Mint has redesigned the nickel.
News Words
Introduce these words from the News Word box on the students' printable page:
Read the News
Click for a printable version of this week's news story U.S. Mint Releases New Jefferson Nickel.
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More Facts to Share
You might share these additional facts with students after they have read this week's news story.
More About Thomas Jefferson
Comprehension Check
You might ask some of these questions after students have read this week's News for KIDS article:
Think About the News
Discuss the Think About the News question that appears on the students' news page.
Follow-Up Activities
Math - Money. If you teach young students, provide them with a sheet with 10 photocopied nickels on it; you might enlarge the nickels for easier cutting. Have students cut out and count out the nickels as you ask them to identify how many nickels they would get if you gave them 15 cents in nickels? (3 nickels) 35 cents? (7 nickels) 50 cents? (10 nickels) a dollar? (20 nickels) Older students will be able to do this without the aid of the paper nickels.
Geography. Share with students this map showing the route of the Lewis and Clark expedition, or point out the route on a large classroom map. Through what modern-day states did their route take them? (Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon)
Thomas Jefferson designed every detail of his mansion, Monticello. You can take a room-by-room tour of Monticello. You might follow-up that tour by having students create an "aerial view" map of their classroom or of the layout of their own homes; those maps will be similar to view of Monticello that appears on the tour. You might also enjoy sharing with students this 3-D tour of Monticello.
ABC Order. At the time of the Lewis and Clark expedition there were 16 U.S. states. Here they are in the order in which they entered the union: Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Virginia, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, Kentucky, Tennessee. Share the list with students and have them alphabetize the state names.
Assessment
Use the Comprehension Check (above) as an assessment. Or have students work on their own (in their journals) or in their small groups to respond to the Think About the News question on their news story page.
Lesson Plan Source
Education WorldNational Standards
LANGUAGE ARTS: English
GRADES K - 12
NL-ENG.K-12.2 Reading for Understanding
NL-ENG.K-12.3 Evaluation Strategies
NL-ENG.K-12.12 Applying Language Skills
SOCIAL SCIENCES: U.S. History
GRADES K - 4
NSS-USH.K-4.1 Living and Working together in Families and Communities, Now and Long Ago
NSS-USH.K-4.3 The History of the United States: Democratic Principles and Values and the People from Many Cultures Who Contributed to Its Cultural, Economic, and Political Heritage
GRADES 5 - 12
NSS-USH.5-12.4 Era 4: Expansion and Reform (1801-1861)
See recent news stories in Education World's News Story of the Week Archive.
Article by Gary Hopkins
Education World®
Copyright © 2006 Education World
01/25/2006