The NEW Mount Rushmore
Mount Rushmore in South Dakota is a fantastic National Monument which should be on everyone’s ‘must see’ bucket list. As my kiddos in fourth grade are studying the Midwest region of the United States, we review the presidents on Mount Rushmore and the history of the monument. The students then research other important figures in American history and decide on some NEW people to honor at Mount Rushmore. We set some guidelines before we start – they must be important to the history of the United States or have accomplished something that has benefited mankind in some way. I did decide beforehand that we would avoid athletes and entertainment figures unless the student could prove that the person made an important contribution in some way (like Jackie Robinson). Students were also only allowed to choose people they were familiar with in some way, so that eliminated choosing people their classmates never heard of; for instance, they have not been exposed to Ralph Nader, but they do know about Benjamin Franklin! Each student then had to write the reason they chose that person, stating what contribution he/she has made to make them important enough to be placed on
THE NEW MOUNT RUSHMORE!
We printed the pictures out and placed the heads onto Mount Rushmore to proudly display them in the hall! Everyone was excited to see who had been chosen to honor on our updated Mount Rushmore! Check it out here and download it free on my Teachers Pay Teachers Store:
