{"id":394,"date":"2008-11-19T09:00:48","date_gmt":"2008-11-19T14:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/openwidelookinside\/archives\/394"},"modified":"2008-11-19T09:00:48","modified_gmt":"2008-11-19T14:00:48","slug":"teaching-civics-with-childrens-literature-liberty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/openwidelookinside\/2008\/11\/19\/teaching-civics-with-childrens-literature-liberty\/","title":{"rendered":"Teaching Civics with Children’s Literature: Liberty!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\"liberty.jpg\"<\/a><\/p>\n

We tend to remember exactly what we were doing when monumental events occur. Liberty!<\/a>\u00a0pinpoints the actions of\u00a0a young boy on the day he witnessed and participated in the unveiling of one of our national symbols, the Statue of Liberty.<\/p>\n

Allan Drummond’s book uses facts from the ceremony as a framework for a personal account of the event. Drummond begins the book with a note to readers that explains historical information of the day that the\u00a0Statue of Liberty was unveiled in New York. Using these facts, Drummond creates a fictional story of a young boy whose was responsible for providing the signal for the revelation.<\/p>\n

While highlighting the building of the Statue of Liberty, Drummond also emphasizes the relations between the United States and France and the presence of the woman’s suffrage movement.<\/p>\n

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We passed plenty of boats–all sizes–some flying the American flag and some flying the flag of France. And all around us people cheered and yelled, ‘Liberty!’ and ‘Freedom!’. A big steamship sailed into the harbor from the ocean loaded with immigrants just arriving from Europe, coming to America to find liberty and freedom for a better life. And near the island there was a ferryboat full of women shouting, ‘How long must we<\/em> wait for liberty?’<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Once the young boy accidentally uses the signal which unveils the statue, Drummond concludes by using this national symbol to\u00a0instruct students of the\u00a0universal rights of individuals\u00a0to freedom and equality to believe and say what each individual wishes.<\/p>\n

Curriculum Connections<\/strong>
\nLiberty! <\/em>can be used for civics instruction by teaching topics of national symbols and\u00a0by explaining the responsibilities of a good citizen. This book can introduce students to\u00a0national\u00a0symbols which represent the\u00a0beliefs\u00a0and practices\u00a0of the United States. Also, Drummond’s focus in the end of the story helps to explain the responsibilities of a good citizen (In Virginia this corresponds with SOLs 1.10 and 2.10).<\/p>\n

Additional Resources<\/strong><\/p>\n