History Hunters and Common Core Alignment
History Hunters is so much more than a field trip. History Hunters Youth Reporter Program assists teachers with reaching common core goals. Four of the five overarching curriculum standards for grades Pre K – 5 can be implemented through History Hunters: Foundational Skills, Reading Informational Text, Writing, and Speaking and Listening.
The History Hunters workbook allows classroom reading of nonfiction and authentic text that is engaging to students, on their reading level, and will be used as background context from which students can draw content to make connections on their on-site field trip visits. Because History Hunters utilizes the “pre-visit/post-visit” model, students will continually build on their content knowledge over the course of the year. Students will learn the information and use it throughout the entire school year; and the content will stay with them long after they leave our museums.
The workbook is full of primary source material, which allows students to interact with many different resources all in one, student-friendly text. They will use these resources to make connections and draw conclusions, to bolster arguments and debate challenging issues. The workbook also highlights challenging vocabulary, so students can continue to build their understanding using new words and phrases.
Teacher Testimonials for Common Core Alignment:
"I can’t emphasize enough how truly well rounded this program is. We were able to use it as the foundation for most of our Literacy Standards as per the Common Core. We were able to delve deeper on many topics, which is what the Common Core is about. We utilized NUMEROUS other sources, exposing the students to different levels of text complexity on the same topic. (ex. causes of the Revolutionary War through numerous reading level texts, including fiction and nonfiction, and primary sources). The History Hunters program provided the “umbrella” under which all these literacy objectives became connected, the kids even noted that it was like a Main Idea- and we provided all the extra details! They have repeatedly noted that ‘history’ is their favorite subject (perhaps not quite realizing all the literacy components that were brought in). Their writing skills improved tremendously as they wrote numerous pieces for different standards. They wrote in first person about why they chose to be a loyalist, a “neutral” colonist, or a patriot. They wrote informational passages on the causes of the Revolutionary War. They wrote summaries of the trips, using the “Main Idea/Detail” format. They wrote short answer responses to questions based on different texts that were related to the program. They refer to themselves as “historians”. They also managed to excite their parents... Whole families attended 2 historical events on Saturdays...They truly see that historic events don’t happen in isolation (as history is usually taught), but are connected through a series of causes and events, and they are excited to further explore the details and stories behind these events. History is best taught through stories, and your program provides these stories!"
--Cindy O’Donnell, Watson Comly
"The Common Core focuses on increasing nonfiction reading and writing, and the History Hunters materials are an excellent resource in motivating my students to connect with nonfiction sources that are relevant and interesting to them. Students who often struggle with writing are more motivated to write, and write more, when we are reflecting on their History Hunters trips because they are so excited to express their thoughts about an experience they enjoyed."
--Julia Chrestay, Alexander McClure