Flashback to Pennsylvania History: "Penn's Woods History award"

[Alyssa]

Flashback to Pennsylvania History: "The Penn's Woods History Award", nominate your favorite Pennsylvania History book as well as your favorite moment in history.

This award is about recognizing heroes of the past. It's about recalling events that changed the history of Pennsylvania. Think of heroic leaders such as George Washington and Benjamin Franklin. Recall significant moments such as the signing of the Declaration of Independence. It all started here in Pennsylvania. A quote from Lehr has said, "more than ever before, it is important for today's students to grow up with a sense of who they are as members of the global community."

Books that can be nominated:
This gives you free reign to nominate any book for this award. You may use children's books or any picture book. You may use ANY genre or format. I want you to think of any book that has changed your perspective of history, as long as it includes segments of Pennsylvania. (I understand a lot of history occured within the thirteen colonies, but remember specifics about Pennsylvania.)

Nominations must be posted by on or before March 5th.

[Amanda]

I nominate Henry's Freedom Box by Ellen Levine. It is a picture book about Henry "Box" Brown and his escape from slavery to the safety of Philadelphia. Brown later became very involved in the anti-slavery movement. Slavery was a large part of our country's history; however, it is not often shown in younger grades. Henry's Freedom Box opens the door for lessons and conversations about slavery. Through this book a history lesson is taught in a way that can be understood by children. I find reading a picture book about Henry to be much more entertaining than an article, and I am sure your students will feel this way too. Henry's genius idea coupled with the great text and illustrations make this book a winner. This book is a Caldecott honor book, but I am sure that the author would love having Henry's Freedom Box win your Pennsylvania history award as well.

[Elizabeth]

I nominate George Washington and the General's Dog because it offers students a true story about the First President they may not have heard before. George found a dog on the battlefield, the dog belong to the English general William Howe, and how George Returned him. The book deals with Pennsylvania History because the a portion of the story is the about the Battle at Valley Forge. I plan on keeping this book in my classroom to use as a read aloud or even a readers theater.

[Brianna]

I nominate
"The Battle of Gettysburg: Turning point of the Civil War" by Gina DeAngelis as the best book about Pennsylvania history. This book is non-fiction and tells the story of the battle of Gettysburg. It is really well written and set into different chapters to make it easy for younger children to read. I think this book would be excellent for third through sixth grade. There are many pictures and maps to help the children visualize how the civil war was faught. It also gives side stories and background knowledge on events leading up to the battle.

[Brittany]

I nominate "Pennsylvania" Welcome to the U.S.A. for this "Penn's Woods History" award. This book is written by Ann Heinrichs and is illustrated by Matt Kania. This book is wonderful for a classroom for many reasons. The beginning will engage students to want to discover Pennsylvania, because it is told as if the children were touring the state. All of the main activities and attractions that the book views, would be interesting to children. This book would be great to use for a Pennsylvania history lesson. It tells important facts about each stop along the way, and each page includes a picture of a map that shows the route that is being covered. What a great PA learning source!

[Lauren]

I nominate "William Penn: Founder of Pennsylvania" by Steven Kroll because it would be a fantastic resource in any classroom. This non-fiction book tells the story of William Penn's life, his struggles, and determination to create Pennsylvania. This book is truly an inspirational story of courage and the ability of the human spirit to persevere. It is written for fluent readers and would be more appropriate for upper grade levels. The illustrations are beautifully done and correlate nicely with the text. This would be a great book to use as a history lesson or for students to use during reader's theater. This is truly a phenomenal book!

[Alecia]

For the Penn’s Woods History Award, I nominate K is for Keystone: A Pennsylvania Alphabet by Kristen Kane. Not only is this book an excellent read for young children, it has educational text to supplement any classroom history text. K is for Keystone is a guided tour through Pennsylvania history using the alphabetically speaking genre. Another great aspect of this book is the illustrations. The illustrations found in this book are remarkable and they also support the text. This book also features a number of Pennsylvania heroes such as Benjamin Franklin, James Buchanan, Milton S. Hershey, and William Penn. Along with these heroes, a number of historical events are also featured throughout the text. The last reason I think this book makes a great nominee for the Penn’s Woods History Award is because the author, Kristen Kane, and illustrator, Laura Knorr, are from Pennsylvania, which adds credibility to the book. K is for Keystone: A Pennsylvania Alphabet would be phenomenal choice for this award, and it would also make an excellent classroom resource for any teacher regardless of what state they’re teaching in.

[Krystal]

Pennsylvania

I nominate "Pennsylvania Hello U.S.A" written by Gwenyth Swain. The book was published in 2002 by Lerner Publications Company in Minneapolis, MN. This book would be a fascinating learning tool in the elementary classroom. This is a non-fictional text that is written beautifully. You would be able to use this book in 3-6 grade. It is written for the fluent reading audience, but could be used for transitional readers as well. There are many fascinating paintings and picture throughout the book that correlate with the reading. There is paintings actually painted by Quaker artists that resemble various turning points in Pennsylvania history. The book does not just limit itself to the founding of Pennsylvania, but also covers other important aspects in American history. Swain does an excellent job of incorporating these turning points such as: the underground railroad, the liberty bell, immigration, the state's constitution, and even the people and its economy. Swain also introduces the state's wildlife, state song, and the states recipe! Using these different genres in the literary classroom would be able to reach multiple intelligences! Towards the end of the book there is a section called "outstanding Pennsylvanians" that introduces various people from Pennsylvania that left an impact on American society. This book would be a phenomenal resource in the literary classroom.

[Bridget]

I nominate Inventing America: The Life of Benjamin Franklin by Mark Essig. This is considered a "museum in a book," which features copies of certain documents in relation to Ben Franklin, such as "The Pennsylvania Gazette." As you can tell by the title, this book is all about the life and history surrounding this historical figure, and what he has done for our nation. Not only is this book educational, but it is very interactive. The paintings are very bold and elaborate, and within each section there are the following supplemental materials: copies of newspapers, invention sketches that he drew, papers that he hand wrote, maps, an excerpt from the Treaty of Paris, a copy of the Declaration on Independence, and more. This is definitely an educational read about one of the most important men in our nation's history, who made his mark here, in the state of Pennsylvania.

[Sean]

I nominate "Bewildered for Three Days As to Why Daniel Boone Never Wore His Coonskin Cap", by Andrew Glass. My favorite American tall tale legend, Daniel Boone, tells his story of growing up in the Pennsylvania woods and making a promise to the raccoons. The reader follows Boone on his way to becoming a man, they see how the Pennsylvania Quakers(Boone's father) saw the Native Americans, and the reader can learn a great more about Boone's life if they read the "author's note" at the end. This would be suitable for children around eight years old and older, and is a great read aloud book for an adventurous class to learning about U.S. History. So pick this book and make your history into something worth putting the students attention to.

[Elissa]

I nominate “The Declaration of Independence: The Words That Made America” illustrated and inscribed by Sam Fink. This book delivers The Declaration of Independence in a fun and meaningful way. Fink did a fantastic job with the illustrations and inscribing the text. The Declaration of Independence on page 11, and with every flip of the page is the next phrase or sentence. Reading The Declaration of Independence in this context is a very easy and natural way to read and understand it.

I feel “The Declaration of Independence” is an excellent book for this award, especially considering The Declaration of Independence was written in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

At the end of the book is The Declaration of Independence fully typed out, a time line, and a glossary. The glossary especially is useful to students because The Declaration of Independence has a lot of words in it, which the students may not know the meaning of.

[Melody]

I nominate the book, "Historic Pennsylvania" by our very own fellow Penn Stater, Jared Frederick. Jared is the author and illustrator of this fabulous book which was published in 2008 by History Matters in Bellwood, PA.
This book should win the award not only because Jared attends school at our campus but because it is a great read! Jared has covered so many interesting facts about Pennsylvania, some you may not have even heard before. The drawings in this book are phenomenal with each page telling a unique detail about our wonderful state.
Please consider this book for the award. It is a great asset to any classroom. Jared designed this book for younger students but it would also work for middle and high school readers. This book is an excellent choice as a informational research book.
Any reader will come to learn about the numerous people, places and events that have made Pennsylvania what it is today. Once you look at this book, you will agree that it should be picked for the Penns Woods History Award.

[Alyssa]

Award Announcement


For our LLED class for Elementary Education we had to pick books and nominate them. I chose, “Historic Pennsylvania” written and illustrated by Jared Frederick for the Penns Woods Award. Jared Frederick is a Penn State local who writes and illustrates his own history books. I chose this book primarily for its content. It really gets in depth with Pennsylvania History. The book discusses anything from Native Americans in Pennsylvania to Philadelphia Sports. The book displays relevance to anyone interested in learning about the history of where we live today, Pennsylvania. The author does a great job using literary elements in this book. He uses black and white detailed sketches to portray Pennsylvania History. This book is very knowledgeable and full of fun and interesting facts. It is actually an emotional book. For instance, when the book talks about all of the battles it provides you with a sense of sympathy for that place in time. Than when the author begins to talk about baseball it is very uplifting. The book provides the sense of appreciation throughout the entire book. When reading one can come to realize how appreciative we should be to have a great state like Pennsylvania. A quote from Lehr has said, "more than ever before, it is important for today's students to grow up with a sense of who they are as members of the global community."

Great Job Jared we look forward to new books from you.

Sincerly,

Alyssa Thon