Activity
Turn of the Century: A Dear America Activity
Scholastic’s articles, interactive scrapbooks, images, and more give students a unique perspective of this volatile time in U.S. history.
Grades
3–5
Activity Type
- Computer Lab Activities
In Scholastic’s “Dear America: Turn of the Century” learning activity, students find out what life was like in America during the early 1900s, a particularly tumultuous time in our history.
- About the Era shares how this era began with the assassination of President McKinley, then faced World War I, the women’s suffrage movement, a flu epidemic, and the Progressives, a group of people who actively fought against big corporations for the common people.
- The Downloadables section includes dozens of links to articles from the Library of Congress, including material on the Titanic, World War I, the Shaker community, and more.
- Whiteboard-Ready Slides share images from the early 1900s, including many of the Titanic, the Spanish flu epidemic of 1918-1920, the Shaker Community of Sabbath Day Lake, and more.
- Students can read books from the Dear America series, including fictional diaries “written” by Margaret Ann Brady, a survivor of the Titanic, and Lydia Amelia Pierce, survivor of the flu epidemic.
- Students can get to know the authors of the Dear America series.
Various online students activities include:
- 30 easy, delicious recipes for students to try, including Margaret Ann Brady’s Toffee and Hot Chocolate.
- 22 arts and crafts, including Margaret’s Cameo Necklace and Pressed Flowers.
- An article on the opulent clothes from the Edwardian Period (around 1912), from high-heeled shoes to wide-brimmed hats. Also included are paper dolls, which students can print, cut out, and mix and match!
- An interactive Room in Time lets students decorate a room with common Turn-of-the-Century objects, from wallpaper to tables.
- Student can explore the interactive fictional Scrapbooks of Margaret and Lydia, which offer a very personal view of what life was like for young people during this era.


Dear America Teaching Guide
Make history come alive for your students with these resources for teaching the Dear America series, covering the Colonial Period, the Revolutionary War, Westward Expansion, the Civil War, the Turn of the Century, the Great Depression, and World War II..
GRADES
3–5, 6–8
