signingacademics
  • Signing for Learning
  • American History
  • Abraham Lincoln
  • Geology
  • Badlands National Park
  • Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks
  • Mississippi River
  • National Cowboy Museum
  • Upper Michigan
  • Sentences
  • Language Arts
  • Sign Language
  • The Painted Desert and The Petrified Forest
  • Grand Canyon

Watch the videos below, read the words. then...........

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                             Look for the title above; more titles are found 

                             under more
       

To realize the importance of being an American citizen is to understand America's history.  We'll travel back in time and learn about some of he peple and events who made our country a strong democratic society that we enjoy today. Below is a time line showing a few leaders who defined the principles o f our country in the Constitution of the United States written in 1776.  Shortly after the Constitution a Bill of Rights was added.  The freedoms and rights listed were as follows:
Early American History  -   1490   to  1864
  
  • Freedom of Religion - freedom to believe any religion or no religion
  • Freedom of Speech - freedom to publicly express your thoughts without prosecution
  • Freedom of the Press - freedom to publish newspapers that say what the writer thinks
  • Freedom of Assembly - freedom to come together in groups, have meetings, and discuss any issue
  • Freedom of Petition - freedom to ask the government to do something or to stop doing something
  • Right to Bear Arms - right to own a weapon(gun, knife, bow and arrow) to protect yourself
  • "No-Quartering" Right - right not to have troops (Army, Navy, Air Force) live in your house
  • Right to Equal Justice - all freedoms and rights must happen for each person the same as for other people in the United States
  • Right to Own Private Property - no person can take away anything we own nor can the government 
  • Right to Enjoy Many Other Freedoms - Americans have more rights than those stated in the Constitution. For example if a State makes it a right for you to drive a car then you have that right even though the Constitution does not list it.
The last one, Right to Enjoy Many Other Freedoms, means that Americans have more rights and freedoms than those listed in the Constitution. When the United States of America started the leaders understood that by using laws to protect the freedom and rights there would be more definition of what freedoms meant. For example the right to a free appropriate public education for Deaf students was made into law in 1973. Think about all the events that happened since 1776 which contributed to our present day status.  When you look at the time line don't think first, second, etc. Look at the amount of time between each event. And, as you see events know that thousands of people fought and died for America's principles and thousands of people worked to define and protect the rights and freedoms of the Constitution.


TIMELINE
 40,000 
years ago       The first people living in North America were the Native Americans
1490      Spanish Explores arrived, by ship, on North American shores
1524      French Explorers arrived by, ship on, North American shores
1607      British Colonies are built 
1762      French return to their country "France"
1754
   to
1763      French and Indian war also called the Seven Years War ends
1775      American Revolutionary War
1776      United States of America is created
              Declaration of Independence is signed
1789
   to
1797     1st President of USA....George Washington
1797
  to
1801      2nd Presidentof USA...John Adams - 

                                                   Founding Father helped write the Constitution
1801
  to
1809      3rd President USA..Thomas Jefferson - 

                                                Founding Father helped write the Constitution
1804      Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of France, sold Louisiana to the United States of America
1812      War of 1812 between Britain and America
1815     Battle of New Orleans - ends the war of 1812

1846     
   to
1848     Mexican-American War
1861
  to
1865     Civil War
1864      Gallaudet University was established in Washington, D.C.

GEOLOGY

Why are the States of Colorado and Utah interesting states to learn about geology?

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Fall 2013          
The first part of this trip was a drive around the State of Colorado and Utah. It began in  southeastern Colorado at "Pikes Peak", the most famous of 53 mountain peaks that are higher than 14,000 feet.  These 53  mountain peaks are known as the "fourteeners."  Also, explored in the southeastern part of the state were  the "Great Sand Dunes".  The contrasting terrain of "Mesa Verde" National Park and Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, in the southwestern part of Colorado,  and "Arches National Park" in Utah were visited and explored. Utah is on the western border of Colorado.
Along with Mesa Verde National Park and Black Canyon, in the Southwest part of Colorado, there are several other interesting rock formations and minerals.  One mineral that was sought after in 1876 was gold near a town named Ouray.  To get a closer look at the peaks and mountain passes we passed through the unexpected in an exciting  jeep ride through these mountains, from Ouray to Telluride was done. The ride began very early in the morning, and after we left  the road had been closed due to snow and ice.  Wait until you see the drops from the edge of the road!!!!
 
See if you can find the National Parks in bold letters on the maps above.  
Geology is the study of the earth.  It investigates how mountains are made, the different types of rocks, what minerals are found within rocks and how Earth is shaped by geological forces.  What happens below the Earth's surface?  Geology is studying history. History is what has happened in the past. To learn more about geology go to the blue arrow at the top and click on the topic "geology."

Why do you think the 53 mountain peaks are called or named the "fourteeners?

First:  Upper Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin

Second:  Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota

Third:  Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizonia

    This page is the introduction to three different trips. The first trip was along the northern part of the Mississippi River. The first car journey was 1,650 miles through the states of Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
     The second trip is through three national parks. The national parks are in Montana, Yellowstone National Park,  Wyoming, Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park, and South Dakota, The Badlands.  The second car journey was 5,000 miles. 
    The third trip is through the states of Oklahoma, New Mexico and Arizonia.  The National Cowboy Museum is in Oklahoma.  The Petrified Forest and the Painted Desert are in New Mexico.  The Grand Canyon is in Arizonia. The third trip was 4,500 miles.
      Each video explains how the land developed or was shaped starting millions of years ago.   At the top of this page there is a tab for national parks, the National Cowboy Museum, Mississippi or the UP of Michigan.  Click on the tab of your choice to learn about the lands and rivers of America.
 

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New Mexico
Two national parks are located in New Mexico. The Painted Desert and the Petrified Forest.  The land here is 1.8 billion years old. 

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OKLAHOMA
Long, long ago Native Americans lived in Oklahoma as they hunted turkey, rabbit and bison.  They made tools from stones and rock.  As time passed, the land was owned by five different Native American tribes and Black Americans.  Each of the five tribes and the Black Americans spoke a different language.  Because they could not understand each other's words the Native Americans used sign language to communicate.
Can you find Oklahoma City, Oklahoma?  The cowboy museum is located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

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MONTANA
This  journey began in Montana.  The first stop was Yellowstone National Park.
 The mountains, lakes, rivers, waterfalls, mudpots and geysers. From what? A volcano Then, what happened the volcano collapsed.  This area is called a Caldera.  Yellowstone's whole area mountains, lakes, river, waterfall, mudpots and geysers happened where?  A caldera.    See the action inside the earth.  Under the earth it is hot. The water here is hot like making coffee.  That's why Yellowstone is a special place. Those things happen.

Do you see Yellowstone National Park on the map?
Can you find Wyoming (WY) or South Dakota (SD)?

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Wyoming
Grand Teton National Park is in Wyoming.  Do you see Grand Teton National Park on the map?  The land within this park was formed by gigantic plates inside the earth rubbing together. Then, an earthquake happened.... the earth rose, the mountains formed, and the land dropped making a valley.  Last, huge glaciers, sheets of ice, flowed from Yellowstone to the Tetons shapping the landscape.  See the videos showing this process.  The process is called erosion.

Can you find Montana (MT) or South Dakota (SD)?
Can you find Yellowstone National Park?

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South Dakota
Here is Badland National Park.  This National Park was once a sea.  What you see in the videos is the bottom of an ocean long ago.  Many fossils were found of animals that once roamed this land.  A fossil is part of the animal's skelton that was been preserved or hardened.  Do you see Minnesota, Wyoming or  
Montana?

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    Upper Michigan or 
    The "UP"

    States of Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin
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