American Girl Lesson Units
Unit ideas I found on another website, not sure we'll use them all but I like the idea of the maps
Samantha:
Week 1
Locate New York on the map. Explain that Mount Bedford, where Samantha lived, is a fictional place but is supposed to be
somewhere outside New York City.
Find 1904 on the Timeline, as well as 1894, the year Samantha was born. Check out the internet to find other events
happening in America at about that time. The most significant of these for Samantha would have been the Industrial Revolution that made so many products available to Americans, but also led to children like Nellie working long hours in factories.
Choose a craft to work on while you’re studying Samantha. Consider either counted cross stitch or traditional embroidery, such as Samantha would have been learning.
Week 2
Introduce the president, Teddy Roosevelt and his wife, Edith. In 1904, they were living in the White House with their six children, including a son Samantha’s age and a daughter who was a little older. The Roosevelts were also from New York and might have even known Grandmary or their relatives.
Watch the Samantha Movie. Depending on when you started, you might want to add some of Samantha’s Christmas activities to your family’s celebration.
Week 3
Nellie’s life was very different from Samantha’s. Research some of the Child Labor practices of the era.
Read The Wizard of Oz or some other book that Samantha might have read.
Felicity:
Week 1
Mark Felicity’s home on the map.
Find 1774 on the Timeline, as well as 1764, the year Felicity was born. Check out the internet to find other events happening in America at about that time. The most significant of these for Felicity would have been the coming American Revolution.
Choose a craft to work on while you’re studying Felicity. Consider knitting, since this would have been a skill Felicity would have been mastering.
Week 2
Watch the Felicity movie and/or Johnny Tremain, both of which are set in the same era.
Look up information about Colonial Williamsburg on the Internet. There is a wealth of knowledge available related to this historic site.
Week 3
Manners were very important in Felicity’s time. Have your daughter practice what she has learned from reading about Felicity at a tea party for her friends.
Felicity loved riding Penny. If possible, take your daughter somewhere where she can ride a horse or pony.
Kirsten:
Week 1
Locate Sweden on the globe. Then locate Minnesota. Help your daughter appreciate how far they are from each other by comparing it to a trip you’ve been on as a family. However, remind her that Kirsten’s family did not travel by plane but by boats and wagons.
Find 1854 on the Timeline, as well as 1844, the year Kirsten was born. Review what you learned earlier about what was going on in the country at that time. Emphasize the significance of immigration to the United States.
Choose a craft to work on while you’re studying Kirsten. An obvious choice would be to make a small patchwork pillow.
Week 2
When Kirsten arrived in America, she could not speak English. As a family, watch a movie or TV show in a foreign language (without subtitles) and see how much you can figure out about what’s going on just by watching and listening for inflection.
Week 3
Depending on when you started your study, and how fast you have progressed, the holidays are now approaching. Consider incorporating some of Kirsten’s Swedish tradtions into your family celebrations.
Addy
Week 1
Locate Addy’s home in North Carolina on the map. Then trace her journey to Philadelphia, noting that they would have had to travel secretly so they would have made pretty slow progress, even by the standards of the day.
Find 1864 on the Timeline, as well as 1854, the year Addy was born. Obviously, the American Civil War was the most significant event in Addy’s life and should be the center of study for this doll.
Choose a craft to work on while you’re studying Addy. Since M’Dear was a dress maker, why not have your daughter try her hand at a simple sewing project like making an apron?
Week 2
Like Kirsten, Addy did not learn to read until she was nearly ten. With your daughter, look on line for samples of the types of materials that would have been used to teach reading during the mid-1800s.
Philadelphia was a big, industrial city when Addy arrived. Many of these factories were staffed by children. Take time to read about child labor in northern factories in the years that Addy would have lived.
Week 3
Addy’s church has a Christmas party for the needy children in its area. Help your church or civic group plan a party for some children who might be experiencing a difficult Christmas.
Molly
Week 1
Mark Molly’s home in Jefferson, Illinois, on the map. Her home is actually very similar to Kit’s. Also, just as Kit’s father had to leave, Molly’s father was away from home.
Find 1944 on the Timeline, as well as 1934, the year Molly was born. Check out the internet to find other events happening in America at about that time. The most significant of these for Molly was America’s involvement in World War II.
Choose a craft to work on while you’re studying Molly. Consider some sort of outdoor crafts similar to what Molly might have made at camp.
Week 2
Plant a Victory Garden.
Watch the Molly Movie.
Week 3
Find a list of items that were rationed during World War II and try doing without them for a week.
Read one the children’s books popular at the time, such as the early Nancy Drew mysteries.
Interview someone who lived during World War II. Remind your daughter that Molly would be 78 years old now.
Julie
Week 1
Mark Julie’s home in California on the map. Note that, while most of the girls we’ve studied recently lived on the eastern half of the United States, Julie is a West Coast girl.
Find 1974 on the Timeline, as well as 1964, the year Julie was born. Check out the internet to find other events happening in America at about that time. For Julie, the most important events were related to social upheavals and the peace movement. This is a good chance to discuss that all was not as good as it sometimes seems to be in the Julie books.
Choose a craft to work on while you’re studying Julie. Obviously bead necklaces would be a good choice. You can also mention that there was an interest in the 70s in all things Native American, hence the crafts were similar to what you did for Kaya.
Week 2
Remind your daughter that Julie would be 48 years old now. Have her interview a woman who is about that age and see what she thinks of the Julie books.
Again, because Julie’s values may be different from those of your family, now is a good time to address that; for instance, standing up for the right thing sometimes means submitting to lawful authority rather than rebelling against it.
Week 3
Plan a fondue party for your extended family. Invite all the adults to bring pictures of themselves and/or their families from the 70s.
Kit
Week 1
Mark Kit’s home of Cincinnati, Ohio on a map. In many ways, her home was more like Samantha’s than Rebecca’s, though her family was not wealthy, especially after her father lost his business.
Find 1934 on the Timeline, as well as 1924, the year Kit was born. Check out the internet to find other events happening in America at about that time. The most significant of these for Kit, of course, was the Great Depression.
Choose a craft to work on while you’re studying Kit. Consider working to improve or remake something you already have, like Kit did with her aunt.
Week 2
Introduce your daughter to other famous Americas of that era, including Amelia Earhart, Shirley Temple and other women. Locate their homes on the map, and their lives and important contributions on the timeline. Remind your daughter that Kit would have followed the lives of these people through articles in the newspaper and magazines.
Watch the Kit Movie.
Week 3
Watch a Shirley Temple movie.
Interview someone who lived through the Depression. Remind your daughter that Kit would be 88 years old now.
Volunteer in a soup kitchen similar to the one where Kit saw her father.
Samantha:
Week 1
Locate New York on the map. Explain that Mount Bedford, where Samantha lived, is a fictional place but is supposed to be
somewhere outside New York City.
Find 1904 on the Timeline, as well as 1894, the year Samantha was born. Check out the internet to find other events
happening in America at about that time. The most significant of these for Samantha would have been the Industrial Revolution that made so many products available to Americans, but also led to children like Nellie working long hours in factories.
Choose a craft to work on while you’re studying Samantha. Consider either counted cross stitch or traditional embroidery, such as Samantha would have been learning.
Week 2
Introduce the president, Teddy Roosevelt and his wife, Edith. In 1904, they were living in the White House with their six children, including a son Samantha’s age and a daughter who was a little older. The Roosevelts were also from New York and might have even known Grandmary or their relatives.
Watch the Samantha Movie. Depending on when you started, you might want to add some of Samantha’s Christmas activities to your family’s celebration.
Week 3
Nellie’s life was very different from Samantha’s. Research some of the Child Labor practices of the era.
Read The Wizard of Oz or some other book that Samantha might have read.
Felicity:
Week 1
Mark Felicity’s home on the map.
Find 1774 on the Timeline, as well as 1764, the year Felicity was born. Check out the internet to find other events happening in America at about that time. The most significant of these for Felicity would have been the coming American Revolution.
Choose a craft to work on while you’re studying Felicity. Consider knitting, since this would have been a skill Felicity would have been mastering.
Week 2
Watch the Felicity movie and/or Johnny Tremain, both of which are set in the same era.
Look up information about Colonial Williamsburg on the Internet. There is a wealth of knowledge available related to this historic site.
Week 3
Manners were very important in Felicity’s time. Have your daughter practice what she has learned from reading about Felicity at a tea party for her friends.
Felicity loved riding Penny. If possible, take your daughter somewhere where she can ride a horse or pony.
Kirsten:
Week 1
Locate Sweden on the globe. Then locate Minnesota. Help your daughter appreciate how far they are from each other by comparing it to a trip you’ve been on as a family. However, remind her that Kirsten’s family did not travel by plane but by boats and wagons.
Find 1854 on the Timeline, as well as 1844, the year Kirsten was born. Review what you learned earlier about what was going on in the country at that time. Emphasize the significance of immigration to the United States.
Choose a craft to work on while you’re studying Kirsten. An obvious choice would be to make a small patchwork pillow.
Week 2
When Kirsten arrived in America, she could not speak English. As a family, watch a movie or TV show in a foreign language (without subtitles) and see how much you can figure out about what’s going on just by watching and listening for inflection.
Week 3
Depending on when you started your study, and how fast you have progressed, the holidays are now approaching. Consider incorporating some of Kirsten’s Swedish tradtions into your family celebrations.
Addy
Week 1
Locate Addy’s home in North Carolina on the map. Then trace her journey to Philadelphia, noting that they would have had to travel secretly so they would have made pretty slow progress, even by the standards of the day.
Find 1864 on the Timeline, as well as 1854, the year Addy was born. Obviously, the American Civil War was the most significant event in Addy’s life and should be the center of study for this doll.
Choose a craft to work on while you’re studying Addy. Since M’Dear was a dress maker, why not have your daughter try her hand at a simple sewing project like making an apron?
Week 2
Like Kirsten, Addy did not learn to read until she was nearly ten. With your daughter, look on line for samples of the types of materials that would have been used to teach reading during the mid-1800s.
Philadelphia was a big, industrial city when Addy arrived. Many of these factories were staffed by children. Take time to read about child labor in northern factories in the years that Addy would have lived.
Week 3
Addy’s church has a Christmas party for the needy children in its area. Help your church or civic group plan a party for some children who might be experiencing a difficult Christmas.
Molly
Week 1
Mark Molly’s home in Jefferson, Illinois, on the map. Her home is actually very similar to Kit’s. Also, just as Kit’s father had to leave, Molly’s father was away from home.
Find 1944 on the Timeline, as well as 1934, the year Molly was born. Check out the internet to find other events happening in America at about that time. The most significant of these for Molly was America’s involvement in World War II.
Choose a craft to work on while you’re studying Molly. Consider some sort of outdoor crafts similar to what Molly might have made at camp.
Week 2
Plant a Victory Garden.
Watch the Molly Movie.
Week 3
Find a list of items that were rationed during World War II and try doing without them for a week.
Read one the children’s books popular at the time, such as the early Nancy Drew mysteries.
Interview someone who lived during World War II. Remind your daughter that Molly would be 78 years old now.
Julie
Week 1
Mark Julie’s home in California on the map. Note that, while most of the girls we’ve studied recently lived on the eastern half of the United States, Julie is a West Coast girl.
Find 1974 on the Timeline, as well as 1964, the year Julie was born. Check out the internet to find other events happening in America at about that time. For Julie, the most important events were related to social upheavals and the peace movement. This is a good chance to discuss that all was not as good as it sometimes seems to be in the Julie books.
Choose a craft to work on while you’re studying Julie. Obviously bead necklaces would be a good choice. You can also mention that there was an interest in the 70s in all things Native American, hence the crafts were similar to what you did for Kaya.
Week 2
Remind your daughter that Julie would be 48 years old now. Have her interview a woman who is about that age and see what she thinks of the Julie books.
Again, because Julie’s values may be different from those of your family, now is a good time to address that; for instance, standing up for the right thing sometimes means submitting to lawful authority rather than rebelling against it.
Week 3
Plan a fondue party for your extended family. Invite all the adults to bring pictures of themselves and/or their families from the 70s.
Kit
Week 1
Mark Kit’s home of Cincinnati, Ohio on a map. In many ways, her home was more like Samantha’s than Rebecca’s, though her family was not wealthy, especially after her father lost his business.
Find 1934 on the Timeline, as well as 1924, the year Kit was born. Check out the internet to find other events happening in America at about that time. The most significant of these for Kit, of course, was the Great Depression.
Choose a craft to work on while you’re studying Kit. Consider working to improve or remake something you already have, like Kit did with her aunt.
Week 2
Introduce your daughter to other famous Americas of that era, including Amelia Earhart, Shirley Temple and other women. Locate their homes on the map, and their lives and important contributions on the timeline. Remind your daughter that Kit would have followed the lives of these people through articles in the newspaper and magazines.
Watch the Kit Movie.
Week 3
Watch a Shirley Temple movie.
Interview someone who lived through the Depression. Remind your daughter that Kit would be 88 years old now.
Volunteer in a soup kitchen similar to the one where Kit saw her father.