Fun State History Project

I'm not sure how it is for other teachers across the US, but here we have to teach students about our state's history. In fact, every grade K-6 has to teach some state history. This can get really boring after a few years,  and it seems like all the good ideas have been taken by the lower grades. My grade level started having a County Float Parade a few years ago, and it is a huge hits with parents and students.
This project is pretty simple to implement. The students simply choose a county in their state to research and create a float to represent the history of it. I usually let them choose two or three counties they are interested in and then select one of these for them to complete the project on. Every student has a different county to complete.

Some teachers choose to have students complete this as a home project. I don't like home projects, so my students complete it in class. I let them bring items from home, and I have a huge craft box for them to choose items from.  Al the shoe boxes must be covered. Craft paper of wrapping paper work great for this. The students usually do a really good job of wrapping the boxes.

Of course, some are better than others. I've used a rubric before, but this year I used a Do and Don't list. I think it worked just as well. You can tweak them to fit your needs. Click on the picture for a free copy of the list and research outline.

When all the floats are finished, we have a parade for all the other grades to see. The students attach wheels or put the float on a toy car and roll them down the hallway. We always have a couple of floats that lose their wheels halfway through the parade. Those students just pick them up and carry them the rest of the way.

This project is so much fun! Let me know what ideas you have for teaching your state history. Good luck as you continue to create magic in your classroom!