Description

In an effort to remain inclusive, we didn’t focus solely on Easter for this NYA unit. We have decided to find some global and interesting topics around things that are all around in the spring…chicks, bunnies, ect.! Throughout this resource, you will teach civics, history, science, geography, and sociology! We hope you enjoy this unit as much as we do!

The topics that we cover include:

S.T.E.M: We are putting the M(ath) in STEM! This STEM challenge will ask students to create Pysanky using symmetry, shapes, and patterns. A blank egg is included for younger students that may find symmetry challenging- but we are going for exposure with this activity, not mastery!

Sociology: An ENT Doctor became curious about the ear, nose, and throat sections of something interesting…chocolate bunnies. She put out a nation-wide survey and got back over 28,000 responses. Her findings led her to draw some conclusions that ended up affecting the way some chocolate companies designed their rabbits! This is a great example of how a person can become curious, formulate a question, collect data and share their findings with other people. We do it in real life!

History: Every year the White House holds an Egg Roll on the Monday after Easter. This tradition is over 140 years old. It was said that this had been happening since the Lincoln administration, but Dolley Madison is given credit for making it an official White House event. The guests varied based on the racial tolerances of the sitting president. Today, there is a lottery that you can enter in order to secure a ticket to this Event.

Geography: The world’s largest Pysanky egg is located in Ukraine. Your students will explore the tradition of creating pysanky and figure out where Ukraine is on a map.

Civics: In some places, laws were passed to prevent people from dyeing baby chicks around the springtime. People dye them because a lot of people want to get chicks and bunnies as pets. Many animal activists do not want people to do this. Even though the dye is safe, they wanted laws to protect the animals. The laws have been passed and then overturned quite a bit- so your students can decide how they feel!

Make SOCIAL STUDIES important again!

LaNesha Tabb & Naomi O’Brien