This sixteen page activity which recounts the history of the sculpting of Mount Rushmore is developed in the Learning Magic Text & Graphics click to read template. In this activity we retell the history surrounding the creation of Mount Rushmore from its origins through the selection of the sculptor, Gutzon Borglum, then the various obstacles and travails the team of miners and carvers went through in creating this national monument. Photographs of the workers on the mountain, along with photographs of the mountain before the project and after are provided as well.
We will be using this activity in classrooms this year not only to study the history of the mountain, but also to do follow up activities. These include writing activities on the four presidents pictured on the mountain, as well as studying some of the math problems that the sculptors faced as they went through the fourteen year process. For a related writing activity, click here.
After children read each page of the history, they are presented with a multiple choice question to answer. Their answers are automatically captured and subsequent reporting and grading is available using the IntelliPics Studio 3 reporting options.
Options are available for the child to click on the text box to have it read, as well as options to read the narrative and the multiple choice questions again. The activity can be run on the IntelliTools Classroom Suite Player. But IntelliPics Studio 3® is needed to perform data capture, automatic grading and portfolio management, as well as any editing or changes to the activity itself.
Applications needed: IntelliTools Classroom Suite®, IntelliTools Classroom Suite Player®, or IntelliPics Studio 3®.
Curriculum area: Language Arts and History.
Level: Grades 3-5.
Download activity here: MtRushmore.zip (1.4 MB)