Celebrating

America's Birthday

Bring the fireworks, grab the picnic blanket, listen to your favorite patriotic songs and discover ways to celebrate the Fourth of July.  In this WebQuest  you will learn about the history of America, practice fireworks safety, discover great summer recipes, see a virtual  fireworks display, and make crafts.  You can also find lyrics to patriotic songs, send greetings, and view the Declaration of Independence.
 


 

The Tasks:

This WebQuest is designed for grades third through fifth.  You will :

The Resources:

The following resources will help you to learn about the Fourth of July or Independence Day.
 
 
1.  Have you ever been to a fireworks display?  This site will allow you to view a virtual  display of fireworks.  A feeling of  patriotism will surely form as you view this page.

 
2.  Has Mom ever needed a recipe for preparing food to take to a summer picnic?  Entertaining ideas and recipes provide a great touch to a summer celebration. Check out this site for an all time American favorite, apple pie.

 
3.  When shooting fireworks, you should  follow these safety tips.  This site will teach you the do's and don'ts of fireworks safety.  A quiz will see if you know how to handle fireworks safely.

 
4.  Patriotic music can be found here. Inspirational songs of America provide a patriotic mood during a Fourth of July celebration.

 
5.  Have you ever read about America's birth? This site allows you to read  the Declaration of Independence. You can find a list of signers of the Declaration of Independence here.

 
6.  This site provides coloring pages for you to print.  You can read about making Fourth of July crafts at this site.  You can send Fourth of July greetings to your friends. A Fourth of July word search is located on this site.

 

The Process:

 
1.  View a virtual  display of fireworks.  Write a paragraph about how you feel when watching fireworks.  Let your English teacher read this paragraph.

 
2.   Choose one recipe and write down the ingredients and measurements .  Then double the ingredients of the recipe and give to your math teacher to check. Entertaining ideas and recipes will help with this task.  Write down the recipe for apple pie and help your mom make it for a summer treat.

 
3.  When shooting fireworks, you should  follow these safety tips.  This site will teach you the do's and don'ts of fireworks safety. Make a list of five safety rules and explain why each rule must be followed.  Give these to your science teacher.  Take a safety quiz here.

 
4.  Patriotic music and inspirational songs of America provide a patriotic mood during a Fourth of July celebration. Select and print five songs to put in a music notebook for your music teacher.

 
5.  Read  and print a copy of the Declaration of Independence. From the list of signers of the Declaration of Independence, select one signer and write a one page biography to give to your social studies teacher.

 
6.  Print two coloring pages to be used for decoration in your classroom. Make  Fourth of July crafts  and put them on display in the art room. Send Fourth of July greetings to five of your friends and your teacher. Complete a word search.

 
7.  You should take a quiz on the Fourth of July.

Learning Advice:

After visiting various sites, I hope you have learned about America's birth and will participate in Fourth of July celebrations.  You may want to read about wars that led up to America's independence.
 
 
 

Conclusion:

I hope that you have developed a sense of American pride and patriotism toward our great country.  You have learned several ways to celebrate the Fourth of July.  Hopefully, you will continue to study about America's birth.


This page was originally written by Patricia G. Brasher and last updated on May 3, 2001.  This page was written for Dr. Bruce Lewis as a requirement in EDU 506 Computer Applications in Education.