Day In History: March 17-24

Free online resources for each of these topics:

St. Patrick’s Day, History of the Railroad, Wyatt Earp, Harriet Beecher Stowe and Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Pocahontas, The Equal Rights Amendment, Patrick Henry, Harry Houdini

March 17–St. Patrick’s Day

Shamrocks? Leprechauns? St. Patrick? St. Patrick’s Day is March 17.

Looking for a St. Patrick’s Day book? Penguin Random House lists books for preschoolers thru adults. Check out their recommendations.

March 18–Railroad

The first railroad tunnel in the US was completed in 1834.

Using this collection of maps from 1828-1900, students can draw conclusions about the importance of the railroad to pioneers.

March 19–Wyatt Earp

Wyatt Earp was born March 19, 1848.

A short biographical sketch of Wyatt Earp can be found in this one minute 30 second video.

March 20–Harriet Beecher Stowe and Uncle Tom’s Cabin

Harriet Beecher Stowe published Uncle Tom’s Cabin.

This video gives a short tour of the Harriet Beecher Stowe house and talks about the author.

March 21–Pocahontas

Pocahontas died March 21, 1617.

This lesson by the Stanford History Education Group requires a free online log in. The lesson requires students to explore whether or not John Smith saved the life of Pocahontas. There are original documents and a timeline available at the website. There is a shorter lesson for younger children and a longer lesson for older students.

March 22–Equal Rights Amendment

The Equal Rights Amendment passes the US Senate on March 22, 1972.

A less than 3 minute video by the Harvard Kennedy School Women and Public Policy Program explains the History of the Equal Rights Amendment.

March 23–Patrick Henry

Patrick Henry makes his famous “Give me liberty or give me death” speech in 1775.

ReadWriteThink (with NCTE and International Literacy Association) combine for engaging and research-based lesson plans. Their lesson, Battling for Liberty: Tecumseh’s and Patrick Henry‘s Language of Resistance helps students compare two speeches. Standards, objectives, detailed plans, and resources are included in the webpages.

March 24–Harry Houdini

Harry Houdini was born in 1874.

Video and audio clips featuring Harry Houdini feature the 1914 Water Torture Cell, 1915 Hanging Straitjacket Escape, 1918 Rope Tie Escape, 1919 clips from Houdini’s movie, 1936 Houdini Seance at the Knickerbocker Hotel in Hollywood.

 “Harry Houdini” The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1905 – 1906

Looking for additional resources on these ideas? Check out my store Reading Specialty on TPT.