HuckleBerry
Center for Creative Learning
Donna Connolly
Donna Connolly taught for several years with LAUSD teaching ESL and with Burbank Unified School District as a substitute school teacher. As a substitute, she had the opportunity to teach many subjects and grade levels. After the birth of her first son, Donna left the workforce to become a full time mom. As a stay-at-home mom, she spent little time at home. For three years, Donna sat on the Scholarship Board at Mission College and worked briefly as the Executive Director and fundraiser. She has volunteered in the field of education and with community organizations, writing posts for education blogs and Letters to the Editor. Donna decided to pull her oldest child out of public school and homeschool. It's been an exciting and wonderful new adventure. As a homeschooler, Donna has taken her love of learning, teaching experience and passion for history and developed a course for HuckleBerry! She is a UCLA graduate with a degree in Philosophy, and believes the number one goal of any instructor is to instill a love of learning in the students he or she is honored to teach.
Our Beautiful State - The History of California!
Ages 8-11
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Homework: There will be some reading and assignments to finish at home!
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PREREQUISITES: Students should be reading minimally at the 2nd grade level to complete the in-class and at home learning.
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California is so much more than just beaches and fires! We have a fantastic history and topography with a wild range of weather, flora, fauna and history. Come join us as we look at the history of our beautiful state!
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Fall: We start our study of California with a look at the local La Brea Tar Pits! Here we will learn how history has been trapped in the asphalt seeps! These tar pits are the only active urban fossil dig site in the world! Plants and animals from the last 50,000 years are discovered there every day. From there we will map the geography of California’s regions and mountains, lakes and deserts. Not all of California is a desert! Understanding our topography will help us understand the varied history of our state. We will learn about the Native American tribes that made California their home, make a wigwam and study the plants that were used in their diet that can still be found on our trails today! We will learn about Spanish Explorers, Mexican Colonization and build a Presidio.
Winter: In the winter session we’ll continue our discussion of the indigenous people that lived on the land for thousands of years. We will learn about Junipero Serra, the Spanish priest who in 1769 founded the first mission in San Diego, California. We are surrounded by the Missions of California so in class we’ll take a virtual tour of some of our favorites! For our Mission Project, the students will make a lap book. They will choose one mission and do research on that mission at home. We will assemble the lap books in class.
We will create a timeline so the students will see how events like the Lewis and Clark expedition and Westward Expansion changed the western part of the United States and brought a steady flow of people into California. We will learn all about the Gold Rush and the impact it had on the indigenous people, the economy, and statehood.
Just like in the fall, our class will be full of maps, worksheets, hands-on projects, short movies and more to bring this period of time to life!
Spring: In the Spring session, the students will learn about the 20th Century and the effect the new century advancements have had on the growth and importance of California not just in the United States, but around the world. Beginning with the San Francisco earthquake, to the building of the Golden Gate Bridge, to the Space Program, California has led the country in scientific and technological innovations. With the invention of the movie camera and projector, industrious filmmakers, directors, actors and actresses made their way to Southern California where the weather was mild and the land was plentiful. The Studios set up shop in Hollywood and within a few years, the movie industry was booming. In addition to the film industry, California also became home to the Walt Disney Corporation which opened Disneyland, the first movie themed amusement park in the country. As we continue along the timeline, we will learn about the diversity of this great state not only demographically, but ethnically, socioeconomically, and culturally.
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Just like the previous sessions, our classes will be full of hands-on projects, videos and more to bring this exciting period in our state’s history to life.
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Donna Connolly