For this unit study we read the 6 books in the American Girl: Rebecca (1914) Collection by Jaqueline Dembar Greene, illustrations by Robert Hunt, and vignettes by Susan McAliley.
Feel free to choose any extension activities to tie in with the book that sound like fun to you! We did not do all of these activities. These are the activities that I noticed would tie in nicely with the books. 🥰
Meet Rebecca
Extension activities:
- celebrate Sabbath from Friday at sunset to Saturday at sunset
- light candles for dinner
- make Challah Bread
- visit a shoe store
- learn to crochet
- learn to make doilies
- raise money for a good cause and donate it
Rebecca and Ana
Extension activities:
- listen to the Grand Old Flag song
- learn the words and sing along
- learn to play the song on an instrument Grand Old Flag sheet music
- think about how you would feel if you were someone else and do something to show them kindness
Candlelight for Rebecca
Extension activities:
- try this Latke Recipe (or purchase them frozen at Trader Joe’s)
- read Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm
- research the history of carrier pigeons
- make a gift for someone in your neighborhood (homemade candles would be so perfect!)
Rebecca and the Movies
Extension activities:
- listen to the song, Alexander’s Ragtime Band
- make egg cream drinks (which contain neither eggs nor cream) Egg Cream Recipe
- make the lunch Rebecca’s mother prepares for her trip to the movie studio: hard boiled eggs, banana, leftover cookies, & matzo
Rebecca to the Rescue
Extension Activities:
- ride a ferris wheel or carousel if you can
- go out for a glass of lemonade at a cafe
- visit a local fair
- visit a beach and wade or swim
Changes for Rebecca
- listen to In the Good old Summertime
- make lemonade
- sleep outside under the stars
- host a sleepover with friends
- write a letter to your local newspaper about a cause you care about
- go to a park for a picnic
- listen to A Bicycle Built for Two sung by a barbershop quartet
- have a 3-legged race
I ❤️ the American Girl Book Series. I’m going to read-aloud the Kirsten series next. I hope you are reading something you ❤️ right now!
“tikkun olam (tee-KOON oh-LAHM) – In Hebrew, repair the world. The Jewish belief that each person should do his or her part to make the world a better place”
from the glossary in book #6: “Changes for Rebecca” page 78
We also watched the movie Newsies streaming on Disney +. Set in 1899 New York, the movie tells the story about a famous strike of newspaper boys.
heavens to betty 
I read these with my daughter – who is now 42. It seems the American Girl books were new back then. I remember three different girls – I think. Kirsten was one. I think. 🙂 Maybe 4 books to a series. I lent them to my Grandma (who was in her later 90’s at the time); she also enjoyed them. A great way to learn some history!
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The original American girls were Kirsten, Samantha, and Molly. I’m 46 and I got a Samantha doll the Christmas. I was about nine or 10, my younger sister got Kirsten.
They’ve added so many more characters now! I feel like the stories help make history come to life. Instead of “during the early 1900s, factory conditions were poor”. We get to meet a family and see how the factory conditions affect uncle Jacob and cousin Josef, who is only 14, but he cannot attend school and has to work in the factory to make money because his family has recently immigrated to the United States. It just sticks better when there’s a name in a face to go with it. Even if they are fictional names and faces.
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Yes, those were the three! I love historical fiction. It’s one of my favorite ways to learn history. And I totally agree with your description – these rich details help us learn about the past – to know it and to feel it, too.
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