Digital Mini Kits
These kits are housed entirely online. The purpose of these kits is to supplement your regular curriculum with fun activities that reinforce the concepts taught, while at the same time exposing students to the history of West Chicago.
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Chicago History to 1900 Digital Mini-Kit (PDF)
This DMK provides an overview of Chicago history up through 1900, tying significant historical topics and happenings to parallel’s in West Chicago’s own history.Indian Knoll Celebrates 50 Years, Flashback: 1967 (PDF)
This DMK was created specifically for Indian Knoll’s anniversary. It provides a fun look at how life for kids has changed in the last 50 years.Economics Digital-Mini Kit (PDF)
Songs, hand plays, and historic photos work together to help students understand basic principles of economics and how they relate to West Chicago’s history.Little Railroad Town on the Prairie (PDF)
A brief photographic overview of West Chicago’s history. Slide notes allow teachers to give historic background behind each image. The train jobs song is a fun way to learn some of the jobs one could hold on the railroad. -
Historical Map Inference Lab (PDF)
This DMK invites students to examine maps through the history of West Chicago, using questions to think critically about geography, the economy, the development of a new community, and more.Lindsay Light, Kerr-McGee, and Thorium (PDF)
This DMK gives a history of immigration through Castle Gardens and Ellis Island, tracking the arrival of two different people who eventually came to live in West Chicago.Immigration and Ellis Island Digital Mini-Kit (PDF)
This DMK gives a history of immigration through Castle Gardens and Ellis Island, tracking the arrival of two different people who eventually came to live in West Chicago.West Chicago Was Once a Prairie: Geography (PDF)
This DMK discusses how prairies were created, why northern Illinois was not originally considered a desirable place to settle, and how technology forever changed The Prairie State.