Our class recently completed a thematic unit about Daniel Boone and David Crockett while studying the American frontier.  For historical literature we read a Newbery award winner:  http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2084776.Daniel_Boone

For David Crockett, we read his autobiography:  https://www.amazon.com/Autobiography-Davy-Crockett-Stephen-Brennan/dp/1616084006

Both books were read as “shared” (out loud to the group) reading to the class.  For literature, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain was studied.  A book report would be completed after reading Tom Sawyer.  A Double Bubble thinking map was used to compare/contrast the life of Boone and Crockett.  A report containing a thesis comparing/contrasting the lives of Boone and Crockett would be written following the reading of the books.  Math would include a story problem asking the age of Crockett when he died at the Alamo while calculating his birth year and death year (Saxon Math 7/6).  Within these books the Louisiana Purchase was discussed.  Geography was taught using maps.  Thomas Jefferson, Louis and Clark, The French Indian War, and The War of Independence were also studied and reviewed within this unit.  A book about the Corps of Discovery is currently being read during “guided”(the student/students read out loud to the teacher) reading. This in depth unit brings the American frontier and its founding to life for the learner.