Grades 5-8    Citizenship

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Project American Life is an exciting educational experience that deals with citizenship, history and character development. From the moment students arrive at Camp Tecumseh they are swept up in the excitement and intrigue of the program. They are immediately placed into a caste system, with some students born into Royalty and others as … Untouchables! Will students adhere to this system or is there a better standard under which they could live? What could the Declaration of Independence have to offer?

As the program progresses students participate in games and activities that develop the ideas of the Declaration of Independence. What are self-evident truths? What does it mean to be endowed by a Creator with certain unalienable Rights? What is Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness?

The culminating activity on the last night of the trip is called "In Search of the American Embassy." In this realistic simulation students try to "escape" from East Germany to the American Embassy through Checkpoint Charlie. They are forced to watch a communist re-education film, hide in the woods from Communist soldiers and escape in a school bus on their quest for freedom! It is a thrilling adventure that students will never forget, nor will they forget what it means to be free.

These activities are specially designed to stimulate the cognitive process, build character and a spirit of teamwork, as well as foster understanding of the noble principles upon which this nation was founded.

Click here to see a sample schedule for Project American Life (in PDF format).

See the Indiana State Curriculum Standards Met in the Project American Life Program (in PDF format).