Happy Independence Day!

July 4th Scavenger Hunt cards

Teach your little patriots some history with a July 4 treasure hunt! Create 10 multiple choice question cards, each with three options (A, B, and C). Place one question card in an envelope along with three tent cards...each one labeled on the outside with A, B, or C. Glue or tape a clue to the location of the next envelope inside the tent card labeled with the correct answer and leave the other two "wrong" tent cards blank. The last clue should lead to the prized "treasure".

In addition to teaching them about history with the question cards, you can use the clues to teach kids about rhyming, figurative language, relative positioning, or anything else you want them to master.  

Below are the 10 questions I used, but you can modify them to the appropriate age level of your kids and can adapt the theme to any topic:
Question 1: Who was the author of the Declaration of Independence? 

• A: George Washington
• B: Benjamin Franklin
• C: Thomas Jefferson

Question 2: Who is called the "Father of our country"?

• A: George Washington
• B: Samuel Adams
• C: Abraham Lincoln

Question 3: What city is the birthplace of our national anthem?

• A: New York, NY
• B: Baltimore, MD
• C: Washington, DC

Question 4: Which of the following was NOT one of the 13 original colonies?

• A: Florida
• B: New York
• C: Rhode Island

Question 5: What do the 50 stars on our flag represent?

• A: The number of signers of the Declaration of Independence
• B: The number of states in the union
• C: Nothing. It is just the number that looks good.

Question 6: Where is the Liberty Bell located?

• A: Boston, MA
• B: New York, NY
• C: Philadelphia, PA

Question 7: What is the name of Thomas Jefferson's home?

• A: Mount Vernon
• B: Monticello
• C: Montpelier

Question 8: Which country helped us to gain our independence?

• A: Germany
• B: Canada
• C: France

Question 9: On what holiday did George Washington make his famous crossing of the Delaware River?

• A: Easter
• B: Christmas Eve
• C: Christmas Day

Question 10: Whose face is on the $20 bill?

• A: Andrew Jackson
• B: Alexander Hamilton
• C: Abraham Lincoln

The clues you use depends on where in your home you will be hiding the question/answer envelopes, but a couple of examples are: 

• You will find the next clue where J.K. Rowling's story is told (location: next to the Harry Potter DVDs)
  
• Look for the next clue where Mozart's music sleeps (location: on the piano).
  

Get creative and match the difficulty level to your kids' abilities.

---