Alice Ramsey's Grand Adventure Unit Study

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This unit study includes lessons and activities based on the book Alice Ramsey’s Grand Adventure by Don Brown.

On June 9, 1909, twenty-two-year-old Alice Ramsey hitched up her skirts and climbed behind the wheel of a Maxwell touring car. Fifty-nine days later she rolled into San Francisco, becoming the first woman to drive across America. What happened in between is quite a tale!
from Alice Ramsey’s Grand Adventure on amazon.com

So, hitch up your skirts and grab our Alice Ramsey’s Grand Adventure unit study and travel with Alice across the U.S. You’ll have a grand adventure.

Thanks to Debbie Palmer for preparing this Alice Ramsey’s Grand Adventure Unit Study.

Alice Ramsey’s Grand Adventure Unit Study Lessons

Here is a sample of the lessons found in this Alice Ramsey’s Grand Adventure unit study:

History of the Automobile –
How is the Maxwell described in the book? Notice that the headlights were torches that needed to be lit with a match. The horn was just a rubber bulb, and the gas tank was located under the front seat. How do cars differ today? Ask your student how the headlights come on and work, where the horn is, and the gas tank.

The automobile is made up of two Greek words: auto (meaning “self”) and mobils (meaning “moving”). Therefore, an automobile is “self-moving!” There is no one inventor of the car. Many men over a period of time contributed to what the automobile is today. In the 1700’s and 1800’s there were steam-powered cars (although not many of them!). In the 1800’s, an early form of a car that runs on electricity was designed. Gas-powered cars came along in the 1800’s. It was Karl Benz (from Mercedes-Benz fame) who designed the world’s first practical car. It had only three wheels! But it was Henry Ford who made the car accessible to many people by creating an assembly line to build his cars. The Maxwell brand of car (like the one that Alice drove) was in production from 1904-1925. Your older student may want to do more research on Benz or Ford.

United States Geography (Alice Ramsey’s route) –
Using the United States Outline map provided, trace Alice Ramsey’s route. Have your student color in the states that are mentioned in the book that Alice traveled through. You will notice that not all the states are mentioned because there are some “gaps”. What other states can your student safely assume Alice passed through?

There are several states mentioned in the story. This would be a good time to practice finding all these states, helping your student on his/her way to eventually learning the location of all the states.

You can grab a copy of the entire — unit study in an easy-to-print file at the end of this post.

How to Get Started with the Alice Ramsey’s Grand Adventure Unit Study

Follow these simple instructions to get started with the Alice Ramsey’s Grand Adventure unit study:

Buy a copy of the book, Alice Ramsey’s Grand Adventure, or grab one from your local library.
Print the Alice Ramsey’s Grand Adventure unit study.
Choose the lessons you want to use with your student (a highlighter works great for this).
Enjoy a week of adventure with Alice Ramsey and your student.