Weekly Online Lesson Online Lesson Archive Grade Level: 5-9 Subject: Social Studies

Tartan Day

On April 6, America (and Canada) celebrated National Tartan Day in recognition of "the major role that Scottish Americans played in the founding of this Nation...and the monumental achievements and invaluable contributions made by Scottish Americans that have led to America's preeminence in the fields of science, technology, medicine, government, politics, economics, architecture, literature, media, and visual and performing arts."

In New York City, Tartan Day was observed through a parade of 10,000 bagpipers and drummers up Sixth Avenue, led by Edinburgh-born actor Sean Connery. Organizers billed it as the largest pipe and drum parade in the world. There were 1,200 participants from Scotland. Others represented 26 countries and all 50 U.S. states.

In this week's online lesson, you will learn about the relatively new and obscure American tradition of Tartan Day, about clans and tartans, and about the unmistakable culture and heritage of Scotland.

Tartan Day

Begin your lesson this week at the Tartan Day web site, produced by Scotland Online. Read the home page, and then click and read About Tartan Day. Canada proclaimed April 6 as Tartan Day in 1991. America followed suit seven years later. Read the resolution and answer the following questions. How many signers of the Declaration of Independence were of Scottish descent? How many governors of the original 13 states were of Scottish ancestry?

Next, click and read The Scottish Influence, which details a few of the many ways in which Scottish culture and tradition has had an influence or been adopted into American culture. Which American cities and towns were named after places in Scotland? Name at least one Scottish sport imported to America. Which Protestant religion did Scottish immigrants bring with them? Describe the Scottish influence on American education and medicine.

Before you leave this site, click Great American Scots and read the brief bios of prominent Americans of Scottish ancestry.

Electric Scotland

To become completely immersed in Scottish culture, visit Electric Scotland. This is an enormous site with far too much information (8,000 pages) to cover in one lesson; however, we'll visit a few highlights and you can explore from there.

Do you have a Scottish name or ancestry? First, click Scottish & Scots Irish Clans and then Histories of Official Clans. If you see your last name, click it and read your clan history; otherwise, click Wallace and read that Clan History. (Sir William Wallace of that clan, popularized by the film Braveheart, was the notable Guardian of Scotland).

Return to the Electric Scotland home page and scroll down to the Scots Language link. Scottish is a form of English, but with a unique vocabulary and pronunciation. Hear some examples by clicking Glossary of Scots Words. Click any word link you see and listen to the pronunciation and short example of usage (with translation). Go back and click Sayings to hear some traditional Scottish sayings. And for a wee bit a' music, click Scottish Songs to listen to. Fortunately, the lyrics are included so you can read along. Unfortunately, they are written exactly the way they're sung.

So far in this lesson, you haven't seen many sights of Scotland. We can solve that now by returning to the home page and clicking Picture Gallery (under Scottish Travel). Choose a particular set, or just begin with Set 1 and view all of the sets using the links at the bottom of each page. What are the most distinctive features of the Scottish landscape?

House of Tartan

A lesson about Scotland would be incomplete without a lesson in tartan, the traditional, colorful Scottish garb with deep clan (family) significance. An excellent site for information and patterns is House of Tartan. Start by clicking Tartan Finder, and then Story at the bottom of the page. Read the excerpt from the book Identifying Tartans. When were tartans established for the clans? Why were tartans banned in 1746? Why was the ban repealed? What is a hunting tartan?

Return to the Tartan Finder page and choose several names from the alphabetical list on the left (or try entering your last name in the Tartan Name search field above). Look up the Wallace tartan, the Royal Stuart, or any of the many Scottish names beginning with M.

Notre Dame Bagpipe Band

Scotland's national instrument, the Bagpipe or in Gaelic "piob-mhor" (the great pipe), is rooted in ancient clan tradition. Of the many Bagpipe sites on the Web, the best for listening is probably the Notre Dame Bagpipe Band. Scroll down past the first Celtic knot divider and click any of the song links to listen. These sound files are MP3 format, so you will need a compatible player installed. Don't miss Scotland the Brave, the Scottish national anthem. Also, listen to Notre Dame Victory March and High Road to Gairloch.

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