146 Presidents and American Symbols: Supplemental Guide 9A | Carving Mount Rushmore
Presenting the Read-Aloud 10 minutes
Carving Mount Rushmore
Show image 9A-1: Mount Rushmore
Today I am going to tell you a story about a special monument. It is a
monument of four of the presidents you have been learning about.[Point to the face of each president as he is named.]
Say the names of the four presidents you see on Mount Rushmore
with me: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt,
and Abraham Lincoln.This monument is carved—or cut out of rock—on Mount Rushmore in
the Black Hills of South Dakota.[Point to South Dakota on a U.S. map.]
Show image 9A-4: Doane Robinson and a senator
The idea to carve Mount Rushmore came from a man named Doane
[pronounced Dwayne] Robinson.[Point to Robinson on the right.]
Robinson loved his home state of South Dakota. He loved hearing
stories about South Dakota from long ago. He loved South Dakota so
much that he wanted people from all over America to visit and learn
about his home state.“I know a way to get people to come to South Dakota,” thought
Robinson. “People will come to see a giant statue carved into the
side of one of our big mountains.”Robinson thought the statue should be of well-known people from
South Dakota’s past, such as a Native American chief, a hero from the
Wild West, or famous explorers. He thought it would have to be so big
that people could see it from miles away.Robinson talked to the United States senator from South Dakota
about his idea.[Point to the senator on the left.]
The senator thought it was a wonderful idea.