Each announcement can be wriitten on a lrge piece of paper to be posted on a bulletin board for all to read. Students can discuss the implications of such mechanisms and compare to how we receive present day news. Have them add the arrivals of different cultural groups including women and minorities who contributed to build the state. Display the time line in the classroom and use it to teach each important event according to when it happened. You can use it to assign topics that students can write about, etc.
Students can also illustrate each event to make it colorful and stimulating.
Ask students what they learned about the author, experiences, life events, locations, etc. Ask them to defend the authenticity of the autobigrahical information that was presented in the book. An assignment can be that the students write their own factual autobiography. Examples can include dishes, clothing, photos, diaries, letters, magazines, etc. The students can then interview the family member who owns the object and inquire about who owned it first, how it was used, the time period that it represents, any historical significance that it may have.