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In 7th and 8th Grade the students study the different eras of history. The LMS and the Social Studies teacher will collaborate on this project. For each era studied, the LMS and the teacher will pick one topic and use both informational resources for background and historical-fiction for a stronger sense of 'you are there'.
One such era is 1800-1861a time of rapid expansion and a time when transportation (including the
Related Subject Areas: Social Studies – Understanding of History. Related Content Standards: (From McREL National Standards.) LANGUAGE ARTS
Language Arts
HISTORICAL UNDERSTANDING
Standard 2. Understands the historical perspective
Level III (Grades 7-8)
Benchmark 6. Knows different types of primary and secondary sources and the motives, interests, and bias expressed in them (e.g., eyewitness accounts, letters, diaries, artifacts, photos; magazine articles, newspaper accounts, hearsay)
Standard 6. Uses reading skills and strategies to understand and interpret a variety of literary texts
Topic: Literary genres
Level III [Grade 6-8]
Benchmark 2. Knows the defining characteristics of a variety of literary forms and genres (e.g., fiction, nonfiction, myths, poems, fantasies, biographies, autobiographies, science fiction, drama.)
Builder: http://www.informationliteracy.org/builder/269
Fiction and Non-Fiction Resources listed in Builder
This lesson will take place in the library. When the students enter the library, the LMS will have photographs that she took of the Erie Canal in different locations and music playing (‘ Low Bridge ’ and other songs from this era.) The books that the students will look at for this lesson will be out on the table for display. The LMS will ask the students what they know about the Erie Canal and the 1800s. After a brief discussion about their knowledge of this topic, the LMS and the teacher will review the requirements for this project. The students will be introduced to the BuILder program that goes with this lesson which gives a step by step description of the lesson in general, access to websites related to the topic and two bibliographies for this topic. The LMS and the teacher will explain that the students will be creating a presentation and write a reflection at the end of the project.
The LMS will explain that textbooks and informational books can give the facts about a certain historical period or event, such as ‘the Erie Canal was completed in 1825’ etc. These books also sometimes offer opinions (it was the greatest thing in the world, it was a waste of money) but that the students are going to look at the past through some other genres, historical fiction, legends and local history lore, that can often give us a sense of what it would be like to live in this time in a way that other sources can not.
The LMS will pull some of the resources to refer to and talk about how different types of resources give us a different perspective of historical events. The LMS will give an example of a certain event in history (ex: the Civil War) and how someone from the ‘North’ might write a very different account from someone from the ‘South’. The LMS will ask the students to think of other examples in history and how certain factors could influence someone’s perspective of history. The LMS would then ask the students to give examples of how their recording of certain current events might differ and why. The LMS will then turn the discussion back to the Erie Canal . The LMS will read some passages from one or more of the historical fiction works listed in the BuILder to motivate the students to read more about this time and imagine what it would have been like to live then . The LMS will then divide the students in to three groups to continue work on this project. One group will look at the non-fiction books for more facts and information about this topic. A second group will look at the historical fiction, legends, folklore, poems etc. and the third group will use the BuILder program to look at the websites provided. The students will rotate through the three stations for all but the last five - ten minutes of the lesson. Toward the end of the lesson, the LMS and the teacher will remind the students (as stated in the introductory part of the lesson and in the BuILder) that they are going to create their own presentation to represent their understanding of this time period in history and make sure that they are clear about what is required. The LMS will also remind them to think about perspective and how it influences what they are reading and how it would affect their presentation.
The LMS will then give the students a ‘reflection’ hand-out that contains questions to get them thinking about the project along the way. The general nature of the questions would be about different types of literature, perspective, understanding history and how this relates to their presentation. The handout would also ask for student’s feedback about the process including what they liked about the project and what was difficult. The LMS will explain that the student should complete them at the end of the project but be thinking about the questions while they are working on the project.
Students will be encouraged to take out the books for further information and the LMS will exnourage them to access the websites and general information through the BuILder, from school and from home.
· The LMS and the teacher will assess the students understanding of ‘perspective’ based on the class discussion. · The student’s presentation will demonstrate their understanding of life in the 1800s along the · The student’s presentation will also demonstrate their ability to express themselves creatively. · The student’s reflections will further demonstrate their appreciation of different forms of literature, their understanding of 'perspective' in terms of historical events and their comfort level with this sort of project.
