Tie to local, national, world events

This part of the unit will not follow the previously written section; it should be integrated into the unit as naturally as possible. The oral histories, artifacts gathered, and field trips to the museum will spark interest in certain periods of history. Once students gain background knowledge on a certain historical period, the class can research the period. Example lessons follow.

Essential Question: What was going on in the state/country/world when our parents/grandparents were growing up?

Lesson 1 - Examining primary sources - Zay Wright's diary

  1. Show Emma's wedding picture from The Search for Emma's Story. Ask students what they notice about the picture. (Facial expressions, clothing, who is sitting/standing...)
  2. Read aloud pages 12-13 from The Search for Emma's Story to illustrate how critically the author looked at that photo. List the questions she asked herself as she analyzed it.
  3. Show an overhead of the 1990 Census (pages 18-19 from The Search for Emma's Story).Give students some time to look at it and jot down ideas in their Learning Log. What kinds of information does this give us? (How many brothers and sisters Emma and Emil had, how old they were, who could read, etc.)
  4. What information could you get from a diary?
  5. Show copies of Zay Wright's diary on January 1, 1911. Have students read this silently. If copies for every student are available, have students put Post-It notes next to interesting statements Zay makes in her diary.
  6. Discuss this as a class - how is she similar to you? Different?
  7. Pass out copies of the Written Document Analysis. Have students analyze the diary entry and identify what parts of U.S. History they could learn about from Zay's entry.
  8. Proceed with a lesson from United States on women's voting rights and/or World War I.

Lesson 2 - Voting rights

  1. In the Harcourt Brace United States book, preview page 334 with students. What is the topic of this section of text? What do you know about voting? How has voting changed in our history? (Write down their ideas.)
  2. Assign students to read page 334.
  3. As students read, they should create a picture timeline (blank, sample) of voting rights from 1787 to present.
  4. Post these when completed and have students describe their pictures.

Lesson 3 - World War I

  1. Ask students to preview pages 559-563 in their United States book. Tell them to look at the pictures, maps, highlighted vocabulary, and subheadings to predict what this section will be about.
  2. Write on the board or on chart paper the students' predictions and "wonderings" about the selected text.
  3. World War I started because of many events, and the war also caused many things to take place. Give students the cause/effect graphic organizer (blank, sample)to complete as they read.
  4. Before letting them go on their own, it may be a good idea to read page 559 together and get them started. The first "cause" box could include a fact about the Lusitania's sinking. Then the arrow points to something that this caused, and so on.
  5. Go over events leading up to WWI and following WWI when students have finished.

The Larry Gnagey books included in the Oral History Kit can be used for any of the social studies topics indicated:

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