Primary Source Exemplar: Life on the Move
These objectives are the same for each day's activities in Lesson 1:
Literacy knowledge tasks
Explain events, procedures, ideas, or concepts in a historical text (including what happened and why), based on specific information in the text
Reading tasks
From designated unit sources, students will use reference materials (primary and secondary sources) to research a specific topic (as pairs, whole class, and individually)
Explain what the text says explicitly by referring to details and examples in a text
Explain what the text infers by referring to details and examples in a text
Writing task
Write or speak knowledgeably about the subject using information from two texts on the same topic
Vocabulary Task
Add vocabulary to word wall with a definition from the dictionary, a definition in their own words, and a picture/drawing to support its meaning
Social Studies (C3) tasks
Form questions, research those questions, discuss implications, and organize research to report on the development of transportation over time and its impact on society and the environment (as pairs, whole class, and individually)
Create and use a chronological sequence of related events to compare developments in transportation that happened at the same time (as a class)
Compare different forms of transportation over time and relate them to the forms of transportation available today (as pairs, whole class, and individually)
Explain how societal problems (e.g., food shortages, lack of space for farming, homesteading) and human interaction (e.g., with Native Americans and among themselves) influenced the invention of different forms of transportation (as pairs, whole class, and individually)
Lesson 1, Day 1
Source Set
Anchor Source
Newspaper article about the Wright Brother’s First Flight
Supporting Sources
Poster circulated in Philadelphia in 1839 to discourage the coming of the railroad
Optional sources
Other materials
- Timeline of transportation development for the whole class to add events and use as a visual reference
- Space for a ‘word wall’ on bulletin board or elsewhere, and a system for students to add vocabulary words they feel are important
- Individual timeline graphic organizer for each student (not filled in)
- Graphic organizer for each lesson to record their thoughts throughout the lesson [They will use these completed graphic organizers to complete their final Performance Task]
Procedures
1. Introduce Lesson
a. Display the primary source photo, Automobile Meets Horse.
Ask students, “What do you think about this picture? First let’s examine what is in the photo.” (as students identify items, write them on chart paper with photo)
Next ask students to try to determine the time that the photo was taken. Ask them what clues are in the picture that might help them? [Help them find the date of the source]
Once they have located the date of the source, place extra photo on the class timeline under the appropriate date and write “Automobile Meets Horse”
Then, have students think about what it meant to people when the car (automobile) was first invented? How did people get from one place to another prior to the automobile? [Walking, wagons, horses, trains, rafts, boats, ships]
b. Display the next primary source "Population Map of 1790"
Give students time to share their ideas and write them below the photo on the chart paper.
Ask students what they notice about where most settlements are in 1790 [close to river/waterways].
Ask student if they have any questions as they make their observations?
Write their questions down on the chart paper.
c. Display Drawing of a Raft.
Ask students to think about what rivers were used for. [They were faster, boats or rafts could carry bigger and heavier loads, more people, easier than going over rocky or muddy ground]. I
If they haven’t thought of rafts as carriers of supplies, ask them, “Were they just used for people?” What else were they used for? [rafts could carry supplies and heavy items, big loads, and more people].
Ask students to share any questions they have and write them on the chart paper.
d. Display the poster about the Philadelphia railroad
Again, ask them to identify what they can learn from the photo. What questions do they have?
Write their questions on the chart paper.
e. Lastly, introduce the anchor article about the Wright Brother’s First Flight.
Read the text aloud as students follow along.
Ask them what they can learn from the newspaper article. What questions do they have?
Add these questions to the chart paper.
Explain to the students that as they go through this unit they will be looking at several forms of transportation and will be trying to answer the essential question.
2. Outline Student Tasks
- Introduce the essential question of the unit: How do our available forms of transportation affect the way we live, where we live, and how we exchange goods and services?
- Explain that as they go through this unit, they will be trying to answer the essential question for each form of transportation they study. Explain that as they go along in the unit, they may find that they have to answer other questions before they can figure out how to answer the essential question. Tell them that you are interested in what they want to know. [the term “goods and services” might also need to be explained to students and added to the word wall if those terms have not been covered yet]
- Introduce the word wall. Explain that as they go along in the unit, students may add new words to the wall. They can add these words as a class, in pairs, or individually.
- Refer back to the class timeline and explain that they will be adding different forms of transportation and historically important events to the timeline as they go through each lesson.
- Have students place several of the primary sources on the timeline, including the drawing of the raft, the automobile meets horse, the Philadelphia Railroad poster, and the Population Map from 1790.
Lesson 1, Day 2: Part A (ELA and Social Studies Lesson on Transcontinental RR)
Source Set
Population and Principal Railways
Transcontinental Railroad – “Shaping America”
Home for Little Wanderers’ Orphan Train
Letter to Abraham Lincoln regarding the Homestead Act
Optional Sources
The exhibition, America on the Move
The History of Transportation in the United States: Ships, Trains, Cars and Planes
Building the Transcontinental Railroad
The Orphan Trains (About the Program)
The Orphan Trains (Teacher’s Guide)
American Experience: The Orphan Trains DVD (PBS)
“The Orphan Train Adventures” by Joan Lowery Nixon
Chinese-American contribution to Transcontinental Railroad
Chinese-American Contribution to Transcontinental Railroad (Photo)
Other materials
- Timeline of transportation development for the whole class to add events and use as a visual reference
- Space for a 'word wall' on bulletin board or elsewhere- and a system for students to add vocabulary words they feel are important
- Individual time-line graphic organizer for each student (not filled in)
- Graphic organizer for each lesson to record their thoughts throughout the lesson [They will use these completed graphic organizers to complete their final Performance Task]
- Library of Congress Primary Analysis Tool for use with each primary source:
http://www.loc.gov/teachers/primary-source-analysis-tool/
Procedures
1. Introduce the lesson
a. Remind students of the essential question for this unit, “How do our available forms of transportation affect the way we live, where we live, and how we exchange goods and services?” Explain that again they are going to explore this question as they look at another form of transportation, the Transcontinental Railroad.
b. Display the primary source, Population Map, 1790
c. Display the primary source, Distribution of Population and Principal Railways.
d. Have students compare the two maps [The former shows the population before the transcontinental railroad, and the latter shows the population after the transcontinental railroad was built]
2. Integrate formative checks
Place the map, Distribution of Population and Principal Railways, in the middle of chart paper.
Ask, “What do you think about this map? Let’s examine it.” (As students identify items, symbols, etc. write them on chart paper with photo)
Next ask students to try and place the time that the map was made. [Help them find the source date]
Ask them to identify what different symbols on the map might mean if they haven’t already.
Once they have located the source date, ask students to identify the similarities and differences between the 1790 map and the new map.
Ask students what questions they have and write them down on the chart.
Place the new map on the class timeline under the appropriate date and write its title [Ask students what you should name it.]
Ask students why they think the transcontinental railroad was built? What problem do they think it was trying to solve?
Give students time to share their ideas and write them below the map on the chart paper: (We think the transcontinental railroad was invented because...)
3. Outline student tasks
- Explain to the students that they will look at some other primary and secondary sources to try and answer the question, “Why was the transcontinental railroad built? and their other questions. They will also be asked to try to identify the pros and cons to having the railroad built.
- Provide guided practice
- Explain to the students that you are going to give each student a copy of a secondary text source
- Write these directions on the board and go over them with the students:
1. Underline or highlight the part of the text that answers these questions: “Why was the transcontinental railroad built? What problem do you think it helped solve?
2. Be ready to meet in small groups to compare and discuss your answers after 10 minutes.
- Distribute text to students,“Shaping America”
After 10 min. put students in small groups (or they may discuss at their tables if your desks are already arranged in groups]. Have students compare what they underlined and discuss what they think the reason(s) was/were for building the transcontinental railroad. Give students 5 min. to discuss and let them know that each group will share their thoughts at the end of 5 min.
After 5 min. ask groups to share out. As they share out, write their responses. As they share out, remind them to refer back to which lines of the text helped them to get their answer(s).
- Lastly, explain that each group will get a different primary or secondary source about the railroad. They will examine the source they get and then will share what it is with the rest of the class with their analysis. They should record their group’s observations and questions on their chart paper as they analyze their source.
Group 1: Effects of the Railroad
Group 2: Children Want Homes
Group 3: Boys on a Train to Texas
Group 4: Home for Little Wanderers' Orphan
Group 5: Letter to Abraham Lincoln regarding the Homestead Act
- Bring the groups back together
Have each group share their analysis of their source as well as their questions. Remind students that each group’s information should be used to understand the bigger picture as a whole much like pieces of a puzzle. [Help the students tie the information together through their discussion.]
Have class discuss each source after each group shares out their information.
Place each chart on different tablesand instruct students that they will fill out their graphic organizer for the transcontinental railroad using the analysis of the sources (as well as their own analysis). Students will have 5 min. at each source to write down their information. Then rotate to next table with new source.
Assessment
Direct students to complete their graphic organizers as they read each source at each table. They may assist each other as they write their information down. [Set a visual timer for the class to monitor themselves and ring a bell or use a clicker to indicate when they should move to the next table].
Closing
When 25 minutes are up, ask students to sit at their desks. Ask if they have any final thoughts for the lesson or “ahas’ they want to share with the class. Allow students to share [a helpful question to prompt discussion is “Does anyone want to add to what [insert student’s name] just said?”].
After students share and revise their notes, remind them to store their graphic organizers in their folders, because they will be referring to them the next day.
Display posters completed by each group around the room to allow students to refer back to them while also giving them the opportunity to write more information down if they didn’t have time to complete their writing.
Lesson 1, Day 3: Part B (ELA/SS – Henry Ford Lesson)
Source Set
“How Henry Ford Made a Man of Me” (initial section of article)
“How Henry Ford Made a Man of Me” (middle section of article)
“Home Henry Ford Made a Man of Me (last section of article)
How the Invention of the Car Changed the World
Optional Sources
First Car Built by Henry Ford: Ford Quadricycle Runabout, 1896
Procedures
1. Introduce the lesson
a. Display the primary source, How Henry Ford Made of Man of Me
Explain to students that they will be analyzing the article with a partner. They will again complete the graphic organizer as they examine the primary source using the Primary Source Analysis Tool from the Library of Congress
b. Encourage them to think of their own questions as they examine the article, but explain that you also want them to answer these four questions:
1. What does the title of the article mean?
2. How did Henry Ford treat his workers?
3. How do you think the way he treated his workers might have been different than other employers?
4. How do you think the way Henry Ford ran his factory changed the way people lived and worked?
c. Have a student place a copy of the article on the class timeline.
2. Integrate formative checks
Allow the students 20 minutes to examine the article and fill in the graphic organizer. Instruct students that they may assist each other, but remind them not to give answers.
After 20 minutes ask the students to show the amount of minutes they need to complete their task. They may put up 1-5 fingers to equal 1-5 more minutes. Allow the students the amount of minutes they need.
When time is up, ask students to share their ‘aha’s as they examined the article: What did they notice? What year was the article written? What questions did they have? Did they find any answers to their questions? Do any words from the article need to go on the word wall?
Next have students share out the answers to the questions you posed at the beginning of the lesson. Ask if any students had different answers.
Ask students how they think Henry Ford’s method for building cars changed the way people lived? How did it affect who could buy a car? What problem do they think Henry Ford was trying to solve by using the assembly line to make cars?
Give students time to share their ideas and write them on the chart paper [We think the Henry Ford used the assembly line to build cars because…]
3. Outline student tasks
- Explain to the students that they are going to watch a video clip [secondary source] about the invention of the car and how Henry Ford impacted society.
- Show the video: about the Model T. Give instructions: As they watch the video clip they should try to listen for information that could help them answer the question, “How did Henry Ford change the way people thought of cars?, as well as to answer their other questions. They should also try to identify the pros and cons using the assembly line to build cars.
- Pass out the Model T advertisement
- Have students do a close read with the advertisement and try to answer the question, “How was Henry Ford persuading people to buy a Model T? Have them come up with their own questions as well and see if other students may be able to answer their questions from examining the advertisement.
4. Provide guided practice
Explain to the students that they are going to watch another short video about the invention of cars and they should note the pros and cons of the invention.
Show the video: How the invention of the car changed the world
Assessment
Direct students to complete their graphic organizers with new information from the video clips. They may assist each other as they write their information down.
Set a visual timer for 10 minutes for the class to monitor themselves and ring a bell, or use a clicker to indicate when they should be ready to share their information with the class.
Closing
- Ask students if they have any final thoughts for the lesson or “ahas’ they want to share.
- Ask students if they have questions about the impact of this form of transportation (the automobile along with the assembly line process) on society. Is it what they expected?
- Are there any more words that should go on the word wall?
- Remind students to store their graphic organizers in their folders, because they will be referring to them the next day.
- Display posters around the room in case students want to refer back to them, or if they didn’t get a chance to write down all the information they wanted to yet.
Lesson 1, Day 4, Part C: The Wright Brothers
Source Set
Anchor Source
Flying Machine Soars Three Miles in Teeth of High Wind Over Sand Hills and Waves on Carolina Coast (anchor text about the first flight)
Supporting Source
The History of Transportation in the United States: Ships, Trains, Cars and Planes (transcript and audio recording)
Procedures
1. Introduce the lesson
a. Distribute the newspaper article about the Wright Brother’s First Flight [anchor text]
b. Ask students to read the title and ask them what they think the article might be about.
c. Next, guide students through a close read of the article and first underline or highlight important information that helps them understand the event (first flight) [Who, what, when, where, why, how?] Give them 5-7 minutes to read and underline/highlight their text
d. Ask student to write questions they have about what they just read [Give them 4-6 minutes to write down a few questions in their notebooks]
e. Instruct students to turn to a partner and share their questions with each other. [Give them 6-10 minutes to do this task]
2. Integrate formative checks
Ask students to share their own questions, or questions they heard from peers regarding the text they just read with the whole class.
List their questions on a chart paper as they ask them. If the question wasn’t asked, help guide them to include the question, “How did the new form of transportation (flight) affect society?” or “How did people react to the knowledge of “The First Flight”?
Ask students, “How can we find out the answers to your questions? [You may need to guide them in understanding that there are other sources they can refer to in order to answer their questions]
3. Provide guided practice
Inform students that you have another source to share with them. In this case, it is an audio recording of a radio broadcast.
Instruct students that as you play the audio recording of the broadcast, you would like them to read along on the transcript and they should underline and highlight information that helps answer some of their questions that really interest them, as well as word or phrases they don’t understand. They should also put a small question mark by each of these words or phrases as they will be rereading this text later for other purposes.
Play the audio recording and pass out the transcript of the History of Transportation in the US
4. Integrate formative checks
After students have listened to the broadcast, have them share some of the text that they underlined or highlighted and their reasoning (what question(s) did it help answer).
Have students list unfamiliar words on the word wall [vocabulary words they highlighted.]
5. Closing
Share expectations of final project that they will be working on and assign them their groups. Explain that they will be expected to give a persuasive presentation for a mock City Council meeting (see Performance Task at the end of this unit for final project procedures)
Explain that they will research specific questions in small groups, or individually (teacher’s discretion according to student needs). Although they will research collaboratively, each student will be responsible for keeping their own notes. After their research is complete, they will organize their information to present their findings to the class.
Differentiation and Supports .
Some texts, such as the article “How Henry Ford Made a Man of Me’ may be read aloud to students with reading difficulties. Have them follow along with the printed article as you read it aloud. This can be completed in a small group while other students are reading it to themselves or their partner.
For ELL students that are NEP (non-English proficient), the article (or text) could be translated into their native language using Google Translate. They should receive the translation and the English version to use. Encourage them to identify English words they recognize, but allow them to translate words they don’t know.
The longer texts may also be broken into parts for small groups to read. Then each group can summarize their part of the article in sequence followed by the class summarizing the entire article once all sections have been summarized. Hearing the discussion and their peers explain the text in their own words will help other students access the text as well. Providing videos and photos throughout this unit also helps students to access the text and gain the critical thinking needed for this unit.