TAHJune 2009

Susan SchemmelEmail: sschemmel@usa.net

http://www.evesun.com/galleries/edition/2007-06-13/railroad%20tracks%202.jpg

Name Susan Schemmel Date June 2009

Subject: Montana History Grade Level 4-8

Lesson Title At the Station NCHE’s History’s Habits of the Mind

Lesson Description:Courses in history, geography, and government should be designed to take students well beyond formal skills of critical thinking, to help them through their own active learning to:

Check all that apply

This is a concluding assessment of a study of the transcontinental railroad. Students will analyze 3 pictures of the golden spike celebration. 2 are photos and 1 is a painting.

The students will compare and contrast the pictures in small groups. They should discuss how the pictures include different people and perspectives. The teacher can direct the discussion by asking questions like: Are these pictures staged? Are certain groups or people included in all the pictures? Are certain groups or people not included in some of the pictures? What is the focus of the picture? Are there any groupings or sections that create their own scene or picture? Is the photographer/artist creating this for a particular audience? Does that affect how the picture is staged?

The students will write compare and contrast essays to share with their group the next day. Some classes could use these as a prewriting for a PowerPoint presentation. The teacher will guide the discussion to include objectivity vs. subjectivity and reality vs. perceived truth.Hopefully the students will be able to see that “Labor: The Celebration of the Meeting of the Central Pacific and Union May 10, 1869” is staged and does not represent the variety of people involved in the completion of the railroad; that “Chinese at Laying Last Rail UPRR” is less staged and includes people missed in ”Labor”; and The Last Spike (1881) by Thomas Hill has a greater representation of the people involved yet is considered more subjective because it is a painting.

Understand the significance of the past to their own lives, both private and public, and to their society.

Distinguish between the important and the inconsequential, to develop the “discriminating memory” needed for a discerning judgment in public and personal life.

Perceive past events and issues as people experienced them at the time, to develop historical empathy as opposed to present-mindedness. ☺

Acquire at the same time a comprehension of diverse cultures and shared humanity. ☺

Understand how things happen and how things change, how human intentions matter, but also how their consequences are shaped by the means of carrying them out, in a tangle of purpose and process.

NCHE’s Vital Themes and NarrativesComprehend the interplay of change and continuity, and avoid assuming that either is somehow more natural, or more to be expected, than the other.

Themes Check all that apply Prepare to live with uncertainties and exasperating, even perilous, unfinished business, realizing that not all problems have solutions.

Civilization, cultural diffusion, and innovation:The evolution of human skills and the understanding of nature and people; the cultural flowering of major civilizations in the arts, literature, and thought.

Grasp the complexity of historical causation, respect particularity, and avoid excessively abstract generalizations.

Human interaction with the environment:The relationship between geography and technology and the effects of each on economic, social, and political developments; The choices made possible, or limited, by climate, resources, and location, and the consequences of such choices.

Appreciate the often tentative nature of judgments about the past, and thereby avoid the temptation to seize upon particular “lessons” of history as a cure for present ills.

Values, beliefs, political ideas, and institutions:The basic principles of influential religions, philosophies and ideologies; The interplay among ideas, moral values, and leadership, especially in the evolution of democratic institutions; The tensions between freedom and security, liberty and equality, diversity and commonality in human affairs.

Recognize the importance of individuals who have made a difference in history, and the significance of personal character for both good and ill.

Conflict and cooperation:The causes of war and the approaches to peace, and the human consequences of both; The relations between domestic affairs and foreign policy; Choices made between international conflict and cooperation, isolation and interdependence.

Appreciate the force of the non-rational, the irrational, and the accidental, in history and human affairs.

Comparative history of major developments:The forces for revolution, reaction, and reform across time; Imperialism, ancient and modern; Comparative instances of slavery and emancipation, feudalism and central government, economic expansion and penury, growth of cities and their characteristics.

Understand the relationship between geography and history as a matrix of time and place, and as a context for events.

Patterns of social and political interaction:Change and continuity of class, ethnic, racial, and gender structure and relations; Migration, immigration, forces for social mobility and immobility; the conditions and aspirations of common people, and those of elites, and their effects upon political power and institutions.

☺ Read widely and critically in order to recognize the difference between fact and conjecture, between evidence and assertion, and thereby frame useful questions

Habits Lesson Planner

From Transcontinental Railroad Unit• http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/tcrr/timeline/index.html Timeline• http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/treasures_of_congress/text/page15_text.html Basic info• http://history.howstuffworks.com/american-history/railroad-expansion2.htm more detailed info• http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/tcrr/tguide/index.html Unit ideas and links• http://cprr.org/Museum/index.html great pictures and links, definite bias in some articles• http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/consrv:@field%28DOCID+@lit%28amrvgvg32div9%29%29 Test of book

written by Samuel Bowles about the railroad - pages 45-74 discuss the railroad in general, 400-401 detail Chinese workers on railroad.

• http://www.learningthroughhistory.com/newsletter/archives/42005.php Unit Plan From learning Through History • http://www.tcrr.com/ Basic review of planning and building the railroad• http://www.shmoop.com/intro/history/us/transcontinental-railroad.html Good links • http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/goldenspike.htm Great excerpt from eyewitness report• http://www.understandingrace.com/history/society/trans_railroad_west_indian_wars.html Discusses effects of race on the

railroad• http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/historyonline/china1.cfm info specifically about Chinese workers• http://www.umesd.k12.or.us/tcr_irish web quest on Irish Americans and the railroad

• http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1162286/the_transcontinental_railroad_conflict.html?cat=37 article about effect on Native Americans

• http://www.umsl.edu/~umslhistory/PsiPsi/8Dundon%20on%20Transcontinental%20Railroad.pdf essay by high school student about race and the railroad

Not all these sites are historical or educational references. Students and teachers should analyze the value and slant of the information found on these sites.

Basic lesson Plan

• Use PowerPoint presentation to introduce assignment and guide discussions.

• Students discuss the pictures in small groups.

• 20 minutes before the class ends have whole class discussion still using the PowerPoint.

• Assign a compare/contrast essay.

Day 1

Basic lesson Plan

• Use PowerPoint presentation to introduce assignment for day 2.

• Students read and discuss their essays in small groups.

• After 20 minutes the group project will be introduced using the PowerPoint

• Students will work on project for 1-3 days.

Day 2

1 2 3 4

OrganizationSequence of information is

difficult to follow.

Reader has difficulty following work because student jumps around.

Student presents information in logical

sequence which reader can follow.

Information in logical, interesting sequence

which reader can follow.

Content KnowledgeStudent does not have grasp of

information; student cannot answer questions about subject.

Student is uncomfortable with content and is able to

demonstrate basic concepts.

Student is at ease with content, but fails to

elaborate.

Student demonstrates full knowledge (more than

required).

Grammar and SpellingWork has four or more spelling

errors and/or grammatical errors.

Presentation has three misspellings and/or grammatical errors.

Presentation has no more than two misspellings

and/or grammatical errors.

Presentation has no misspellings or

grammatical errors.

Neatness Work is Illegible.Work has three or four areas

that are sloppy. Work has one or two areas

that are sloppy. Work is neatly done.

Simple Written Work Rubric

Analyzing a Primary Source Rubric   Exemplary Adequate Minimal Attempted

Analysis of Document

Offers in-depth analysis and interpretation of the song; distinguishes between fact and opinion; compares and contrasts author's point of view with views of others

Offers accurate analysis of the song

Demonstrates only a minimal understanding of the song

Reiterates one or two facts from the document but does not offer any analysis or interpretation of the song

Knowledge of Historical Context

Relates primary source to specific historical context in which it was written

Uses previous general historical knowledge to examine issues included in document

Limited use of previous historical knowledge without complete accuracy

Barely indicates any previous historical knowledge

Identification of Key Issues/Main Points

Identifies the key issues and main points included in the primary source; shows understanding of author's goal(s)

Identifies most but not all of the key issues and main points in the primary source

Describes in general terms one issue or concept included in the primary source

Deals only briefly and vaguely with the key issues and main points in the document

Identification of Literary Devices

Analyzes author's use of literary devices such as repetition, irony, analogy, and sarcasm

Mentions author's use of literary devices but does not develop fully

Does not discuss author's use of literary devices

Does not discuss author's use of literary devices

Understanding of Audience

Shows strong understanding of author's audience

Shows some understanding of author's audience

Shows little understanding of author's audience

Shows no understanding of author's audience

For the Students

Day 1

The Transcontinental Railroad Completed

Labor: The Celebration of the Meeting of the Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads at Promontory Point, Utah, May 10, 1869.

A. J. Russell, “Chinese at Laying Last Rail UPRR,” stereoview

The Last Spike (1881) by Thomas Hill

Another Possible Picture

Photographer Alfred Hart

The Assignment part 1

• Get into groups

• Get one copy of each print per group

• Discuss the pictures– How are they alike?– Is there a common theme?– How are they different?

Theme and Habits of the Mind

Theme: Patterns of social and political interaction:Change and continuity of class, ethnic, racial, and gender structure and relations; Migration, immigration, forces for social mobility and immobility; the conditions and aspirations of common people, and those of elites, and their effects upon political power and institutions.

Habits of the Mind:Perceive past events and issues as people experienced them at the time, to develop historical empathy as opposed to present-mindedness. Acquire at the same time a comprehension of diverse cultures and shared humanity.

Questions

Are these pictures staged?

Are certain groups or people included in all the pictures?

Are certain groups or people not included in some of the pictures?

What is the focus of the picture?

Are there any groupings or sections that create their own scene or picture?

Is the photographer/artist creating this for a particular audience?Does that affect how the picture is staged?

Review Discussion

Perceive past events and issues as people experienced them at the time, to develop historical empathy as opposed to present-mindedness. Acquire at the same time a comprehension of diverse cultures and shared humanity.

What do these pictures have to do with our Habit?

The Last Spike (1881) by Thomas Hill

A. J. Russell, “Chinese at Laying Last Rail UPRR,” stereoview

Labor: The Celebration of the Meeting of the Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads at Promontory Point, Utah, May 10, 1869.

The Assignment part 2

• Get a copy of the prints for yourself

• Write a compare and contrast essay with a focus on Habits of the Mind

• Tomorrow, you will discuss your essays with your group then prepare a presentation about these three pictures.

The Assignment part 3

• Take turns reading your essays to your group

• Discuss the essays. How are they alike? Can you find a common theme or idea among all the essays.

• Be prepared to share at least one common idea with the class.

The Assignment part 4

• Create a presentation discussing the three pictures.

• You can do a group compare and contrast of the three

• Or you can use the pictures as support for an expansion of the theme your group cam up with.

Presentations

• Presentations can be computerized or low tech.

• If you use the computer, I recommend using Smart Notebook to create a circle on the part of the picture you want to focus on.

• The presentation should be at least 5 minutes and no more than 30 minutes.