Second Grade – History/Culture2.H.1 Understand how various sources provide information about the past.

2.C.1 Understand how various cultures influence communities.Standards Essential

QuestionActivity- planned for one activity per day Resources

2.H.1 Understand how various sourcesprovide information about thepast.

What can we learn about the past from objects?

NOTE: An object of your own should be used as an example before the students bring in their own object and/or examine each other’s objects.

Ask students to bring an object to school from their life. Explain that it should be an object that they think expresses a lot something about them. It can be something that they use every day or something they use only every now and then. It is probably best to discourage them from bringing in something valuable.

Place these items on an empty table for display.

Building teacher background knowledge for unit, from Smithsonian Education site: Essay on “Looking at Artifacts, Thinking About History”

http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/idealabs/ap/essays/looking.htm

Possible questions to consider that facilitate conversations in unit.

What was the occasion?When and where was it made?Did the artifact change over time? What events or conditions might have affected it? What was the early use of the artifact? Or did it commemorate a specific event?

What is the purpose of the artifact?Why was the artifact made? Was there an implicit purpose (hidden agenda)? Who would benefit or be harmed by the artifact? How was the artifact actually used?

Who was the audience?Who were the intended users? Did people outside the intended group use the artifact? How might the users have reacted to the artifact? How did different users interpret the artifact?

Empty table or empty boxes

Unit Vocabulary – artifact, historian, primary source, multiple perspectives (see glossary at the end of unit)

These books are examples that share ideas about the importance of artifacts in understanding history.

The Museum Book: A Guide to Strange and Wonderful Collections by Jan Mark and Richard Holland

What Do Historians Do? Sundance/Newbridge

We Remember Our Past Sundance/Newbridge

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CONTINUOUS WORK In PROGRESS - Revised August 2012

What characteristics give us clues about an object’s age?

Ask students to place their objects in table or in boxes.

Have your students sit in a circle. Pass your object around the circle allowing each student to make one comment about the object’s appearance while it’s in his/her hands. Comments might include ideas about its size, shape, color, texture, etc.

After the object has traveled around the circle and each student has commented, encourage discussion about what the object might have been used for and if we could learn anything about the person or people who used it. This is especially fun if it’s an historical object that the students may not have seen before.

If it’s a personal object your students will be surprised at what they found out about you.Explain to your students that historians use objects to find out information about people who lived in the past. Actually, even small objects left behind can tell you a lot about a person – their background, their type of work, how they dressed, what they did for fun or a hobby, etc.

Today, we have the chance to find out more about our classmates based on the object they brought into class.

Ask each student to pick an object from the table or boxes (not their own) and return to their area. Have students pair/share with a partner. They should discuss the object’s appearance, what it is made of, what it might be used for, and what this possibly says about the person who brought the object into class.

After they have shared with their partners, bring the group back together. Depending on the amount of time you have, each student can share his/her discoveries.

If time allows, let the student(s) guess who the object belongs to after talking about it to the class. They can also guess the reason why the person might have picked the object.Next, allow the student who brought in the object explain to whole group or in small groups, why they chose to bring in the particular object and what the object “says” about him/her.

After they have explained their objects to the class, tell them they just did the

Possible web resource to explore/share with students about understanding history through artifacts.

http://americanhistory.si.edu/onthemove/

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work of historians – interpreting objects.Formative Assessment

Observational - evaluation should be based on student’s understanding of how objects are used by historians to learn about people from the past. This can be based on if the students were able to say something about their classmates from the objects they brought.

Another option is to respond to the following prompt from the first essential question, either in oral or written form, “What can we learn about the past from objects?”

What are some of the ways primary source documents help us understand the past?

Today we will have a chance to do historical research using primary documents. These primary documents will help you learn about a young girl named, Victoria.

Primary source documents are one of the best ways to find out information about people you’ve never met. Primary source documents are written records like government reports, diary or journal entries, and letters and postcards.

Historians use these documents to find information about specific people, places, and events. Primary Document – The Post Card

These online resources are from the Website Tenement Museum. http://www.tenement.org/

Link for Post Card

Discussion questions for Post Card found within the lesson plan document.

Primary Document – Mr. Confino’s Passport Link for Passport

Discussion questions for Mr. Confino’s Passport found within the lesson plan document.

Primary Document – Victoria’s Report Card Link for Report Card

Discussion questions for Report Card found within the lesson plan document.

Primary Document – Family Photograph Link for Family Photograph

Discussion questions for Family Photograph found within the lesson plan document.

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2.H.1.1 Compare various interpretations of the same time period using evidence such as photographs and interviews.

How does understanding different perspectives deepen our understanding of history?

Emphasize to your students that they have just done the work of real historians.

Historians use primary documents and sources in all of their work. They piece together information about a time, place, event, or person based on recorded information.

Primary sources are essential to the work historians do.

Next, ask your students to write about Victoria Confino’s life.Extension Compare Victoria’s life to what they have learned in general about

immigrants from her time period. Things to consider: To what age children are required to attend school? What types of places people immigrated from – rural, urban? How people entered the United States and how the U.S. kept records

of them? What types of barriers immigrants would need to overcome –

language, finding work, finding a place to live?Discuss with your class the idea of oral history and oral history interview. Tell them how historians, when researching events that happened not too far in the past, will often talk to people to see what they remember about a specific event.

Talk about interviews and the different types of interviews, such as interviewing for information on a topic versus interviewing for information about a person.

Discuss what type of interview your students will be conducting. Each student may interview a school leader, community leader, neighbor, or family member.

Discuss what kinds of information they should be looking for in the interview. Discuss possible interview questions. (Publicize this activity for parents and share the list of questions with them on a class website).

Ask students to write two of their own questions and add them to the possible list of questions.

Possible interview questions.

Students write responses/answers to the questions. Parents might need to help their child record the responses.

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2.H.1.1 Use timelines to show sequencing of events.

What are possible events that shape identity?

Students should be prepared to share their findings with their classmates.

What did you learn about the person, the time period, etc. that you did not know prior to the interview?

Students should create a timeline about the individual they interviewed. Dipity is a free digital timeline website. Users can create, share, embed and collaborate on interactive, visually engaging timelines that integrate video, audio, images, text, links, social media, location and timestamps.

Adding major events in that individual’s life with the dates (years are really important).

Timeline – Can be paper or online tool such as Dipity.

Creating a Classroom Rubrichttp://rubistar.4teachers.org/

Students should create a personal timeline about themselves, including major events and the dates (years are important).

Timeline

Students should compare their timeline with their interviewee’s timeline.

Ask students to write their thoughts down as they compare the two timelines. What do they notice?

2.H.1.2 Identify contributions of historical figures (community, state, nation and world) throughvarious genres.

2.C.1.2 Recognize the key historical figures and events that are associated with various cultural traditions.

Students create a timeline about a historical figure and how that individual’s contributions influenced the state, or nation, or world.

Share the list with students of possible historical figures and then let each student choose a person to research. After researching they should create a timeline about the important events in that person’s life and any connections found with cultural traditions.

Remember that historic events can be viewed through the eyes of those who were there, as shown in their art, their writings, their music, and other artifacts.

List of historical figures –

See possible book choices for names at end of unit.

How do we compare information from more than one source?

Include online and print resources (at least 3 different sources) for students to use.

Also various genres such as autobiographies, biographies and some history texts will be helpful.

Students can record their research information on a data bank or graphic organizer or web 2.0 tool.

Generic data bank or graphic organizer i.e., “Read-Draw-Talk-Write” or Web 2.0 tools – i.e., Popplit- http://popplet.com/ , Bubbl.us - https://bubbl.us/

Free App- ITouch/IPad “Popplit Lite”, “Show Me”

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Assessment The class as a whole can organize their information using the web tool – museum box – to showcase their research. Student choice and input is crucial when constructing the museum box and it is a creative way to present their information to the rest of the class.

Museum Box Website - http://museumbox.e2bn.org/index.php

Creating a Classroom Rubrichttp://rubistar.4teachers.org/

Please note many websites require Adobe Acrobat Reader to open documents. Please make sure you have it loaded on your laptop.

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Read-Draw-Talk-WriteTopic: _________________________________________________________________

Complete on your own DURING and AFTER the activity or reading. Complete with a partner AFTER the activity or reading.

My Picture(s) My Partner’s Ideas

Compare your thoughts, notes, and picture(s) in order to write a summary with you partner.

Our Ideas

Vocabulary Word DefinitionRevised August 2012

artifact 1. any object made by human beings, especially with a view to subsequent use. 2. a handmade object, as a tool, or the remains of one, as a shard of pottery, characteristic of an earlier time or cultural stage, especially such an object found at an archaeological excavation. 3. any mass-produced, usually inexpensive object reflecting contemporary society or popular culture: artifacts of the pop rock generation. www.dictionary.com

historian An expert in or student of history, esp. that of a particular period, region, or social phenomenon.www.dictionary.com

primary source Primary sources provide a first-hand account or direct evidence concerning a topic under investigation. They are created by witnesses or recorders who actually experienced the events or conditions being documented. While these sources are often created at the time when the events or conditions are occurring, primary sources may also include autobiographies, memoirs, and oral histories recorded later. Some other examples of primary sources are letters, diaries, maps, drawings, laws, and statutes. DPI Support Doc http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/docs/acre/standards/support-tools/glossary/social.pdf http://www.yale.edu/collections_collaborative/primarysources/primarysources.html http://www.primarysource.org/what-is-a-primary-source http://library.ucsc.edu/help/howto/distinguish-between-primary-and-secondary-sources

multiple perspectives Multiple perspectives, in historical analysis and interpretation, entails viewing history through the lens of many different viewpoints, representations and roles in order to create the most accurate historical narrative that encompasses differing and sometimes heterogeneous points of view. DPI Support Doc http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/docs/acre/standards/support-tools/glossary/social.pdfhttp://www.nchs.ucla.edu/Standards/historical-thinking-standards-1/3.-historical-analysis-and-interpretation

Possible Books to Use for Research:

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Heinemann/Raintree Sundance/Newbridge

Heinemann/Raintree Sundance/Newbridge

Heinemann/Raintree

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Heinemann/Raintree

Heinemann/Raintree

Heinemann/Raintree

Revised August 2012