Grades 3-5: Lesson Plans and Teacher Topics
Resource Guide
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
 HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE
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UNITS
UNIT 1: NATIVE AMERICANS
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Great Serpent Mound: Field Trip- Karen Smith
Why Were They Here? Exploring the Mound Cultures (Great Serpent Mound) Steve Coleman
What’s in the Dirt and Mounds? Fort Ancient Field Trip- Steve Coleman
Student Pots as Artifacts of Cultural Practices- Steve Coleman
Fort Ancient- Kristin Sims
Fort Ancient- Leslie Lessig
Fort Ancient- Cindy Centers
Native Peoples and the Environment of the Ohio Valley- Karen Brassfield
Logan’s Lament- Karen Smith
American Indians- Karen Brassfield
Prehistoric Native Americans- Valerie Scott
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UNIT 2: EXPLORATION, COLONIZATION, REVOLUTION 26
Explorers- Cindy Centers
Colonial America- Cindy Centers
Stamp Act: Taxation Without Representation- Valerie Isasc
Who Was Paul Revere?- Steve Coleman
Declaration of Independence- Karen Brassfield
Declaration of Independence- Steve Coleman
Washington Crossing the Delaware- Steve Coleman
A Biography of George Washington- Cindy Centers
General George Washington, Military Leader- recommended by Rachel Robinson
Washington Monument- Valerie Isaac
Revolutionary War Rock Lyrics- Holly Templeton
UNIT 3: GOVERNMENT AND CITIZENSHIP
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Documents that Guide the U.S.- Steve Coleman
The Three Branches of Government- Cindy Centers
Government Sequencing- Valerie Isaac
Article V and Amendments XIII, XIV, and XV- Steve Coleman
UNIT 4: SLAVERY
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Slavery and the Middle Passage- Karen Brassfield
African-American Slavery- Michelle Puckett
From Slave Ship to Freedom Road by Julius Lester- Holly Templeton
Harriet Beecher Stowe House: Field Trip- Michelle Puckett
The Harriet Beecher Stowe House- Anna Bowman
Harriet Beecher Stowe House: Field Trip- Rachel Robinson
Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Fiction- Leslie Lessig
Ohio’s Underground Railroad- Karen Brassfield
Heroes of Ripley Ohio- Cheryl Crawford
John Rankin House: Field Trip- Kristin Sims
Racism: The Rankin House- Michelle Puckett
The Rankin House and Henry’s Freedom Box- Holly Templeton
Beacons and Shadows: Ripley, Ohio’s Underground Railroad- Steve Coleman
UNIT 5: CIVIL WAR AND RECONSTRUCTION
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You Are There: America on the Brink! (Pre-1850)- Julieanne Phillips
A Letter to Our President- Leslie Lessig
Emancipation Proclamation- Recommended by Rachel Robinson
Touring Gettysburg- Karen Smith
Gettysburg Address- Karen Brassfield
Gettysburg Address Myths- Holly Templeton
Ulysses S. Grant Home and School: Field Trip- Cheryl Crawford
Ulysses S Grant Schoolhouse- Karen Smith
Comparing Two Union Soldier’s Civil War Letters- Valerie Scott
Compare and Contrast Women’s Ideas of Helping During the Civil War- Valerie
Scott
Education of “Plain Folk” in 1863- Valerie Scott
Freedom of the Press, Freedom of Speech and President Lincoln- Leslie Lessig
Chasing Lincoln’s Killer- Michelle Puckett
Creating a Lincoln Museum Display- Leslie Lessig
Different Times: The Civil War and Today- Valerie Scott
Reconstruction Era Activities- Julieanne Phillips
"Freedmen" Cowboys - Riding for Freedom- Steve Coleman
UNIT 6: IMMIGRATION
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Immigration: The Memory Coat, by Elvira Woodruff - Holly Templeton
Immigration Karen Brassfield
Immigration: Cincinnati Museum Center -Michelle Puckett
Bookmark Factory Lesson -Valerie Scott
UNIT 7: LOCAL HISTORY AND OHIO HISTORY
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Transportation and the Growth of Cincinnati- Cincinnati Museum Center- Valerie
Scott
Cincinnati History Museum Scavenger Hunt- Kristine Bruns
Field Trip to the Cincinnati Museum Center- Leslie Lessig
Where’s Ohio? Cincinnati Museum Center- Rachel Robinson
Heroes of Ohio by author Rick Sowash- Kristine Burns
Canals, Roads, Trains: The History of Transportation in Ohio- Julieanne Phillips
Our Ohio: Exploring Our Heritage- ThinkTV
Living Timeline: Events in Ohio History- Julieanne Phillips
One Room School Houses in Ohio- Julieanne Phillips
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Map of Ohio- Valerie Scott
Ohio’s Amazing Race- Julieanne Phillips
UNIT 8: ECONOMICS, SOCIAL STUDIES SKILLS
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Economic Market System- Anna Bowman
A Free Economy- Kristine Bruns
Ox-Cart Man by Barbara Cooney Vocabulary- Kristin Sims
Analyzing Historical Documents- Steve Coleman
History Timelines- Julieanne Phillips
Political Cartoons- Valerie Isaac
Incorporating Art/Architecture- Jennifer Pearson Yamashiro
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Major funding for this Lesson Plans and Teacher Topics Resource Guide comes courtesy of the
Teaching American History grant program America's Journey: Ever-Growing Freedom in
conjunction with Fairfield, Middletown, and Princeton Public Schools. Teaching American
History is funded by the United States Department of Education.
Project Administrative Director, Miami University Hamilton
Johanna Moyer, Ph.D.
Project Academic Directors, Miami University Hamilton
Robert Meckley, Ph.D.
George S. Vascik, Ph.D.
Editor and Project Pedagogical Specialist
Julieanne Phillips, Ph.D.
Project Support
LaDonna Hoskins
School Districts Coordinators
Tim Dugan, Director of School Improvement, Princeton City Schools (Fiscal Agent)
William (Bill) Miller, Secondary Curriculum Coordinator, Fairfield City Schools
Lisa Rowland, Curricular Consultant for Middletown City Schools
Contributors
Fairfield Schools
Middletown Schools
Karen Brassfield
Cheryl Crawford
Valerie Isaac
Kristin Sims
Karen Smith
Holly Templeton
Anna Bowman
Cindy Centers
Michelle Puckett
Rachel Robinson
Princeton Schools
Kristine Bruns
Steve Coleman
Valerie Scott
Leslie Lessig
Valerie Scott
Miami University Hamilton
Jennifer Pearson Yamashiro, Ph.D
Julieanne Phillips, Ph.D.
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NOTES ON USING THIS RESOURCE GUIDE
Lesson Plans, Teacher Topics, and Content Resource Lists: Included in this guide are three types
of teaching resources. The Lesson Plans are complete lessons which typically include Learning
Objectives, Standards, Resource/Materials, Core Activities, and Assessment. Teacher Topics are short
teaching activities or ideas that teachers have successfully used in their classrooms. Content Resource
Lists are collections of lessons, activities, websites and resources on various topics.
Ohio Academic Content Standards: Most of the lessons are aligned to the Ohio Academic Content
Standards for Social Studies either the 2002 version or the 2010 Revised Academic Content Standards
and Model Curriculum Development
http://www.ode.state.oh.us/GD/Templates/Pages/ODE/ODEPrimary.aspx?page=2&TopicRelationID=
1706 The K-8 Crosswalk document is useful to convert the 2002 Standards to the 2010 Standards
which are found under “Transition Tools” “Social Studies K-8 Crosswalk.”
Online Version: Grades 3-5: Lesson Plans and Teacher Topics Resource Guide can also be found
online at the Teaching American History Ever Growing Freedom website
http://www.ham.muohio.edu/tah4/
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UNIT 1: NATIVE AMERICANS
Great Serpent Mound: Field Trip
Karen Smith
Grade 4
Lesson Objectives: Students will study the Great Serpent Mound, take a field trip to the Mound, and
discuss and create a mound from modeling clay.
Standards: People in Societies: 1. Describe the cultural practices and products of various groups who
have settled in Ohio over time. Social Studies Methods: 1. Use primary and secondary sources to
answer questions about Ohio history.
Resources: Great Serpent Mound photos, Mounds of Earth and Shell by Bonnie Shemie
Core Activities: 1. Show students pictures of the Great Serpent Mound. They must journal in their
notebooks possible answers to the following questions: 1. Who built it and when? 2. How was it built?
3. What was the purpose for building it? B. Students will then share with their teammates and then as
a class and record students' answers on chart paper. 2. a. Introduce mound builders to the students by
reading the book Mounds of Earth and Shell by Bonnie Shemie. b. Have a class discussion about why
the mound builders built their mounds, how they were built, and the meaning behind the various
shapes. 3. a. Students will take a field trip and tour the Great Serpent Mound. b. In small groups of 4-6
students will sketch as much of the serpent as they can from the observation tower. c. Students will
then tour the museum to observe and sketch the dioramas showing the pattern of bodies the Ft. Ancient
People used to bury their dead in the mound. 4. a. Students will refer back to the chart paper of their
initial ideas made on Day 1. They will discuss what they had been correct about and what new
information they learned. b. Working in groups of 4-5, students will begin to create their own burial
mound. The mound must take the shape of an animal (not a serpent) or geometric shape. The students
must decide on and create a pattern of how to position their dead to create the shape of mound they
want. c. Students will draw their chosen shape with the placement of their dead inside. 5. a. Working
together, students will create their mound out of modeling clay. They will use lima beans to present
their dead. b. Students will share their mounds with the class.
Assessment: Students will complete an Alike and Different chart comparing the Great Serpent Mound
to their mound.
Steve Coleman
Grades 4-5
Learning Objectives: Students will explore the Mound Cultures using a research project.
Teacher Prep: Grade 4 social studies classes spend a bit of time exploring the ancient Ohio cultures in
context of cultural practices, settlement, and archaeological and historical examinations. The
pathfinder in this lesson can be used to augment that study. Grade 5 can use this lesson to expand upon
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their studies from fourth grade. Students will discover that mound building cultures ranged far wider
than Ohio and they will construct reasons for this through their study of the provided resources.
Standards: Grade 4: History: 2. Describe the earliest settlements in Ohio including those of
prehistoric peoples. Geography: 3. Describe the location of Ohio relative to other states and
countries. 4. Use maps to identify the location of major physical and human features of Ohio including
Lake Erie, Rivers, Plains, and the Appalachian Plateau. 5. Describe and compare the landforms,
climates, population, vegetation and economic characteristics of places and regions in Ohio. Social
Studies Methods: 4. Describe how archaeologists and historians study and interpret the past. 8.
Formulate a question to focus research. 10. Use a problem-solving/decision-making process which
includes: a. Identifying a problem; b. Gathering information. Grade 5: History: Create time lines and
identify possible relationships between events. 2. Explain how American Indians settled the continent
and why different nations of Indians interacted with their environment in different ways. Geography:
1. Use coordinates of latitude and longitude to determine the absolute location of points in North
America. 6. Use distribution maps to describe the patterns of renewable, nonrenewable and low
resources in North America including: forests; running water. Social Studies Methods: 5. Compare
points of agreement and disagreement among sources. 6. Draw inferences from relevant information.
7. Organize key ideas by taking notes that paraphrase or summarize. 9. Use a problemsolving/decision-making process which includes: identifying a problem; gathering information; listing
and considering options.
Resources: Computers, Map of Ohio, Venn diagram, Serpent Mound and mound culture pathfinder.
Provided pathfinder of web sites. Great Serpent Mound tourist site http://greatserpentmound.com/
Ohio Historical Society http://ohsweb.ohiohistory.org/places/sw16/ Time line for earliest people living
in North America
http://www.ambrosevideo.com/resources/documents/American%20Indian%20Timeline%20for%20A
%20History%20of%20American%20Indian%20Achievement.pdf Time line for mound cultures
http://www.eiu.edu/~history/ha/exhibits/2006/Egallerytimeline.htm Frederic Ward Putnam and Great
Serpent Mound http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serpent_Mound Edwin Davis and Ephraim Squier wrote
Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley in 1848 (The Smithsonian Institute’s first publication)
explores Ohio mounds http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Monuments_of_the_Mississippi_Valley
Earthworks of Eastern North America including Mound City near Chillicothe, Ohio
http://www.jqjacobs.net/archaeo/liberty.html Hopewell Culture investigation National Park Service
Maps and information about the Hopewell culture. http://www.nps.gov/hocu/index.htm Hopewell
Culture National Historical Park, lcated near Great Serpent Mound in Ross County, Ohio.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hopewell_Culture_National_Historical_Park Ohio Historical Society’s
site investigating prehistoric sites and Mound City
http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=2755 Archaeological Atlas of Ohio description and
location of prehistoric sites including mound cultures. This includes a discussion of where prehistory
cultures would settle in Ohio. http://www.gustavslibrary.com/ohioatlas.htm Map and report on mound
cultures in North America. http://www.eriemoundbuilders.com/moundbuilders_timeline/
Mississippian period and late prehistoric period of mound cultures
http://www.nps.gov/history/seac/misslate.htm Tallige Cherokee site has a native American
interpretation of mound cultures http://www.tallige.com/Prehistoric.htm Iowa State Archaeologist site
from University of Iowa describes how climate may have influenced settlement patterns among mound
cultures http://www.uiowa.edu/~osa/learn/prehistoric/overview.htm Mound building societies were
found in Arkansas, also. This site provided by The Central Arkansas Library System provides
information about mound culture settlement in this part of North America.
http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=548 River basins of
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North America are mapped on this site
http://waterwiki.net/index.php/Map:_Water_Basins_of_North_America Ohio Department of Natural
Resources – Statewide Aquifer Mapping Project shows sources of water in Ohio
http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/water/Home/samp/default/tabid/4218/Default.aspx US government sites for
understanding water distribution in US http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/
http://wdr.water.usgs.gov/nwisgmap/?state=oh http://www.mapsofworld.com/usa/usa-river-map.html
Forest distribution currently and historically in Ohio
http://ohiodnr.com/forestry/Home/history/HistoryofOhioStateForests/tabid/5226/Default.aspx
OhioLINK site for information on Archaeological Atlas of Ohio
http://drc.ohiolink.edu/handle/2374.OX/19799 Mound City, Chillicothe Ohio Site of Center for Land
Use Interpretation http://ludb.clui.org/ex/i/OH0699/
Core Activities: Students will pick three pictures from the provided link: Pictures of mound culture
sites and artifacts
http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&q=north%20american%20mound%20cultures&rlz=1R2GGIT_
en&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi
1. Students choose three web sites from the pathfinder to investigate.
2. Students will create a map that locates one or more of the settlement regions of these early North
American cultures.
3. Students will report on the time this culture is reported to exist and will list two pieces of
information that identifies this culture.
4. Students will complete information on their grids about one or more of these early cultures.
5. Students will place their cultures on the class time line. Students will locate their cultures on the
map of northern America and share their findings and discuss the following questions:
a. Which cultures lived in the same area? Did these cultures live together?
b. Why were the cultures centered in the eastern parts of North America? What happened to previous
cultures?
c. Pick two cultures that have been shared and complete the Venn diagram to describe how they were
alike and how they were different.
Assessment: Student completes attached performance rubric.
http://drb.lifestreamcenter.net/Lessons/RagingWaters/rubric.htm
___________________________________________________________________________________
What’s in the Dirt and Mounds?: Fort Ancient Field Trip
Steve Coleman
Grade 4
Learning Objectives: Students will perform several activities with a field trip to Fort Ancient.
Standards: Social Studies Methods: 4. Describe how archaeologists and historians study and
interpret the past.
Resources: Vocabulary sheet, Pre- Assessment, Student Activity sheet with 2 activities, Summative
Assessment
Vocabulary: ACE, Adena, archaeologist, Archaic, artifact, BCE, burial (cremation),
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burial (extended), burial (flexed), campfire, culture, excavate, extinct, flint, Fort Ancient, gatherer,
historic, Hopewell, hunter, Ice Age, Late Prehistoric, migrate, mound , Earthworks, nomad, Paleo, pipe
stone, prehistoric, radiocarbon dating, sacred,
terrain, timeline, village site, Woodland.
Pre Assessment- fill in the blanks
1. The two Woodland cultures were the _______________________ and the
_________________________.
2. An ______________________ is a scientist who studies cultures from very long ago.
3. It is said that people ____________________________when they move to another place.
4. If something happened before people were leaving a written record it happened in
_____________________________times.
5. An object or place is __________________________ if it is worthy of respect or reverence.
6. In the time before stores, if a person did not grow their own food they had to
________________________ or ___________________ their food.
7. Name some purposes for which archaeologists think the earthworks were built.
________________________ _______________________________________________
8. The reason we cannot find all the earthworks that were once built in Ohio is because they were
destroyed by _____________________ and ____________________ expansion.
9. Name three clues that an archaeologist might find when digging in an area that would make
him think he was around an old village site. __________________ ____________________
10. The cultures archaeologists refer to as builders of the earthworks are called the
________________________________and____________________________.
11. A manmade heap of earth is called a ____________________________.
12. What is the culture that used only stone tools called?
_________________________________________________________.
Activity Sheet- (groups of 3 students working together)
Complete the following two activities.
Activity ONE is to be completed in the exhibit portion of the museum.
Activity TWO is to be completed outside the immediate museum area.
Activity 1: As you enter the museum there is a time line underneath the first exhibit which
contains native peoples in heavy winter clothing. You will return to this time line after you have
viewed the other exhibits in the museum.
1. Go through the museum and list the names of the four cultures that followed the oldest culture
(Paleo Indians) up to the time of the “historic” natives.
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2. List two CLUES archaeologists have used to show how each culture was different from the
others.
3. List the years that each culture existed in this part of Ohio.
Native culture name
A.
B.
C.
D.
Clue #1
Clue #2
Years
4. Return to the time line at the beginning of the museum. List two things that were happening
in the rest of the world while each of the above cultures lived in this part of Ohio.
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
____________
Activity 2: Think like an archaeologist.
Outside of the museum there are three large displays of maps of the mounds in the Fort Ancient
park area. You have seen displays inside the museum, and have seen what archaeologists think
about different tools, seeds, and plants that have been discovered in various excavations. Now it is
time for you to think like an archaeologist.
1. Get familiar with the maps. The Little Miami River is near this site.
2. Visit the excavation site in the field next to the museum.
3. If there are workers at the site, ask them two questions about what they are finding.
4. Discuss with your partners the purpose the earthen mounds may have been built? Write 3
purposes that you and your partners think the natives had for building these mounds.
5. Write one reason for each of your opinions.
Summative Assessment
There are many students who do not get the opportunity to come to a park and museum like Fort
Ancient. The mounds at this park are being protected and carefully examined in order to help your
culture understand how these prehistoric cultures lived. You have visited the museum, learned some
vocabulary, and tried to apply what you’ve seen to an explanation about the purpose of these mounds.
Now you must write a letter to a fourth grade student who has never been to Ft. Ancient, and explain
what you think the mounds represent. Tell the student what you have seen. Tell the student what you
have learned. Finally, in your letter, tell the student your opinions about the purpose of these mounds.
In your letter you must use the names of at least two of the prehistoric native cultures that have lived in
this area. Also, you must use six of the vocabulary words in your letter. Underline the vocabulary
words and the names of the cultures that you use in your letter.
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Student Pots as Artifacts of Cultural Practices
Steve Coleman
Grade 4
Learning Objectives: Students review cultural practices by using clay pots to recreate an
archaeological dig.
Standards: People in Societies: 1. Describe the cultural practices and products of the various groups
who have settled in Ohio over time. Social Studies Methods: 4. Describe how archaeologists and
historians study and interpret the past. Student will demonstrate knowledge of cultural practices and
products of one group that has settled in Ohio over time.
Resources: Terra cotta flower pots, 8 ½” x 11” box lids (mania file folder lids) filled with dirt,
Markers, Paints, Grid paper, Resource books including textbooks.
Core Activities: 1. Students choose a group to review (Paleo, Archaic, Woodland, Historic Indians,
African-American, European (specific country), Amish, Appalachian, or more recent group. 2. Student
uses information on natural resources, tools, housing, and daily life to draw five scenes on the pot
reflecting their understandings. After pots are decorated, students write an explanation of the scenes
on the pots. 3. Teacher takes pots overnight, smashes them, buries one in each box lid and returns it
next day. 4. Students dig in the lid, record the location of each piece, and reconstruct the smashed pot.
Assessment: 4 point rubric. 4 points- Student’s written explanation of the scenes on the pot reflects
understanding of cultural practices and products of the chosen group. Student’s grid is numbered
shows where the pieces of the pot were located. 3 points- Student shows understanding of one of the
two activities and partial understanding of the other activity. 2 points- Student makes partial
understanding of the cultural group’s practices and tools and student has attempted to use the grid. 1
point- Student has made a partial explanation of the cultural practices of the group. 0 points- Student
shows no understanding of the assigned tasks.
Fort Ancient
Kristin Sims
Grade 5
Learning Objective: Students will examine through various mediums how the native people used the
environment in the Ohio Valley
Standards: History: Explain how American Indians settled the continent and why different nations of
Indians interacted with their environment in different ways.
Resources: KWL chart, Pictures of Fort Ancient artifacts and native people, Scavenger hunt fill- inthe- blank handout, Assessment questions
Core Activities: The students will complete the K and W of the KWL chart prior to the field trip to
show what they Know and Want to Know about the American Indians that they will learn about on the
Fort Ancient field trip. (Since I teach 5th grade, we don’t specifically address only native people in the
Ohio Valley, we look at native people who settled the entire North American continent. The students
will have already learned about native Ohio people in 4th grade, a short review will be done before the
field trip.) To have students identify the archaeological aspects of Fort Ancient, the students will have
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to identify various artifacts used by the native people. The students will be given pictures of the
artifacts and pictures of the people who used them and will then have to match those artifacts with the
people during each time period mentioned at Fort Ancient. This will show students tools and such that
the native people used to adapt to their environment. The students will interact with the exhibits in the
museum at Fort Ancient. The activity will be a scavenger hunt. The students will have a fill in the
blank worksheet where they have to hunt to find answers to clues given to them on the scavenger
handout. This could be certain dates that a particular Native American group lived, or questions about
foods they ate. The object is to get the students reading the information posted near each exhibit in the
museum.
Assessment: The assessment will be done in two ways. One way is for students to complete their
KWL chart from before the field trip. The students will fill in what they learned from their trip to Fort
Ancient. The second assessment is an essay. The students must answer the following question in two to
three paragraphs. “How did the native people interact with their environment in the Ohio Valley? You
must give two to three specific examples from our field trip and explain those examples. “
Fort Ancient
Leslie Lessig
Grade 5
Learning Objectives: Students will visit Fort Ancient and complete several activities.
Standards: History: Settlement: Explain how American Indians settled the continent and why
different nations of Indians interacted with their environment in different ways. Social Studies
Methods: Obtaining Information: Differentiate between primary and secondary sources.
Resources: limestone rocks, www.loc.gov, InfoOhio web
Vocabulary: archaeologist, artifacts, infer, carbon dating, prehistoric, mounds, ceremony
Core Activities: Hook-Using a K-W-L chart and ask students to identify what they already know and
what they wonder about the Native People of the Oregonia area. (Give them a word bank to use
including terms like Adena, Hopewell, Prehistoric, Mound Builders etc.)( Forward ideas from the
Wonder column to the education coordinator at Fort Ancient so that they might be developed into the
presentation). If time allows, give them the final assessment prior to the trip (or to take with them on
the trip). In this manner, they can see what types of information the State of Ohio is expecting them to
know in May, and can accordingly pay particularly close attention to the information that would help
them with this content.
Archaeological Aspects of Fort Ancient Student Activity: In the classroom before the field trip, give
the students the attached worksheet on Primary vs. Secondary Sources. Have a class discussion on how
we know what happened at given points in history. Pass around limestone rocks and ask the students if
these rocks are a primary or a secondary source. (Give them time in small groups to make a decision.)
Discuss where the rocks came from, and how the rocks where used according to the archaeologists at
Fort Ancient. Define vocabulary terms. Divide the class into groups of 3 or 4. Give each group a small
collection of items. (Items to include in the collection could include a deer bone fishing hook, corn,
squash, and bean seeds, mica, conch shells, arrowheads, pelts, peace pipes, soil, etc.) Make a list of
things that they know about the items in the collection. Ask them to make a list of things that they
could infer from the collection. Ask students if they now have new wonders to add to their K-W-L
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chart. Discuss how archaeologists use collections of artifacts to build a knowledge base about people
from history. After the field trip, ask the students to return to their groups, and to go back through the
artifacts. Ask them to consider what they know now about these items that they did not know before
the trip. (for example, the deer bone fishing hook was made from deer bone, and can support over 40
pounds of weight without breaking, and what fish around here could weigh that much?)
Museum Exhibit Student Activity: As the students move through the museum, have them get a sense
of the differences between the periods of history and how the Native’s culture had changed in the
different periods. Ask the curator that after information about each period is given, give students some
time to reflect before moving on to the next part of the museum. As the students reflect, ask that they
complete an artifact of note worksheet. This would encourage quality note taking, and involve the
students in asking intelligent questions.
Assessment: For their portfolio, ask the students to complete at least 4 of the 6 following items.
Special education students might be asked for fewer items, those in accelerated programs may be asked
for more. All students could choose to do more, and if they were truly enthusiastic, allow them to
propose a substitution activity of comparable challenge. (I once had a student ask to do an I-movie in
place of a paper and it was outstanding.) Written Test: On this test, include OAT questions relating to
the unit from previous years’ released tests. Put the additional teacher created test questions into OAT
format so that the students continue to become more familiar with the format, and how to get the most
points on short answer (2 point) and extended response (4 point) questions. Grade these tests, and then
go back through them to allow students to make corrections (in green ink) so that they are able to learn
from their mistakes. Students would not be able to turn in a test without green ink corrections unless
they had received a 100%. Timeline: The timeline could focus on the history of the Ohio "natives"
from Paleolithic to the Peoples of Fort Ancient. It could focus on the natives and pioneers. It could
focus on both. The students would be reminded to have a standard unit of measure, and to include at
least 5 significant events. Guided Reading Notes: Have for the students a short written passage.
Along with the passage, have a guided reading worksheet. This fill in the blank and short answer
worksheet would allow the students to make notes as they read in order to connect to the content, and
also to give them something to study from later.
Report on a Native or Pioneer of Ohio during the time period of 1776 to 1804. This would require
that students do some research on their own, and write a two page summary of what they have learned.
This activity would be the activity that you would post in the classroom. The reports would get hung
on the wall in the room in relation to a timeline that would be posted. The report would be graded
using a rubric, and allow the students to refine and resubmit if they were unhappy with their original
score. Artifacts of note worksheets: On the field trip, students would only be allowed to carry pencils.
To assure that they had reviewed their work, and put some effort into making revisions, only accept
final drafts of these worksheets in pen. Obviously, extra blank copies of the worksheets would be
available. In order to receive the highest score, students would have to include evidence of some selfresearch following the field trip. Series of graphics that relate to the unit: They could collect these
graphics in many diverse ways. They could search for items through primary source databases such as
the Library of Congress or infoOhio web sites. They could use a digital camera to collect the images
while on the field trip. They could create original artwork representing what we have learned. They
could use a combination. They would be required to submit 10 graphics along with placards stating
why each item was included and how it relates.
Fort Ancient Assessment
Name _________________________________
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Identify each of the following as a primary P or a secondary S source for the study of the Ohio Native
People.
_____ A timeline of the Ohio Native People
_____ A photo of Fort Ancient gift shop
_____ A clay pot piece made by the Hopewell Indians
_____ The curator’s presentation at the museum
_____ The limestone rocks found by the archeologists at the site of the circle
_____ A student’s journal of their field trip to Fort Ancient
_____ Preserved burned seeds
_____ Arrowheads, both blunt and pointed ended
Using the information you developed above, and your knowledge of social studies skills and methods,
identify the difference between a primary and a secondary source. Give an example of each. Tell how
historians can use these sources to learn about the history of a group of people. (4 points)
Multiple Choice-select the best answer.
_____What practice was typical of Ohio’s Hopewell Indians?*
A. worshiping the sun and the moon
B. teaching white settlers how to grow corn
C. building earthen mounds for religious uses
D. growing crops in the same place every year
* represents items taken from released OAT tests, 5th grade social studies
Archaeologists have declared the Fort Ancient mounds and site to be "Ceremonial" in nature. What
does this mean? Define ceremonial use, and give one piece of evidence that might support the
archeologist’s classification as ceremonial. (2 points)
Complete the Learned (L) portion of your K-W-L chart with at least 4 new items and attached to this
test.
Primary Source/Secondary Source Worksheet
Name ____________________________________
Identify each of the following as a primary or a secondary source, then give your reason for identifying
it in the way that you chose.
_____ 1. Your textbook section on the prehistoric mound builders
Reason:
_____ 2. An arrowhead found at a historic site in Ohio
Reason:
_____ 3. Your teacher’s lessons on the "Native" people of Ohio
Reason:
_____ 4. Your classmates notes on the History of Ohio
Reason:
_____ 5. Pottery pieces found by archeologists on Hopewell grounds
Reason:
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_____ 6. Mica, Conch shells, and other natural resources found at Fort Ancient
Reason:
Give an example of a primary and a secondary source.
Artifacts of Note Worksheet
Name __________________________________
Archaeological Period Name ________________________________________
Years of Duration ___________________ to __________________________
Pick an artifact identified to this period.
Draw a sketch of the artifact here.
Write a description of what the artifact looked like here.
Copy the artifact caption here.
How might the Ohio Natives have used this artifact?
What similar item might be used today?
Give any other relevant information that you may learn about this artifact from the curator or museum
displays, and state the reason that you chose this artifact to represent this time period.
Guided Reading Notes
Name _____________________________________
I. G___________________ S________________________ M___________________ is a snake like
mound built of soil.
A. Located in Hillsboro, ________________________
B. Built more than __________________ years ago
C. About _________________ feet tall (or as tall as you might have been in kindergarten).
II.
Mound Builder’s Culture
A. Began around ___________ years ago and lasted about ______________ years.
B. Lived east of the ______________________________ River
C. Farmers whose main crop was _____________________
D. Not a single group of people. Their three main groups were the
1. _________________________
2. _________________________
3. _________________________
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II.
Clues Left by Mound Builders were Studied by ________________________
A. Mounds such as the Cahokia (100 feet tall) show that the mound builders were
hardworking, __________________________ people
1. Soil was _____________________using ancient tools
2. This earth was then ___________________ to the mound location
3. Plans were designed and followed to give the mound its shape
A. Artifacts at the mounds show that ________________ was important
1. Knives found in Ohio were carved from _________________ from
__________________
2. ____________________ were used in making jewelry, even though the
________________ is hundreds of miles away
A. mountains
B. wetlands
C. ridges
D. plains
_____ Mayans used rock to build pyramids, what resource was available, and thus used by the mound
builders.
A. lumber
B. soil or Earth
C. iron
Fort Ancient
Cindy Centers
Grades: 3-5
Learning Objectives: In groups, students will research Indian tribes and present their findings to the
class.
Standards: History: 1. Explain how American Indians settled the continent and why different nations
of Indians interacted with their environment.
Materials/Resources: envelopes, leather, markers, construction paper. Indian Life in Pre-Columbian
North America (Coloring Book) by John Green published by Dover Publications
www.doverpublications.com Early North America by Cindy Barden published by Milliken Publishing
Company www.millikenpub.com Tools of Native Americans by Kim Kavin published by Nomad Press
http://www.nomadpress.net/
Core Activities: 1. Using leather, the teacher will make a display heading that resembles animal skins
labeled with the following Indian groups and the time each Indian group lived: Paleo-Indian, 13,0007000 B.C., Archaic, 8000-500 B.C., Early Woodland 800 B.C.-A.D. 100, Middle Woodland 100 B.C.A.D. 500, Late Woodland A.D. 500-1200, Late Prehistoric A.D. 900-1600, and Historic A.D. 1700present (See attachment). 2. The teacher will hang the leather heading in order on a bulletin board or
classroom wall. 3. The teacher will put students into 6 cooperative learning groups. Each group will be
assigned an Indian tribe. 4. Students will research their Indian tribe using reference books and the
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Internet. 5. Using the information they discovered, students will build a display under the leather
heading for their Indian group. 6. Students will present their presentation to the class. The teacher will
grade display using a rubric.
Native Peoples and the Environment of the Ohio Valley
Karen Brassfield
Grade 5
Learning Objectives: Students will compare and contrast American Indians of the Ohio Valley.
Standards: History: 2. Explain how American Indians settled the continent and why different nations
of Indians interacted with their environment in different ways. People in Societies: Compare the
cultural products of diverse groups in North America including: Artistic expression, food, clothing,
shelter.
Resources: Pre- Post-Test 1. How did the Native Americans get to the North American continent? a.
by a land bridge over the Bering Strait b. on a ship with Christopher Columbus c. walked up from
South America
2. The Archaic people were the first to a. develop villages b. build mounds c. use many tools
3. The Adena people were the first to a. barter b. first farmers c. use bow and arrows
4. The Hopewell people are thought to be the first to a. have horses b. grow beards c. grow corn
5. The Ft. Ancient people had a village near a. New York b. Pittsburgh c. Between Cincinnati and
Dayton
6. What type of points did the Paleo people use? a. fluted b. triangular
7. Which two sites are Adena Mounds? a. Ft. Ancient b. Stackhouse c. Mound City d. Conus
8. What were the two new changes during the Ft. Ancient time period?
9. Draw a bone awl.
10. On the back of this paper, draw a time line putting in the time periods for the following cultures:
Adena, Archaic, Ft. Ancient, Hopewell, Paleo. Time period should span from 14,000 BC to 2,500 BC.
Core Activities: 1. Pretest (above) is to be given to students on the first day. This is to show the
students background knowledge. 2. Divide each class into five groups. Jigsaw- Each group will be
given a different Ohio prehistoric people to research and study. (Paleo-Indians, Archaic, Adena,
Hopewell, Ft. Ancient) a. Each group must make an artifact from their prehistoric people. b. Each
group must show an example of food, clothing and shelter from their prehistoric people. c. The groups
will then take turns on describing their Ohio prehistoric people to the class and showing the artifacts
and items they made. They will make a display to leave in the classroom. The rest of the class is to
take notes on the information. d. Then place the items in a marked box. 3. Each class will have a
chance to dig, become archaeologists and figure out which of the five groups they have found. Have
five small plastic swimming pools or areas marked off, filled with sand. Each class will go and bury
their artifacts for the next class in one of the areas. Each group in the class will choose an area then and
perform an archaeology dig. From what they find and the information they learned from their
classmates, they will have to decide which prehistoric people they have found. 4. Optional- A Field
trip to Fort Ancient. During the field trip the students will do a Scavenger Hunt on facts that they must
find the answers to from the exhibits. An example of one given to me at the museum will be used. 5.
Post- test (above is given as an assessment for this unit.
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Assessment: 1. Draw an example of an artifact from the Adena culture. 2. Draw an artifact from the
Hopewell Culture. 3. Using a Venn Diagram, compare and contrast the Archaic people and the
Hopewell people.
Logan’s Lament
Karen Smith
Grade 4
Lesson Objectives: This lesson uses a tweaked version of the Socratic Method to analyze a speech
given by Indian chief, Logan. This primary source is titled Logan’s Lament.
Resources: Logan’s Lament http://www.andrewknezjr.com/remembering.html
Core Activities: The students are placed into teams to read Logan’s Lament. From there they must
answer three questions: 1. What is the reason Logan gave this speech? 2. What words does Logan use
in his speech to show his emotion or opinion? 3. Does anyone have the right to get revenge the way
Logan did? Explain your answer. Once these questions have been answered, the class shares their ideas
and debate question #3.
American Indians
Karen Brassfield
Grade 5
Learning Objectives: Students will learn about six American Indian tribes.
Standards: History: 2. Explain how American Indians settled the continent and why different nations
of Indians interacted with their environment in different ways. People in Societies: Compare the
cultural practices and products of diverse groups in North America including: a. artistic expression b.
religion c. food d. language e. clothing f. shelter. Geography: 8. Explain how the characteristics of
different physical environment affects human activities in North America. Social Studies Methods: 1.
Obtain information from a variety of print, electronics sources and analysis its reliability including: a.
accuracy of facts b. credentials of the source. 3. Differentiate between primary and secondary resources
6. Draw inferences from primary resources and relevant information.
Resources: Native American music CD, Pictures of Native American artifacts, Graphic Organizers,
Arts and Craft materials. Textbook, History Alive, US book and other books on Native Americans.
Kevin Costner's, 500 Nations. (film)
Teacher Prep: Become familiar with the six tribes that the students will be studying. Know the area
and environment that each tribe lived during the 1600 to 1700s.
Core Activities: Six small groups of four- Jigsaw method (where small group learns about one
specific tribe then splits off to a new group and they share what they have learned about their
individual tribes) 1. Write on the board: canoe, snow skis, surfboard. 2. Introduction: music from the
Native American CD, Ceremonial Dance and Chants will be playing low as the students enter the
classroom. 3. The students will be sitting in groups of four. In the group of four, each student will be
given a number from 1 to 4. HOOK: Have students look at a map of the US and identify the regions
where they think the equipment that is written on the board will be used. They must supply the
rationale for their answer. This exercise was to help the student understand how the environment
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factors, such as climate and geography, affect culture, or the way people live. 5. Show the small
beginning segment of Kevin Costner's, 500 Nations. 6. Give each group of four, a different tribe with a
different environment and area then the other groups. Total of six tribes. 7. A. Northwest Coast - Pomo
b. California Intermountain – Yakima; c. Southwest – Hopi; d. Great Plains – Sioux; e. Eastern
Woodlands – Algonquian; f. Southeast – Seminole. 8. Each group will be given pictures of artifacts
from their region and tribe. They are to research the tribe and artifacts using textbooks, encyclopedias,
internet and other books on Native Americans. 9. They must be able to tell about the climate and
resources of the region where their tribe lives, be able to explain the use of the artifacts (pictures) and
what materials the artifacts are made from and how the daily life of a tribe member would be using
these artifacts. The group will then make the artifacts from the arts and craft supplies at the school.
The teacher must make sure that each group has the needed information written down correctly on
their graphic organizer. When everyone is done with their research and crafting their artifact for their
tribe, then the students will do a JIGSAW. All the ones will sit together, all the twos will sit together,
all the threes will sit together, etc. Each person will then teach the other students the information they
learned about their tribe and region. As they explain, the other students will be filling in the
information on their graphic organizer that has been divided into the six Native American regions. The
following day the teacher will set a grid outside in the hall. (It can be in the room, or outdoors.) The
grid will be marked off as an archaeologist site/dig. Inside the grid are the artifacts the students have
made about their tribe. Each student is to find one artifact for each of the six tribes and regions. They
must tell from what region and tribe the artifact represents. They must also explain what the artifact is
made and what is its use.
Assessment: Review with the students what they have learned. 1. Explain the contrast between two
different regions and tribes? You must explain the geography, climate and how they use one of their
artifacts. 2. Write your prediction of the outcome if the Europeans had learned to live with the Native
Americans instead of seeing the Native Americans move westward.
Differentiated Learning: Small group learning, graphic organizers and hands- on artifacts.
Prehistoric Native Americans
Valerie Scott
Grade 4
Learning Objective: Describe how archaeologists and historians study and interpret the past and how
the environment of Ohio affected the early settlements, cultural practices, and products of the
prehistoric people.
Standards: History: Describe the earliest settlements in Ohio, including those of prehistoric people.
People in Societies: Describe the cultural practices and products of various groups who have settled in
Ohio over time: The Paleo Indians, Archaic Indians, Woodland Indians (Adena and Hopewell), and
Late Prehistoric Indians (Fort Ancient). Social Studies Methods: Use primary and secondary sources
to answer questions about Ohio history.
Vocabulary: primary source, secondary source, archaeologist, historian, immunity, culture , Paleo
Indian, indigenous, Archaic Indian, Woodland Indian, regalia, prehistoric, ancestor, wampum, band
clan mortar and pestle, girdle, ceremonial, lodge, weapon, tool
Resources: Anticipation Guide Worksheet, “Ohio’s Prehistoric Indian Heritage” poster by Charley
Harper https://charleyharperartstudio.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=177
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copy of a prehistoric pipe bowl, chart paper. 1. Anticipation Guide- Students will fill out the
anticipation worksheet. 2. Poster- Show the class the “Ohio’s Prehistoric Indian Heritage” by Charley
Harper. (This can be purchased at Fort Ancient for about $3.00, or may be ordered online, or found on
the internet. Postcards are available as well.) Preliminary activities before the field trip to Fort Ancient:
Journals to write definitions, copy of a “famous person” letter and book about the same person, Sharpie
Permanent Markers, 1 small clay pot or base per student, sand/dirt, plastic containers large enough to
hold 2 pots/bases plus dirt, old toothbrushes, screens, etc. to replicate archaeologist tools, glue that
adheres to clay pottery, examples of prehistoric designs (Hopewell), paper towels to lay on desks for
the “dig”.
Core Activities: Have the students write three things the poster shows them. Include a time period
these objects might represent, and who might have made them. They should explain their thoughts. 3.
Pipe. Pass around the pipe bowl. (This also can be purchased at Fort Ancient or the Ohio Historical
Society for about $5.00. A picture could be used for this activity as well.) Have the students do a “turn
and talk” to explain what it is to their neighbor. The teacher then creates a list of ideas on chart paper.
(A “turn and talk” is when two students turn to each other and talk for a few seconds to share their
ideas about something. The teacher listens in on conversations, then after ‘time’s up’, tells the class
“This is what I heard students talking about. One group said …”)
Activity 1- Discuss what archaeologists and historians do. Make sure to include that both study and
interpret the past, but typically historians deal mostly with the paperwork and person to person
interaction of history and study artifacts and documents while archaeologists tend to do the more
physical part of the investigation of digging in the dirt and finding artifacts and features in order to
identify the culture and time period of the items.
Activity 2- Show the class a copy of a letter from a famous person, such as Abraham Lincoln, as well
as a book about the same person. Have the class describe the differences, and lead the discussion to
primary versus secondary sources. Relate this to what archaeologists and historians do.
Activity 3- (Allow 2 periods for this). Day 1- Tell the class that they are to pretend they are Hopewell
Indians from prehistoric times. Remind them that prehistoric means prior to written history. They are
to decorate a piece of pottery such as the Hopewell might have, only using Sharpie Markers. Show
some examples of prehistoric designs. Then have each student create a design on their pottery. The
teacher then takes 2 pots (or bases, depending on what was used), wraps in a towel and breaks it gently
into several pieces with a hammer. Bury the pieces in a container with dirt. Do this in pairs. Label
containers so each pair of students receive their own pottery pieces. Day 2 - Tell the students that
thousands of years have passed and they are now archaeologists that have come across a dig site. Their
job is to uncover their pottery and piece it back together. Students then use the provided tools and
begin their “dig”. Be sure to have a discussion about difficulties that archaeologists may have had.
Activity 4- This is where Fort Ancient should be introduced. This may include, but not be limited to
the following: Prehistoric Indians found in N. America – Paleo, Archaic, Adena, Hopewell, the
people did not die off, but changed their style of living, collections of artifacts were found with certain
styles and only used during that time period, tool technology changed and reasons for that change,
why we do not have a lot of information about prehistoric people, things are invented due to a need,
Some history of the park such as Warren Moorehead helped it to become a State Park in 1889 and
those implications. (What was found & how long studied), difference between mammoths and
mastodons as to environment in the Ohio Valley, as well as other food. Include how these animals
21
were hunted and tools used for both, go over any vocabulary that is needed for the trip. Examples are
given at the beginning of this plan.
Fort Ancient Activity- For this activity, the class should be broken into groups of 2 – 3. Adults should
be used as “guides on the side” rather than a ‘sage on the stage”. Each student will have their own
Scavenger Hunt worksheet, but may work in the small groups. This will be used as an assessment, and
should be completed by each student. The worksheets are provided by the Fort Ancient staff. The class
then tours the museum, completing the worksheet. Take the class to the village in back of the museum
to view what our impression of a prehistoric village might look like. Visit the current archaeological
dig site. Return and have closure by answering any further questions.
Assessment: Collect and evaluate the worksheet provided by Fort Ancient staff. Have the class
complete the same anticipation guide as they did for the pre – assessment to compare growth of
content knowledge. Have the students create a Venn diagram comparing the early prehistoric people to
the late prehistoric people in the Ohio Valley. Include acquiring food, tools, and distinctive mound
building cultures. Show the same Charley Harper poster and have the class write three things the poster
shows them about prehistoric people, and explain their thoughts. Write a short paragraph about the
pipe bowl. Who might have used it and why. In small groups, have the students do a vocabulary match.
Differentiated Instruction: Create a timeline showing the prehistoric Indians. Take it into the historic
period until 1843 when the Wyandots were forced to leave Ohio. Create a prehistoric Indian village.
Anticipation Guide
Name ________________________________________ Date ______________
Circle one: First time- Second time
Anticipation Guide Worksheet
T F 1)The Paleo and Archaic people were hunters and gatherers that hunted big animals like
mastodons.
T F 2)The people came to North America by traveling up through South America.
T F 3)The Atlatl is a tool use for making pottery.
T F 4)The Adena pottery is decorative.
T F 5)The Hopewell pottery is decorative.
T F 6)The Adena, Hopewell, and Fort Ancient people were the first to plant seeds for growing food.
T F 7)The Adena built Earthworks like Fort Ancient and had an extensive trade network.
T F 8)The Fort Ancient people started to grow corn and live in permanent villages.
Anticipation Guide answer Sheet
Anticipation Guide – Answer Sheet
T F 1)The Paleo and Archaic people were hunters and gatherers that hunted big animals like
mastodons. (True)
T F 2)The people came to North America by traveling up through South America. (False. They came
by either landbridge or water.)
T F 3)The Atlatl is a tool use for making pottery. (False. It is used as an extension to a hunting tool.)
T F 4)The Adena pottery is decorative. (False. Hopewell)
T F 5)The Hopewell pottery is decorative. (True)
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T F 6)The Adena, Hopewell, and Fort Ancient people were the first to plant seeds for growing food.
(True)
T F 7)The Adena built Earthworks like Fort Ancient and had an extensive trade network. (False.
Hopewell. The Adena made conical mounds.)
T F 8)The Fort Ancient people started to grow corn and live in permanent villages. (True)
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UNIT 2: EXPLORATION, COLONIZATION, REVOLUTION
Explorers
Cindy Centers
Grades: 3-5
Learning Objectives: Students will work in cooperative groups to describe goals, obstacles, and
accomplishments of explorers from England, Spain, France, and Netherlands by creating a poster of all
the information and writing a narrative about one explorer of interest.
Standards: History: B. Describe the cultural patterns that are evident in the North America today as a
result of exploration, colonization, and conflict. Political Science: B. Explain the reasons people from
various cultural groups came to North America and the consequences of their interactions with each
other.
Resources: Whiteboard/Blackboard, Graphic Organizer on explorers, Data retrieval chart on explorer,
Class set of computers with internet access, Poster board, Markers, North American maps, Checklist of
historical information for each country. Have student groups take turns logging into this website
http://library.thinkquest.org/J002678F/%3ftqskip=1
Core Activities: 1. Write the term “Explorers” on the board and create a semantic map with three
satellites labeled- What Explorers Do, What Explorers Look Like, and Where Do Explorers Go. Ask
students what words come to mind when they think of the term explorers and under what category
would their information fit. When students provide comments, each should be recorded in the
appropriate category. Allow about six responses for each category. If one category falls short, ask
students to discuss the category in a small group and come up with one word or idea that came to
mind. 2. Inform students that they will use their knowledge from their textbook readings to complete
this project. Provide each student with the graphic organizer that describes the French, English, Dutch,
and Spanish explorers of Early America. Have students review this with a partner. Once completed,
ask students why the European countries decided to send their explorers to America. Allow students to
respond and ask them to write in any details described in class. 3. Inform students that they will be
working in small groups to study a country’s effort at exploration of the east coast of North America.
Tell them that they will work together to gather detailed information about explorers from their
country and their expeditions. The group will create a poster about the countries efforts to explore
North America emphasizing their goals, hardships, and results. A. Put students in groups of 4 to 5 and
give each group a data retrieval chart and a copy of a North American map. B. Explain the tasks to the
students by describing roles they may choose within their group. Members can choose one of the
following to research: 1. location of expedition, 2. reasons for expedition, 3. hardships of the
expedition, 4. the results of the expedition, or 5. mapping the location of the expedition. Explain to
students they may use their textbooks and websites to find the details about the European explores.
24
Colonial America
Cindy Centers
Grade 5
Learning Objectives: This lesson is a cumulating lesson for a Colonial American Research Project.
Students using a list of important Colonial Americans such as George Washington, Betsy Ross, Ben
Franklin, etc. will do a research project using books, encyclopedias, and the Internet.
Teacher Prep: The teacher will do a lesson for the timeline, diorama, and the Body Double. The
following is a description of the Body Double lesson. The teacher will use a 6 ft. piece of flesh colored
chart paper. This paper can be black, white, or brown depending on the race of the students choose for
their project. The teacher will lay the paper on the floor. She will ask a volunteer to lie on the paper
and she or a volunteer will trace the outline of the person on the paper using magic marker. Then the
teacher will demonstrate how to cut out the outline (have one already cut out because this is time
consuming). The teacher will show students how to add hair, clothing, etc. to the body double to
represent their Colonial American from their research project. For example, if the students did their
project on Ben Franklin, a pair of glasses and longer white hair would be appropriate. The teacher
should pre- make an example of a Colonial American or display some of the better projects from
previous years. After the Body Doubles are complete and turned in, the teacher will display them in a
hall labeled the Hall of Fame for Colonial Americans
Core Activities: Students will do one of the following projects in conjunction with a research project:
1. Timeline of the person’s life. 2. Diorama 3. Body Double. (Note: Students love this activity. I have
collected several examples over the years and they are quite good. The other grade levels look forward
to this project so they can tour the Hall of Fame. One of the first things they ask at the beginning of a
new school year is, “When are we going to make the people for the hall?” )
Stamp Act: Taxation Without Representation
Valerie Isaac
Grade 5
Learning Objectives: Using tootsie rolls, students will simulate the role of taxes in forging Great
Britain and the American colonies on the road to the American Revolution.
Core Activities: Choose three students to role play a King George and two tax collectors and prep the
King George and two tax collectors on their duties. Each student gets ten tootsie rolls and plays the
part of the colonists. The students could be divided into 1/3 loyalists, 1/3 rebellious colonists and 1/3
indifferent citizens to the taxes similar to the percentages John Adams cited as to the feelings about
America’s war with Great Britain. The tax collectors collect tootsie rolls from the students as they
announce which taxes needs to be paid and why. Begin with the Stamp Tax and continue with the
Townshend Duties, Tea Tax, etc. Discuss the pros and cons of taxes.
Who Was Paul Revere?
Steve Coleman
Grade 5
Lesson Objectives: Using the book, And then what happened, PAUL REVERE? by Jean Fritz, the
students will investigate Paul Revere’s ancestry, career, and political actions.
25
Resources: www.revolutionary-war-and-beyond.com (search Paul Revere)
www.paul-revere-heritage.com; www.socialstudiesfforkids.com (search Paul Revere)
Core Activities: The class reads And then what happened, PAUL REVERE? by Jean Fritz. This book
describes much more than Paul Revere’s activities during the American Revolution. Students are
asked to list the many products that Paul Revere produced, bought, and sold during his multi-faceted
career as a businessman in the Boston area. Students research the many products on their lists. Many
of the products are unfamiliar, and lead to understandings of how life was different in the 1700s from
today’s consumerism. One question to be answered is: Why were these items needed, and how could
Paul Revere make a living marketing these goods? The above sites are given for students to
investigate.
Declaration of Independence
Karen Brassfield
Grade 5
Learning Objective: Students will examine the Declaration of Independence.
Standards: Government: 3. Explain the significance of the Declaration of Independence
Teacher Prep: When the Second Continental Congress met, the idea of separation from Great Britain
was fast becoming the main thought in the minds of the delegates. By this time, Virginia had already
declared its independence from Great Britain. Other colonies had instructed their delegates to the
congress to work for independence. The fear of punishment by the British kept many delegates afraid
to bring up the idea of independence. On June 7, 1776, Richard Henry Lee of Virginia, stood up in
Congress and said, “Resolved, that these united colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and
independent states . . . Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved.” A committee was chosen to
write a statement that would explain the colonists’ ideas on independence. The chairman was Thomas
Jefferson of Virginia. The other members were Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania and John Adams of
Massachusetts, Roger Sherman and Robert Livingston. Most of the Declaration was written by
Jefferson with a few changes made by the other members of the committee. The Declaration of
Independence was approved by Congress on July 4, 1776.
Core Activities: 1. Hook: Quick Write: Write down as many things as you can that would make you
want to declare independence from your country. 2. Read the Declaration of Independence and write
down the reasons why the colonists no longer wanted to belong to Great Britain. (HINT: More than 25
wrongs against the colonists by the British are listed.) 3. Divide students into small groups to discuss
the following questions. The groups are to choose one person to be a spokesman to tell class what their
group felt about some of the questions and to give their answers to the questions. (Give large sheets of
paper for groups to write their answers down on so it would be easier to share with larger group.) 4.
The questions are: How do you think the Declaration of Independence affected each of the following?
1. People who wavered between supporting the Patriot or Loyalist factions? 2. The Patriot armies? 3.
Merchants trading with England? 4. France and Spain? 5. Native Americans (Indians)? 6. AfricanAmericans? 7. The future?
26
Declaration of Independence
Steve Coleman
Grade 5
Learning Objective: Students examine the key words in the Declaration of Independence and rewrite
the words to understand their meanings.
Core Activities: In this vocabulary activity, students are asked to find synonyms for the bold
underlined words. Using the synonyms the students rewrite the excerpts so they can explain what
Jefferson was expressing to the world in the Declaration of Independence. Statement #1 – When in the
course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bonds which
have connected them with another, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they
should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. Statement #2 – We hold these truths to
be self-evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain
unalienable Rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Statement #3 – To
secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just rights from the
consent of the governed. That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends,
it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it, and to institute new Government . Statement #4 –
The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all
having the direct object, the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these states. To prove this let
facts be submitted to a candid world. Statement #5 – (We) solemnly publish and declare, That these
United Colonies are, and of right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from
all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and that State of
Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved.
Washington Crossing the Delaware
Steve Coleman
Grade 5
Learning Objective: Students will examine the painting of Washington Crossing the Delaware and
perform a follow- up activity.
Resources: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/97.34
http://ushistory.org/washingtoncrossing/index.htm of Washington Crossing the Delaware.
Core Activities: Students will examine the painting of Washington Crossing the Delaware by
Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze in 1851. Students describe what they think the artist was trying to
communicate to the viewer. After a brief discussion students are directed to the Washington Crossing
the Delaware website. Students are directed to investigate the many links available from this site
concerning the Revolutionary War period. Students are to list three new terms they discover from the
Revolutionary War period followed by a paragraph about each item. Students then illustrate their
discoveries (Depict-a-Word), write a poem, or engage in further research as to how their discoveries
contributed to the United States gaining independence from Britain.
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A Biography of George Washington
Cindy Centers
Grade 5
Learning Objectives: Students will research different time periods of George Washington’s life. They
will use secondary and primary resources to create a poster showing the highlights of his life during
their assigned time period. They will use their poster to share the knowledge gained about George
Washington to the class.
Standards: History: 2. Primary and secondary sources can be used to create historical narratives.
Vocabulary: primary source, secondary source, historical narrative
Materials/Resources: Mount Vernon www.mountvernon.org
http://gwpapers.virginia.edu/education/life/teacher.html
http://gwpapers.virginia.edu/education/life/life2.html Martha Washington A Life
www.marthawashington.us/ Children’s Book List: Who Was George Washington by Roberta
Edwards, If you grew up with George Washington by Ruth Belov Gross & Emily M. Cully, George
Washington: An American Life by Laurie Calkhoven, Meet George Washington by Patricia A Pingry,
When Washington Crossed the Delaware: A Wintertime Story for Patriots by Lynn Cheney
Teacher Prep: Students will have studied the difference between primary and secondary sources.
Students will cooperatively research and construct a poster about a time period during George
Washington’s life using secondary and primary sources. This lesson will help students to understand
how resources are used to define history and construct historical narratives.
Core Activities: Day 1: Teacher will explain to students that George Washington’s life can be divided
into four periods of time and students will be divided into the four groups-- 1. Colonial Boyhood 2.
Starting a Career and Family 3. Revolution and Founding a New Nation 4. President and Back Home.
Teacher will pass out, “A Brief Biography of George Washington.” The class will read and discuss
handout.
Day 2: Students will sit together at a table according to their group. Each table will have a laptop
computer and a tub of materials to utilize in order to do their historical narrative. Some of the materials
will be secondary and primary sources. The teacher will explain the assignment. Students will go
through tubs and assign roles for the project.
Day 3: Teacher will show students an example of a poster and materials used to do a historical
narrative on Martha Washington. Also review the rubric to assess poster. The teacher will provide
students with poster board and art supplies to enable them to do assignment. Students will start on
project.
Days 4-5: Students will continue project. The teacher will facilitate as needed.
Days 6-7: Students will present personal narrative and the teacher will assess poster. Posters will be
displayed.
Assessment: Student work will be graded using a rubric http://coe.nevada.edu/slefevre/poster.html
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Differentiated Learning: The teacher will put students in groups to accommodate student’s
academic ability. Special needs student can be in one group and the special education teacher will
assist them. Students will do a slideshow using the research materials. Students will do a video
presentation using research materials.
General George Washington, Military Leader
Recommended by Rachel Robinson
Grade 5
http://americanhistory.si.edu/militaryhistory/resources/Lesson3.pdf
Washington Monument
Valerie Isaac
Grade 5
Learning Objectives: To understand some of the reasons Washington was so revered during the early
19th Century, to describe the intentions behind the memorial to George Washington, to analyze ideas
about the best designs for a monument, to analyze primary sources, and to construct a monument for
Washington
Standards: History: 5. People in Societies: A Government: 1b,3 Social Studies Methods: 3, 5, 6
Resources: Primary source document, primary source questions, picture analyze sheet, rubric for
memorial, materials for creating memorial, one photograph of the Washington Monument Document
1: Samuel Blodgett's Broadside, 1801
http://www.nps.gov/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/62wash/62facts2.htm
Historical Paper http://www.nps.gov/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/62wash/62setting.htm
Vocabulary: Monument, analyze, memorial
Core Activities: 1. Read and discuss historical background information. 2. Discuss that not all people
agreed that Washington should have a memorial. 3. Handout primary source document. 4. Assign
students into groups of four. 5. Read and discuss primary source document. 6. Students will discuss
and answer provided questions. 7. To help answer questions, students may use computers to help find
information. 8. Hand out rubric for students to design their own memorial. 9. Each group will design
their own memorial for Washington.
Assessment: Student’s expectations will be communicated with a rubric.
Differentiated Learning: Students may create a virtual tour of Washington D.C. and of Washington
Monument.
Rock Lyrics: American Revolutionary War
Holly Templeton
Grade 5
Lesson Objective: Listening to two rock songs, students will examine how the lyrics correspond with
the feelings of the colonists during the Revolutionary War.
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Resources: We’re Not Gonna Take It! by Twisted Sister
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WT1LXhgXPWs
http://www.lyricsondemand.com/onehitwonders/werenotgonnatakeitlyrics.html
Invincible by Pat Benatar http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5A4xBp2rizQ&ob=av2e
http://www.lyricsfreak.com/p/pat+benatar/invincible_20104702.html
Core Activities: The class will listen to the song We’re Not Gonna Take It! by Twisted Sister. As they
listen to the lyrics the students will be expected to jot down notes on how these lyrics correspond with
the feelings of the American colonists before the Revolutionary War began. Next, the students will
listen to the lyrics to Invincible by Pat Benatar. As they are listening the students will jot down notes
on how the lyrics correspond with the feelings of the colonists during the Revolutionary War.
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UNIT 3: GOVERNMENT AND CITIZENSHIP
Documents that Guide the U.S.
Steve Coleman
Grade: 5
Learning Objectives: To extend knowledge about the arguments for the Declaration of Independence,
Constitutional formation, and Constitutional change in the US. To gain understanding that argument
and disagreement have been normal when trying to create a strong government while extending the
rights of individuals.
Standards: Government: B3- Explain the significance of the Declaration of Independence and the
U.S. Constitution. Government: A2e- Basic rights of individuals are guaranteed by the Constitution.
Geography: B7- Analyze reasons for conflict and cooperation among regions of North America
including: trade
Resources/Materials: http://www.gettysburgfoundation.org/36/unfinished-work-of-the-declarationof-independence
http://www.fcps.edu/fairfaxnetwork/mount_vernon/fractured_union/video_stream.html
http://myloc.gov/pages/default.aspx
Teacher Prep: Review the Mt. Vernon web site, myloc.gov, and the Gettysburg web site.
Constitutional questions and conflicts are presented in various formats. Myloc.gov is to be used to
examine primary source documents.
Core Activities: Students will watch chapter 9 in the video series Fractured Union (7:39).
http://www.fcps.edu/fairfaxnetwork/mount_vernon/fractured_union/video_stream.html This segment
is a wrap-up to dramatizations and discussions (ala NPR) concerning the decisions made to scrap the
Articles of Confederation and the subsequent constitutional convention as seen through the eyes of the
Virginia delegation. Friendships were strained, and in the case of George Mason, destroyed during the
process of writing a new federal constitution. This sets up the premise that conflict is inevitable when
governance is concerned. Students are split into 3 groups. Each group of students will investigate one
online source (Mt. Vernon –Fairfax Network partnership, Gettysburg National Park and Museum, and
Myloc.gov.) They are to notate and record places and documents that refer either to the Declaration of
Independence or the US Constitution as a justification for the argument being discussed about
extending liberty (freedom, individual rights) to the US populace. Students work on individual
computers (lab, cart, or classroom) to investigate 3 web sites (25 min). They will be asked to use the
Library of Congress site (myloc.gov) to find any number of primary sources (diaries, letters,
newspaper articles, etc.) that compare and contrast the arguments concerning individual freedoms
during the founding of the republic with those that caused the secession of the southern states in 1860.
Students gather with others with the same assignment to share their discoveries (15 minutes).
Day 2: One student from each group meets with one student from the other two groups (3 total) and
share their findings from yesterday (15-20 minutes). Students use their discussion worksheet to take
notes during the sharing. Students write about similarities and differences they discovered by sharing
about arguments from the Revolutionary period with those from the Civil War period. (15-20 minutes)
Fast finishers may get on computers to investigate their colleagues’ sites.
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Day 3: Whole group meets to discuss/argue about the issues of individual freedom, prosperity, and
effective government.
Assessment: Student will pick a performance rubric to help evaluate personal achievement, and
teacher will also, assign a rubric score to the student’s work. 1-4 (4 being most complete)
Student Name_______________________________________
Documents that Guide the U.S.
How are the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution related? Is one more important
than the other? Who should receive the freedoms to which both documents refer? These three
questions should guide you as you navigate one of three web sites and their related links. If there were
no disagreements amongst people there would be no laws. Therefore, you should be able to find
different opinions in each of these web sites concerning issues of extending individual liberty. As you
examine your assigned web site and its links you must accomplish the following tasks:
1. Write the web address of any pages or articles you find that refer to the Declaration of
Independence or the US Constitution as it relates to personal freedom.
2. Summarize at least one primary document that you find on your site
3. Find two articles or quotes that agree about an issue of individual liberty. (Write down the
author or web location).
4. Find two articles or quotes that disagree about an issue of individual liberty. (Write down the
author or web location).
5. On paper, summarize why there is agreement and disagreement in the articles you found.
6. Share your information with the two other researchers who went on other web sites.
7. On paper, compare and contrast your findings with that of your fellow researchers.
8. Prepare a presentation to be made to the class on the conclusions your group has made about
conflict and the value of the Declaration of Independence and US Constitution in helping solve
conflict.
9. Grade your effort and how effectively you completed each of the 8 tasks on a scale of 1(not
very complete), 2(a good start), 3(I found a lot of material to discuss with my fellow
researchers), and 4 (I have complete summaries, I have shared with my fellow researchers, I am
ready to present my ideas to the class.
The Three Branches of Government
Cindy Centers
Grade 5
Learning Objectives: Students will categorize the duties of the three branches of the United States
Government.
Standards: The U.S. Constitution separates the major responsibilities of government among three
branches.
Vocabulary: executive, judicial, legislature
Teacher Prep: Students need to know the Constitution and a basic understanding of government.
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Core Activities: The teacher will write Executive, Judicial, and Legislative on three pieces of chart
paper or poster board and display chart paper or poster board on the board. The teacher will write
responsibilities of each government branch on sentence strips or large post it notes using a marker and
then mix up responsibilities and pass out to students. Students will categorize the responsibilities under
the branch they think appropriate. Using their textbook, worksheet, or constitution, students will
research responsibilities to make sure they are categorized correctly. The teacher will ask the class if
each branch and their responsibilities are correct. If they’re correct then the class will continue. If they
are incorrect, student volunteers will correct branches. Students will copy information on a threecolumn chart for a study guide for an end of the unit assessment. The teacher will display the three
Branches of Government in the room until test time.
Assessment: Students will be assessed on end of unit test.
Differential Learning: The teacher will pair special needs students to regular students for support.
Textbooks, worksheets or constitution can be highlighted as needed to facilitate special education
students. Students will work in pairs to write a song or jingle to help them remember the branches and
their individual duties. The three branches of the U.S. Government can be compared to Ohio’s state
government.
Government Sequencing
Valerie Isaac
Grade 5
Learning Objectives: Students will gain an understanding of how events led to the American
Revolutionary War
Standards: History: 5
Resources: Social studies book, Internet, Worksheet, Scissors, Glue, Pencil, Paper, Poster board
Vocabulary: Chronological order.
Core Activities: Assign groups and do a quick review of book chapter. Handout worksheet and rubric
and discuss expectations. Show example of finished product. Students begin work
Assessment: Students will be assessed by classroom discussions, and finished project. Rubric will be
provided. (see below)
Differentiated Learning: Students may research in- depth each event and create timelines
Government Sequencing
Name_______________________________________________
Cut and paste the events in order as they happened.
Intolerable Acts- King George closed down the ports, banned town meetings, and ordered the colonists
to house and feed the British soldiers.
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-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------John Peter Zenger- Publisher of the New York Weekly Journal. He was put in jail for publishing the
truth about the Royal Governor of New York. Alexander Hamilton represented Mr. Zenger and the
courts ruled that Mr. Zenger could continue publishing the newspaper as long it was the truth.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Boston Massacre- When British soldiers invaded Boston and the colonists met at the Commons House,
this protest was led by Crispus Attucks, one of the first African Americans to lead a protest against the
British. At this protest Crispus Attucks yelled, “The way to get rid of these soldiers is to attack the
main guard.” The British soldiers fired and killed five colonists, including Attucks.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Townsend Acts- King George placed taxes on tea, paint, lead, and all paper.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Sons of Liberty- a group of male colonists who led protests against King George. They also put
pressure on the stamp tax agents which led to the end of the Stamp Act.
Boston Tea Party- Colonists dressed as Mohawk Indians and dumped several chests of tea into the
harbor. This action was due to the protest of taxes placed on tea and other products. This action was
planned at a town meeting.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Stamp Act- King George placed taxes on all newspaper, pamphlets, and all legal documents. Colonists
had to have their papers stamped to prove that the tax was paid.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The Committees of Correspondence- Members of Boston town meetings were asked to form a
committee to state the rights of the colonists.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------First Continental Congress- Delegates wrote a petition to King George asking for a repeal of the
Intolerable Acts. The delegates asked the colonists to gather minutemen and they asked for all trading
to stop with Britain.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Name______________________________
Government Sequencing Rubric- Each event is in chorological order (40 points) Each event has at
least six pictures on poster board to create collage (40 points) Work is neat (20 points) Total
Points_____________
Article V and Amendments XIII, XIV, and XV
Steve Coleman
Grade 5
Lesson Objectives: Students examine Article V of the Constitution, followed by Amendments 13, 14,
and 15 to discuss why these laws were added to the Constitution.
Resources: http://www.congressforkids.net ;
http://library.thinkquest.org/J0112391/civil_war_amendments.htm;
http://www.greatamericanhistory.net/amendment.htm; http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/white-house101/
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Core Activities: Students read Article V of the Constitution, followed by Amendments 13, 14, and 15.
Review ensues about the amending process to the U.S. Constitution. Students list the dates of
ratification of the three amendments, and are asked to answer why these amendments came about when
they did. Students’ discussion responses are recorded on chart paper, and in class notes. Students use
these notes to direct their research of the arguments and ratification histories of these three
amendments. The above web sites are given to students as helpful resources and a “pathfinder”.
Students will record their findings and share with class through posters, power-point, or reports.
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UNIT 4: SLAVERY
Slavery and the Middle Passage
Karen Brassfield
Grade 5
Learning Objectives: Describe three key dilemmas faced by Africans during enslavement: The
European slave trade in West Africa, the Middle Passage, and arrival in North America. Identify
various ways in which West Africans responded to the dilemmas they faced.
Standards: People in Societies: 3. Describe the experiences of African Americans under the
institution of slavery. 4. Describe the waves of immigration to North America and the areas from
which people came in each wave.
Resources: http://www.africanculturalcenter.org/4_5slavery.html Triangular Trade map, Text book or
History Alive, dictionary, books on slavery that teacher has on shelf
Vocabulary: Enslaved Africans, Dilemma, Middle Passage
Teacher Prep: Review information needed to teach the lesson that contains history, geography, and
economics. Make sure you have copies of the questions and critical thinking options to give to each
group
Core Activities: 1. Hook: Interactive Activity: On the Smart Board use the web site
www.eduplace.com/kids to have a map that has the Triangular Trade Routes for the students to use.
(10 min.) Place students in mixed-ability groups of three. First, tell students you want them to describe
a dilemma they have faced. Explain how they responded and why. Students will be reading text books,
and other books for information to help them with this lesson. 2. Introduce students to West Africa in
the 1500s . “Why did European slave traders come to West Africa?” “Critical Thinking” - They then
are to pretend that Europeans have been trading guns for slaves with your rival village. You now need
guns for protection. What should you do? Why? Discuss the options with your group. a. Refuse to sell
slaves to Europeans. b. Raid other villages and capture people to trade as slaves for guns. c. Trade
your own servants, prisoners of war, and criminals (called “slaves” by Europeans) for guns. Next,
your group is to choose one of the options and tell why you chose it. 3. The Middle Passage – Discuss
with your group: What five words or phrases best describe the voyage? “Critical Thinking” – Pretend
you are an enslaved African. How would you respond to the inhumane conditions of the Middle
Passage? Why? Before giving the students the three choices, take them into the hallway and have the
students lay down on the floor shoulder to shoulder. Then discuss how it would be to travel this way on
a ship. Options: a. I would refuse to eat and would resist any help from the slave traders or other
captured Africans. b. I would try to organize a revolt by the captive Africans against the slave traders,
even though I would probably get killed. c. I would try to maintain my strength and survive the
voyage. The group will then chose one of the options and be able to tell why they chose it. 4. Arrival
in America: Discuss the following two questions with your group: What were two ways enslaved
Africans were sold? What were three things that happened to slaves during their first year in
America? “Critical Thinking” – Pretend a plantation owner bought you at a slave auction and sent you
to work in the tobacco fields. How would you respond to your new life? Why? a. I would run away
from the plantation, even though I would likely be caught and punished severely. b. I would secretly
36
resist slavery by breaking tools, working slowly, pretending to be sick, and singing songs with secret
messages of escape. c. I would work hard and obey the rules set down by the slave owner in hopes
that my family and I might be treated well and given easier jobs. The group then will choose one of
the options and be able to tell why they chose it.
Assessment: Written- Pretend you are a West African living in the early 1700s. Write a journal entry
describing one day of your life, either in West Africa, during the Middle Passage, or in North America.
1. Your entry should include: an accurate description of what happened to you on that day and an
explanation of the dilemma you faced. 2. Explanation of how you dealt with the dilemma and why you
reacted that way. The journal entry would be graded on a rubric making sure everything listed above
was covered.
African-American Slavery
Michelle Puckett
Grade 5
Learning Objectives: In this lesson, students will use Library of Congress materials to explore
African-American slavery. They will learn about and use primary and secondary sources and present
information about individual slaves by creating a brochure or a multi-media presentation.
Core Activities: Hook- Have students make a What I Know and What I Want to Know chart. In the
first column, have students write what they know about African-Americans slaves. In the second
column, have them list what they would like to know about African-American slaves. Use this to
modify lessons. 2. Review with students what they know and want to know and put their responses on
chart paper and display. Provide books of African-American slaves for students to look at and become
familiar with. 3. Introduce students to the Library of Congress website www.loc.gov and explore
“Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers’ Project, 1936-1938” (Voices and Faces
from the Collection). 3. Choose one of the slave narratives from the site and use as a demonstration.
Help students determine the purpose and figure out the kinds of information the document contains.
Stress to students the language and dialect and develop a vocabulary list of words that may be hard to
understand. 4. Using a graphic organizer, have students explore and write down examples of a. life
experiences in slavery, b. escape attempts or experiences of the slaves and c. examples of slaves that
resisted and those who didn’t. 5. Explain to students that they will be using this information to create a
brochure or multimedia presentation on the slave that they chose to share with the class. Model an
example of what it should look like when completed. 6. Give students time to investigate, research and
work on their presentation. Provide support and guidance as needed. 7. As students finish, have them
practice presenting to a partner or small group. 8. This activity should take 3-5 days depending on how
much time is given to research their African-American slave.
Assessment: Students will present their African- American slave and turn their brochure or
multimedia presentation in to be graded using a rubric. Rubric: Grade students of a 5 point rubric. 5Students present more than 2 facts/events under each of the 3 headings. The facts show an in-depth
understanding of each of the concepts. The cover page is colorful, has a title and is appealing. 4Students present more than 2 facts/events under each of the 3 headings. The facts show an
understanding of the major concepts while overlooking less important ideas of details. The cover is
appealing and has a title. 3- Students present less than 2 facts or events under one or more of the three
headings. While the student completes some important concepts, there are some gaps in understanding.
The cover is acceptable. 2- Students list one fact or event under each of the 3 headings. There are some
gaps in the understanding and it lacks organization. The cover and/or title page is missing. 1- Students
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miss facts under 1 or more of the 3 headings. Only general facts or ideas are listed and there is little
understanding. The cover and title page is missing. 0- Students did not respond to the assignment or
did not follow the directions of the assignment.
From Slave Ship to Freedom Road by Julius Lester
Holly Templeton
Grade 5
Learning Objective: Using the book, From Slave Ship to Freedom Road by Julius Lester, students
will examine the vocabulary words from the book to understand the terms used during the history of
slavery.
Resources: From Slave Ship to Freedom Road by Julius Lester
Vocabulary: Africa, Chains, Slave Auction, Mammy’s Shoulders, Cotton, Massa, Patterollers, Beaten
Unmercifully, Holy Book, Scheme, Business, Rand McNally Maps, Underground Railroad,
Emancipation Proclamation, Freedom, Delirious with Excitement
Core Activities: Have the class divided into 4 to 6 groups. Each group is given a set of vocabulary
words (above) that relate to the book From Slave Ship to Freedom Road by Julius Lester. As you read
the book to the class they are to sort the words from the beginning of the book to the end on their
table/space. The vocabulary words should be in the order as they appear in the story while the book is
being read. As each page is read show the book to the class. When the reading is done go over the
correct order of the vocabulary words. Then, discuss the meaning of each word. The vocabulary
words follow the chronological order of terms used during the history of slavery. These vocabulary
terms date from the early 1500s to 1863.
Harriet Beecher Stowe: Field Trip
Michelle Puckett
Grade 5
Learning Objectives: Students will study about Harriet Beecher Stowe and her home.
Standards: People in Societies: 3.Describe the experiences of African Americans under the
institution of slavery. Reading Objectives: AV1. Determine the meaning of unknown words, RP7answer literal ,inferential and evaluative questions. Writing Objectives: WP 1-4
Resources: A Picture Book of Harriet Beecher Stowe by Colin Bootman
Core Activities: Day 1- Hook- Ask students if they have ever heard of Harriet Beecher Stowe and
how she helped slaves. Give each student a sticky note and ask them to write something that they know
about Harriet Beecher Stowe. Have students share and then place their sticky note on chart paper on
the board. Explain to students that you are going to read a non-fiction book, A Picture Book of
Harriet Beecher Stowe by Colin Bootman and as you read, have students confirm any of the
information they wrote on the sticky note. As they confirm their responses, move the sticky note to a
separate piece of chart paper labeled confirmed. Discuss any vocabulary that students might not know.
Discuss the book when finished and ask students to come up with any other questions they have about
Harriet Beecher Stowe and how she helped slaves. Write them on sticky notes.
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Day 2- Field trip to Harriet Beecher Stowe House in Cincinnati- Before students attend the field
trip, go over the sticky notes with questions and statements that have not yet been confirmed. Divide
questions and statements and pass out to groups of students. Tell them that they are responsible for
confirming and/or finding the answers to the information on the sticky notes. Remind them to listen
carefully to the historian as he/she shares the history of the Harriet Beecher Stowe Museum.
Day 3- Assessment- Have students get into their groups and share their responses to the statements or
questions. Place the confirmed responses on the chart paper and discard others. Review all answers and
findings on the chart paper with students. Focus on how Stowe helped slaves. Using the information
that they just learned or confirmed, have students write how Stowe helped influence the lives of slaves.
Ask students to describe at least 3 examples in their response. Grade student work using the following
4 point rubric: 4- addresses all parts of the writing task demonstrates a clear understanding of how
Stowe influenced slavery. 3- addresses all parts of the writing task demonstrates a general
understanding of how Stowe influenced slavery. 2- addresses only parts of the writing task and
demonstrates little understanding of how Stowe influenced slavery. 1- addresses only one part of the
writing process and demonstrates no understanding of how Stowe influenced slavery.
The Harriet Beecher Stowe House
Anna Bowman
Grade 8
Learning Objectives: After visiting the Harriet Beecher Stowe House, students will discuss Harriet
Beecher Stowe's contribution to the abolition of slavery and her book Uncle Tom's Cabin," define
terms used on the Underground Railroad, identify points on the Underground Railroad in Ohio, design
a trading card featuring an Underground Railroad person.
Core Activities: Provide Follow the Drinking Gourd song lyrics (below) and Map of the Big Dipper.
Discuss Underground Railroad (UGRR), Map of URR routes to Canada- Siebert Map of Ohio’s UGRR
Trails
http://middletownlibrary.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/Crout&CISOPTR=
6021&CISOBOX=1&REC=14 Terminology used on the Railroad (website below). Introduce
Assignment-Create a UGRR Trading Card (website below of persons). Create Trading Card for
prominent UGRR person, Research Time for Trading Card.
Materials/Resources: Following the Drinking Gourd
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRGSgiTc7Jk Lyricshttp://www.followthedrinkinggourd.org/What_The_Lyrics_Mean.htm Vocabulary Underground
Railroad: http://www.osblackhistory.com/glossary.php People of the Underground Railroad:
http://www.freedomcenter.org/underground-railroad/freedom-stations/scholarship/people/
Harriet Beecher Stowe: Field Trip
Rachel Robinson
Grade 4
Learning Objectives: Students will visit the Harriet Beecher Stowe House and research prominent
abolitionists.
Standards: People in Societies: 4A.1 Describe the cultural practices and products of various groups
who have settled in Ohio over time.
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Materials/Resources: Ohio History Central http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org Abolitionism in
America http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/abolitionism/index.htm Americans in America
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/home.html
Core Activities: 1. Ask students the following: Who was Harriet Beecher Stowe? Why was her book
from 1852, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, so important? Why is it controversial today? Let students know they
will be visiting her family’s residence in Cincinnati. 2. Abolitionist Concentration: Explain to the
students that they will be conducting their own research on prominent American abolitionists. Pass out
10 index cards, rubric, suggested web resources, and hand out. Review Abolitionist Concentration
instructions and rubric with students. 3. After students have completed their concentration cards and
cards have been graded, have students trade cards with another pair of students and play Abolitionist
Concentration in partners. Have students work collaboratively first to make the card matches, then play
multiple rounds competitively for reinforcement.
Assessment: Rubric for Abolitionist Concentration Cards:
4- The correct abolitionist’s image and name appear on side one. The abolitionist’s lifespan, role in the
movement and career highlights are covered in-depth on the matching card. The card is attractive,
creative and easy to read. 3- The correct abolitionist’s image and name appear on side one. The
abolitionist’s lifespan, role in the movement and career highlights are briefly covered on the matching
card. The card is neat and easy to read. 2- The correct abolitionist’s image appears on side one. The
abolitionist’s lifespan, role in the movement and career highlights are partially covered on the
matching card. The card is easy to read. 1- The correct abolitionist’s name appears on side one. The
abolitionist’s lifespan, role in the movement and career highlights are partially and inaccurately
covered on the matching card. The card is difficult to read.
Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Fiction
Leslie Lessig
Grade 5
Learning Objectives: Using Uncle Tom’s Cabin and Slave Narratives to explore the culture under the
institution of slavery, students will compare and contrast narratives from an interview with a former
slave and the passage about Eliza’s escape from Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Students will: compare and
contrast narratives from a primary source to historical fiction written by Harriet Beecher Stowe, be
able to describe the experiences of African Americans under the institution of slavery and the dangers
of escape on the Underground Railroad, identify dialect in the narratives and suggest current ways to
express similar thoughts, while exploring how the author’s choice of words appeals to the senses and
mood.
Standards: People in Societies: Describe the experiences of African Americans under the institution
of slavery. Reading Process: Identify and understand an author’s purpose for writing, including to
explain, to entertain or to inform. Comprehension Strategies enjoy and to solve problems. Reading
Applications: Literary Text Interpret how an author’s choice of words appeals to the senses and
suggests mood. Establish and adjust purposes for reading, including to find out, to understand, to
interpret.
Resource/Materials: Harriet Beecher Stowe biography worksheet, Passage from Uncle Tom’s Cabin,
Slave Narrative Adah Isabelle Suggs http://www.aolib.com/reader_13579_66.htm Compare/contrast
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worksheet, Conditions under slavery worksheet, journals, sample journal responses to score, second
slave narrative for teacher to read Charley Barber http://www.aolib.com/reader_18912_12.htm
Core Activities: Day 1: As a means of creating background knowledge, students will read the passage
on Harriet Beecher Stowe, and complete the questions as homework.
Day 2: Students will take out their homework. Questions will be read aloud, and answers will be
shared. Students will have the opportunity to ask questions and make revisions as necessary. These
papers will be collected for a grade. Students will discuss Uncle Tom’s Cabin, and identify the purpose
that Harriet Beecher Stowe had for writing this novel. Teacher will then share a brief history of the
slave narratives, and the purpose for collecting these personal histories. Students will work in pairs.
Each pair will be given a passage from Uncle Tom’s Cabin, and a copy of the Slave Narrative.
Students will read the passages to each other, and will have a chance to discuss the content.
Students will complete the compare and contrast worksheet, which will be submitted for a grade.
Students will leave with homework-sorting conditions from slavery from other conditions.
Day 3: Students will return to their pairs, and discuss their homework results. Students will then write
a journal response to the prompt “Describe the experiences of African-Americans under the institution
of slavery.” Using the smart board, students will view three sample journal responses. They will be
asked to select one as an example of a prompt that would receive no points, one as a response that
would receive half- credit, and one that would receive full credit. Students will then share their
responses with a partner and the pair will collectively score each of their responses. The teacher will
read a passage from a slave narrative aloud. Students will be asked to discuss why dialog was written
with a dialect. Students will discuss how word choice helped the reader to understand the mood and the
oppression felt under slavery.
Assessment: Reading passage questions will be discussed in class. Students will have the opportunity
to ask questions and make corrections. The questions will then be collected and scored on the four
point system. Compare/Contrast worksheets will be graded. The Conditions under Slavery worksheet.
will be collected and given a completion score.
Differentiated Learning: Further passages from Uncle Tom’s Cabin would be available for students
to read. Students could visit the website http://www.nationalgeographic.com/railroad/j1.html to
virtually travel along the Underground Railroad. Students will have the chance to write an essay about
the significance of Uncle Tom’s Cabin as part of a contest, if they choose.
Compare and Contrast Worksheet
Name ____________________________________
1. List three similarities between Eliza’s escape and the slave narrative.
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
2. List three differences between Eliza’s escape and the slave narrative.
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_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
Excerpt from Uncle Tom’s Cabin- http://utc.iath.virginia.edu/interpret/exhibits/turner/turner.html
Ohio’s Underground Railroad
Karen Brassfield
Grade 5
Learning Objective: Students examine the Underground Railroad and its effect on Ohio history, as
well as, John Rankin and the secrets and dangers faced by the Rankins.
Resources: Rankin house info http://www.ripleyohio.net/htm/rankin.htm. http://www.touringohio.com/southwest/ripley/rankin-house.html.
Core Activities: Jig Saw Format- ivied students into four “Expert Groups” on Ohio’s Underground
Railroad. 1. Stories of Escape 2. Major Routes on the Underground Railroad 3. Agents and Friends
of the Underground Railroad 4. Secrets and Dangers. The students will research and tell other
students about what they have learned. They will be given information from the John Rankin House in
Ripley, Ohio to give information to the class. Group 1- Stories of Escape expert group will tell the
class what they have learned and retell the story of a slave escaping to the North. The following
questions are to be answered by their group. 1. What does your group think motivated people to want
to escape? 2. What is the most dangerous part of escape in your group's opinion? 3. What question
would you have most wanted to ask an escaped slave if you could have spoken to him/her after the
escape? Group 2- Major Routes on the Underground Railroad expert group will show a map of the
major routes in Ohio, and explain the routes by showing the routes that came through the southwest
area, especially. They would answer the following questions: 1. If a Georgia slave wanted to escape,
what was the most likely route he/she would take? 2. Why did Ohio have many routes on the
Undergroud Railroad? Group 3- The Agents and Friends of Underground Railroad Expert group will
explain what conductors and agents were and how they worked to help the runaway slaves. They will
help the students answer the following activities. 1. _______________________________was one of
the most famous conductors on the Underground Railroad. Her code name was __________. 2. Tell
how John Rankin's home was used and how was he a conductor? 3. What organizations did John
Rankin belong? Group 4- Secrets and Dangers expert group will explain what they learned. Then they
must answer the following questions. 1. How did Confederate Gen. John Morgan affect the
Underground Railroad in Southern Ohio? 2. What type of signals where used at different homes so the
slaves knew they would be safe? 3. What was the signal at the Rankin home?
Assessment- Their presentation and the display boards they made to go along with their teaching of
their part of the Jigsaw.
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Heroes of Ripley, Ohio
Cheryl Crawford
Grades 4- 5
Learning Objectives: Students will gain more knowledge about the life of the passengers, the
conductors & the station masters of the Underground Railroad in Ripley, Ohio.
Standards: People in Societies: 3.
Resources: "Our Ohio: Exploring Our Heritage” Volume 3.
https://www.thinktv.org/education/downloads/Ripley.pdf Streaming videohttps://www.thinktv.org/education/orrt_lessons/ooripley.html , Ohio Heroes by Rick Sowash, Life of
Rev. John Rankin, written by himself in his 80th year (1872). This is available at the Rankin Home
http://www.ripleyohio.net/htm/rankin.htm
Teacher Prep: This lesson can be taught as a follow up to a field trip to the John Rankin House & the
John Parker House in Ripley Ohio. If a field trip is not possible the lesson can still be enhanced with
the DVD "Our Ohio: Exploring Our Heritage” Volume 3. Prior to the field trip/DVD students will
have gained some knowledge about the purpose of the Underground Railroad from a variety of
resources. This will build on what they have learned in the 4th grade curriculum for the state of Ohio.
Core Activities: 1. Students will go on a field trip to the John Rankin House and the John Parker
House in Ripley Ohio. At each house they will be under the guidance of a docent and participate in any
activities at each location. 2. IF a trip is not possible, the classroom teacher can show the program
"Ripley, Ohio: Freedom's Landing." 3. Upon returning from the field trip or after viewing the DVD
students will be separated into 2-3 groups. Each group will be given a copy of a story about slaves
traveling on the Underground Railroad heading towards Ripley, Ohio. One story involves John Parker.
The other stories come from Life of Rev. John Rankin. 4. Each group will read their story. As a group
they will create a mini play of their story. There must be a narrator and each student must participate in
their groups’ play. 5. After a reasonable amount of time for the students to work on their mini
productions, the groups will perform for each other. 6. After the performances, the students will write a
short paragraph answering these questions: A. What was life like for a slave in America during the
19th century? B. What qualities did a passenger on the Underground Railroad need to possess? A
conductor? A station master? Support your answers with examples. Paragraphs can be shared in small
groups or in large group.
John Rankin House: Field Trip
Kristin Sims
Grade 5
Learning Objective: After students tour the John Rankin House, they will show an understanding of
the Underground Railroad by drawing an illustration and writing a story of a stop on the Underground
Railroad.
Resources: Drawing paper, notebook paper, pencil, coloring supplies
Teacher Prep: I want my students to get past the misconception that the Underground Railroad was
underground. I want my students to understand that people opened their own homes to slaves in order
to help get them to safety.
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Core Activities: 1. Students are to draw the Rankin House and the land surrounding it. They must
draw what they think the land looked like during the Underground Railroad. What would they see?
What would the inside of the house look like? Would it be full of people or just the family that lives
there? If there are lots of people there, who are they? 2. Once they have drawn their picture they may
add color and any extra details that they wish. 3. Next, the students will write a short story from the
point of view of someone in the picture. They must include who they are, why they are here, how they
are feeling. Students may also write from the point of view of the house, telling what it saw and heard.
4. Once students finish their pictures and stories, have a gallery walk around the classroom so students
may look at each other’s stories and artwork. Each student will have a small stack of post-its and write
any comments or questions they have about the student’s picture or story. A. Students may share their
stories aloud if time doesn’t allow for students to see all of the artwork and stories. At this time, the
students can answer aloud any questions someone asked about their work. B. Have a discussion on
what life was like on the Underground Railroad and how the stories are just an idea of what we think it
would have been like based on the information they have learned.
Assessment: Observe the accuracy of the information students write in their stories, and look for any
information that they learned on the Rankin House field trip and if the students put in ample effort to
complete the assignment.
Racism: The Rankin House
Michelle Puckett
Grade 5
Learning Objectives: To extend knowledge about racism highlighting the Rankin House in Ripley,
Ohio.
Standards: People in Societies: Compare the cultural practices and products of the diverse groups in
North American including: Artistic expression; Religion; Language; Food; Clothing; Shelter. Describe
the experiences of African-Americans under the institution of slavery. Government: Explain the
essential characteristics of American democracy including: Basic rights of individuals are guaranteed
by the Constitution. Social Studies Methods: Obtain information from a variety of print and electronic
sources and analyze its reliability including: Accuracy of facts; Credentials of the source. Locate
information in a variety of sources using key words, related articles, and cross-references. Draw
inferences from relevant information
Vocabulary: Abolition, Abolitionist, Constitution, Discrimination, Emancipation
Resources: Choice or No Choice http://www.ohiohistoryteachers.org/06/conc.pdf
Prep for Teacher: Locate resources and become familiar with the backgrounds of Rev. John Rankin,
Jean Rankin, John Parker and Arnold Gragston.
Core Activities: Hook- Introduce vocabulary by playing “Hangman” on the board. Students take turns
guessing letters until they have figured the word. Once they get the word, go over its meaning and have
students use the word in a sentence to check for understanding. Continue with the rest of the words
until finished. 2. With a partner, allow students to use laptops to research amendments to the
constitution involving voting, owning property, joining the military and being a witness in a trial. Ask
them to look up and read about Ohio’s Black Laws of 1804 and 1807 that dealt with African American
44
issues. Have students share what they found and discuss. Share with students that during the 1840s
people’s lives were different than today. During the 1840s many laws included factors such as gender
and race. These laws determined the rights of people and the choices that these people were allowed to
make. 3. Divide students into 4 groups. Make cards with the following labeled: ability to vote, ability
to own property, ability to join the military, ability to be a witness at a trial, and ability to learn to read.
Pass out a set to each group along with a card describing their person (white man, white woman, free
black slave, and enslaved black man) and have them tell whether they had the choice on the card.
Discuss results with students. 4. Choice or no Choice- See the table on the worksheet to examine
similarities and differences between Rev. Rankin, Jean Rankin, John Rankin, John Parker, and Arnold
Graston. There are clues that determined why some had rights and choices and others didn’t. Use the
information to answer yes or no to the questions that had to do with their rights.
Assessment: Grade student worksheets.
Differentiated Learning: Partner higher level students with struggling students. Have students
research other abolitionists (men and women), free black men and enslaved black men who had an
impact on the lives of African Americans.
The Rankin House and Henry’s Freedom Box
Holly Templeton
Grade 5
Learning Objective: Students will use the information from Henry’s Freedom Box and a field trip to
the Rankin house to examine items that a slave might carry with them on his/her quest for freedom.
Standards: History: Describe the experiences of African Americans under the institution of slavery.
Resources: Henry’s Freedom Box by Levine and Nelson. Information for the Rankin House power
point: http://www.ripleyohio.net/htm/rankin.htm “What’s In the Bag?” The following items were
found in a slave’s bag. Why might a slave have these possessions? Write in the space provided:
Oyster Shell, Wooden Spoon, Pewter Button, Piece of Chain, Feather, Pair of Stockings.
Core Activities: Before going on a field trip to the Rankin House, show your students the Rankin
House power point presentation (above). Discuss key points along the way. After going through the
Rankin House find a spot overlooking the river and read the book, Henry’s Freedom Box by Levine
and Nelson. This is a true story of Henry “BOX” Brown and his journey along The Underground
Railroad. After returning to school have the students do the “What’s in the Bag” activity. Put the
students in four groups. Give each student a “What’s in the Bag?” sheet to write their answers on
during the activity. Give each group one of the Slave Bags. Allow 15 to 20 minutes for the groups to
explore and discuss what they find in each bag. Write the students’ responses on chart paper for a
post- slavery unit writing activity.
Beacons and Shadows: Ripley, Ohio’s Underground Railroad
Steve Coleman
Grades 4/5
Learning Objectives: There was a reason that Ripley, Ohio was one of the largest terminal points on
the escape route for African Americans fleeing slavery. Over ¼ of Ripley’s populace (300) signed
their names as members of the Ripley Anti-slavery Society. Students will survey primary and
45
secondary sources on the Underground Railroad, surrounding geography, Ripley, and the principals
involved from 1819 (Village receives name of Ripley) until 1865 (Civil War ends) in preparation for
writing a brief research report. This activity includes whole class, small group, and individual work.
This entire lesson will take many class periods and could be extended into a unit, but the instructor
may pick and choose from this to create a 2 day lesson.
Resources: Computer lab or cart. Print media (books, posters, magazines) found in class. The Ohio
Historical Society profile of John Rankin http://dbs.ohiohistory.org/africanam/page.cfm?ID=4629 This
is a picture of a dedication to abolitionists in Ripley, Ohio
http://dbs.ohiohistory.org/africanam/page.cfm?ID=4600 This is a picture of John Parker’s house before
it was restored. http://johnparkerhouse.org/images/ This is the link to information and links
concerning John Rankin; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ripley,_Ohio This has links to underground
railroad information, John Parker, and John Rankin. http://www.ripleyohio.net/ This site is Ripley’s
own, developed for historical recording and town information.
http://ohsweb.ohiohistory.org/places/sw14/index.shtml#info Sprague, Stuart S., ed. His Promised
Land, the Autobiography of John P. Parker 1996, Norton. Sowash, Rick. Heroes of Ohio, 23 tales.
Standards: Grades 4-5: People in Societies: 3c. Explain the reasons people came to Ohio including:
Freedom from political and religious oppression. Describe the experience of African-Americans under
the institution of slavery. Social Studies Methods: 3. Use primary and secondary sources to answer
questions about Ohio history. Differentiate between primary and secondary sources. English: 2.
Locate sources and collect relevant information from multiple sources. 3. Identify important
information found in the sources and summarize important findings.
Teacher Prep: This lesson was created after a trip to the John Rankin house in Ripley, Ohio. Ripley,
Ohio is too far for a conventional field trip from Cincinnati. Ripley could be the terminus of a fantastic
field trip along U.S. 52 starting in eastern Cincinnati. U.S. 52 is named the Ohio River Scenic Byway
along this stretch. This trip would reinforce the importance of geography on politics, enterprise, and
settlement. Stops would include Chilo River Museum, Grant’s birthplace (Point Pleasant), Moscow
power plant, Edington Mound (Neville), Meldahl River Dam, Utopia, and Ripley.
Core Activities: 1. Access the Cincinnati Art Museum web site and pull up
http://72.249.182.183/collection/results.do?id=7368&db=object&view=detail which is an 1893
painting by Charles T. Webber entitled The Underground Railroad on a classroom monitor. 2. Engage
students in a class discussion. Don’t tell the title of the painting. Ask students to use their thinking
skills of inference, schema, and questioning to discuss who, what, where, when, and why of this
painting. 3. After initial class discussion tell the name of the painting. Continue discussion to see if
their perceptions have changed. 4. A class handout will have names of many people and places
important to the Underground Railroad. Assign one of the names to each student or group. They must
investigate that subject before going on to other names on the handout. 5. Students are to take notes,
record web sites, and record other source information they access in class or on the web so they may
use this information in their initial report to the class. 6. After listening to student presentations,
students may choose any topic that was discussed to study further and create an individual project
(report, story board, time line, or annotated pictures).
Student handout- The Underground Railroad and what else? Your group has been assigned one of the
listed topics to investigate. Each topic has ties to the Underground Railroad. Each topic, also, is more
than its connections to the Underground Railroad. Listed Topics: a. John Rankin b. John P. Parker c.
46
Ripley, Ohio d. Ohio River e. Harriet Beecher Stowe f. National Underground Railroad Freedom
Center
1. Find at least three web sites, books, and other sources of information that describe your topic.
Write the source down (name of book, correct spelling of the web site, etc.) so you and others can
return to that place.
2. After you have found the three (or more) resources concerning your topic, start reading, taking
notes, and discussing what you have found with your group. Make sure you understand how this topic
was associated with the Underground Railroad. Your group will report your findings to the entire class.
3. After you have listened to each group report about their topics you may choose to continue your
research of your assigned topic or pick a new topic to investigate.
4. Your final report must have at least three dates listed in it. These will be used to create a class timeline of the class’s research.
47
UNIT 5: CIVIL WAR AND RECONSTRUCTION
You Are There: America on the Brink! (Pre-1850)
Julieanne Phillips
Grades 3-5
Learning Objectives: To understand the complexities, nuances and divisions of a diverse United
States population on the eve of the decade of crisis (pre-1850).
Standards: History: B. Describe the cultural patterns that are evident in North America today as a
result of exploration, colonization and conflict.
Vocabulary: Sectionalism
Teacher Prep: Review North/South Tensions pre-1850. Some examples are: Colonies (Jamestown,
Plymouth) Dec of Independence (declaring independence, slavery); US Constitution (3/5 Compromise)
US capital city (in between N and S); Federalists v. Democratic Republicans; Missouri Compromise
(1820); 1832- Nullification Crisis (1832); 1846-1848- Mexican War (war to spread slavery) .
Review Cultural Tensions pre-1850. Some examples are: Race (Free Black, White, Indian, Immigrant,
Slave); Class (upper, middle, lower, slave); Region (Northeast, Midwest, South, Border State, West);
Religion (Second Great Awakening); Gender (cult of domesticity, male dominance); Economy
(Factory owner, factory worker, shop owner, farmer, slave owner, miner); Education level (male and
female); Labor (immigrant, slave, white, free black) Politics (Missouri Compromise, Jacksonian
democracy, Monroe Doctrine, War with Mexico); Slavery (political, economic, social, cultural aspects
Core Activities: 1. Hook- If you had to name one cause for the American Civil War---what would it
be? Solicit answers. You are all correct. Why so many answers? Why do we not agree on the main
cause of the war? Steer discussion toward our different perspectives based on our different experiences
of where we live, culture, background, etc. Then ask about today’s political, cultural, economic state of
the country and receive diverse answers, too. Could the road to the civil war be paved with economic,
political, cultural and social differences found all the way back to the forming of the country? In the
first settlements in Jamestown and Plymouth? This sectionalism in the US arose because the north and
south had 2 different economic, social, cultural, and political systems. Some historians have argued
that the country was on the path of a sectional war as soon as they stepped foot on this land.
2. Role play to attempt to understand complexities, nuances and divisions of a diverse United States
population on the eve of the decade of crisis (pre-1850). By role playing attempt to see how
sectionalized and diverse the US was in pre-1850 which set the tone for the upcoming Decade of Crisis
from 1850-1860 which was the precursor decade to the Civil War of 1861-1865.
3. Set the Stage:
A. North/South Tensions pre-1850:
Some responses could be:
Colonies (Jamestown, Plymouth)
Dec of Independence (declaring independence, slavery)
US Constitution (3/5 Compromise)
48
US capital city (in between N and S)
Federalists v. Democratic Republicans
1820- Missouri Compromise (1820)
1832- Nullification Crisis (1832)
1846-1848- Mexican War (war to spread slavery)
B. Cultural Tensions
Some responses could be:
Race (Free Black, White, Indian, Immigrant, Slave)
Class (upper, middle, lower, slave)
Region (Northeast, Midwest, South, Border State, West)
Religion (Second Great Awakening)
Gender (cult of domesticity, male dominance)
Economy (Factory owner, factory worker, shop owner, farmer, slave owner, miner)
Education level (male and female)
Labor (immigrant, slave, white, free black)
Politics (Missouri Compromise, Jacksonian democracy, Monroe Doctrine, War with Mexico)
Slavery (pro slavery, anti-slavery, abolitionist)
4. While considering the North/South tensions (A), randomly select cultural tension characteristics of
Americans in pre-1850 (B), and from that perspective answer the questions below:
From the perspective of a __________________living in the United States in 1849 (remember, you
don't know what's going to happen over the next 16 years), answer the following questions:
Some questions could be:
What is the biggest issue facing the country?
What can be done about it?
What holds us together as a nation?
What is pulling us apart as a nation?
How can we all get along better?
How do you feel about the growing United States sectionalism?
Resources/Materials: “The Time of the Lincolns,” American Experience, PBS, accessed October 10,
2010, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/lincolns/nation/map_agind_text.html “Topic: America in 1850,”
Toolbox Library: Primary Sources in U.S. History & Literature, National Humanities Center, accessed
October 7, 2010,
http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/pds/triumphnationalism/america1850/america1850.htm
Assessment: Essay writing. Give students examples of real people who lived in this time period and
what their perspective were at that time.
Differentiated Learning: Have students work in pairs for one American person. Have the students
debate their American person with other students. Keep their persona through the civil war crisis and
continue to role play to understand different perspectives of the war. Place characteristics of persons on
a US map to visually show the diversity, find a real person who has these characteristics and research
them, give answers to questions and work backwards to what characteristics the people would have
with that view. Give the students the information necessary to understand their American person
perspective
49
“You Are There: America on the Brink”
Student Sheet
A. North/South tensions – pre-1850
Colonies (Jamestown, Plymouth)
Dec of Independence (declaring independence, slavery)
US Constitution (3/5 Compromise)
US capital city (in between N and S)
Federalists v. Democratic Republicans
1820- Missouri Compromise (1820)
1832- Nullification Crisis (1832)
1846-1848- Mexican War (war to spread slavery, war to increase number of southern states)
I .CIRCLE BELOW THE CULTURAL TENSIONS YOU SELECTED:
B. Cultural Tensions- pre-1850
Race (Free Black, White, Indian, Immigrant, Slave)
Class (upper, middle, lower, slave)
Region (Northeast, Midwest, South, Border State, West)
Religion (Second Great Awakening)
Gender (cult of domesticity, male dominance)
Economy (Factory owner, factory worker, shop owner, farmer, slave owner, miner)
Education level (male and female)
Labor (immigrant, slave, white, free black)
Politics (Missouri Compromise, Jacksonian democracy, Monroe Doctrine, War with Mexico)
Slavery (pro slavery, anti -slavery, abolitionist)
II. While considering the North/South tensions (A), randomly select cultural tension characteristics of
Americans in pre-1850 (B), and from that perspective answer the questions below:
From the perspective of a __________________living in the United States in 1849 (remember, you
don't know what's going to happen over the next 16 years), answer the following questions:
Some questions could be:
What is the biggest issue facing the country?
What can be done about it?
What holds us together as a nation?
What is pulling us apart as a nation?
How can we all get along better?
How do you feel about the growing United States sectionalism?
Some characteristics grouping could be:
White, upper class, Massachusetts, Male, Factory owner, Abolitionist
Black, middle class, Ohio, Male, Shop Owner, Anti-Slavery
Black, slave, Kentucky, Female, House Servant, Pro Slavery
White, lower class, Kansas, Female, farmer, Small Slave owner Pro Slavery
White, upper class, South Carolina, Male, Plantation Owner, Pro Slavery
50
A Letter to our President
Leslie Lessig
Grade 5
Learning Objectives: In this lesson, students will explore the story of how one young girl wrote to
Abraham Lincoln, and changed the face of his presidency. Students will then practice letter-writing
skills by offering suggestions or asking questions to our president. Students will: Identify books that
are biographical; Read a letter and determine audience and purpose; Compose a letter with a defined
audience and purpose; Revise letter to final draft, assuring that they were able to vary language and
writing style to their audience’s level; Revise a letter to final draft to be free from grammar and
spelling errors
Standards: Language Arts: Writing-Writing Applications. Write letters that state the purpose, make
requests or give compliments and use business letter format Writing- Writing Process. Determine a
purpose and audience. Vary language and style as appropriate to audience and purpose. Proofread
writing, edit to improve conventions, (e.g., grammar, spelling, punctuation and capitalization), and
identify and correct fragments and run-ons. Social Studies Methods: Identify the difference between a
primary and a secondary source and gather information from a primary source.
Resources: Copy of the book Mr. Lincoln’s Whiskers; Copy of original Grace Bedell letter and typed
transcript available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grace_Bedell#Text_of_Grace_Bedell.27s_letter
Grace Bedell: The Little Girl Who Changed the Face of a Nation (movie)
http://www.gracebedell.com/?view=synopsis Prewriting worksheet, Overhead transparency of a poor
letter and a quality letter, Stationery and envelopes, White house address-The White House, 1600
Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20500
Teacher Prep: This lesson would be taught as the class is introduced to the biography reading
assignment. Students will be introduced to the “Hero to My Hero” assignment in Language Arts Class
prior to this lesson. Students will have background information about Lincoln prior to this lesson as
well, and will know that Lincoln had heroes. Students will be told that Lincoln valued the ideology
used by Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence and the ideals used in the Constitution, that
Lincoln also is a hero to many Americans, and that President Obama used Lincoln’s Bible for the
inauguration, and that MLK used references to Lincoln in his I Have a Dream speech.
Core Activities: Day 1- Hook- Teacher will inform students that a young girl wrote to Lincoln and
"Changed the face of our president." Teacher will read Mr. Lincoln’s Whiskers to the class. 1. Pass out
copies of Grace Bedell’s original letter to the class. Ask students to read the letter. Students will
struggle, as the letter is old and hand written. Students will be asked if the letter is a primary or a
secondary source. Students will then determine if the book that was read is a primary or a secondary
source. Pass out the typed transcript of Grace’s letter and ask the students to read it silently. Have a
student read the letter aloud. Students will identify the author and the audience of the letter. Ask
students if Grace Bedell asked a question or offered a suggestion in her letter. The purpose of her letter
will be discussed. Students will be told that they will have the chance to write a letter to offer a
suggestion or ask for information. Students will be given the prewriting worksheet, and will complete
in class. Students will compose the first draft of their letter as a homework assignment.
Day 2- Show an example of a poor letter. Rubrics will be given to the students, and they will be
allowed to score the letter. Students will be called on to offer constructive criticism or suggestions for
improvements on the poor letter. (NOTE-I always inform the students that none of my students work is
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shown on the overhead unless they are present and give permission. The poor letter is written by a
teacher to show common mistakes that students make.) Show an example of a quality letter using the
overhead. Students will again score the letter using the rubric, and discussion will follow. Inform
students that now that they are aware what letters will be scored on, they will have a chance to make
revisions. Tell students that they may work individually or in pairs. (I offer students green pens to
make revisions on their initial drafts) Students will reread their letters, as well as their partners if they
choose to work in pairs, and make revisions. The teacher will circulate and assist as necessary.
Students will write their final drafts. Students who do not finish will be allowed to complete as
homework, but letters must be hand written. (Unless a 504 or IEP states otherwise) The teacher will
collect and grade final drafts before mailing letters.
Assessment: Using the letter writing rubric, students’ letters will be evaluated
Differentiated Learning: Students can read more about President Lincoln, gather a collection of
books for the classroom from the library. Students could write an additional letter to a congressman,
former president or other hero. (in another class, students will be writing letters to a "Hero" asking who
that person has as their hero.)
Writing Rubric Grades Handouts
Pre-Writing Worksheet
Name _____________________________________
Who will you be writing to? What type of letter will you write? (circle one Friendly letter -Business
letter. Describe you audience. Will you offer a suggestion or ask a question?
What is your suggestion or question?
Rubric: http://www.chlive.org/mmancinelli/Rubrics.htm
Emancipation Proclamation
Recommended by Rachel Robinson
Grade 5
http://www.ohiohistoryteachers.org/06/ep.pdf
Touring Gettysburg
Karen Smith
Grade 4
Learning Objectives: Learn how Ohio’s soldiers fared in the Battle of Gettysburg and realize the
emotional effect war can have on soldiers, doctors, and civilians by touring the galleries and examining
monuments.
Standards: History: Describe the cultural patterns that are evident in North America today as a result
of exploration, colonization, and conflict. Social Studies Methods: Obtain information through a
variety of primary and secondary sources using the component part of the source. Use a variety of
sources to organize information and draw inferences. 3. Use primary and secondary resources to
answer questions about Ohio history. 4. Describe how archaeologists and historians study and
interpret the past.
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Vocabulary: Union, Confederacy, Confederate, Secede
Resources: Gettysburg- the movie, The Extraordinary Story of the Battle of Gettysburg
http://www.gettysburg.com/bog/bogstory/story1.htm , Stone Sentinels
http://www.gettysburg.stonesentinels.com , Reference: National Park Service Plan a Field Trip
http://www.nps.gov/gett/forteachers/planafieldtrip.htm
Gettysburg Monuments and Their Messages (below); Gettysburg Soldier Letter (below)
Teacher Prep: Review North and South’s reasons for going into battle: slavery, state vs. federal rights,
economy and the election of Abraham Lincoln. Learn about Ohio’s involvement in the Civil War and
Battle of Gettysburg. Become familiar with what Gettysburg has to offer students who are learning
about the Civil War: Visitor Center, cyclorama, Gettysburg Museum, battlefields, Soldier’s National
Cemetery, monuments (specific to Ohio), ranger-led programs.
Core Activities: Hook- Show a clip of the movie Gettysburg to the whole group. This clip has a
general talking to his troops before they begin the march across the battlefield. Ask them, “If you were
a soldier right now, how would you be feeling? What are you fighting for?” Stop and take answers.
Watch the rest of the clip with the troops marching across the field, especially with the powerful music
that accompanies this scene. Again stop and ask, “How are you feeling right now- not as a soldier, but
as yourself? How is this movie making you feel about our men and women in the armed forces?” Stop
and take answers and take note of how the music is making us feel as we watch this. Then tell the
students that we are going to learn how the conflicting ideas about the economy, states’ rights, and
slavery led to the Civil War. We will learn the many emotional effects on the soldiers and citizens by
studying monuments that have been built to honor those who died. We will also learn how important
Ohio was in this battle and the sacrifice that was made by our soldiers. Take the students to the website
www.gettysburg.com and introduce the story of Gettysburg by clicking on Battle Information Center
and then on The Story of the Battle of Gettysburg. We would read through pages 1-4 so the students
have an introduction to why America had a civil war. Pages 10 and 18 talk about the ruins Gettysburg
was in at the end. From there, working in groups of 3-4, the students will familiarize themselves with
Gettysburg by searching through the website. In those same small groups, the students will then visit
the website www.gettysburg.stonesentinels.com and study 10 of the monuments (primary source).
Those 10 are Father William Corby, Brigadier General Samuel Wylie Crawford, Major General
George Gordon Meade, The State of Virginia, Lt. General James Longstreet, the Women’s Memorial,
the Friend to Friend Masonic Memorial, the State of Mississippi, the State of Maryland, and the
Soldiers and Sailors of the Confederacy. The students will take careful note of the expressions on
faces, the stances some of the men have, interaction between men if a monument has multiple people,
and what they are carrying in their hands. The students will identify the emotions and message about
the war the sculptors are trying to convey to us. This worksheet will be saved and compared to what
the statues are like in real life. 6. The students will also study the monuments that honor the soldiers
from Ohio. They will go to http://www.gettysburg.stonesentinels.com/Union.php and click on each
state of the Union to see how many monuments it has. They will quickly realize Ohio has one of the
largest number of monuments dedicated to its units. Under Ohio the students will then click on each
monument, write down the unit it honors, how many men were in that unit, and how many men from
that unit died. At the end, they will total the number of men who were from Ohio and total how many
of those men died.
Field Trip option: Once in Gettysburg the students will begin their day at the Visitor’s Center. They
will watch the video “A New Birth of Freedom” and view the Cyclorama. Small groups will then tour
the museum by choosing the perspective of someone involved with the war: soldier, doctor/nurse,
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civilian, or President Lincoln. They will find artifacts and answer questions specific to the tour they
choose based on the worksheets provided by the National Park Service’s Plan a Field Trip Planning
Kit. Students will then tour the battlefields and locate the 10 monuments that were studied in class.
Students will study the monuments and study the emotional aspect of them just as what was done in
class. The same worksheet will be completed as was done in class before the trip. Post Field Trip:
Students will write a letter home to their family from the perspective of a surviving Ohio Civil War
soldier.
Assessment: The students will write a letter home from the perspective of an Ohio Civil War soldier at
Gettysburg. Expectations will be set by reviewing and sending home the rubric that will be used to
grade them as well as a sample letter written by the teacher.
Differentiated Learning: Students will have a graphic organizer to help with the letter writing process
and be paired together on one letter or students will create a new Ohio soldier monument and justify its
message.
Gettysburg Monuments and Their Messages
Group Members __________________________________________________
There are over 1,000 monuments, memorials, and markers dedicated to the soldiers who fought for
what they believed in during the Battle of Gettysburg. The sculptors of these monuments put forth
much effort to make them as precise as possible and to portray a certain emotion and message in honor
of those soldiers who fought.
While touring the site Stone Sentinels you will be responsible for looking up 10 of those monuments
and studying those emotions and messages. You will record your thoughts in the table below.
Monument
What emotions do
you feel when
looking at the
monument?
What is the
sculptor saying
about this person?
What messages or
emotions about war is
the sculptor
portraying?
Father William
Corby
Brigadier General
Samuel Wylie
Crawford
Major General
George Gordon
Meade
The State of
Virginia Monument
Lt. General James
Longstreet
The Women’s
Memorial
Friend to Friend
Masonic Memorial
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The State of
Mississippi
Monument
The State of
Maryland
Monument
The Soldiers and
Sailors of the
Confederacy
Monument
Gettysburg Soldier Letter
Name __________________________________________________
Your assignment is to write a letter home to your family from the perspective of an Ohio soldier. The
war is now over, and you are letting them know you are coming home. In the letter you will be writing
about many things and will need to look back at the websites, pictures and worksheets you have
worked on.
1. How you (the soldier) are feeling using the knowledge you gained from the emotions on the faces of
the monuments. 2. Why you are fighting in the first place- remember the conflicting ideas the North
and South had from the website www.gettysburg.com 3. The toll the war was taking on the civilians
of Gettysburg- remember to look back at the Women’s Memorial and Father William Corby and the
website www.gettysburg.com 4. How many men from Ohio actually fought and died in the war. You
will be assessed based on the rubric below.
Letter Rubric: http://volweb.utk.edu/Schools/bedford/harrisms/letterrubric.htm
Gettysburg Address
Karen Brassfield
Grade 5
Learning Objectives: 1. Knowing the importance of the Declaration of Independence and the
Constitution stands through time and can be related to other important documents. 2. To locate
information in a variety of sources using key words and phrases.
Standards: Government: 2e. Basic rights of individuals are guaranteed by the Constitution; 3.
Explain the significance of the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution. Social Studies
Methods: 2. Locate information in a variety of sources using key words, related articles or documents.
Resources: copies of the Declaration of Independence, US Constitution and the Gettysburg Address;
Dictionary. Stream/Internet for seeing on the Smart Board: An actor reciting the Gettysburg Address:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3TgkH7VGSk; Gettysburg sites http://americanhistory.si.edu/;
http://americanhistory.si.edu/documentsgallery/exhibitions/gettysburg_address_1.html;
Virtual Tour of Gettysburg: http://www.civilwaralbum.com/gettysburg/index.htm
Vocabulary: Four score, forefathers, proposition, consecrate, died in vain
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Teacher Prep: Review notes on the Gettysburg Address and go over the lesson plan to make sure the
teacher has the answers to what the students need to do. Make sure all internet sites are still available.
This activity takes place at the end of the government unit when the students have already studied the
Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution.
Core Activities: 1. Have students search the Smithsonian National Museum of American History to
see what they can find about the Civil War. Also search to see a primary source, the actual copy of the
hand written Gettysburg Address by Lincoln. 2. Take a Virtual Tour of Gettysburg via internet. This
tour gives an idea why Lincoln wrote the Gettysburg Address. The students will be working in pairs
and will read the Gettysburg Address going over the vocabulary and explaining the meaning of
phrases. (15 min.) 3. The students read the Gettysburg Address and find the parts that relate to the
Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. They are to show where they could be found in the
documents and how they relate to the current times of the Civil War. (20min.)
Assessment: The students will be given the following questions to answer. 1. Where did you find the
connections and what were the phrases used by Lincoln? 2. Why do you think Lincoln used these
phrases? 3. What was the importance of the Gettysburg Address? 4. If you were Lincoln, what else do
you think could have been put into the address from the Declaration of Independence or the US
Constitution? In formal evaluation of this lesson: Seeing how well the students found the information
and how well the discussion goes about the reasons they think it was important and the discussion to
answers to the above questions.
Differentiated Learning: Some students will be given only certain parts of the Declaration of
Independence and the Constitution and a word list will be supplied to them.
Gettysburg Address Myths
Holly Templeton
Grade 5
Learning Objectives: Students will examine the Gettysburg Address and use a variety of lessons to
analyze the speech and the myths that surround it.
Standards: People in Societies: 1. Describe the experiences of African Americans under the
institution of slavery. Social Studies Methods: 2. Obtain information from a variety of print and
electronic sources and analyze its reliability including accuracy of facts. 3. Compare points of
agreement and disagreement among sources. 4. Draw inferences from relevant information. 5.
Organize key ideas by taking notes that paraphrase or summarize. 6. Use problem solving/decision
making process which includes considering advantages and disadvantages.
Resources/Materials: Causes of the Civil War power point can be e-mailed to anyone who needs a
copy. Contact templeton_h@FairfieldCitySchools.com Photos: Trostle House and Union dead near
Peach Orchard http://www.nps.gov/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/44gettys/44visual1.htm
Copies of the Gettysburg Address 4. Speech Analysis Questions
http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/lesson_images/lesson885/speech-analysis.pdf
Gettysburg Address Audio: www.americanwriters.org/classroom/videolesson/clips14_lincoln.asp The
DVD: America the Story of Us, “Civil War”
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Vocabulary: Choice, commitment, soldier, address, national, military, evidence, indicate, witness,
extensive, photographer, image, veteran, recruit, command, influence, obey, conviction, and outcome.
Teacher Prep: www.gettysburg.edu “Causes of the Civil War” power point (see above to receive a
copy)
Core Activities: 1. The Gettysburg Address will take two 45 minute class periods. Each student will
get a copy of the Gettysburg Address and a set of Speech Analysis Questions. The students will answer
Purpose and Audience questions as well as questions on Content and Tone. The teacher (or audio tape)
reads the Gettysburg Address while the students will answer the following: Purpose and Audience. The
last ten minutes of class will be time for discussion. Student responses will be written on chart paper
for each set of questions. Day 2, the lesson will begin the same as the previous class. The teacher (or
audio tape) reads the Gettysburg Address while the students answer questions on Structure and
Delivery. Student responses will be written on chart paper for each set of questions.
2. Gettysburg Myths will take three 45 minute class periods. On day one of the lesson give each
student a two sided dry erase paddle. One side of the paddles should read Myth and the other side
should read Fact. The teacher will read a list of events from the Gettysburg Address and after each on
is read, when the teacher says, GO then students will raise their paddle facing the teacher with Myth or
Fact. The teacher will keep track of the responses and reveal the correct answers after all events have
been read. I use all Myths: Myth #1 President Lincoln wrote the speech on the back of an envelope.
Myth #2 President Lincoln wrote the speech on the train from D.C. to Gettysburg. Myth #3 The
cemetery was complete when the dedication took place. Myth #4 President Lincoln thought his speech
was a failure. Myth #5 The audience at Gettysburg was disappointed by the short speech. After the
Myth versus Fact exercise assign each group one of the Myths and then the class will be given a tiered
group assignment. Put students in groups of 4-6. All groups must complete Group Activity #1 Explain
the myth that your group has been assigned, answering these three questions: 1.) what is true in this
myth? 2.) What are other truths behind this myth that could be considered contradictory?
3. What does the myth reveal about those who believe it? The groups may choose one of the following
Activities for the remainder of their Group Assignment: As a group, you may use any materials
available to help you understand and explain the myth in 5 minutes or less, or prepare a 5 minute
presentation to the class that explains your understanding of the myth using creative drama, visual aids
such as posters, music, illustrations, or an oral presentation. Look at the Real Gettysburg activity will
take one 45 minute class period. On the Smart board put two different photographs. Photo #1 is titled,
Union Dead Near Peach Orchard and Photo #2 is titled, Aftermath of the Battle of Gettysburg, Trostle
House. After viewing the photos the students will answer the following questions using only visual
evidence (only what they can see). The questions are as follows: 1. Can you find evidence in the
photographs that indicates any of the men mentioned had witnessed scenes such as these? 2. The Civil
War was the first war that was extensively recorded by photographers, how might these images have
affected the citizens who saw them? 3. What effect would the real views, rather than these
photographed views, of the battlefield have had on veteran soldiers, new recruits, and officers in
command? How might these images have influenced their readiness to obey orders in future battles, or
the strength of their convictions? 4. How might the personal convictions of soldiers influence the
outcome of a battle? Student responses will be written on chart paper.
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Ulysses S Grant Home and School: Field Trip
Cheryl Crawford
Grade 5
Learning Objectives: Students will take a field trip to US Grant home and school and compare and
contrast schools in the past to schools today.
Teacher Prep: This lesson includes pre and post field trip activities to the sites.
Standards: Social Studies Methods: 1A.B, 2, 4, 6.
Resources: 'Lys Grant, compiled by Ned S. Lodwick.
Core Activities: 1. Prior to the field trip to the U.S. Grant Home & the Dutch Hill School House in
Georgetown, students will complete their weekly trivia research on the President of that week, U.S.
Grant. 2. Using the overhead or smart board the teacher will share pgs. 1-4 from the book 'Lys Grant,
compiled by Ned S. Lodwick. 3. Also some of the folk tales that exist in the book will be shared.
Suggestions are "Horses Understand", "Bareback", "Work Ethic", "Young Traveler", & "Phrenologist"
4. Prior to the field trip to Georgetown, the students will be instructed to be observant of how schools
were in the past & how they are today. 5. Upon returning from the field trip the teacher will share the
following tales from Lodwick's book. Hopefully, this will refresh the students' memories from the trip
the day before. "Punishment" "The Copy Book" "Mumble the Peg" "The Future" "The Appointment"
6. Next, students will be separated into small groups & they will complete a Venn diagram comparing
& contrasting the Dutch Hill School to their own school. 7. The class will reconvene to a large group
& the findings will be shared on a larger Venn diagram. After a discussion students will write a
paragraph about what they individually liked & disliked about schools in the past and give reasons.
Ulysses S. Grant Schoolhouse
Karen Smith
Grade 4
Learning Objectives: Students will examine school houses of the early 1900s and then take a field
trip to Ulysses S. Grant school house.
Standards: People in Societies: 1. Describe the cultural practices and products of various groups who
have settled in Ohio over time. Social Studies Methods: 1. Use primary and secondary sources to
answer questions about Ohio history.
Resources: “Now You See It, Now You Don’t” One Room School houses.
www.ohiokids.org/tz/dec03/shtml
Core Activities: a. On the SMARTboard pull up the website “Now You See It, Now You Don’t”. b.
Read through the information and enlarge the pictures discussing what school was like for the children
in the early 1900s. c. Place the students in groups at stations, each one having one of the enlarged
pictures taped to butcher paper. Using the Virginia Rojas strategy, Rotating Review, groups will travel
and spend time at each station. There they will write on the butcher paper what would they see in
today's schools instead of what they see in the pictures. They will not be allowed to write the same
thing another group has already written. Field Trip: a. Take a field trip to Ulysses S. Grant's school
house in Georgetown, Oh. b. As the students walk around the school house they will complete a
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teacher-made graphic organizer listing and illustrating specific details of the schoolhouse i.e., desks,
books, heating source, writing utensils, etc. c. Once back, students will design a brochure highlighting
important features of the school house Grant attended as a child. They will create this from the
perspective of a tour guide using information from their completed graphic organizer. Illustrations with
short captions/descriptions must be included for each section of the brochure.
Assessment: a. Students will write a journal entry describing a day at school in the one-room school
house. The journal will start from when they arrive at the school house to the time they leave,
including any chores they must do during the day, not just the lessons they receive that day. Their
journal should include information from the pictures that were viewed online of one room school
houses, information from their graphic organizer, and from the brochure they created.
Comparing Two Union Soldiers’ Civil War Letters
Valerie Scott
Grade 4
Learning Objectives: In this activity students will read two letters from Major Problems in the Civil
War and Reconstruction: Documents and Essays by Perman and Taylor, and compare and contrast
them using a Venn Diagram to draw conclusions.
Standards: Reading Process: 3.3. Compare and contrast information in texts to demonstrate
comprehension. 3.5. Make inferences or draw conclusions about what has been read and support those
with textual evidence. 3.6. Use graphic organizers to interpret textual information. Reading
Applications: 4.2. Summarize main ideas in informational text, using supporting details as
appropriate. Social Studies Methods: 7.3. Use primary & secondary sources to answer questions about
Ohio History.
Materials/Resources: Major Problems in the Civil War and Reconstruction: Documents and Essays
by Perman and Taylor
Core Activities: In this activity students will read two letters, and compare and contrast them using a
Venn Diagram to draw conclusions. Use the documents “The President of the Detroit Ladies Aid
Society Calls on Women to Assist the War Effort, November 1861” p. 212, and “Cincinnati Sewing
Women Protest Their Wartime Wages, February 1865” p. 214 from Major Problems in the Civil War
and Reconstruction. These are letters written during the Civil War. Have the students work in groups
of three or four, with a copy of each document and a copy of a Venn diagram. Review the letter parts
with the class and explain that they need to read the letters and make comparisons as to how they are
alike and how they are different. They are to fill in the Venn diagram. After each group has finished,
the teacher conducts a discussion as to who, what and why the letters are written, then has each group
help fill in a Venn diagram for the class.
Compare and Contrast Women’s Ideas of Helping During the Civil War
Valerie Scott
Grades 4-5
Learning Objectives: In this lesson the student will compare/contrast two Civil War articles, be able
to determine fact/ opinion, and write a short summary of how the articles were alike.
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Standards: Social Studies Methods: 7.3 Use primary & secondary sources, 7.5 Identify main ideas &
supporting details from factual information, 7.6 Distinguish between fact & opinion Reading: Process:
Concepts of Print, Comprehension Strategies – 3.3 Compare and contrast information on a single topic
or theme across different text. 3.5 Make inferences of draw conclusions about what has been read and
support those with textual evidence. Applications: Informational, Technical and Persuasive Text – 4.1
Make inferences about informational text from the title page, 4.7 Distinguish fact from opinion
Writing: Writing Processes – 6.4 Use organized strategies (e.g. lists, webs, Venn diagrams) to plan
writing, Communications: Oral and Visual – 10.8 Deliver informational presentations
Vocabulary: Nobly, Damp your zeal, Recipient, Invalid, Contractor, Operative, Tarpaulin
Resources: A copy of each article for each student, “The President of the Detroit Ladies Aid Society
Calls on Women to Assist the War Effort” November 1861, p. 212 and “Cincinnati Sewing Women
Protest Their Wartime Wages” February 1865, p. 214 Major Problems in the Civil War and
Reconstruction. For each student: a copy of a Venn diagram to write on. Hula Hoops if the teacher
chooses to make a large Venn on a chalk/white board, SMARTboard if choose. Paper for Type 2
writing.
Teacher Prep: The teacher first must read through the two articles to determine vocabulary.
Background knowledge of what the people (particularly women) did to contribute during the Civil War
would be helpful as well as government contracts for materials.
Core Activities: Day 1- 10 Min. – Teacher passes out the two articles and have the students read
through them. 15 Min. – Teacher divides the class into small groups. Each group should re-read the
articles underlining any words they are not familiar with. (The teacher or group can determine how she
would like the groups to do this i.e: taking turns, reading together, pair reading etc.) As a group,
students should go over any words the students have underlined to try and determine the meaning from
context clues or schema. Highlight any words they still do not know the meaning of. 10 Min - Give
each group a dictionary to further gather information on vocabulary. 5 Min – Any undetermined words
the teacher should go over with the entire class.
Day 2 - 20 Min. – Have the same small groups of students review the articles and discuss what they
are communicating. Follow the Who, What, When, Where, How, and Why? format. 10 Min. – Have
each group take a turn to share what conclusions they came up with as a group. 20 Min – Give each
student a copy of a Venn diagram. Have the class fill it in comparing and contrasting the two articles.
The previous work should help them with this. 15 Min – Teacher directed – Have either two hula
hoops supported on a chalk/white board ledge, or pull up a Venn diagram on a SMARTboard or
overhead projector. Fill in the diagram with each group sharing what they came up with. 5 Min. –
Have small groups look through the articles again. They should pick out one or two examples of a fact
and opinions, which can be supported by evidence. 15 Min. – Have each group present their
facts/opinions to the class. Have the class determine if the groups are indeed correct in their facts and
opinions. 10 Min. – Conclude by asking the students which group they would want to be part of and
why. Also have them decide if that could happen in today’s world. Have them complete it as a Type 2
writing (Collins). Collect.
Assessment: Students will be assessed through teacher observation, products (Venn diagrams, Type 2
writings) (Collins), class participation. Expectation should be communicated at the start of the lesson.
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Differentiated Learning: Enrichment could include another set of similar articles. Pictures of the era
could be shown and compared, perhaps of the North and South. Lower students can be paired with
more capable students.
Education of “Plain Folk” in 1863
Valerie Scott
Grade 4/5
Learning Objectives: By the end of this lesson the student will be able to summarize information,
spell high frequency words, punctuate an article, use a primary source to answer questions about
history, and identify main ideas with supporting details.
Standards: Reading Process: 3.4, 3.5 Summarize important information in texts to demonstrate
comprehension. Make inferences or draw conclusions about what has been read and support those with
textural evidence/ Writing Conventions: 8.2, 8.3, 8.4 Spell high frequency words, plurals, inflectional
endings, roots, suffixes, and prefixes correctly. Social Studies Methods: 7.3 Use primary and
secondary sources to answer questions about Ohio history. 7.5 Identify main ideas and supporting
details from factual information.
Vocabulary: Bushel, Homestead (Homestid) Remedy, Precedent, Commence, Proclamation, Gizzards,
Extortion
Resources: A copy of the article, ”Plain Folk Protest the Burden of the War” p. 250 from Major
Problems in the Civil War and Reconstruction by Michael Perman and Amy Murrell Taylor.
Teacher Prep: Prior to the lesson, the teacher should read the lesson and make corrections concerning
the spelling and punctuation within the article. The teacher should also be familiar with education from
the Civil War era as to who/how people became educated and why.
Core Activities: Day 1 - one class period: The teacher should have a list of vocabulary words without
definitions on the board. Discuss possible meaning with the class. Use them, or have the class use them
in a sentence. This will help identify their schema. Write the definitions by the words as they are
realized. Divide the class into pairs and provide with a copy of “Plain Folk Protest the Burden of the
War” p. 250 from Major Problems in the Civil War and Reconstruction. Have them preview the article
and have each pair share something they notice about the article with the class. Instruct the class to
read through the article, looking for answers to the following questions: Who wrote this article? What
is meant by the “common people?” Why did they write it? What is their request? Why do you think
there are so many errors in it? What does that tell you about the education in 1863? (These will be
discussed in part 2). Then have the class re-read the article searching for and highlighting spelling or
grammar errors. *As an added incentive, the teacher can challenge them to find a specific number such
as ten or twenty mistakes. Place a copy of the article on a document camera. Have each pair come and
highlight a mistake they found in the article. Repeat until most mistakes are found. Ask each pair of
students how they did with finding them all. *A game can be made from this activity that for every five
mistakes found, they get a Skittle or some such treat.
Day 2- One class period. Students will need to be with their partner again. Have them re-read the
article, this time searching for the answers to the questions from Part 1. After they think they have
answered all questions, they need to pair up with another group so they are now four or so (six groups
will be needed) students together. They are to discuss their answers within each group and come to a
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consensus for the answer to each question. Teacher should monitor and listen in to the discussions. Tell
the class that they will be presenting their findings to each other. The teacher should write each
question on a piece of paper and place them in a container. Each group should draw one out. They will
answer that one in front of the class. Have each group plan/discuss their answer first, then present it to
the class with evidence from the article. After each group has presented, do a Type 2 writing (Collins)
with requirements of answering any three of the six questions thoroughly with evidence from the
article. Collect.
Assessment: Assessment will be done by teacher observation, highlighted papers, and collected short
answer responses to questions. They can be graded according to the Collins method (If they answered
the questions, did they use some vocabulary? If the teacher decided to use a FCA’s, a score of 1, 2, or
3). FCA = Focused Correction Area. These FCA’s are told to the students ahead of time.
Differentiated Learning: For students with lower reading ability, have them paired with a student
with a higher reading ability. For enrichment, have the students re-write the article in correct format.
An additional activity would be to have them write a letter with mistakes, then have a classmate correct
it.
Freedom of the Press, Freedom of Speech and President Lincoln
Leslie Lessig
Grade 5
Lesson Objectives: This lesson will look at First Amendment rights, and see how political cartoonists
portrayed Lincoln. Students will look at a power point with numerous images of Lincoln, and see how
the world poked fun at our hero. Students will: Journal about their choice of the best president that we
have had, and think about what characteristics make a good president by detailing why they selected
the president they chose. Look at political cartoons of President Lincoln and identify the author’s
purpose in creating these cartoons. Identify the First Amendment as the guarantee that American
citizens shall retain the right of freedom of speech. Identify the First Amendment as a part of the US
Constitution. Analyze one cartoon about Lincoln and identify the author’s purpose for creating the
cartoon.
Standards: Government: Role of Government, Recognize that basic rights are protected by the
Constitution. Citizenship Rights and Responsibilities: Recognize that freedom of the press and
freedom of Speech are rights guaranteed by the first amendment. Language Arts: Reading
Applications-Informational, Technical and Persuasive test. Analyze the difference between fact and
opinion. Identify and understand author’s purpose for writing. Analyze information found in diagram
or illustration:
Resources: Power Point of political cartoons.
http://www.abrahamlincolnsclassroom.org/Cartoon_Corner/index.asp journals, cartoon handout,
political cartoon review sheet, first amendment match assessment
Core Activities: Students will review some political cartoons drawn of Abraham Lincoln. They will
learn to identify the First Amendment as the guarantee that people can speak their mind and print
opinions in the press. This lesson should follow the introduction to the Bill of Rights in Social Studies.
1. Teacher will place students in small groups to look closely at a political cartoon. Students will
complete the cartoon analysis worksheet
http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/worksheets/cartoon.html Teacher will circulate while
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students are working and offer assistance as needed. Students will share their analysis of the cartoon
with the class. 2. Students will individually complete the short first amendment matching worksheet.
http://www.freedomforum.org/packages/first/curricula/educationforfreedom/supportpages/L01FirstAmendmentRights.htm 3. If time allows, students can write in their journal about any changes in
opinion about the best president, or about freedom of speech. 4. Student bell work will be assigned on
the board. Write for 10 minutes on who you think was our best president. Describe what makes a great
president, and why you chose the president you did. Teacher will ask students to raise their hand if
they chose-Washington, Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Obama, others. Teacher will inform class of the
chosen president of their class. Teacher will say that while one president was chosen, not everyone in
the room agrees. Teacher will prompt students to identify what guarantees that these citizens can say
their opinions about our "best" president. 4. Teacher will inform students that many political
cartoonists shared opinions about President Lincoln in the newspaper. Teacher will show a power point
of political cartoons. 5. Teacher will discuss with students Lincoln’s response to the cartoons. He was
not violent and poked fun at himself as well. When he was called two-faced, he said "If I had another
face to wear, do you think I would wear this one?"
Assessment: The teacher will have 4 opportunities to evaluate student performance. Journals can be
collected and given a grade for completion. Our district uses a 4 point scale-1 is given to a student who
completes some of the assignment, but at a level significantly lower than the grade level expectation, 2
is given to a student who completes most of the assignment, but at a level below the grade level
expectation, 3 is given to a student who completes the assignment at the grade level expectation, and a
4 is given to the student who works beyond the assignment (does extra work) and completes the
assignment at a level beyond the expectation of the grade. Students can be evaluated for class
participation as the best president data is collected, and the power point is discussed. Student groups
can be evaluated on the completion of the cartoon analysis worksheet. Individuals can be scored on
their performance on the First Amendment Worksheet.
Differentiated Learning: Students could be asked to survey ten people in their family/neighborhood
about who was the "best" president. They could be asked to present their results in graph form.
Students could be asked to find a political cartoon about a current/recent president. They could be
asked to complete the cartoon analysis worksheet about this cartoon as well. Students could create
categories to identify concerns/opinions expressed in these political cartoons. Advanced students could
be asked to use these new cartoons collected by the class to create a power point of contemporary
political cartoons
Chasing Lincoln’s Killer
Michelle Puckett
Grade 5
Learning Objectives: To understand Abraham Lincoln’s role in the Civil War and the fight to end
slavery, and to extend knowledge about the death of President Lincoln.
Standards: History: 1. Create time lines and identify possible relationships between events. People in
Societies: 3. Describe the experiences of African-Americans under the institution of slavery. Social
Studies Methods: 1. Obtain information from a variety of print and electronic sources and analyze its
reliability. 6- Draw inferences from relevant information. Reading Vocabulary: AV1.: Determine the
meaning of unknown words using context clues and the author’s use of definition, restatement and
example. Reading Process: 1. Establish and adjust purposes for reading, including to find out, to
understand, to interpret, to enjoy and to solve problems. 5. Make inferences based on implicit
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information in texts, and provide justifications for those inferences. 6. Select, create and use graphic
organizers to interpret textual information. 7- Answer literal, inferential, and evaluative questions to
demonstrate comprehension of grade-appropriate print texts and electronic and visual media. Reading
Application: Inferential, Textual and Persuasive Text:1. Use text features, such as chapter titles,
headings and subheadings, parts of books including the index and table of contents and online tools to
locate information. 4. Summarize the main ideas and supporting details.
Resources/Materials- Chasing Lincoln’s Killer by James Swanson ;
http://www.alplm.org/education/teachers.html http://lincoln200.net/
http://www.abrahamlincoln200.org/about-the-commission/state-liaisons/ohio.aspx
www.teachingwithlincoln.com http://www.lmunet.edu/museum/
Prep for Teacher: Read Chasing Lincoln’s Killer by James Swanson and become familiar with the
events that led to Lincoln’s death from the websites above. Choose appropriate vocabulary for
instruction.
Vocabulary: Emerged, rebellion, assassin, ambush, dialogue, stabilize, investigation, manhunt,
telegraph, scheme, route, conspirators
Core Activities: Hook- Ask students to share what they know about Abraham Lincoln. Ask them if
they know that he was assassinated and who did it. Provide students with background knowledge of
Lincoln’s life and contributions to the United States. 2. Vocabulary- introduce and go over vocabulary
with students. Together, look the words up in the dictionary and discuss. After students are familiar
with the words, play Smackdown. (display the vocabulary words on the board or Elmo) Divide the
class into 2 groups and give the 1st person in each group a fly swatter. Read the definition of the
vocabulary word and say GO! The first student who smacks the correct word on the board receives a
point for their team. Continue until the students are comfortable with the words. The team with the
most points in the end wins.) 3. Pass out a copy of Chasing Lincoln’s Killer to students and have them
preview it. Tell students that this book in a non-fiction book and that all of the text appearing within
quotation marks comes from original sources: letters, manuscripts, trial transcripts, newspapers,
government reports, pamphlets, books, and other documents. Discuss the importance of primary
sources in nonfiction selections. 4. Read the prologue to students and discuss. From the prologue, ask
students to predict what they think is going to happen to President Lincoln. Have students write their
prediction on a Post-It and a sentence that supports their prediction. Have students share and place
their Post-Its with their predictions on chart paper and display on the board. 5. Assign for students to
read chapters 1 and 2 with a partner. Have students discuss and share why John Wilkes Booth was so
angry. Share and display the photos of Ford’s Theater. 6. Review and discuss chapters 1 and 2 with
students. Assign for students to read chapters 3 and 4 with a partner. Have students draw the scene
involving Lewis Powell at Secretary of State William H. Seward’s house. 7. Review and discuss
chapters 3 and 4 with students. Have students share their scenes from Seward’s house. Read aloud
chapters 5 and 6 with students. Have students re-read their predictions that they displayed on chart
paper and confirm whether their predictions were correct. 8. Review and discuss chapters 5 and 6.
Assign for students to read chapters 7 and 8 with a partner. Discuss with students and have them make
a newspaper article of Lincoln’s death. 9. Review and discuss chapters 7 and 8 with students. Share
students’ newspaper articles. Assign for students to read chapters 9 and 10 with a partner. Assign for
students to make a wanted poster for Lincoln’s assassin. 10. Review chapters 9 and 10 with students.
Have students share their wanted posters and display. Assign for students to read chapters 11 and 12
with a partner. Have students evaluate the escape plans of the conspirators. What helped and hindered
their escapes? Who aided them? In your opinion are people who aid criminals as guilty as those who
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commit the crimes or not? Have partners choose another set of partners and discuss their answers. 11.
Review chapters 11 and 12 with students. Review students’ responses to the questions posed before.
Read aloud chapters 13, 14 and epilogue to students. Discuss the following questions with students.
What happened to John Wilkes booth in the end? What were his last words?
Assessment: Have students create a timeline of Lincoln’s assassination using an important event from
each chapter in the book. Use the rubric attached to this website to assess student’s timeline.
http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/lesson_images/lesson398/rubric-timeline2.pdf
Differentiated Learning: For struggling students completing the timeline, list important events from
each chapter on a note card for them out of order. Have the students choose which event happened first
and put the note cards in order. Have students create a graphic organizer which details the following
information: conspirators and accomplices, their part in the plot, whether they were successful, their
escape plan, and what happened to them in the end.
Creating a Lincoln Museum Display
Leslie Lessig
Grade 5
Learning Objectives: Students will design a museum display by selecting relevant artifacts,
researching their significance, designed placards, and arranging their display. Students will:
Differentiate between artifacts relevant to the life of Abraham Lincoln from those not associated with
his life. Use keywords to search for background information about Lincoln and the artifacts. Locate at
least three different sources in which to obtain information. Determine the accuracy and credentials of
the sources that they obtain. Compare details across the sources obtained. Determine the most relevant
information to include in relation to the audience for the display. Create a museum display with at least
8 researched artifacts
Standards: Language Arts: Reading Applications/Informational text. Students will compare details
on a topic using multiple sources. Social Studies Methods: Obtaining Information. Identify the
accuracy and credentials of a source. Locate information using a keyword search. Problem SolvingConsider possible options based on research. Chose and implement a solution
Resources: Mission Impossible theme http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Og8v3vvYLvY ;
www.loc.gov Artifact collection boxes so that each group of approximately 4 students has an artifact
box. In each box there should be 20 items that students can select or discard for the display. Possible
items for the artifact collections include: A stamped letter, A map of the state of . . .(IL, KY, TX, IN,
etc), 6 pennies, means of transportation-horse, flatboat, train, airplane, automobile, blimp etc.,
Surveying tools, Books with various copyright dates, Glasses, American flags with varying numbers of
stars, Bow tie, Playbill, Photo of cat/nine tails, Donkey or elephant, (it is best if each box varies
somewhat from the other collections boxes) , Artifact collection worksheet, Rubric for evaluation,
Paper for placard (colored tag board if available), Markers to make placard, Research tools (computers,
books or printouts), If available props, tri-fold displays, cloth, etc. to make displays pretty
Core Activities: Teacher will begin by explaining the task to the students. I frequently use the
opening clip from Mission Impossible "your job should you chose to accept it . . ." is to design a
museum display for the primary students in this building. You will begin by sorting artifacts for
display. You will research the artifacts and their relationship to Lincoln. You will build the display,
and stand as docents as the younger students tour.
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Day 1- Teacher will divide the class into small groups of about 4 students. Teacher will provide each
group a display collection box and the artifact analysis sheet (a sample list of artifacts for the box has
been included in the materials section.) If locating objects is difficult, then photos of the objects can be
obtained off the internet. The Library of Congress website www.loc.gov has a number of photographs
that might be helpful. Teacher will model with two artifacts not in boxes how the sorting will occur
"Here I have a straight edged razor. This would have been the type of razor used in the 1800s for
shaving a man’s whiskers. Since Abraham Lincoln lived during this time period, I might want to
include this item. But I also know that Grace Bedell was a young girl who wrote to Lincoln and asked
him to grow a beard for the election. He did grow a beard, and thus wouldn’t have needed the razor as
much after that. Let’s see what the class thinks. Raise your hand if we should include the razor. Now
raise your hand if you think we should leave the razor out. Next I see a map of Washington, D.C. This
is a new map, different from the time of Lincoln. Was Lincoln born in Washington, DC? Why might
we want a map of Washington, DC? Now that we recall that Lincoln was shot in Washington, DC
would we want to include this map? Let’s vote." Students will allow the students’ time to sort the items
in their box, while circulating the room to assist with problems that may arise. Teacher will make sure
that the artifact analysis sheet (below) is being completed. Teacher will gather the attention of the
class once again, and will tell the class that at a museum, there are placards that give information about
each artifact. Each student will research one or more artifact and create a placard for his/her museum
display. On the artifact analysis sheet, there is a column to determine who will research each artifact.
This column needs to be filled out today. The artifacts must be returned to their boxes and neatly
stored. Teacher will give students a few minutes to take care of these details. Teacher can grade the
artifact analysis worksheets, and return to students on day 2.
Day 2- Teacher will show an example of 2 good placards, and 2 poor placards. Teacher will explain
strengths and weaknesses in the placards (i.e.- This placard gives a great deal of interesting
information and is easy to read. This placard is written so small that museum guests might need a
microscope to read it. This placard tells us how the artifact relates to Lincoln, but this placard only tells
us where it was made.) Teacher will have students research in books or on the internet for information
regarding their artifacts. Teacher will give a check of approval along with a blank placard when the
student’s research is ready. If possible, instructional aides or Library/Media Center specialists or
volunteers might be recruited to help with research. Completed placards should be collected. Teacher
can grade placards this evening, but should not mark on the placards as they will be used in the
displays tomorrow.
Day 3- Teacher shall give students the rubric for their displays. The students will read through the
rubric-depending on ability level either as a class or in their groups-and the teacher will offer an
opportunity to ask any questions that may arise. Students will use props and artifacts to create a display
of their items on their desktops. Placards will be added to the displays if they are not already there so
that they can be read without blocking artifacts. A digital photo of each display will be collected. If
time allows, students can tour their classmates’ displays before the younger class visits their
"museum." When the younger class visits, the older students shall act as docents, answering questions
and moving students through the displays. Teacher will circulate to assist as necessary, but will also
want to complete rubrics before the displays are taken down. Student will be able to take their
placards home since they have been graded. Artifacts must be returned to their box. Teacher may have
students inventory and sign artifact boxes if there is a concern about the return of items. Props should
be returned to where they were made available.
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Museum Display Rubric- 4 points possible for each category
Research




Relevance
to
Display




Neatness/
Legibility




Evidence of use of three or more references.
Has reference source information, which
shows the source to be reliable.
Evidence that research was read, and details
were compared along multiple sources.
Research is carried over into placard design.
Keywords were chosen to connect research to
display.
Information is relevant to Lincoln and to
display.
Information gathered in placed near
appropriate artifact.
Information is appropriate to museum
"audience" (not too technical, not copied
directly but in elementary language)
Display has visible connection to Lincoln
Artifacts are neatly identified
All placards are easy to read
Props are used
Score ___________
Score ______
Score ______
Total _____/12
Handouts
Artifact Analysis Worksheet:
Group Names:
Artifact #1:
What is the artifact?
Will you include this artifact in the display? YES NO
Why? (Give at least two sentences that support your group’s decision)
Who will research and create the placard for this artifact?
Artifact #___:
What is the artifact?
Will you include this artifact in the display? YES NO
Why? (Give at least two sentences that support your group’s decision)
Who will research and create the placard for this artifact?
Artifact #___:
What is the artifact?
Will you include this artifact in the display? YES NO
Why? (Give at least two sentences that support your group’s decision)
Who will research and create the placard for this artifact?
Artifact #___:
What is the artifact?
Will you include this artifact in the display? YES NO
Why? (Give at least two sentences that support your group’s decision)
Who will research and create the placard for this artifact?
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Artifact #___:
What is the artifact?
Will you include this artifact in the display? YES NO
Why? (Give at least two sentences that support your group’s decision)
Who will research and create the placard for this artifact? _________________________
Different Times: Civil War and Today
Valerie Scott
Grade 4
Learning Objectives: Given pictures and primary documents of the Civil War, students will
compare/contrast lives of people living in the North and South during the 1860s to that of today, build
a timeline of the main events of the Civil War, and extend knowledge of the Civil War.
Standards: History: A. Construct time lines to demonstrate an understanding of units of time and
chronological order. B. Sectional issues divided the United States after the War of 1812. Ohio played a
key role in these issues, particularly with the anti-slavery movement and the Underground Railroad.
Social Studies Methods: A. Obtain information from a variety of primary and secondary sources
using component parts of the source. Geography: A. Use map elements or coordinates to locate
physical and human features of North America. B. The regions which have become known as the
North, South, and West of the United States developed in the early 1800
s largely based on their physical, environments and economies.
Vocabulary: Rebellion, Union, Confederacy, Emancipation Proclamation, Reconstruction
Teacher Prep: Review the Civil War years including major battles and events that would be relevant
or interesting to elementary students. Be familiar with navigating through Library of Congress website
www.loc.gov for appropriate Civil War pictures and diary entries. Prepare comprehension questions to
go along with the books
Core Activities: Pre-test: A few days before introducing the activity, have the class write a Journal
Response “Tell me what you know about the Civil War. What was it? When and where did it take
place? Who was President of the United States? Did people in the United States live differently than
they do now? Why or why not do you think so?” (10 – 15 Min.)
Day 1- 1. As the students enter the room, have music from the Civil War era playing. (See
suggestions) 2. Hook : Hand students examples of Civil War Money as they enter and have the
students do a “turn and talk”. (Taking 10 seconds to tell their neighbor what they think it is.) 3. Open
up the discussion to the floor, guiding it to the Civil War. Ask the class to think about the following
questions while you read the following stories to them: Why is this money different than the money we
use today? Is it any good? Lesson: Read Cecil’s Story (Very short. Point out the use of a hatching
chicken to show the passage of time, and see if the illustrator shows what side Cecil’s father is on.)
Have the students try to place the time in history that it occurred. Discuss their ideas about the money.
Day 2- 4. Review the ideas the class had from the previous day. Ask the students to tell you something
they learned from Day 1. 5. Lesson: Read Pink and Say to the class. Have the class listen for further
clues as to where/when the story takes place. (The shaking of Abraham Lincoln’s hand should give it
away, as well as the pictures.)
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Day 3- 6.A. As the students enter the room, divide them by “North” and “South”. Have the desks set
up into groups of 3 or 4. Students should sit at a group of desks marked “North” or “South”. There
should be several groups of desks to choose from, depending on your number of students. (There are
29 questions to be divided up among the groups. 12 are “North” questions, 13 are “South”, leaving 4
for any group.) B. Pass out the books: If You Lived at the Time of the Civil War. Assign each group a
question until they are all used up. Have them read and discuss among themselves the answer to their
question. (15 Min.) C. Tell the class that they are going to be making a comparison chart such as a “T”
chart or Venn diagram and to be prepared to fill it in. Then, in turn, have each group share what they
feel is the answer to their question. (I have replicas of a Union and Confederate hat. The students that
are speaking wear the appropriate hat. Take cleaning precautions when you finish the activity.) (15
Min). D. List several items on the board and have the students fill in their charts. Sample items might
be: states, president, food, battle location, words & expressions. Have them also write at the bottom of
their chart why the Civil War was fought. (20 Min). You choose whether you would like the students
to fill out their charts independently or as a small group. This can be based on ability level.
Day 4- 7. As the students enter the room, hand them a picture from the coloring book pages. See
Appendix) Choose one or more students to organize a human timeline based on the information given
on each sheet. (10 Min.) 8. Have each student read their coloring page aloud. Review the vocabulary
list so students understand the meaning in the timeline. (10 Min.) 9. Pass out a copy of the map (See
Appendix) and have the students find and mark the places on their map. A large classroom map is
helpful, either a pull down or one on the SMART Board. Discuss why things might have happened
where they did. Discuss why battles (only a few skirmishes – Morgan’s raid) did not happen in Ohio. If
time allows, have another set of timeline pictures and set up a “race” between the “North” and “South”
students from Day 3. Also, students can read through the Emancipation Proclamation and Gettysburg
Address and discuss their meanings. One team can explain one; the other team explains the other.
Day 5- 10. Review the difference between primary and secondary sources. Example: the timeline
pictures and information are secondary sources, while the photographs and diary entries are primary
sources. Show the class the pictures you have chosen from the Library of Congress site. (Either on a
SMART board or using a document camera) Discuss each picture such as: What can you tell from this
picture? Background? Union or Confederate? Health issues? Hospitals? A few samples are included
with the handouts in the appendix. Remind students that this is the first time photographs were
available to take pictures of something like this. Pull up and read some primary documents such as
journal entries to help the class gain understanding of what life was like back in the 1860’s. (There is a
good journal kept by a 14 year old daughter of a Southern Senator listed in one of the given LOC sites
listed in the resources. It is long, but it tells about traveling from Texas by stagecoach etc.)
11. Compare/contrast as a group the life portrayed in the pictures as to how life is as we know it in the
U.S.A. today. A large chart can be created and hung in the hallway or room of this comparison. End
the lesson with “Tell me something you learned.”
Day 6- Review the vocabulary list. Then have the students complete a Journal Response based on the
questions asked for the pre-test. (20 Min.)
Resources: Pink and Say by Patricia Polacco; Cecil’s Story by George Ella Lyon
If You Lived at the Time of the Civil War by Kay Moore (Classroom set, or enough for pairs of
students.) The Legend of Old Abe A Civil War Eagle (optional, but good) by Kathy-jo Wargin
Copies of the attached drawings for use in the timeline OR list of significant events, cut apart.
“Wartime Reconstruction (1861-1865)” is a good place to obtain this information taken and modified
from http://pinzler.com/ushistory/timeline6.html Music- Dixie’s Land – D.D. Emmett; We Are
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Coming Father Abra’am, 300,000 More and Hard Times – S.C. Foster; There Is a Land of Pure
Delight – I. Watts/A.R. Reinagel; The Battle Cry of Freedom – G.F. Root; H.L. Schreiner; Battle
Hymn of the Republic – J. Ward Howe. The Library of Congress has an interesting list of music to
explore. Some titles include: Adieu! To the Star Spangled Banner Forever, 1861 – JR. Bowlcott, All
Quiet Along the Potomac Tonight, John Hill Hewitt (Confederate), Ah He Kissed Me When He Left
Me, 1863 – Lillia Dowling, After the Battle, 1863, Frank Howard (Union). Pictures/Document
suggestions sent to me from the Library of Congress: Lijenquist Family collection –
http://myloc.gov/exhibitions/civilwarphotographs/pages/default.aspx Civil War Glass Negatives and
Related Prints – http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/cwp/related.html
Diary of Horatio Nelson Taft – http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/tafthtml/tafthome.html Slave
Narratives – http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/snhtml/ First Person Narratives of the American South
collection (first person passages relating to family life during the Civil War) –
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/award97/ncuhtml/fpnashome.html
Assessment: Pose the informal pre-test Journal questions again and compare student responses from
the first entry. This can be graded on a rubric such as 5 accurate facts about the Civil War would be a
four (on a 1 to 4 scale) and so on. Tell the student what you are looking for (facts) including use of the
vocabulary words listed on the board. Teacher observation would be an informal assessment
Differentiated Learning: Extension: Give small groups of students (varying abilities may work
together) several titles of Songs from the Civil War era (LOC) and see if the group can tell if the song
came from the Union or Confederacy. Enrichment: Have groups find out through research what people
in the West were doing during the Civil War. Use the example of Charles Ingalls from the Little House
on the Prairie series. He was of fighting age. Why didn’t he? Extension: Have the students complete a
Journal entry and pretend they are in the 1860s. Share with the class and have them guess if the author
meant to be from the North or South. Extension: Separate the words from the pictures used for the
timeline and have the students try to match them up. Extension: Have the class play the game “Way
Back When in History” (Star Games) http://www.waybackwhengames.com/ One game has 8 playing
pieces. This can be played in small groups or as teams.
Reconstruction Timeline Activities
Julieanne Phillips
Grades 3-5
Learning Objectives: Students will participate in four activities to teach/ review the events, people
and places of the Reconstruction Era in American History (1863-1877)
Standards: History: 1. Events in local History can be shown on timelines organized by years, decades
and centuries
Activity One: Living Timeline Make 2 sets of cards (approximately 8 ½” x 11” or larger) one event
per card (see events below) with no dates. Divide students into two teams. Pass out event cards
randomly to each team of students. Have each team line up in the order they think the events happened.
After teams have lined in their order, ask the team why they placed themselves where they did. How
did they reason that each event happened in that order? Timelines are then reviewed and discussed.
Activity Two: Relay Course Make two sets of cards- one event per card with no dates. Set up a relay
course and divide students into two teams. After each team reviews the cards, shuffle and stack them at
the course “start” area. The first person in line takes the top card, runs a short distance and places the
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event on a timeline in the approximate place that it goes. The next person does the same until the
timeline is complete. Each team takes two minutes to decide if their timeline is correct. One student
makes the changes his/her team has decided. Timelines are then reviewed and discussed.
Activity Three: The 5 Ws (Who, What, Where, When Why) Make one set of cards with the
following facts with one fact on each card (see facts/information below). Shuffle cards. Explain to the
students that we are discussing the 5Ws of History- Who, What, Where, When Why (Historical
Significance). Give one card to each student until all students have a card. If extra cards, keep
distributing until the students are holding all the cards. Ask for a volunteer for any student who would
like to come to the front of the class with their card. Have the student read what’s on their card, for
example, Wade Davis Bill. Then ask the students who has the other four cards to complete the 5Ws of
this subject. Students will come forward with the four remaining facts and line up in front of the class.
Some students might come forward with the wrong fact or more than four might come forward and the
class will all discuss and decide which five facts are correct. Starting with a student who has just the
year card, is a very interesting way to see what students will come forward with their event, person, or
place. Variations- Choose five students to come in front of the class with their cards. Quiz the class as
to what facts are correct for a subject and which are not. It’s also possible to have two teams of
students compete in this activity. What other people, places, events could be included? Give students
extra credit or teams extra points for contributing a fact not included in this information.
Activity Four: Who, What, Where, When Why Are You?
Make one set of cards with the following facts with one fact on each card. Tape one card on the back
of each student without showing the student what’s on the card. Have the students try to guess what is
on the card that is taped on their back by only asking questions that only have a “yes” and “no” answer
to their fellow students. Continue until all students accurately guess the fact that is on the card on their
back.
1863 - Emancipation Proclamation Issued, Lincoln’s 10% plan
1864- Wade-Davis Bill
1865 -Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address, Freedmen’s Bureau, Lincoln Assassinated, 13th
Amendment to the US Constitution, Ku Klux Klan Created
1866- Black Codes, Civil Rights Act
1867- Reconstruction Acts
1868- 14th Amendment to the US Constitution, Impeachment of Andrew Johnson
1869- 15th Amendment to the US Constitution
1876- Presidential Election
Resources/Materials: “A Visual Timeline of Reconstruction: 1863-1877”
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/reconstruction/timeline.html
"Freedmen" Cowboys: Riding for Freedom
Steve Coleman
Grade 5
Learning Objectives: By completing the activities, students will be able to use problemsolving/decision-making processes that include: gathering information; considering advantages and
disadvantages of options; evaluating the effectiveness of the solution.
Standards: People in Societies: 5. Compare reasons for immigration with the reality immigrants
experience. Citizenship Rights and Responsibilities: 3. Right of petition and assembly. Social
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Studies Methods: 4. Read information critically in order to identify: the author, author’s perspective,
purpose.
Resources: http://www.nps.gov/home/historyculture/exodusters.htm ;
http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/program/episodes/seven/theexodust.htm
http://library.thinkquest.org/10320/Pickett.htm; http://www.blackcowboys.com/boseikard.htm
Chapters 8 and 9 of Justin and the Best Biscuits in the World by Mildred Water (1990)
Vocabulary: Black Codes, Exodusters
Teacher Prep: The ending of Reconstruction in 1876 allowed newly “freedmen” to speculate that their
fortunes might improve by moving from the south to the west (Kansas, particularly). Many freedmen
were sure they could improve their economic conditions by moving.
Core Activities: Students will be engaged in language arts activities by reading Justin and the Best
Biscuits in the World by Mildred Pitts Walter. Chapters 8 and 9 deal with why African- American
families wanted to leave the South, the exoduster movement to Kansas, and why a family would settle
in a formerly slave state. Have students read chapter 8 and 9 of the book. Students then research
exodusters, and black cowboys.
Assessment: Students will use a four point rubric to evaluate the completeness of each other’s
presentations. This will result in a class amount of rubrics that will be averaged for a score.
Differentiated Learning: This book was a winner of the Coretta Scott King Authors’ award. Students
should investigate the origin of this award, list other books that have won, and read one of the books.
They should write an opinion as to why the book was awarded this honor.
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UNIT 6: IMMIGRATION
Immigration: The Memory Coat, by Elvira Woodruff
Holly Templeton
Grade 5
Learning Objectives: To extend knowledge about Ellis Island and the Immigration process from
Europe to America from the late 1800s to 1954.
Standards: History: 1.Describe the waves of immigration to North America and the areas from which
people came in each wave. 2. Compare reasons for immigration to North America with the reality
immigrant experienced upon arrival. 3. Compare cultural practices and products of diverse groups in
North America including: artistic expression, religion, language, food, clothing, and shelter
Vocabulary: Shtetl, cobbler, blacksmith, tailor, commotion, chattering, shushing, orphaned, epidemic,
synagogue, grieve, threadbare, comfort, Tsar, Cossacks, Journey, voyage, immigrant, inspection,
healthy, impression, shuddered, tattered, irritated, Yiddish, patient.
Teacher Prep: In the early 1900s, two cousins leave their Russian shtetl with the rest of their family to
come to America, hopeful that they will all pass the dreaded inspection at Ellis Island.
Resources: The Memory Coat by Elvira Woodruff ; The Memory Coat Vocabulary Cards ; The
Memory Coat Writing Assignment; Video: Ellis Island, Island of Hope and Tears
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qh5CWbTDsuQ
Core Activities: 1. As the teacher reads the book, The Memory Coat by Elvira Woodruff the students
will place their set of vocabulary cards in the order in which the words are found in the story. Each
table of seven students will complete this task using one set of vocabulary cards. After placing the
cards in order go through the list and generate the meaning of each word using context clues and the
illustrations from the book. This should take approximately 90 minutes. 2. In the story The Memory
Coat the book describes how the immigrants were marked with chalk on their coats to identify health
conditions. This process was very stressful for the immigrants because this station is where many
families were separated by the inspector at Ellis Island. The class will start by generating a list of
feelings that could be felt during the health inspection. They will then do a writing assignment.
Assessment: Use an Exit Ticket as a quick assessment after watching the video Ellis Island, Island of
Hope and Tears. Ask students: After learning about the health inspection process at Ellis Island, what
letter or letters would have written on your coat in chalk? If you had been an immigrant at Ellis Island
describe your feelings after going through the health inspection process
Differentiated Learning: After completing all the activities listed in this lesson students will go
through a simulation called The Ellis Island Experience. Teachers are each assigned an inspector
position at Ellis Island. Each student gets an identification card with a new identity.
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Immigration
Karen Brassfield
Grade 5
Learning Objectives: Students learn the hardships and reality of immigrants coming to America.
Standards: People in Societies: 4. Describe the waves of immigration to North America and the areas
from which people came in each wave. 5. Compare reasons for immigration to North America with the
reality immigrants experienced upon arrival.
Resources: United States, Adventures in Time and Place (or any American History textbook). Ellis
Island: Ghosts of Freedom by Wilkes and Bradley
Core Activities: 1. Hook. Pretend there is an asteroid that is going to hit Earth in about two weeks.
The governments of the world want us to migrate to Mars. Show the students the BioSphere2 on the
internet that is in Arizona and explain that one can be built on Mars. The trip to Mars can be
dangerous. They are to decide if they want to go or stay on Earth. They must make a chart of Pros and
Cons, good reasons to go, good reasons to stay. The Cons would be the dangers of going and the
dangers and reasons to stay behind. Ask the class, "How is this like the experience that the people who
settled Roanoke, Jamestown and Plymouth had?" They then journal: How is migrating to Mars in 2011
similar to the experience of the early settlers of the New World? 2. Classes are divided up into groups
of three. Each person in the groups will be given information about one of the three waves of
immigration to North America. 1. Old Immigration from 1607 to 1880, 2. New Immigration from
1840s to 1920s. 3. Recent Immigrants. They are to find certain information about their wave group and
share it with their group. The information they will share is: How many? When did they come? From
where did they come? What was their religion? What languages did they speak? What was their
wealth? 3. Have all the students that were doing the First Wave get together, all the students doing the
Second Wave get together, all the students doing the Third Wave get together. They are to make sure
they have the same information and to make a display or give an oral report to the class on their Wave.
4. Each group explains their wave to the class. They are given a worksheet that has three waves on it
for them to put the information on to study for their test. 5. Using the book, United States, Adventures
in Time and Place, the students are to read about Roanoke, Jamestown, and Plymouth. As they read
they are to take notes about each one and write down information about the following: Why did they
come? Was the colony successful? Was North America what they expected? Did the people of this
colony face the following three traumatic experiences and if they did, how did they face the experience
and what happened to them. (Uprooting in old country, Crossing the sea, Arriving in America) 6.
Discuss what they read and took notes on the previous day. Read about the Wagon Trains, Rail Trains
helping our country expand westward and how many immigrants where on them to start settling the
middle of our country. 7. Immigrants in the Cities. The students will read about the slums, tenements
of New York, Boston and Chicago where many immigrant communities were located. They will also
read accounts of the Great Chicago Fire. 8. Ellis Island/Angle Island: Using the book, Ellis Island, (has
many primary sources), study together what Ellis Island was, the problems of Ellis Island and who was
coming through Ellis Island. 8. Make the Passports for their ID / Ellis Island person. Talk about
costumes and what to wear and how they are to act, paper work needed to do the simulation. 9. The
Ellis Island simulation is taken from the Gateway simulation. Our hall and classrooms are decorated to
represent Ellis Island. We use the long hallway as the Great Hall. Classrooms are different stations,
Background, Vocation, Character, Health, Appeals stations for Health and Character. The students
have paper work that they carry with them that must be filled out at each station. The students or
parents at each station have questions that they are to ask the immigrant. Each student is to dress up
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and play the part they were given to be an immigrant in the late 1800s or early 1900s. Most of them
will be from Italy, Ireland, Greece, Russia, Germany and Scandinavian countries. This is an all- day
project. At lunch have parents that have made foods from different ethnic groups come in and serve the
foods the people had from their home country. Another way to do it would be to have the students fix
hot dogs or an all -American meal of foods that many of these people had never eaten. 10. The
students present to the class their interpretation of what Ellis Island was like. They stay in their
character and describe their experience. This will be graded.
Assessment: Quiz over the three waves of immigration. The students will be also given a name and
biography of a person that came through Ellis Island. They are to become that person on the day of the
Ellis Island. In class, the students are to write about their experiences and how it related to the people
who biographies were read. They can do a Venn Diagram or any form, just so you know they have
actually learned of the hardships and reality of coming to America
Immigration: Cincinnati Museum Center
Michelle Puckett
Grade 5
Learning Objective: Students will complete a scavenger hunt from exhibits at the Cincinnati Museum
Center.
Standards: History: 6. Explain the impact of settlement, industrialization and transportation on the
expansion of the U.S. People in Societies: 4. Describe the waves of immigration to North America and
the areas from which people came in each wave.
Core Activities: Hook- Have students complete an Anticipation Guide by circling whether they agree
or disagree with statements that address information that will be provided at the museum, such as: a.
When the “First Settlers” of European and African descent first came to the Ohio Country, there were
Native Americans living there. b. Europeans taught the Native Americans new ways of life, but
Europeans learned little from the Europeans. c. German immigrants to Cincinnati named their
neighborhood Over the Rhine since crossing the Miami and Erie Canal reminded them of crossing over
the muddy Rhine River and into their homeland. d. During the summer of 1896, a tribe of Sioux
Indians were brought from their western preservation and lived in a village in what is now the
Cincinnati Zoo. 2. Discuss these statements with students. Survey the class’s knowledge and
misconceptions informally by having them give a thumbs-up or thumbs-down to each statement
without confirming their responses. 3. Student Activity: Group students in pairs or trios. A. Provide an
overview of the time eras on the prepared scavenger hunt and encourage students to note the different
time eras in the museum. Challenge students to complete a scavenger hunt from artifacts, exhibits, and
other information inside Cincinnati Museum Center. Students will be looking for information provided
in the Anticipation Guide. 4. After completion of the scavenger hunt, discuss their responses. 5.
Challenge the students to develop their own scavenger hunt with detailed clues through a second walkthrough. Provide students with a clipboard, paper and pencil and give them 30-40 minutes to create
their own scavenger hunt. 6. Have students exchange their scavenger hunts and complete them during
a third walk-through.
Assessment: In teams of two or three, have students create a timeline from the information learned at
the Cincinnati Museum Center. Set the following criteria: Timeline must include a title that indicates a.
time era. b. years at appropriate intervals. c. the impact of settlement, industrialization and
transportation on the expansion of Ohio. These should be written as statements. d. visually appealing
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and easy to read. Have them develop a rough draft. Proof and edit with students. After students have
created a final project, have them present their timeline to the class. Have the class provide praise and
questions to their published timelines. Discuss impact of settlement, industrialization and
transportation on the expansion of Ohio with students.
Bookmark Factory Lesson
Valerie Scott
Grades 4-5
Learning Objective: The students will make bookmarks individually, then as a “factory” group.
Standards: Economics: 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 4.5, 4.6.
Teacher Prep: Have ready a sample bookmark. Construction paper already cut to size, hole punches,
stickers, markers, yarn, rulers, etc. It’s better to have too much prepared than not enough, as it can be
used later.
Core Activities: Each student makes a bookmark to my specifications, one at a time. Usually they
have tied yarn on them, stickers on certain locations and the word “Read” neatly written on one side.
The class decides on the cost of materials, to be paid with completed bookmarks. Work for ten
minutes. Nobody has ever ended up making a profit. Then we discuss factories, specialization, and
division of labor. The class forms two factories and divides up the work i.e: one student puts on the
stickers, one ties the yarn, etc. After 10 minutes, I inspect the product and get rid of the ones that aren’t
to my specifications and take payment for the materials. The employees also need to be paid. Take the
payment with bookmarks. (For the first time last year, one group made a three bookmark profit.
Another thing that happened was one factory (and there is a manager) had a bossy employee not doing
the work best suited for her and they fired her. The other factory hired her and it worked out well. We
had a girl factory and a boy factory. The boys were not near as organized as the girls. One of my lower
students ended up as manager. She was marvelous. "Bossy" could be her middle name. She kept things
going and moved "workers" around if one job needed help and got behind. The boys tried moving
around to wherever, argued over what they were to do and basically had a poor manager. Both groups
had difficulty making an acceptable product as they didn't want to pay attention to directions, even
after told that was very important to do. They were also given a visual of the correct product, but they
didn't pay attention to where things were such as the stickers being on the bottom and not the top.
Interesting group of students this year. Another problem is they wanted to pay the workers too much.
One group even paid the workers before paying for the raw materials. We had some good discussion
around this whole activity, and how it would apply to things like resources, availability of product
resources, who/how things would be bought, etc. The students have a much better understanding after
going through this process.
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UNIT 7: LOCAL AND OHIO HISTORY
Transportation and the Growth of Cincinnati: The Cincinnati Museum Center
Valerie Scott
Grades 4-5
Learning Objectives: Students will investigate how transportation affected the growth of Cincinnati,
Ohio culminating with a trip to the Cincinnati Museum Center. There are several lessons in this unit.
There are two main museums within the Museum Center. This lesson will focus on the Cincinnati
History Museum.
Standards: History: 1.1 Construct time lines with evenly spaced intervals for years, decades,
centuries to show order of significant events in Ohio History. 1.5 Explain how canals and railroads
changed settlement patterns in Ohio an Ohio’s economic and political status in the United States.
People in Societies: 2.3 Explain the reasons people came to Ohio including: (a) opportunities in
agriculture, mining, and manufacturing (b) family ties (c) freedom from politics and religious
oppression. Geography: 3.7 Explain how resources, transportation, and location influenced the
development of cities and industries in Ohio including major industries such as oil, steel, rubber, and
glass. 3.8 Identify how environmental processes (glaciation & weathering) and characteristics
(landforms, bodies of water, climate, vegetation) influence human settlement and activity in Ohio. 3.9
– Identify ways that people have affected the physical environment of Ohio, including (a) use of
wetlands (b) use of forests (c) building farms, towns, and transportation systems (d) using fertilizers,
herbicides, and pesticides (e) building dams 3.10 Use elevation, natural resources, and road maps to
answer questions about patterns of settlement, economic activity, and movement. Economics: 4.2
Explain how the availability of productive resources in Ohio promote specialization in the production
of goods and services, and leads to trade. 4.5 Explain why people in Ohio specialize in what they
produce then trade with others, which them increases the amount of goods and services available.
Social Studies Methods: 7.5 Identify main ideas and supporting details from factual information. 7.6
Distinguish between fact & opinion. 7.10 Use a problem solving/ decision – making process which
includes: (a) identifying a problem (b) gathering information (c) Listing & considering options (d)
considering advantages and disadvantages of options (e) choosing and implementing a solution (f)
developing criteria for judging its effectiveness.
Vocabulary: Keelboat, Flatboat, Queen City, Porkopolis, Immigration, Merchant, Apothecary, Dry
goods, Print shop, Trolley car, Steamboat, Tall stack, Ferryboat, Lock
Core Activities: Pre – Assessment: Part A – Have each student write and tell what they know about
the growth of Cincinnati from the early settlements. What types of transportation were used in
Cincinnati? How did transportation affect Cincinnati’s growth through time? Part B – Give the
students the list of vocabulary words without the definitions. Let them fill in as many as they can.
Lesson 1 – Students will listen to a story, and create a timeline from the pictures in the book.
Materials: book A River runs Wild by Lynne Cherry, several sets of pictures minus the text of the
small pictures surrounding the text from the book. (Plan ahead. I did this by first copying the pages,
blocking out the text with a plain sheet of paper, then recopying. Use the first set with the text for an
answer key. If possible, laminate. Hint – for each set, label the back of each picture in that whole set A,
the next whole set B and so forth in order to keep the sets from getting mixed up. Call your groups of
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three students by the same letter for management purposes.) 1. Read the story to the class, discussing
the events in the pictures. 2. Divide the students into groups of three. 3. Tell the class that you will give
each group three pictures and their task is to put them in order as to which happened first to last. After
they get those correct, you will give them more pictures to add to their order. (Folding in). 4. Move
about the room until the groups get their order correct, (or they think they are) then give them another
picture, going back to check each time. Continue this until all groups have their set of pictures in order.
Draw attention to what the tool are made out of, dates, etc. to encourage the students to study the
pictures. 5. Re-read the book and have the students check their order. Discuss why they thought one
picture came before another etc. 6. Now, tell the students that you will be learning about another city
that grew around a river – Cincinnati, but in order to do that, they need to learn some vocabulary.
Lesson 2 – The students will make vocabulary books or create a match game with index cards.
Materials: For the vocabulary book – per student -3 sheets of plain paper, 2 of which are folded into
fourths, stapler or other way to hold the book pages together. For the match game – 28 index cards per
student- rubber bands or envelopes to keep the cards together. 1. For the book, the unfolded piece of
paper is for the cover, which should be labeled with their name, given a title, and decorated (optional).
2. In each block of the remaining paper, the students should write the vocabulary words, the definition,
and draw a simple picture. If desired, the student could write a sentence using the word. In that case,
folding each piece of paper in half would work better so they have more room. More paper would be
needed. 3. Staple the pages together and have the students keep it for reference through this unit.
1. For the match game, have each student write the vocabulary word on a card, and the definition on
another card. 2. Have the students number the correct cards with the same number on the back, so they
can self- check. Also, initial or write their name on the back of every card. 3. Store the cards with a
rubber band around them or in an envelope. 4. Have the students play it a number of times
independently or with a partner until they are comfortable with the word meanings.
Lesson 3 – The students will build a time line based on pictures of Cincinnati, and compare
transportation from history to current time. Students will make observations and inferences based on
these observations. Materials: Several pictures of Cincinnati around the time of statehood for each
small group. I use pictures from Luke Feck’s Yesterday’s Cincinnati: Special Bicentennial Edition. I
tried to choose pictures with types of transportation in them. The pictures are available from the
Library of Congress. The captions can be removed as they have the date on them, or folded
under/covered with a flap. Yarn, paper labeled 1775, 1800, 1825, 1850, 1875, 1900, 1925, 1950, a date
on each sheet. Clothespins or paper clips to hold the dated paper and pictures on the yarn. 1. Divide the
class into small groups of 3 or 4 students and explain to them they will be creating a giant timeline for
Cincinnati, and they will need to place the pictures and dates in order. 2. Pass out the pictures, several
different ones to each small group. Let them study them for a few minutes and try to put them in order
as they did for A River Runs Wild. 3. Ask how a timeline could be created with these pictures,
especially since they are all different. Guide the students to come up with the idea of two people
holding a piece of yarn (or string) across the room (or tie it). 4. Discuss how dates could be put on the
timeline and how they should be placed (equal intervals). 5. After this is established, have each group
decide where one of their pictures should go and why. Place it on the timeline. Continue with each
group in the same manner until all pictures have been placed. 6. Draw attention to the progression of
transportation. Have the students do a writing piece about this topic.
Lesson 4 - The students will compare/contrast A River Runs Wild to the growth of Cincinnati.
Materials: Lynne Cherry’s book A River Runs Wild. Pictures of Cincinnati. (These can be the same as
in Lesson 3.) A Venn Diagram template. Two hula hoops. Index cards. 1) Re-read A River Runs Wild.
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Have the class take turns re-telling the story. Ask how this story compares to Cincinnati. Have the
Cincinnati pictures available for students to look at, or books about Cincinnati. How does A River Runs
Wild contrast? After the students come up with several answers, have them start to fill out their Venn
diagram. Give them a few minutes to work on this. 2. Walk around the room looking at what the
students are writing and where they are placing it. When a well written one is seen, hand the student an
index card and ask them to write what they wrote on the diagram, on the card. Try to find something
for each student, as well as a variety so all parts of the diagram have some examples. 3. Place the two
hula hoops on the floor so they overlap and look like a Venn diagram. Have each student come up,
read what they wrote, place it where it should go in the hula hoops, and tell the class why they placed it
there. Do this until each student has placed their card. 4. Be prepared to discuss the cards and change
their placement if needed.
Lesson 5 - The student will compare how the National Road and the Ohio River helped settlements
grow and how each was used for transportation of people and goods. Materials: Exploring Our
Heritage Vol. 3, the Ohio National Road DVD.
https://www.thinktv.org/education/educ_k12_ourohio_heritage.html
Streaming videos http://itunes.apple.com/us/itunes-u/our-ohio-exploring-our-heritage/id386816152
For Ohio Canals, Ohio Waterways. 1.Follow the lesson outline for the Ohio National Road. 2.
Compare it to the Ohio River. What could or could not be transported and how was it transported?
Have the students write why they think Cincinnati developed where it did. Share what they wrote and
guide the discussion to marketing, trade along the river, the amounts of goods that boats vs. wagons
could carry and so forth.
Things to do at the Cincinnati History Museum: Students should take a notepad and pencil with
them. On the Concourse Level, have the students look for and count the types of transportation found
in the scale model of Cincinnati. At the Mezzanine Level, in small groups, have the students explore
each section. Spend time at the Canal Gallery to have the students work the locks. Ask them to explain
why we need to have locks. On the Lower Level there is a street scene of early Cincinnati, complete
with a steamboat. The students need to: 1. Stop at the Flatboat Gallery and discuss flatboats, keelboats,
and steamboats with the docent. What is the difference between the boats? Why were some steamboats
encased in iron in the 1860’s? What happened to the flatboat after it reached its destination? 2. Explore
each “shop” and discover what it was used for. Do we use the same things today? What are the
differences? 3. Cincinnati had a heavy German population. Why are there signs saying “No Irish
welcome”? What is this an example of? 4. Find five facts about the different things in the shops, and
form five opinions based on these facts about the lives of people back then. Fact:
__________________ Opinion: I think_____ because _________. 5. Find five “items” and infer what
they might have been used for. Support your inference with evidence. Share and discuss what the
students discovered on the field trip for items 1 through 5. Be creative and make a display of the
student findings.
Assessment: Part A – give the same writing assignment as in the pre-assessment. Compare. Look for
use of vocabulary words. Part B – give a vocabulary assessment by either having the students do it like
the pre-assessment, or a multiple choice quiz. Matching the index card vocabulary would work as well.
Part C – Small Group Project. Give the group a scenario such as: They raise sheep. How are they going
to get their wool to market? What are the advantages /disadvantages of different types of
transportation? Give them several locations to do this from. Have the group present it to the class.
Other ideas: corn, pottery, pigs, lumber, etc.
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Cincinnati History Museum Scavenger Hunt
Kristine Bruns
Grade 3
Learning Objectives: Students will complete several activities for a visit to the Cincinnati Museum
Center.
Standards: History: Events in local history can be shown on timelines organized by years, decades
and centuries. Primary sources such as artifacts, maps and photographs can be used to show change
over time. Local communities change over time. Geography: Artifacts and photographs can show how
daily life is influenced by the agriculture, industry and natural resources in different communities.
Evidence of human modification of the environment can be observed in the local community. Systems
of transportation and communication move people, products and ideas from place to place.
Communities may include diverse cultural groups. Government: Individuals make the community a
better place by solving problems in a way that promotes the common good. Economics: 18. A market
is where buyers and sellers exchange goods and services.
Group members:____________________________________________
Scavenger Hunt
As you walk through the Cincinnati History Museum with your group and parent chaperone, please
follow the worksheet to make sure you have seen everything! Your chaperone must sign off at the end
of the museum saying that you have been through all the parts. Have fun and LEARN A LOT!!
1. Isn’t this map of Cincinnati neat? Is it a timeline? ____________
How can you tell? ______________________________________
2. How many steamboats do you see? ________________________
3. Find a streetcar. Read the sign and find out what years street cars were used in Cincinnati.
__________________________________
4. What is an incline? ______________________________________
5. List as many inclines that you can find (example : The Price Hill Incline)
_______________________________________________
6. What is the name of the field that the Cincinnati Red Stockings played at?
_____________________________________________
7. Find Findlay Market. What do you think people did there?
8. Who moved to “Over the Rhine”? Were they German or Irish?
9. Find the Miami and Erie Canal
10. List THREE things that the Germans built in their village:
a. __________________________________________
b. __________________________________________
c. __________________________________________
11. Find Spring Grove Cemetery
12. How many Union soldiers are buried there?
13. Find Ivorydale. Is there a famous business located there?
14. Find the Cincinnati Zoo. What year did it open? _________
15. How is the zoo different now? ________________________
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As you leave the map area, you will see the Clifton/Ludlow Streetcar. Step on board!! Complete the
venn diagram below and tell how a street car and a bus compare with each other.
Streetcar
Bus
.
.
Gas today is $3.40 per gallon. How much is it in the 1940’s?
What was the job of a carrier pigeon?
Read with your chaperone about Rationing. How would your life be different if we had to ration?
Cincinnatians helped with World War II. How many people from Cincinnati died in the war?
____________________________________
Draw the housing in which the Ft. Ancient Indians lived:
Surveyors measured the land to so they could sell it to people.
What are some things that the surveyor is holding so he could do his job?
______________________________________________________
The Miami and Erie Canal helped people travel north and south in Ohio. Find the canal and “Lock Up”
and “Lock Down”.
Step onto the flatboat. Describe how you would feel spending 4 weeks on this with your family.
What were two new industries that developed in Cincinnati?
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The last stop is a street scene with a steamboat. Travel through the street and find examples of a
market.
I hope you enjoyed your field trip!
Chaperone Signature : ______________________________________
Field Trip to the Cincinnati Museum Center
Leslie Lessig
Grade 4
Learning Objective: Explore the history and culture of Ohio in the 1800s at the Cincinnati Museum
Center. Students will prepare for the school’s celebration of African- American History and the annual
door decorating event by delving into the study of slavery from capture to Plantation life using images
and slave narratives. Students will be able to describe the city of Cincinnati in the 1800s. Identify
businesses that existed in early Cincinnati history. Identify different means of transportation available
to Ohioans in the 19th Century, and analyze how transportation affected the state’s development.
Standards: Geography: Cardinal and ordinal directions can be used to describe the relative locations
of characteristics of Ohio Human Systems. Ohio’s location and transportation systems influence the
movement of people, goods and culture. Production and consumption. Entrepreneurs organize
resources to establish a business and make a profit
Resource/Materials: Find Someone Who worksheet
Core Activities: Day 1: As students enter the room, give them a copy of the Find Someone Who
worksheet. If this is the first time that this strategy is to be used in the year, teach the protocol.
Students will move about the room with their hand raised if they are not working with a partner. Once
two students have come together, they will put their hands down until they finish and move on.
Students will exchange sheets. Each student will find a box to sign if there is one that they can answer.
The student answering will sign their initials, and write the answer in the box-small writing is
necessary. The students will only speak in whispers. They will return the papers to their partner, and
then raise their hand to move to find another partner. Students will see how many boxes they are able
to fill. Before the students leave for the field trip, they will read the items on the worksheet (large
group) and have the chance to ask for clarification. They will be reminded that if curators do not give
them the information that they need, they may raise their hand and politely ask questions. Worksheets
will be collected again before students leave. Students will tour the museum. When they return, they
will be given the worksheet again. A pair will model the protocol for finding someone-no talking only
whispers, hands raised when not paired, exchange of papers, how to sign and return. Students will be
given 10 minutes to circulate and pair and share. Students will be called on to return to their seats. The
class as a whole will check the worksheet. As a student is called, they will give the answer to the next
box, and who they found that knew the answer. They are to give themselves a point for each box they
have completed correctly. (total out of 25)
Assessment: Students will be given a completion grade for the Find Someone worksheet. They may
use the worksheet on their weekly short cycle assessment
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Differentiated Learning: Students can write in their journals about the field trip. Illustrations may be
added. Some students will want to research to add details to their drafts about items they discovered on
the field trip. Crafting from the 1800s, such as using the drop spool will be available to the students.
Museum Review Name ________________________
Find Someone Who #1 paddle steamer, #2 drop spool, #3 camera
name the body of
water that makes
Ohio’s southern
border
define
the word
Canal
name two states
that border Ohio
Can identify
this #1
knows a code
name for the Big
Dipper
knows how the
Amish travel still
today
knows what
type of boat
Native
Americans
used
knows what city was called
“Porkopolis" and why
knows what
Zanes Trace
was
can draw a
flatboat
name three businesses that
were in Cincinnati in the
1800s
Knows what
country many
immigrants to
Cincinnati
came from
can tell if
there were
streetcars in
Cincinnati
(yes or no)
can tell what
the early
settlers did with
the lumber
from their boats
knows what year Ohio
became a state
name the body of
water that makes
Ohio’s northern
border
can identify
this #2
can name two
means of
transportation
used before
the car
can name the
canal that was
built in
Cincinnati
can name another nickname
for Cincinnati
Knows whether
Ohio entered the
union as a free or
slave state
can identify
this #3
Can tell how
people
crossed the
Ohio River in
the early
1800s
(bridge or
boat)
can draw a
keelboat
can name one thing that
would be printed in the 1800s
Where’s Ohio? Cincinnati Museum Center
Rachel Robinson
Grade 4
Learning Objectives: Students will examine Ohio Riverboats and visit the Cincinnati Museum Center
to learn about the evolution of transportation.
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Standards: History: 1. Construct time lines with evenly spaced intervals for years, decades and
centuries to show the order of significant events in Ohio history. Geography: 3. Describe the location
of Ohio relative to other states and countries. 4. Use maps to identify the location of major physical
and human features of Ohio including: Lake Erie, Rivers, Bordering States, capital city. 7. Explain
how resources, transportation and location influenced the development of cities and industries in Ohio
including major industries such as oil, steel, rubber, and glass.
Core Activities: Hook- Write the word steamboat on the board. Ask students if they know what a
steamboat is. Ask students how they would travel from Ohio all the way to New Orleans, such as car,
bus, or plane. Then ask students how people in the nineteenth century would have traveled there. 2.
Explain steamboats and view Ohio Riverboats video segment from Think TV’s Our Ohio: Exploring
Our Heritage Vol. II https://www.thinktv.org/education/educ_abo_ohiovol2.html
Ohio Riverboats (watch streaming video | view pdf Have the students write facts they learned from the
video and review as a class. 3. A Trip on the Ohio River- Explain that the Ohio River was an important
waterway for several reasons. It served as a source of food, water, and transportation of both goods and
people. Have students work in pairs to answer the following questions using a blank U.S. political
map: What is the name of the river that forms the southern border of Ohio? What is the name of the
lake that borders Ohio? What rivers would someone from Ohio travel on to get to New Orleans?
Define tributary. Which is the tributary, the Ohio or Mississippi River? Why were Cincinnati and New
Orleans important centers for business and commerce? Fill in the names of the states that border Ohio.
4. Transportation Timeline- Have students work in groups of 3-4. Advise students that they will be
conducting research at the Cincinnati Museum Center, through the Internet to learn about the evolution
of transportation. They will construct a time line to show the year it was invented or the time when it
became used widely. Types of transportation on the timeline should include: Conestoga Wagon,
Railroad Steam Locomotive, Hot Air Balloon, Steamboat, Canal Boat, Gasoline powered car, air
plane. Timeline will span from 1750 to 1920.
Assessment: Use the following checklist to score the transportation timeline: Has a title _____ out of 2
pts. Dates from 1750 to 1920 with evenly spaced intervals. _____ out of 4 pts.
Includes the 7 kinds of transportation ______ out of 7 points. Accurate years of invention on the time
line _____ out of 7 pts. Includes illustrations that are neat and colorful ______out of 4 pts. Total:
_____ out of 24 pts.
Heroes of Ohio by Rick Sowash
Kristine Bruns
Grade 4
Learning Objective: Students will examine what is a hero.
Resources: Heroes of Ohio by Rick Sowash
Core Activities: This activity incorporates the book Heroes of Ohio by Rick Sowash. It brings together
reading, writing, social studies, and role play. Begin by reading selections of the book with students.
As you read the short stories discuss and write summaries about why each person is considered a
“hero.” At the end of the unit, have the students select a hero to research. Spend about two weeks using
the book and other resources to write a research paper. Then create a board to display information
about our heroes. Students include maps, photos, poems, puppets, and a timeline to show what they
have learned. Have other classes come in and have your students perform skits and tell others what
they have learned.
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Canals, Roads, and Trains Resources:
The History of Transportation in the US and Ohio
Julieanne Phillips
Grade 3-5
Canals:
Ohio’s Historic Canals http://my.ohio.voyager.net/~lstevens/canal/ Ohio’s Canals
http://my.ohio.voyager.net/~lstevens/canal/canalmap.html History of Ohio Canals
http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/water/canlhist/tabid/3285/Default.aspx Touring Ohio: Ohio’s Canal System
http://www.touring-ohio.com/history/ohio-canal-system.html The Canal Society of Ohio
http://www.canalsocietyohio.org/
National Road: Historic National Road, National Scenic Byways Program,
http://www.byways.org/explore/byways/2278/ Historic National Road – Ohio, National Scenic
Byways Program, http://www.byways.org/explore/byways/15641/ National Road Historical Timeline,
http://www.nationalroadpa.org/historical_timeline.html Ohio’s Scenic Byway, Historic National Road
http://www.dot.state.oh.us/OhioByways/Pages/HistoricNationalRoad.aspx Madonnas of the Trail
http://www.roadsideamerica.com/set/madonna.html National Road Map,
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~gentutor/national.html Stone S bridge on National
Road in Guernsey County (Cambridge),
http://www.ohiomemory.org/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/p267401coll34&CISOPTR=2485&R
EC=9 The National Road in Song and Story, Compiled by Workers in the Writer’s Program of the
WPA in the State of Ohio, 1940. P. 24- MAP, P.36 –MADONNA, P. 39- TIMELINE
http://www.archive.org/stream/nationalroadinso00writ#page/18/mode/2up
Ohio National Road Association, http://www.ohionationalroad.org/ National Road Bibliography,
http://www.ohionationalroad.org/bibliography.htm
Railroads: Welcome to Ohio, the Land of Trains. Jeff Knorek. http://knorek.com/RR/Ohio/ohio.htm;
Ohio Rail Tourism Association http://www.ohiorailtourism.org/; Ohio Railroad Stations Past and
Present http://www.west2k.com/ohio.htm; Railroads of Ohio http://railohio.railfan.net/
LM&M Railroad http://www.lebanonrr.com/;
“Transportation: Transcontinental Railroad”, U.S. History Grades 3-8, In these lessons, students
learn about the history, construction, and impact of the first transcontinental railroad in the United
States. Includes historic photographs, maps, and suggested classroom activities. There is a link to an
eThemes resource on trains http://www.emints.org/ethemes/resources/S00000752.shtml
“I Hear the Locomotives” History Grades 3-5, Students will study the impact that the
transcontinental railroad had on regions through which it passed and the effect it had on the United
States. This lesson can lead to an investigation and discussion on the impact the railroad will have in
Ohio. http://www.edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?id=253
Our Ohio: Exploring Our Heritage
ThinkTV
Welcome to Our Ohio: Exploring Our Heritage! Grades 3-8
https://www.thinktv.org/education/educ_k12_ourohio_heritage.html
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The following six lessons based on our public television series Our Ohio are designed to incorporate
social studies skills and methods into the study of Ohio history. Specific emphasis is placed on
analyzing primary source documents and images to encourage critical thinking and problem solving
skills. The following lessons based on our public television series Our Ohio are designed to
incorporate social studies skills and methods into the study of Ohio history. Specific emphasis is
placed on analyzing primary source documents and images to encourage critical thinking and problem
solving skills. Streaming videos http://itunes.apple.com/us/itunes-u/our-ohio-exploring-ourheritage/id386816152 accompanying lessons can be downloaded at the thinktv website above,
Sunwatch Village, The Ohio Amish, The Underground Railroad, The Ohio State Fair, Ohio Canals,
Ohio Waterways.
Our Ohio: Exploring Our Heritage Volume II Grades 3-5
https://www.thinktv.org/education/educ_abo_ohiovol2.html
In Season II of Our Ohio: Exploring Our Heritage six videos and accompanying lessons take students
to historic locations in Ohio. Lessons and activities are aligned to the Ohio Academic Content
Standards for grades 3-5 and are tied to Ohio history themes including early statehood, geography,
geology, economics, technology, innovation, the branches of government and more. Accompanying
lessons can be downloaded at the thinktv website above. Streaming videos can be found at: An Ohio
Water Mill http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsZUdXRLZHU Ohio Riverboats
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2RhIg8khco The Ohio Supreme Court
http://www.youtube.com/user/OurOhio?blend=8&ob=5#p/u/0/NRZBuIzig_c Cincinnati Fire Museum
http://watch.cetconnect.org/video/1620035939/ Ideal Farmland
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpKkTDrlYV0 Thomas Worthington's Adena
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-Bji3NGFsU
Our Ohio: Exploring Our Heritage Volume III Grades 4-8
https://www.thinktv.org/education/educ_abo_ohiovol3.html
Season three of Our Ohio: Exploring Our Heritage includes five 7-10 minute video segments which
take students to historic locations around the state. The videos are aligned to the Ohio Academic
Content Standards for grades 4, 5 and 8 and each includes accompanying lessons. The streaming
videos and lessons explore:
Ripley, Ohio: Freedom’s Landing, Harriet Beecher Stowe, The Ohio National Road, Fort Meigs and
the War of 1812, Serpent Mound
Living Timeline: Events in Ohio History
Julieanne Phillips
Grades 3-5
Standards: History: A. Interpret relationships between events shown on multiple-tier time lines
1. Select events and construct a multiple-tier time line to show relationships among events.
Activity One: Living Timeline Make 2 sets of cards (approximately 8 ½” x 11” or larger) one event
per card, with no dates. Divide students into two teams. Pass out event cards randomly to each team of
students. Have each team line up in the order they think the events happened. After teams have lined in
their order, ask the team why they placed themselves where they did. How did they reason that each
event happened in that order? Timelines are then reviewed and discussed.
Activity Two: Relay Course Make 2 sets of cards- one event per card with no dates. Set up a relay
course and divide students into two teams. After each team reviews the cards, shuffle and stack them at
86
the course “start” area. The first person in line takes the top card, runs a short distance and places the
event on a timeline in the approximate place that it goes. The next person does the same until the
timeline is complete. Each team takes 2 minutes to decide if their timeline is correct. One student
makes the changes his/her team has decided. Timelines are then reviewed and discussed.
Events:
1754-63- French and Indian War
1787- Northwest Ordinance
1795- Treaty of Greenville
1803- Statehood
1804- Ohio University founded
1820s- National Road
1812-15- War of 1812
1825-45- Miami and Erie canals
1833- Oberlin college founded
1850s- Ohio and Baltimore Railroad
1851- Sojourner Truth, “Ain’t I A Woman?” Akron, OH
1852- Uncle Tom’s Cabin- Harriet Beecher Stowe
1859- John Brown’s Raid on Harper’s Ferry, VA
One Room School Houses in Ohio
Julieanne Phillips
Grades 6-8
Learning Objectives: After reading and reviewing the Overview of Ohio One Room School Houses,
students will analyze photographs and will gain a better understanding of the differences in the way
students were taught in the 19th Century compared to today.
Teacher Prep: Overview of Ohio One Room Schoolhouses http://www.ohiokids.org/tz/dec03.shtml
Analyzing Photographs and Prints –Use the resource found at
http://www.loc.gov/teachers/usingprimarysources/resources/Analyzing_Photographs_and_Prints.pdf
will assist you with questions for the students to answer about the photographs.
Material/Resources: http://ohsweb.ohiohistory.org/ohiopix/image.cfm?ID=2269;
http://ohsweb.ohiohistory.org/ohiopix/image.cfm?ID=2142;
http://ohsweb.ohiohistory.org/ohiopix/image.cfm?ID=2281;
http://ohsweb.ohiohistory.org/ohiopix/image.cfm?ID=2278;
Map of Ohio Lesson Plan
Valerie Scott
Grades 4-5
Learning Objective: The students will make a salt dough map showing elevation, major cities, rivers,
neighboring states, and major lakes.
Standards: Geography: 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5, 3.10.
87
Teacher Prep: Have ready for each student: a file folder with a map of Ohio traced onto the right
inside. A packet of state symbols, unlabeled compass rose, crayons, a large 11 X 18 construction paper
and a 9 X 11 piece of the same color. You will also need yellow, orange, red, light green, green, and
blue paint, containers for paint and a few small brushes. You will also need to have made up packets of
salt dough, one for each student. Salt dough recipe: 3 c. flour, 1 c salt, 1 TBSP cream of tartar, 1 ½ c
water. Usually 2 five lb. bags of flour can do 20 students. I wrap individual portions in plastic wrap.
This makes the whole management process much easier. Have an elevation map of Ohio out for the
class to see. (My students usually have never used salt dough, so it is quite an experience for them.)
Core Activities: 1. Cover their desks with newspaper, pass out a folder and a packet of dough to each
student. They are to fill in the outline of the Ohio map. Have them “build” hills where they should be
as well as valleys and keep the lowest areas near the Ohio River and Lake Erie. It will take several
days for them to be dry enough to paint. 2. I have the students paint one color at a time, in groups of
four. Cover four desks pushed together to form a table with newspaper. The class should be coloring
their Ohio symbols packet, the Great Seal, etc. Have groups of students paint their entire map light
green. (Just the salt dough.) Repeat until all have had a turn. Let dry overnight. 3. Based on the
elevation map of Ohio, continue painting in small groups. Usually the rest can be painted the next day.
Go one color at a time as it will dry in between turns, and it is easier to manage. Paint Lake Erie, and
the Ohio and Great Miami rivers with blue. (I also have a rule that if they don’t use the paint correctly,
they won’t paint.) Every year I have had somebody lose the privilege to paint. After sitting out, they
usually regain self -discipline and can paint the rest of the colors.) 4. Glue or use rubber cement the
large piece of paper to the outside (bottom under the map part) of the folder. Glue the small piece over
the inside part of the folder. It should look somewhat like a book, but can’t be folded flat. On the
outside “cover” have the class label it “Ohio”, and glue the colored picture of the state flag and great
seal. The rest of the pictures can be cut out and glued on as well. I have the class label them
completely. Example: The Horse-chestnut tree is also known as the Buckeye Tree. It is our state tree.
The cardinal, state bird, etc. These can be glued on the inside flap. 5. I typed up labels for the major
cities, water ways, Campbell Hill (highest point) and the lowest point. There is also a compass rose and
elevation key that should be labeled, colored, then glued on. Go city by city and help the students
locate and glue their labels on. Have them label the neighboring states. I have the students color these.
6. You can add to or delete some of the cities etc. Discuss the different plains, why they are hilly or flat
and why the cities are where they are. The students are very proud of their maps. It takes about a week
and a half from start to finish, but it is something the students keep and remember making.
Ohio’s Amazing Race
Julieanne Phillips
Grades 3-5
Learning Objective: Students will use an Ohio road map to answer the questions to learn map skills
and the geography of Ohio.
Core Activity: In pairs, using an Ohio road map http://geology.com/cities-map/ohio.shtml and your
textbook, find the answers to the clues given below.
1. Begin in Thomas Edison’s birthplace. _______________
2. Travel west on I-80, south on I-75 and play a “sport” at a state university
__________________________
3. Head south 60 miles on a U.S. route. It's a hot day, so take a swim in a "Saintly Grand" lake
88
_________________________
4. Continue south on that same U.S. route and stop in at the town of the “crossroads” of America and
eat some “onion” rings ______________
5. Continue farther south and make your way over to ride a roller coaster ________________
6. Head northeast on a U.S. route and buy a shirt at the outlets _____________________
7. Continue north on that U.S. route and visit the State Building _______________________
8. Travel east on a U.S. route and visit the Zane Grey museum ___________________
9. Travel east and then north on U.S. routes and tour the Football Hall of Fame _________
10. Travel north on the state route and look at the “Falls.” _________________________
11. Travel farther north and watch the Indians win the World Series ___________________
12. Travel south on a U.S. state route and visit the museum that commemorates freedom
______________
13. Head north on a U.S. state route and find your way to where you are today. ______________
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UNIT 8: ECONOMICS, SOCIAL STUDIES SKILLS
Economic Market System
Anna Bowman
Grades 3-5
Learning Objectives: Students describe the three basic questions of economics of the market system,
compare and contrast the pros and cons of the market system, and analyze the strengths and
weaknesses of the market system.
Core Activities: Pre-test-OGT Econ Market Systems Questions. Discuss the Power point presentation
over the market economic system. Worksheet-Economic Market Systems-Students work in groups to
complete worksheet. Post-test-OGT Econ Market System Questions. Work in groups to complete
worksheet
Assessment: Evaluation will be the worksheet and Post Test of OGT Market System Questions.
OGT Econ Market System Questions
Question 1- In a certain country, decisions regarding production and consumption of goods are based
upon customs, beliefs, rituals, and habits. Over time, the economic system changes to one in which
production decisions are based on competition and consumer choice. How has the economic system of
this country changed?
A. from a mixed economy to a command economy
B. from a command economy to a mixed economy
C. from a traditional economy to a market economy
D. from a market economy to a traditional economy
Question 2- In a certain country, all decisions concerning the production of goods and services are
made by the government. However, following a political revolution, a new economic system is set up
in which some decisions regarding production of goods and services are made by the government and
others are made by individuals and private companies. How has the economy of this country changed?
A. from a mixed economy to a market economy
B. from a command economy to a mixed economy
C. from a market economy to a traditional economy
D. from a traditional economy to a command economy
Question 3- In a command economy, the question of what goods to produce is primarily determined by
A. cultural traditions.
B. decisions by individuals.
C. government plans.
D. corporate policies.
Question 4- Economic systems answer the question of how goods and services are produced. What is
one way a country could change from a command economy to a market economy?
90
A. if the government takes control of family-owned farms
B. if privately owned banks become subject to stricter regulation
C. if agricultural and factory workers are required to join labor unions
D. if industries that had been owned by the government become privately owned
Question 5- Which statement correctly describes the role of the government in a country with a mixed
economy?
A. The government allows economic decisions to be made by the society’s traditions and customs.
B. The government makes all decisions regarding the production and distribution of goods.
C. The government makes some production and distribution decisions, but other economic decisions
are made by individuals.
D. The government exercises no decision making in economic matters; production and distribution are
determined solely by individuals.
Question 6- In determining what to produce, how do market economies typically respond to high
consumer demand for a product?
A. The government regulates the price of the product.
B. Private companies increase production of the product.
C. The government sets production quotas until the demand is met.
D. Private companies and the government work together to reduce demand
Economic Systems
1. Complete the chart to describe how each economy answers the basic economic questions.
2. Identify strengths of each economy.
3. Identify the weaknesses of each economy.
Traditional
Economy
Command
Economy
Market Economy
Mixed Economy
What to produce?
How to
produce?
For whom to
produce?
Strengths of this
economic system
Weaknesses of this
system
91
A Free Economy
Kristine Bruns
Grade 3-5
Learning Objectives: Students will study economics with a fun, first-hand experience.
Core Activities: In my classroom, I have incorporated a classroom discipline system with a “mini
society”. Students receive “BRUNS BILLS” for a variety of reasons: homework turn in, assignment
planner filled out with parent signature, doing classroom jobs, and any other positive behaviors they
are showing. Each student has a banker’s drawer in which they store their money. Students are
allowed to do banking by switching out small bills for larger denominations (me, being the banker).
This allows them to practice counting money and also we discuss why it is safer to store money in the
bank than in other locations (like desks, etc.). At the end of the quarter, students have a sale. This sale
lasts approximately one hour and students spend part of their time selling and part of their time buying.
Prior to the sale, we discuss what types of things to sell (goods verses services) and how to price items
(supply verses demand). We do a lot of brainstorming of ideas to help each other come up with ideas.
Some students bring in old toys/pokeman cards/games, while others bring in candy, snow cone
machines, home-made cookies, or even a raffle ticket idea. Advertising is discussed as students are
reminded that posters and persuasion help them make money! I sell items as well – such as homework
passes (and I price them high so they can’t buy more than one or two!). The kids really love this. It
covers many content areas in my class while also encouraging good behavior and homework turn in.
We discuss the benefits of saving or spending on sale day. Some years other teachers have
incorporated a similar system and students were able to travel to their classrooms on sale days. That is
even more eventful. This is something that needs to be started at the beginning of the year, but if it is
carried out properly it can teach economic topics first hand!
Ox-Cart Man by Barbara Cooney Vocabulary
Kristin Sims
Grade 5
Learning Objectives: Using a story to help students understand Land, Labor, Capital and
Entrepreneurship.
Resource: Ox-Cart Man by Barbara Cooney
Core Activities: During the Economics Unit, read the Ox-Cart Man by Barbara Cooney to the
students. The students create a four square chart by folding the paper in half and then fold it again and
open it up and they have created four squares. They label each of the squares with the four factors of
production; Land, Labor, Capital and Entrepreneurship. During the story, the students are to listen for
anything that would fit into each factor. They make a list then choose two from the list for each factor
and draw a picture of the object the in correct box. This helps the students understand and remember
what each of the factors of production are and the definition of each by using the pictures to help
define them.
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UNIT 9: SOCIAL STUDIES SKILLS
Analyzing Historical Documents
Steve Coleman
Grades 4-5
Learning Objectives: To assist students in analyzing historical documents.
Name _____________________________
1. Circle one of the following: This is a primary source.
This is a secondary source.
2. Title: _____________________________________________________
3. Author(s): __________________________________________________
4. Date and place of this source: ___________________________________
5. Who was the author’s intended audience? _________________________
6. What was the author’s purpose for writing this document? ____________
7. What is the topic of the source? _________________________________
8. Who are the main groups or people mentioned in the document? _______
9. What is the point of view of the authors? __________________________
10. Identify the opinions of the authors. _____________________________
11. Do you have information that may not agree with the opinions of the authors?
_____________________________________________________________
12. How could the information or opinions in this source help change a person’s thinking?
_____________________________________________________________________
History Timelines
Julieanne Phillips
Grades 3-5
Learning Objectives: This History Timeline has been developed to provide a ‘snapshot’ of the famous
people and events during this historical time period. Important dates in a fast, comprehensive,
chronological, or date order providing an actual sequence of important past events which were of
considerable significance to the famous people involved in this time period. A full History Timeline
http://www.history-timelines.org.uk/american-timelines/35-ohio-history-timeline.htm
Freedom Timeline: How long have we been fighting for freedom from slavery? This lesson from the
Ohio Historical Society Rankin House in Ripley, OH focuses on placing many of these events on a
timeline. A relay course between two teams is the activity which highlights this lesson.
http://www.ohiohistoryteachers.org/06/ft.pdf
From the Flintstones to the Jetsons: Students will have the opportunity to compare and contrast
transportation and agricultural methods in the United States from Colonization to Reconstruction. This
is a five-day lesson plan. http://www.historyintheheartland.org/classroom/plan-moesc.cfm?id=1
Timelines and Texts: Motivating Students to Read Nonfiction: Using an historical timeline and
their prior knowledge of events, students predict on their own when specific inventions were produced
and take notes describing their reasons for placing an invention in a particular year. During a paired
93
thinking and sharing activity, they add to their notes, indicating how this portion of the activity
confirmed, refined, or changed their thinking about the timelines they are developing. Next, students
revise their timelines for accuracy by consulting Web resources about inventions. Through discussion,
they verify the dates and consider the connections between historical events and when inventions were
created. http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=319
Thinkfinity (formerly MarcoPolo) – Seven discipline-specific, standards-based Web sites geared
primarily toward K-12 teachers and students. http://www.thinkfinity.org/
Ohio Department of Education Instructional Management System - Find lesson plans from the
Ohio Achievement tests and other useful information related to Ohio's Academic Content Standards.
http://ims.ode.state.oh.us/ode/ims/Default.asp?bhcp=1
Ohio Resource Center - links to resources that support best practices in Math, Science and Reading.
http://www.ohiorc.org/
Ohio Social Studies Resource Center - links to resources that support best practices in Social Studies.
http://ohiossrc.org/
InfoOhio-The Information network for Ohio Schools
http://www.infohio.org/EDUCATOR/lessons.html
Ohio Historical Society - http://www.ohiohistoryteachers.org/
Ohio History Teachers- http://www.ohiohistoryteachers.org
Ohio Museums- http://www.ohiomuseums.org/museumsa-z.html
Dayton- Teaching American History Grant Instructional Guides
http://www.gatewaytohistory.org/projects/find.asp?pid=1337
Ashbrook Center, Ashland University http://teachingamericanhistory.org/neh/
Ohio Humanities Council Gateway to History- http://www.gatewaytohistory.org/
U.S. Department of Education http://www.ed.gov/
Federal Agencies http://free.ed.gov/
National Council for the Social Studies http://www.socialstudies.org/resources
ThinkTV K-12 Multimedia Resources https://www.thinktv.org/education/educ_k12.html
Organization of American History (OAH) Magazine http://magazine.oah.org/
Ohio Memory http://www.ohiomemory.org/
Miami University Hamilton Teaching American History Program IV
http://www.ham.muohio.edu/tah4/
Political Cartoons
Valerie Isaac
Grade 5
Learning Objectives: Students will analyze political cartoons.
Standards: Social Studies Methods: 4. a,b,c
Resources: Social Studies text book, Paper and pencil, Smartboard, Questions for analyzing cartoons1. What is going on in the cartoon? 2. What is the event causing the cartoon to be written? 3. Discuss
the symbols and caricatures used in cartoon. 4. Editorial statement being stated in cartoon. Author’s
point of view or purpose. Websites for political cartoons, for example - http://www.harpweek.com
http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/primarysourcesets/politicalcartoons/pdf/teacher_guide.pdf
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Core Activities: 1. Ask students to raise their hands if they have ever read a political cartoon. Ask a
student to describe a political cartoon. 2. Students open social studies book to read and discuss political
cartoons. 4. Handout list of political cartoon questions. 5. Using Smartboard, and pull up examples of
political cartoons. 6. Discuss each cartoon using the questions. 7. Create a list of school issues that
students could possibly create a political cartoon. 8. Students will create a political cartoon of topic of
choice from board
Assessment: Class discussion and students’ responses.
Incorporating Art/Architecture
Jennifer Pearson Yamashiro
Grades 3-5
Learning Objectives: Students will complete the following assignments to incorporate visual images
and objects into their lessons.
1. City Plans - Obtain an aerial view of a local city, such as Hamilton, Fairfield or Oxford; • Identify
the city plan (organic, grid, radial); Discuss the underpinning rationale for adopting a particular plan;
Explore how this related to government, settlers, and other persons involved.
2. Architecture - Examine your school – the floor plans, building materials and style of architecture.
What does the layout emphasize? What does this say about and to your community? 3. Portraiture- If
you could have any type of portrait of yourself, what would it look like? Would you choose an
idealized, naturalistic or abstract style of representation? Consider the medium (sculpture, painting,
photograph).
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