Casey Betcher--2nd Grade at Findley

Historical Perspectives WEB QUEST:  Using Primary Sources to Think About Historical Perspectives

By Casey Betcher

 

Context: Fourth grade students in Oregon are expected to study Oregon History as part of the state standards of curriculum for Social Studies.  In this unit of study, we have been examining westward expansion of the United States.  Students have been studying the first white settlers of the region, fur traders, and the initial move westward on the Oregon Trail.  This lesson will take a closer look at who was already living here in the Pacific Northwest.  The lesson will begin with reading from the book, Native Americans, By Arlene B. Hirschfelder.  Students will have an opportunity to examine primary source photographs from the Edward S. Curtis Collection from the Library of Congress on Northwest Native American tribes.  This lesson will take 90 to 120 mins and may be over the course of two days.

 

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/award98/ienhtml/curthome.html

http://curtis.library.northwestern.edu/curtis/browsetribes.html#2

 

Learning Activities: (time for each)

• Introduce the Lesson/Objectives                                            5 min

• KWL Chart                                                                                   5-10 min

• Reading Native American Story                                             10 min

• Looking through Primary Sources Together                      10 min

• WEB QUEST:  Working Independent in Small Groups      30 min

• Sharing Observations                                                                 15 min

• Historical Representations/Artistic Expressions                30-60 min

 

Objectives:

By the end of this lesson SWBATD of geographical influences on social and human settlement by sharing their insights in our closure conversation.

By the end of this lesson SWBATD, their understanding of the analysis of primary source documents by adding their insights to their KWL chart.

 

Standards:  Considering the Oregon Department of Education Social Science Core Standards, this lesson will develop students’ ability to:

• History:  Interpret historical perspectives through personal, local, state, tribal, national, and global narratives.

• Geography:  Analyze economic, social, human migration, settlement, and distribution patterns.

• Social Science: Acquire, organize, analyze and evaluate information from primary and secondary sources.

 

Universal Design for Learning:

This lesson is designed to support individual differences in learning and development by having a variety of resources (books with different reading levels, physical and electronic photographs) that support students connection to Native American History through primary source examination.  Students will be able to document their observations in a variety of ways including writing in the table below, typing on one of the classroom computers, and/or with the support of peers & teachers writing to document their observations.  The lesson will end with a personal representation of observations of 1 specific tribe through an expressive art medium such as performance, drawing, sculpture (clay).  This allows students to show what they observed as important or noted as memorable about Pacific Northwest Indians.   Students will be excited to explore original historical objects instead of simply reading from a History book.  Students will also have the opportunity to draw their own conclusions, that cannot be considered right or wrong, but do have to have some foundation in their research.  They also have a variety of mediums to share their ideas in large and small groups, written, oral, and artistic expression.

 

Preparation –

• Collect some physical photographs for students who rather not work digitally

•  Gather the book Native Americans, By Arlene B. Hirschfelder

• Gather enough iPads for the class to work in groups of 3

• Ipads will need to be digitally connected to the Edward S. Curtis Collection in the section that organizes Indian Tribes by Region.  From there, students will be able to choose between several different Pacific Northwest Tribes.  Set the webpage to Gallery View so that students can see thumbnails of the images.

• Gather images of Stereotyped Native American Historical Representations

• Set up a smartboard slide or powerpoint slide with stereotyped images

• The class computer/Smartboard will also need to be set up to the Collection.

• 30 Copies of the Assignment must be printed so that each student can have their own copy.

• Gather a variety of materials for students to share their impressions of the tribes (paper, colored pencils, water colors, clay…etc.)

Lesson Introduction: 

Introduce the lesson by discussing what students have already noted about Oregon History (What have we been studying/researching?).  Introduce the change in topic, “today we are going to consider what we know about who was living in the Pacific Northwest prior and during the westward expansion.”  We would then launch into a KWL chart to document our ideas.  After considering what student already know about Native American history in Oregon, the lesson will begin with reading from the book, Native Americans, By Arlene B. Hirschfelder.  As the teacher reads, they will demonstrate/take note of how this author draws conclusions from research and connects the research to the photographic images.

 

Introduce the Web Quest:

The teacher will share:  “Today, you are going to have the opportunity to make your own conclusion about history.  You are going to transform into a historian and go on a quest to find accurate information about Native American tribes from our area.  How do historians get their information?”  The teacher will discuss what primary verses secondary sources are.  Students will give examples to show that they understand (“Can anyone give me an example of a primary or a secondary source would be?”)  He/she will introduce the “stereotyped images” and ask students to interpret what they might say about Native Americans.  “Are they friendly?  Are they smart?  What do these representations lead the viewer to assume about Native Americans?

 

On the smartboard, we will begin to examine the primary source documents of the photographs from the Library of Congress’ Edward S. Curtis Collection of North American Indians Photographic Image.  These are actual pictures taken prior to mass westward expansion.  Your quest is to interpret these photographs.  As a class first, and then in your groups, we will consider some of the following questions:

• Where did they live?  (Describe the setting)

• What was their housing /dwellings like?

• What types of clothing do you observe (describe)?

• Are there special clothing ornamentation?

• What types of culturally relevant objects do you notice (art or ceremonial materials)?

• What activities are documented?  Examine the photos closely and describe any specific materials they are using for the activity (Hunting?  Dances?  Celebrations?  Crafts?

• What tools and equipment do you observe them using?  (Transportation?  Hunting tools?)

• Are there any specific natural materials you notice they utilize from their region?  Hides?  Feathers?  Bark?

 

Embarking on the Quest:

Students will then have the opportunity to practice examining primary sources to find historical relevant information.  Using the assignment at the end of this document, students will make notes of their observations in the table.  After analyzing images from two or three tribes, in their small groups, the teacher will ask students to discuss some of the similarities, differences, and any conclusions they think they can draw from these observations.  We will then come back together and as a whole group discuss these ideas further.  We will make a chart of our ideas on the board.

 

Sharing What They Learned on The Quest:

Finally, the teacher will ask students to think of one or two things that stood out to them from one of the tribes.  What is it you find most important to share with others?  As this point, the students will get to make their own representations of the tribe using any “language” or material they would like.  This is the portion of the lesson that makes it more concrete for students and allows their individual expressions.  It also will be linked back as a “secondary” source of historical information as they are creating their own historical interpretation of the Northwest tribes (they were not there).  How can they make a more accurate (and less stereotyped) representation?  This is their way of sharing what they have learned with others beyond the classroom.

Sharing Objectives:  Dialogue with students:  “Often, history is told to students.  This is what happened.  But how do historians or even teachers get information about history?  My objective for you is to practice examining “primary sources” that come from long ago and share critical information about history.  History can be ‘mis-represented.’  Your quest is to analyze and make conclusions about what you observe in primary sources.  You get to be the historian today.  At the end of this lesson, you get to make your own historical representation to share what you noted about one of the Pacific Northwest tribes and what you find important or relevant. 
 

Closure:
As a whole class, we will come back together to discuss: What are some of the important things you noted as you acted as a historian?  Can you share how you represented that in your work?”  Have students share their representations of the tribes.  Have them share important observations they noted.  Allow time for discussion about what it’s like looking at primary sources verses reading history.  What do you like about it?  What don’t you get from primary source photographs that a non-fiction history book might share?

 

We will then connect this learning to our other lessons about westward expansion.  What do you think the perspectives of the Native Americans might be when white settlers came to the area?  Is there anything you observed that may have like or gained from westward expansion?  What might they have lost?

Student Assessment:  The lesson will begin with a KWL chart as we consider what students already know about Pacific Northwest Native American tribes.  We will also discuss what they know about Primary and Secondary sources.  The lesson begins with a formative assessment through discussion of what students come into the lesson thinking and understanding.

 

As students work to analyze primary sources, they will note their observations.  This will allow the teacher to review what details and how in depth their observations of the primary sources are.  Students will also have the opportunity to represent their ideas in a more expressive and creative way, providing different ways of showing understanding.  Finally, we will come back together and discuss the experience.  What do primary sources provide for historians and students that books or written histories can’t?  What might the photographs lack for students to understand Native American History?  This discussion will help illustrate and assess what students took away from the lesson.