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Assessment

  Workshop:

   Evaluation of the workshop may include:

    •   teacher evaluation comments on the workshop;
    •   observation of the lessons in the classroom setting;
    •   feedback from teachers on the success of the lesson, if used with their classes; and/or
    •   survey of teachers' continued use of the Library of Congress Web site, via an online survey six months after the
        training sessions.

  Lesson:

    Copy and paste the 5-W Poetry Rubric for Fourth/Fifth Grade or Sixth Grade into a word processing document. Add
    brief descriptions for each of the sections. Students should have the rubric before they begin work so they know how     they will be evaluated. Students may also help in developing the descriptions as part of the clarification process after     hearing the assignment described. Be sure to keep a copy for your records.

5-W Poetry Rubric Explanation: Fourth/Fifth Grade

5-W Poetry Rubric Explanation: Sixth Grade

Learning Context/ Introduction

   This staff development workshop, coupled with student lessons, introduces the use of primary resources -- where to
   find them, what they are, how to examine them, and how to "construct the context" to tell the whole story.
   Participants examine a series of primary sources, developing strategies and techniques for analyzing artifacts with
   students. Using sample lessons for grades 4-6, participants interpret primary sources to enrich a story and to further
   develop the story's context, leading to greater understanding.

   Discuss Your Conclusions

       1.   With others in the class, discuss your conclusions about each artifact.
       2.   Using the Artifact Analysis Matrix, record the class's conclusions on a large piece of paper.


   Read the Story:

       1.   Read The American Family Farm by Joan Anderson and George Ancona.
       2.   Check the completed Artifact Analysis Matrix. Are your conclusions about the American family farm and its
              future valid?


   Write a 5-W Poem

       1.   Answer the 5-Ws:
              ◦  who,
              ◦  what,
              ◦  where,
              ◦  when,
              ◦  why, and sometimes
              ◦  how.
       2.   Use exact words and phrases from the story. Try to match your "answers" to both the story and the artifacts.
       3.   Create your own 5-W poem using the words and the phrases that you have selected. The poem may be
             created using one of the following methods:
              ◦  Write your own poem.
              ◦  Write a verse from selected pages; then put your verse together with verses from the rest of the class to tell                  the story.
              ◦  Work with 1-2 other students to write a group poem.
              ◦  Work with 1-2 other students to write a verse; then put the group's verse together with verses from the rest
                 of the class to tell the story.

Example of a 5-W Poem using The American Family Farm by Joan Anderson and George Ancona

Important!! Check the 5-W Rubric for points to remember when writing your poem.

Resources/Materials

   American Memory

     •  African-American Perspectives, 1818-1907
     •  California As I Saw It, 1849-1900
     •  The Evolution of the Conservation Movement, 1850-1920
     •  First-Person Narratives of the American South, 1860-1920
     •  Map Collections, 1500-2003
     •  The Northern Great Plains, 1880-1920
     •  Touring Turn-of-the-Century America, 1880-1920
     •  Voices from the Dust Bowl, 1940-1941
     •  Words and Deeds in American History

   Learning Page

     •  Using Primary Sources in the Classroom
     •  Historian's Sources Lesson
     •  Lesson Framework

   Library of Congress

     •  African-American Odyssey
     •  Dorothea Lange's "Migrant Mother" Photographs in the Farm Security Administration Collection: An Overview
        from the Prints and Photographs Division

   Other Online Sources

     •  Creative Portraits: Using Art and Artifacts to Deepen Historical Understanding
     •  Harcourt Brace Signatures Anthology

   Print Sources

     •  Altman, Susan.   Extraordinary Black Americans from Colonial to Contemporary Times.   New York:   Children's
        Press, 1989.
     •  Anderson, Joan, George Ancona, and George Anderson.   The American Family Farm: A Photo Essay.   San
        Diego:   Harcourt Brace, 1996.
     •  Bunting, Eve, and Greg Shed.   Dandelions.   New York:   Harcourt Brace, 1995.
     •  Cherry, Lynne.   A River Ran Wild: An Environmental History.   San Diego:   Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1992.
     •  Conrad, Pam.  Prairie Songs.   New York:   Harper Collins, 1991.
     •  Fleischman, Sid.   By the Great Horn Spoon!    Boston:   Little, Brown, 1963.
     •  Fordred, Liz, with Susie Blackmun.   Freedom Ride. A Ocean to Cross: Daring the Atlantic, Claiming a New
        Life.   Camden, Me.:   International Marine: 2001.
     •  Gates, Doris.   Blue Willow.   New York:   Viking Press, 1940.
     •  George, Jean Craighead.   Julie of the Wolves.   New York:   Harper & Row, 1972.
     •  Lowry, Lois.   Number the Stars.   Boston:   Houghton Mifflin, 1989.
     •  Paulsen, Gary.   The River.   New York:   Yearling Books, 1993.
     •  Rawls, Wilson.   Where the Red Fern Grows: The Story of Two Dogs and a Boy.   Garden City,
        N.Y.:   Doubleday, 1961.
     •  Sieber, Diane and Wendell Minor.   Heartland.   New York:   Crowell, 1989.
     •  Turner, Ann Warren.   Dakota Dugout.   New York:   Macmillan, 1985.
     •  Turner, Ann Warren.   Grasshopper Summer.   New York:   Macmillan, 1989.
     •  Wilder, Laura Ingalls.   Little House on the Prairie.   New York:   HarperTrophy, 1971.

   Sixth Grade

     The following literary works represent stories where maps play a crucial role. Using the hyperlinks supplied in the
     lesson for The River by Gary Paulson, additional map interpretation activities may be completed. After working with
     maps as a whole class during study of The River, students can then work in small groups, with each group reading
     one of the works listed below and presenting the results of their map study and a summary of the highlights of the
     story to the class.

     Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
     Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
     Freedom Ride by Liz Fordred with Susie Blackmun
     Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George

Duration

   Workshop: One six-hour session or two three-hour sessions of staff development, followed by teacher
   implementation in the classroom.

   Classroom lessons: five days, 40-60 minutes each day, for a total of 3 hours 20 minutes to 5 hours.

Author

   Mary A. Ritter,
   School Technology Specialist,
   Davis School District, Farmington, Utah

Objectives

  Workshop:

  This workshop series will encourage teachers to:

    •   acquire a working knowledge of American Memory;
    •   distinguish between primary and secondary sources;
    •   assess the credibility of primary sources;
    •   assemble a collection of primary sources to tell a story;
    •   develop a lesson for their classroom that will lead students through these same processes and activities, and
    •   support teachers as they begin to develop curriculum which is enhanced by access to technology and online
        resources.

  This workshop series provides:

    •   definitive examples of what a primary source is;
    •   model lessons using primary sources, and
    •   assistance in the development of instructional models for students.

Procedure

   Day 1:  Introducing the Artifact Road Show

   Conduct a personal "mind walk" using personal primary source documents and personal artifacts that reflect
   something important in your own life. Display the artifact and guide and instruct the students to use the Artifact Analysis Matrix to record their observations of the artifact. Then share "the real story" of your relationship to the
   artifact.

   To connect to the creative concept of "Artifact Road Show," students can place a value on the artifact from a reviewer    and owner perspective. This leads to a discussion of what brings value, as well as meaning, to an artifact.

   Some suggestions for personal artifacts are:

    •   published documents-an official document about you, i.e., driver's license, birth certificate, teaching credential,
        passport;
    •   unpublished documents-a letter written to you, diary, journal;
    •   oral traditions/histories-a family story, and
    •   visual documents/artifacts-a photograph, drawing, caricature, trophy, locket, or medal.


   Day 2:  Student Activity

   Ask students to bring their own personal artifacts and display them for their group of three students. Teams of three
   review each artifact supplied by team members and interpret them to determine information about the owners'
   personalities and lifestyles. Each team works together to complete the Artifact Analysis Matrix.


   Day 3:  Sharing the Results

   When the groups' Artifact Analysis Matrix charts are complete, the reviewers share their charts with the class. The
   artifact owner "constructs the context" that reveals "the whole story." In order to connect to the creative concept of
   "Artifact Road Show," students may place a value on the artifact from a reviewer and owner perspective. This leads to    a discussion of what brings value to an artifact.


   Day 4:  Introducing the Library of Congress and American Memory

   Introduce students to a selection of primary sources that are "Rare Finds" from American Memory. As a whole class,    students complete a large version of the Artifact Analysis Matrix, using 18" x 12" paper with plenty of room to write
   notes. The students analyze the content of the primary sources to gather as much information as possible about the
   context of the story they are about to read.


   Reading Activity

   Each of the student lessons is taken from a grade level anthology by Harcourt Brace. The stories are offered within
   each grade-level student anthology:

    •   Rare Finds (Grade 4);
    •   Coast to Coast (Grade 5); and
    •   Hidden Treasures (Grade 6).

     Fourth Grade:

     Students read aloud and discuss The River Ran Wild by Lynne Cherry, with a silent re-reading assigned as a
     follow-up. In addition to reading the story together as an entire class, include a discussion of the illustration borders
     and how they tie into the story. Students can also be assigned a portion of the illustrations to research/report to the      class.

     Fifth Grade:

     Students read aloud and discuss The American Family Farm by Joan Anderson, illustrated with photographs by
     George Ancona. This beautifully illustrated photo-essay shows the positive and negative aspects of family farms in
     Georgia, Iowa, and Massachusetts. Students should be prepared to compare the positives/negatives with the
     positives/negatives they find in the photographs from American Memory.

     Sixth Grade:

     Students read The River by Gary Paulsen. This book is the fourth in a series about Brian Robeson and his quest to
     survive a variety of challenges in his young life. In The River, he is asked to return to the wilderness to teach
     government scientists about his survival techniques. He soon finds himself faced with still another survival
     challenge. Brian's skillful use of a map plays a role in his survival. Gary Paulsen's survival stories provide a excellent      chance to review the structure of a good story. You might want to have the students track the problems, solutions,
     and climax of this story as they read. Students can also learn more about the author and investigate the other
     books that he has written.


   Day 5:  Writing a 5-W Poem--Rough Draft

   Use direct quotations of phrases and vocabulary from the book that they have read. Students answer the 5-Ws:

    •   who;
    •   what;
    •   where;
    •   when;
    •   why, and sometimes
    •   how.

   Students attempt to match these "answers" to both the literary work and the artifact. You may want to write a
   beginning verse together, and then have them work in teams of three to add one or two more verses. Be sure to
   instruct them in the skills of capitalization and punctuation for poetry.

   Suggestions for writing the poem:

    •   Students may write individual poems.
    •   Students may write individual verses selected from assigned pages, and put their verses together with
        the rest of the class to form one longer poem that encapsulates the entire story.
    •   Students may work in groups of two or three to write a group poem.
    •   Students may work in groups of two or three to create a verse selected from assigned pages and put their verses
        together with the rest of the class to form one longer poem that encapsulates the entire story.


   Day 6:  Writing a 5-W Poem--Final Draft

   The final creative activity involves arranging the quoted phrases and individual words into a verse or series of verses
   that link the artifacts to the literary work.


   Day 7:  Publishing

   Post the artifacts, literary titles, or book covers/illustrations, and poetry on a bulletin board.

Fourth Grade: Linking Rare Finds

   Dear Students:

   You are invited to join our staff of historians in an interpretation of primary source artifacts concerning the Nashua
   River.

       1.   Please examine the artifacts listed below and draw some conclusions about the river and its future.
       2.   Use the guiding questions to help you draw your conclusions.
       3.   Share your ideas with your fellow historians.
       4.   Read A River Ran Wild, a novel by Lynne Cherry, to determine whether your conclusions are valid.
       5.   Write a poem about the Nashua River and its history.


   Examine the Artifacts:

   Use the guiding questions with each artifact to help you examine it and draw conclusions about the Nashua River
   and its future.

       1.   Bird's-Eye Map: Nashua, New Hampshire (Be sure to zoom in on the Navigator window to see larger
             portions of the map.)

            Guiding Questions:
              ◦  When was this picture taken? How many years ago?
              ◦  What does the river look like from a bird's-eye view?
              ◦  What do you predict will happen to this river? Why?
              ◦  What information can we learn from the small pictures along the bottom of the larger picture?

       2.   The Nashua River, New Hampshire

            Guiding Questions:
              ◦  What can we learn about the Nashua River from this photograph?
              ◦  When was this picture taken?
              ◦  Is this a place that you would like to visit?

       3.   The Nashua River, New Hampshire

            Guiding Questions:
              ◦  What more can we learn about the Nashua River from this photograph?
              ◦  Do you think that you could swim or raft here?

       4.   The Conservation Movement

            Guiding Question:
              ◦  What type of documents are included in this collection?

       5.   Read this quotation from "Our Vanishing Wildlife - Its Extermination and Preservation":

                 The preservation of animal and plant life, and of the general beauty of Nature, is one of the foremost duties
                 of the men and women of today. It is an imperative duty, because it must be performed at once, for
                 otherwise it will be too late. Every possible means of preservation, -sentimental, educational and
                 legislative,-must be employed.
                 By William T. Hornaday, Sc.D.
                 Director of the New York Zoological Park,
                 author of The American Natural History, and former president of the American Bison Society.

       6.   Click on the link and go to the document quoted here. Use information from the document to answer the
             questions.

            Guiding Questions:
              ◦  When was this quotation written?
              ◦  What might it mean for the Nashua River?


   Discuss Your Conclusions:

       1.   With others in the class, discuss your conclusions about each artifact.
       2.   Using the Artifact Analysis Matrix, record the class's conclusions on a large piece of paper.


   Read the Story:

       1.   Read A River Ran Wild by Lynne Cherry.
       2.   Check the completed Artifact Analysis Matrix. Are your conclusions about the Nashua River valid?


   Write a 5-W Poem

       1.   Answer the 5-Ws:
              ◦  who,
              ◦  what,
              ◦  where,
              ◦  when,
              ◦  why, and sometimes
              ◦  how.
       2.   Use exact words and phrases from the story. Try to match your "answers" to both the story and the artifacts.
       3.   Create your own 5-W poem using the words and the phrases that you have selected. The poem may be
             created using one of the following methods:
              ◦  Write your own poem.
              ◦  Write a verse from selected pages; then put your verse together with verses from the rest of the class to tell                  the story.
              ◦  Work with 1-2 other students to write a group poem.
              ◦  Work with 1-2 other students to write a verse; then put the group's verse together with verses from the rest
                 of the class to tell the story.

Example of a 5-W Poem using A River Ran Wild by Lynne Cherry

Important!! Check the 5-W Rubric for points to remember when writing your poem.

Fifth Grade: Linking Coast to Coast

   Dear Students:

   You are invited to join our staff of historians in an interpretation of primary source artifacts concerning the American
   family farm.

       1.   Examine the artifacts listed below and draw some conclusions about the history of the American farm and
              what its future may be in our country.
       2.   Use the guiding questions to help you draw your conclusions.
       3.   Share your ideas with your fellow historians.
       4.   Read The American Family Farm, a photo essay by George Ancona and Joan Anderson, to determine
              whether your conclusions are valid.
       5.   Write a poem about farming and its history.


   Examine the Artifacts:

   Use the guiding questions with each artifact to help you examine it and draw conclusions about the American Farm
   Family and its future.

       1.   The Northern Great Plains, 1880-1920

            Guiding Questions:
              ◦  What does this Web page show? When were the photographs in this collection taken?
              ◦  What states are located in this region of the United States?
              ◦  What is the purpose of this collection and how large is it?

       2.   A Sod House and Barn

            Guiding Questions:
              ◦  What would it be like to live on this farm?
              ◦  What could you do for fun here?
              ◦  Would you like to live here?

       3.   A Rural School House

            Guiding Questions:
              ◦  How is this school the same as our school?
              ◦  How is it different?
              ◦  What might be fun about this old-fashioned school?

       4.   Threshing Machine

            Guiding Question:
              ◦  When was this picture taken?
              ◦  What kind of information was written on the back of this picture?
              ◦  What are these machines? What kind of work do they do?

       5.   Hay for the Goats

            Guiding Question:
              ◦  Does this look like fun?
              ◦  Do you think that the goat enjoys this activity?
              ◦  Are the boys playing or working?

       6.   Another Sod House

            Guiding Questions:
              ◦  Why would the Library of Congress want to publish this picture on its Web Site?
              ◦  Are the boys playing or working?

       7.   Bison

            Guiding Questions:
              ◦  What is the "Rosebud?"
              ◦  What is the common name for this animal?
              ◦  Would you see this animal on a modern farm today?

       8.   Fourth of July Celebration

            Guiding Questions:
              ◦  How is this celebration the same as our 4th of July celebrations today?
              ◦  How is it different?
              ◦  How is this town the same as our towns today?
              ◦  How is it different?

       9.   Blacksmith and Tools

            Guiding Questions:
              ◦  Name the tools that you recognize in this photo.
              ◦  How are these tools used?
              ◦  How many of these tools are still used today?

Sixth Grade: Linking Turning Points

   Dear Students:

   You are invited to join our staff of cartographers, "chart writers", in an interpretation of primary source documents, in
   this case, maps.

       1.   Examine the artifacts listed below and consider how vital the information was to early travelers.
       2.   Use the guiding questions to help you draw your conclusions.
       3.   Share your ideas with your fellow historians.
       4.   Read The River, a photo essay by Gary Paulsen, to determine whether your conclusions are valid.
       5.   Write a poem about Brian Robeson and the journey that he makes in Paulsen's The River.


   Examine the Artifacts

       1.   Go to Map Collections, 1500-1999. This collection of maps spans 499 years--a very long time!
       2.   Find one map that interests you from three different Sections of the Map Collections OR choose three maps
             from the list of Titles of Suggested Maps.
       3.   Try the "Zoom" feature to give you a closer look at the map.
       4.   After you find the map that you want to use, bookmark it or save it in your favorites file so that you can find it
             again. The Learning Page's Linking & Bookmarking in American Memory explains how to do this.
       5.   Record the map's title. If you need to relocate the map, you will be able to type or copy the title into the
             "Search" form.

     Sections of the Map Collections   (Choose one map from three of these sections)

     Map Collections, 1500-1999
            Cities and Towns
            Conservation and Environment
            Discovery and Exploration
            Cultural Landscapes
            Military Battles and Campaigns
            Transportation and Communication
            General Maps

     Titles of Suggested Maps   (Choose three maps from this list)

            George Washington's hand drawn map of his farm
            Lloyd's map of the lower Mississippi River from St. Louis to the Gulf of Mexico
            A map of Philadelphia and parts adjacent
            A map of Potomack and James rivers in North America
            Map of the Hudson River Rail Road from New York to Albany
            Mount Desert Island and neighboring coast of Maine
            North and South America with the adjacent seas
            Path map of the Eastern part of Mount Desert Island Maine
            A plan of the town of Boston with the entrenchments of His Majesty's forces in 1775
            Topographic Map, Acadia National Park, Hancock County, Maine


   Guiding Questions

       1.   Use the following questions to guide your thinking about the maps that you have chosen:
              ◦  How vital for travelers is the information contained in the map? Why?
              ◦  What might have happened differently if a traveler had interpreted the map in a different way?
              ◦  What details can you find in a close examination of the map?
       2.   Record at least three interesting observations about each map.
       3.   Use the Artifact Analysis Matrix to add variety to your observations.

   Discuss your Conclusions

       1.   With others in the class, discuss your conclusions about each artifact.
       2.   Using the Artifact Analysis Matrix, record the class's conclusions on a large piece of paper.


Read the Story:

       1.   Read The River by Gary Paulsen.
       2.   Check the completed Artifact Analysis Matrix. Are your conclusions about the maps valid?


   Write a 5-W Poem

       1.   Answer the 5-Ws:
              ◦  who,
              ◦  what,
              ◦  where,
              ◦  when,
              ◦  why, and sometimes
              ◦  how.
       2.   Use exact words and phrases from the story. Try to match your "answers" to both the story and the artifacts.
       3.   Create your own 5-W poem using the words and the phrases that you have selected. The poem may be
             created using one of the following methods:
              ◦  Write your own poem.
              ◦  Write a verse from selected pages; then put your verse together with verses from the rest of the class to tell                  the story.
              ◦  Work with 1-2 other students to write a group poem.
              ◦  Work with 1-2 other students to write a verse; then put the group's verse together with verses from the rest
                 of the class to tell the story.

Example of a 5-W Poem using The River by Gary Paulsen

Important!! Check the 5-W Rubric for points to remember when writing your poem.

Extension

   The lesson may be extended using the following activities:

     •  Use software to create slide shows or Web pages illustrating the literary work, artifacts, and 5-W poetry. Add
        soundtracks of students reading their poetry or music to the slide shows or Web pages.
     •  Other literary works may be used, such as the suggested titles that follow. These title may be enriched by the
        American Memory primary sources listed with each title.

   Fourth Grade:

     Extension activities may be provided by using the links from the lesson with the literature listed below. After working      through the lesson as a whole class, students may choose to repeat the activity with one of these additional titles.
     Students may compare the events in the following books to the listed links from American Memory so as to bring
     the story to life.

     Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
        •  Sod House
        •  The Northern Great Plains, 1880-1920
        •  Fred Hultstrand: Settling the Land
        •  Sod Homes: Be It Ever So Humble

     By the Great Horn Spoon by Sid Fleischman
     From One Man's Gold; the Letters and Journal of a Forty-Niner, Enos Christman in California As I Saw It, 1849-
     1900:
       •  Letter: Ellen to Enos
       •  Letter: Enos to Ellen
       •  Letter: Sea Sickness
       •  Letter: California
       •  Letter: Back Home Again

     Blue Willow by Doris Gates
       •  Seated Woman Holding a Baby
       •  Dorothea Lange's "Migrant Mother" Photographs in the Farm Security Administration Collection: An Overview
       •  Voices from the Dust Bowl, 1940-1941

     Extraordinary Black Americans by Susan Altman
       •  A Picture of Booker T. Washington from the Library of Congress exhibition African-American Odyssey
       •  A Biography of Booker T. Washington from First-Person Narratives of the American South, 1860-1920
       •  Draft of Langston Hughes' poem, "The Ballad of Booker T."
       •  W.E.B. Du Bois


   Fifth Grade:

     Extension activities may be provided by using the links from the lesson with the literature listed below. After working      through the lesson as a whole class, students may choose to repeat the activity with one of these additional titles

     Students may compare the events in the following books to links from The Northern Great Plains, 1880-1920, to
     bring the story to life.
       •  Sod House
       •  The Northern Great Plains, 1880-1920
       •  Fred Hultstrand: Settling the Land
       •  Sod Homes: Be It Ever So Humble

     Prairie Songs by Pam Conrad
     A young doctor builds a sod house and brings his Philadelphia bride, Emmeline, to live there. Emmeline does not
     adapt well to the hardships of prairie life.

     Grasshopper Summer by Ann Turner
     Sam White likes his life in Kentucky, but is forced to move with his family to the Dakota Territory following the Civil
     War. His family builds a sod home and experiences the perils of living on a prairie farm.

     Dakota Dugout by Ann Turner
     A book about life in the Dakota Territory.

     Prairie Visions by Pam Conrad
     This book also provides photographs of sod houses and life on the early prairie.

     Dandelions by Eve Bunting and Greg Shed
     A family migrates to the prairie and lives in a sod house. Each family member reacts to the hardships in a different
     way. The role played by the dandelions brings some joy and relief to everyone.

     Heartland by Diane Sieber and Wendell Minor
     Primarily a picture book, it provides a great contrast and a more modern look at the American family farm. A more
     romanticized view than the other works, the book also has a worthwhile update on today's prairies and plains.

Source

   Reproduced from the Library of Congress web site for teachers. Original lesson plan created as part of the Library of Congress American Memory Fellows Program.

Related Academic Standards

New York State

ELA3.04.RE1.03 Students analyze ideas and information on the basis of prior knowledge and personal experience.

ELA2.04.WR2.04 Students produce imaginative stories and personal narratives that show insight, development, organization, and effective language.

ELA3.05.RE1.03 Students identify different perspectives, such as social, cultural, ethnic, and historical, on an issue presented in one or more than one text.

ELA2.05.WR2.01 Students develop original literary texts that:

• use organizing structures such as stanzas and chapters
• create a lead that attracts the reader's interest
• provide a title that interests the reader
• develop characters and establish plot
• use examples of literary devices, such as rhyme, rhythm, and simile
• establish consistent point of view (e.g., first or third person) with assistance

ELA3.06.RE1.03 Students identify different perspectives, such as social, cultural, ethnic, and historical, on an issue presented in one or more than one text.

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