Kennewick Man: Which Right is Right?

Essential Question: Should scientists be allowed to study the remains of indigenous peoples?

Engage: What would you think if a scientist dug up the remains of an ancestor to study?

• Vocabulary Activity: There are 7 vocabulary words the students will define using their

        own words as well as draw a picture of what that word means to them.

• On occasion, archaeologists have dug up the remains of ancient Native Americans.
• Should scientists be allowed to study these remains?
• Native Americans feel such remains should be immediately reburied according to Native

        American customs.

• Scientists worry that if reburied, the remains will deteriorate and lose their value

        for present and future scientific study.

Explore: 

• Discover Magazine: The Earliest Immigrants video (25:02)

Elaborate: 

• The Kennewick Man Finally Freed to Share His Secrets Smithsonian.com Sept. 2014
• Easy to read copy of above article.
• Kennewick Man Wikipedia Article

Evaluate:

• How did this story evolve over time?
• What eventually happened to Kennewick Man?
• What should have been done with the remains?
• What would you want to have done with the remains if they were your ancestor?
• According to the map below, what indigenous people group use to live here in southwest Missouri? 
• What should you do if you find the remains of an indigenous person?

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Early_Localization_Native_Americans_USA.jpg

Evaluate:

• Kennewick Man Worksheet
• Kennewick Man Vocabulary Assessment

Extension:

• Who Owns the Past? Documentary (56:14)

Foot Soldier of Birmingham

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revisionist_History_(podcast)

In this lesson we are using the podcast The Foot Soldier by Malcolm Gladwell to discuss inherent bias.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Birmingham_campaign_dogs.jpg

In this lesson we will look at the above picture and try to decode it. What are we seeing happen here? Then we will listen to the podcast by Malcolm Gladwell. Is what we believe to have happened what actually happened?

After the lesson you will need to answer these questions:

1. Can the art we create be used to influence belief systems? 
2. As we examine the story as well as look at the statue and the picture from which the statue comes, what can we learn about ourselves and how we react based upon what we have learned?
3. How will this change your view of historical artifacts as we move forward?

Essential Question: Does the Foot Soldier of Birmingham statue have historical value?

Engage:

• Birmingham Campaign Dogs Picture (10 minutes) Think-Pair-Share Activity
  1. What is happening in this picture? 
  2. When do you think this picture was taken?

Explore:

• Birmingham in Early 1963: The March (4:35)
• Podcast Revisionist History: The Footsoldier of Birmingham  (34:00)
• Transcript of the podcast.

Explain: 

• The statue is a misrepresentation of the facts. Does this matter as an art piece? 

Evaluate:

• Foot Soldier of Birmingham Worksheet
• T-Chart Should Art Be Based on Truth? Yes/No Explain

The Mystery of Skippy's Tombstone

 

Photo by Me

This is a tombstone that resides in my yard. It has been there as long as I can remember (45+ years). Today we will be looking at this artifact and try to learn as much as we can about it.

Your assignment is to come up with 20 questions that I will be able to answer with a yes or a no. I will then answer 20 of these questions for you. You will then write down everything you know about this artifact. 

I will finish by telling you all I know about this artifact, and some of the conclusions I have drawn about it. Will what you write match my story?

TSW examine an artifact and create appropriate questions to ask to learn more information about that artifact

 

Essential Question:

• Why are historical artifacts important to us? (5 minutes)

Engage: 

• Having a tombstone in class should be pretty engaging.  (Ordinarily I would bring in the tombstone, but with all of the Covid concerns we will just be using the picture)

Explore:

• The students will examine a tombstone that I brought in to class. (5 minutes)
• They will create questions to ask me about the tombstone that can be answered as yes/no. (5 minutes)

Explain:

• I will explain what I know about the tombstone as well as what I do not know. (5 minutes)

Evaluate: 

• Historical Artifact Worksheet  (15 minutes)

Tragedy of the Commons

The Tragedy of the Commons in an economic theory that explains how a minority of people can take a common good, such as shared resources, and take more than what is good for everyone. 

We will be looking at this concept and relate it to our classroom and school resources. What are our common resources? How could these resources be abused by us? How can we keep that abuse from happening? 

Tragedy of the Commons Wikipedia

Tragedy of the Commons Khan Academy

The Foot Soldier of Brimingham

In this lesson we are using the podcast The Foot Soldier by Malcolm Gladwell to discuss inherent bias.  Can the art we create be used to influence belief systems? As we examine the story as well as look at the statue and the picture from which the statue comes, what can we learn about ourselves and how we react based upon what we believe now?

Podcast

Transcript of the podcast. 

Andrew Jackson and the Trail of Tears

Erie Canal, Manifest Destiny, and the Monroe Doctrine

Read Chapter 10 Sections 2-3 in the online textbook then watch the videos below.

Growth and Expansion Part 1

In this assignment we are going to look at two different historical time periods to find out how the industrial revolution positively and negatively effected women. As you watch the videos and scan the online information, you should reflect on what happened and why. You should also think about how they have influenced women (and men) in factory work today. Please note you will not finish this activity today, so don't even bother trying. 

1) Read Chapter 10 Section 1 in the online textbook.

2) Click the link to watch

Mill Time David Macaulay

3) Watch the video below

4) Here is the link to the

  Lowell Mill Girls Wikipedia Page

5) Click the link to watch

Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire

6) Here is the link to the

Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire Wikipedia Page

7) The Crime of Carelessness (1912), and Thomas A. Edison short inspired by the Triangle Factory fire.

Pick an Event and Write About It

Today the lesson starts on Wikipedia's Timeline of United States History. 

1) Choose an even that took place between 1801 and 1815. Pick wisely, something that you are interested in. Take a few minutes to look through them before you choose.

2) After you have picked an event, find 5 good resource sites to learn about that event. You will need to identify these sites on your assignment.

3) On a Google Doc in your team drive, write a 300-500 word summary of your event. Answer the following questions in your summary:

a) What happened?
b) Why is this event important to United States history?
c) Why did you pick this particular event?

At the bottom of the document add links to the five sites you used as resources. Write the name of the site down, highlight it, then click on the chain button to add the web address. 

The Election of 1800

Scan the Wikipedia page on the election of 1800. Then answer the questions on this GForm. You will need this information to do the next activity. 

Listen to the song The Election of 1800 from the musical Hamilton. Here are the lyrics to the song, follow along as you listen. 

How do you think Aaron Burr felt when he found out he lost the election because of Alexander Hamilton? Write a rap that explains how Burr may have responded. Use the instrumental track below. You may want to use the original lyrics as a guide. 

8th Grade Explorers PowerPoint Project

Picture of Captain Cook from Wikipedia.com

Here are the links for your explorers assignment. Read the directions very, very carefully and follow them. The links are also found on the right of the blog below the green bar. Make sure you cite your sources! You will upload it to Google Documents when you are finished.

Instructions for the Explorer Project
Links for the Explorer Project