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| In the Classroom > Unit Overview |
Research & Investigation Project (RIP): A Grave Undertaking
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| Unit Central Questions: | In This Lesson: |
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How can we use primary source materials to investigate the lives of some people in Deerfield, Massachusetts in the period 1780-1880? |
Lesson Length Key Ideas I.L.O.s Preparation Materials Activity 1 Activity 2 Assessment |
| Lesson Length |
Social Studies: 4-5 days research & analysis and 3-4 days final projects
| Key Content Ideas Taught in this Lesson and Teacher Background |
Through careful and thorough research of primary and secondary sources, we can get a sense of the lives of our research subjects - what they did, how they lived, their standing in the community, and, to some extent, what they cared about.
Teacher Note: With this lesson, student teams begin their research into the lives of individuals who lived in Deerfield between 1780-1880. The teams are provided time to work on their research, design and create final projects, and prepare their presentations in class, once work on earlier activities is completed. However, some time outside of school may be needed to complete the projects. Students begin working on their research using the Digital Collections section on the Memorial Hall Museum Online website. The remainder of week two is devoted to research and analysis of their material and project development as needed. Project presentations happen in week three.
| Intended Learning Outcomes |
Understandings:
Students will understand that:
- the study of history involves the analysis and interpretation of period sources, and that these materials not only give us information, but also provide a flavor of earlier times.
- we can never know all of the details of life experience and attitudes in the past, but through research and careful interpretation we can get a better idea of what life was like in earlier times.
Skills:
Students will be able to:
- read and understand a variety of primary and secondary sources, extract factual information and infer from them understandings about their research subject's social status and family.
- develop reasonable and defensible hypotheses about some aspects of his/her social life.
| In Preparation for Teaching |
1. Either print documents for each research subject from PVMA website or request students to research the website themselves.
2. Assemble a document packet for each research team including all documents related to their individual research subject and a list of the source materials in the packets. Keep copies of the packet content lists for yourself.
| Materials |
Materials List::
- Project Rubric
- Primary and secondary sources about individual research subjects in the Digital Collection and People and Places parts of the Memorial Hall Museum Online website.
- Instructions for Using the Document Packet
- Instructions for using the "Reading and Analyzing Background Information Using Primary and Secondary Sources" sheet for Independent Study (Reading and Analyzing Background Information Using Primary and Secondary Sources can be found in Lesson 3)
- Link to research subjects' houses & house information from website
- List of Possible Student Projects
- Project Design Form
| Activities | Materials in Context |
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Activity 1
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Instructions for Using the Document Packet |
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Activity 2
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Reading and Analyzing Background Information Using Primary and Secondary Sources |
| Assessment |
Use the Project Rubric to evaluate the projects.
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