Lesson Overview

Introduction

It's not your imagination...it's the real thing! This project invites you and your students to search and sift through the vast collection of rare print documents, early motion pictures, numerous collections of rare prints and photographs, or browse the library's recorded sound collection right from your classroom. Together you will experience the depth of the digital resources in the American Memory collection and tell the story of a decade as you help define the American Dream.

Objectives

The goal of this WebQuest is to teach selected information literacy skills as part of a multidiciplinary humanities curriculum. (history, English, or humanities). You are invited to design a learning product appropriate to the learning objective you devise for your classroom.

Assessment By completing this webquest your students will be able to demonstrate their understanding of the American Dream. They will: define, present and defend their ideas on the American Dream through the decades analyze, interpret, and conduct research with digitized primary source documents interpret 19th and 20th century social life in the United States using digitized documents from the American Memory collection relate what they have uncovered from inquiry and research to their own American Dream Knowledge demonstrated through performance: competence in the use of word processing competence in the use of electronic research tools (e.g. Library of Congress) ability to assess the authenticity, reliability and bias of data gathered using electronic research tools Skills demonstrated through performance: opening, creating, and saving documents typing, navigating, and selecting text checking spelling and grammar formatting changing the appearance of your page importing graphics and creating drawing objects working with tables and adding borders working with online and internet documents printing

In this example, our goal was to also teach students how to effectively use word processing to produce a learning product. The links below are MS Word documents. Product Description Using MS Word students will create an America Dreams booklet. (Humanities focus) Three elements: Cover (title, graphic, name), Center (project product), Back (About the author & your project) -example Resource Packet for Assessment Grade Sheet Team Management Checklist Confidential Team Evaluation & Narrative Self-assessment on the Analytic Rubric America Dreams Booklet (student product)

 

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Content Areas, Grade Levels, and Time

This is designed as an interdisciplinary project for upper elementary, middle school, and high school classes. America Dreams could be a year long theme for American history and literature in a high school setting, while in middle grades, it could be a four to five week, interdisciplinary unit that focuses on Immigration at the turn of the century or an initial five day experience to expose students to some of the features of this digital repository.

If your class just needs to get familiar with American Memory, we are suggesting a simple five day experience that we have outlined below. For classes participating in the extended, online, collaborative project,two to three weeks might be spent with this historical WebQuest before turning student attention to the Present and then, the Future. The flexibility inherent in this project will allow teachers to adapt the project to their classroom needs.

Curriculum Standards

Most lessons don't just teach a block of content; they also implicitly teach "thinking" and help students make connections to build deeper understanding of the material they are studying. In addition to describing learning outcomes within traditional subject areas, describe what kind of thinking and communications skills were encouraged by this lesson. Inference-making? Critical thinking? Creative production? Creative problem-solving? Observation and categorization? Comparison? Teamwork? Compromise? Standards can be drawn from the National New Standards Project. The state of California has design K-12 Academic Content Standards or the National Educational Technology Standards (NETS). The fellows who designed this lesson work in two different states. Link this project to your local or state standards.

Resources and Technology Access Needed

What is needed to implement this lesson? You will need to read this entire project very carefully and gather all the resources for your classroom. Become comfortable and familiar with the teaching materials before you initiate this project. You should be able to use, and to coach student use, of the rich array of resources in American Memory. Elements for success:

1. Student centered teaching environment
2. Adequate time spent teaching students to analyze primary source documents
3. Rich array of additional materials from your content area for students to support the project
4. Student choice and accountability
5. Access to the library media center
6. Adequate collaborative planning time with the school librarian
7. Time for students to complete tasks
8. Computer access in the media center or classroom for students and teachers

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Entry Level Skills and Knowledge

What research and multimedia design skills do you and your students bring to this project? A basic understanding of internet research, knowedge of search terms to navigate in American Memory and reasonable facility with multimedias tools are needed. With this project you can teach students to:

• search and navigate a specialized library, the American Memory collection
• utilize and analyze digitized sources
• analyze and synthesize ideas about the subject
• produce an evaluative learning product allowing defense of their project

Advice: Working with archival collections, like American Memory, requires you to to think like a historian or archivist. Use the resources from the Learning Page to become familiar with these collections. You might begin by reading and practicing "Finding Items in American Memory". Specifically, if this is the first time you have used American Memory we suggest you navigate through the (click here) orientation. We also recommend that first timers read and use the" Learn More About It" feature to help you with specific collections.

If using primary source documents is new, read: primary source documents. Develop a few practice lessons with students before you launch this WebQuest. You will find student lessons and teaching suggestions for your use.

Implementation Overview

This quest challenges students to investigate the American Dream...look through the eyes of those who lived before us...use the collection American Memory, to visit America's past...learn research skills and experience the richness of the library collections...create projects that show students' investigation of others' dreams. Finally, students can share their own Dream for the Future.

• Devise a learning standard.
  What do you expect your students to know and be able to do at the end of the project? Create an assessment rubric for students based on your expectations.

• Decide on the learning product.
  It could be a web page, a multimedia stack, a video, or the transformation of your classroom into a Decades Museum. Whatever format the product may take, students will present and defend their ideas.

Students will demonstrate their grasp of this concept by defending their ideas in a learning product. We invite you to adapt this project to your own classroom, we are suggesting five day experience outlined below:

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Suggestions for Implementation

Our dreams begin with an invitation to investigate the dreamers of the present. Next, use American Memory to learn about our cultural heritage and find evidence of the dreamers in our collective history. Finally, compare our own dreams to those who came before us and begin the journey of our own dreams.

Use this project to inspire your students to learn more about themselves as they, too, will define the "American Dream". Below is a suggested 5-8 day implementation outline.

Phase One of Implementation -- Building Background Knowledge and Skills

Use the the big idea questions from the student page as a guideline for developing your thesis on the "American Dream".

Create student learning teams of groups of four students. Introduce students to the Student Page. Divide your class into learning teams, assign roles and responsibilities. Use the team management check list.

Teams can select a research role from the list (photographer, lawyer, poet, politician, producer, comedian, musician). Each student will be assigned a group task and work as part of this team to bring the project to completion. Remind students, that while they have specific group tasks, all team members pitch in and help.

Anticipatory Set - link to prior knowledge and develop the concept of the traditional "American Dream" with your students. Use the "What Is the American Dream?" essay to pose the inquiry. This could also involve interviews, readings, class discussions, and guest speakers. Dreamers of today can help us build a context of how others see the "American Dream". Use the Activity 1 worksheet. or create your own "hook" for students.

Provide time for students to do explore the links from the Student Page and Resources. Ask them to report their findings in their team learning log or post to your Internet community web space (e.g. nicenet.org, or think.com etc.).

As a class, define the scope of your desired outcomes for the historical research portion of this project. For example, do you want to gather material from a specific decade? from a specific collection? or by theme, such as immigration? or link it to the literature you are reading? Are you interested in immigration/emmigration, families, social life? Do you need an idea? Click on Pathfinders to explore topics.

Searching American Memory
Introduce American Memory and how to search in a digital archive. Use Discovering American Memory Online Workshop. Groups need to complete these activities: Primary Sources, Treasure Hunt, How do I find it?, What do you see?, What do you hear?, How does it read?,

Document Analysis
Before you begin your research review with students how to analyze historical source materials. Materials have been selected for each role. Use the document analysis worksheet.

Photographer - Mr. & Mrs. David Vincent and daughter, Martha, by their sod house : near White River, South Dakota.

Poet - "Dedication," Robert Frost's presidential inaugural poem, 20 January 1961

Politician - "Americanism", Harding,, Warren G. (Warren Gamaliel), 1865-1923

Producer - Arrival of immigrants, Ellis Island

Comedian - Katzenjammer Kids: "Policy and pie"

Musician - The old cabin home. H. De Marsan, Publisher, 54 Chatham Street, New York.

Phase Two of Implementation -- Researching Online and gathering primary resources

Team organization and accountability
Write an action plan (e.g. photographer) with students for the project or encourage teams to develop their own. You might use the team management check list.

This aspect of the project will require your students to apply their research skills (e.g. Big 6 Information Problem Soliving Approach), team planning skills to ensure completion of a quality product by the set deadline. Teams keep a research log of work accomplished each session.

Review the assessment questions (e.g. photographer) with your students. Choose just the ones that will provide a focus for the project. Students can use these questions to guide their research.

Gathering primary sources.
Create a class list of search terms for your project. Practice using search terms. What happens when you can't find what you are looking for? Is it there or not? Remember, American Memory doesn't have everything. How can you narrow your search or refocus what you are looking for?

While you might only have time to visit the suggested collections and links for each role, encourage your students develop their own links in these collections and to expand their links to other Internet sources.

Begin independent team exploration. Students can keep a daily research log on paper or computer and collect primary source evidence to build their final project on disk. Allow at least two or more(prefered) days for exploration and research.

Phase Three of Implementation -- Creating the Learning Product

Students can produce any number of products to demonstrate their interpretation of the materials as a final exhibit for the Library of Congress - a web page posted at your school site, a multimedia stack, a video documentary, oral presentation, or even photos of your classroom turned into a museum comprised of print documents, multimedia, and realia.

In our example, students are learning to apply their word processing skills to create a product.

The Constructivist Project Design Guide maintained by Columbia University's Institute for Learning Technologies is a treasure trove of additional ideas for teachers.

Refining and putting together a final learning product that will permit students to defend their ideas about the American Dream is the outcome of this project. Allow plenty of time for this vital phase. Have students keep a log or journal of what transpires during this phase of the project. This can provide useful insight in the evaluation process.

Require that proper citation and bibliographical material be used with all collected print material, photos, sound, video, etc.

Evaluation and Assessment

What will students learn as a result of this unit of study? We have provided the following assessment questions for the Student Teams:

What is the American Dream?

How has the American Dream changed over time?

How do diverse cultures view the American Dream?

How have significant historical events effected the Dream?

How will new opportunities of the 21st century challenge the American Dream?

What makes your area of interest (eg. photography) an effective medium for sharing the American Dream?

What is your American Dream?

 

You and your students will define the assessment rubric for your class.

Project extention ideas

You can spend a week, a month, or a year on this project. This unit could be designed to accompany a thematic unit on American literature, poetry and U.S. history from the late 1800s through the 1960s. You may choose to narrow your focus to a single decade or to a specific collection or follow the broader topic of "The American Dream" as it has changed over time. Before you begin, become familiar with navigating this collection and think about the rich possibilities for your students. We suggest that you create your own example to show your students.

Who are the dreamers that inspire us today? Ask students to read about or interview others who have a dream. Use Activy 2 worksheet or enrich this section with your own web resources, books, movie clips, interviews, or guest speakers

Background information about the project design

America Dreams...through the decades, is an interdisciplinary Internet project designed to utilize digitized primary source documents from the American Memory collection. Its conception and design is a collaborative effort by Kathleen Ferenz and Leni Donlan, American Memory Fellows to the National Digital Library in 1997. The instructional model is a WebQuest, a type of internet-based inquiry lesson model first designed by San Diego State University Professor Bernie Dodge.

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