The Progressive era was a time when many Americans
looked around and saw a myriad of problems to be solved. Many figures during the
Progressive period used a variety of methods to address these problems and had a
significant impact on changing America for the better. Student pairs will be assigned a
person to research and will create a Powerpoint "Obituary" which will give some
background and illustrate the person’s significance in the Progressive era. They will
see that an obituary illustrates accomplishments and differs in content from the usual
"report."
Essential question to be addressed: What sort of impact on public and private life did
individuals have in the Progressive era?
Time:
Students will be familiar with Powerpoint, having completed an introductory lesson preparing a Powerpoint
presentation using the social studies concept words.
Research on person: 1 day on Internet, 1 day in class or library.
Preparing presentation: 2 days in lab; additional time in classroom available during
lunch, tutorial, after school, etc.
Viewing and evaluating: 1 day.
1. Show illustration of contemporary obituary of a significant person on overhead (try
to find one w/photo, etc. ). Ask them to think about how an obituary is different from the
usual "report" they might have done in the past. List ways on overhead. Ask
students to list information in the obit (dates, schooling, marriage, children, jobs,
accomplishments, quotes from other people, impact of person.) Have them realize that an
obituary stresses a person's accomplishments and contributions to society.
2. Ask them to brainstorm, in pairs, what sort of questions they might ask about a
person in order to assess their contribution to society. Examples:
What would America be like if this person hadn't lived?
What would the person have been like if his early childhood experiences
had been different? (i.e., he had been rich, poor, orphaned, etc.)
What do you want to know about this person?
How would it feel to live during that time period?
What key words in your questions would help lead you to the best sources of
information?
3 Explain that these are "telling" questions .We will use these
questions to guide our search for information. Your could have them categorize the
questions. For a discussion of the role of Questioning in the curriculum see Jamie
McKenzie's From Now On article.
4. Discuss the research cycle,[link to MacKenzie]. They need to know what they are
seeking in order to know where to search, and to critically evaluate the usefulness of
what they find. They must understand that the process of doing research involves
continually analyzing findings and refining the search.
5. Explain that they will be doing research on their person, in text sources and on the
Net, and then will create an obituary of their person using Powerpoint program. Any
biographical information they include should relate to their primary focus on the
person’s significance and achievements. They should note how that person’s
experiences shaped how he/she reacted to the world.
6. Show students a Powerpoint presentation which you have prepared from the obit you
used as an example, with illustrations and animations.
7. Assign each student one of the following figures of the Progressive era:
| Charlotte Perkins Gilman Carry Nation
"Boss" William Marcy Tweed
Grover Cleveland
Upton Sinclair
Carrie Chapman Catt
Susan B. Anthony
Woodrow Wilson
William McKinley
William Howard Taft
Jacob Riis
Lincoln Steffans
James A. Garfield
Margaret Sanger |
Eugene V. Debs Alice Paul
John Muir
Ida Tarbell
Robert LaFollette
Frances Willard
Jane Addams
Theodore Roosevelt
Booker T. Washington
W.E.B. DuBois
Thomas Nast
Ida Wells Barnett
Florence Kelley
Lewis Hine |
8. Furnish each student with a step-by-step schedule of project, indicating the steps
they must have approved by the teacher before going on to next step.
9. Furnish each student with a grading rubric. Explain any grades they will receive
(i.e., will they be graded for research done, etc?)
10. Student groups will view the completed Powerpoint obituaries and fill in their
matrixes. They will gather knowledge about all the reformers, and also use higher-level
thinking skills to evaluate:
a) the quality of other obituary presentations,
b) the significance of each reformer.
11. The activity will culminate with students evaluating the impact of these reformers
on life in the Progressive era. They will place the reformers on a spectrum, ranging from
"Most significant impact" to "least significant impact," and
discussing reasons for their selections.
Standards addressed:
New York State Standards:
NYS 1.3 (gather and organize information about important achievements and contributions
of individuals and groups living in NYS and the US
NYS 5.1 (analyze how the values of a nation affect the guarantee of human rights and
make provisions for human needs)
Tech Standards (NSTE):
2. Students practice responsible use of technology systems, information, and software.
Students develop positive attitudes toward technology uses that support lifelong
learning.
5. Students use technology to locate, evaluate, and collect information from a variety
of sources.
Students use technology tools to process data and report results.
Students evaluate and select new information resources and technological innovations
based on the appropriateness to specific tasks.
