Oral History in Sacramento - Teacher Notes

Introduction

The purpose of this lesson is to help students understand and utilize the interview process as a research tool. By using questions similar to the original ethnic survey questions, students will collect information about people who have immigrated to Sacramento. They will then use People of Sacramento images and apply what they have learned in writing a fictional biographical journal entry and create a scrapbook for their character.

 

 

Objectives

• Students will develop and utilize effective interview questions as a research tool to gather information about someone who has immigrated to Sacramento from another country.
• Students will apply information gathered to write a creative account of an event in a fictional immigrant's life.
• Students will develop an understanding of issues surrounding immigration to a new country.
• Students will develop an understanding of cultural diversity and the effects of ethnicity on life choices.

Time Required

4 - 6 class periods

Recommended Grade Levels

Grades 4 - 8

Curriculum Fit

Grade 4 - California: A Changing State

Students learn the story of their home state, unique in American history in terms of its many waves of immigration, and its continuous diversity.

4.3 Students explain the economic, social, and political life of California from the establishment of the Bear Flag Republic through the Mexican-American War, the Gold Rush, and California statehood, in terms of:

2. comparisons of how and why people traveled to California and the routes they traveled (e.g., biographies and legends of James Beckwourth, Jedediah Smith, John C. Fremont, Juan Cabrillo)

Grade 5 - United States History and Geography

Students study the development of the nation with an emphasis on the population: who was already here, when and from where others arrived, and why people came.

5.8 Students trace the colonization, immigration, and settlement patterns of American people from 1787 to the mid-1800's, with emphasis on the defining role of economic incentives and the effects of the physical and political geography and transportation systems, in terms of:

1. the waves of immigration from Europe between 1789 and 1850 and their modes of transportation as they advanced into the Ohio and Mississippi Valley and through the Cumberland Gap (e.g., overland wagons, canals, flat boats, steamboats)

Grades 6 -8 - Historical and Social Sciences Analysis Skills

Chronological and Spatial Thinking

1. students explain how major events are related to each other in time
2. students construct various time lines of key events, people, and periods of the historical era being studied
3. students use a variety of maps and documents to identify physical and cultural features of neighborhoods, cities, states, and countries and to explain the historical migration of people, expansion and disintegration of empires, and the growth of economic systems

Research, Evidence and Points of View

1. students frame questions that can be answered by historical study and research
2. students distinguish from fact and opinion in historical narratives and stories
3. students distinguish between relevant and irrelevant information, essential from incidental information, and verifiable from unverifiable information in historical narratives and stories
4. students assess the credibility of primary and secondary sources and draw sound conclusions from them
5. students detect the different historical points of view on historical events and determine the context in which the historical statements were made (the questions asked, sources used, author's perspectives)

Historical Interpretation

1. students explain the central issues and problems of the past, placing people and events in a matrix of time and place
2. students understand and distinguish cause, effect, sequence, and correlation in historical events, including the long- and short-term causal relations
3. students explain the sources of historical continuity and how the combination of ideas and events explains the emergence of new patterns
4. students recognize the role of chance, oversight, and error in history
5. students recognize interpretations of history are subject to change as new information is uncovered
6. students interpret basic indicators of economic performance and conduct cost/benefit and analyses in order to analyze economic and political issues

Materials

Books:
Dolan, Edward F., Jr. Famous Builders of California. Putnam, 1997.
Harvey, Brett. Cassie's Journey:Going West in the 1860s. Holiday, 1987.
Wilder, Laura Ingalls. West from Home: Letters of Laura Ingalls Wilder to Almanzo Wilder, San Francisco, 1915. Edited by Roger Lea MacBride. Harper, 1974.

Software:
People of Sacramento CD-ROM or Web site

Internet Resources:
Library of Congress/AmericanMemory-
First Person Narratives of California's Early Years: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/cbhtml/cbhome.html
Oral History Questions:
http://www.rootsweb.com/~genepool/oralhist.htm
U.S. History Interactive:
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Pointe/3048/
American West Legends:
http://webstu.messiah.edu/~js1238/the_west/

Instructional Procedure

• Discuss interview process as a tool for research.
• Discuss the type of information that you hope students will be able to gather.
• Brainstorm possible interview questions and discuss ways of being culturally sensitive.
• Discuss possibilities for interview subjects.
• Pass out student directions.
• Allow time for students to complete interview question lists. Teacher may want to review questions for appropriateness.
• Facilitate process of pairing each student with a person to interview.
• Allow time for students to prepare summaries of interviews.
• Provide time for students to discuss their findings.
• Allow time for students to search People of Sacramento software and print a portrait.
• Allow time for students to research biographical stories of California settlers.
• Discuss possible journal topics and allow time for writing and development of scrapbooks.
• Provide a forum for students to share their journal entries and scrapbooks.
• Provide time for students to complete the reflection essay questions.
• Use interview summaries, essay answers, and journal entries for assessment.

Evaluation/ Assessment

Interview summaries, essay answers, and journal entries can be used for assessment. Students should be given specific grade level social science and language arts criteria before beginning project. The teacher may choose to use and/or modify the attached analytical rubrics for assessment of social science thinking and language arts skills.

Extensions

• Students might prepare and present oral reports about the person they have written about in their journal entries. They may choose to dress in character for the presentation.
• Students could interview two individuals from different cultures and write a comparison essay. This could also be accomplished through sharing interview summaries in groups before writing.
• Students may wish to write a letter of thanks to the person they interviewed. Their letters could include information about what they found most fascinating about the interview, and/or excerpts from the summary.

View Lesson Plans

Lesson developed by Heidi Dettwiller, San Juan Unified School District