tlp_10_mdorsi_teacherside

=Maria's Lesson Page Teacher Side=

Maria's Teacher Lesson Page (Student Side)


 * Lesson Title: A Memoir-able Experience -** //Learning history from the accounts of those who experineced it.//


 * Author: Maria D'Orsi**


 * Unit Title:**


 * Grade Level(s): Grade 9**


 * Age Levels(s): 14 -15**


 * Subject Area: Language Arts or Social Studies**


 * Essential Questions:**


 * Unit Goals:**


 * Objectives:**


 * Curriculum Standards: US 11.3**

Describe the causes of the immigration of Southern and Eastern Europeans, Chinese, Koreans, and Japanese to America in the late 19C and describe the major roles of these immigrants in the industrialization of America.


 * Materials/Resources:**


 * Timeframe: Two 55-minute periods**

Students must be able to read a text at grade level.
 * Student Foundational Skills:**


 * Learning Activities and Organizational Notes:**


 * Lesson Assessments:**

Pre/Post Assessment Questions: 10-23-32-34a and b


 * Teacher Notes:**

**Guiding Question**: How was the experience of immigration for those who came to the US from foreign countries similar or different than for those who migrated within the US?

**Title:** **A Memoir-able Experience** - //Learning history from the accounts of those who experienced it//.

Level: Grade 9 Language Arts or Social Studies Time: Two - 55 minute sessions

**Introduction:**

We all know a story of someone who experienced something so exciting, so horrific, or so life changing that it was made into a book. Examples are: __A Child Called It__ by David Pelzer - the classic child abuse memoir: __Between a Rock and a Hard Place__ by Aron Ralston - a survivor's memoir from the fellow who cut off his own arm when it became caught between two rocks while he hiked alone: __Bad Boy, a Memoir,__ by Walter Dean Myers, popular high school author of __Slam__ and __Monster,__ who was told he'd never amount to anything because of his speech impediment. These three stories are examples of the writer's format we call a MEMOIR.

The word memoir derives from the Latin word "memoria", which means memory. Therefore, a memoir is a written account, or memory, of an event or time in a person's history. That is how a memoir is different from an autobiography, which is an account of all the details in a persons life.

This lesson will introduce you to two very special local people who had life altering experiences: Mary Antin and Ralph Moody. Both have written memoirs of the period in their lives when they moved from one home - or homeland - to another. One lived in Medford for a time and the other in Chelsea before moving to the South End of Boston. The time period is between 1890 and 1912, when immigration to the U.S. was at an all time high. In reading exerpts from primary sources, such as their memoirs, looking at maps, viewing historical websites and creating a comparison of the two experiences you will be the historian and explore migration in the late 1800's and early 1900's both within the United States and from another country. Through this study you will also search for further proof of the authenticity of their experiences, whether they were similar or different, and determine if their memoirs can truly be used as primary sources.

**Task:** Following a PowerPoint presentation featuring brief biographies of Ralph Moody and Mary Antin, as well a look at the primary sources that will be used for the lesson, student groupings will be given selected readings from the memoirs and then be assigned a specific research task, which will be shared with the class at the end of the second session.

**Lesson Process:** Note: This lesson is designed to follow a 3 day project on Chinese immigration, which will cover some immigration details not included in this lesson. Additional discussion may be desired before commencing with this lesson.

**__Day 1__**

1) Students will view a Ppt. presentation that will include:
 * Brief descriptions of the two memoirs: __Mary Emma and Company__ by Ralph Moody (as well an excerpt from his second memoir, __The Fields of Home)__, and __The Promised Land__ by Mary Antin.
 * Some biographical information and pictures of the writers
 * What is a memoir and why use it for historical research?
 * Example of an inauthentic memoir - __A Million Little Pieces__ by James Frey - reading a memoir with a critical eye
 * A look at primary sources, what constitutes a primary source, and the TRITEC partners
 * A tour of the online Medford and Chelsea Historical Societies with attention paid to historic maps
 * Boston Public Library, Norman Leventhal Map Room, for maps of the period
 * A brief look at google earth comparing old and new maps of Medford and Chelsea
 * Lastly, a look at the worksheets for the readings will be reviewed

2) Students will break up into preassigned groups of 5 and will be given readings to be read in class. The readings are:
 * Group 1 - __The Promised Land__ (Antin): pp.163-169 and
 * Group 2 - __Mary Emma and Company__ (Moody): pp.11-13 and __Fields of Home__ (Moody): pp.11-17
 * Group 3 - __The Promised Land__ (Antin): pp. 182-189 and193-197
 * Group 4 - __Mary Emma and Company;__ pp.39-43 and 59-63
 * Group 5 - __The Promised Land__ (Antin): 169-179

Each of you in each group will read the same passage - either the Antin or the Moody readings. While reading, take notes using the worksheet as a reading guide. Then get together with your group and answer the questions at the end of the reading guide. This will continue into Day 2.

__**Day 2**__ In groups go over the answers in the reading guides from the previous day. Each group will now create one of the following: 1) a PowerPoint presentation, or 2) a Text document with Images, or 3) a Storyboard.

Original Conclusion

In the academic community there is disagreement regarding the use of the memoir as a primary source. Despite this disagreement, memoirs are still accepted by the research community at large since they fit the simple description of a written primary source; a document created by a person who experienced or witnessed an event or period of time and can therefore provide first-hand testimony. Since a memoir is autobiographical and provides personal knowledge of the time being written about, it is appropriate to use it as an adjunct to the study of an historic event or era. Nevertheless, just as you would with a diary or interview, keep in mind there may be parts of the narrative that are opinion or point of view, and those parts should be considered a secondary source - one that discusses, interprets or analyzes a primary source.

In this lesson we looked at the experiences of two local people who found it necessary to begin a new life somewhere other than their place of birth. By reading about their experiences, comparing them, and examining the details for accuracy, we have taken the same steps that researchers do to understand an historical period through the experiences of those who were there.

Additionally, this lesson used the TRITEC partners, who are local historic sites and societies, libraries, archives, and museums. Using these valuable resources are the cornerstone of the Becoming America Project because they contain vast amounts of historical documentation, which are increasingly more available as digitized versions, making access easier via the web. As consumers in search of accurate and reliable information you should refer back to these resources throughout your academic career and beyond, as a life long learner.

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