"The Past’s Connection to the Present"
Use this lesson along with one of our social studies videos to compare and contrast past and present time periods across the world.
Objectives:
Students will:
-Identify key players, places and events from a significant time in history;
-Research these relevant players and places in present day;
-Compare past events/figures with current events/figures and analyze similarities and differences;
-Write a five-paragraph essay that examines the similarities or differences between a place/event/figure in the past and present and proposes a thesis as to how much they have or have not changed.
Standards:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.6-8.2
Write informative/explanatory texts, including the narration of historical events, scientific procedures/experiments, or technical processes.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.6-8.2.B
Develop the topic with relevant, well-chosen facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.6-8.7
Conduct short research projects to answer a question, drawing on several sources.
Materials:
-Notetaking Chart
-Notetaking video
-Research Process video
-Source Evaluation video
-Five-Paragraph Essay Worksheet
-Five Paragraph Essay video
-Where Are They Now? Worksheet
Products Created:
-Where Are They Now? Worksheet
-A five-paragraph essay
Time:
2 to 4 class periods (with additional work required outside of class)
Sequence:
1. Watch the Flocabulary social studies video of your choosing.
2. Watch a second time. If students need help with note-taking, play the Flocabulary video on note-taking. Ask students to pay particular attention to examples of culture, people, places and historical artifacts mentioned in the song. Students should note these things on the chart as they go through the song.
3. Students choose 2-3 items from the chart that they will use for further research. The research project is to find present-day examples and/or consequences of these items from their list. For example, students can watch the Industrial Revolution video and focus on the origins of the textile industry. They can then research what the textile industry looks like now and start to ask questions--does the industry currently have a hub somewhere in the world? Where? Why? Has there been controversy about it? Alternately, students can watch the Fertile Crescent video and learn about the beginnings of civilization there, and then research what is going on in that part of the world today. What countries comprise that area? Who lives there? Are resources used in the same way?
Discuss what good research entails.
4.To get more information on the research process, watch these Flocabulary videos: Research Process, Source Evaluation Video
5. After the research, students will take the information they’ve gathered and, on the ‘Where are they Now’ worksheet, complete the ‘Past/Present’ section.
6. With the information collected, students will pair up or work in small groups to share what they’ve learned and each form a thesis on what impact the passage of time has had on these elements.
7. Students will then take that thesis, along with the supporting information they’ve gathered, and, after viewing the video, outline and write a five-paragraph essay about the topic.
Wrap Up/Extensions:
Have students share their essays with one another. They can:
-Present to the class and be evaluated on a rubric that their class members use (and create);
-Write a rap a version of their essay;
-Pair up, ask each other questions about the essays after reading them, and then use the answers to those questions to go back and revise their piece.
Guided Reflection
-"I used to think ______, and now I think ______."
-"One thing I learned is ________________, and one question I still have is _________."