Sara's+Local+History+Project

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Learning Activity 3-D-2: Local Documents, Data, and Cartoons
Coal mine history project sources: [] Anthracite Railroad records that provide pictures of the trains that took over transporting coal from the canals. [] This site is by far one of my favorites. It seems to be filled with so many primary sources. There are audio files, video files, and images. [] Map of the distribution of Pennsylvania coal mines (p. 19). This is more of a reference not so much a primary source. [] Old Forge is a neighboring town to mine and this site was dedicated to local sources. There is an interview of a local coal miner. There are scanned images of original Pennsylvania Department of Mines Inspectors Reports from the years 1870-1970. I also found a scanned original Annual report of the Auditor General of the state of Pennsylvania. [] This is the website for the Lackawanna Coal Mine tour. This is a close enough place that I could take my class to visit for a field trip. The students will be able to go down into the mine and view the environment that miners worked in. [] This is a political cartoon depicting President Theodore Roosevelt as he dealt with the coal strike of 1902. I am debating using political cartoons in my classroom. I am unsure if students that young will “get it.” I can never remember a time that a teacher used a political cartoon when instructing so I do not have much experience with them. I thought maybe I could give my students experience so that they do not end up in the same situation.

Learning Activity 4-D-1: Local Photos and Posters
[] This is a photograph of breaker boys. I would use the NARA worksheet for students to analyze. This photograph would make a real connection to my students because they are about the same age as breaker boys. [] Original photographs of miners working in the mines. These images could be used to analyze the types of tools that the coal miners used. [] This is a poster to elect officials running in Racine county, Milwaukee. The poster is requesting that people vote for government ownerships of railroads and coal mines. This poster could be used to introduce railroads and coal mines after studying the canals. [] This website has many pictures of coal miners in the coal mines working, tools and machinery, mules,pennsylvania coal mines, first-aid and rescue team, and many more. Due to the vast amount of photographs there are a lot of possibilities for multiple lessons and activities. [] This is a poster created by Isadore Posoff. This poster was used to promote local tourism and to publicize a variety of programs from art to safety. This could possibly be used to further the study of coal mining in an art class.

Learning Activity 5-D-1: Local Audio and Music
[] These are songs performed by Jay Smar. They are about Northeast Pennsylvania coal mining. We could get the sheet music for the songs and analyze the words and context. He also tells coal mining stories such as the invention of the first roller-coaster from a coal train called the "Switchback" in Jim Thorpe, PA. [] This is an interview with a local coal miner. This will allow students the opportunity to hear an actual account of someone that lived not far from them. The students could analyze what times were like based on the interview. [] This is the lyrics to “Come All Ye Coal Miners” by Sarah Ogan Gunning [] This is a youtube slideshow and “Come All Ye Coal Miners” by Sarah Ogan Gunning is playing [] This is the sheet music to “Come All Ye Coal Miners” by Sarah Ogan Gunning The song is from the perspective of a coal miner’s wife and talks about coal mining around the 1920s. These three sources could be analyzed using the NARA sheets and then compare findings. [|http://www.folkarchive.de/mines.html#top] There is a whole list of songs from the mines. I could have my students analyze the words of the audio recordings and gather clues about what life was like in the mines. [] This is sheet music of “Down in A Coal Mine” by Carl Hess. Maybe some of my musically inclined students could help the class get a beat for this song. We could use this as a research project to find out more about it or other songs like it.

Learning Activity 6-D-1: Local Video and Maps
[] This is an image of a map of the Delaware & Hudson Canal route. I could have students study the map as we will be discussing the route in class. We could compare this map to a present day map.

[] This video is shown through YouTube [] Historic Footage of Pennsylvania Colliery, ca. 1930-1940. If I did not have the students analyze this SEA Method, I would compare it to the next video (vintage 1920s film).

[] This is a vintage 1920s film showing the workings of an underground Northeast Pennsylvania Coal Mine. This is a silent film and was originally a 16mm hand-cranked movie. You could analyze this film using the NARA worksheet and then create a Venn diagram comparing how coal miners used to mine with present day mining techniques.

[] This is more of a graph of coal production in the United States during the 1800s and 1900s. This could be compared with coal production today.

[] Map of the canals and railroads for transporting anthracite coal from the several coal fields to the city of New York; drawn under the direction of J. Dutton Steele, C.E. by W. Lorenz, Asst. Eng. 1856. The students could analyze this map using the SEA method and then create coal routes on a present day map of the same area.

http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/AMALL:@field(NUMBER+@band(edmp+4059s1)) Follows a week-long, 180-mile trip on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal through the Potomac Valley from Cumberland, Md., to Washington, D.C. Includes scenes of the locks in operation; a mile-long, hand-dug tunnel which was built in 1840; coal barges plying the canal; Maryland farming country; Harper's Ferry; and Great Falls. This would have to be viewed and analyzed in sections. I would use a KWL chart with this video. This will be more interesting to see a moving video clip versus reading about it in our Social Studies text with still pictures.

Additional Notes and Resources
This is being presented to fourth grade students. I will be guiding my students throughout the process. We will also be holding class discussions. The students will be working in small groups. I will always be available to monitor students and answer questions.