Last updated: June 4, 2023
Lesson Plan
Consider the Source: The Stories We Tell and The History We Know (Grade 6 -8) Lesson 3 of 3 Carl Sandburg Home NHS
- Grade Level:
- Middle School: Sixth Grade through Eighth Grade
- Subject:
- Literacy and Language Arts,Social Studies
- Lesson Duration:
- 60 Minutes
- State Standards:
- National Council for Social Studies
Theme 2
Theme 4
Theme 5
Theme 6
North Carolina Social Studies Grades 6 – 8
I.1.5
I.1.6
I.1.10
6.H.1
7.B.1
7.C&G.1.1
7.G.1.1
7.H.1.1
7.H.1.2
7.H.1.5
8.B.1
8.C&G.1.2 - Thinking Skills:
- Remembering: Recalling or recognizing information ideas, and principles. Understanding: Understand the main idea of material heard, viewed, or read. Interpret or summarize the ideas in own words. Applying: Apply an abstract idea in a concrete situation to solve a problem or relate it to a prior experience. Analyzing: Break down a concept or idea into parts and show the relationships among the parts. Evaluating: Make informed judgements about the value of ideas or materials. Use standards and criteria to support opinions and views.
Essential Question
What are anachronisms?
What does “deferred history” mean?
What are some of the effects of deferring history in favor of popular narratives?
What is the Lost Cause and what are some of its characteristics?
Objective
I can explain what a historical anachronism is.
I have considered the existence and influence of the Lost Cause on American History.
I can give examples of history in western North Carolina that has been deferred in the past.
Background
This is the last of three lessons intended to exercise critical thinking and encourage empathic skills. The goals of these lessons are to utilize the historic resource study (linked in extension resources under Preparation) from the Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site. This study has revealed and encouraged the use of frequently ignored and deferred histories and to correct history that has been told inaccurately for too long. Additionally, the dialogue and language tools exercised by the National Park Service may differ from older educational texts. These lessons create opportunity for students to expand their working vocabulary with more current and inclusive language than they may have previously interacted with.
Preparation
Prepare for this lesson by accessing the materials tab for the Powerpoint presentation. Extension resources are available for teachers/students as well.
Materials
Resource and reference materials for teachers to deepen this lesson
Download Extension resources for teachers
Visual Presentation of Lesson
Download PowerPoint The Stories we Tell
Lesson Hook/Preview
(Activating Strategy)
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Begin with the “Anachronism Masters” game outlined in the PowerPoint.
Procedure
(Teaching Strategy)
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After the “Anachronism Masters” game move on to slide 4, and have a student read aloud.
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Ask for a raise of hands to see how many students new the “Little Charleston of the Mountains” name, follow up with asking how old the name was before this lesson.
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slide 5 with the definition and explanation of anachronism.
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Slide 6 gives examples of Civil War names that are anachronisms, ask for a show of hands if any student had heard these names before.
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Slides 7 and 8 give an introduction into the “Lost Cause” narrative and what that looks like. This is only intended to be an introduction to the concept, students might recognize some of the ideas of the “Lost Cause” narrative.
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Slide 9 introduces a very new historical thinking concept, “Deferred history.” Have a student read aloud.
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After slide 9, the PowerPoint dives into examples of deferred history in western North Carolina and at the Carl Sandburg National Historic Site, and the lasting effects of deferring historical narratives.
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Slides 10 and 11 introduce the history and research on the Kingdom of the Happy Land, a free Black settlement established after the Civil War in western North Carolina.
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Slides 12 and 13 examine the Confederate and White Supremacist politics of Ellison Smyth, one of the previous owners of Rock Hill/Connemara.
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Slide 14 address how Smyth’s partially deferred history may have impacted an interview with James Fisher in ways some historians may have been unaware of before.
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Slide 15 is a Conclusion Activity. Have students get out a piece of paper and pencil, allow a few minutes for consideration and discussion, then set a time (the teacher may determine the amount appropriate for their class) and have students write their answer for the full duration of the allotted time.
(Summarizing Strategy) -
3-2-1 Exit Ticket
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3 Facts I learned
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2 Examples of what I learned
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1 Question I have or something that confused me
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Think about it/Write about it
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Extension Activity: Tour and Talk!/Letter to a Ranger
Vocabulary
Myth - an unfounded or false notion, a person or thing having only an imaginary or unverifiable existence.
Lost Cause – A mythical interpretation of the United States Civil War casting Confederate states and veterans as honorable victims that fought to protect homes and fell to the overwhelming supplies and manpower of the United States. In this tale, enslavers are described as benevolent, Confederates were honorable, Slavery was not the cause of the war, Reconstruction was corrupt, and the northern US is often vilified as the aggressor.
Deferred History – Portions of human history ignored in favor of more dominant narratives. In the U.S., Indigenous, Women’s, and Black history, for example, often fall in these categories as many historians focused of prominent figures in history who were most often White men, until recent decades.
Nostalgic – A longing for or excessive fondness for a past time or condition. Historians often associate nostalgia with feeling and desire over fact and inclusive reality.
Anachronism - the state or condition of being chronologically out of place, the misplacement of persons, events, objects, or customs regarding each other or time.
Communal – Community or collective ownership or use by members of a group or community.
Red Shirts – The Red Shirts were a White Supremacist group that rose in states like North and South Carolina. Violence, organized crime, and intimidation were major tools used by Red Shirt members to re-establish the Democratic party to end and reverse Reconstruction efforts in the late 1800s.
The Kingdom of the Happy Land – The Kingdom of the Happy Land was an African American settlement in Henderson County. The Black community established monarch style leaders with communal goals and lifestyles in mind. The settlement was established between 1864 and 1867 and continued until the members began to pass and move away gradually until around 1918 when the settlement was truly abandoned.
Enrichment Activities
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Tour and Talk! Take the Virtual Tour of the Carl Sandburg Home NHS, this can be done individually/in groups with classroom laptops, or as a class on the main screen.
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Letter to a Ranger: The virtual tour is encouraged but not needed for this activity.
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After concluding the set of three Middle School lessons arrange for time, or assign time, for students to write a letter to the Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site.
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Students should reflect on what they have learned and briefly summarize three big “Take Aways” from the lessons.
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If a student has been to the site before, have them reflect on what was familiar in the lesson versus what they had learned in their previous visit(s).
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Finally, students should ask any questions they still have and offer any ideas about how to include the information from the lessons in the park. Encourage students to write about what they hope to learn more about in class or in the park, in the future.