Using a variety of resources and materials, students will recognize the challenges and hardships of early Texans by comparing the daily responsibilities of today’s typical American nine-year-old with that of a nine-year-old living in the 19th century. Students will write persuasive essays, arguing whether or not they think children today have more or fewer responsibilities, citing examples and reasons. An extension of this lesson plan will allow students to create a classroom pioneer day focusing on the lives of 19th century children and allowing the students to perform the kinds of chores and duties their predecessors would have engaged in throughout the course of the day.
Created by Teresa Garcia, September 2006
The student is expected to create written and visual material such as journal entries, reports, graphic organizers, outlines, and bibliographies.
TEKS §113.6. Social Studies, Grade 4. (b)(23)(D)
The student is expected to:
form and revise questions for investigations, including questions arising from interests and units of study use multiple sources, including electronic texts, experts, and print resources, to locate information relevant to research questions. TEKS §110.6. English Language Arts & Reading, Grade 4. (b)(13)(A,C)
The student is expected to compare text events with his/her own and other readers' experiences.
TEKS §110.6. English Language Arts & Reading, Grade 4. (b)(14)(A)
The student is expected write to express, discover, record, develop, reflect on ideas, and to problem solve.
TEKS §110.6. English Language Arts & Reading, Grade 4. (b)(15)(A)
The student is expected to:
write legibly by selecting cursive or manuscript as appropriate capitalize and punctuate correctly to clarify and enhance meaning, such as capitalizing titles, using possessives, commas in a series, commas in direct address, and sentence punctuation. TEKS §110.6. English Language Arts & Reading, Grade 4. (b)(16)(A,B)
The student is expected to spell accurately in final drafts.
TEKS §110.6. English Language Arts & Reading, Grade 4. (b)(17)(D)
The student is expected to proofread his/her own writing and that of others.
TEKS §110.6. English Language Arts & Reading, Grade 4. (b)(19)(H)
The student is expected to evaluate how well his/her own writing achieves its purposes.
TEKS §110.6. English Language Arts & Reading, Grade 4. (b)(20)(C)
The student is expected to interpret important events and ideas gathered from maps, charts, graphics, video segments, or technology presentations.
TEKS §110.6. English Language Arts & Reading, Grade 4. (b)(23)(B)
Students will compare the daily responsibilities of today’s typical American nine-year-old with that of a nine-year-old living in the 19th century. Students will not only recognize the challenges and responsibilities of the early Texans, but also gain a deeper appreciation for their hardships.
The teacher will read a segment of a book dealing with time travel. Engage students in a whole group discussion centered on the obvious contrasts and similarities. Discuss with the students how the story might have been different if it had been written by a contemporary artist or child. A Venn diagram will be a useful graphic organizer for some students. At this time students will be shown some of the recommended photographs and writings. Students will then break into small groups to hold discussions, sharing their ideas and observations. The students will select a scribe for their group. The scribe will make a list of the group’s ideas and observations.
Students will then come back to large group for a whole class discussion and to share their lists. Students will then be responsible for completing a detailed list of daily responsibilities and activities that they engage in doing. The teacher will interact with each group to monitor progress and /or difficulties. After the students have completed this, the teacher will instruct students to begin work on creating a second list of a day in the life of a child in Texas in the mid to late 19th century. Students may need more than one day to complete this inquiry, therefore it is important to allow them to have access to different resources. Students will be allowed to research TIDES and noted sites.
After completion students will compare the two lists which they have created and make comparisons in their journal.
Here is an example:
My radio alarm clock wakes me up at 6:30 a.m.
I wake up on my own at 5:00 a.m. to feed and water the animals.
Students will now be invited to begin a writing piece on the following topic: In your opinion, do you think you have more or fewer responsibilities? Who do you believe has greater responsibilities? Student will be able to cite examples and reasons. This is an opportunity for students to use persuasive writing techniques. When the pieces are completed, the students may want to stage their own classroom debate (the teacher will act as moderator and model rules of fairness). Students will then create their own comic strips depicting present life and life of yesterday. Students will then include dialogue.
Create a classroom pioneer day focusing on the lives of 19th century children. Activities for the day would include: games, chores, and food. Students can also place the pieces and comics around the school and involve the other students. Students can tour these, and then participate in a school vote to decide the most persuasive stance on the matter.
