Cynthia Hirsch Kosut

Overview

To develop the skill of historical analysis and interpretation by putting oneself in the shoes of a significant figure of the 20th century in order to understand the relationship of famous individuals to everyday people of particular regions and ethnicities.

Objectives

By writing a letter to an American Memory child in the persona of a historical figure, students will:

• Explore a public figure's actions and beliefs
• Investigate the relationship between a public figure and a particular constituency in the United States
• Relate one or more themes of the century to the lives of both notable and everyday people
• Compare and contrast differing sets of ideas, values, personalities, and behaviors by identifying likenesses and differences.
  

Time Required

1 hr. plus homework

Recommended Grade Level

Middle School

Curriculum Fit

Interdisciplinary (Art, History, Language Arts)

Resources Used

• Turn of the Century Child: Individuals and Groups
• The Age of Extremes by Joy Hakim
• Your created American Memory child
• Write Source 2000

Procedure

1. Homework: Select and investigate one figure (e.g. John Muir, Cornelius Vanderbilt, Andrew Carnegie, Henry Bessemer, Samuel Gompers, Mother Jones, Big Bill Haywood, Eugene Debs, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, Margaret Sanger, Theodore Roosevelt) described in the The Age of Extremes. What plausible connections can you make between this public individual and your American Memory child?  How might this public figure respond to your child's family, position in society, problems and hopes?  Using the letter format (Write Source 2000: 192-205) write to your American Memory child as that public figure.  In this letter develop and articulate this figure's actions, motives, beliefs, interests, hopes, and fears in ways that are relevant to your particular child.
2. Class activity: Gather students in groups by their public figure and ask them to read their letters and discuss the person's beliefs and actions related to particular subgroups in the United States. Ask groups to report on what they have learned about each public individual and his or her relationship to everyday people of particular regions and ethnicities.

Evaluation and Extension

Through a written litter and discussion, assess students' ability to take alternative points of view, a mark of flexible thinking and a tool of historical analysis and interpretation.