Grade Expectations and Standards Addressed:
History
H&SS3-4:8
Students connect the past with the present by
Explaining differences between historic and present day objects in Vermont, and identifying how the use of the object and the object itself changed over time (e.g., evaluating how the change from taps and buckets to pipelines has changed the maple sugaring industry). i
Describing ways that life in the community and Vermont has both changed and stayed the same over time (e.g., general stores and shopping centers).
Examining how events, people, problems and ideas have shaped the community and Vermont (e.g., Ann Storys role in the American Revolution). i
H&SS3-4:9
Students show understanding of how humans interpret history by
Identifying and using various sources for reconstructing the past, such as documents, letters, diaries, maps, textbooks, photos, and others. i
Differentiating among fact, opinion, and interpretation in various events. i
H&SS3-4:10
Students show understanding of past, present, and future time by
Grouping historical events by broadly defined eras in the history of the local community and state.
Constructing time lines of significant historical developments in the community and state, identifying the dates at which each occurred.
Interpreting data presented in time lines. i
Measuring calendar time by days, weeks, months, years, decades, and centuries (e.g., How old is your town?).
Making predictions and/or decisions based on an understanding of the past and the present (e.g., What was farming in Vermont like in the past? What is it like now? What will it be like in the future?) i
Identifying an important event in their communities and/or Vermont, and describing a cause and an effect of that event (e.g., Excessive rain caused the flood of 1927, and as a result communication systems have changed to warn people.).
Writing Grade Expectations: Grade 3
Expressive Writing: Reflective Essay
W3: 17 In reflective writing, students make connections between personal experiences and ideas by
Using details to establish place, time, and situation (purpose)
Establishing focus, when responding to a given question or idea
Showing evidence of individual voice and exhibiting techniques for reflecting on thoughts or feelings:
questioning or comparing
Listening
STANDARDS
Clarification and Restatement
1.11 Students listen actively and respond to communications. This is evident when students:
Prek-4 5-8 9-12
1.13.a. Ask clarifying questions;
1.13.b. Restate; and
1.13.c. Respond through discussion, writing, and using art forms. Evidence Prek-4 applies.
Evidence Prek-4 applies.
Selection
1.12 Students select appropriate technologies and applications to solve problems and to communicate with an audience.
Our Community: The First 229 Years
History of Our Town Performance Task
Our Goal:
The task before us is to create an Oral History Collection that will become a part of the town and state historical collections. Because the History of our town is part of your third grade curriculum, you have been chosen to work on this project. We will be looking at how our community has changed during its first 229 years.
Your task is to choose one of the four specific areas of our history project for your research. Once you have chosen your specific area, you will be working with members of the local historical society and your family to do some research using the societys collection of books, pictures, and diaries. During your research, you will need to come up with a list of in-depth and open ended questions to ask a member of our community who has specific or first hand knowledge of your specific area of interest.
Areas of Study:
Local school history
The Slate Industry
Town History including the history of community organizations (churches, American Legion, or Carnegie Library for example)
Town Government
Roles:
During this project you will play several different roles besides that of historian/archivist. During each interview, three students will be on hand to assist you in the collection of the oral history. You will be assigned to each of the four roles at least once throughout the course of this year long project.
Interviewer: Your role as the interviewer will be to ask those questions that came from your research. These questions should be open ended and not simply require a yes or no answer. The questions should be designed to give you better insight into how our community has changed over time in respect to our four areas of study. Please remember, you do not need to stay on script. For example, while you will want to ask your questions, they are not the only questions you can ask. Please feel free to respond to your guest and ask follow up questions. Following your interview, you will be writing a reflective piece on your topic comparing and contrasting the past to the present day.
Digital Equipment Manager: Your role as equipment manager will be to work with he techoolgy coordinator in setting up the equipment for the interview. You will make sure participants speak into the microphones and that the sound meter is within normal recording specifications. You will also work the technology coordinator to make sure that digital photos are taken of all the participants before, during, and after the interview as well as taking pictures of any documents or visuals our guests may bring to share. If needed, documents or photos may need to be scanned to add to our digital collection. This will also be your job.
Note Taker: Your role is to have a copy of the set of questions that you will the interviewer will be asking. You will take short notes on each answer. You will also need to make sure that you transcribe any questions that come naturally from the interview. You will also have a comparison chart to fill out that goes along with the questions the interviewer has.
Editor/Archivist: Your task will be to work cooperatively with the technology coordinator or band director/music teacher to edit the voice recording. Once the editing is complete, you will make five copies of the recording for distribution the local and state historical society, the participants, and to the Oral History folder on the schools server.
Audience:
Your audience will be anyone interested in our history. Copies of these recordings will be on reserve at the local and state historical societies. Some recordings may also be made available online at the Vermont Community History site. Portions of the interviews will also be transcribed into our project book.
Products:
As part of this unit, you will be becoming both a local historian as well as archivist. These jobs include conducting research and preparing documents that will become part of the communitys historical collection. You will also be creating a digital story to share with your classmates and the historical society. Using PowerPoint, you will create a slide show including excerpts from your oral history interview, documents and pictures to narrate to the audience what you have learned. Again, your focus is how our community has changed during its 229 history.
Resources:
Vermont Historical Society Archives
Available online at http://www.vermonthistory.org/
Fair Haven Historical Society Archives
Fair Haven Historical Society Members
Community Members with a Story to Share
Local Journalist/Reporter
Teachers/Specialists
Oregon Library Citation Maker available online at
http://www.oslis.org/MLACitations/elementary/index_print.php#> Comparisoncharts
Activities:
Visit from local journalist/reporter to discuss how to ask questions and conduct an interview
Visit with local historical society members to learn about local archives and how to access and handle historic documents
Visit Vermont Historical Society to learn about how to preserve historic documents
Work in computer lab to learn how to use following resources
Digital Voice Recorder
Audacity Voice Editing Software
Digital Cameras
Photo Editor
Scanners
Performance Standards:
Your project pieces will be judged according to the criteria on the scoring rubrics provided.
