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 By
Patrick W. Flynn
Students will
examine two Connecticut families through textual information
as well as through photographs. Students will develop interpretive
skills along with important writing skills. This lesson offers
students an opportunity to examine two 19th and 20th Century
families, one African American and one Anglo American, in order
to develop an understanding of the similarities and differences
inherent in their lives. Students will examine photographs of
two families and create their own graphic organizer representing
their findings and interpretations about the photographs.
Suggested Grade
Level: 7th - 9th
Time Required:
2-3 Days -- 45 minute classes
Teacher must
apply their own school's resources to the lesson appropriately.
The lesson procedure is based on the use of a computer lab in
which each student has individual access to a computer.
1. Provide students with Student Assignments
page from the work packet.
2. Have students access the Connecticut
History Online (CHO) website and stop at the main page.
Teachers may wish to take the opportunity to discuss with
the students what the site is and how it can be used to complete
research.
3. Have students follow the instructions
to access written information on the
Carrington and
Cheney families.
4. Students should read the written information
on the families and complete the
Venn Diagram in the work packet. Because information on
the Carrington Family is somewhat limited, students should
be encouraged to think about possible connections and assumptions
which can be made about the family. Students should work for
the remainder of the class. If students complete the diagram
before the end of class, the teacher may have the student
click on "Family
Portraits" link and begin examining the photos of
the Cheneys and the Carringtons and comparing the information
obtained in the readings to the visual images.
Write a two
paragraph entry describing the similarities and differences
(one paragraph for similarities and one paragraph for differences)
found and organized in the Venn Diagram.
1. Ask students to share some of the
similarities and differences they found in the written information
about the two families. Have those students who had difficulty
finding information complete their diagram.
2. Have students re-access the CHO
website and this time click on "Family
Portraits" to view pictures of the Cheney's and Carrington's.
Explain to the students that they will be completing "Assignment
2" in the work packet. Have students read along as you read
the instructions for the assignment.
3. On the board or an overhead write
and then explain the following guide questions to examining the
photos:
- What are the facial expressions
like?
- What is the clothing like?
- What type of objects do
you see in the pictures that are important?
- What do you see in the background?
4. Have students work on developing
their own graphic organizers for the information they find. Depending
on the amount of time that teachers have spent in their classes
working on graphic organizers, they may want to provide samples
of these to the students to assist in the process.
Students should
find a picture of a modern family (may be their own) and compare
and contrast that family photo to either a Carrington photo or
a Cheney photo they viewed.
| Venn Diagram |
20 points |
| Homework Day 1. Two
paragraph writing |
15 points |
| Graphic Organizer |
50 point |
| Homework Day 2. Compare/Contrast
portraits |
15 points |
1. Teachers may wish to view
other photos from the online collection and have students compare
differences between the different time periods represented.
2. Go to CHS, Mystic Seaport, or the Dodd Center
and do research to find ` information on other important Connecticut
families and create a bulletin board demonstrating the findings.
3. Isolate one important family in the
community's history and contact any existing relatives to see
if they have any photos of the family which could be used within
the classroom to create a display or monument honoring the family's
achievements.
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