Last updated: September 1, 2023
Lesson Plan
Researching Change Over Time in Local Communities
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- Grade Level:
- Middle School: Sixth Grade through Eighth Grade
- Subject:
- Literacy and Language Arts,Social Studies
- Lesson Duration:
- 60 Minutes
- Common Core Standards:
- 6.L.3, 7.L.3, 8.L.3, 6.SL.1, 6.SL.2, 6.SL.3, 6.SL.4, 6.SL.5, 6.SL.6, 7.SL.1, 7.SL.2, 7.SL.3, 7.SL.4, 7.SL.5, 7.SL.6, 8.SL.1, 8.SL.2, 8.SL.3, 8.SL.4, 8.SL.5, 8.SL.6, 7.W.1, 7.W.2, 7.W.7, 7.W.8, 7.W.9, 7.W.9.a, 7.W.9.b, 7.W.10, 8.W.1, 8.W.2, 8.W.7, 8.W.8, 8.W.9, 8.W.9.a, 8.W.9.b, 8.W.10, 6-8.WHST.1, 6-8.WHST.2, 6-8.WHST.3, 6-8.WHST.4, 6-8.WHST.5, 6-8.WHST.6, 6-8.WHST.7, 6-8.WHST.8, 6-8.WHST.9, 6-8.WHST.10
- State Standards:
- C3 Framework for Social Studies Standards: D1.1.6-8; D1.5.6-8; D2.His.9.6-8; D2.His.10.6-8; D2.His.12.6-8; D2.His.14.6-8; D2.His.15.6-8; D2.His.16.6-8; D3.1.6-8; D3.2.6-8; D3.3.6-8; D4.2.6-8; D4.4.6-8; D4.5.6-8; D4.7.6-8.
- Additional Standards:
- Alaska State Standards: MS-ESS3-5; SS.His.C; SS.His.C.3; SS.His.D; SS.Geo.E; SS.Cultural.A; SS.Cultural.E
- Thinking Skills:
- 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. Creating: Bring together parts (elements, compounds) of knowledge to form a whole and build relationships for NEW situations. Evaluating: Make informed judgements about the value of ideas or materials. Use standards and criteria to support opinions and views.
Essential Question
How do we research change over time in our local community? How do we synthesize research that studies change over time? How can we draw conclusions from research to analyze how the past affects the present and the future? How is creating information different from analyzing existing information?
Objective
Define what “change over time” means through exploring the “Observing Change in Alaska’s National Parks Project Jukebox."
Formulate a research question based on reviewing information in oral histories and other formats.
Investigate a research question by:
a.) conducting oral history interviews or analyzing existing oral histories in the Project Jukebox.
b.) using primary and secondary source research methods.
Synthesize information and present it in both written and oral formats.
Background
Have you ever wondered if the place you are living in has always been that way? Over time, a place experiences changes in many ways, from its population size to its economic industries to its environmental landscape and more. This phenomenon refers to the concept of “change over time,” or “historical change and continuity.” All of these trends are studied to understand and draw conclusions on how or why a particular thing is different from the way it was in the past. In most history classes, students are expected to learn this concept and apply it to different events in a historical period. These events could include wars, medical inventions, industrialization, and more, and students can investigate these events using both primary and secondary sources.
Students do not always have the opportunity to connect themselves personally to these events. Studying change over time in their local communities offers students the ability to apply this concept in a more personal and engaging way. It also provides flexibility on what they wish to study about their communities. They might be able to infer change over time where they live from photographs that were taken many years ago or from stories told by people who have lived there for a long time. Members of the University of Alaska Fairbanks and the National Park Service (NPS) interviewed local community members connected to two distinct Alaska NPS sites, Bering Land Bridge National Preserve and Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park, about local impacts of climate change over time. These twenty-four interviews demonstrate how conducting interviews is one way to collect information, and that local people are excellent witnesses to change in one place.
By studying change over time in their local community, students will realize that where they live has its own unique history, and different factors contributed to its current state. Students will also understand how to collect and interpret this information and comprehend the value of living people as key information holders in historical research.
Preparation
Teachers will have the option to choose one of the following two paths when administering this lesson plan. Each path will fulfill the same objectives but will allow flexibility in how students can conduct their mini-research project.
Path A: Creating Oral Histories
Learning about change over time through conducting oral history interviews and analyzing primary and secondary sources.• Students will research one topic in their local community that has experienced change over time.
• Students will analyze this topic by:
1. Selecting at least one person in their local community to interview; and
2. Analyzing two primary and secondary sources.
• Students will develop five questions to use in the oral history interview(s) they conduct.
• Students can work in pairs or independently.
• Students will give a 3–5-minute oral presentation on their findings during the final class period.
• Teachers may also choose to have students write their presentation as a script so that the project fulfills both written and oral presentation components.
Path B: Using Existing Oral Histories
Learning about change over time through analyzing existing oral histories and analyzing primary and secondary sources.• Students will research one topic that is discussed in the “Observing Change in Alaska’s National Parks” Project Jukebox.
• Students will analyze this topic by:
1. Selecting and analyzing one oral history interview from the project; and
2. Analyzing additional primary and secondary sources.
• Students will develop five additional interview questions they would ask if they could continue the oral history interview that they are listening to.
• Students can work in pairs or independently.
• Students will give a 3–5-minute oral presentation on their findings during the final class period.
• Teachers may also choose to have their students write their presentation as a script so that the project fulfills both written and oral presentation components.
Each path is broken down into several class periods. The materials needed for each class period are listed below:
Class One: Change Over Time Introduction
1. “Know, Want to Know Change Over Time” Worksheet
2. “Change Over Time Overview” PowerPoint
3. “Observing Change in Alaska’s National Parks Project Jukebox” (www.jukebox.uaf.edu/ akparkchange).
4. “Brainstorm Local Community Trends” Handout or Google Jamboard
Class Two: Oral History Interview Research Method
1. “Observing Change in Alaska’s National Parks Project Jukebox” (www.jukebox.uaf.edu/ akparkchange). Alternative: Printed out transcription of one interview.
2. “Oral History Interviews” PowerPoint
3. “Know, Want to Know Oral History” Worksheet
4. “Create an Interview” Worksheet
Class Three: Practice Interviews
1. Interview Question Review Sheet
Class Four: Analyzing Interviews
No materials
Class Five: Introduction to Primary vs. Secondary & Popular vs. Scholarly Sources
1. “Introduction to Primary vs. Secondary & Popular vs. Scholarly Sources” PowerPoint
2. “What Kind of Source?” Activity
3. Cardstock with one card each labeled as “Primary Source,” “Secondary Source,” “Popular Source,” and “Scholarly Source.” Need to be made for each team.
4. Tally point card for each team.
5. Marker/pen to mark points. (Can also be Skittles/M&Ms. Teams with most “points” get to eat the most candy!)
6. “Primary and Secondary Sources Checklist” Handout
7. Optional: Annotated Bibliography Guided Worksheet
Class Six: Synthesize Sources Work Time
No materials
Class Seven: Create Presentation Work Time
1. Final Project Evaluation Rubric
Class Eight: Presentation
1. Final Project Evaluation Rubric
Materials
Download Know What to Know-Change Over Time
Download Change Over Time-Overview Powerpoint
Download Brainstorm Local Community Trends
Download Oral History Interview Powerpoint
Download Know What to Know-Oral History
Download Create an Interview Worksheet
Download Interview Question Review Sheet
Download Introduction to Primary vs Secondary & Popular vs. Scholarly Sources PowerPoint
Download Pirmary and Secondary Sources Checklist
Download Annotated Bibliography Guided Worksheet
Procedure
Path A: Creating Oral Histories
Class One: Change Over Time Introduction (50 minutes)
• Have students fill out the “Know, Want to Know” Worksheet at beginning of lesson. Invite a few volunteers to share what they wrote in their worksheet. (6 minutes)
• Use the “Change Over Time Overview” PowerPoint presentation for an overview discussion of basic concepts. (10 minutes)
• Go through the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ “Observing Change in Alaska’s National Parks Project Jukebox” website. (2 minutes)
• Select one interview example to explore in-depth and discuss with the class what is being talked about and how it represents change over time. (Use the “Sections” listing on the left side of an interview page like a table of contents to easily navigate through an interview by topic.) (20 minutes)
Guiding questions could include:
1. Why was this person interviewed for the project?
2. When does the interviewee talk about change over time?
3. How do they discuss it?
3. What kinds of topics does the interviewee talk about?
4. What topics does the interviewee not talk about that you would have liked to
learn more about?
• Have students brainstorm examples of change over time in both history and current events, with emphasis on environmental change. One example how has the 2023 earthquake in Turkey changed the environment in that area? (2 minutes)
• In-Class Activity: In small groups or pairs, have students work on the “Brainstorm Local Community Trends” Worksheet. This will aid them in the first step of their mini-research project, which is to select a topic and develop their investigative question. Have students brainstorm at least one person they could interview based on a topic they are interested in investigating. An alternative activity is to have students submit their brainstorming ideas on Google Jamboard, so the entire class can see all of the brainstorming ideas. (Google Jamboard: Collaborative Digital Whiteboard | Google Workspace for Education - Google for Education) (10 minutes)
Teachers are encouraged to modify this part of the research process to allow students to identify more than one person to be interviewed. It is advised to avoid interviewing more than three people and to keep in mind that students will also be conducting primary and secondary source research outside of the interviews. Teachers can modify the lesson plan to only focus on oral history interviews, in which case more interviews should be encouraged.
Have students submit their research questions as homework. Approve all research questions before Class Two.
_________________________________________________________________________
Class Two: Oral History Interview Research Method (50 minutes)
• Have students fill out “Know, Want to Know Oral History Interview” Worksheet at beginning of lesson. (6 minutes)
• Show the “Oral History Interviews” PowerPoint. Use the same interview from “Observing Change in Alaska’s National Parks” Jukebox selected in Class One as an example on how to conduct an oral history interview. Pick one portion of interview and have students listen to the rest as homework. Note: If time is limited and it is not feasible to listen to the full one-hour long interview either in class or combined with homework time, they could just listen to a portion of an interview based upon time, such as the first 20 minutes. Or listen to a section of an interview based upon where a specific theme is discussed, for example melting permafrost or lose of sea ice. Alternative: Print out transcription for students to take home if they do not have a computer with Internet. (25 minutes-30 minutes)
• Using “Create an Interview” Worksheet, go through steps on how to develop an interview question and discuss how interview questions are used to obtain information for a larger research question. (2 minutes)
• In-Class Activity: Have students develop 5 interview questions based on the worksheet. They can work in pairs or individually and then share in groups. One student from each group will share with the class an example of a question and explain how it investigates change over time. These questions will be used in their mini-research project. (12 minutes)
• Assign students to select interviewees for their research project by next class.
Teachers are advised to recommend that their students interview people they already know and are comfortable with, such as family members, friends, neighbors, or members of local community groups. Students should bring the name of their suggested interviewee and their relation to them into class for the teacher to review as an appropriate source for their chosen topic.
_________________________________________________________________________
Class Three: Practice Interviews (50 minutes)
• Using the 3-5 interview questions that the students developed in Class Two, pair up the students in class to practice conducting their interviews.
• Have one student share their interview questions and have the other student rate each question on a scale of 1-5 using the “Interview Question Review Sheet.” (25 minutes)
• Encourage students to reflect on their experience asking their interview questions. Some guiding questions can include: (25 minutes)
1. Could your partner understand the questions you were asking?
2. Did your questions revolve around a central topic? In other words, are they all relevant to your main research question?
3. Were there any questions your partner thinks you should have included in your list of interview questions? Are there any questions you think your partner should include in their list of interview questions?
Students should start interviewing their selected interviewees outside of class as soon as possible. The teacher can decide if they want to allot one or two weeks depending on how many interviewees there will be.
_________________________________________________________________________
Class Four: Analyzing Interviews (50 minutes)
• Students should turn in the data they collected from the five interview questions. This can be in either an audio or written format.
• Students will spend class time analyzing and synthesizing interviews to be used in the final presentation.
• Students should draft 150-250 words, or three paragraphs, that find common themes and summarize their findings in their interview and turn it in next class. This should be written in a document and saved in the most acceptable format according to the teacher.
_________________________________________________________________________
Class Five: Introduction to Primary vs. Secondary & Popular vs. Scholarly Sources (50 minutes)
• Group students into teams and pass out the “What Kind of Source?” activity materials and the “Primary and Secondary Sources Checklist” Handout to be used during the “Introduction to Primary and Secondary Sources” PowerPoint lesson. (10-15 minutes)
• Emphasize in the lecture the reputable places to find these sources (.edu, .gov, in the library, archives, books, etc.)
• In-Class Activity: Play the “What Kind of Source?” Activity. Show the sources in the slideshow. Each team must hold up two cards at the same time after each prompt: Primary and Scholarly, Primary and Popular, Secondary and Scholarly, or Secondary and Popular. If a team gets only one right, they put down one marker on their score card. If a team gets both correct, they put down two markers. The team with the most markers at the end wins. If candy is used as the marker, the team with the most candy pieces on their scorecard wins and gets to eat the most candy. (15 minutes)
• Make sure students comprehend why each example is the type of source it is by using the “identifiers” listed in the “Primary and Secondary Sources Checklist”.
• In-Class Activity: Half of this class period is recommended to be devoted toward students researching at least one primary source and one secondary source that will aid in their final project. This could be done on a computer using the Internet or in a library. As an alternative, teachers could take a class field trip to a local library or school library for the whole class period. (20 minutes)
• Teachers should assign their students to research one more primary source and one more secondary source as homework. Students must cite all sources in correct MLA Format.
• Optional: Teacher can assign students to develop an annotated bibliography for all four sources that explains what the source is (primary or secondary and why it is), and why the source is important for their project. If there is time in class, they can complete this. If they do not have time left, they can finish it for homework and turn it in for next class.
_________________________________________________________________________
Class Six: Synthesize Sources Work Time (50 minutes)
• By this class period, students should have turned in citations for their two primary and two secondary sources.
• Students will synthesize the information from all four sources to use in their final presentation.
• Draft 150-250 words or three to four paragraphs that synthesize all four sources.
_________________________________________________________________________
Class Seven: Create Presentation Work Time (50 minutes)
• Students use class time to compile information from the oral histories and primary and secondary sources and create a presentation.
• See “Evaluation Rubric” for required criteria.
• Students can have the option to create a PowerPoint as a visual to accompany their presentation, or just give a verbal presentation.
_________________________________________________________________________
Class Eight: Presentation (50 minutes)
• Each student (or team if students worked in groups) gives a 3–5-minute presentation about their mini-research project, including a summary of their change-related topic, what they learned about the topic and their community, what they learned from doing oral history interviews, and how primary and secondary sources contributed to their understanding of the topic and of research methods.
• Teachers may use the rubric that is attached to this lesson plan to evaluate student presentations. Teachers may use the rubric that is attached to this lesson plan to evaluate student presentations. It includes details about students utilizing the required number of primary and secondary sources, verifying the validity of their sources, creating the correct number of interview questions, analyzing the use of oral history, and effectively synthesizing all their results in a 3–5-minute presentation.
Path B: Using Existing Oral Histories
Class One: Change Over Time Introduction (50 minutes)• Have students fill out the “Know, Want to Know Change Over Time” Worksheet at beginning of lesson. (6 minutes)
• Use the “Change Over Time Overview” PowerPoint presentation for an overview discussion of basic concepts. (10 minutes)
• Go through the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ “Observing Change in Alaska’s National Parks Project Jukebox” website. (2 minutes)
• Select one interview example from the Jukebox to explore in-depth and discuss with the class what is being talked about and how it represents change over time. (Use the “Sections” listing on the left side of an interview page like a table of contents to easily navigate through an interview by topic.) (20 minutes)
• Guiding questions could include:
1. Why was this person interviewed for the project?
2. When does the interviewee talk about change over time?
3. How do they discuss it?
3. What kinds of topics does the interviewee talk about?
4. What topics does the interviewee not talk about that you would have liked to
learn more about?
• Have students brainstorm examples of change over time in both history and current events, with emphasis on environmental change. One example could be “how has the 2023 earthquake in Turkey changed the environment in that area?” (2 minutes)
• In-Class Activity: In small groups or pairs, have students work on the “Brainstorm Local Community Trends” Worksheet. This will aid them in the first step of creating their mini-research project, which is to select a topic and develop their investigative question. An alternative activity is having students submit their brainstorming ideas on Google Jamboard, so the class can see all the brainstorming ideas. (Google Jamboard: Collaborative Digital Whiteboard | Google Workspace for Education - Google for Education) (10 minutes)
_________________________________________________________________________
Class Two: Oral History Interview Research Method (50 minutes)
• Have students fill out “Know, Want to Know Oral History” Worksheet at beginning of lesson. (6 minutes)
• Show the "Oral History Interviews” PowerPoint. Use the same interview from “Observing Change in Alaska’s National Parks” Jukebox from Class One as an example on how to conduct an oral history interview. Pick one portion of the interview to listen to in class and have students listen to the rest as homework. Note: If time is limited and it is not feasible to listen to the full one-hour long interview either in class or combined with homework time, they could just listen to a portion of an interview based upon time, such as the first 20 minutes. Or listen to a section of an interview based upon where a specific theme is discussed, for example melting permafrost or lose of sea ice. Alternative: Print out transcription for students to take home if they do not have a computer with Internet. (25-30 minutes)
• Using the “Create an Interview” Worksheet, go through steps on how to develop an interview question and discuss how interview questions are used to obtain information for a larger research question. (2 minutes)
• In-Class Activity: Have students develop 5 interview questions based on the worksheet. They can work in pairs or individually and then share in groups. One student from each group will share with the class an example of a question and explain how it investigates research over time. These questions will be used in their mini-research project. They will explain: “If I could ask this person five more questions, they would be these questions, and this is why I would ask them these questions.” (12 minutes)
_________________________________________________________________________
Class Three: Primary and Secondary Source Research Method (50 minutes)
• Group students into teams and pass out the “What Kind of Source?” activity materials and the “Primary and Secondary Sources Checklist” Handout to be used during the “Introduction to Primary and Secondary Sources” PowerPoint lesson. (10-15 minutes)
• Emphasize in the lecture the reputable places to find these sources (.edu, .gov, in the library, archives, books, etc.)
• Play the “What Kind of Source?” Activity. Show the sources in the slideshow. Each team must hold up two cards at the same time after each prompt: Primary and Scholarly, Primary and Popular, Secondary and Scholarly, or Secondary and Popular. If a team gets only one right, they put down one marker on their score card. If a team gets both correct, they put down two markers. The team with the most markers at the end wins. If candy is used as the marker, the team with the most candy pieces on their scorecard wins and gets to eat the most candy. (15 minutes)
• Make sure students comprehend why each example is the type of source it is by using the “identifiers” listed in the “Primary and Secondary Sources Checklist."
• In Class Activity: Half of this class period is recommended to be devoted toward students researching at least one primary source and one secondary source that will aid in their final project. This could be done on a computer using the Internet or in a library. As an alternative, teachers could take a class field trip to a local library or school library for the whole class period. (20 minutes)
• Teachers should assign their students to research one more primary source and one more secondary source as homework. Students must cite all sources in correct MLA Format.
• Optional: Teacher can assign students to develop an annotated bibliography for all four sources that explains what the source is (primary or secondary and why it is), and why the source is important for their project. If there is time in class, they can complete this. If they do not have time left, they can finish it for homework and turn it in for next class.
_________________________________________________________________________
Class Four: Synthesize Sources Work Time (50 minutes)
Procedure:
• By this class period, students should have turned in MLA citations of their two primary and two secondary sources.
• Students will synthesize the information from all four sources that will go toward their final presentation.
• Draft 150-250 words or three-four paragraphs that synthesize all four sources.
_________________________________________________________________________
Class Five: Create Presentation Work Time (50 minutes)
• Students use class time to compile information from the oral histories and primary and secondary sources and create a presentation.
• See “Evaluation Rubric” for required criteria.
• Students can have the option to create a PowerPoint as a visual to accompany their presentation, or just give a verbal presentation.
_________________________________________________________________________
Class Six: Presentation (50 minutes)
• Each student (or team if students worked in groups) gives a 3–5-minute presentation about their mini-research project, including a summary of their change-related topic, what they learned about the topic and their community, what they learned from doing oral history interviews, and how primary and secondary sources contributed to their understanding of the topic and of research methods.
• Teachers may use the rubric that is attached to this lesson plan to evaluate student presentations. It includes details about students utilizing the required number of primary and secondary sources, verifying the validity of their sources, creating the correct number of interview questions, analyzing the use of oral history, and effectively synthesizing all their results in a 3–5-minute presentation.
Assessment Materials
Researching Change Over Time in Our Local Communities Lesson Plan EvaluationResearching Change Over Time in Our Local Communities Lesson Plan Evaluation