Field Trips, Student Activities
- Grade Level:
- Middle School: Sixth Grade through Eighth Grade
- Subject:
- Social Studies
- State Standards:
- Iowa Core (6-8): SS.6-8.H.1, SS.6-8.H.3, SS.6-8.H.4, SS.6-8.H.7, SS.6-8.H.8;
National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS): Themes IV(C,F), VI(I), IX(F), X(B)
How did daily life of a rural community in the 1870s and 1880s compare to our own daily lives? Did events of Herbert Hoover's childhood motivate his career in public service? What did Herbert Hoover do to be recognized as a good citizen of the world? A visit to the Birthplace Cottage, Blacksmith Shop, Schoolhouse, and Friends Meetinghouse helps answer these questions.
Program Objectives For Students
A visit to the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site and the Hoover Presidential Library-Museum fit within the framework of a number of course topics, and align neatly with both the Iowa Core Curriculum for History for grades 6-8 and the Curriculum Standards for Social Studies from the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS). Students will be able to:
- Relate the events of Herbert Hoover's childhood in West Branch, Iowa, that may have motivated his accomplishments and public works.
- Understand the daily life of a rural community in the 1870s and 1880s and connect that experience to their own daily lives.
- Describe and evaluate the activities that led to Hoover's recognition as a good citizen of the world.
Course Connections
Early US History
A visit to the historic structures at Herbert Hoover National Historic Site connects well with US history units relating to the late 1800s. Specific historical themes covered during a tour of the park include the interactions of people with their environment, the influences of the technology of the time and the importance of faith and education for early Iowans.
Modern US History
Classes studying the early 20th century through the Great Depression would also benefit greatly from a visit to the park in concert with the tour of the library-museum. The very real influences on a young Herbert Hoover are explored and can give insight towards understanding Hoover’s actions as a humanitarian and public official.
Natural/Life Sciences
Although the countryside would have been planted with row crops when Hoover was a child, the park includes 81 acres of reconstructed prairie that provide a wide variety of curriculum connections. Students studying any type of life science could benefit from this window on to what the prairies of Iowa once were like. Please see the Curriculum Materials page on our website for lesson plans and activities related to the prairie.
Pre-visit Activities
The following activities are provided to teach your students about Hoover’s life and experiences, primarily as they relate to his time spent as a child in West Branch, Iowa. This information will help your students be well prepared with ideas and questions for their tour of the Herbert Hoover National Historic site. If you are unable to bring your students to the park, these activities can serve as an introduction to the first President born west of the Mississippi.
Each activity includes questions that can be used either for discussion or as writing prompts. The questions ask students to reflect on what they have read, connect it to their own lives, and predict the effect of what they learn. You can print the activities up as worksheets, have students work in groups, or present this information however you wish.
- Timeline. Students will gain perspective on the daily life of Herbert Hoover through looking at inventions and developments from his lifetime. Students are asked to add in their birth year, as well as the years of inventions and developments important to them.
- Reading #1: Herbert Hoover’s Family Background. Students will learn about Hoover’s family and daily life during his time in West Branch. The questions accompanying this reading focus on understanding daily life in the late 1800’s and connecting those experiences to students’ own lives.
- Reading #2: Herbert Hoover Remembers His Childhood. Students will read about Hoover’s remembrances of his time in West Branch. They will consider the impact of his childhood on his later life, as well as connect it to their own lives and experiences.
- Diagram of the Birthplace Cottage. Students will consider a schematic of the small cottage in which Hoover was born and spent his first few years of childhood. Again, they will learn about Hoover’s experiences as they make connections to their own lives.
Post-visit Activities
These activities are intended to further your students’ learning, after their visit to the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site, through the use of various social studies skills. With a basic introduction to the accomplishments of Herbert Hoover, these could be used even if your class is unable to make a visit to the park.
Each activity includes questions that can be used either for discussion or as writing prompts. You can print the activities as worksheets and have students work in groups.
- World War I Food Posters. Students are presented with four World War I food posters and asked to analyze both for content and meaning. A series of prompts and questions ask the student to consider the message of the creator of the posters, as well as the meaning of the symbols used and word choice. Students are asked to consider the effectiveness as the posters as well as to consider how they would produce such an item today.
- Political Cartoons about Herbert Hoover. This section includes two cartoons from the 1920s by Ding Darling, the Pulitzer Prize-winning political cartoonist for the Des Moines Register. Students are provided some context for the cartoon and asked to consider the content, meaning, and intent of them.
- Portions of the 1880 Census. Three pages from the 1880 census of West Branch are provided for students’ consideration. They are asked to find specific details from the census, as well as to consider larger questions that can be answered using this data. Herbert Hoover’s immediate family and some of his relatives are found in the included portion of the census.
Suggested Extensions
The life and achievements of Herbert Hoover, a visit to Herbert Hoover National Historic Site and Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum, and this curriculum guide provide many themes that lend themselves to many possible activities.
Recreating A Personal Childhood
Have students look again at the cartoons and think about the caption "As the twig is bent — the tree is inclined." Then discuss with them the idea that each human experience is different from any other. That is, many young boys of Hoover's time probably carried in wood for the kitchen stove, but few of them went on to become public servants as Hoover did. Still, many of those boys did grow up to be thoughtful and caring individuals.
Have students reflect on their own first 11 years. Have them then pretend they are 77 years old and writing their own memoirs. Ask them to write three or four descriptive paragraphs similar to those in the reading “Hoover Remembers His Childhood: 1874-1884.” What amusements did they enjoy as young children? How were these amusements shaped by their surroundings? What role has school, neighborhood, and family played in shaping their values? Have a few volunteers share their memoirs. Emphasize to the class that while we are shaped by our past, we are not bound by it.
Hoover & U.S. History
Herbert Hoover is a President who has been portrayed in many different ways both in his lifetime and after it. Have students research several different sources for information about Hoover—textbooks, reference books, or trusted internet sources. While they look at the different sources, have them chart different terms that are used to describe Hoover and his presidency.
Have them write a short reflection on what they find. What differences are there from source to source? How might they account for differences? How do the accounts they find of Hoover and his presidency differ from what they learned at the park and the library-museum? You also could have them write their own biography of Hoover integrating the various sources about him. One additional writing idea would be to have them write an essay explaining how Hoover represents or fits into the period they are studying in US history.
Community Service Projects
Community and public service were very important for Herbert Hoover—indeed he was known as the “Great Humanitarian.” He worked throughout his lifetime to help many people, particularly children. Have your students brainstorm needs in their community and ways that they can address these. You can then work on these as a class, or encourage students to volunteer on their own.
Credit
Herbert Hoover: From Iowa to the World. Herbert Hoover National Historic Site, National Park Service, West Branch, Iowa. Original edition by Patricia Wheeler, 1995. The Herbert Hoover Story. Revised and updated 2010 by Daniel Stevenson; edited by Adam Prato.
Materials
Students will gain perspective on the daily life of Herbert Hoover through looking at inventions and developments from his lifetime. Students are asked to add in their birth year, as well as the years of inventions and developments important to them.
Download Pre-visit Activity: Timeline
Students will learn about Hoover’s family and daily life during his time in West Branch. The questions accompanying this reading focus on understanding daily life in the late 1800’s and connecting those experiences to students’ own lives.
Download Pre-visit Activity: Reading #1
Students will read about Hoover’s remembrances of his time in West Branch. They will consider the impact of his childhood on his later life, as well as connect it to their own lives and experiences.
Download Pre-visit Activity: Reading #2
Students will consider a schematic of the small cottage in which Hoover was born and spent his first few years of childhood. Again, they will learn about Hoover’s experiences as they make connections to their own lives.
Download Pre-visit Activity: Diagram
Students are presented with four World War I food posters and asked to analyze both for content and meaning. A series of prompts and questions ask the student to consider the message of the creator of the posters, as well as the meaning of the symbols used and word choice. Students are asked to consider the effectiveness as the posters as well as to consider how they would produce such an item today.
Download Post-visit Activity: Posters
This section includes two cartoons from the 1920s by Ding Darling, the Pulitzer Prize-winning political cartoonist for the Des Moines Register. Students are provided some context for the cartoon and asked to consider the content, meaning, and intent of them.
Download Post-visit Activity: Political Cartoons
Three pages from the 1880 census of West Branch are provided for students’ consideration. They are asked to find specific details from the census, as well as to consider larger questions that can be answered using this data. Herbert Hoover’s immediate family and some of his relatives are found in the included portion of the census.
Last updated: July 24, 2020