Last updated: June 10, 2022
Lesson Plan
Traveling the National Road: Unit 7 Biography Cards
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- Grade Level:
- Upper Elementary: Third Grade through Fifth Grade
- Subject:
- Social Studies
- Lesson Duration:
- 60 Minutes
- Common Core Standards:
- 3.RI.1, 3.RI.7, 3.SL.1, 3.SL.4, 3.W.1, 3.W.4
- Thinking Skills:
- Remembering: Recalling or recognizing information ideas, and principles. Understanding: Understand the main idea of material heard, viewed, or read. Interpret or summarize the ideas in own words. Analyzing: Break down a concept or idea into parts and show the relationships among the parts.
Essential Question
Was the National Road important to the development of the United States?
Guiding Questions: Who worked or traveled along the National Road? What was interesting about their lives? How did the National Road affect them?
Objective
Student Objectives: After completing the lesson students will be able to:
• List the name of a person associated with the National Road
• List two interesting facts about the person
• List how the person was associated with the National Road
Background
The Biography Cards form unit 7 of a complete teacher’s guide for 3rd grade students, entitled “Traveling the National Road.”
This unit covers 14 historical people associated with the National Road. Each biography card has its own list of vocabulary and each card is associated with an occupation card in the next unit. The cards highlight that people are the same, but society and technology have changed over time. This unit has one student activity “Conduct an Interview.”
Preparation
- Read the biography cards, essential question and the guiding questions.
- Make at least one copy of a biography card for each student and a copy of the corresponding occupation card.
Materials
Download Unit 7 Biography Cards
Download Graphic organizer to use with the enrichment activity
Lesson Hook/Preview
The National Road affected many peoples' lives, both workers and travelers. The biography cards highlight 14 people associated with the National Road along with interesting facts about each person. They can show us how people were the same, how they were different and how technology has changed over time.
Procedure
- Introduce the essential and guiding questions.
- Read the lesson hook to the class.
- Have the students read one or more biography cards.
- Complete the student activity, “Conduct an Interview.”
- Have the students present their work to the class.
Vocabulary
Each one of the biography cards has its own list of vocabulary.
Assessment Materials
The teacher can use an oral presentation rubric, such as the one found here.
Supports for Struggling Learners
The teacher can read the materials to the students and help them with interview questions.
Enrichment Activities
Download the graphic organizer with three columns labeled “How the person on the biography card acts the same as people today,” “How the person on the biography card acts differently from people today” and “What machines have replaced everyday items from the time of the person on the biography card?” Then have the students read a biography card and put the relevant facts from the biography card into the graphic organizer.
Additional Resources
Students can take a virtual field trip by watch the 25-minute Virtual Field Trip: The Mount Washington Tavern.
Related Lessons or Education Materials
The "Traveling the National Road" teacher's guide is broken into ten units and is targeted for 3rd grade students. Each unit can be completed independently.
Check out the links to the other lesson plans:
Unit 1: Overview of the National Road
Unit 2: Construction of the National Road
Unit 3: Travelers and Transportation on the National Road
Unit 4: Accommodation on the National Road
Unit 5: Workers Along the National Road
Unit 6: Decline and Rebirth of the National Road
Unit 7: Biography Cards
Unit 8: Occupation Cards
Unit 9: Historic Site Cards
Unit 10: Artifact Activities
Other resource include:
Appendix with timeline, vocabulary and bibliography
Poster of the National Road
Poster of the Toll Rates Along the National Road
Introduction to the teacher guide and table of contents