Exploring History Vol IV

University of Portland StudentsPeter Pappas, Editor

This eBook is a collaborative project of Peter Pappas and his Fall 2016 Social Studies Methods Class School of Education ~ University of Portland, Portland Ore.

Graduate and undergraduate level pre-service teachers were assigned the task of developing an engaging research question, researching supportive documents and curating them into a DBQ suitable for middle or high school students.

For more on this class, visit the course blog EdMethods For more on this book project and work flow tap here.

Chapters in chronological order

1. Mysterious Bronze Age Collapse by Sam Hicks

2. From Revolution to Government by Valerie Schiller

3. Imagination, Innovation & Space Exploration by Molly Pettit

4. The Real Romanovs by Kelly Marx

5. World War I: The Human Cost of Total War by Anna Harrington

6. Collectivization and Propaganda in Stalin’s Soviet Union by Clarice Terry

7. Holy Propaganda Batman! by Karina Ramirez Velazquez

8. The Nicaraguan Literacy Crusade by Scott Hearron

EXPLORING HISTORY: VOL IV

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Engaging questions and historic documents empower students to be the historian in the classroom.

Peter Pappas, editor School of Education ~ University of Portland

His popular blog, Copy/Paste features downloads of his instructional resources, projects and publications. Follow him at Twitter @edteck. His other multi-touch eBooks are available at here.

© Peter Pappas and his students, 2016

The authors take copyright infringement seriously. If any copyright holder has been inadvertently or unintentionally overlooked, the publisher will be pleased to remove the said material from this book at the very first opportunity.

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Cover design by Anna Harrington

Cover image: Timeless BooksBy Lin Kristensen from New Jersey, USA [CC BY 2.] via Wikimedia Commons

My father, now the ships of the enemy have come. They have been setting fire to my cities and doing harm to the land. Doesn't my father know that all my infantry and [chariots] are stationed in Khatte, and that all my ships are stationed in Lukka? ...Now the seven ships of the enemy which have been coming have been doing harm to us. Now if other ships of the enemy turn up, send me a report somehow, so that I may know.

MYSTERIOUS BRONZE AGE COLLAPSE

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Chapter by Sam Hicks

What do Historians do when the Written Record is Missing?Over the course of a century many of the great civilizations of the Eastern Mediterranean vanished. Literacy nearly vanished. Even today, many textbooks shift their focus away from the Mediterranean and never mention this cataclysm that shows that civilization is fragile. The lack of a written record should not be seen as a reason to skip over this event, but rather as an opportunity. This is an invitation to you as a student to

be a historian. Review the records. Theorize about what may have happened. Free from the constraints of a clear narrative and neatly arranged facts, your goal is not to memorize each fact, but to use the evidence to form your own opinion.

When looking at the Bronze Age Collapse, read what remains of the written records from the time and scientific evidence for alternative explanations. Analyze and argue for various explanations using the evidence that is available to you. This is your chance to solve a mystery!

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Map of the great empires of the Eastern Mediterranean circa 1200 B.C.E.

Image of Deir el-Bahari with temples of Hatshepsut, Thutmosis III and Mentuhotep II. by Ian Lloyd (lloydi.com) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hatshetsup-temple-1by7.jpg

GALLERY 1.1 The world of the Late Bronze AgeThe Eastern Mediterranean of the Late Bronze Age

One might be forgiven for thinking that civilization in the Eastern Mediterranean at the close of the Bronze-Age was stable, even tranquil. Interdependent networks of trade and the establishment of international treaties (written and familial) created a stability and peace. There were few major wars, but there were professional armies based on expensive and well-trained charioteers.

Then suddenly (in a historical sense), over the course of a century, almost every major civilization of the Eastern Mediterranean disappeared. Only one civilization survived this destructive wave, Egypt. This ancient and resilient civilization escaped destruction by the slimmest of margins and was left exhausted and vulnerable. This sole survivor of the literate societies of the late Bronze-Age leaves cryptic references to invaders from the North: Denyen, Ekwesh, Lukka, Peleset, Shekelesh, Sherden, Teresh, Tjekker, and Weshesh. They record the names of their foes and artistic depictions of these assailants.

These people appear and suddenly civilization collapses. It was clearly these marauding new comers disrupted the staid world of the late Bronze Age. That is the easy answer, but is it true?

Use the gallery at the right to explore images from across the Eastern Mediterranean

What Remains for the Written Record?

Sea People

A letter from the King of Ugarit to the King of Cyprus states, "My father, now the ships of the enemy have come. They have been setting fire to my cities and doing harm to the land. Doesn't my father know that all my infantry and [chariots] are stationed in Khatte, and that all my ships are stationed in Lukka? ...Now the seven ships of the enemy which have been coming have been doing harm to us. Now if other ships of the enemy turn up, send me a report somehow, so that I may know." Cline, E. 2014. 1177 B.C. the Year Civilization Collapsed. Princeton. p. 9

The Egyptian relief at Medinet Habu tells us, "The foreign countries made a conspiracy in their islands. All at once the lands were removed and scattered in the fray. No land could stand before their arms, from Khatte, Qode, Carchemish, Arzawa, and Alashiya on, being cut off [at one time]. A camp [was set up] in one place in Amurru. They desolated its people, and their land was like that which has never come into being. They were coming forward toward Egypt, while the

Famine

Letters in the time include these lines, "I have no grain in my lands." "Do you not know that there is famine in the midst of my lands." "It is a matter of life and death!" “There is famine...we will all die of hunger. If you do not quickly arrive here, we ourselves will soon die of hunger. You will not see a living soul...." "with me, plenty (has become) famine."Cline, E. 2014. 1177 B.C. the Year Civilization Collapsed. Princeton. pp. 143-144. 

Documents in Egypt state Pharaoh Merneptah "caused grain to be taken in ships, to keep alive this land of Hatti." Cline, E. 2014. 1177 B.C. the Year Civilization Collapsed. Princeton. p. 143.

On the receiving end of this shipment of food aid, a letter from Pharaoh Merneptah found in Ugarit notes a "consignment of grain sent from Egypt to relieve the famine in Ugarit."  Cline, E. 2014. 1177 B.C. the Year Civilization Collapsed. Princeton. p. 143.

REVIEW 1.1 What do you think?

Check Answer

Which of these best describes the tone of letters compared to the written records from the Egyptian sources?

A. The letters are humorous

B. The letters are boastful

C. The letters are nostalgic

D. The letters are pleading

MOVIE 1.1 In their wake they left destruction!

Watch this book trailer for Eric Cline’s 1177 B.C. The Year Civilization Collapsed (Princeton 2014)

The Sea People

The "Sea People" (as modern scholars call them) are recorded in Egyptian sources as attacking in great numbers, first 1207 B.C.E., and again in 1177 B.C.E. The Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses III commemorated his defeat of the Sea People in a wall relief depicting his victory at the Battle of the Delta. We still know very little about the Sea People. We do not know where they came from or where they settled. We do not know why they came and what motivated them to attack so many cities. We do not know what they valued, believed, or thought about because we have no written records from them. They have left us nothing in their own words. We know them only by the accounts of people who called them enemies and the destruction for which they are held responsible.

In the inscription from Ramses III found at Medinet Habu, he celebrates his victory over the Sea People. Is there any bias in this inscription? Why is important to think about the sources when we read primary sources? How does a lack of a written record from the Sea People make it difficult historians think about them fairly when investigating the Bronze Age collapse?

Image by Beato. [Public domain] https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Philistine_ship_of_war.jpg

GALLERY 1.2 Egyptian Depictions of Sea People

Use the gallery at the left to explore images of the Sea People from Egypt.

USGS Map of a modern “earthquake storm” that effected Turkey in the 20th century. Image by USGS (USGS [1]) [Public domain] https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:EQ_storm_Turkey.png

GALLERY 1.3 Seismic activity in the Eastern Mediterranean MOVIE 1.2 What do the Experts say about the earthquake storm?

Part of a speech by Eric H. Cline to The Oriental Institute

Earthquake Storms

Historians have often seen any destroyed cities from the Late Bronze Age and blamed Sea Peoples! While Sea People may have been responsible, cities in the region are destroyed or abandoned for many reasons throughout history and the causes are not all the same. One of the likely causes for at least some of the destruction is earthquakes. A review of earthquakes in the area in modern times suggests these can come in a seemingly rapid succession or sequence called an "earthquake storm."

Review the maps of earthquakes in the Eastern Mediterranean and maps of destroyed cities dating from the late Bronze Age, do you see any patterns? Knowing what you now know of "earthquake storms" in the region, what role might these have played in the collapse of civilizations in the late Bronze Age?

Mediterranean Sea

The Dead Sea

Hala Sultan TekkeHazor

Ugarit

INTERACTIVE 1.1 A complex picture of climate change, famine, migration, invasion, even civil unrest!

1 2 3 4 5

REVIEW 1.2 What does the Map suggest to you?

Check Answer

Why did Amnon Ben-Tor say that Hazor was likely not destroyed by the Sea People?

A. They had the same religion

B. It was too far inland to be attacked by Sea People

C. The site appears to have been destroyed in an earthquakes

D. The attackers were Israelites

The map above is in Norwegian. It shows the path of destruction often associate with the Sea People, sites of significant battles, and the locations of cities (those destroyed and those left standing). See if you can locate the city of Troy that was supposedly destroyed by Greeks in this period. Also, visit the city of Hazor, the destruction of which

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Key Questions

What do you think happened?

What does the evidence tell you?

the Bible credits to the Israelites. Other locations on the map provide other clues about the fate of these great civilizations.

When you are finished exploring the map, take a few moments to analyze what you have learned about the Bonze Age collapse.

Books and Scholarly Articles used or Referenced

Cline, Eric H. 1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed. Princeton University Press. (2014).

Drake, Brandon L. The Influence of Climatic Change on the Late Bronze Age Collapse and the Greek Dark Ages. Journal of Archaeological Science xxx (2012) 1-9. accessed on 11/27/2016 via http://www.q-mag.org/_media/drake-2012-bronze-age.pdf

Kaniewski, David, Elise Van Campo, Joël Guiot, Sabine Le Burel, Thierry Otto, Cecile Baeteman. Environmental Roots of the Late Bronze Age Crisis. PLOS ONE (2013). accessed 11/28/16 via http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0071004

ReferencesImages not Referenced Elsewhere

1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed, Eric H. Cline - Book Trailer for Paperback. Princeton University Press. accessed on 11/22/16 via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUNbLcTJzh0

Cline, E. 1177 B.C. 1177 BC: The Year Civilization Collapsed. Address to the Oriental Institute on February 25, 2015. Published on April 6, 2015. Accessed via YouTube on 11/19/2016. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyry8mgXiTk

Interactive Map of the Bronze Age Collapse based on map by by Finn Bjørklid (Own work) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bronsealderens_sammenbrudd.jpg

Map of 14th century B.C. Eastern Mediterranean by Alexikoua, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:14_century_BC_Eastern.png

Books and Scholarly Articles used or Referenced (cont.)

Kaniewski, David, Elise Van Campo, Karel Van Lerberghe, Tom Boiy, Klaas Vansteenhuyse, Greta Jans, Karin Nys, Harvey Weiss, Christophe Morhange, Thierry Otto, Joachim Bretschneider. The Sea Peoples, from Cuneiform Tablets to Carbon Dating. PLOS ONE (2011). accessed 11/28/16 via http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0020232

Langgut, Dafna, Israel Finkelstein, Thomas Litt. Climate and the Late Bronze Collapse: New Evidence from the Southern Levant. TEL AVIV Vol. 40, 2013, 149–175. accessed via http://archaeology.tau.ac.il/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Langgut_et_al_LB_Collapse_2013.pdf

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Reflection

Strangely, the first thing that popped into my mind when we received this Document Based Lesson assignment was to create a lesson about what historians do when the written records are lost or missing.

I also decided that, as this would eventually lead to writing a chapter in an eBook, to write the chapter that is missing from my students’ textbook–the collapse of literacy and civilizations in the Eastern Mediterranean at the end of the Bronze Age in roughly 1200 B.C.E.

I had a wonderful time with this project and I learned new skills for various applications. I also took a chance and e-mailed Dr. Eric Cline–an expert on the late Bronze Age. He put me in contact with other people and opportunities related to this topic. It was a good reminder that academics are collaborative and supportive; in future, I will continue to reach out to experts and resources that can enrich my students’ learning.

About the Author

Sam Hicks grew up in California where he excelled in Social Studies. After high school, he studied international politics and the European Union at American University.

He has worked on political campaigns and not-for-profit health care.

Currently residing in Portland, Oregon, he is finishing his Masters in Teaching at the University of Portland.

Mr. Hicks is pursuing a career as a teacher and hopes to encourage critical thinking, a genuine and honest interest in other people and cultures, and effective collaboration among his students.

“These are valuable skills that have served me well across many careers and in my academic life. They are learned skills and require practice. We owe it to our students to give them compelling curricula that ask the best of them and afford them the opportunity to excel.” --Sam Hicks

The American Revolution brought to the forefront colonial debates which had been happening on the sidelines for decades. Do people have rights? What is the role of government in protecting those rights? Who should be represented in a government which aims to protect every person’s rights? The 1st and 2nd Continental Congresses, and particularly the Constitutional Convention, would establish state and

FROM REVOLUTION TO GOVERNMENT

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VALERIE SCHILLER

personhood representation for years to come. On the path toward government, delegates from the colonies would represent the people in meetings and debates. The 1st Continental Congress began the journey. In the meantime, between meetings, founders wrote letters to each other and to their friends, expressing perhaps more genuine feelings about the established and potential government over the colonies. These essential debates and letters are best learned as a series of text and picture documents on a timeline toward the Constitution. In this lesson, after offering the essential question, I move

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Previous image: Outside of Independence Hall, Philadelphia https://www.flickr.com/photos/iceninejon/4926623160

Current image: Inside of Independence Hall Assembly Roomhttps://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Independence_Hall_Assembly_Room.jpg

from the 1st Continental Congress, to the 2nd Continental Congress, to a powerful quotation from an Alexander Hamilton letter, onward to the first constitution, the Articles of Confederation. In response to the new and flawed government, George Washington and Henry Knox offer words to their friends and to each other which demonstrate the powerful undercurrent sweeping the country toward the Constitution. The Constitutional Convention serves as the final clash of ideas toward the ratification of the document which continues to govern our country today.

E s s e n t i a l Questions:

How did the debates of colonial America shape the Constitution?

Do these issues still affect our government and us as citizens today?

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The US Capitol Building as it stands today.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:US_Capitol_South.jpg

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The British’s punishment for the Boston Tea Party, the Intolerable Acts, convinced the colonists it was time to take larger measures. Delegates from the 13 colonies (other than Georgia) gathered at Carpenters’ Hall in Philadelphia from September 5 until October 26, 1774, to reach a resolution. At the 1st Continental Congress, there was a great deal of disagreement among delegates. Most of the delegates at this time still felt strong ties to the mother country. They simply wanted to be treated fairly. Conservatives, reluctant to meet in secret, were still loyal to Great Britain and preferred finding compromise and reconciliation. On the other hand, some delegates demanded change. Radicals, like cousins John and Samuel Adams, believed colonists deserved rights and liberties as Americans. Some also began to see the colonies as united, and used Benjamin Franklin’s famous cartoon “JOIN, or DIE” to recruit support. Extreme radicals even called for independence. As a result, the delegates decided to pursue three actions: (1) a petition to King George III, recognizing common causes and unity, but calling for the removal of excess control over the colonies, particularly in Boston; (2) a boycott of British goods to continue until the Intolerable Acts were repealed; and (3) a call to meet again the following May should Parliament not address their grievances.

Carpenters’ Hall,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Continental_Congress; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Join,_or_Die

Second Continental Congress, 1775-1781Independence Hall, Philadelphia

The British Parliament took no official recognition of the colonists’ petition. As a result, the delegates reconvened the following May at Philadelphia’s Independence Hall. The Congress issued their final attempt at avoiding war, an Olive Branch Petition to Parliament, to no avail. Colonists decided this was the final straw. Support for independence dramatically increased. With the first shots at Lexington and Concord, the American Revolutionary War officially began. Soon, the Congress selected a Committee of Five to draft and present a Declaration of Independence from Britain to the world. Featured to the bottom-right, the Committee--Roger Sherman, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Robert Livingston--designated Thomas Jefferson to write the first draft. After incorporating changes the other members proposed, Jefferson produced a final copy. The Committee presented the document to the “Committee of the Whole” (featured to the top-right). Yet, even after approving the international document, delegates debated how independent the now declared states were. The Congress had the authority to appoint ambassadors, raise armies, and sign treaties, but was without any power to tax. While creating the first constitution, delegates from large and small states debated representation. The small states won the debate: each state, regardless of size, would have a single vote under the Articles of Confederation.

Top painting by John Trumbull (1819)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Committee_of_Five

“...It may be pleaded, that Congress had never any definitive powers granted them and of course could exercise none—could do nothing more than recommend. The manner in which Congress was appointed would warrant, and the public good required, that they should have considered themselves as vested with full power to preserve the republic from harm. They have done many of the highest acts of sovereignty, which were always chearfully submitted to—the declaration of independence, the declaration of war, the levying an army, creating a navy, emitting money, making alliances with foreign powers, appointing a dictator...all these implications of a complete sovereignty were never disputed, and ought to have been a standard for the whole conduct of Administration. Undefined powers are discretionary powers, limited only by the object for which they were given—in the present case, the independence and freedom of America. The confederation made no difference; for as it has not been generally adopted, it had no operation. But from what I recollect of it, Congress have even descended from the authority which the spirit of that act gives them, while the particular states have no further attended to it than as it suited their pretensions and convenience. It would take too much time to enter into particular

instances, each of which separately mightappear inconsiderable; but united are of serious import. I only mean to remark, not to censure. But the confederation itself is defective and requires to be altered; it is neither fit for war, nor peace. The idea of an uncontrolable sovereignty in each state, over its internal police, will defeat the other powers given to Congress, and make our union feeble and precarious.

Alexander Hamilton had already proven himself capable to General George Washington, while Hamilton served in the Continental Army.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Hamilton

“make our union feeble and precarious”

A Letter from Alexander Hamilton to friend James Duane

...The confederation gives the states individually too much influence in the affairs of the army; they should have nothing to do with it. The entire formation and disposal of our military forces ought to belong to Congress...It may be apprehended that this may be dangerous to liberty. But nothing appears more evident to me, than that we run much greater risk of having a weak and disunited federal government, than one which will be able to usurp upon the rights of the people...”

Founders Online, National Archives

The 2nd Continental Congress appointed a committee to draft the United States’ first constitution, the Articles of Confederation. The committee completed an approved version which was sent to the states for ratification on November 15, 1777. The debates surrounding ratification would drag on for four years, due to land claims, before all 13 states signed on in agreement. A major debate of the 2nd Continental Congress was between federalists and anti-federalists. The federalists believed in stronger federal power, while the anti-federalists advocated for state power. In effect, the anti-federalists won. The Articles of Confederation created a loose confederation of sovereign states. The weak central government was designed to leave most of the power to the individual state members. Following from the foundational debate between small and large states, under the Articles, each state, regardless of size, would receive a single vote. The thirteen Articles of the document set forth the following:(1) “This confederacy shall be 'The

United States of America’.”(2) “Each state retains its sovereignty,

freedom, and independence, and every power, jurisdiction, and right, which is not by

this Confederation expressly delegated...”(3) “States...enter into a firm league of friendship with each other, for their common defense, the security of their liberties, and their mutual and general welfare, binding themselves to assist each other, against all force offered to, or attacks made upon them...”(4) Establishes for the free people of

each state equal treatment under the law and freedom of movement between states, except for “paupers, vagabonds, and fugitives from justice.”

(5) Allocates one vote in Congress to each state. State legislatures would appoint members of Congress.

(6) Asserts only the central government can declare war. An individual state can wage war only with the permission of Congress. The exception is if a state is invaded or under imminent attack. However, each state must have a ready and well-trained militia.

Regardless of federalist complaints, the Articles functioned well enough to direct the country through the war’s ending and accompanying international and territorial issues. Many found the biggest issue was when the Confederation needed to secure war resources from the states.

The Articles of Confederation, 1781-1787https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Articles_of_confederation_and_perpetual_union.jpg

A Letter from George Washington to friend Benjamin Harrison Jan 18, 1784

Following the end of the Revolutionary War, George Washington was seriously concerned about the state of the federal government for the new nation.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington

“A half-starved limping Government”

“...The disinclination of the individual States to yield competent powers to Congress for the Federal Government, their unreasonable jealousy of that body and of one another, and the disposition which seems to pervade each, of being all-wise and all-powerful within itself, will, if there is not a change in the system be our downfall as a nation. This is as clear to me as the A, B, C; and I think we have opposed Great Britain, and have arrived at the present state of peace and independency, to very little purpose, if we cannot conquer our own prejudices. The powers of Europe begin to see this, and our newly acquired friends the British, are already and professedly acting upon this ground; and wisely too, if we are determined to persevere in our folly. They know that individual opposition to their measures is futile, and boast that we are not sufficiently united as a Nation to give a general one! Is not the indignity alone, of this declaration, while we are in the very act of peacemaking and conciliation, sufficient to stimulate us to vest more extensive and adequate powers in the sovereign of these United States? For my own part, altho’ I am returned to, and am now

mingled with the class of private citizens, and like them must suffer all the evils of a Tyranny, or of too great an extension of federal powers; I have no fears arising from this source, in my mind, but I have many, and powerful ones indeed which predict the worst consequences from a half-starved, limping Government, that appears to be always

moving upon crutches, and tottering at every step. Men, chosen as the Delegates in Congress are, cannot officially be dangerous; they depend upon the breath, nay, they are so much the creatures of the people, under the present constitution, that they can have no views (which could possibly be carried into execution,) nor any interests, distinct from those of their constituents. My political creed therefore is, to be wise in the choice of Delegates, support them like Gentlemen while they are our representatives, give them competent powers for all federal purposes, support them in the due exercise thereof...”TeachingAmericanHistory.org, Ashland University

A Letter from Henry Knox to friend George WashingtonDec 21, 1786

“The insurgents who were assembled at Worcester in Massachusetts have disbanded. The people at Boston seem to be glad at this event and say it was the effect of fear. But the fact is that the insurgents effected their object, which was to prevent the Court of Common Pleas from proceeding to business. It is probable that the seizing some of the insurgents at Middlesex occasioned a greater number of them to assemble at Worcester than otherwise would have assembled merely on Account of preventing the common Pleas. By Private Letters of the 13th from Boston it appears that government were determined to try its strength by bringing the insurgents to action but were prevented by the uncommon deep snows, which are four and five feet on a level. The commotions of Massachusetts have wrought prodigious changes in the minds of men in that State respecting the Powers of Government every body says they must be strengthned, and that unless this shall be effected there is no Security for liberty or Property. Founders Online, National Archives

Such is the State of things in the east, that much trouble is to be apprehended in the course of the ensuing year. I hope you will see Colo. Wadsworth in Philadelphia in a few days. I expect he will be here on Saturday next.”

After befriending General George Washington, Henry Knox rose to the position of chief artillery officer and would accompany Washington during his war efforts.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Henry_Knox_by_Gilbert_Stuart_1806.jpeg

“no Security for liberty or Property”

Shays’ Rebellion was the defining event which tipped the United States toward establishing a stronger central government.

http://www.history.com/news/how-shays-rebellion-changed-america

The Constitutional Convention, 1787Independence Hall, Philadelphia Image source

In the midst of Shays’ Rebellion, delegates called for a meeting to discuss needed improvements to the Articles. Fearing a bias against small states, Rhode Island delegates boycotted the convention. The delegates at the convention unanimously elected George Washington president. From May 25 to Sept 17, 1787, twelve of the thirteen states met at Independence Hall in Philadelphia to debate the merits and demerits of the Articles, and discuss a possible new government. Even before all of the delegates arrived, James Madison had already begun drafting the Virginia Plan, which favored representation for large states, based on population. Madison’s plan also proposed a bicameral legislature. In response, the New Jersey Plan would reassert an Articles-style unicameral legislature, which favored representation for small states, based on a single vote for each state, regardless of size. In the end, both sides won. The Connecticut Compromise, following Madison’s two-chamber model, satisfied the large states representation by population via the House of Representatives, as well as assured the small states equal representation via the Senate. Similarly, delegates tussled over personhood representation. Whether slavery would still be allowed under

the new Constitution was heavily debated, for the southern states had the majority of slaves. Many southern delegates refused to join the Union if slavery was not allowed. Northern delegates insisted, at the very least, the Union not participate in the international slave trade. In the end, the states compromised, keeping slavery but planning for the elimination of the slave trade.

However, the states also conflicted over how slaves would be represented. The northern states determined slaves were property, that they should be counted for taxation but not for representation. Southern states preferred to count slaves only for representation. Ultimately, the three-fifths compromise catered to the south by counting slaves as three-fifths of a person for representation.

During the Constitutional Convention’s final session, after months of debates and compromises, the final draft of the document was complete. Between 1787 and 1788, eleven of the thirteen states ratified the Constitution, more than enough to begin the new government. However, while the Federalists wanted to go ahead with the new, more powerful, government, the Anti-Federalists disputed the proposed Constitution. Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison would go on to publish the Federalist Papers in support of the new government. The Constitution has three sections: the Preamble, the Articles, and the Amendments. The Preamble sets forth the framework of the document, the Articles explain the function of the branches of government, and the Amendments define the rights of the people. While the Articles were a response

The U.S. Constitution, 1789 As people, particularly judges, have examined the document over the years, interpretations of the framers’ work have been limitless. While concepts such as separation of powers and checks and balances are more obvious, just how those concepts apply to specific situations has been challenging. Courts at different levels of the country cannot agree on a single interpretation of the powers of government nor the rights of the people and of individuals. However, should politicians, journalists, academics, and everyday people learn more about the historical background of the document’s development, one of compromise, people would be less likely to insist on framers’ priorities and perhaps be more appreciative of the nuances and complexities the document holds for its readers.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/thorne-enterprises/498309798

to the debates of the Constitutional Convention surrounding the needs of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches, the Amendments were a last minute addition. Originally, the Constitution did not include a Bill of Rights.

According to Anti-Federalists, such as Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, and Samuel Adams, the limitations of government were not clear. Thus, Federalist James Madison drafted additional articles, which would later become a separate section called the Amendments.

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To return to the essential questions:(1) How did the debates of colonial America shape the

Constitution? and(2) Do these issues still affect our government and us as citizens

today?It is important to consider counterarguments to traditional narratives about the debates and compromises of colonial America toward the Constitution. For example, Charles Beard’s Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States claims the framers were motivated primarily by their status as wealthy white men, molding the Constitution toward their own interests of protecting personal property. He points to the traits of those delegates who attended the Constitutional Convention as evidence.

Howard Zinn’s People’s History of the United States follows Beard’s interpretation and concludes that the Constitution was written to benefit wealthy people. On the other hand, legal theorist Ronald Dworkin offers a “moral reading” which finds the Constitution was written to emphasize the country’s moral principles, such as it is wrong for the government to censor an individual. Judges who interpret the Constitution every day, Dworkin argues, follow this ideology. While there are many interpretations of how the Constitution came to be, the interpretation a reader follows will often predict their view of the effectiveness of government today. As the future path of the U.S. government becomes evermore uncertain, it is increasingly important that professionals and citizens remain vigilant historians, keeping a critical eye on the information they are presented before reaching a conclusion.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/thorne-enterprises/498309798

REFLECTION Learning the document-based lesson "From Revolution to Government," which covers the debates leading up to the Constitution, has been both advantageous and disadvantageous to me as a teacher. As a teacher, it is valuable to be familiar with technology such as Google Slides and eBook, in case I have the opportunity to share it with students in a future classroom. As a historian, it is always helpful for me to see old content in a new way. Dealing with often complex software, it is essential that I am able to guide my students toward an ease of access. At the same time, the classrooms I have taught in have little, if any, access to digital technology. The technology they do have access to is definitely not this kind. I do not anticipate a generous donation from the Steve Jobs foundation any time soon. Nor do I expect this type of technology to become cheap enough for our state and local government to suddenly invest. So, I am unsure of when as a teacher I will actually put this knowledge into practice. I do know as a teacher I will be teaching most lessons without much technology but with a lot of discussion. I wished we would have spent more time learning how to generate and hold in-class discussions. Even more valuable than the technology tools we have focused on in class are the communication tools we always have access to as human beings. However, as an adventurer of technology, I believe this experience has been advantageous. Gaining greater familiarity with foreign technology and learning more in general is always a plus. Nevertheless, I would have preferred focusing on a smaller quantity of programs in more depth. Even though I learned Google has a multitude of programs to offer that I have access to, I would have preferred more time to learn about their features. At the end of the class, I will have a basic understanding of many tools rather than a deeper understanding of a few tools. Perhaps this is where my adventurous spirit will have to come into play.

Connect with Valerie on Linkedin!

Thanks for reading!

IMAGINATION, INNOVATION & SPACE EXPLORATION

3

BY MOLLY PETTIT

Imagination and innovation are two key forces that drive history. The stories are everywhere - the phones in our pockets, the computers on our desks, the cars we drive, the medicine we take when we're sick, even the indoor plumbing we use in our homes. This chapter will examine how imagination and innovation have influenced space travel throughout history. Using historical thinking skills such as contextualization and close reading to examine text and media sources to unravel the relationship between imagination and innovation, students will analyze how both influenced one of the biggest dreams of the 20th century, and fueled ambitions for the future.

ESSENTIAL QUESTION: WHAT IS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN IMAGINATION AND INNOVATION WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF SPACE TRAVEL?

"The moon, by her comparative proximity, and the constantly varying appearances produced by her several phases, has always occupied a considerable share of the attention of the inhabitants of the earth." - Jules Verne, From the Earth to the Moon, 1865

Type to enter textAbove is the essential question students will engage with throughout this chapter. The various documents (text, video, and photo) used throughout this lesson will guide student understanding of the long journey humans have taken in their desire to explore space.

Students can start with this quick-write activity: Reflect on the quote above from Jules Verne. What is Verne claiming in this statement? What do you think space travel was like in 1865, when this was written? How does this quote relate to our essential question?

FUTURE ASTRONAUTS: THIS ICON WILL INDICATE WHENEVER GUIDING QUESTIONS OR ACTIVITIES ARE INCLUDED FOR STUDENTS.

Jules Verne is known as one of the earliest science-fiction writers; some of his work may be familiar to you: Twenty-Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, Journey to the Center of the Earth, and Around the World in Eighty Days. In 1865, Verne published another work, From the Earth to the Moon - the story centers on the enthusiastic and American, Baltimore Gun Club. The Gun Club ambitiously takes up a proposed project of building a projectile that will take passengers to the moon. Many decisions need to be made - what material should be used to make the projectile, what method should be used to propel the projectile all the way to the moon, and what launch-site to use. 

JULES VERNE:FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON

1865

Activity: Ask students to imagine themselves as members of the Baltimore Gun Club and create a list of questions that need to be considered for a successful launch. Have students compare their questions with those President Barbicane asks the University of Cambridge in chapter four (in the box to the left).

Follow-up discussion questions: How did you decide what questions were important to ask? Verne asked these questions in 1865, which questions do you think were also asked during America’s journey to the moon? What questions needed to be asked during America’s journey to the moon that Verne could not have predicted?

"The questions which have been proposed to it are these —1. Is it possible to transmit a projectile up to the moon?2. What is the exact distance which separates the earth from its satellite?3. What will be the period of transit of the projectile when endowed with sufficient initial velocity?

6. What place will the

Click here!

GEORGES MÉLIÈS:LE VOYAGE DANS LA LUNE1902

In 1902 using the new and captivating storytelling medium of film, Georges Méliès wanted audiences to view a story of space travel. Watch the full movie by clicking on the image below.

After watching the film, have students create a t-chart to record their observations about imagination and innovation as they are shown in the film.

Questions to guide student discussion or reflection:1. When was this film made? What was different

then? What was the same?2. How might the circumstances in which the film

was created affect its content? 3. How is seeing a story being told different from

reading a story? What opportunities and limitations does the medium of film offer to show elements of imagination and innovation?

Imagination Innovation

Students might observe the environment of the moon, the

subterranean world of the moon, the beings discovered

on the moon...

Students might observe the shape of the projectile, the launch procedure, how the projectile returns to earth...

INTERACTIVE 3.1 A Trip to the Moon / Le Voyage dans la lune - 1902

Click the image above to watch the short film by French director Georges Méliès in the early years of film.

Where are we going next? As time went on and many aspects of society changed, we see that space travel moves out of the realm of imagination, and more into the reality of innovation. The relationship between imagination and innovation shifts - piece by piece, progress was made toward the human exploration of space. A circular pattern emerges as imagination inspires innovation, and in turn, innovation fuels imagination as what once seemed impossible is accomplished. As you continue through this chapter, consider what factors influenced the relationship between imagination and innovation.

What have we learned so far about the relationship between imagination and innovation? After reading excerpts from Jules Verne and viewing the short film by Georges Méliès,

describe how elements of imagination and innovation were used in both sources to tell stories. Predict how this relationship might change

as we focus our study to the mid-1900s, the Space Race, and beyond.

IMAGINATION & INNOVATION

RACE TO THE STRATOSPHERE

1930S

By the early 1930s, pilots around the world had been testing the limits of human and airplane endurance at high altitudes for years: Apollo Soucek to 43,166 feet on 4 June 1930; Cyril Uwins to 43,976 feet on 16 September 1932; Renato Donati to 47,572 feet on 12 April 1934. Aviation experts understood that the challenge was to master these ceilings, where the lack of oxygen meant the need for several innovations: pressurized airplane cabins for life support or variable pitch propellers and newly designed airplane engines (turbocompressors and superchargers) to fly in the lighter air.

At first the competition took peaceful forms, not so much with airplanes as with high-altitude “stratostat” (stratospheric balloon) records. This was a race for the stratosphere actually launched by an unlikely character, Auguste Piccard. He was a Swiss national, professor of physics at the University of Brussels, and a research specialist on gamma rays. On 27 May 1931, over the course of seventeen hours, Piccard and his assistant, Charles Kipfer, achieved a turning point in world history. Their stratospheric balloon, the FNRS (initials for the Belgian National Foundation for Scientific Research), made a relatively short trip from Augsburg, Germany, to the Gurgl glacier at the Austrian Tyrol. But they were also the first to reach previously unknown heights: 51,775 feet.

The scientific objectives of the mission were mundane enough: the observation and measurement of cosmic rays (about their nature and intensity and movements), along with chemical analyses of the air and recordings of temperatures. But the flight was also filled with all the drama and danger of a science fiction story. The launch unfolded in scenes that looked as if they were cut from the movie The Woman in the Moon: the gondola ever so carefully transported by a small railroad track from its hangar to the launch site; huge floodlights illuminating the site deep into the night; hundreds of workers and spectators crowding the field; the pilots returning home as heroes to great public acclaim, their admirers clamoring to sign their initials to the capsule.

The spherical gondola was Piccard’s unique invention, prefiguring the stratospheric gondolas to come and even the Sputnik spacecraft many years hence. It was the first of many kinds. Weighing 850 pounds fully outfitted, it was a seven-foot-diameter airtight ball of welded aluminum and tin (of normal atmospheric pressure and oxygen), partially based on the technology to make sealed vats for the storage of beer. Piccard provisioned it with pure-oxygen dispensers and a recirculating system to cleanse the carbon dioxide. It

Auguste Piccard with his family and stratospheric balloon, 1930.

With the invention and success of flight by airplane, hot air balloon, and zeppelin, by the 1930s people around the world started experimenting with technologies that could take them into the stratosphere. Rising higher and faster than previous records, stratospheric balloons brought space exploration one step closer to reality. Read the condensed excerpt on the right from Rockets and Revolution: A Cultural History of Early Spaceflight by Michael G. Smith. To find the

original article or to read more, click here.

Ask students to use close-reading skills as they read this text. With your students, create a set of simple symbols they can use to indicate when they

have found evidence of imagination and innovation while reading. Questions to guide student interpretation:1. How did competition between countries

contribute to the developments of space travel during this time?

2. What other factors seemed to contribute?

JOHN F. KENNEDY:“WE CHOOSE TO GO TO THE MOON”

1962

INTERACTIVE 3.2 President John F. Kennedy’s Speech

“We choose to go to the moon.”

In watching this video, students can start to examine the Space Race.

CONTEXTUALIZING: Before watching the video, introduce students to the political, social, and economic context of the 1960s - what major challenges

was our nation facing? Who was involved in the Space Race and what were their motives?

EXAMINING: After showing the video, ask students what emotions they think Americans might have felt hearing Kennedy’s speech - excited to put a man on the moon, nervous about the cost of a space program, eager to compete against another major world power? Encourage students to examine the social, political, and economic factors that may have impacted this decision.

PREDICTING: Students should use their prior knowledge of the Apollo 11 moon landing or the Apollo Program to brainstorm what happened in the years following this speech. How did imagination and innovation unfold in those years to create one of the 20th century’s most memorable moments?

In this famous speech made at Rice University in September of 1962, President John F. Kennedy delivered a call to the American people to support ambitions for the NASA Apollo Program - to get a man to the moon. Does this speech draw on imagination or innovation to make its argument?

The Apollo 1 Crew: Edward H. White II, Virgil I. “Gus” Grissom, and Roger B. Chaffee.

GALLERY 3.1 The Apollo Program through the Years

In the years following the 1969 lunar landing many advancements in space exploration and observation technology were made. Many missions were taken to the moon, the International Space Station launched in 1998, rovers have landed on the surface of Mars, and satellites have been sent out deeper and deeper into space...

Cumulative Projects & Final Reflections - The following ideas are designed to help students extend and/or summarize their learning through this chapter. Some activities will require more time and resources than others, so choose what assignment would best serve your students.

Research & Critical AnalysisGuide students in researching an additional innovation in the field of space exploration that has taken place recently. Students should research the innovative technology answering questions such as:•What prompted the need for this innovation? How was it influenced

by imagination? •What steps were taken to develop the innovation? What were the

major milestones or setbacks? •What is the lasting impact of the innovation?Students could present their findings to the class through making and displaying posters or digital presentations. Conduct a “gallery walk” so students can learn from their peers’ research.

Legacy of Imagination and InnovationPresent the class with a famous photo (click rocket for example). Ask students to write their responses to the following questions: •What is the legacy of a photo like this?•How do you think people felt being able to see images like

this for the first time?•How do you think Verne or Méliès would have felt being able

to see actual images from space, or watching the lunar landing?

•What images do you expect to see in the future of space exploration? Where are imagination and innovation taking us

CONCLUDE THIS LESSON WITH A FINAL REFLECTION ON OUR ESSENTIAL QUESTION: WHAT IS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN IMAGINATION AND INNOVATION WITHIN THE

CONTEXT OF SPACE TRAVEL?

REFERENCES

Icons thanks to the Noun Project and their designers

Photos of stratospheric balloon exploration:Piccard & Family: click here. Century of Progress Balloon: click here.

Information and photo of Georges Méliès: click here.

All other photos courtesy of NASA:click here for awesome photos!

Full text of Jules Verne’s From the Earth to the Moon is available on Project Gutenberg: click here.

Book artwork: click here.

From The British Library: click here.

I have had so much fun creating this textbook chapter! It is always exciting for learners - whether they are teachers or students - when you can learn about something you are passionate about. For me, one such topic is the history of space travel.

I used the Document Based Learning approach to build the flow of this lesson, and I was pleased with the outcome. The DBL style lends itself to using images and film, in addition to text, as primary source documents. I like using multiple sources of media to engage students in learning and opening up their interest to a new subject.

The most difficult part of this project was formulating the essential question. I wanted to create a question that could guide this lesson while sharing with students what I find so magical about space exploration - how far our collective imaginative and innovative power has taken us. I am so inspired thinking about the fact that people have walked on the moon, that since 1998 astronauts from various countries have lived together on the International Space Station.

I hope any readers out there have enjoyed looking through time and space with this lesson!

Molly Pettit

THANK YOU FOR

READING!

REFLECTION

THE REAL ROMANOVS:HOW MEDIA AFFECTS PEOPLE’S PERCEPTION OF EVENTS LESSON DESIGNED BY: KELLY MARX

Image Credit: Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library

Photo of Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia, taken in 1904. This photograph was reproduced on post cards prior to World War I.

Anastasia Growing Up

GENERATIVE QUESTION:HOW DOES MEDIA AFFECT PEOPLE’S

PERCEPTION OF EVENTS?

Anastasia Nikolaevna was the youngest daughter of Tsar Nicholas II, the last sovereign of Imperial Russia. After the Bolshevik revolution of 1917, the Tzar

and his family were murdered. Persistent rumors of her possible escape circulated the globe and

provoked many books and films. This lesson will examine the differences between the movie “Anastasia”(1997) and what actually happened involving

the Romanovs and the Tsarina.

Image credits: All images from gallery can be found: Here

Watch 20th Century Fox's "Anastasia" from 1997.

Note: Full length movie can be found:

Here

What do you learn about Anastasia from the movie?

What do you want to know more

about?

Guiding Questions:

What does the movie tell you about Anastasia?

What does it tell you about her family?

What does it show happened to her and her family?

Anastasia - 20th Century Fox (1997)

THE REAL LIFE OF ANASTASIA

Extracts from the Letters of Anastasia to her Father:

May 8,1913, 12.30 p.m. "...I am in Tatiana's room. Tatiana and Olga are here... I am sitting and digging in my nose with my left hand. Olga wanted to slap me but I ran away from her swinish hand..."

Jan.30,1915, p.58 "...I taught Ortino to sit up and beg and today I've taught her to give her paw and now she can do it. She is so sweet..."

ANASTASIA WROTE

EXTENSIVELY TO HER FATHER,

NICHOLAS II, WHILE HE WAS

AWAY FROM ALEXANDER

PALACE FOR WORLD WAR

ONE.

WHAT DO THESE LETTER

EXTRACTS TELL US ABOUT

ANASTASIA’S LIFE AT THE

TIME?

Letter excerpts found: Here

The Russian Imperial Romanov Family - Their Mysterious Killings | History Documentary File

Between the this and the 20th Century Fox Anastasia videos: What information is different?

Is there any information that is the same?Which do you think is more reliable?

What actually

happened to

Anastasia?

Video found: Here

Nicholas II of Russia with the family (left to right): Olga, Maria, Nicholas II, Alexandra Fyodorovna, Anastasia, Alexei, and Tatiana. 1913.

Photo of Tsar Nicholas II and his daughters Olga, Anastasia and Tatiana in captivity at Tobolsk in the winter of 1917-1918

COMPARING LIFESTYLESANASTASIA AND HER FAMILY HAVE BEEN ARRESTED AFTER THE FEBRUARY REVOLUTION. HOW HAS

HER LIFE CHANGED?

Image Source: HereImage Source: Here

DOUBLE

CLICK

PHOTOS FOR

QUESTIONS!

Click by Thomas Uebe from the Noun Project

Tobolsk 8/21 March 1918 My darling, sweet Aunt Xenia, Thanks heaps for the postcard which has just come. For now we are, thanks be to God, alive and in good health. We are always so glad when we get news from you. How is Grandma's health? We often reminisce and talk about you all.  These days it's almost always sunny here and it's getting warm   quite pleasant! So we do our best to get out in the fresh air more. We can't slide down the mountain anymore (though it's still standing) as they've wrecked it and put a drainage ditch through it and so we can't ride down it.Well, they seem to have calmed down about it now because it was an eyesore for many for some time.  It's truly dumb and pathetic.

От Вел. Кнж. Анастасии Николаевны Вел. Кн. Ксении Александровне+).Тобольск. 8/21 марта 1918 г.

Моя милая тетя Ксения душка,

Спасибо Тебе большое за открытку, которую только что получила. Мы все пока, слава Богу, живы и здоровы. Всегда бываем очень рады, когда имеем от Вас известия. Как здоровье Бабушки (Императрица Мария Феодоровна). Часто Вас вспоминаем и говорим. Эти дни у нас почти все время солнце, и уже начинает греть, так приятно! Стараемся поэтому больше быть на воздухе. - С горы мы больше не катаемся (хотя она

Letter found: Here

COMPARING LIFESTYLESANASTASIA AND HER FAMILY HAVE BEEN ARRESTED AFTER THE FEBRUARY REVOLUTION. HOW HAS

HER LIFE CHANGED?

This letter is from Anastasia to her Aunt Xenia during her

imprisonment in Tobolsk, Siberia.

What does this letter tell you about her new life compared to her previous letters to her

father?

FINALITY OF DEATH

One of the greatest mysteries for most of the twentieth century was the fate of the Romanov family, the last Russian monarchy. Following the abdication of Tsar NicholasII, he and his wife, Alexandra, and their five children were eventually exiled to the city of Yekaterinburg. The family, along with four loyal members of their staff, was held captive by members of the Ural

ANASTASIA IS FOUND

What do you know now about Anastasia?

How does media affect people’s, especially

children’s, understanding of events?

Reflection:I very much loved the concept of document based lessons. It aligns with the high school history standards very well as most of them are related to primary and secondary sources. I also liked creating the flow to a unit where the students eyes would be opened progressively throughout the unit. It is generally the way that I like to teach. Creating the PowerPoint and the Google Site were useful ways to get to know the technology. Both Google Sites and Google Slides are very useful in the classroom and if I had not already known how to use both of them I would have thought that it was worth the time to be able to fiddle around with them. I did find it very redundant to be doing it on the same topic over and over again, especially with the time that each took from our work on our unit plans and our thesis. eBooks on the other hand was a different story. The technology is so

cool and does have so many options that are functional, interactive, and engaging. This was weighted however with the fact that it can only be used on certain computers and the whole process essentially felt like the struggle we deal with in our classrooms of the students who have access to technology and those who do not. I was very grateful for the flexibility to be given the chance to

work more on the books for a second class period as it definitely helped to mediate that have/have-not mentality.Overall it was a good projects that would be helpful in the future that utilized cool technological assets. It was a lot of work to be doing during everything else but by it's self was worth it.

Image source: Here

THE REAL ROMANOVS:HOW MEDIA AFFECTS PEOPLE’S PERCEPTION OF EVENTS LESSON DESIGNED BY: KELLY MARX

Image Credit: Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library

Photo of Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia, taken in 1904. This photograph was reproduced on post cards prior to World War I.

Anastasia Growing Up

GENERATIVE QUESTION:HOW DOES MEDIA AFFECT PEOPLE’S

PERCEPTION OF EVENTS?

Anastasia Nikolaevna was the youngest daughter of Tsar Nicholas II, the last sovereign of Imperial Russia. After the Bolshevik revolution of 1917, the Tzar

and his family were murdered. Persistent rumors of her possible escape circulated the globe and

provoked many books and films. This lesson will examine the differences between the movie “Anastasia”(1997) and what actually happened involving

the Romanovs and the Tsarina.

Image credits: All images from gallery can be found: Here

Watch 20th Century Fox's "Anastasia" from 1997.

Note: Full length movie can be found:

Here

What do you learn about Anastasia from the movie?

What do you want to know more

about?

Guiding Questions:

What does the movie tell you about Anastasia?

What does it tell you about her family?

What does it show happened to her and her family?

Anastasia - 20th Century Fox (1997)

THE REAL LIFE OF ANASTASIA

Extracts from the Letters of Anastasia to her Father:

May 8,1913, 12.30 p.m. "...I am in Tatiana's room. Tatiana and Olga are here... I am sitting and digging in my nose with my left hand. Olga wanted to slap me but I ran away from her swinish hand..."

Jan.30,1915, p.58 "...I taught Ortino to sit up and beg and today I've taught her to give her paw and now she can do it. She is so sweet..."

ANASTASIA WROTE

EXTENSIVELY TO HER FATHER,

NICHOLAS II, WHILE HE WAS

AWAY FROM ALEXANDER

PALACE FOR WORLD WAR

ONE.

WHAT DO THESE LETTER

EXTRACTS TELL US ABOUT

ANASTASIA’S LIFE AT THE

TIME?

Letter excerpts found: Here

The Russian Imperial Romanov Family - Their Mysterious Killings | History Documentary File

Between the this and the 20th Century Fox Anastasia videos: What information is different?

Is there any information that is the same?Which do you think is more reliable?

What actually

happened to

Anastasia?

Video found: Here

Nicholas II of Russia with the family (left to right): Olga, Maria, Nicholas II, Alexandra Fyodorovna, Anastasia, Alexei, and Tatiana. 1913.

Photo of Tsar Nicholas II and his daughters Olga, Anastasia and Tatiana in captivity at Tobolsk in the winter of 1917-1918

COMPARING LIFESTYLESANASTASIA AND HER FAMILY HAVE BEEN ARRESTED AFTER THE FEBRUARY REVOLUTION. HOW HAS

HER LIFE CHANGED?

Image Source: HereImage Source: Here

DOUBLE

CLICK

PHOTOS FOR

QUESTIONS!

Click by Thomas Uebe from the Noun Project

Tobolsk 8/21 March 1918 My darling, sweet Aunt Xenia, Thanks heaps for the postcard which has just come. For now we are, thanks be to God, alive and in good health. We are always so glad when we get news from you. How is Grandma's health? We often reminisce and talk about you all.  These days it's almost always sunny here and it's getting warm   quite pleasant! So we do our best to get out in the fresh air more. We can't slide down the mountain anymore (though it's still standing) as they've wrecked it and put a drainage ditch through it and so we can't ride down it.Well, they seem to have calmed down about it now because it was an eyesore for many for some time.  It's truly dumb and pathetic.

От Вел. Кнж. Анастасии Николаевны Вел. Кн. Ксении Александровне+).Тобольск. 8/21 марта 1918 г.

Моя милая тетя Ксения душка,

Спасибо Тебе большое за открытку, которую только что получила. Мы все пока, слава Богу, живы и здоровы. Всегда бываем очень рады, когда имеем от Вас известия. Как здоровье Бабушки (Императрица Мария Феодоровна). Часто Вас вспоминаем и говорим. Эти дни у нас почти все время солнце, и уже начинает греть, так приятно! Стараемся поэтому больше быть на воздухе. - С горы мы больше не катаемся (хотя она

Letter found: Here

COMPARING LIFESTYLESANASTASIA AND HER FAMILY HAVE BEEN ARRESTED AFTER THE FEBRUARY REVOLUTION. HOW HAS

HER LIFE CHANGED?

This letter is from Anastasia to her Aunt Xenia during her

imprisonment in Tobolsk, Siberia.

What does this letter tell you about her new life compared to her previous letters to her

father?

FINALITY OF DEATH

One of the greatest mysteries for most of the twentieth century was the fate of the Romanov family, the last Russian monarchy. Following the abdication of Tsar NicholasII, he and his wife, Alexandra, and their five children were eventually exiled to the city of Yekaterinburg. The family, along with four loyal members of their staff, was held captive by members of the Ural

ANASTASIA IS FOUND

What do you know now about Anastasia?

How does media affect people’s, especially

children’s, understanding of events?

Reflection:I very much loved the concept of document based lessons. It aligns with the high school history standards very well as most of them are related to primary and secondary sources. I also liked creating the flow to a unit where the students eyes would be opened progressively throughout the unit. It is generally the way that I like to teach. Creating the PowerPoint and the Google Site were useful ways to get to know the technology. Both Google Sites and Google Slides are very useful in the classroom and if I had not already known how to use both of them I would have thought that it was worth the time to be able to fiddle around with them. I did find it very redundant to be doing it on the same topic over and over again, especially with the time that each took from our work on our unit plans and our thesis. eBooks on the other hand was a different story. The technology is so

cool and does have so many options that are functional, interactive, and engaging. This was weighted however with the fact that it can only be used on certain computers and the whole process essentially felt like the struggle we deal with in our classrooms of the students who have access to technology and those who do not. I was very grateful for the flexibility to be given the chance to

work more on the books for a second class period as it definitely helped to mediate that have/have-not mentality.Overall it was a good projects that would be helpful in the future that utilized cool technological assets. It was a lot of work to be doing during everything else but by it's self was worth it.

Image source: Here

WORLD WAR I: THE HUMAN COST OF TOTAL WAR

ANNA HARRINGTON

Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Durham_Light_Infantry_Battle_of_Menin_Road_20-09-1917_IWM_Q_5966.jpg

Goal: Students will be able to articulate the human costs (death, injury, etc.) of war on soldiers during World War I

Essential Question: What are the human costs of total war?

Assessment: Students will showcase their knowledge through a journal entry assignment. They will be tasked with assuming the role of a soldier in World War 1. They are fighting and living in the trenches. They will write letters back home to tell their loved ones about their experiences in the trenches. Students will create 5-6 journal entries. Creativity is encouraged!

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Australian_Imperial_Force

All Quiet on the Western Front“The dull thud of the gas-shells mingles with the crashes of the light explosives. A bell sounds between the explosions, gongs, and metal clappers warning everyone - Gas- Gaas.These first minutes with the mask decide between life and death: is it air tight? I remember the awful sights in the hospital: the gas patients who lay in day-long suffocation cough up their burnt lungs in clots. Cautiously, the mouth applied to the valve, I breathe. The gas still creeps over the ground… like a big, soft, jelly fish…Inside the gas-mask my head booms and roars- it is nigh bursting. My lungs are tight, they breathe always the same hot, used up air, the veins on my temples are swollen. I feel I am suffocating. (pg. 68-70)”

Question: From whose perspective is this passage written? What evidence from the text supports your opinion? What are they experiencing?

Source: Remarque, E. M., & Wheen, A. W. (1929). All quiet on the western front.

Question: What is the purpose behind the poster? Why was it created and for what audience? Is it a reliable source?

Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%22Designed_for_Living%22_-_NARA_-_514110.jpg

Edward Henry Cecil Stewart, undated, France. Born: 13 November 1891, Regiment: 1/5 Grenadier Company, London Rifle Brigade, Regiment number: 1167; 300717, Rank: Private, Died: 1 July 1916 Source: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/resources/letters-first-world-war-1915/trenches-swept-continually-shells/

Letter from the Trenches

… As long as you kept your head down you were comparatively safe, so as it went on, this was where I had my first escape. I was on sentry duty for a couple of hours, from 1am to 3am and was instructed to keep a sharp look out. I did not care for the idea of keeping my head above the trench and looking for beastly Germans, however it had to be done, it was quite uncanny to watch the enemy trench which appeared somewhat like a black wave and only sixty yards in front, then you would suddenly see the flash of their rifles and machine guns immediately after would come the report and nasty thuds on the sandbags which you might be resting against. I fired about five shots

Questions: How would you summarize his experience in the trenches? Was it positive or negative?

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_history_of_Canada_during_World_War_I

The Rear-Guard ~ Siegfried Sasson(Hindenburg Line, April 1917)

Groping along the tunnel, step by step,He winked his prying torch with patching glare From side to side, and sniffed the unwholesome air.

Tins, boxes, shapes and too vague to know;A mirror smashed, the mattress from a bed;And he, exploring fifty feet belowThe rosy gloom of battle overhead.

Tripping, he grabbed the wall; saw someone lieHumped at his feet, half-hidden by a rug.And stooped to give the sleeper’s arm a tug.“I’m looking for headquarters.” No reply.“God blast your neck!” (For days he’d had no sleep.)“Get up and guide me through this stinking place.”Savage, he kicked a soft, unanswering heap,And flashed his beam across the livid faceTerribly glaring up, whose eyes yet woreAgony dying hard of ten days before;And fists of fingers clutched a blackening wound.

Alone he staggered on until he foundDawn’s ghost that filtered down a shafted stairTo the dazed, muttering creatures undergroundWho hear the boom of shells in muffled sound.At last, with sweat and horror in his hair,He climbed through darkness to twilight air,Unloading hell behind him step by step.

Source: Counter-attack, and Other Poems (1918)

Questions: Is the character viewed positively or negatively? What language does the author use to support their perspective?

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_in_World_War_I

Questions: Is this an accurate depiction of a trench in WWI? What specific elements support your claim from the picture?

Reflection: I am conflicted about my thoughts on the Document Based Lesson project. On the one hand, I thought it was a very clever way to learn and work with many digital programs. More specifically, we learned how to build a Google site and create a chapter using a specific software. All of the assignments were scaffolded in such a way that prepared you for the ultimate goal of creating a chapter in an ebook. I thought it was clever to have us create a Google site as our rough draft of the information we wanted to have in our chapter. Learning how to use Google sites was valuable. Many teachers create their own webpage to house their assignments, calendars, and agendas to help students stay organized. It was helpful to learn how to make one, in case I want to use it in the future.

Although I thought that the overall goals and objectives of the assignment were valuable, it took up a good portion of our time at the end of the term. That time could have been spent learning additional methods that we could bring into classrooms that do not have access to digital platforms. Also, the majority of the schools in Oregon use Chrome books and do not have access to the particular resources we were using. Therefore, it would be difficult to replicate this project in our classrooms. Plus, many students do not have access to the programs at home either, so that would provide a massive barrier for students to complete the project even if they had access to an  device at school.

As an alternative, I think it would be helpful to discuss more methods that do not require the use of technology. There is a digital divide in schools. Even if that does decrease in the future, it is important to also be equipped with tools that you can use in instances where technology is limited. I really enjoyed our lesson on group discussions. I think there could have been an additional day devoted to that topic because that is a large part of what we do as social studies teachers... lead discussions. I'm sure there are other areas that we didn't cover this term that could also be beneficial to implement in our instruction.  Therefore, I am conflicted about the necessity of the DBQ lesson.

Connect with the author!LinkedIn: Anna Harrington

“SUCCESSES SPOKEN OF BY EVERYONE”: COLLECTIVIZATION AND PROPAGANDA IN STALIN’S SOVIET UNIONLESSON DESIGNED BY CLARICE TERRY

7

Ukrainian peasants of the Russian Empire photographed in 1915, pre-collectivization.

In 1929, farming in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) changed forever. For centuries peasants had worked the land in the mir, overseen by village councils and religious authorities. Families would be assigned, by these authorities, to work certain strips of land. Very rarely did this system of agriculture produce more than the village needed, but each family usually had enough to survive.

The Bolshevik takeover of the Soviet government, led by Vladimir Lenin, after the 1917 October Revolution precipitated the change away from the agricultural system of the mir. Long held traditions in Russia and the surrounding nations, former imperial possessions turned Soviet republics, began to fall away. The royal family had been murdered, and a centuries long system of monarchy abolished. The Bolsheviks attacked the Russian Orthodox Church, the religious tradition shared by most in the former Russian Empire, taking away its money, its buildings, its church bells, and ridiculing its clergymen. The country that had relied on its rural population to drive the economy began to focus on urbanization, industry, and a new proletarian work force. As urban industrial work became the priority for the new Soviet government, rural agricultural work became a target for scrutiny and reform. Rural agriculture was seen as a mere means to provide resources to the new industries and urban workforce, not

64

This Soviet propaganda poster reads “Above the Banner of Marx, Engels, Lenin and Stalin!” In Soviet propaganda, the people are often depicted exalting the images of these four men who were credited as the architects of the Soviet Socialist system.

as an equal part of the Communist project. Thus, the Soviet collectivization policy was drafted and implemented full scale in 1929.

There are two major perspectives on the success of the policy and its implementation that must be considered in any study of Soviet collectivization of agriculture. The first is that of the Soviet government, led by Josef Stalin at the time of collectivization. In fact, collectivization represented a major facet of his First Five Year Plan, a plan that that laid out steps for

the USSR to achieve economic success. The Soviet government saw collectivization as a way to tear down class distinctions in the countryside, to impose equality between wealthier and poorer peasants, and as a way to educate the peasants in the Communist system of production. The strips of land in the mir were replaced with large kolkhozy, where farmers shared their land, their livestock, their tools, and their new government issue tractors.

65

A group of peasants, pre-collectivization stands with their livestock. They are waiting to show their animals at a livestock exhibition.

The second perspective is that of those who experienced collectivization the most directly; the peasants of the Soviet Union. The peasant reaction was mixed, with some seeing collectivization as an opportunity to become more educated and successful, and others seeing it as an intrusion. They felt confused about why changes were needed, why traditions needed to be forgotten and replaced. Peasants engaged in protests, attacks on government officials, and outright sabotage against the kolkhozy.

The following documents will inform both perspectives, through government propaganda, statistics, and peasant accounts. The task laid out for you is the task of any historian presented with this knowledge and the following documents: come to an evidence-based conclusion about the success of collectivization. You will also speak to the larger question of the relationship between power and reality: Can power, in this case the Soviet government, create reality for the population it resides over?

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THE FIRST TRACTOR BY VLADIMIR KRIKHATSKY

Guiding Questions:

1. What do you notice about the image: people, objects, activities going on?

2. How are the peasants reacting to their new tractor?

3. From your previous observations, what do you think the painter, Krikhatsky, was trying to say about

In the Soviet Union, artists were hired by the government to create content that emphasized communist principles. This genre came to be known as socialist realism. Krikhatsky was an early social realist artist who painted before the genre became highly stylized.

Soviet propaganda posters were common sights for Soviet citizens. This is an example of one from the Soviet Socialist Republic of Uzbekistan. It reads, "Strengthen working discipline in the collective farms.”

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Soviet Collectivization Poster: Uzbekistan, 1933Guiding Questions

1. What are the people in red doing? How are they working?

2. What are the people in black doing? How are they working? Are they working or are they doing something else?

3. What is this image trying

An Excerpt from“Dizzy with Success,” by Josef StalinThis is an excerpt from the beginning of an article by Josef Stalin, the leader of the Soviet government. It was originally published in the Soviet newspaper Pravda in 1930.

69

The Soviet government's successes in the sphere of the collective-farm movement are now being spoken of by everyone. Even our enemies are forced to admit that the successes are substantial. And they really are very great. It is a fact that by February 20 of this year 50 per cent of the peasant farms throughout the U.S.S.R. had been collectivised. That means that by February 1930, we had over fulfilled the five-year plan of collectivisation by more than 100 per cent. It is a fact that on February 28 of this year the collective farms had already succeeded in stocking upwards of 36,000,000 centers, i.e., about 220,000,000 puds, seed for the spring sowing, which is more than 90 per cent of the plan. It must be admitted that the accumulation of 220,000,000 puds of seed by the collective farms alone - after the successful fulfillment of the grain-procurement plan - is a tremendous achievement. What does all this show? That a radical turn of the countryside towards socialism may be considered as already achieved.

Guiding Questions:

1. What are Stalin’s claims about collectivization? What is his evidence for these claims?

2. If you read this article as

Statistics from the Soviet government on the pace of collectivization in the Soviet Union.

GALLERY 7.1 Pace of Collectivization in the Soviet Union

Guiding Questions

1. What can these statistics tell us about the success of collectivization in the USSR?

2. How do these statistics either

Markoff, a professor who wrote for a Paris-based journal called "The Russian Economic Bulletin," created this map of the Soviet Union in 1933 as part of an article revealing the effects of the famine that occurred between 1932 and 1933. The darker the shading, the worse the effects of the famine. Collectivization is often blamed for the famine.

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Famine in the Soviet Union,

Excerpts from article by A. Markoff, “Famine in the USSR”

The « Russian Economic Bulletin 7 » has collected much information which shows indisputably that Soviet Russia is in the grip of a severe famine. This information is drawn from various sources.

I. Numerous letters received from Russians in the U. R. S. S. The « Bulletin » has many such, and their genuineness cannot be disputed. They come from various regions, but they tell the same story of the raging of an unprecedented famine. They permit the fixation of the principal districts affected, and they reveal the localities where cannibalism has been the horrible consequence.

A former commander of the Red Army wrote from the Northern Caucasus to relatives in France, the letter being dated May 16, in these

Guiding Questions:1. What do these documents suggest about the success of collectivization? 2. Did all people experience the effects of collectivization the same way?3. Why would the Soviet government omit discussion of this in their public

discussions about and representations of collectivization?

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Account of Collective Farms from Two Soviet Refugees, 1950In the 1950s, Harvard University initiated a project to interview Soviet refugees who came to the United States after WWII. This is known as the Harvard Project on the Soviet Social System. The following pages present documents from this project, specifically, two interviews with former Soviet citizens. The first document is the account of a refugee who lived in Russia at the time of collectivization. The second is an account from a refugee who lived in Azerbaijan at the time of collectivization.

Guiding Questions:

1. How do these accounts of collectivization differ from each other? How are they similar?

2. How do these accounts differ from the propaganda published by the Soviet government?

3. According to these accounts, was collectivization a success for the people who lived it?

Comment on Collectivization

INTERACTIVE 7.1 Interview One: A Russian Soviet Refugee

Comment on collectivization

INTERACTIVE 7.2 Interview: An Azeri Soviet Refugee

Final Task:Using the documents available, it is time for you to tell the true story of collectivization in the Soviet Union. Create a piece of “people’s propaganda,” in the socialist realist style. This can be visual, written, or in another format that best fits your strengths and the story you would like to tell about the realities of the kolkozy.

Where to find Clarice TerryTwitter: @clarice_terryLinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/clariceterry

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In doing this project I have be impacted as both an educator and a content creator.

As an educator, this project has helped me think about ways to better engage students and make them the historians. By providing students the tools, in this case the documents that inform a subject, and scaffolded questions that encourage historical thinking behaviors, students can take on that role of expert. I also began to think more about the verbs of student learning, about what students would actually do with the information they are gathering. Too often students are asked to take on heaps of content knowledge without being provided a purpose for it. This process, in the end, was a true testament to the power of project based learning–there is so much value in providing students the opportunity to create. In the process they build, as I myself did through this eBook creation project, both deep content knowledge and skills.

As a content creator, I found the design process really enjoyable. From the proposal in Google Slides, to a Google Site, to the final format of the eBook I really developed a lesson that was both educational and interactive. I began to think about how things would look to the person, the student, using them and how the format would either encourage or discourage users. I see myself creating more educational content, in eBooks, on Google Sites, or on other platforms that lend themselves to high quality design and functionality.

Reflection:

ReferencesSources are placed in the order in which they

1. Alchevskaya with peasants of Alekseevka village. Mikhaylovskaya volost. Slavyanoserbsk uyezd. Early 20th century. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Alchevskaya_with_peasants_of_Alekseevka_village._Mikhaylovskaya_volost._Slavyanoserbsk_uyezd.jpg.

2. Image from page 78 of “The Religion of Russia. A study of the Orthodox Church in Russia from the point of view of the Church in England” (1915).https://www.flickr.com/photos/internetarchivebookimages/14597691708/.

3. Sowjetisches Propaganda-Poster 1933: Marx, Engels, Lenin und Stalin (Halte den Banner von Marx, Engels, Lenin und Stalin hoch!) |Source= [https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datei:Marx,_Engels,_Lenin,_Stalin_(1933).jpg

4. A group of peasants to the cows near the livestock pavilion Mologa county agricultural and handicraft exhibitions in 1912.https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A_group_of_peasants_to_the_cows_near_the_livestock_pavilion_Mologa_county_agricultural_and_handicraft_exhibitions_in_1912.JPG.

5. The First Tractor by Vladimir Krikhatsky. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collectivization_in_the_Soviet_Union#/media/

6. "Strengthen working discipline in collective farms" – Soviet propaganda poster issued in Uzbekistan, 1933. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collectivization_in_the_Soviet_Union#/

media/File:%E2%80%9CStrengthen_working_discipline_in_collective_farms%E2%80%9D_%E2%80%93_Uzbek,_Tashkent,_1933_(Mardjani).jpg.

7. Joseph Stalin, Secretary-general of the Communist party of Soviet Union.http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/owi2001045684/PP/?sid=04527fcb3fe2491008a95cf7f4932297.

8. A page of the Pravda Newspaper issued on 29 May, 1919. http://visualrian.ru/ru/site/gallery/#859264.

9. “Dizzy with Success.” Josef Stalin.http://community.dur.ac.uk/a.k.harrington/dizzy.html

10. Children are digging up frozen potatoes in the field of a collective farm. Udachne village, Donec’k oblast. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Children_are_digging_up_frozen_potatoes_in_the_field_of_a_collective_farm._Udachne_village,_Donec%E2%80%99k_oblast._1933.jpg

11. Statistics on the Pace of Collectivization.http://community.dur.ac.uk/a.k.harrington/collfarm.html.

12. Stamp of USSR 1940.https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stamp_of_USSR_1940.jpg.

13.Soviet famine of 1932–33. A. Markoff. Areas of most disastrous famine marked with black.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collectivization_in_the_Soviet_Union#/media/File:Famine_en_URSS_1933.jpg

ReferencesContinued

14. “Famine in USSR.” A.Markoff.https://archive.org/stream/FamineInUssr/FamineInUssr_djvu.txt.

15. H. S. Bender Papers. Biography Project Photographs. HM4-083. Box 2 Folder 1 Photo 32. Mennonite Church USA Archives - Goshen. Goshen, Indiana.https://www.flickr.com/photos/mennonitechurchusa-archives/9314078845/.

16. Harvard Project on the Soviet Social System. Schedule B, Vol. 24, Case 213 (interviewer K.G.). Widener Library, Harvard University, page 29. https://iiif.lib.harvard.edu/manifests/view/drs:5618908$29i.

17. Harvard Project on the Soviet Social System. Schedule B, Vol. 7, Case 89 (interviewer M.L.). Widener Library, Harvard University, page 5. https://iiif.lib.harvard.edu/manifests/view/drs:5434480$5i.

18. Forester Family. Ivan Kulikov.https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ivan_Kulikov_Forester_family_1909.jpg.

19. Image from page 386 of “Russia.” Dobson, George Grove, Henry M Stewart, Hugh, 1884-1934Haenen, F.https://www.flickr.com/photos/internetarchivebookimages/14579006859/.

20. Image from page 115 of "Russia then and now, 1892-1917; my mission to Russia during the famine of 1891-1892, with data bearing upon Russia of to-day" (1917).Reeves, Francis B. (Francis Brewster).https://www.flickr.com/photos/internetarchivebookimages/14597426568/.

21. Image from page 111 of "Russia then and now, 1892-1917; my mission to Russia during the famine of 1891-1892, with data bearing upon Russia of to-day" (1917). Reeves, Francis B. (Francis Brewster).https://www.flickr.com/photos/internetarchivebookimages/14780926691/.

Understanding World War II through the lens of comic book covers.

By Karina Ramirez Velazquez

HOLY PROPAGANDA BATMAN!

8

Welcome Historians! This book will help us understand World War II through the lens of comic book covers. I will give a brief introduction on the start of the Golden Age of comic books, and after an introduction of the start of the World War II (1939) and how that influence comic books. The

essential question for this book is: What can early comic book covers tell us about World War II? The target audience for this book is ninth grade high schoolers. The historical skills that will be studied are sourcing, contextualization, corroborating, and close reading.

The final project will be creating your own comic book cover or meme against or for the U.S. involvement during WWII. As well as writing a reflection of 1-2 pages. This introductory page will also give you an idea of how to interact with this book.

Introduction

Did You Know?

INTERACTIVE 8.1 Click the “Did You know?” Tab

Meet the Author: Karina Ramirez Velazquez is the daughter of immigrant parents from Michocan and Morelia, Mexico.

Scroll up or down the image

Click the icons!

Comic Book History The Golden Age of Comic

Books is a term to describe an era of American comic books from the late 1930's, when comic books where beginning to boom, to the

early 1950's. This was the time that modern comics were first published and their popularity increased. Many well known characters where introduced, such as Superman, Batman, Captain America, Wonder Woman, and Captain Marvel. Most would say that the Success of Superman in 1938 launched the Golden Age of comic books. Superman was the first

heroic of the Golden Age comic that perpetuated the launch of the superhero archetype. Characteristics or qualities of a hero or heroine are brave, courageous, valiant, superhuman, bold, fearless, daring, or noble. This also introduced the audience to the villain archetype. Characters like the Joker, Lex Luther, Doctor Octopus, Thanos, Red Skull, and more. Good vs. Evil was given a modern twist through the Golden Age of Comic Books. Most importantly, the Golden Age cemented comics as a mainstream art form that created a new identity in American culture.

Batman was first introduced in Detective Comics No. 27 of May 1939. Batman’s popularity did not end at the Golden Age Era. He is now an American cultural icon.

GALLERY 8.1 Detective Comics No. 27. May, 1939

REVIEW 8.1 Pow! Pop Quiz Time!

Check Answer

Batman’s true identity is?

A. Steve Rogers

B. Bruce Wayne

C. Peter Pappas

D. Clark Kent

Continued ...During the boom of the Golden Age of Comics books the start of World War II was in motion. Between 1939 and 1941 Detective Comics and All-American Publications began to portray their iconic

heroes in red, white, and blue. You can see in many of the covers superheroes battling the Axis powers. Comic book sales increased during World War II. Because comic book were cheap, portable, and created a venue of inspiration these lead to authors to create patriotic stories of good triumphing over evil. This is reflected in comic book covers of Captain America dressed in stars and stripes battling Adolf Hitler on his first issue. Superheroes were depicted doing things to help war effort as well. Readers would see them do things like deliver supplies, stop spies at home, and do what they could to help to help at home.

Several writers of books were part of the Office of War Information and the War Writer’s Board. The purpose of those organizations were interested in give accurate information about what was happening overseas. After the end of World War II, the superhero genre lost momentum, which many consider that being the end of the Golden Age Era.

Boeing B-17 radar bombing through clouds: Bremen, Germany November 13, 1943.

GALLERY 8.2 World War II Photos and Comic Book Covers

Captain Aero Comics

Captain Aero Comics was a war comic of the Golden Age Comic Book, appearing in 1941.

GALLERY 8.3 Read through Captain Aero Comic

Executive Order 9066:

“Whereas the successful prosecution of the war requires every possible protection against espionage and against sabotage to national-defense material, national-defense premises, and national-defense utilities as defined in Section 4, Act of April 20, 1918, 40 Stat. 533, as amended by the Act of November 30, 1940, 54 Stat. 1220, and the Act of August 21, 1941, 55 Stat. 655 (U.S.C., Title 50, Sec. 104);Now, therefore, by virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United States, and Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, I hereby authorize and direct the Secretary of War, and the Military Commanders whom he may from time to time designate, whenever he or any designated Commander deems such action necessary or desirable, to prescribe military areas in such places and of such extent as he or the appropriate Military Commander may

1. Do you think comic books where

2. Why do you think Japanese Americans

3. Do you think the circumstances in which

4. Was the Executive Order and Captain

INTERACTIVE 8.2 PIONEERS OF TELEVISION | George Takei's life in an internment camp | PBS

Watch George Takei’s interview.

War at Home

Action Comics Vol. 1 No. 58 March, 1943.

GALLERY 8.4 World War II Comic Book CoversOn December 7, 1941, Japan attacked the United States naval base at

Pearl Harbor. This attack led to direct American involvement into World War II. The following day the United States declared war on Japan. During World War II, the United States detained over 110,000 Japanese Americans and relocated them in internment camps. This act is considered to be the largest violations of civil liberties in the nation.

Final Project

Instructions: Individually or in a group you must either create your own comic book cover or a meme supporting or against U.S. involvement in World War II.

Each student must write a 1 to 2 page essay on your reflection of how did early comic book covers tell you about World War II. Can youth culture like comic books or media effect our understanding of an event or perceptions of people? Do you see that happening today? Why or why not? And what was your biggest take away from this unit?

Sensation Comic Vol. 1 No. 13 January, 1943

GALLERY 8.5 Examples of a Comic and Meme

Reflection

Overall I really enjoyed and found value in creating a document based lesson. This semester I’ve been reading, Lies My Teacher Told Me, by James W. Loewen and a quote that really stood out to me was, “What would we think of a course in poetry in which

students never read a poem? (pg. 7).” I kept thinking about this quote throughout this project because that’s how high school social studies have been teaching history to students, poetry without poems! I feel document based lessons is an alternative that fixes that problem. It gives students a chance to work with primary resources and challenges them to be the historians in the process. The challenge for me was which primary resources did I wanted to use, and what questions did I want my students to answer. I am glad I got to use a topic that I am super passionate about and be able to use it as my document based lesson project. My plan is to use this next year with my students at OPEN School.

What I gained most from this project was the skills of using google and the book author program. I am already thinking of creating another document based lesson on a different subject just so I can continue to grow my skills in using this program to be a better teacher. My only feed back I would give about this project is that it’s a bit difficult for people that may not have a appropriate computer device on hand.

Comic book heroes like Wonder Woman are still influencing American pop culture today. Many comic book heroes from the past are being converted into live action films to still represent hope for the future.

GALLERY 8.6 Sensation Comics Vol. 1 No. 1

Works Cited

http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2002719307/ - Cover Wonder Woman https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_Comics_1 - Action Comics No. 1 Superman http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Detective_Comics_Vol_1_27 - Detective Comics No. 27 Batman https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_America - Captain America March No. 1 http://digitalcomicmuseum.com/index.php?dlid=14515 - Captain Aero Comic https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:B-17F_Radar_Bombing_over_Germany_1943.jpg -Boeing B photo https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasion_of_Normandy - Landing supplies at Normandy photo and German infantrymen https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2016/sep/01/leipzig-flat-poignant-memorial-clean-beautiful-death-robert-capa-second-world-war - American soldier killed at Leipzighttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_America - Captain America punching Hitler in Captain America March No. 1http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Action_Comics_Vol_1_63 -Superman fighting a Japanese soldierhttp://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Batman_Vol_1_15 - Batman and Robin with a Machine Gun https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_Order_9066#Transcript_of_Executive_Order_9066U - Transcript of Executive Order 9066http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Action_Comics_Vol_1_58 - Superman Propaganda against the Japanese http://marvel.wikia.com/wiki/Captain_America_Comics_Vol_1_22 - Captain America punching Japanese soldiershttp://dc.wikia.com/wiki/World's_Finest_Vol_1_8 - World’s Finest Comics http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Sensation_Comics_Vol_1_13 - Wonder Woman Sensation Comichttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wonder_Woman_(2017_film) - Wonder Woman Teaser Poster

THE NICARAGUAN LITERACY CRUSADE

9

Education for Political Participation, or Indoctrination for Political Power?

SCOTT HEARRON

INTRODUCTION ACTIVITY

SOLDIERS OR TEACHERS?Instructions: Look at the image

on the right and answer the questions below as best you

can.

This is an image depicting a group of Nicaraguan Literacy Instructors, known as Brigadistas, as they mobilized to teach the rural poor basic reading and writing skills.  Brigadistas were trained to venture to far flung Peasant villages, to live and work with the people there while teaching them the basics of literacy and mathematics.  This

project was began by the Nicaraguan revolutionary government, the Sandinistas (FSLN), shortly after victory in a civil war.

1A. What can you tell about the Literacy Instructors from the image?  

1B. Do the instructor's fit your mental image of what a teacher should look like?  Why or why not? 

1C. What other images or pictures have you seen that remind you of this image?  Why do they remind you of it?

1D. Examine the words to the Literacy Campaign Anthem.  How does this seem different than usual school language?

Barndt, Deborah, and Mary Ann Kainola. The Nicaraguan Literacy Crusade: Second War of Liberation: A Collective Project. Canadian Action for Nicaragua. Toronto: Action, 1982. P. 2.

Challenge

ACTIVITY ONESOURCING AND CONTEXTUALIZING

PRIMARY SOURCES

These three images are the first pages of a report written in 1981 by Educational specialist Dr. Charles L. Stansifer on behalf of the American Universities Field Staff. This report outlines the basics of the Nicaraguan Literacy Crusade of 1980: when it happened, who organized it, what caused it, and what its’ goals and effects were.

GALLERY 9.1 The Nicaraguan National Literacy Crusade by Charles Stansifer.

Instructions: Look over the source document images in the gallery to the left, read the text,

then answer the accompanying questions. Then, examine the excerpt below and answer

accompanying questions.

1A. Who wrote this document?  Is it a firsthand account?  What biases or limitations might come with this perspective?  

1B. When and why was this written?  Do you think it is a reliable source to use?  Why or why not?  

2The full report outline six goals for the Literacy Crusade.  Read

over the goals then answer the questions:

“THE CRUSADE LEADERS AGREED ON THE FOLLOWING PRINCIPAL OBJECTIVES OF THE CRUSADE: 1. TO ERADICATE ILLITERACY IN NICARAGUA; 2. TO CONSCIENTIZE AND POLITICIZE THE ILLITERATE POPULATION; 3. TO CONSCIENTIZE NICARAGUA’S YOUTH TO THE LIFE AND PROBLEMS OF THE RURAL POPULATION; 4. TO PREPARE FOUNDATION OF THE VICE-MINISTRY OF EDUCATION FOR ADULTS TO FOLLOW UP THE CRUSADE; 5. TO STRENGTHEN THE ORGANIZATION OF THE MASSES; 6. TO DEEPEN NATIONAL INTEGRATION”

2A. Based on these goals, what was the purpose of Nicaragua's Literacy Crusade education? 

2B. What questions do you have after reading these goals?

2C. Where might you go to find answers? 

Stansifer, Charles L. The Nicaraguan National Literacy Crusade. Report no. 6. 6th ed. South America. American Universities Field Staff, 1981. P. 3.

Challenge

SOURCE, CONTEXTUALIZE, AND CLOSE READ EXCERPTS

ACTIVITY TWOInstructions: Examine the following excerpts from

Sandinista (FSLN) political statements and writings, then answer the corresponding questions.  

1This excerpt outlines the state of Nicaraguan education under the old Somoza government, according to the new FSLN government:

“ONLY 1.1 PERCENT OF THE NICARAGUAN POPULATION HAS COMPLETED PRIMARY SCHOOL.  FIFTY PERCENT OF THE POPULATION HAS HAD NO SCHOOLING WHATSOEVER.  THE PROPORTION OF STUDENTS THAT LEAVE SCHOOL IN THE FIRST GRADE OR REPEAT GRADES IS EXTREMELY HIGH (73 PERCENT).  ONLY 21 PERCENT OF THE STUDENT POPULATION COMES FROM THE SECTOR OF SOCIETY AT OR BELOW THE COUNTRY’S AVERAGE.  OUT OF 200,000 YOUNG PEOPLE FROM FOURTEEN TO NINETEEN YEARS OF AGE, BARELY 20,000 ARE ENROLLED IN HIGH SCHOOL OR COMMERCIAL, VOCATIONAL, OR AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION”

1A. Based on the source information, what problems do you think the author has with the old Nicaraguan education system? 

1B. Based on your previous readings and your own thinking, how likely are you to trust this document?  

1C. Speculate on what sorts of other documents might give another perspective different from this document.  Whose voice

2This excerpt comes from a book written by two planners of the Literacy

Crusade and gives FSLN-approved reasons that education was poor under the old government.  

"THE PROMOTION OF UNIVERSAL LITERACY OR ADULT EDUCATION WAS IRRELEVANT AND POTENTIALLY THREATENING. … ILLITERACY WAS BOTH A CONDITION AND PRODUCT OF THIS SYSTEM.  IN 1979 A SPECIAL CENSUS REVEALED THAT MORE THAN 50 PERCENT OF THE POPULATION WAS ILLITERATE, A FIGURE WHICH SOARED ABOVE 85 PERCENT IN SOME RURAL AREAS.  THIS PROBLEM WAS NEVER SERIOUSLY ADDRESSED DURING THE DICTATORSHIP BECAUSE THE PROMOTION OF UNIVERSAL LITERACY WAS NEITHER POLITICALLY ADVISABLE FOR

THE MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM NOR ECONOMICALLY NECESSARY FOR ITS FUNCTIONING.”

3This final excerpt is a record of a speech given by Tomas Borgé, a FSLN government leader, to the Inter-American Human Rights Commission in

October of 1980.  

 “YOU NEVER HAD A CHANCE TO TALK TO THE PEASANTS WHO HAD GREASE SPREAD ON THEIR GENITALS SO THAT DOGS WOULD EAT THEM.  YOU COULD NOT TALK TO THE MEN WHO WERE SCALPED ALIVE WITH RAZORS AND HAD SALT AND VINEGAR RUBBED INTO THEIR WOUNDS SO THEY WOULD SUFFER UNTIL THEY DIED.  YOU CERTAINLY NEVER HAD A CHANCE TO TALK TO THE PEASANT WOMEN WHO WERE RAPED, AS ALMOST 100 PERCENT OF THEM WERE IN SOME NORTHERN PROVINCES.  PROBABLY YOU DON’T EVEN KNOW ABOUT THE PEASANTS WHO WERE BURIED ALIVE IN THE MOUNTAINS.  YOU DON’T KNOW THE INCREDIBLY HORRIBLE STATISTICS ON THE NUMBER OF VICTIMS.  YOU HAVE SPOKEN OF THE LARGE NUMBER OF VICTIMS – WE KNOW THAT THEY NUMBERED IN THE TENS OF THOUSANDS.  MORE THAN 100,000 NICARAGUANS WERE KILLED."

2A. Compare this document to the previous excerpt.  Does this author disagree or agree with the previous author?  

2B. Based on the background information from the first document,

3A. Who is the audience in this speech?  How might who the speaker is talking to affect how they talk about the old government?  

3B.How might the author have been influenced by the new

Cardenal, S. Fernando, and Valerie Miller. "Nicaragua 1980: The Battle of the ABCs." Harvard Educational Review 51, no. 1 (1981): 1-26.  P. 4.  Borge, Tomás, Carlos Fonseca, Daniel Ortega, Humberto Ortega, and Jaime Wheelock. Sandinistas Speak. New York: Pathfinder Press, 1982.

Challenge

ACTIVITY THREEEXAMINING HOW THE FSLN VIEWED

EDUCATION.  The Nicaraguan Literacy Crusade faced criticism when it was launched from both within the country and internationally for

being overly political.  Rather than make it less political, Crusade planners argued that politics needed to be included.  Read the

excerpts outlining their reasons, then answer the following questions.  

1This excerpt is a quote from Fernando Cardenal, the overall leader of the Literacy Crusade, explaining why the campaign

pedagogy (teaching method) had to be political.  

"IT IS A POLITICAL PROJECT WITH PEDAGOGICAL IMPLICATIONS, NOT A PEDAGOGICAL PROJECT WITH POLITICAL IMPLICATIONS.  THERE ARE NO NEUTRAL PROJECTS, NOT IN NICARAGUA, NOT IN THE UNITED STATES, NOT ANYWHERE.  EVERY SOCIAL PROJECT CARRIES WITH IT AN IDEOLOGY – IN ORDER TO MAINTAIN A SYSTEM, TO REPRODUCE A SYSTEM, OR TO SUSTAIN A PROCESS OF PROFOUND CHANGE."

1A. What is the author trying to convince you of?  

1B. What is the reasoning the author uses to support his claim?  

1C. Can you think of an example that supports the Cardenal's reasoning?  Can you think of an example that contradicts it?  

2This is an excerpt from a book written about the Literacy Crusade by Crusade planners, outlining how politics and education should come together in Fernando Cardenal's

philosophy.  

“EDUCATION, THEREFORE, MUST ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO TAKE CHARGE OF

THEIR LIVES, TO LEARN TO BECOME INFORMED AND EFFECTIVE DECISION

MAKERS, AND TO UNDERSTAND THEIR ROLES AS RESPONSIBLE CITIZENS

POSSESSING RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS … EDUCATION FOR LIBERATION MEANS PEOPLE WORKING TOGETHER TO GAIN AN UNDERSTANDING OF AND CONTROL OVER SOCIETY’S ECONOMIC, POLITICAL, AND SOCIAL FORCES IN ORDER TO GUARANTEE THEIR FULL PARTICIPATION IN THE CREATION OF THE NEW NATION.  LITERACY AND PERMANENT PROGRAMS OF ADULT LEARNING

ARE FUNDAMENTAL TO THESE GOALS.  WE BELIEVE THEY ARE ESSENTIAL TO THE BUILDING OF A DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY IN WHICH PEOPLE CAN PARTICIPATE CONSCIOUSLY AND CRITICALLY IN NATIONAL DECISION MAKING.”

2A. Does this document support the position Cardenal takes in the previous document?  Why or why not?  

2B.Compare the idea of "maintaining, reproducing, or profoundly changing" a system from Document 1 to the ideas about education and democracy in this document.  What would the Nicaraguan crusade be?

2C. Does the author believe in Cardenal's philosophy?  Should we trust this document more or less based on that? Why or why not?  

Hirshon, Sheryl L., and Judy Butler. And Also Teach Them to Read = Y, Tambien, Enséñeles a Leer. Westport, CT: L. Hill, 1983. Pg. 7Cardenal, S. Fernando, and Valerie Miller. "Nicaragua 1980: The Battle of the ABCs." Harvard Educational Review 51, no. 1 (1981). P. 6.

ACTIVITY FOURCLOSE READ PRIMARY SOURCES.

During the Literacy Crusade, volunteer instructors used a government-issued instructional workbook to help them teach the basics of reading.  These workbooks were all based around a theme and were printed with pictures representing this theme.  Examine the following images of the workbook, then use them to answer the following questions on the right.

Images accompanied every Lesson in the workbook.  This is the image for the Lesson 3.  Examine it, then answer the last

questions.  

Republica De Nicaragua. Cruzada Nacional De Alfabetizacion. Ministerio De Educacion. El Amancer Del Pueblo. Republica De Nicaragua, 1980. 

Workbook Page 24

GALLERY 9.2 El Amancer del Pueblo (Sunrise of the People) Lesson 3

1A. Does the author of the workbook seem to agree with how Fernando Cardenal thought about education?  Explain your reasoning.  

1B. Does this workbook support a specific group or promote anyone in particular?  Do you see any issues with a government-made book supporting one group?  

2A. What do you see in the picture?  How does the picture relate to the lesson? 

2B. Does the picture send a political message of its own, different from the one in the written words of the workbook?  Why or why not?

ACTIVITY FIVEEXAMINING THE MULTIPLE

PERSPECTIVES OF TEACHERS.  

Most of the actual instructors in the Nicaraguan Literacy Crusade were usually Brigadistas, volunteer teachers who primarily came from High

Schools and Colleges.  These youthful instructors, some as young as 13, did the bulk of actual teaching and spent 5 months living with poor rural families while teaching them.  They brought a variety of perspectives to the Crusade and did not always agree with the government leaders.  Read their accounts

and examine the differences in perspective.  

1This is an excerpt from a Brigadista talking about what they took away

from living for 5 months with a peasant (campesino) family.  

“THE EXPERIENCE I TREASURED THE MOST WAS LIVING WITH MY CAMPESINO FAMILY, ADAPTING TO THEIR WAY OF LIFE … IT WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF MY EDUCATION – LIVING DIRECTLY WITH THEM, KNOWING EXACTLY HOW THEY LIVED – HOW THEY THOUGHT – HOW THEY SPOKE – HOW THEY EXPRESSED THEMSELVES.”

2This is an excerpt talking about why a pair of teachers decided to become

instructors in the campaign.  

“MANY OF THE TEACHERS FROM THE INSTITUTE WORKED IN THE NATIONAL LITERACY CRUSADE.  MY WIFE

AND I DECIDED TO JOIN THE CRUSADE ALSO. AS CHRISTIANS, WE FOLLOWED THE TEACHING OF THE BIBLE TO

TEACH THOSE WHO DID NOT KNOW AND ALSO, AS FOLLOWERS OF THE PRINCIPLES OF THE SANDINISTA

REVOLUTION, WE WANTED TO HELP CONVEY THESE PRINCIPLES TO THOSE WHO DID NOT KNOW THEM.”

3This is an excerpt where a Brigadista describes part of their "teaching"

duties in the poor rural villages.  

“THE ‘CAMPESINOS’ HAD ORGANIZED TO RECEIVE US AND PART OF OUR WORK WAS TO HELP THOSE FIRST COMMITTEES EXPAND INTO COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, FARMWORKERS

ASSOCIATIONS, WOMEN’S GROUPS, AND PEOPLE’S MILITIA.  OR, AS THE MEMBERS OF THESE GROUPS NOW LIKE TO SAY, IT WAS DURING THE LITERACY CRUSADE THAT THEY “PUT IN THE

BATTERIES” AND GOT GOING.”

4This is an excerpt detailing what one Brigadista thought about peasants and

teaching them.

“AMONG THE PEASANTS, THE TRUTH IS THAT LIFE IS DISORGANIZED; IN THE HOUSE EVERYTHING IS STREWN ABOUT.  THE HOUSE IS FAR FROM WHERE ONE BATHES; BY THE TIME YOU GET BACK TO THE HOUSE YOU ARE DIRTY AGAIN.  THE PEASANT IS HARD TO DEAL WITH; YOU TRY TO TEACH HIM BUT HE WON’T LISTEN TO YOU AND GETS ANGRY ...  THE EXPERIENCES OF BEING A TEACHER IS NEAT, BUT SOMETIMES IT CEASES TO BE SO

NICE BECAUSE THERE ARE PEASANTS WHO DON’T UNDERSTAND – THEY DON’T UNDERSTAND ANYTHING.  YOU HAVE TO TAKE IT CALMLY AND REPEAT AGAIN AND AGAIN.  TEACHING REQUIRES A LOT OF PATIENCE AND I

DON’T HAVE MUCH PATIENCE”

Barndt, Deborah, and Mary Ann Kainola. The Nicaraguan Literacy Crusade: Second War of Liberation: A Collective Project. Canadian Action for Nicaragua. Toronto: Action, 1982. 

Flora, Jan L., John Mcfadden, and Ruth Warner. "The Growth of Class Struggle: The Impact of the Nicaraguan Literacy Crusade on the Political Consciousness of Young Literacy

1A. What does the author probably believe about the Literacy Crusade? 

1B. What evidence does the author use to support what they

2A. What is the author saying motivated them to teach in the Literacy Crusade?  

2B. Does the author disagree with or agree with the government?  Does

3A. Based on the source information, what was this Brigadista doing when they came to villages?  

3B. Was this sort of political activity really related to teaching?

4A. What about this excerpt seems different from the others?  

4B. Do you trust this account more or less than the others based on the ways it is different?  

ACTIVITY SIXEXAMINE VIDEO SOURCES FOR

DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES.  During the Literacy Crusade, peasants who were taught to reading and writing skills wrote songs,

poems, and letters to express thanks for their new literacy skills.  Watch the following video, listen to

the music, and read the translated lyrics, then answer the following questions about the content of

the song.  

INTERACTIVE 9.1 Mecate - New Song of the Sandinistas

Songs like these, written during and after the Literacy Crusade, celebrate the efforts by the FSLN to teach peasants reading and writing skills.

1A. Who is singing in the video?  

1B. Who does it sound like wrote the song?  

1C. What historical events were influencing the writing of the song?  

1D. What problems do you see using this as a source to understand the perspective of the people being taught to read? Can we trust it as an accurate representation of their feelings?  

1E. Based on the background information from previous lessons, which group does this video seem to be supporting?  

1F. Why might looking at a single video not give you the whole picture about how people felt about the Literacy Campaign?  

1G. What sort of language is used in the song?  What is the singer asking the listener to do?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTfk_wzSPaQ

CLOSURE ACTIVITYFINAL THINKING AND QUESTIONS 

You have read documents, listened to music, looked at images, and examined different perspectives.  These all focused on one narrow slice of education, the Nicaraguan Literacy Crusade.  Discuss and

answer the final questions and think about how your understanding of the education in Nicaragua in 1980 can be applied to your thinking

about schools and learning today.  

1A. What was the purpose of education in the Literacy Crusade.  Was there a single purpose, or did groups disagree?  Explain

your thinking and argue whether the Literacy Crusade had an educational purpose.  

1B. What is the purpose of your education?  What are the goals? Is your education

political, like Fernando Cardenal argued?  

1C. Is your education fundamentally different from that of the learners in the Literacy

Crusade?  Why or why not?  

1D. Is education the same thing everywhere?  In the end, what do you think the purpose of

education is?  Explain your reasoning.

!

! When I began designing my chapter for our shared eBook, I considered only a handful of ideas before settling on the Nicaraguan Literacy Crusade.  Having spent the better part of the last year researching the campaign, becoming intensively familiar with the historiography of the topic, and looking for sources, I had constructed an excellent library of documents and evidence to draw from.  The eBook design process offered an opportunity to showcase some of these findings, and choosing such a familiar topic meant that much of the grunt work had already been done.  I could focus, almost entirely, on selecting my absolute favorite documents and creating an educational experience built from those sources.

! Working within the eBook design process offered another opportunity, however.  For months, I have played the role of historian, looking into this topic to discover new understandings, and form new conclusions.  The nature of the Document Based Lesson format, which puts students into much of the same role, meant that with some careful planning, I could provide a lesson that would mirror my own experience, and offer students a chance at a history project more closely aligned with how academic historians operate.  I sequenced documents in a way that mirrored, in general execution if not in exact similarity, my own research process, and my own journey of discovery.  In my lesson, students examine some of the same secondary sources I did to gather context, come to understand the historical event through the same quotes and excerpts I used, and are given a chance to carefully examine the same primary materials I did, with a different but no less meaningful focus.

! One of the aspects of the Nicaraguan Literacy Crusade that drew me to the topic when selecting it for a Thesis, and again when beginning this project, was it’s relevance to both myself and to a degree, all students.  The

Nicaraguan Literacy Crusade is a story of how a nation came together — albeit in sometimes controversial ways — to better their society.  It is a story of relying on the youth to make this vision happen.  As an educator, a historical event centered around teaching and instruction naturally appeal to me.  ! But I hope that for students, the emphasis on education can bring some relevance as well.  Students spend the lion’s share of their day at school, immersed in an educational system they’ve known in some form almost as far back as they can remember.  School is a fixture in student’s lives, and a fixed one at that — a system that changes slowly, is defined by the past, and presents one narrative of what education is and what it should look like.  Creating a lesson about a project where middle- and high-school aged students not only played a vital role in a national endeavor, but also served as teachers themselves, opens up an opportunity for students to step outside this system and reflect on the differences between different ways we educate.  Perhaps, in the process, they can begin to think critically about their own education, and the structures that facilitate that education.

! Designing a book like this could be challenging at times, from a mundane technical standpoint, but that challenge never seemed so big as to obstruct the overall goal.  eBooks software proved to be intuitive enough, for me at least, to make the real difficulty of this assignment the challenge of sequencing interesting content and providing meaningful questions to accompany that content.  Finishing the chapter was extremely rewarding, both due to the sharp professional look of the book, and the satisfaction of being able to incorporate an event I find fascinating into a new and fresh format.  This was a fresh look on a topic I have spent much time looking at already, and the new perspective was valuable and refreshing.  Knowing that I already had most of the documents I needed due to prior research additionally reinforced to me the value of the skills I have acquired to find sources in the future, for future, similar projects as this.

Scott Hearron Class of 2017

University of Portland

FINAL THOUGHTSREFLECTIONS FROM THE AUTHOR