Middle Level

--Jill M. Beccaris and Christine Woyshner
A variety of activities help students learn about the coal miners and steels workers (many of them new immigrants) during the Industrial Age. A handout is based on an oral interview, and provides a photo of child coal miners, 1911.

This URL downloads all 16 pages of Middle Level Learning as a pdf of about 1.2 MB:   --> read more »

--Alan J. Singer
Students compare primary sources (included as handouts) to validate historical information. The ad is from the "New York Gazette," April 1, 1754, published in the slave-holding colony of New York.

This URL downloads all 16 pages of Middle Level Learning as a pdf of about 1.2 MB:
* http://members.ncss.org/mll/28/MLL28.pdf

--Anita Perna Bohn and Penny Britton Kolloff

Students research first-person accounts and give performances in this unit of study. A handout to guide research and 3 pages of online resources. This issue of MLL Includes "Ernie Pyle:The Foot Soldier’s Reporter" by Sandra B. Oldendorf and "Teenage Witnesses to the Holocaust (Book Review)" by Tom Kolbe.   --> read more »

--Melissa J. Marks
Students link clauses in the Preamble of the U.S. Constitution with current events as reported in the news media. Does "promoting general welfare" include health care?

This URL downloads all 16 pages of Middle Level Learning as a pdf of about 0.6 MB:
* http://members.ncss.org/mll/26/MLL26.pdf

--Stephanie Wasta
Three lessons that bring good resource material into the classroom and engage students in thinking critically about history and historical sources. Includes handouts and instructions for playing the Colonial Era children's game "Skin the Snake."

This URL downloads all 16 pages of Middle Level Learning as a pdf of about 1.0 MB:
* http://members.ncss.org/mll/25/MLL25.pdf

--Eugene Walton   --> read more »

--Steven S. Lapham and Drew Saunders
A wise man observes, learns, and grows. Also includes a related classroom activity about Ben's interesting personality: "Will the Senate Confirm 'Karl B. Fennin'?" by William E. Amburn.

This URL downloads all 16 pages of Middle Level Learning as a pdf of about 1.0 MB:
* http://members.ncss.org/mll/22/MLL22.pdf

--Mary Mason Royal
In small groups, students read and analyze letters written by children to "Eleanor" during the Great Depression. Handouts include text of seven letters.

This URL downloads all 16 pages of Middle Level Learning as a pdf of about 1.0 MB:
* http://members.ncss.org/mll/22/MLL22.pdf

--Susan Pass
Interviewing first generation parents, or writing about their own immigrant experiences, generates memorable results. Ten key interview questions.

This URL downloads all 16 pages of Middle Level Learning as a pdf of about 0.67 MB:
* http://members.ncss.org/mll/20/mll20.pdf

--Tom Costa and Brooks Doyle
Interpret short primary source documents to reveal some details about slave life and the moral dilemmas of antebellum U.S. Also includes "Abolitionists Among the Founding Generation" by Kevin T. Brady.

This URL downloads all 16 pages of Middle Level Learning as a pdf of about 0.67 MB:
* http://members.ncss.org/mll/20/mll20.pdf