Recreating the Wheel Contest

Any group of students, with each student writing at their own level:

What I Think About History

Goal: Using imagination and writing skills, students will write four sets of papers on everyday events. If the student is very young, they will make up a story orally about each event and share with the others.

Materials: Each student will need a pen or pencil and paper or a word processor on a computer. Length will vary with the age of student and their enthusiasm for the time period.

Preparation: The teacher should decide on the type of lesson for the day. There are several options, among them:
a. Center on a time period relative to a holiday: The first Thanksgiving feast, the battle of Pearl Harbor or the occasion of Washington crossing the Delaware.
b. Center on a period of history the group is currently studying: The Ice Age, the Dark Ages, or the 1960s in the World

Directions:

1. Begin the day with an excerpt from a history book or a historical document.

2. Have the students respond orally with several things that are done differently today.
If they cannot think of anything, they can go to books or research on the Internet.

Types of possible daily routine items to focus on: Preparing the classroom for the day. Their own morning routine before class. The bathroom. Preparing lunch. Researching.

A. First set of papers:

1. Write a paper on what you did today using modern conveniences in your daily routine.

2. Write a paper of what a person in the time period you are focusing on would have done with their own 'modern conveniences'.

3. Using your imagination and humor, write a paper on what you would do with your modern knowledge, if you went back in time to that period.

4. The teacher should prepare the same set of papers and read them to the group.

B. For the second set, students could expand on the first set, adding what they have thought of after listening to the teacher's ideas and sharing with the others.

C. For the third set, move to another part of the world in the same time period. This will take some research, in all likelihood. For example: What was happening in China during the American Revolution?

D. For the fourth set, imagine yourself to be the president or ruler of the people. Would your life be different? In what ways?

Invalid Item  This item number is not valid. #1136106 by Not Available.