Pkquinn's Blog

                Thank you Matt, Jonathan and Scott for all the time and effort you put into making our trip to Chicago a truly memorable experience.  It changed the way I view the Progressive era; I recognize the tremendous impact it had on the political, economic and social aspects of our society.  I used to dread teaching about Progressives because my students were bored to tears, and frankly, I was too.  Now I am excited to use the knowledge, resources and strategies I gained from this trip into my classroom.  Again, thanks!  Blogging was a new experience for me and is something I think I will use with my students in the future.  Also, meeting and getting to know teachers from all over Southeastern Colorado was a pleasure.  We do not get enough time to network with our peers, especially teachers in other grade levels, so it was great.    

                The workshop in Springfield by Erin Bishop gave me some great tools to take back to the classroom.  The activities on the difference between primary and secondary documents and on using poetry to analyze a primary document will be implemented in my classroom.  The activities can be used with any proficiency level and in any unit of study.  And while we struggled with technology issues, the webquest information is another great tool that my students can access.   Visiting the Lincoln Presidential Museum was one of the highlights of the trip.  Seeing and hearing his eloquent and powerful words was quite emotional for me.  Following his life, from Kentucky to the White House emphasized the museum’s theme:  Lincoln was a self made man.  A valuable lesson, I think, for our students.  Our second day in Springfield included a tour of the Old State Capitol, Lincoln’s law office and his home and finally, his grave.  My photographs from the tour will be used in my classroom to spur discussions of Lincoln and his legacy.

                Our first day in Chicago included a trip to the Art Institute of Chicago.  We were given a tour through the American collection by a very knowledgeable guide.  I had an “ah-ha” moment there.  I finally figured out how to include artwork in my history classes.  I always knew I should, but I really didn’t know how.  The way the art was arranged by era in the museum helped.  I plan on using my photos, or others, as a hook at the beginning of class.  I also spent time in the photography exhibit and the Native American art exhibit.  The museum also reconstructed the original trading floor of the Chicago Mercantile.  One huge room!  I’ll use those pictures in my economics classes.  I found some great resources, similar to the “history heads” activity, in their gift shop.

                Our two days at the Chicago History Museum included a very interesting lecture by Dr. Sarah Marcus on Chicago at the turn of the century.  Then Heidi Moisan introduced their website (amazing) and “Great Chicago Stories”.  The stories come complete with lesson plans developed by Chicago teachers.  One of my favorite new activities, “History Heads” was used with the stories.  The museum’s online encyclopedia of Chicago is another great resource for study of the Progressive era.  We also worked with some historical artifacts and tried to discover their use.  I use documents in my class, but I have not used many artifacts.  The hands on discovery process was fun, so I am going to start my collection right away.  Our second day at the museum we were introduced to the DBQ Project by Chip Brady.  His presentation will have the greatest impact on my teaching methods.  I loved his format for analyzing documents and writing about them.  The mini Qs will be implemented in the fall semester, and hopefully, we will work our way up to a DBQ in the spring. 

                I have never given much thought to including architecture in the study of U.S. History, but touring Frank Lloyd Wright’s studio and neighborhood gave me insight to how important his work was to our society.  If I can include art, why not include architecture?  They both reflect the times.  The Museum of Science and Industry was next.  The Chicago World’s Fair is a topic that I have never talked about in class, except for possibly the Ferris wheel.  After reading The Devil in the White City, I understand that construction of the fair was a monumental undertaking at a great human and monetary cost and how important it was to Chicago to show their best to the world.  The U-505 exhibit at the museum was excellent.  I will use the pictures of the submarine and the enigma machines during World War II studies.  

                Another highlight of the trip was the tour of Jane Addams’ Hull House.  Her work for immigrants set the standard for social work today.  I was most impressed by the scope of her activism, something I did not recognize until the tour.  That the museum continues her legacy today is most impressive.  They inspired me to try to build a heritage garden at my school.  Students will use the museum’s “listening course” online.  We ended the day with an architectural boat tour, a great way to see Chicago.           

                Visiting the Wisconsin State Historical Museum in Madison provided the opportunity to see the resources teachers have contributed, including the “Thinking Like a Historian” materials.  The workbook includes many activities to make history more meaningful so I may include them in my lesson plan.  In touring the museum, I particularly enjoyed “Odd Wisconsin”.  It was great to see the university campus and experience the Great Dane.

                Our last day in Chicago included a labor history walking tour of the Haymarket Square, the site of their trial and execution and Forest Home Cemetery.  I will add to my lesson plan more information about the unfairness of their trial and the impact Chicago had on the rise of labor unions.  Our tour continued to the gates of Packingtown and then to Pullman Town.  Pictures from Haymarket and Pullman will support discussions of the exploitation of workers and their struggle to organize.

                I came away from Chicago with a greater appreciation for the impact the Progressive era had on our history, and the fact that the struggle continues today to solve some of the same problems.  In addition, I am absolutely convinced that teachers and students need to get out of the classroom and into museums and we need to bring the museums into the classroom.  Our museums possess amazing resources that I, for one, have not utilized.

The bombing of Haymarket Square is one of the most important events to study when learning about labor in America.  It is an event that does not stand alone, however, so I appreciated Dr. Adelman’s brief discussion of the shooting at the McCormick factory that led up to the bombing.  His remarks, however, were a reminder of how dangerous it can be to rely on one source for historical context.  Dr. Adelman, while certainly knowledgeable, made no attempt to hide his bias. The memorial was very touching, and hearing about the unjust trial made me realize exactly how much control wealthy industrialists had in Chicago, and in fact all of America.  While the building has been replaced, I still appreciated being at the site of the trial, and realizing that the current court house was also the site of the trials of Eugene Debs and also the Wobblies.  Clarence Darrow defended Debs and later went on to participate in the Scope’s Monkey Trial.

Our visit to the gravesite of the Haymarket martyrs, Lucy Parsons and other labor activist brought the realization that we were placing flowers on the graves of Americans targeted communists, socialists and enemies of the state.  Growing up during the Cold War (yep, that old) as a recipient of all the fear that society dumped on children gave me a rather eerie feeling.  

Seeing the gate to the packing houses was a great way to imagine the lives of the men and women as they went to work each day.  I could almost smell the rotting meat, but then I have a powerful imagination.

I am conflicted about our visit to Pullman.  It was difficult to look at the beautiful neighborhood and see it as a place that exploited labor.  I would have like to see the houses that the lowest level of worker inhabited and compare it to the tenements in the city.  I will try to get students to see what Pullman was trying to accomplish, and why it went wrong.  Comparing speeches and letters from Pullman to documents about the worker’s reason for striking will accomplish that. 

I was left with one final thought-In Pueblo; we have lost some important historical sites also due to indifference or lack of funding.  What a shame!

The Why History Matters exhibit at the Wisconsin History Museum was well worth the time we spent there.   I like the Odd Wisconsin section especially.  It is exactly the kind of exhibit that engages students and gets them to love history.  

The Thinking Like an Historian developed by Wisconsin teachers will be a valuable tool in the future.  I am already envisioning how I will use the strategies.

The Veteran’s Museum across the street had some excellent material on the current Gulf conflict and great displays on each of the U.S. conflicts.

 The campus of the University of Wisconsin is beautiful.  Now I know why they are called the Badgers (thanks to our guide at the Wisconsin History Museum).  Analyzing the naturalization papers was a great exercise in learning about immigrants and one I will probably use in my classroom.

It was a great experience actually handling the historical artifacts of the Progressive era.  I particularly appreciated the small display in the lobby about McCormick.  I do a unit on technology of the time and the information will be helpful.

Jane Addams Hull House Museum was inspirational.  I never realized the breadth and depth of her work as a progressive activist.  I’ve learned about and taught about her work in immigration rights and labor reform, but I wasn’t aware of her focus on juvenile justice, public housing and public health.  Gathering the thinkers, activists and artists of the age together to discuss social problems and solutions made her the “Most dangerous woman in America”.  Leave it to old J. Edgar to believe that an American practicing exactly the principles on which our country was founded is a threat to the U.S.

I am taking two learning strategies away from the exhibit.  I liked the way they set up 3 different versions of an event and had the reader choose the one they believed to be the best version.  I can see me using this technique to introduce historiography to my students.  Also, I appreciated the way they had 9 different photographs with questions about her. The reader read the question, flipped over the photo, and got the answer.  It is simple, but sometimes simple is best.

I loved the urban garden.  I’ve e-mailed Lisa Junkin for more information about developing one at my school.  What a tremendous interdisciplinary learning experience.  We can use it to teach history, economics, health, science, consumer and family studies, etc.  In addition, students might have some new experiences.  I am inspired!

I think Jane Addams would be proud of the work Hull House continues to do.  That they continue her work is, in fact, almost as inspirational as she is.

We did visit one other important historical site: 

Frank Lloyd Wright was a brilliant architect and designer.  The tour of his studio gave me just a glimpse of his talent, and then touring the neighborhood and seeing some of the homes he designed allowed me to see how one man influenced Chicago.  His influence spread throughout the U.S. and the world.  The simplicity of his lines, his use of light and space and function were amazing and quite beautiful.  I have to admit, however, that I was disappointed to learn that he was an arrogant, self-centered jerk that left his children and lived so far beyond his means that he was unable to pay his apprentices, (including his own sons) at times.  I always caution my students that as we read about historical figures, we only see a snapshot of their lives and that makes it difficult to really understand their character.  It’s easy to believe that in order for a man to possess such brilliant talent, he must deserve it.   In Wright’s case, maybe not.

The U-505 exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry gave me the opportunity to board the only German U-boat that was captured during World War I and World War II.  The actions by the U.S. Naval Task Force 22.3 resulted in the removal of two M4 Enigma machines and 900 pounds of codebooks and publications.  They helped the Allied codebreaking effort, making it possible for the Allied to read most of the messages to and from U-boats from November 1943 until the end of the war.  The event is a turning point that is not mentioned in most textbooks.  I will be adding it to my lesson on the war in North Africa and will be able to share my experience aboard a German U-boat, the only one ever captured.

Today, learning about the DBQ project, I realized why I haven’t gotten the results I want from students when I use primary sources.  I really liked Chip’s presentation because not only did he break down step by step what the student should do, but he broke down step by step what the teacher could do.  When he did that, it was obvious that I was guilty of skipping a step or two, and then not understanding why the students struggled.  DUH!  It was kind of liking starting in the middle of a conversation, and not understanding why they didn’t know what I was talking about.  It is really helpful to just step back and evaluate not just the content, but the delivery methods.  A simple idea like the “buckets” will really be effective.

 I also like the idea of a mini Q.  I plan on really starting at the beginning this next year and work through using a mini Q.  When I conquer that, then I will revisit the DBQ.  I am hoping we can at least buy the mini Q notebook, but if not, I have several Jackdaw document sets that I can use.  Also, Chip talked about the New York Regent’s exam and I know that if we get on their site, we can download all of their DBQ exams.  I think they start in 5^th grade and go up.  I have used their materials in the past, and they are pretty good!

 I also enjoyed the walking tour of Old Town, and especially the very charming and humorous gentleman that was our guide-Dick Cody.  I realized what an asset his generation is to us, and that we probably under utilize a group of people that would love to come into our classrooms and share their experiences with our students.  I have many students that don’t have any interaction with any older people because their own parents and even grandparents are pretty young. 

The homes in Old Town, destroyed by the fire and then rebuilt within the next two years are beautiful.  In fact, the homes, gardens and neighborhood is amazing.  I couldn’t help but think about those Chicagoans that couldn’t afford to rebuild.  What happened to them?  I think that’s probably a more interesting story.

We spent today at the Chicago History Museum.  The morning was put to good use; I enjoyed the lecture by Dr. Sarah Marcus on Chicago at the Turn of the Century and her focus on the historical context in Chicago.  As she discussed why Chicago developed as it has, I realized that’s another question to add to my list of questions I present to students:  What?, What If?, So What? And now Why here?   I enjoyed her lecture, but was disappointed she stopped before discussing the 1930s in Chicago:

  or maybe the summer of 1968: 

 The museum really has an amazing web site and I am sure I will use it in the future.  I particularly like the sections, “History in Your Hands” and the “History Lab”, both of which teach students to work with artifacts.  I use primary documents fairly regularly, but I haven’t ever really used artifacts, and I think the kids will love it.  They give suggestions to the teacher for artifacts along with the lesson plans.

The Great Chicago Stories will also be of use, but more than the stories, I really appreciated learning the “History Head” strategy.  I can already see multiple ways to implement it into my curriculum.  I prefer to use real stories, however.  Here’s a picture of my group’s head:

The Encyclopedia of Chicago will be a great resource when we study industrialization, urbanization and immigration units.  The interactive maps are fantastic.   Great day, great resources, great new ideas!

I have always known that I should incorporate art into my U.S. History classes, but I’ve never really put much effort into doing so.  I didn’t really see the value to students – until my visit to the Galleries of American Art at The Art Institute of Chicago.  I didn’t really understand how to make the connection between art and history, but after experiencing the museum, I have some great ideas that I think will really engage my students.  For instance, Thomas Cole’s scene from The Last of the Mohicans, along with excerpts from the book, can be used to introduce a unit on The French and Indian War.

Or, when students study the new inventions of the Industrial Revolution, I can show them the first American alarm clock (alarm timepiece), patented in 1819 by Simon Willard. 

The sculptures, Indian and Pronghorn Antelope, by Paul Manship (1914) will be used to seminar the questions:  “Did Manship’s image reflect the image most Americans held of Native Americans in 1914?

Certainly the works of Georgia O’Keefe

and Diego Rivera can be used to introduce topics relating to history of the southwest.

 Students will be fascinated with Jose Clemente Orozco’s Zapata when we study the Mexican Revolution!

The vibrant colors and images of Archibald Motley’s Nightlife will gain the student’s attention when we discuss Black culture in the 20^th century.

Of course, art was a large part of FDR’s WPA projects of the New Deal.  Instead of just mentioning them, I will show them!  And I love Peter Blum’s interpretation of the turmoil and destruction of World War II in The Rock.

I’ve have many more examples that I will be using in my classroom.  The best way to summarize my visit to the Art Institute is to say:  “A light went on-I get it now!”

We started our day with a tour of the Old State House. It’s a beautiful building with a fascinating history. The capital of Illinois originally was in Vandalia, Illinois but in the 1830s there was pressure on the government to relocate to the geographic center of the state. Abraham Lincoln, along with eight other lawmakers, successfully led the effort to move the capital to Springfield. The government, including the Governor, the Supreme Court, and the General Assembly moved into the building in 1839. Lincoln argued over 400 cases in front of the Supreme Court over a period of 19 years. And it was in the House chamber that he made his “A House Divided” speech and announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate. Because the state government quickly outgrew the building it served as the state capital for a relatively short time. Once the decision was made to build a new capital building, it took about 6 years to build finish it. The building then served as the county courthouse until the mid 1960s. In 1839, the building was jacked up in order to add a third story underneath it. At the same time, the interior of the building was gutted and courtrooms built. The building remained the center of county government until the county outgrew it, built a new building and ceded the historic structure back to the state. The historic society tore down the building, stone by stone, and rebuilt it in the image of Lincoln’s tenure. While fascinated with how the building was reconstructed, I was also disappointed to realize that other than the stone exterior, nothing else from Lincoln’s time survived.

Next, we walked across the street to the site of Lincoln’s law offices. The tour focused on the history of the retail storethat still stands, and not really on the building, now gone, that Lincoln leased. Disappointing!

The tour of Lincoln’s home was one of the highlights of our visit, so far. Unlike the State House and the law office, his home stands almost unchanged-same exterior colors, and most of the same furniture. In the parlor, I could almost see Lincoln stretched out on the long black sofa, reading a book and enjoying the fire. Even his hat rack still exists. It was amazing knowing I climbed the same stairs and stood on the same floors as Lincoln! A 6 block area surrounding his home also remains historically intact, making it easy to envision his lifestyle leading up to his presidency.

Another highlight of the tour was the tour of Lincoln’s tomb. The size and grandeur of the memorial are a testament to how Americans (most) felt about their president. As we toured the memorial, I heard Japanese, German, and French spoken, evidence I think, that the rest of the world shares our feelings about this great man.
Our tour ended in New Salem. The village is a recreation of the log village where Lincoln spent about 12 years. While it is a recreation, it still gives one an opportunity to compare Lincoln’s early adult life in Salem Village to that of his later adult life in Springfield. It provides another means to discuss with our students how Lincoln was self-made. He created his own opportunities, and made no excuses. The conversation about accountability is one our students need to hear over, and over, and over.

Visiting the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum was an experience I will never forget.  It was my first visit to a presidential museum, and because it was Lincoln’s, it was particularly meaningful to me.

The material presented to us by the museum’s educational liaisons will definitely be used in my classroom, especially the activities focusing on analyzing primary documents.  I really appreciated the fact that the strategies Erin introduced could be used for any grade level.

 At the museum, two exhibits impressed me the most.   I loved the creative and modern take on the 1860 presidential campaign that was broadcast by the late Tim Russert.    Also, I appreciated the political cartoons located in the Whispering Gallery.  As a matter of fact, I purchased the book!  Here is one of my favorites:

 (The Political Cartoons of the Whispering Gallery, pg 20)

Final thoughts:

The main theme of the museum is that Lincoln was “self-made” .  I am struck by how essential it is that our students understand the challenges of his life and how Lincoln looked to no one other than himself to overcome them.  As teachers, we can use his life to discuss accountability, an attribute that  is lacking in our society.  The other theme is timeless also:  How do we test the boundaries and resolve moral conflict in a democratic system?  Certainly, there’s no shortage of current examples to pull from.