Teacher:
First Name: Laura Last Name: Krenk Email Address: [email protected]
School: Alice Buffett Magnet Middle School Lesson Information:
Lesson Title:
Using the Telephone Through Time Suggested Grade Level:
Middle School (grades 6-8) Major Themes/Concepts:
1. Transportation and Communication 2. Communicating Using the Telephone Lesson Objectives:
The student will:
1. Compare how telephones were used during the early 20th century compared to today.
2. Make inferences as to the culture and society of the early 20th century. Introduction/Anticipatory Set:
Questions/Activities to introduce students to the lesson:
1. Have students list the different ways that they can talk to people in our culture. This could include the telephone, instant messaging, e-mail, etc.
2. If students are advanced enough, you may have them identify certain text message codes, such as BRB (be right back) and LOL (laughing out loud). How are these used in everyday communication?
Material/Resources (Includes handouts, reading assignment, Internet links, etc.)
1. The Media History Project provides resources as to the history of communication. It can be accessed at http://www.mediahistory.umn.edu/index2.html.
2. The Library of Congress also has excellent resources as to how communication has changed over time. It can be accessed at http://www.archives.gov
The Process/Procedures of Instruction:
1. Allow students time to analyze images 92-33 and 92-1381. This can be done several ways:
a. Informal observations – Allow students the opportunity to make judgments about the people shown in the images.
b. Formal observations – Allow students the opportunity to complete a document analysis worksheet (found at
http://www.archives.gov/digital_classroom/lessons/analysis_workshee ts/worksheets.html)
2. Have students complete a Venn diagram comparing early telephones to current day telephones. Students can research information using the Internet or the library. Local telephone companies and cellular companies also have resources available through their community outreach programs.
3. When students have completed their comparisons, have them share their findings with the class.
Learning Advice (Suggestions for teaching the lesson) 1. This lesson is based upon two DWHM images:
Image 92-33 (April 5, 1913) “NW Bell Telephone Co.: Women Operators – Webster Exchange”
Image 92-1381 (July 18, 1935) “NW Bell Telephone Co.: Walnut Exchange – Operators at Switchboard”
2. You may wish to talk about why only women worked as telephone operators, how party lines worked, and why telephones needed operators during the early 20th century.
Summary/Conclusion:
Once students have discussed their comparison of telephone operations during the early 20th-century to present day, have them speculate as to the future of
communications in our country. Encourage students to discuss how much has changed in such a short period of time.
Assessment Activities:
1. Have students ask their older family members how talking on the phone has changed over time. This could be an excellent service-learning activity if you have access to a retirement community.
2. Students could count how many times they see a person using a telephone (cell phones included) during the day.
3. Have students write a response to the following prompt:
“A Day in the Life of a Telephone” or “When I Was a Telephone in 1935” General Notes (Extension Activities)
1. Invite women from various occupations to present to your class. In addition, you may have older women, preferably women who worked prior to the 1960’s, speak about their occupations.
2. You may wish to share your own experiences with how communication has changed your life. Students could then ask other teachers how communication has changed their roles as educators.
3. Lead students in a sample “Telephone Game”. Students are to sit in a circle close together, and the teacher will begin a simple sentence, like “History is Fun”, by whispering it into a student’s ear. The students will then continue the whisper around the circle. If the student has difficulty hearing the phrase, they may say “operator” once to have the person repeat the whisper. The final student shares the sentence with the rest of the class. This activity is excellent for students, as it stresses listening skills, and students can easily see the importance of operators in early communications.
Bibliography: Internet:
1. Media History Project provides resources as to the history of communication. It can be accessed at http://www.mediahistory.umn.edu/index2.html
2. Douglas Country Historical Society. http://www.omahahistory.org/ 3. Durham Western Heritage Museum. http://www.dwhm.org/
4. Early Omaha: Gateway to the West.
http://www.omaha.lib.ne.us/earlyomaha/index.html
5. “Media Analysis Tools.” The Library of Congress. The Learning Page. http://lcweb2.loc.gov/learn/lessons/media.html
6. National Archives. Digital Classroom. Document Analysis Worksheets.
http://www.archives.gov/digital_classroom/lessons/analysis_worksheets/workshe ets.html
7. Nebraska Department of Education. Social Science. [Link to Nebraska K-12 History Social Studies/History Standards]
http://www.nde.state.ne.us/SS/ssstandards.html
9. Nebraska Studies. http://www.nebraskastudies.org/
10. Nebraska Western Trails. http://www.nlc.state.ne.us/westerntrails/ 11. Omaha Public Schools. Elementary Standards
http://webmail.ops.org/socialstudies_web/Elementary/ 12. Omaha Public Schools. Grade 8 US History Standards.
http://webmail.ops.org/socialstudies_web/Secondary/US_History 13. Omaha Public Schools. Grade 7 World Cultures: Eastern Hemisphere.
http://webmail.ops.org/socialstudies_web/Secondary/World_Culture 14. Omaha Public Schools. Social Studies Home Page.
http://webmail.ops.org/socialstudies_web/home%20page
15. “Photograph Analysis Form.” The Library of Congress. The Learning Page. http://lcweb2.loc.gov/learn/lessons/98/brady/photo.html
16. “Photograph Analysis Guide. The Library of Congress. The Learning Page. http://lcweb2.loc.gov/learn/educators/workshop/sah/photo.html
17. “Pictures as Primary Sources.” The Library of Congress. The Learning Page. http://memory.loc.gov/learn/educators/workshop/discover/create.html
18. “Primary Source Tool Kit.” The Library of Congress. The Learning Page. http://memory.loc.gov/learn/educators/workshop/discover/toolkit.html 19. “Students as Historians Exercises for the Elementary and Middle School
Students.” Library of Congress. Learning Page.
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/learn/educators/workshop/sah/hover.html 20. The Union Pacific Railroad Museum. Council Bluff, Iowa
http://www.uprr.com/aboutup/history/museum/index.shtml 21. Trans Mississippi and International Exposition.
http://www.omaha.lib.ne.us/transmiss/about/about.html
22. “Types of Primary Sources.” The Library of Congress. The Learning Page. http://memory.loc.gov/learn/lessons/psources/types.html
23. “What Are Primary Sources?” The Library of Congress. The Learning Page. http://memory.loc.gov/learn/educators/workshop/discover/primary.html 24. “What Did You See? Photo Analysis Guide.” The Library of Congress. The
Learning Page.
