Using Historical Markers to Document People, Places, and Events

The 5 sessions suggested in this lesson are best delievered so that students can have time between sessions to complete the assignments.  Scheduling speakers on local history can enhance each session.

Students will work in pairs or teams to do the following: 

• conduct research on local historical markers in their communities.
• observe existing markers and note what information is found on historical markers. 
• interview community leaders, local history experts, tour historical sites, or visit local libraries to learn about important people, places, or events that lack recognition.
• select a location and focus for a marker.
• create a marker for the location using class guidelines for an informative marker.
• present their marker and research to the class or other interest groups.

Session One

1.  Begin with a discussion of local historical markers.  Ask the students about markers they have seen on trips.  Make a list of markers that students remember on chart paper.  Ask students to list elements that make a marker helpful in understanding a location.
2.  Discuss historical markers and their purposes.  Share images of markers.  Key questions are as follows:

• What are historical markers?
• Where are markers usually found?
• Why might some people like or not like markers?
• What is the purpose of a historical marker?
• Who creates historical markers?
• What markers are there near our schools or homes or in our  city or county?
• What is one interesting marker that you have seen?

3.  Show the Google Slides Presentation with Guided and Independent Practice.  Students will learn to analyze a marker based on audience, purpose, language, location, and accuracy.  Use the Understanding Historical Markers handout.
4.  Do guided practice to help students analyze the selected marker of North Bridge, a site mentioned in Concord Hymn by Ralph Waldo Emerson.  The text of the poem with highlights is provided in the Google Slides presentation.  The class will complete each item on the Understanding Historical Markers handout during guided practice.  The Historical Marker Database contains markers from many time periods and locations. ( https://www.hmdb.org/)
Questions to consider:
Location:  Where is the marker located?  What part of the state?  Is the marker near any other landmarks?  What is the weather like there?  Why might we need to consider the weather?
Audience:  Who is likely to visit this area?  Who will read this marker?  (local citizens, tourists, educated people, other nationalities who may not speak English)  Who will not visit this area?
Purpose:  What does the marker want the reader to know?  List at least three key ideas on the marker in the order of most to least important.  Should this marker have any other information?
Language/Word Choice:  Does the marker use any terms that need more explanation or are unfamiliar words?  Does the marker have any confusing words?  Are there words written in a language other than English?  Why is word choice so important in creating the text for a marker?
Accuracy:  Who created this marker?  Does the marker name an author, group, or organization that created or funded it?  Why are the authors or sponsors important?  Does this marker contain any errors?

• Homework or additional classwork:  Independent Practice as specified in the Google Slides presentation.  Introduce the practice to the students so that each student can select a marker and analyze it during class or at home if computer access is available.  
• Source citations:  Review the method of citing the sources of information.  EasyBib is one simple method that students can use to create a citation.  Sample citations are provided on the Citation Reference Sheet and on the Google Slides presentation.

Session Two

1  Review the information from the Understanding Historical Markers handout.
2.  Show a picture of a historical marker that is in the town, near the schools, or community.  Review the key aspects of location, audience, purpose, language/word choice, and accuracy.
3.  Ask the students to consider other places in the area that might need markers.  Put the students' ideas on the overhead or white board.  Some examples might be the following:  an old house, a park named for a person, a train station, an old store, a special street, a bridge, an historical neighborhood, a statue (a statue might have a name but no information about the person's importance), the site of  important building that has been destoryed--such as the first school, an important church, or the site of the first city hall, a building with extremely unusual architecture, a famous first in the community such as the first shopping mall, the site where an important event occurred such as the first football game in the community, or an old family cemetery,
4.  Each pair or team will select one location that they know something about or that they have an interest in.  They will conduct research to learn more about their location using a variety of resources such as websites about local history, books from the school or public library, news articles, or information folders provided by the teacher.  Students will take notes about the information.  
5.  The students should use the Writing a Historical Marker Assignment handout and the Taking Notes and Summarizing Information handout and review the assignment.  The teacher will introduce the assignment rubric and allow students to ask questions about the expectations for the assignment.
6.  The students will begin taking notes on one resource.

Session Three

1.  Each team or pair will share the location they are researching. They will discuss one idea they have learned so far.
2.  Ask the students to find a person to interview about their location.  They may choose a family member or family friend, a teacher or local historian.  Ask the students to share people that would be appropriate sources of information.  (answers may include a museum curator or volunteer, a grandparent, a local minister, a university professor, a store owner, a home owner, a writer from the local newspaper, a police officer or fireman, a local official such as the mayor or city council member.)
3.  Discuss interviewing and notetaking skills. The key to a good interview is to find someone knowledgeable about the topic and have questions prepared for them to answer.  The following are general questions:
What do you know about this location?
Is this location important to you or to our area?  Why or why not?
What memories do you have of this location?
Describe the important events, buildings, or people who were at this location.
4.  Students should write more specific questions suited to their location and its meaning:
For example, 
(for a theater)  What movies were shown here?  How much did a ticket cost?  Was it a popular place for young people?  How did people come to the theater?  How often did most people go?
(for a train station)  Does this station still operate?  When did it begin operating?  When did it stop?  Did any famous people travel through town and stop at this station?  How many people rode the train?  What stops did the train make?
(for a park)   Where did the park get its name?  (If it is named after person, why was the person honored in this way?)  Did it always look like this?  What other features did it have?  Why did it change? What kinds of events were held in this park?  Was it a popular place to go?
5.  Students will draft both general and specific questions about their location.  They will conduct their interview and write the notes for the next session. 

Session Four

1.  Review the assignment description.  Relate the assignment to the grading rubric.  Show examples of excellent markers and others that may not fit the rubric.  Review the keys to an effective marker.  Demonstrate how students can use the information that they have found to achieve their goal.
2.  Discuss methods of summarizing information. Students should ask:  "What must a reader know to understand why this place is important?"
3.  Students should now read and review the notes they have made.  Use the What is Important about Your Research handout. Students will make a list of their most important facts. They will note what is important and why.
4.  Students will write a draft of the text for their markers by composing a paragraph for their location.  The draft should introduce the reader to the place, tell them what is interesting about the location, include any names or dates as needed, and explain the significance for the surrounding area and for history in general.
5.  Students will turn in a working draft to the teacher at the end of class.  The teacher will write a response to the draft and return the draft during Session Five.
6.  For homework, students may draw or take a digital photo of their location that is due for the next session.

Sesson Five
 
1,  The teacher will return the students' drafts with comments.  With students' permission, the teacher could share positive elements from the drafts and offer suggestions to the class as a whole.
2.  As the teacher circulates among the pairs or groups, students will revise their paragraphs.  They may write or type the drafts.  The goal is for the students to produce a final draft of their historical marker text that is effective and mechanically correct.  Ask the students to rate themselves using the rubric as their guide.
3.  Students will share their texts and location pictures in a small display using Google Slides or a poster board.
4.  The teacher may wish to display the work by printing the slides or posting the display boards around the class or in the media center.
5.  When the assignments are complete, the teacher will rate each one using the rubric.
 

Extensions:

• Make a presentation to peers in other classes or to community groups.
• Portray a person from the time period of the marker to explain its importance.
• Create a marker about themselves about a place they have lived or visited.  They may write it as though they are famous and others would want to know about their lives.
• Compile a website using Google Sites to showcase students' historical markers to others in the community or to share with the local tourism bureau. 
• Map the locations on an area map so that others can visit famous community locations.

Historical Marker Assignment Rubric