Entry Points: find a way to engage your students and hook them from the beginning. Find out what they know and what they are curious about!
- Something Cool
- Check out Remarkable Ohio, a site that catalogs historic sites in Ohio and the markers that note them. Search by county and find the most interesting close to you. See if any students have been there before or noticed the markers. What do they already know about their area? What’s new and interesting?
- These Strange but True Facts About the Revolutionary War can spark some interesting research and inquiry. Deborah Sampson, for example, has a fascinating story! Read about how she pretended to be male in order to fight in the war. Then, create a Then & Now chart that brainstorms how life has changed for women.
- Read this article about Albert Woolson together “Albert Woolson: The Last Civil War Veteran”. Then have students brainstorm a list of changes that he would have experienced in his life. Trying turning the brainstormed list of changes into an informal timeline.
- Timeline Surprises: Check out some of the presented in the slideshow below. Which surprise you? What can you learn about duration of time and order of historical events as you analyze each?
- Something Funny Use one of these punny comics to start conversation. Display a comic and discuss. What background knowledge do your students have? What experiences do they have? What vocabulary do they know? What do they wonder?
- Something Important Happening in the News Sometimes it’s hard to find historical “news” but there are lots of fascinating articles that prove a nonfiction inroad. Check out some of these:
- “Wooden ‘Stonehenge’ Emerges From Prehistoric Ohio”
- “How Did the American Revolution Influence the French Revolution?” is a very readable article that talks about the similar causes of the revolutions and is a good introduction to thinking about historical patterns.
- “Meet the kid who prefers Revolutionary War museums to Disney World”
- Read about and discuss the debate concerning “Which states have produced the most U.S. presidents?.
Essential Questions: use these big picture wonderings to guide your students to deep understandings as you research, experiment, read, and create.
- How can we use information (from primary sources, secondary sources, and timelines) to create understanding about what has happened in the past?
- How have the people of Ohio changed over time?
- What conflicts have happened between peoples of Ohio in the past? Why did they occur and why are they important?
- How have the people of Ohio cooperated in the past? Why did this cooperation happen and why is it important?
- What beliefs caused the 13 colonies to fight in the American Revolution? Why are they important? How do these beliefs show up in our modern lives?
- What ideals and practical realities led to the Northwest Ordinance? How did those ideals and realities impact Ohio and the rest of the Northwest Territory?
- What were the causes of the War of 1812? How did the U.S. ultimately succeed?
- What were the causes of the Civil War? How was Ohio important in the abolition/Underground Railroad movement and how did that relate to the Civil War?
- What technological innovations have come from Ohio and how they helped people around the country?
The Integrated Curriculum Classroom 