TitleIII Technology Literacy Challenge Grant

Learning Unit

LU Title: Muckraking literature	Author(s): Sue Burwell
Grade Level: AP American	School : Madrid-Waddington
Topic/Subject Area: American History	Address: Madrid, New York
Email: sburwell@mum.neric.org	Phone/Fax: (315) 322-5746

OVERVIEW

Mark Twain coined the phrase "Gilded Age" in reference to the late 19^th Century in America. The hidden, "Gilded", corruption of the period was exposed by a special group of writers referred to as the Muckrakers. The Muckrakers of the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries left a lasting mark on the US. Their response to the corruption and abuse in US culture set the pattern for future reform movements in America.

CONTENT KNOWLEDGE

Declarative	Procedural
Conditions of the late 19^th century that cause the emergence of the muckrakers	Skill development on how to present material and analysis to other students in a seminar, discussion format
The unique nature of muckraking literature	Skill development on how to take notes in a seminar setting
Specific authors and their works	Analysis of a chosen piece of literature and how it mirrors the conditions of the age
The political, economic, and social response in the US to the Muckrakers
The sociological attitudes of the period addressed by the Muckrakers

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

What conditions in the US during the late 19^th Century brought on the rise of the Muckrakers?
How did the Muckrakers expose the corrupt practices of the late 19^th Century?
What role did the Muckrakers play in changing US society?

CONNECTIONS TO NYS LEARNING STANDARDS
List Standard # and Key Idea #: Write out related Performance Indicator(s) or Benchmark(s)

Social Studies Standards:

Standard #1; substandard 2 "… interactions of people and events across time and from a variety of perspectives"
Standard #1; substandard 3 "…about important roles and contributions of individuals and groups"
Standard #1; substandard 4 "… understand the importance of changing and competing interpretations of different historical developments"

ELA Standards:

Standard #1 : Language for understanding and information

The students will : "… read to acquire information" … " interpret and analyze complex informational texts & presentations…"

The students will" … Interpret information into one's own words, apply information from one context to another; & present the information & interpretation clearly, concisely & comprehensively"

Standard #3 Language for Critical analysis & Evaluation

The student will "… present orally & in writing well-developed analyses of issues, ideas, and texts …"

INITIATING ACTIVITY

The students will be assigned to bring in an object that they think is gilded; this can be as simple as a Christmas ornament. In a seminar like setting, the class will discuss what it means for something to be "gilded". Included in this discussion will be an examination of teacher selected quotes and a speculation as to what this says about the time period under examination.

LEARNING EXPERIENCES
In chronological order including acquisition experiences and extending/refining
experiences for all stated declarative and procedural knowledge.

Declarative Knowledge

In class discussion of the term 'Gilded" and analysis of the teacher supplied quotes [both primary and secondary] that deal with the definition of this term. [analysis]
Traditional teacher given notes on the political, economic, and social nature of the time period; inclusive of the Muckrakers and their role in the history of the time period [acquisition]
Graphic organizer of the Gilded Age [acquisition ]
Graphic organizer of the nature of Political Machines [acquisition ]
Reading of teacher selected chapters from Shame of the Cities by Lincoln Steffens, 1906 ["Tweed days in St. Louis" & "The Shamelessness of St. Louis"] and completion of study sheets. [analysis]
In class reading of A Traveller from Altruria by William Dean Howells and the completion of the study sheets. This is followed by an essay in which the student must assume the role of a farmer, a worker, or a wealthy person in the Gilded Age and analyze the society portrayed by Howells in his book. [analysis]. This activity includes a set of teacher created study questions to help the students pull out the important information and concepts. These questions help the students to see the role of literature in the Social Studies classroom.
Internet time : the students are to first locate web sites for the Gilded Age and the Muckraker authors; from this they submit an annotated bibliography of what they have found. [Deductive]. With this activity and the selection of their own author there are no teacher created study sheets; the students must do the analysis on their own.

Procedural Knowledge:

Teacher will model and give notes on how to lead and take notes in seminar settings [comparison]
Students will critically assess each others' presentations using a teacher designed analysis sheet [analysis]

CULMINATING PERFORMANCE
Include rubric(s)

The students will select from their annotated bibliography a Muckraker author. They will completely research the person, the work, and even what the critics said about the work. Finally, they will run a paper copy, from the Internet ,of one of the author's works. They will read it and analyze it as to what it says about the Gilded Age and the role of their Muckraker in changing America.

Each student will present, in a seminar setting, their author, their analysis of the work, what this says about the attitudes of the Gilded Age and future societal changes. During these presentations the students will evaluate each other. The student is responsible to submit a written report to the teacher as well as the oral seminar report to the class.

The class will then create a "book" of analyses of the Muckraker authors, so that each student will have a quick reference to a number of authors and not just the one they had researched.

The following Rubrics are patterned after the rubrics used to grade the AP exam. The students need to become very familiar with the grading expectations of the College Board graders.

Rubric for written work:

Score of 4

Organization is exceptional, organization that enhances the project
Understanding is a complete understanding of the basic concepts and content
Coverage is in depth, breadth, and completely accurate
Conclusion is plausible and supported by the evidence

Score of 3

Organization is proficient
Proficient understanding; minor errors do not distract
Coverage is even and accurate for the most part
Conclusion is plausible, supported by evidence but weaknesses are noted

Score of 2:

Organization is weak and distracts from the stated purpose
Understanding is marginal when it comes to concepts and content, major errors in fact are present
Coverage is partially accurate, major errors in fact are present
Conclusion has limited plausibility and is supported with little evidence

Score of 1

Lacks organization, information is presented in a random manner
Demonstrates little understanding of concepts and content
Coverage has little or no accuracy
Conclusion is incorrect, minimal evidence is present

Score of 0 = Did not attempt the task

Rubric for Oral Report

Score of 4:

Coverage is in depth, complete coverage of the topic
Accuracy : completely accurate
Effective presentation of the content and concepts

Score of 3:

Proficient coverage of the topic, minor areas not covered
Accurate for the most part, minor errors do not distract from the overall report
Competent presentation of content and concepts with minor inaccuracies

Score of 2:

Limited coverage of the topic; major omissions and/or factual errors are present
Partially accurate, major errors of fact are present
Marginal presentation of concepts and content with major inaccuracies

Score of 1:

Little coverage of the topic; material irrelevant or off-topic
Little or no accuracy
Random and sparse presentation of content and concepts

Score of 0 = Did not attempt the task

PRE-REQUISITE SKILLS

Ability to interpret literature in reference to the time period in which it is written; rather than in terms of the reader's own time period
Ability to utilize the internet to obtain information on a specific era
Ability to access novels on the net

MODIFICATIONS

Modifications that teachers could introduce to this unit would include such things as using the art, architecture, & music of the time period to establish the mood and attitudes of the Gilded Age in a graphic way. The acceptance of ostentatious display of wealth in the midst of abject poverty can be found in these areas as well as in the areas of literature and the printed word.

As a hands -on activity the students could examine the art of the period, reproduce it, and then research the time and the specific place it was produced.

The tight time context of the AP course makes it very hard to extend activities over along period of time. The students know the time frame in which they are to complete activities and it is strictly adhered to because the AP test is given in mid-May.

[ Due to the nature of AP courses, these modifications were designed to address differences in Learning Styles, rather than ability.]

UNIT SCHEDULE/TIME PLAN

Day #1 : [ textbook concerning the time period have already been assigned for the student to read prior to class] Discussion of the term "gilded". What might it mean when applied to a time period in history. Student examination of and discussion of selected quotes [both primary and secondary] that refer to the nature of the Gilded Age

Days #2 & 3 : Traditional notes [ instructor given] concerning the society and culture of the Gilded Age

Day #4 : Completion in class of the graphic organizer concerning the Gilded Age

Day #5 : Traditional teacher created notes on the politics of the gilded Age

Day #6 : Completion of the graphic organizer illustrating the political machine and how it functions. This is followed by a discussion of the assigned chapters from the book , Shame of the Cities

Days # 7 to #9 : In class reading of the novel, A Traveller from Altruria by William Dean Howells.

Day # 10 : Discussion in class of the assigned guided reading questions. Assigned for homework , an essay in which the students must analyze the society portrayed by Howells in the book from the point of view of a farmer, a worker or a wealthy person of the Gilded Age.

Day # 11 : Time on the Internet : assigned to find web sites for both the Gilded Age and the Muckraker authors . Students are to submit an annotated bibliography of what they found.

Day #12 : The students are to select a Muckraker author with the approval of the instructor. Then using the Internet, they are to research the author and print off an example of his work. Through reading analysis they are to define the role of the muckraker in changing attitudes in the U.S..

Days #13 through Day # 15 : The students will have reading time in class to complete their selected work of literature. They will be expected to finish their reading over the weekend and be ready to present their author and analysis for Monday.

Day #16 : Teacher modeling and notes on : (a) How to lead a seminar, (b) How to take notes in a seminar setting.

Days #17 to #20 : Seminar presentations of the student's Muckraker and their analysis of what this author is saying about the nature of the Gilded Age.

TECHNOLOGY USE

The technology used in this unit is the Internet. It will be used as a research tool to access materials of the time period that are not readily available at local libraries. Included in this are biographies , literary criticism of the time period, and even full texts of the Muckraker literature.