TPS-MTSU graduate research assistant Ethan Morris has created a new lesson plan, “Songs of the Labor Movement,” which analyzes two specific songs (one by Pete Seeger, one by Paul Robeson), then puts them into context against the larger back-ground of the labor and civil rights movements. Includes PowerPoint, informational worksheets, student worksheets, and answer keys.

2015 marks the last year of our Civil War Summer Institutes related to the Sesquicen-tennial commemoration. This year our theme is “Reconstruction,” and we’ll be based in Greeneville, TN, where we’ll visit the Andrew Johnson National Historic Site and other places associated with the Reconstruction story. Spots are already filling up fast, so please email your interest to Kira soon!

NEWS

“AWESOME” SOURCE

OF THE MONTH:

Content created and featured in partnership with the TPS program does not indicate an endorsement by the Library of Congress.

VOLUME 7, ISSUE 4 NEWSLETTER: APRIL 2015

TEACHING WITH PRIMARY SOURCES—MTSU

UPCOMING EVENTS:

April 30 (Knoxville) — “Reconstruction Tennessee” Workshop in partnership with the Tennessee State Library and Archives as part of the Tennes-see Civil War Sesquicentennial Signature Event in Knoxville, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. EST. To register, email Kelly Wilker-son.

June 16-17 (Knoxville) — “Exploring the History of Labor in the United States” at the East Tennessee History Center from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. EST. Attend-ance required for both days. To register, email Lisa Oakley.

June 23-25 (Greeneville) — Civil War Summer Institute: Reconstruction. For more in-formation and a complete agen-da, click here. To register, email Kira Duke.

July 13-15 (Cookeville) — World War I Summer Institute in partnership with the Tennes-see State Library and Archives. Registration information and a complete agenda will be re-leased in the coming weeks.

The first Earth Day was celebrated on April 22, 1970, and is still going strong today (see this blog and this blog). To coincide with Earth Day, we are focusing on various envi-ronmental themes this month. Our lesson ideas on human intervention, earthquakes, animal habitats at zoos and aquariums, and the role of U.S. presidents in conservation will appeal to teachers in Science and Social Studies, from grades 2 through 12.

The history of the environmental movement in the U.S. is one area of science-history intersection in which the Library of Con-gress excels, with online collections and a themed resource set for teachers to use. Check out the “Important Links” box on p. 2 for more resources!

WELCOME!

Teaching with Primary Sources—Middle Tennessee State University, administered by the Center for Historic Preservation, engages learners of all ages in using primary sources to explore major issues and questions in many different disciplines.

Contact: Stacey Graham or Kira Duke at (615) 898-2947 or www.mtsu.edu/tps

[Theodore Roosevelt and John Muir on Glaci-er Point, Yosemite Valley, California].. [1906]

How did Theodore Roosevelt’s outdoorsy interests in hunting and hiking have an impact on national policies towards wildlife and pub-lic parks?

THEME : THE ENVIRONMENT

The national parks preserve wild life [between 1936 and 1939]

LESSON IDEA– HUMAN INTERVENTION

LESSON IDEA– EARTHQUAKES

An earthquake is caused by the release of energy from the movement of the Earth’s tectonics plates. The seismic energy released can cause the ground to shake, ground displacement, landslides, tsunamis (when the earthquake happens in the sea bed), and vol-canic activity. When an earthquake happens closer to the Earth’s surface, structural damage can be more significant. Earthquakes happen all the time, but vary in intensity. We often don’t feel weaker ones. The magnitude of an earthquake is measured by seismometers on the Richter magnitude scale.

California is a hotbed for earthquake activi-ty and one of the most famous earth-quakes to strike the state happened in San Francisco in 1906. Begin by having students analyze the images of the damage. What stands out in these images? Then show them the silent film of the damage (14:39). How does the film compare to the images? What new details are the students able to discern? Next have students read about the earthquake. Based on their observations, what conclusions can be drawn about this earthquake? Was it a strong earthquake? How pervasive was the damage? How does the damage here compare with damage from other natural disasters?

Next have students analyze this map of seismic activity in the San Francisco Bay Area. (This map is best viewed online so that students will be able to zoom in and read the details.) How prevalent are earthquakes in this area? Why do earthquakes happen here? How do more recent earthquakes compare with the 1906 quake? What other conclusions can they draw from this map? Are there other regions in the world that have equal or greater amounts of seismic activity?

This lesson idea meets Tennessee state standards for grades 5 and 7 Science (standard 7: The Earth).

PAGE 2 NEWSLETTER : APRIL 2015

Important Links:

Nature and the Environment (themed resource)

Everyday Mysteries

The Debate Over North Shore Road (lesson activity)

Plant Travel: Studying the World Through Ecosystems (lesson plan; elementary level also available)

The Evolution of the Conservation Movement (collection)

Conservation and Environment maps

American Environmental Photographs, 1891-1936 (collection)

Earth Day: Selected Resources

National Park Service (Today in History)

As shown in the image to the left, logging has been going on in the United States for centuries. How are the logs used, and how does this affect the environment? When you mow your lawn or grow a vegetable garden in your backyard, is that changing the environment in which we live? Is it harming it? What about when you plant a tree for Earth Day? While it might be too difficult or unrealistic to perfectly preserve a landscape, there are things that we as humans can avoid doing for the sake of our environment.

Have your students brainstorm about other activities we do that affect the land-scape. Distribute markers and large

pieces of paper or poster board. In pairs, instruct each group of students to create an “Advantages and Disad-vantages” chart for these activities. Encourage your stu-dents to illustrate their work or print off images from the computer lab at your school. Each pair of students should then present their work to the rest of the class. What do all of the presentations have in common?

This lesson idea meets Tennessee state standards for

grades 9-12 Environmental Science (3260.2.8).

A log train in the virgin timbers. Three to six logs usually constitute a carload, sometimes a single log. Washington [1935-1942]

Ruins of San Francisco from the site of the Mechanics' Pavilion [1906]

Spring planting in a project garden. Coffee County, Alabama [1939]

For many people in the United States, a trip to a zoo or aquarium may be their only opportunity to see live animals from other parts of the world. When people visit zoos and aquariums, they believe they are seeing animals in something close to their nat-ural habitats. Yet, are zoos and aquariums truthful recreations of animal habitats? If they are now, have they always been?

Show your students a picture of a bear in its natural habitat. Have your students describe both the environment and the way the bear adapts to the environment. Then, have the students compare the picture of the bear’s natural habitat to a picture of a bear’s cage at a Chicago zoo in 1901. What are the differences between the two? Why might there be differences? How do these differences impact the bear? Next, have the students look at a picture of a giraffe in its native habitat. Like they did be-fore, have the students compare the picture of the giraffe’s native environment to a picture of a giraffe's cage in 1934. What are the differences?

Ask your students what they think of zoos in the first half of the twentieth century. How well did they recreate animals’ natural habitats? Have zoos made changes over the years? Have the zoos that your students have visited done a better job recreating natural habitats? Why do you think changes have taken place? To give stu-dents some visuals, feel free to show them pictures from the Nash-ville Zoo’s Instagram and the Memphis Zoo’s Animal Exhibits. If you want additional discussion, feel free to look at a picture of an aquarium in the nineteenth century and compare it to an aquarium environment in 2012. How have aquariums changed? Also take a look at Tennessee Aquarium’s Instagram.

This lesson idea meets Tennessee state standards for grades 2-3 Sci-ence (Standard 5; Biodiversity and Change).

LESSON IDEA–ANIMAL HABITATS AT ZOOS AND AQUARIUMS

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LESSON IDEA– CONSERVATION AS “PATRIOTIC DUTY”

“Conservation is a great moral issue, for it involves the patriotic duty of insuring the safety and continuance of the nation,” said Theodore Roosevelt in his “New Nationalism” speech in 1910, while running for a third term as president. (The conservation movement in America was already well under way.) Many presidents since TR have exercised this “patriotic duty” in order to protect plants, animals, and landscapes, against the backdrop of the larger movement for environmental conservation in the United States.

This lesson idea will focus on three episodes that highlight presidential involvement in this movement. You can go through these one by one as a class, or split your students into three groups, with each group analyzing one of the following:

Theodore Roosevelt’s stance on conservation in his “New Nationalism” speech. Have students read the two paragraphs from this speech that directly address conservation, starting here on p. 20. Consider his connection with people like John Muir, first president of the Sierra Club.

Franklin Roosevelt’s establishment of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in 1934 (the first to use federal funds). Have students read FDR’s “Address at the Dedication of Great Smoky Mountains National Park” from September 2, 1940. Consider FDR’s employment of Civilian Conservation Corps workers within the GSMNP (see here and here).

Richard Nixon’s establishment of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, in the wake of the environmentalist movement of the 1960s. Have students read Section 2 of the ESA, and consider how new legislation was inspired by the celebration of the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970.

Why did each of these presidents say these things? What were the stated reasons, and what was the context in which these de-cisions were made? How do each of these three episodes relate to one another? What do they say about conservation as being a “patriotic duty”?

This lesson idea meets Tennessee state standards for grades 9-12 Environmental Science (3260.4.11 ), Ecology (3255.6.3), and U.S. History and Government (U.S.19, 49 & 102).

The aquarium [n. d.; detail]

PAGE 4

EARTH DAY

Aerial view of Mountaintop Removal, approaching Racine [1995]

Extracting natural resources such as coal and gas from beneath the surface is fraught with challenges. In parts of Appalachia, moun-taintop removal is used as a way to mine coal. Have your students analyze the image. How does this type of mining impact the envi-ronment? How does it affect communities? Have your students research how mountaintop removal works and its long-term im-pacts. For older students, you might have them read this Smith-sonian article on the issue.

MOUNTAINTOP REMOVAL

Girl Scout in canoe, picking trash out of the Potomac River during Earth Week [1970]

This image shows a girl picking trash out of a river on April 22, 1970, the very first Earth Day. How does your school celebrate Earth Day? Ask your students if their families recycle at home, and, if not, why. Then, prompt your students to find ways to make the classroom more environmentally friendly, whether it’s recycling the used computer paper or making crafts and storage out of old, unused plastic bottles and containers.

AGRIBUSINESS

Jewett City, Connecticut (vicinity). Estonian poultry man, formerly a sailor, who got his start in the chicken raising business by a FSA (Farm Security Administration) loan [1942]

Over the years, small family farms have been replaced by large-scale suppliers of food. This growth in agribusiness has raised several questions: How will agribusiness impact small town economies? Will agribusiness lead to the abuse of animals? Will profit-driven farmers feed animals steroids to speed up animal growth? Will our food be fresh? Do we need local family farms to raise fresh foods?

NEWSLETTER : APRIL 2015

FIRST NATIONAL PARK

Castle Geyser, Yellowstone National Park [1898]

The very first national park was created on March 1, 1872, when President Ulysses Grant signed the bill and thus created a prece-dent in environmental conservation for the U.S. and the world. (Read the law here, and search maps of Yellowstone here.) When your students think of Yellowstone, what images come to mind? Do they think of geysers? Old Faithful? Sulfurous ponds? That’s because the park, which is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the most geothermally active and diverse in the world!