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Activity 23: Memories

 

Meets EALR: Social Studies, History

2.1 investigate and research

locate, gather, and process information from a variety of primary and secondary sources, including photographs, drawings, artifacts, oral accounts, and documents as grade level appropriate

 

Objective: Students read or listen to memories from the book, Preserving the Stories of Issaquah.  Then they write their own memories.  An extension is to do an oral history with a parent or grandparent.

 

Materials: book Preserving the Stories of Issaquah, paper, pencil, interview questions (see attached), WWII Watchtower Log

 

Procedure:

Part I

  1. Discuss how journals, diaries, stories (oral or written), newspapers, and letters can tell us information about the past.
  2. Read any combination of any of the following short passages from the book, Preserving the Stories of Issaquah.  *See attached page for recommended passages.  Most of these passages are only one or two paragraphs long.  Teachers may want to divide up the readings into several different days by reading one category of stories per day.  This is a wonderful opportunity to give students some exposure to a wide range of Issaquah history including the depression and World War II.  When reading the selections about WWII, share the laminated watchtower log.  This is a recording of citizens that watched for Japanese planes from a watchtower during WWII.
  3. Ask students, “What can we learn about the history of Issaquah from these stories?”
  4. Tell students to think of a memorable experience that they have had.  This could be the first time they tried something new, the first time they traveled somewhere new, the funniest thing that ever happened to them, the happiest day they have ever had, a special holiday or celebration that they remember, etc.  Remind students that it can be about an event, a place, a person that is special to them, or simply what they enjoy doing in their free time.
  5. Students write their own memory.  They can illustrate and create a class book about modern memories.  If the class does The Modern Time-Capsule Trunk activity, they can add their book to the trunk.

 

 

 

 

 

Part II

  1. To learn more about the past, as a homework assignment, have students interview a family member or friend (preferably an older person whose experiences go back more than 30 years). Ask students, “What do you think we can learn by asking people questions and listening to the stories they have to tell?”  Explain that they will share their interview results at a later date.
  2. Use the interview form to gather information from a family member or friend.  Students can share their interview results with the class.
  3. After students have had an opportunity to share either their own memories or a family member’s memories, help the students identify what is a primary and secondary source.
  4.  Discuss how even two primary sources might vary in description.   Ask, “Has anyone ever shared the same experience with someone else but you each remember how it happened a little differently?”  Discuss how different people might choose to stress different elements of a story.  For example, a child might recall the excitement of fireworks on a Fourth of July celebration, while their parents might recall preparing the picnic and visiting with relatives.  Discuss how what gets recorded as history is often what was important or memorable to the individual that is recording the event.

 

Preserving the Stories of Issaquah

 

Suggested Reading Selections  (Teachers should preview all selections and edit as they deem necessary.)

 

School Days:

Stores and Work:

·        page 9 by Vi Peterson

·        page 9 by Marian Stefani Hampton

·        page 11 by Lorraine Swanson Morton

·        page 13 by Hooker Hailstone

The Great Depression: (These passages will require some additional teacher explanation about what the depression was.)

·        page 20 by Ted Cowan

·        page 20 by Les Adair

·        page 20 by Rachel Darst

·        page 20 by John Brady

·        page 21 by Mary Lewis

·        page 21 by Marian Stefani Hampton

·        page 21 by Peechie Bergsma Stefani

World War II: (These passages will require some additional teacher explanation about what people did in America during the war and why.)

·        page 22 by Peechie Bergsma Stefani

·        page 22 by Vi Petersen

·        page 23 by Wilma Hill

·        page 23 by Urban Masset

·        page 25 by Vi Petersen (you may want to explain what internment camps were, why they happened, and why many people now feel that it was a great tragedy)

·        page 25 by Rachel Darst

Salmon Hatchery:

·        page 42 by Urban Masset

·        page 42 by Rachel Darst

·        page 42 by David Waggoner

 

Interview: Questions to Ask a Family Member or Friend

 

Person you are interviewing: _________________________

 

Relationship to you: ____________________________

 

 

What year were you born? ______________

 

Where were you born and where have you lived?  ______________________

 

_______________________________________________________________

 

What is your heritage?  From which countries did your ancestors come?

 

_______________________________________________________________

 

 

What were special holidays, traditions, or customs that you celebrated and what did you do during those times?

 

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What modern conveniences were not around when you were growing up and how did that make your childhood different from children growing up today?

 

_______________________________________________________________

 

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What did you play? _______________________________________________

 

How was school different when you were growing up? ____________________

 

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What is the funniest memory you have? ________________________________

 

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What is the most amazing thing or change you have seen in your lifetime?

 

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