New Sights and Sounds:
Inventions that Changed a Century
Chad Fairey
Tina Pounds
Glasgow Middle School; Alexandria, Virginia
Objectives
Through the course of these activities, the student will be able to:
-
Analyze the role and impact of technological innovation in the late 19th
and early 20th century.
-
Evaluate manuscripts, sound recordings, and motion pictures to construct
historical meaning.
-
Compare the lives, thoughts and ambitions of two contemporary inventors
-
Critically analyze the connections between technological innovations and
the growth of big business and monopoly.
Time Required
Three separate activities; each activity length is 1-2 class periods.
Supplemental acitvities can be conducted in short amounts of time or woven
into a larger, contextual unit.
Recommended Grade Level
Lessons are designed for the middle and high school level.
Curriculum Fit
Lessons have been designed for isolated or collective use within the American
history curriculum, ideally within the period covering 1870-1920 (usually
referred to as the Gilded Age & Progressive Era). Specifically, these
units can meet standards addressing the role of technology in society,
innovation and invention in 19th century America, and the role of
communication in human relations.
Virginia Standards of Learning will go here.
Resources Used
Evaluation and Extension
Describe any evaluation and/or extension activities here.
Top of Page
Authors: Chad Fairey
and Tina Pounds
Lesson
One -- The Tone of the "Talking
Telegraph"
Lesson
Two -- The Motion Picture: Information
or Entertainment?
Lesson
Three - The "Wizard" and the "Professor": The
Men and Their Motives