This lesson introduces students to searching the American Memory Collection for primary documents relating to The Adventures of Huck Finn and life along the Mississippi River  from 1850--1900. Searching the Collection will be modeled as a whole group activity first, then will be followed by students breaking into small groups to search various collections within the American Memory Collection. Students will be expected to use the skills learned from lesson one to gather documents that relate to issues in The Adventures of Huck Finn. 

• The learner will use online resources to locate and study documents concerning Mississippi River life during Twain's time.
• The learner will critically evaluate information sources for reliability, accuracy, perspective, relevancy and authoritativeness.
• The learner will understand culture and life around Hannibal during Twain's time.

Time Required

Recommended Grade Level

Curriculum Fit

Resources Used

• Historic American Sheet Music
• Music for the Nation: American Sheet Music, 1870--1885
• Taking the Long View: Panoramic Photographs.
• Map Collections: 1544--1996.
• Touring Turn of the Century: Photographs from The Detroit Publishing Company

Procedure

1. Introduce the American Memory Collection--what it is, who maintains it, features of the website.
2. Demonstrate how to navigate the American Memory Collection, briefly showing the types of collections on the site.
3. Demonstrate features and specifics of collection search pages.
4. Discuss keyword and synonym selection of terms that might yield desireable results when searching for documents relating to the topic.
• Have students brainstorm as a large group terms that could be used.
• Record terms on large paper for reference while searching.
• Consider using the following keywords: riverboat, steamboat, Twain, Finn, Hannibal, Mississippi River, steamboats—songs and music.
5. Students break into small groups to search for information relating to Hannibal or what was happening between 1850 and 1900 along or near the Missisippi River. Students will use the analysis worksheets to review information found and compile their observations and conclusions. Sample results are listed below.
• Map Analysis Worksheet
• Photograph Analysis Worksheet
• Sheet Music Analysis Worksheet
• Sample Results
• Map of Hannibal, MO
• Photograph of Hannibal, MO
• Sheet Music—Huckleberry Finn

Evaluation

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jwoody@netins.net
nthiese@aea1.k12.ia.us

May 19, 2000