Today's Lesson Idea is one I actually did back in middle school, in Mr. Dierks' 7th grade social studies class. We were learning about Lewis and Clark, and Dierks had us do something I still remember to this day: pretend YOU were on the expedition, and write about your "time" on the expedition in a Diary Entry. It was both a fun way of learning about the expedition and a lesson in where they were when, and how, and with who (covering all the bases here!). So, here's some instructions for leading your students make their own Diary Entries!
Supplies
Paper
Soy Sauce
Paper towels
History Textbooks
First, you'll want to choose a time period in history. To make things easier, we'll just do the Lewis and Clark expedition I used in my example. Start by either assigning the students a certain role in the event (Billy is Lewis, Joey is Clark, etc.) OR have the students be their own people in the event (I was Captain Jebediah McCarthy, so I was on the Lewis and McCarthy expedition!) Once they've gotten their character, now you can begin.
Have the students read about the expedition from their textbooks, then encourage them to find at least 3 other resources about their event. If you've assigned them specific characters in the actual event, have them research those characters' lives and backgrounds as well as the main event. Encourage them to do research at home as well-it never hurts!
Once they've fully immersed themselves in the topic (which should take about 2 days, at max), hand out the papers they'll be writing the entry on. I've found that printer paper is best, and you can format it to your choosing with lines, date boxes, and a signature line (I don't recommend this, though, as it takes away from the "accuracy", which you'll learn about in a bit). Now comes the homework assignment: the students must write a diary entry as their character! After they've stopped moaning, stress that their rough draft of the letter MUST BE WRITTEN ON NOTEBOOK PAPER. It gives the students an ability to make mistakes, and will make it much easier to read when grading.
Next, have them write the drafts for a few days, and collect them on Friday. Why Friday? It gives you, the teacher, 2 days to grade them (tough enough already, I know), and allows the students time to relax but not enough time to forget. If you wait to give them back their rough drafts after Monday, it'll be too late! The kids will have become distracted and/or forgotten enough about the topic that they won't be as interested in it as before. Time is key!
Now, have them write their final drafts on the printer paper. Encourage cursive, but don't push it; some kids may not know it, especially nowadays. Finally, either in class or at home, lay out the paper towels (you will need a lot!) and place the entries on them. Have the students "age" their drafts with the soy sauce, but don't let them get too carried away! 3 pours should be enough. I ended up doing this part at home, but it's up to the teacher.
Have the letters dry overnight. In the morning, they'll be dry, crackly, and tanned, much like a two-hundred year old piece of paper (the only difference being is that they smell like Chinese food). For extra credit, have the students "age" an envelope as well, or paste the letter (if one-sided) into a journal, to make it even more accurate. Grade the final product, and post them for all the other classes to see.
There you have it! Diary entries that every kid will enjoy! I discovered that I now know more about the Discovery Corps' interactions with the Walla Walla's due to this project than I ever learned reading in the textbook or hearing from a teacher. It follows the 5 Steps of making history fun: it gets the kids' attention and can make history enjoyable for both student and teacher. So, go try it out! It usually ends up taking about a week and a half, and don't be afraid to share your results; we always want to make sure our Lesson Ideas work! Once again, thanks for reading!
-Pharaoh Noh-Tyep
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