American History Teachers' Collaborative Lesson Plan: Studying the History of Community Involvement and Jane Addams' Hull House

Studying the History of Community Involvement in Comparison to Jane Addams’ Hull House
Andrew Peralta
Summer 2009

Unit: The Injustices of the 1910’s and 1920’s

Topic: Jane Addams

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Abstract: Students will begin to understand the wide spread social influence that was caused by Jane Addams and her Hull House. Our class will explore current social welfare programs within our community, look at past programs within Champaign County, and compare these activities to those of the Hull House in the early 20^th century.

Essential Questions/Enduring Understandings: It is the goal of this lesson for students to ask themselves if they are doing enough to help people within their community that are not as fortunate as they are. Will they treat their neighbor the way that they wish they would be treated in the same situation?

Assessments: Students will be asked to write an essay on either one of the local institutions focused on helping the area’s less fortunate or a biography of Jane Addams and the Hull House. Students will also have the opportunity to earn extra credit in taking time out to help one of these organizations.

Setting the purpose: Students will read a number of articles from the East Central Illinois Newspaper, the News-Gazette, that focus on the relocation of a “tent city”. This settlement of homeless individuals was removed from their original location in the back yard of the Catholic Worker House in Champaign. It is my hope that these articles will show the connection between the disadvantaged within our community and those of the Near West Side in Chicago, IL.

Analysis of local primary sources:

Students will explore primary documents with the use of a written document analysis worksheet. Students look at these documents in groups of 6 and will pass the materials among the other groups. This document examination will take place over two days.

Day 1: Introduce students to the plight of some citizens within their own community

Procedures:

1.) Students will be asked about poverty that they have seen in their own town. Have they seen homeless people, pan handlers, people living out of cars?

2.) Students will be introduced to the Tent City controversy that is taking place in Champaign, IL

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/living/2009/07/08/host_of_code_violations_found_at_catholic_worker_house

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/politics/2009/07/15/volunteers_defend_tent_city_at_catholic_worker_house

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/courts_crime_fire/2009/07/31/homeless_must_vacate_champaigns_tent_city_after_tonight

3.) Students will write their feelings about the situation and what they wish the conclusion would be.

4.) Students will be asked to go home and ask their parents their opinion on the situation

Day 2: Students will then research how the community helps with social issues:

Procedures:

1.) Students will discuss their findings from their discussion at home the night before.

2.) Students will research the following organizations within the community.

Restoration Urban Ministries - http://www.restorationurbanministries.com/

Catholic Worker House- http://www.catholicworker.org/

Food Bank - http://www.eifoodbank.org/

Times Center - http://www.mhcenter.org/

Frances Nelsen Health Center– http://multi.media.illinois.edu/ng/j480spring2009/newhealthcare/Health_Care_Without_Insurance_In_Champaign_County/Frances_Nelson.html

3.) Students will be asked to write about which organization they think will bring about the most good and which organization they would want to help if the opportunity arises.

Day 3: Students will tie these organizations to the efforts in historic Champaign County called the Poor Farm:

1.) Students will review their findings of the past two days.

2.) Students will then examine a series of articles written in the News-Gazette at the turn of the century.

3.) Students will use the written document analysis worksheet to examine the articles.

4.) Students will then discuss the effort and how whether or not these types of social projects are available for county citizens today.

a. http://www.library.illinois.edu/archives/archon/?p=digitallibrary/digitalcontent&id=2575

b. http://www.vermilioncounty.info/il-cham-list.html

c. http://www.ucimc.org/content/pressures-champaign-county-nursing-home-reduce-cost-care-be-careful-what-you-ask

Day 4: Students will expand the social projects that were in place in Champaign County to the work done by Jane Addams’ Hull House in Chicago during the same time period.

1.) Students will be review their discoveries from the previous day and expand the discussion to explore how efforts here in Champaign County compare to Jane Addams’ Hull House in Chicago during the same time period.

2.) Students will split into groups and read an article the Cobblestone book on Jane Addams and explore different primary sources of the time period.

a. Map of the neighborhood surrounding the Hull House (Ethnically and Economically)

b. Pictures of various activities instituted at the Hull House

c. Various stories told by Hull House volunteers and residences

3.) Talk about how these lessons of Hull House relate back to what we see in our communities today and the importance of social programs within our society.

Ties to national primary sources or sources:

Annotated list of materials and resources for the lesson or stories of lessons