Random Chicago Resources
Some may be duplicates of the Road Map page, but here’s a bunch of links to find info on hard-to-reasearch topics!
World’s Fair/Columbian Exposition of 1893:
- http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/cas/fnart/fa267/1893fair.html
- http://xroads.virginia.edu/~ma96/wce/tour.html
- http://www.chicagohs.org/history/expo.html
- http://www.hydepark.org/historicpres/ColumbianExp.htm
- http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/chicago/peopleevents/e_court.html
- http://www.gsd.harvard.edu/pbcote/courses/archive/2010/gsd6447/ashi/index.htm
- http://www.flickr.com/photos/brooklyn_museum/2784215013/
- http://travelphotobase.com/s/ILCEXPO.HTM
Chicago Fire:
- http://www.thechicagofire.com/
- http://hiddentruths.northwestern.edu/fire_accounts.html
- http://www.nationalcenter.org/ChicagoFire.html
- http://chicagology.com/chicago-fire/
- http://www.chicagohs.org/history/fire.html
Use these to find more, specific facts about Chicago:
- http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org
- http://library.thinkquest.org/CR0215480/
- http://www.chicagohistory.org
- http://chicagology.com/
- http://www.lib.depaul.edu/eresource/subject_search_infotype.asp?TopicID=141&SubjectID=13
Skyscrapers:
- http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/ci/bu/sk/li/?id=101030&bt=2&ht=2&sro=1
- http://skyscraperpage.com/cities/?cityID=4
- http://mintaka.sdsu.edu/faculty/erics/web/arcchicago.html
Neighborhoods of the City
Landmarks and Places
- Excellent Wiki Entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michigan_Avenue_(Chicago)
- City of Chicago’s page on South Michigan Avenue: http://egov.cityofchicago.org/Landmarks/M/MichBlvd.html
- List of old/famous buildings on South Michigan Avenue: http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/st/?id=179946
- History of Grant Park: http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/538.html
- More Grant Park History!: http://www.grantparkconservancy.com/home/briefhistory.html
- And the Mag Mile’s commercial site: http://www.themagnificentmile.com/
Immigrants and FOOD!:
- History of Greeks immigrants and their food in Chicago: http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/548.html
- History of Chinese immigrants and their food in Chicago: http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/285.html
- Polish: http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/982.html
- Mexicans: http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/824.html
- Italians: http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/658.html
- Chicago Style Hot Dogs: http://www.hotdogchicagostyle.com/chicagodog.php
- History of Chicago Pizza: http://members.cox.net/jjschnebel/ddishpiz.html
- Again!: http://www.newcitychicago.com/chicago/5337.html
Historical Interpretation – a Case Study
History is in the eye of the beholder. One person will see an event one way, and another person may see that event in a completely different way. That is part of what makes us all unique individuals.
I can’t think of a better way to teach about historical interpretation than with the story of Pocahontas. We probably are all familiar with the Disney version of the story. If you need a refresher, here is the video for “The Colors of the Wind” from the movie.
Disney is entertaining and does teach some good things about colonial Jamestown; the English settlers believed that land could be bought and sold and then utilized for economic advancement. The Native Americans believed that the resources of the earth were communal and thus could not be owned by one person. I think that is shown beautifully in this video.
Did Pocahontas really save the life of John Smith? There is no one clear answer. The popular legend says that John Smith was about to be executed by Powhatan, the Native American chief of several local tribes and father of Pocahontas, when Pocahaontas threw herself upon Smith and begged her father not to kill him. Did this actually happen? Smith wrote about it many years after the fact. He may have forgotten some of the details of the story or flat out made it up. Another explanation is that the Native Americans were taking part in a ritual and did not intend to actually kill him. There is not enough evidence to say definitively what happened. That is the beautiful thing about history; it requires a great deal of critical thinking and analysis in order to find out what really happened and why.
What is the point of all this? The point is that history is not black and white. It is gray, sometimes very gray with no clear cut answers. This is very important to keep in mind with History Fair. Remember to find a wide variety of sources about people and events in order to get the big picture. John Smith probably thought that he was going to die when he was captured by the Native Americans. Powhatan probably was not going to kill him. Two people in one place at one time saw an event in two very different ways.
If you are interested in learning about the real Pocahontas, take a look at some of these links:
I Love These Kids
I didn’t require extra credit, or even announce it to the kids. But I have 12 emails from parents or kids showing me them helping their neighbors.
Pretty cool kids we got here…
Filet Mignon & Cheese Whiz
Mr. K and I have worked hard this week to help students understand:
- How to shape a research question that drives your work.
- What kind of facts they need to answer that research question!
- How to really research, moving beyond background information collected from common sites.
STOP it with Wikipedia! Great researchers don’t use Wikipedia. Does a gourmet chef use Cheese Whiz? I mean, I like Cheese Whiz, but not when I want a classy dinner. Wikipedia is awesome if you’re just trying to get familiar on a topic. But for serious research? Eeek.
Here’s a sample sheet we expect students to show us. We’re moving towards 25 total facts from 7 unique and great sources. Evaluate my sample sheet. What is good about it? What’s wrong with it? We’ll go over this next week.
Extra Credit!
I have to shovel my own hood’s driveway, so I’ll make this brief: help some neighbors out and shovel their driveways! Students just need to prove to me that they did something for the common good and helped a neighbor out, and I’ll give them a few extra credit points. I know everyone’s got plows and blowers, but if any nice kids are out there doing something for their community, having some civic virtue, I can reward them in the classroom that attempts to teach them the importance of such behaviors.
And by “prove,” I don’t need anything crazy, just an email from the neighbor, mom/dad, a photo or video of you being nice, just some kind of evidence you did the deed!
History Fair Update
Today our class was visited by Theresa Pfister of the Chicago Metro 
History Education Center. She had a wonderful presentation to help us understand how our projects could become great. The history fair is all about becoming a student historian – our children have to think critically, form a strong thesis, and create evidence to support their argument. Thanks, Theresa, for a great visit!
One of the best tools available to our students over the next few weeks is the Research Center at the Chicago History Museum. (We used to visit the CHM on a 7th grade Field Trip, but no longer do) What’s great about the CHM is this: make an appointment on a Saturday, on a half day (1/25 and 2/28), or on a day off (2/20, 3/5, and 3/9) and their staff will give you a room, pull a bunch of clippings, books, and primary sources, and assist you in research.
How cool is that?!
Make a day out of it – go skating, get a steak, some pizza, catch the Bulls… if you can get downtown at all – check out the Chicago History Museum!! (Here’s the link:http://chicagohistory.org/research/resources/history-fair/make-a-history-fair-appointment) Also – be sure to book early – they fill up quick! A week is recommended, but you can still try for this weekend, as they have openings as of this AM.
The students should have 10 facts due tomorrow, they’ll need 25 next week, and ultimately, on 2/3, will need a total of 40 great facts from 10 different resources. I’ll be sending more info regarding a timeline and due dates later!
