This Land Was Made for You and Me: An America with New Peoples and New Ideas

INSTRUCTIONAL PHASE

Mini-Unit #2: Issues of City life and the Impact of Machine Politics
3. Explain the conditions of the city and how political machines such as Tammany Hall would have helped improve the plight of the immigrants. 4. Tell about the standard of living in the cities for most immigrants. IV. PROBLEM OVERVIEW & INTRODUCTION
Students will walk into a classroom that is decorated with campaign posters and other sorts of election propaganda, reminiscent of what would have been used to catch the attention of immigrants stepping off of the ships and coming into New York City by the campaigners and politicians of New Yorks most famous political machine, Tammany Hall. The teacher will then introduce the sub-objectives of the mini-unit and indicate what the mini-unit is about and how it relates to the whole unit topic and unit objective, using the structured overview described previously. After reviewing information learned in mini-unit #1 about whom immigrants in New York City were in the 1870s to early 1900s, students will get back into their pre-assigned groups/communities from the previous mini-unit and await the introduction of the new problem. After the brief review, students are welcomed into the classroom where we acknowledge and remind students that they are immigrants coming to NYC after having been processed through Ellis Island. These are roles that would have been carried over from mini-unit #1, where each student group was assigned to represent a different immigrant nationality/ community. Students, sitting around the room in their various immigrant communities, or neighborhoods, will be addressed by another teacher (that was pre-arranged to come into the classroom to address the students) whom is acting as an agent of the political machine, Tammany Hall. Though most noticeably concerned with the plight of the Irish, in this case the representative from Tammany Hall is addressing all of the different immigrant communities. The following script will be read by the teacher/ Tammany Hall agent: Good morning, hopeful Americans! Welcome to New York City. On behalf of Honest John Kelly and the rest at Tammany Hall, we welcome you to the United States of America. We recognize that you lot are a very special group come to live in our great city. Not only have we been informed that you are all able to read and write in English (a rarity!) but we hear youve got the idea to make things better for yourselves here in America! Help us, help you! One of the best ways to make this a better place for you and your family is to find out what you think is wrong with it so we can change it! We are charging you with the task of going out into the city and collecting information about the conditions you are being asked to live in and to then organize your information into an article well later publish in the local immigrant newspaper. We know it isnt easy, so weve set up some guidelines for you!

In your one page article, include the following information: Find out some information about Jacob Riis, a photographer here in town bent on showing the hardships of poverty in the city. His iconic photography would be good to include in your article. Ive got copies of his photos you can use, but be sure you include a description of what it is in the photo(s)! What are the living conditions for most people? What do people do to earn money? Where do they work? What is the public sanitation like in your neighborhood? While were talking about Tammany Hall, tell us a little about the how our system works. Everyone knows were a political machine- you might as well tell us what it is and how we operate! Lastly, how can we make this better?

We look forward to reading all of your articles and seeing how it is we can help you improve our growing city! The other teacher will then leave the room and the students will decide within their groups who will fill each of the group responsibilities practiced when they begin working on the problem. They will be functioning as newly recruited immigrant reporters going out into the community to collect data to report back to Tammany Hall in the form of a one page newspaper article. Students will be expected to fill out a group evaluation form at the end of the period of group research work to track their progress. Upon completing the compilation of information about the conditions of the city and about the working of political machines, students are expected to present their completed products/articles to the other immigrant workers and another representative from Tammany Hall.

V. PROBLEM ANALYSIS
The teacher distributes a copy of the hook for the students to review and the guidelines for the newspaper article (found in Appendix B). Additionally, a rubric for the newspaper article (Appendix B) will be given out as well as the group evaluation form (Appendix B) so the students may use them as a way to check their own work as they continue throughout the process. The teacher then writes on the board, dividing it into four different sections labeled: Information, Learning Issues, Hypotheses, and Action Plan. The teacher then leads the students in analysis of the problem with probing questions such as the ones listed below, and fills in the appropriate section of the chart which follows (only an example of projected responses) with the students responses.

Questions to stimulate analysis of the problem: 1. What do we know about this problem? 2. What are we being asked to do? 3. What was the standard of living in the city? 4. Who is Jacob Riis? Why is he important? 5. What is a political machine? What is Tammany Hall? 6. What conditions made the city hard to live in for immigrants? 7. What were the living conditions? What are tenements?

8. What kinds of jobs did immigrants have? 9. Did all immigrants live this way? 10. How will we create an article? 11. What is a good way to start collecting information? 12. Where will we find this information?

INFORMATION Immigrants in New York City suffered horrible housing conditions.

LEARNING ISSUES

HYPOTHESES

ACTION PLAN Meet with group members and assume roles as immigrant reporters. Assign group responsibilities: task leader, recorder, presenter, etc. Locate resources about conditions of New York City in the 1870s to early 1900s Assign research tasks for each member in the group.

Where did immigrants live and work?

Tenements were not the best answer to the housing crisis. Political machines were helpful in improving the conditions for immigrants. There will be many resources about this topic. Not every immigrant lived in these bad conditions. Not every politician in the city was necessarily corrupt or working for the machine.

Cities were run by political machines. Immigration population was high and standard of living in these communities was low. Working conditions were in need of reform.

What is a political machine and what does it do?

How do we create an article about our research?

Who is Jacob Riis? Why is he important?

How can we fix these problems to make the city better?

Students are also given a sheet with several Jacob Riis photographs to include in their articles (Appendix B).

VI. TEACHER RESOURCES NEEDED The teacher will use the following resources in planning the unit and after the mini-unit begins, during periods of group deliberation to provide information that students may request, to provide supplementary visual aids for the article, and to decorate the room accordingly: -

Teachers previously used lecture notes and lesson plans

The American Vision Modern Times textbook teachers Edition Glencoe/McGraw-Hill; 1 edition (January 22, 2009) http://glencoe.mcgrawhill.com/sites/0078775140/student_view0/unit2/chapter6/section2/section_spotlight_vide os.html

http://www.glencoe.com/video_library/index_with_mods.php?PROGRAM=9780078745 218&VIDEO=2873&CHAPTER=13

http://xroads.virginia.edu/~ma01/davis/photography/riis/riisanalysis.html http://xroads.virginia.edu/~ma01/davis/photography/images/riisphotos/slideshow1.html

VII. ANTICIPATED LEARNING ISSUES

Students are expected to acquire mastery of the following Information/facts, concepts, relationships, and processes during the research and collection of data for problem-solving in this miniunit #2. Evidence of the mastery of these things should be displayed through their group problem-solving process or presentation of product/solution: Themes covered: Through experience, observation, and reflection, students will identify elements of culture as well as similarities and differences among cultural groups across time and place. Knowledge and understanding of the past enable us to analyze the causes and consequences of events and developments, and to place these in the context of the institutions, values and beliefs of the periods in which they took place. Learners develop an understanding of spatial perspectives, and examine changes in the relationship between peoples, places and environments. Institutions are the formal and informal political, economic, and social organizations that help us carry out, organize, and manage our daily affairs Students know how institutions are formed, what controls and influences them, how they control and influence individuals and culture, and how institutions can be maintained or changed. Through study of the dynamic relationships between individual rights and responsibilities, the needs of social groups, and concepts of a just society, learners become more effective problem-solvers and decision-makers when addressing the persistent issues and social problems encountered in public life. Learning how to apply civic ideals as part of citizen action is essential to the exercise of democratic freedoms and the pursuit of the common good. (http://www.socialstudies.org/standards/strands) What is an immigrant? What does ethnic mean? Graft- the acquisition of money in dishonest ways, as in bribing politicians political machine- an organization linked to a political party that often controlled the local government What is a settlement house? What is a tenement? What were the conditions? Who lived in these places? Cost? Who is William Boss Tweed? Who is Honest John Kelly? Who is Jacob Riis? Social Darwinism- effect on beliefs of social welfare in the cities?

Ellis Island-opened in 1892 Immigrants and farmers poured into the cities, creating almost unbearable congestion. Distinct neighborhoods emerged, separating the cities' social classes. The majority of urban dwellers were the working class who suffered deplorable living conditions in dark and crowded tenements. The problems of rapidly growing cities included threats of crime, violence, fire, disease, and pollution. Political machines, controlled by party bosses, addressed urban problems by providing essential city services in return for the loyalty of urban immigrant groups. Corruption plagued political machines, however, since party bosses also controlled cities' finances. How to write a historical article How to cite information How to give appropriate captions for historical photographs

VIII. GROUP DELIBERATION & PROBLEM SOLVING ACTIVITIES

Students will stay in their three-member problem-solving groups assigned in mini-unit #1. There should be approximately eight groups, each assuming a different immigrant nationality that would have been immigrating to the United States in this units time era. For example carried over from mini-unit #1 student groups assign the following identities: Irish, Polish, Italian, Serbian, German, Hungarian, Czech, Greeks. Students will be given space in the classroom to spread out and meet in their groups. Additionally, students will have access to a mobile computer lab that will give the students access to the internet in the classroom. At this point, students will read over the rubric and group evaluation form (both found in Appendix B) that has been passed out, and discuss how to progress with their action plan in solving the problem. Students are told that they will have 2 days (on block scheduling, preferably) to complete their investigative reporting and data collection and to create and during the last half of the block period on the last day of the mini-unit to present their article to the other immigrant workers and the representative from Tammany Hall. Materials such as books and academic articles are gathered with the help of the librarian and put onto a cart to be kept at the front of the room during the mini-unit. Students are reminded that all library resources must stay in the classroom. All outside research must come from suggested internet sources included on the hook passed out earlier (found in Appendix B) or books the students may have at home, in addition to the student textbook that can go home. The chart that was written on the board listing the different elements of the Problem Analysis will be kept on display on the board for the students to reference throughout the two and a half days of the problem. Students will discuss in their groups who will be the task leader, the recorder, and the presenter, in addition to how the research responsibilities will be split evenly amongst every group member. Though they will have different responsibilities within the group, they are all equally playing the role of immigrant investigative reporters.

The teacher will visit each of the eight groups to answer any questions that may not have been brought up in the Problem Analysis and to see the progression of initial student research, delegation of tasks, etc. The teacher reminds the students to fill in the group evaluation form at the end of the 2 days of group work on the problem. Student groups then begin collecting information about Jacob Riis, the living conditions for immigrants and poor people in NYC, what people do to earn money, where people work, what the public sanitation is like, what a political machine is and how it works, and what can be done to improve conditions for immigrants in New York City. After students have collected a sufficient amount of information to begin the compilation process, the creation of the article will begin. Groups will work together to format an appropriate article to share with the rest of the groups at the conclusion of the problem. Once the articles have been created, groups share their articles with the rest of the class in an oral presentation. At the completion of the presentations, student groups will take a few moments to fill out their group evaluation forms to turn into the teacher.

IX. STUDENT LEARNING RESOURCES The following resources will be made available to students as they work in their small groups: -

student notes from mini-unit one on Immigration

The American Vision Modern Times student Edition Glencoe/McGraw-Hill; 1 edition (January 22, 2009) Various books and articles assembled onto cart by the school library: Such as, Empire City: New York Through the Centuries by Kenneth T. Jackson and David S. Dunbar

Old New York in Early Photographs [Paperback] by Mary Black

mobile computer lab The online student center to accompany the textbook: http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0078775140/student_view0/unit2/

Recommended websites:
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~ma01/davis/photography/riis/riisanalysis.html http://www.history.com/topics/tenements http://history1800s.about.com/od/urbanconditions/p/fivepointsnyc.htm http://history1800s.about.com/od/thegildedage/a/tammanyhall01.htm http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/IndustrialRevolution.htm http://chs.revues.org/index551.html http://www.nlm.nih.gov/hmd/pdf/publichealthnewyork.pdf

http://www.period-homes.com/Previous-Issues-09/MarchProject09Tenement.html

X. FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT Group Evaluation see evaluation form, Appendix B Article/Product- see rubric, Appendix B Oral Presentation of Article see rubric same as above, Appendix B XI. PROBLEM FOLLOW-UP
At the conclusion of the problem, the students will leave their groups and join in a whole-class session where a discussion on the problem will ensue. The teacher will request each group to describe some of their best sources of information used in the process of solving the problem and to consider how they could have perhaps solved the problem in another way. The teacher will then lead the students in looking again at the Problem Analysis chart initially done after the hook for the problem was given. Projected changes are given below.

Updated Problem Analysis Chart

INFORMATION Immigrants in New York City suffered horrible housing conditions. Cities were run by political machines. Immigration population was high and standard of living in these communities was low. Working conditions were in need of reform. Jacob Riis was a photographer bent on social justice in New York City. LEARNING ISSUES HYPOTHESES ACTION PLAN Meet with group members and assume roles as immigrant reporters. Assign group responsibilities: task leader, recorder, presenter, etc. Locate resources about conditions of New York City in the 1870s to early 1900s Assign research tasks for each member in the group. Organize facts into a logical, clean product.

Where did immigrants live and work?

Tenements were not the best answer to the housing crisis. Political machines were helpful in improving the conditions for immigrants. There will be many resources about this topic. Not every immigrant lived in these bad conditions.

What is a political machine and what does it do? How do we create an article about our research? Why is Jacob Riis relevant to our problem? How can we fix these problems to make the city better? How do we find credible resources? What is the best place to go for resources?

XII. CORRECTIVES &EXTENSIONS Correctives:

Students whose products and presentations do not display a deeper understanding of the conditions of city life in this time period or of the role of machine politics will be required to create a PowerPoint presentation (using teacher feedback) to go back and explore particular aspects that were not sufficiently grasped the first time. Feedback will be given on the rubric via scores and/or written comments about what could use more explanation. The teacher may show the short clip mentioned in the teacher resources to give students a brief overview of what they should consider including in their revised assessment. A note guide will be given to help students structure their review (Appendix B). Extensions: Students who master the mini-unit objectives are asked to go beyond the task the original problem requires of simply suggesting how Tammany Hall could make things better by researching ways political machines actually did work to get projects done within the communities and coming up with their own actual plan to improve different aspects of city life.

Jacob Riis Photo-Student- Resources

Appendix B-1

Student Copy of Hook and Guidelines

Appendix B-2

WELCOME TO NEW YORK CITY!

Good morning, hopeful Americans! Welcome to New York City. On behalf of Honest John Kelly and the rest at Tammany Hall, we welcome you to the United States of America. We recognize that you lot are a very special group
come to live in our great city. Not only have we been informed that you are all able to read and write in English (a rarity!) but we hear youve got the idea to make things better for yourselves here in America! Help us, help you! One of the best ways to make this a better place for you and your family is to find out what you think is wrong with it so we can change it! We are charging you with the task of going out into the

city and collecting information about the conditions you are being asked to live in and to then organize your information into an article well later publish in the local immigrant newspaper. We know it isnt easy, so weve set up some guidelines for you!
In your one page article, include the following information: Find out some information about Jacob Riis, a photographer here in town bent on showing the hardships of poverty in the city. His iconic photography would be good to include in your article. Ive got copies of his photos you can use, but be sure you include a description of what it is in the photo(s)! What are the living conditions for most people? What do people do to earn money? Where do they work? What is the public sanitation like in your neighborhood? While were talking about Tammany Hall, tell us a little about the how our system works. Everyone knows were a political machine- you might as well tell us what it is and how we operate! Lastly, how can we make this better?

We look forward to reading all of your articles and seeing how it is we can help you improve our growing city!

Here are some online resources to help guide your research process: http://xroads.virginia.edu/~ma01/davis/photography/riis/riisanalysis.html http://www.history.com/topics/tenements http://history1800s.about.com/od/urbanconditions/p/fivepointsnyc.htm http://history1800s.about.com/od/thegildedage/a/tammanyhall01.htm http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/IndustrialRevolution.htm http://chs.revues.org/index551.html http://www.nlm.nih.gov/hmd/pdf/publichealthnewyork.pdf http://www.period-homes.com/Previous-Issues-09/MarchProject09Tenement.html

Group Evaluation Form

Appendix B-3

Group Evaluation Form

Directions: There will be one group evaluation for each of your groups. At the end of the mini-unit, fill this evaluation out and return to the teacher. Your group participation grade will be determined by the teacher on the basis of this evaluation and teacher observation of your role in the group deliberations. Considering the performance of each group member, rate the following with 5 being the best performance and 1 being the worst by circling the appropriate number: 1. Participated in all group planning sessions...... 5 4 3 2 1 2. Made active contributions to solve the problem.. 5 4 3 2 1 3. Accepts and completes individual responsibilities.. 5 4 3 2 1 4. Promptness and neatness of individual work5 4 3 2 1 5. Ability to project solutions, find data, etc.5 4 3 2 1

Evaluation of GROUP MEMBERS: A. Group member (please name) __________________ Best Contributions:_______________________________________________________ Needs to Work on:________________________________________________________ Overall rating (1-5 scale above):__________ B. Group member (please name) __________________ Best Contributions:_______________________________________________________ Needs to Work on:________________________________________________________ Overall rating (1-5 scale above): __________ C. Group member (please name) __________________ Best Contributions:________________________________________________________ Needs to Work on:________________________________________________________ Overall rating (1-5 scale above): ___________

Product/ Presentation Rubric

Appendix B- 4

Immigrant Newspaper Article and Presentation on the Conditions of City Life and the Role of Machine Politics
Teacher Name: Ms. McCollum

Student Name:

________________________________________

Article Portion:
CATEGORY Knowledge Gained 4
All students in the group can accurately answer all questions related to a) stories in the newspaper and b) technical processes used to create the newspaper. The details in the articles are clear, effective, and vivid 80-100% of the time.

3
All students in the group can accurately answer most questions related to a) stories in the newspaper and b) technical processes used to create the newspaper. The details in the articles are clear and pertinent 90-100% of the time.

2
Most students in the group can accurately answer most questions related to a) stories in the newspaper and b) technical processes used to create the newspaper. The details in the articles are clear and pertinent 75-89% of the time.

1
Several students in the group appear to have little knowledge about the facts and the technical processes used for the newspaper.

Articles Supporting Details

The details in more than 25% of the articles are neither clear nor pertinent.

Articles Interest

The articles contain facts, figures, and/or word choices that make the articles exceptionally interesting to readers and answer all questions from the sheet. No spelling or grammar errors remain after one or more people (in addition to the typist) read and correct the newspaper.

The articles contain facts, figures, and/or word choices that make the articles interesting to readers and answer all questions but two from the sheet. No more than a couple of spelling or grammar errors remain after one or more people (in addition to the typist) read and correct the newspaper.

The article contains some facts or figures but is marginally interesting to read and only answers less than half of the questions.

The article does not contain facts or figures that might make it interesting to read and answers none of the questions proposed on the sheet.

Spelling and Proofreading

No more than 3 spelling or grammar errors remain after one or more people (in addition to the typist) read and correct the newspaper.

Several spelling or grammar errors remain in the final copy of the newspaper.

TOTAL: Comments:____________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________

Second Page Product/ Presentation Rubric

Appendix B- 4

Presentation Portion:
CATEGORY Preparedness 4
Student is completely prepared and has obviously rehearsed.

3
Student seems pretty prepared but might have needed a couple more rehearsals.

The student is Student does not somewhat prepared, seem at all prepared but it is clear that to present. rehearsal was lacking.

Speaks Clearly

Speaks clearly and distinctly all (10095%) the time, and mispronounces no words.

Speaks clearly and distinctly all (10095%) the time, but mispronounces one word.

Speaks clearly and distinctly most ( 9485%) of the time. Mispronounces no more than one word.

Often mumbles or can not be understood OR mispronounces more than one word.

Posture and Eye Stands up straight, looks relaxed and Contact

Stands up straight and establishes eye confident. contact with Establishes eye everyone in the room contact with during the everyone in the room presentation. during the presentation. Facial expressions and body language generate a strong interest and enthusiasm about the topic in others. Facial expressions and body language sometimes generate a strong interest and enthusiasm about the topic in others.

Sometimes stands up straight and establishes eye contact.

Slouches and/or does not look at people during the presentation.

Enthusiasm

Facial expressions and body language are used to try to generate enthusiasm, but seem somewhat faked.

Very little use of facial expressions or body language. Did not generate much interest in topic being presented.

TOTAL:

Comments: ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________

Note Taking Guide for Corrective

Appendix B-5

Note Guide Using your textbook and the information from the short clip, fill in the blanks below with the appropriate information.
Key Event (s): ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ Conditions: ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________

Define:
Jacob Riis______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ Political machine______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ Tammany Hall______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ Tenements______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________