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= Home > Learning Activity 5-A-1: Edison Sound Recordings > Group A 5-A-1 Workspace =

== Worksheets ==



I actually found this recording to be quite interesting, especially after analyzing the two posters from the earlier modules. I remember the first poster we looked at had a feeling of welcoming all the immigrants we could get and promising a better life, but this recording seemed to erase all those happy feelings. It took the idea of not wanting more immigrants to enter the US one step further and actually called for them to leave if they were unhappy with what we've provided for them. I also found it interesting because at that point (1916) the US had tried to put up a big curtain around us and practice isolationism so we wouldn't have to get involved with the war. This just shows that we wanted all of our citizens to be on the same page and support the government's decisions and policies. I think it also illustrated that some immigrants might have come to expect too much from our government and felt entitled to recieve the benefits that we'd provided up to that point without providing something in return, their support. It also shows how the threat of war can change attitudes and feelings toward "other peope" in an instant, while not as extreme as the Japanese internment camps of WWII, this still illustrates how people who think they are "native" don't always trust those who have come to a country more recently. This was certainly a good recording to listen to and almost makes me wish I taught US history so I could implement it into my lessons. 8:30 Wed. Kris

//I took a quick look at your worksheet, Kris. We mostly agree, and I like your external analysis above. I would add one disagreement along with one related comment. You describe the upbeat feeling conveyed by the singer (3F of the worksheet). I do find these historical tunes to be peppy and catchy; I would describe their tone more as jingoistic (a negative connotative to my mind); I would also compare the singer's analysis of the nation's attitude in 1915-16 to what we in the USA were like in the years immediately post-9/11 and even back during the Vietnam protests (for those of us who lived through those years). The continuing perceived threat of war (real or imagined) has a way to stifle conversation and debate (then and now and points in between), mostly to the detriment of carefully-thought out foreign and military policy decisions. I'll put this aside for a day and return on Friday or so for some final wrap-up comments. Any agreement or disagreement with these thoughts? 11 pm Wed. Bernie// Bernie, thanks for the response. The comparison to the years following 9/11 and Vietnam makes a lot of sense. I remember what it was like after 9/11 and have read about and talked with my parents and in-laws about Vietnam. There were even songs written after 9/11 that put forth the same idea to a certain extent (Toby Keith's portrays the same type of attitude along with others). I also agree that the masses (many who think they are experts) often bring roadblocks to the policies that have been created by the experts who are trained to deal with these things. I also think we were both on the same page for most of the worksheet and I really liked you "Love it or leave it" statement. 8 pm Sun. Kris //Sounds good, Kris. It appears time to wrap this worksheet up and do our self-evaluation. Fyi, I'll be jumping the gun on own next group wiki, posting early on Tuesday; I have a week full of meetings, so I'm trying to get ahead of Module 6. 9 pm Sun. Bernie//

== Group Discussion == Checking in early, Kris, thinking about the Easter weekend scheduling issues that might occur. I read/listened to the audio sections and the Edison history URLs. I'll be looking for your opinion on which recordings to analyze. From my perspective, I could work best with the vocal, rather than the musical, recordings. Examples include Edison's message (or any of the spoken words) or one of the comedy pieces (I happened to listen to "Happy tho' Married," among others). If you have a preference, let me know and we'll go from there. My brain is having trouble selecting from our groups of choices today. 2 pm Tues. Bernie

Sorry I didn't do anywork on this yesterday, I was at a funeral and didn't get home until late. I tried to access the recordings today at school and our web security is blocking them saying they are unsafe (I really do hate technology). I will have to try at home tonight to get the audio. Staying away from the instrumental and foreign language would be a good idea. In looking at the titles this morning, I was drawn to: Vocals -- "Don't Bite the Hand That's Feeding You", "Give a Man a Horse He Can Ride", Comdey -- "Police Court Scene", "Dinnie Donohue on Prohibition", "Happy Tho' Married" (which you mentioned). I will listen to the listings this afternoon and try to have my pick by early this evening. 9 am Wed. Kris

//I'll bias you a bit, Kris. Listened to your picks this afternoon (we're on break this week) and am leaning toward the "don't bite the hand" clip. The audio is slightly better quality than most of the others, and this one may be easier for you to fit into a s.s. curriculum. Started digging around for background; here is a site with the lyrics: http://www.firstworldwar.com/audio/dontbitethehand.htm.//

//One other suggestion. The directions don't really specify how we should use the worksheet. What would you think of each of us independently filling out and posting the sound recording worksheet? I would find this approach less clunky than both of us working and editing the same document. We could then each write a paragraph or two narrative, right below the worksheet, with our narrative and critique of the other. This approach might give us a bit more flexibility around our schedules; don't know your weekend plans--I wouldn't mind having this module done before the weekend happens. Ideally, I'll do my comments tonight or Th morning. Let me know which of these thoughts might work. noon W. Bernie//

"Don't Bite the Hand" sounds good, I'll focus on that one this evening. Filling out independent worksheets is fine and does seem to be slightly easier than trying to edit one sheet. 1 pm Wed. Kris

//Check the "comments" section, Kris. As usual, I'm confused about the directions. I'm assuming that we are done with this activity; what do you think? I'll likely wait until Saturday to complete the 5-A-2 group evaluation, even though we know that we're good! :-) Fri noon. Bernie//

Bernie, I think we are good and I'm getting ready to do the self evaluation now, but am having trouble entering the numbers into the rubric. 8 pm Sun. Kris

Just read Jana's message to us, Kris. Here's my additional two cents: //Bernie, just read the email too, I'll put any additional thoughts behind yours in italics. Kris.// For selecting this particular recording, we each reviewed several of the audio clips, as described above. This recording was selected, to my mind, because it had better audio quality and more options for fitting into a social studies curriculum than many of the other songs. //I agree about the audio quality and fitting into the SS curriculum as well as it being a unique comparison to the earlier political cartoons we studied (immigrants) and could be used across many other subjects.// For some specific classroom applications: __Social studies__. This song could be used in any WWI lesson, even for K-8, in a discussion about why a country might go to war, how to involve its citizens, and even how some biases and issues could develop over differing views of patriotism. __Social studies 2__, leaning towards __economics__. Focusing on the WWI era, what did the war effort cost? Were the immigrants' attitudes partly responsible for increasing (or decreasing?) those costs? Can the costs of the war be held responsible, at least in part, for the Great Depression in the next decade? __Language arts__. Discussions and subsequent essays could be written for a lesson plan that compares and contrasts attitudes in American at different times in history. For example, how does this song and the attitudes that it represents during WWI compare with attitudes at another point in history, perhaps during WWII, Vietnam, or even today? __Language arts 2, or even psychology__. What factors were responsible for the isolationist movement in the USA during WWI? How have our attitudes towards immigrants changed since that time? Are we seeing a similar isolationist policy developing today, as some talk about building a wall along the border with Mexico or even having illegal aliens "self deport" back to their native lands? __Social studies 3, leaning towards geography or even cultural anthropology__. Recognizing the isolationist arguments in the USA during WWI, what were comparable attitudes in other countries at the time? Did they tend to agree with the isolationists, preferring that their citizens stay home and not emigrate to America? What factors influenced such decisions in other countries? //You could also create a current event project looking for events that have occured across the globe and see if any have caused similar reactions and what the end result was, if there is one yet.// __//English or music.//__ //You could break down the lyrics and study why specific words were used and what emotions the writer was trying get listeners to feel and whether or not they were successful. You could also study the music and try to get the students to determine why the style of music was chosen over something more slow or a different style.//