Description of the Lesson
The lesson was a living history tour of the Desert Queen Ranch in Joshua Tree National Park. The goal of the tour is to show how life and work was like during the height of the ranch in 1939. To do this, the tour utilized two park rangers, one who explained the process of the tour and the other who presented the ranch as if it were 1939.
The first ranger gave some background knowledge of the ranch and some interesting tidbits on the state of the world in 1939, such as the Best Picture Gone With the Wind and war in both Europe and Asia. She then explained how we were to be transported back to 1939 to work with a miner on the ranch, Henry, and since this was not a regular type of tour we could ask him opinionated questions that he would answer. She gave the example of a question to ask: "How do you feel about the Germans?"
Henry, then took us on a tour of the ranch as if we were his new hires. He explained the mining process in 1939 and how the Keys Family, the owners of the ranch, lived and made money. During the tour, if we came across something newer than 1939, he simply acted as if it did not exist. At the end of the tour he took off his helmet to signify we had been transported back to 2010 and could ask him questions about the family and the ranch after 1939.
Since this was a tour on a historical site, no technology was used during the presentation. He did refer to the artifacts and buildings of the ranch. His knowledge of the time also allowed him to answer specific questions such as, "How much will we be paid?" and "What would be a good stock to buy?" His strategy of lesson and question and answer allowed for a deeper understanding of the ranch and life in 1939. The tour used the model of inqu...
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... opened up the discussion of the difficulties of cooking food on a desert ranch.
The Historical Content
During the first part of the tour, the guide informed that when the ranch was acquired by the National Park Services (NPS), they decided to leave the ranch just as it was in the 1960s. Fortunately, much of the artifacts on the ranch had been used by the Keys family for decades. These almost accurate time pieces allowed the tour guides to describe part of the mining process and life on the ranch.
I think one way to expand the historical content would be to have different time periods examined. The Keys family operated the ranch for decades leaving plenty of time periods to explore. What would life on the ranch of been like during the 1950s or 1960s? These explorations would have to be done on different tours which I know would be difficult for the park rangers.
Reinhardt, Claudia and Ganzel,Bill. “farming in the 1930s” 1930s farm life. the Ganzel Group, 2003 Web. 21 nov. 2013 http://www.livinghistoryfarm.org/farminginthe30s/life_01.html
The statement, “She had telephoned the man whose name they had given as a reference and he had told her that Mr. Freeman was a good farmer but that his wife was the noisiest woman ever to walk the earth” suggests, when the term farmer is used, that this story takes place in a farm town. Also the way Mom describes herself can lead the reader to think that she works on a farm herself. She says, “I wear flannel nightgowns to bed and overalls during the day. I can kill and clean a hog as mercilessly as a man” (744). From the way she describes her working hands to explaining how she slaughtered a cow, the reader understands that she has a farm that they live on and is an extremely hard worker. The setting in these stories are used in a way that impact the theme tremendously because the individuals who go to college are both from small rural communities where opportunities like this do not happen very often especially during this time, which is probably around the mid to late 1950s and 1960s. While, in the story “Good Country People”, a comment is made about the make of a car when the author notes that, “She said he owned a ’55 Mercury but that Glynese said she would rather marry a man with only a ’36 Plymouth who would be married by a preacher” (195). This statement can indicate that the time frame that ”Good Country People” happens in is around 1955 because the way it is talked about the older
Zig-zag, back and forth, down, down, down, Jonathon, Dad, and I went into a mysterious new world. Now that I have gone into this hot, dry canyon surrounded by monstrous hoodoos, I have seen what it is really like to leave the small town of Seymour, and emerge into the greatness of this world. I have now seen several other National Parks on one of the most renowned places on earth for mysterious creations, the Colorado Plateau. Of all the beautiful places on it, even the Grand Canyon, I have found my favorite one. Bryce Canyon National Park. I thought it was amazing, because it was the most diverse to anything I have ever seen before. We hiked down into it and I felt like I was surrounded by skyscrapers. We trekked around a little, but we didn’t
The early 1860’s brought a “steady trickle” of tourists to Yosemite, the trip would take several days by train, stagecoach, or house.
... after nine at night, but in those days [we] ... did not think of our day in terms of hours. We liked our work, we were proud to do it well, and I am afraid that we were very, very happy.” The 1930s were a time of struggle and sadness. However, American citizens continued to work and search for the happiness they once knew. Although the Great Depression stretched through the 1930s, putting a damper on the economy and liveliness of the nation, the decade cannot be solely defined by it. Art and photos illustrate the decade’s sentiments, while acts of society and architecture reveal much more regarding a common citizen's lifestyle. A tragic photo, a vast-spread psychological struggle, and a famous building, are all examples of artifacts taken from the 1930s that have changed, they way we perceive our country, the American way of living, and America’s skyline forever.
Located just beyond the south entrance to the park is the visitors center and ranger station. Here you can find maps to trails, information about camping, fishing and boating, and information about the flora and fauna to be found within the park. This is a good place to start your visit, get oriented, and plan your day.
"Big Time Stars Will Be Here for the Rodeo." The Chase County News 10 May 1939.
"In 1978, Congress amended the National Trails Act of 1968 to form the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail, but more than 30 years later the trail is still unfinished"(Boyer 1). The lack of clearly defined trails poses immense difficulties; therefore, maps are highly recommended--in order to help hikers find the safest path, with respect to their independence. Another main objective for maps is to navigate through the unfinished paths. For decades, the CDT was an obstacle in America's westward migration. Given the infamous obstacles,...
This novel and the stories within take place on a ranch that is in the high mountains of Salinas, California in the early 1930’s. The house of the Tiflin Family stands in the middle of the ranch with a bunkhouse, a chicken yard, and a large vegetable patch nearby. The house is surrounded by the brush line, where there is round green tub from which the animals can drink water.
Every year, over nine million hikers and adventure seekers travel to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park making it the most visited national park in the United States. There are abundant reasons for this, but many popular reasons include over 150 hiking trails extending over 850 miles, a large portion of the Appalachian Trail, sightseeing, fishing, horseback riding, and bicycling. The park houses roughly ten thousand species of plants and animals with an estimated 90,000 undocumented species likely possible to be present. It is clear why there was a pressing interest in making all this land into a national park. My research was started by asking the question; how did the transformation of tourism due to the establishment of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park affect surrounding cities such as Gatlinburg and Sevier County, and in return, its effect on the popularity of the park?
The story line is written in the beginning of the 1930’s during the great depression. George and Lenny are two drifters seeking for a job so they will have enough money to pursue their dream. They found a work on a farm in California's Salinas valley where their hopes and dreams were shattered as Lenny was struggling against extreme cruelty, misunderstanding and feelings of jealousy.
...ons. First, the oral history sources are well integrated with the existing literature. Next, by covering relatively long period of time, the reader gets a good sense of the dynamics of change.
Canyonlands National Park, immense amounts of wilderness and rock, is located at the heart of the Colorado Plateau (Canyonlands National Park-Geology). Millions of years have formed specific features to the rock and surrounding wilderness that make it so special. Throughout the park, you will find that the sedimentary rock has formed many features such as hundreds of colorful canyons, mesas, buttes, fins, arches, and spires. The Green and Colorado rivers have played a major role in the formation of many of these features. These rivers cut through the park forming two massive canyons. This further splits the park into three distinct zones. “Island in the Sky” sits to the north while “The Maze” sits off to the west and “The Needles” to the east (Canyonlands National Park Information Guide). “Island in the Sky” serves as Canyonlands’ observation tower; it allows tourists to see overwhelming vistas of the rest of the land. “The Maze,” as hinted at by the name has been described as a “30 square mile puzzle in sandstone” (NPS: Nature & Science» Geology Resources Division). This section of the park often ranks as one of the most remote and inaccessible areas of the United States. Lastly, “The Needles” is known for its diversity in rock features. Throughout this land, features such as sculptured rock spires, arches, canyons, grabens, and potholes can be seen. The varying names hint at the diversity of the land as a whole. As said by The National Park Service’s Geology Resources Division, “Traces of the Anasazi can be found in almost every canyon in the Needles. Many of their stone and mud dwellings and storehouses are remarkably well-preserved. Tower Ruins, built high on a cliff ledge in a side canyon of Horse Canyon, is an outstanding ex...
Woodburn, Sherri P. “Disneyland.” The Fifties in America. Ed. C. Super John. 3 vols. Salem Press,
For my observation experience I went to Southern High School in Harwood, MD. Southern High School has a special education department for the students with disabilities. The teacher that I met with for this classroom observation was Ms. West. In the classroom there were at least four assistant teachers that helped Ms. West throughout the school day. The assistant teachers helped Ms. West co- teach the class and were there to help the students if they needed extra help. The school also has a couple of student aides that come in to help the teachers and the students in the classroom. There were at least twelve students in the classroom. The students in the class had many different exceptionalities such as learning disabilities, Down syndrome,