U.S. Steel Gary Works Photograph Collection, 1906-1971

Lesson 2: Children of the Steel Kings

Fourth grade : Lesson 1 | Lesson 2 | Lesson 3 | Lesson 4

Lesson plan developed by Mardy Flanagan.

Institutions such as schools, churches, families, government agencies, and the courts greatly influence our lives, yet they are merely organizational embodiments formed to promote the ideals and social values of those in charge. It is important that students know how institutions are formed, operated, maintained and changed as well as their influential power over individuals.

The institution that affects elementary students more than any other is perhaps the school they attend. Effective schools target their students' needs rather than merely following the lead of what another school is doing. In Gary, as students will discover in this lesson, necessity led the city to break away from educational tradition and branch off in new directions.

Standards alignment

Guiding questions

Learning Objectives

After this lesson, the students will have:

Preparation

Lesson plan

Through careful examination of historical photographs of Gary in Lesson 1, the students have developed a feeling for the period and for the city itself. They are ready to look closely at Gary's public institutions and its residents.

Extending the Lesson