Lesson 3: Book Education, Work and Play in One Building
Middle school : Lesson 1 | Lesson 2 | Lesson 3 | Lesson 4
Lesson plan developed by Laurie Welken.
"Book education, work and play in one building" was the plan of William Wirt, the superintendent of schools for Gary, IN during the early 1900s. He developed the Gary schools to incorporate all of these things into the one most important building in a child's life, their school. The Frobel School designed by Mr. Wirt combined technical schools with grammar schools. He combined parks and playgrounds with the school grounds. There were pools, gymnasiums, gardens and parks for the whole development of children. The school building was used in the evenings and on the weekends as well as school hours. Public institutions play a major role in our lives, and this institution made a great difference in the lives of Gary residents. Students will gain an understanding as to how the development of different institutions can differ and evolve with time. Perhaps Gary's schools were well ahead of their time.
Standards alignment
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Indiana Academic Standards for Science: Grade 8
- 8.1.8: Explain that humans help shape the future by generating knowledge, developing new technologies, and communicating ideas to others.
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Indiana Academic Standards for Social Studies: Grade 8
- 8.5.3: Examine the concepts of a work ethic, philanthropy, volunteerism, and concern for the common good as important aspects of American society in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
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National Council for the Social Studies
- Strand I: Culture
- Strand II: Time, Continuity, and Change
- Strand III: People, Places and Environments
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National Standards for Arts Education: Grades K-4: Visual Arts
- 4. Understanding the visual arts in relation to history and cultures
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NCTE/IRA List of Standards for the English Language Arts
- 1. Students read a wide range of print and nonprint texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world...
- 6. Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions ... media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and nonprint texts.
- 7. Students conduct research on issues and interests by generating ideas and questions, and by posing problems...
- 8. Students use a variety of technological and information resources ... to gather and synthesize information and to create and communicate knowledge.
- 12. Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes...
Guiding questions
- What ideas of Mr. Wirt are present in today's educational philosophy?
- What would it be like to have gone to the Froebel school?
Learning objectives
After completing this lesson, students will be able to:
- Compare and contrast schools of today and the Frobel School.
- Explain why or why not this philosophy would work today.
- Compare and contrast their own education values with those of Mr. Wirt.
- Describe what a day of school at the Frobel School might have been like.
Preparation
- Prepare a copy of Children of the Steel Kings, from McClure's Magazine for each student.
Lesson plan
- Have students read, or read to them, Children of the Steel Kings.
- In a class discussion, compare and contrast the Froebel school and schools of today. Which school would they prefer? How would it work in our modern day society? Redesign your school using the philosophies of William Wirt. Brainstorm all these ideas and come up with a class philosophy of an ideal school today, using the philosophies of William Wirt.
- Have students write a narrative about a day in the life of a child in the Froebel school. Write about feelings, aspirations, dreams, frustrations and thrills of being in a school like that.
Extending the lesson
- Show photos of the Froebel school. Have students write a poem to replace a photo. Have classmates match up the photos to the poems.
- Have students write a screenplay to display a day at Froebel School.
- Have students put on a theatre production displaying a day in the life of students at the Froebel School.