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Evaluating Eyewitness Reports
Students consider the advantages and disadvantages of eyewitness accounts as records of history. They research several accounts of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 and then compare and contrast each version to arrive at a final picture.
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Fire Safety
After studying the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, teach your students some fire safety tips and techniques with this important PowerPoint. Not only does this presentation include tips, but it has facts about fire that are important to know...
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The Great Chicago Fire Survivors
Students examine documents describing the experiences of survivors of the Great Chicago Fire, and write condolence letters.
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The Great Chicago Fire Survivors
Students research the Great Chicago Fire and create a reader's theater presentation that describes the experiences of survivors.
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Lesson 24: The Great Chicago Fire Survivors
Students, in groups, explore the Great Chicago Fire. They decide which moment from the fire is significant and create a story corner.
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Lesson 22: The Great Chicago Fire Survivors
Pupils, in groups, create a historical fiction story of a Great Chicago Fire survivor by writing a survival narrative.
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Lesson 18: The Great Chicago Fire: City of Wood
Students research the causes of the Great Fire of Chicago and draw conclusion as to the most probable cause and preventative actions that could have minimized the damage.
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The Great Chicago Fire Survivors
Students compare and contrast the experiences of two survivors of the Great Fire of Chicago using a Venn Diagram.
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The Great Chicago Fire: Did Mrs. O'Leary's Cow Really Cause It?
Students research the Great Chicago Fire and its myths on how it started. They use their critical thinking skills to determine what really happened. They write an essay supporting their opinion on the fire.
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Jim Murphy, The Great Fire - Grade 6
The Great Fire by Jim Murphy provides the text for a study of the Chicago fire of 1871. The plan is designed as a close reading activity so that all learners have the same background information require for writing. Richly detailed, the...
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The Great Chicago Fire: The O'Leary Hearing
Young scholars dramatized the O'Leary hearing regarding the Chicago fire using the transcript from the original hearings as a script.
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Lesson 25: The Great Chicago Fire Must Become a Movie
Students write a persuasive letter asking James Cameron to choose their disaster for his next movie.
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America's Great Disasters
The most famous American disasters - natural and otherwise - of the late 19th and early 20th century are the focus of this presentation. Detailing the 1865 sinking of the USS Saldana, the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, and the Influenza...
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Where the Buffalo Roam
Second graders explore what life in the Chicago area was like hundreds of years ago. They discuss how settlers impacted the environment, and why there are no longer herds of buffalo in the Chicago area today. They read an article and...
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What is Art?
Students become familiar with the art and architecture and history of the Chicago World's Fair. In this public arts project lesson, students compare and contrast fine art and public art through a study of the exhibits at the Chicago...
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Bovine Oversteps Boundaries
Seventh graders read a newspaper account of "Grady the Silo Cow" and complete news-writing activities. For this news-writing lesson, 7th graders read the newspaper account about the cow. Students examine newspapers and work in groups to...
Prestwick House
The Orphan Train
What do a girl in foster care and a 91-year-old widow have in common? A crossword puzzle related to Orphan Train highlights some of the similarities the two characters share in the book. The puzzle pulls out key details from the novel to...
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History, African Americans, The Blues
This lesson enables teachers to use blues music to explore the history of African Americans in the 20th century. By studying the content of blues songs, students can learn about the experiences and struggles of the working-class...