SARA grade level lessons


	*Lesson Units Using Documents*	The Greater Capital Region Teacher Center is proud to present the following lesson units using local documents digitized and posted on the Web through a grant from the Local Government Records Management Improvement Fund of the NY State Archives and Records Administration. The lessons were researched and designed by local area teachers.


*Lesson Units by Grade Levels*


Grades 1-3	Grades 4-6	Grades 7-8	Grades 9-12

Folk Songs of the Lumber Camps Life in the lumber camps as experienced by well known "Woods Singers" and traditional folk songs of the lumberjacks.	Jacob Vanvranken of Niskayuna, NY Life in Niskayuna in the mid 1800's and the Van Vranken family.	Lansinburgh and Troy through Local Government Records An examination of early maps, the J. Fox Cracker Manufacturing Company and Cluett Peabody, gives an understanding of local economy.	The Role of Women Identify economic, political, and legal changes in the role of women between 1800 and the present.
River Drive Examines river drives and log marks etched into the ends of logs to identify each lumber company.	Digging a Little Deeper into the Life and Times of Sir William Johnson Sir William Johnson founded and settled the town of Johnstown. This unit humanizes him and uses his life to study local life in the 1700's.	Free Man or Slave? Documents the attempts by two Black men to seek legal recognition as free men in Albany county in 1820.	The Gansevoorts and the "Old Yellow House" Examines the family and the oldest house in what is now Gansevoort.
Products and Prices Product and price comparison using 1950, 1966 and 1998 advertisements and Consumer Index.	Revolutionary Math Clerk Enos Gregory’s use of numbers is examined from a court testimonial and math summation sheet to show changes in today’s math.	Early Road Construction in Schodack Compare existence and location of roads in 1795, 1802, and 1832. Examine town role.	The Battle of Saratoga Historical background of the Revolutionary War and the military zone in our region through a battle re-enactment.
	R. P. Dorlon and Co's Express Stages Learn math, social studies, and map skills through a stage coach ticket.	The Industrial Revolution in Greene County Students identify six major industries: ice, textiles, quarrying, brick making, lumbering, tanning and iron production.	The Census...Why? Investigates the history and uses of census information
	A Day in the Life of a Schoharie County Farmer, 1859 Focuses on local people making a living and the industrial and population growth after the Industrial Revolution.	Care of the Poor and Insane-Reform Period Conditions in the Albany County Alms House in 1864 are examined to parallel the national reform movement	The Effects of Industrialization A pension claim by a Revolutionary soldier examines his personal inventory and reflects the Industrialization in America
	Marriages Ending June, 1865 and the Harvest of 1864 Calculations of mean, mode, and median using marriage data and a grammar lesson on a harvest report	Civil War Soldier Voting Students discover how a Union soldier from the Town of Guilderland voted in the 1864 presidential election	Changing Industries in Warren County A comparison of wages and profits in terms of real and inflated dollars in the late 1800’s as part of a unit on inflation
	Census Data 1865 to 2001 Use the census to interpret the social, economic, geographic and historical perspectives of Albany in 1865 and 1995	Slavery in New York's Capital City Dated 1805, this Emancipation document demonstrates that slavery was an accepted institution in early 19th century Albany.	New York City Draft Riots During the Civil War Reveals the unpopularity of the war and that slavery was not the major issue
	Missing Persons Activities based upon missing person’s posters and news articles from the 1920’s	Berlin, Stephentown, Petersburg and Grafton after the Civil War Using a variety of documents, students identify, compare, and draw conclusions as to the towns’ changes.	Utilizing Government Documents in Studying Disease An historical perspective on disease and the strides medicine has made
	Official Score Card Learn graphing and map reading using the 1920 Official Score Card for the horse races at the Great Cambridge Fair.	The Human Cost of War Gain an awareness of the Civil War service of local men and the battles they fought through death statistics and battle locations.	Lesson on Prohibition The examination of permits granted for the use of alcohol during prohibition traces its failure
	Lansinburgh and Troy through Local Government Records An examination of early maps, the J. Fox Cracker Manufacturing Company and Cluett Peabody, gives an understanding of local economy	Historical Documents as they Relate to the City of Rensselaer Analysis of maps, census, and local records makes students aware of an individual’s place in local history	The Civil Conservation Corps The study of a 1933 CCC camp located in Middleburgh furnishes an understanding of the Depression and New Deal Eras
		Being Young in the 1880's Life in schools and orphanages of the 1880’s examined through photos, annual reports to the Board of Regents and census information	Lesson on World War II Letters of honorable discharge and the death of a soldier synthesize the concept of war
		Greenwich at the Turn of the Century This unit increases knowledge of life in Greenwich through interpretations of local government records	I Have Culture: A Lesson in Multiculturalism and Diversity Exploration of cultural identity using immigration records, ancestry, and naturalization petitions.
		Crime in Albany-Reform Unit Examples of crimes and punishments reflect the societal values of the 1890’s

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created July 05, 2002