Heroic Places in Winona

These pictures accompany the Past versus Present Lesson also found on this blog.

These pictures were taken at the Winona Historical Society in Winona, MN.

This is an old fire truck being used.

This is a very old school house.


This is an old school house.


This is a replica of an old general store.

This is a picture of downtown Winona. One of the stores in the picture was a general store.

This is a replica of an old dentist’s office.

This is a replica of a blacksmith shop.

This is a picture of the Bunnell House which was the home to the first settler of Winona.

Winona Heroes

These pictures accompany the lesson Winona Heroes: 3rd Grade.

These pictures were found at the Winona Historical Society in Winona, MN.

Edwin B. Weik
Edwin was a prominent lawyer in Winona where he was born and raised.

Mr. and Mrs. William Marnier
William was a well liked businessman in Winona. He also took part in many civic duties.

William Blook
William was a long time resident of Winona and a well respected doctor.

Albert B. Buim and family
Albert grew up in Winona, MN. He fought in the civil war as a young man and then came back to Winona to begin a family and continue working on the family farm.

Past versus Present: 3rd Grade

Theme: Today the students will be looking at pictures of local heroic businesses and buildings. The students will be comparing the old pictures with pictures of how the buildings currently look.

Materials:
Pictures of places (Heroic Places in Winona)
Paper
Pencil

Goals: The students will recognize people and places that made significant contributions to the community and will compare changes from past and present.

Objectives: The students will compare the similarities and differences in the buildings and jobs from past to present. The students will understand how these buildings and jobs contribute to the community.

Procedures:

Introductory Experiences:
Ask the students if a hospital or a fire station can be considered a hero. Have the students explain why or why not. Have the students create a definition of a hero and then list a few more places that they would consider heroic. (10 minutes)

Developmental Experiences:
Have the students break up into partners and give each pair a picture. Have the students create a compare and contrast chart on a piece of paper. Give the students a few minutes with their picture and then switch pictures. Continue switching pictures until the students have gotten each one. (25 minutes)

Culminating Experiences:
Have the students go back to their desks and write a paragraph on one or more of the following questions. (10 minutes)

How have these places changed over time?
How have these places stayed the same?
Why do you think these places changed/stayed the same?
How might these places continue to change?

Assessments used during lesson: The development of the students’ ideas and opinions will be assessed when the students write a paragraph that sums up the experiences of the lesson.

Resources: Winona Historical Society

Winona Heroes: 3rd Grade

Theme: Today the students will be writing biographies, in the first person, on local heroes based on pictures provided for them.

Materials:
Photos of local heroes (Winona Heroes - also on blog)
Blurbs about local heroes to accompany the photos (below photo)
Pencils
Paper

Goals: Students will write biographies based on the people in the photographs that answer the questions: How is/was this person important to the community? How does/did this person make a difference in other people’s lives? Why is it good or important that this person did what they did?

These questions are based on the standard VII, A, 1. The standard reads, “The student will understand the importance of participation in civic life and demonstrate effective civic skills.”

Objectives:

The students will be introduced to new important figures in the community.

Students will learn about these figures by investigating what they have done and why they were important to the community by writing a biographical paragraph on the person.

Students will understand what biographical writing consists of and how to do it.

Procedure:

Introductory experiences:

Inform the students that today we will be looking at historical pictures of people from Winona. Explain that the pictures they will be looking at are of people who were important to the local community and made an impact on the local society. (2 minutes)

Show the students the pictures that they will be working with today and give a brief description of each. (5 minutes)

Developmental experiences:

1. Tell the students that they will be able to choose a picture of a local hero and they will be able to write a biography about the person in the picture they choose. (1 minute)

2. Explain to the students what a biography is and how they are written. Write the questions that the students should answer on the board so that they can all see them and remember what they are while writing (below). Explain to the students what the questions mean and how they should attempt to answer them. Provide the students with the blurbs about each person to help answer the questions. (10 minutes)

3. Allow the students to choose a picture and begin reading the articles about their local heroes. Give the students the rest of the class to work on writing their autobiographies. (27 minutes)

4. The students will finish their autobiographies during the writing portion of the day. The next day, during Social Studies, the students will read their autobiographies to the class so that the whole class is able to learn about numerous local heroes.

Questions: How is/was this person important to the community? How does/did this person make a difference in others’ lives? Why is it good or important that this person did what they did?

Pictures of Winona Heroes: Pictures and brief summaries of heroes are provided in the resource section.

Other Possible Heroes from Winona:

Anyone who has been sent overseas can be used (for list of currently deployed see http://www.winonadailynews.com/hometownheroes/ )
Jul Gernes
Doctors or nurses from the Winona Hospital
Professors from WSU
Habitat for Humanity volunteers
People participating in the flood relief
Teachers from local schools
People living in nursing homes

Culminating experiences:

Explain to the students that they will be able to finish their biographies during writing and that they will be sharing them with the class eventually.

Assessments used during lesson: This lesson should be assessed while students are working on their autobiographies and when they are sharing their final draft. The teacher should be circulating around the room to make sure all the students understand what they are doing and to see if they need help.


Resources:
http://www.winonadailynews.com/hometownheroes/
Winona Historical Society