1. Connecting the
Past to the Present
Cindy Lin, Sheri Hendriks, Camela
Algieri, Alex Hernandez

3. Making the Connection
★ After students have a critical understanding of social studies content, we must
teach our students how to make connections between the past and present
○ Important to understand how our past determines/influences the present and future
★ What does this mean and how do we accomplish this?
○ Making parallels between the injustices of the past to the injustices of today
■ Drawing explicit connections
■ Students making their own connections

4. Why is this important?
★ Helps students understand how past issues/events are still relevant today.
Issues seen today are deeply influenced and connected to actions in the past
○ Example: Mexican American War & Arizona SB 1070
★ By learning about how others fought for justice, students will be inspired and
empowered to fight for change the same way
★ Students can learn how society works to benefit some and hurt others
★ Learning becomes more relevant and engaging to students
★ Our goal is to create students who work for a socially just society!

5. Contextualizing the Present Using the Past
★ Since the past is no longer we need to use artifacts to help recover what
happened before our time. We want to reconstruct stories from the past,
especially those of whose voices were silenced.
○ Ex: diaries, films, photographs and can reconstruct ideas like racism and discrimination for
students to see.
★ If we can’t illustrate to students that these entities still exist and are connected
to their lives they’ll feel little or no responsibility/compassion towards what’s
happened.

6. Why Contextualizing the Past is Important
★ For SOCIAL JUSTICE teaching
○ When students are offered to see connections between the past and present they’ll have more
instances to see the parallel between today’s and yesterday’s injustices.
★ We want them to be inspired to make changes in their community when they
see injustice.
○ They’ll help us create and foster a more just world.

7. Allowing Students to Make Connections
★ Starts with us creating discussion where students can build their ideas and
express their thoughts (Creating intentional conversation)
○ We can always do this. It’s good to do before/after studying past/present events.
★ It enriches Social Studies Content- creates an emotional connection
★ As teachers we look at the past to find role models and inspiration for our
students.
★ The Past will help us picture a better future!

8. Drawing Explicit Connections - Caroline’s Classroom
★ 1. Ex: The U.S Constitution
○ Caroline paints a picture of the Constitution using
the idea of individual rights (How it should protect
everyone)
○ She creates discussion by asking students what
rights they feel like they deserve.
★ Inspiring Wonder:
○ Students view a music video with pictures of
Japanese Americans losing their homes and
stores after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
○ Caroline creates discussion about what her
students have just seen.

9. Drawing Explicit Connections- Caroline’s Classroom
★ Connecting the Past to the Present:
○ Caroline asks her students to imagine a scenario where
Muslim Americans lose their rights and are asked to relocate
due to National Security (During 9/11)
○ Students have been introduced to this idea now they’re able
to connect it to something that is contemporary.
★ Application:
○ Students write a letter from the point of view of a Muslim
American being detained. They also have to include a
paragraph that explains why the legislation would be unfair.
★ Caroline finally ends her lesson with another
discussion about “what can you do if you feel

10. Drawing Explicit Connections - Jen’s Classroom
★ The Transcontinental Railroad
Step 1 Inspire wonder and paint the picture through multiple perspectives.

11. Drawing Explicit Connections - Jen’s Classroom
★ The Transcontinental Railroad
Step 2 Application. Students write a letter from the perspectives of a Chinese
railroad worker.
★ Discuss with students the hardships and struggles of Chinese railroad
workers.
★ Don’t forget to talk about the successes and contributions of the Chinese
workers during the building of the Transcontinental Railroad.
★ Review vocabulary

12. Drawing Explicit Connections - Jen’s Classroom
★ The Transcontinental Railroad
Step 3 Connecting the past to the present.
“Are workers treated this poorly today?”

13. Drawing Explicit Connections - Jen’s Classroom
★ The Transcontinental Railroad Example Vocabulary
Terms:
★ Wage
★ Minimum wage
★ Living wage
★ Pesticides
★ Cheap labor

14. Drawing Explicit Connections - Jen’s Classroom
★ The Transcontinental Railroad
Step 4 Ask questions
★ Do men work harder than women?
★ Do the CEOs of Nike or Dole work harder than the farmworkers or garment
workers?
★ Did the boss on the railroad work harder than the Chinese workers?
★ How much money did the Big Four make?
★ How much money did the Chinese workers make?

15. Drawing Explicit Connections - John’s Classroom
★ The Great Depression and the Recession
Step 1 Inspire wonder and paint the picture through multiple perspectives.
★ Simulation and Role play
★ Graphic organizers
★ Read-alouds
Step 2 Application
★ Have students pretend to be journalists writing newspaper articles about the
photographs they studied in prior lessons

16. Drawing Explicit Connections - John’s Classroom
★ The Great Depression and the Recession
Step 3 Connecting the past to the present.
“What are some of the recent issues with the
economy?”
★ Buying on credits
★ Lack of jobs
★ Foreclosure
★ Bankruptcy

17. Drawing Explicit Connections - John’s Classroom
★ The Great Depression and the Recession
Step 4 Help student find personal connections with the subject matter.
★ Have students write/ or share about how their families and friends have
struggled through this difficult economic times.
Step 5 Finding solutions.
★ Have students think about what they can do to improve our economic
condition.

18. Pilgrims and Indians by Marlo Mayshack
“Mom! Have you ever seen a real Indian?”
“Yes, you are looking at one!”
Marlo Mayshack, M.Ed Edisto Women
Kusso-Natchez, NC
Popular Clip-Art

19. Going to the Source
★ Marlo set out to meet Edisto Indian Chief, John Creel
★ Even though the Chief was supportive, he still had concerns about outsiders
mocking him and his character.
★ He was equally wary of academia because historically, academics have
portrayed Native Americans in a romanticized or patronizing manner.
★ The Chief also feared too much assimilation-assimilation would cause his
tribe to lose even more control over their ceremonies and their identity.
Rituals done without the guidance of the tribal leaders is irresponsible and
dangerous.

20. How She Implemented Her Authentic Instructional Unit
Finding authentic material: Marlo's goal was to have students examine their beliefs
about another race of people, their culture, lifestyle and contributions.
Have students conduct their own Ethnographic Studies.
★ Students kept a journal with responses to the teacher’s questions
★ Native Americans visited from a local tribe
★ Planned a field trip to the Edisto reservation for a tribally sanctioned pow-wow
★ Compare and Contrast the everyday lives of the Edisto tribe with the
published information on Native Americans

21. The Takeaway...
★ When teachers take on the responsibility of authenticating lesson plans, units
and other learning experiences in the classroom, it empowers them as it gives
credibility to their work. This is hard work!! We have a ton of racial
stereotyping to make right! We must do due diligence.
★ We give students a mosaic of knowledge to form their historical knowledge to
build upon and connect to.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIzYzz3rEZU /to 2:46
Changing the way we see Native Americans | Matika Wilbur

22. What is the Teacher's Job When Teaching?
We of course want to be the kind of teacher who throws out the textbook and
create innovative Unit Plans. The cons of over zealous lesson plans are that
teachers could lose sight of purpose as well as results. We may also become
inflexible when situations change...as they always do!
Some critical questions to ask:
★ Are the learning outcomes clearly defined?
★ Do they support your big idea?
★ Is this simply “nice to know?”
★ Do the students know the intended learning results and spend time processing the activities?
★ Have students shown that they understand and can transfer what they have learned in meaningful ways?

23. Class Activity
★ Chose one of the following past events:
○ Mexican American War
○ The Great Depression
○ Armstrong walks on the moon 1969
○ Just Say No Program (DARE)
○ Japanese Internment Camps
★ Work together to complete your WebQuest
★ Discuss your findings