This lesson uses a focus question to compare modern life with life in
the past, particularly in the areas of manufacturing, communication,
transportation and leisure.
 

FOCUS QUESTION V: How have technology and science affected life in NH?

ERAS : 6 ( 1870-1900) and 10 ( 1968-present)

INSTRUCTIONAL OUTCOMES: Students should be able to define technology, give personal experiences of how technology affects people and how people have used technology. Students should be able to compare the technology of today with technology in one era of the past.

QUESTIONS TO EXPLORE (inquiry questions taken from NH History Curriculum):

1.   What is technology?

Methods:

A.  Have students brainstorm ideas about how technology has affected life in NH and list the ideas on a chart.

B. Have students look up technology and technical in different dictionaries and a thesaurus. 
technology: a) practical application of knowledge especially in a
particular area,  b) a manner of accomplishing a task especially using
technical processes, methods, or knowledge, c) the specialized aspects of
a particular field or endeavor. 
technical: having a special and usual practical knowledge especially of a
mechanical or scientific subject. thesaurus synonyms: industry and commerce

2.   What technologies do I and others use every day?

Methods:

A.  Have students identify the technologies they use throughout the day and describe how technology affects their lifestyles. Have them think about the following topics:
the ways we keep warm and cool
the ways we get and prepare our food
the ways we communicate
the ways we travel
the ways we have fun
the ways we get rid of trash and waste
the ways we learn
the ways we use spare time

B.  To organize their thoughts, students can prepare individual posters on how they use technology in a day, and group posters on each topic. They can prepare surveys and graphs on who uses what technology. They can write essays on how technology affects their daily lives. (See student
worksheet. Sample descriptions may be deleted as teacher's discretion.)

C.  Have students identify how technology affects the lifestyles of other people in their community by observing and identifying the topics listed above for the community as a whole. They should interview adults as part of their research. Students can prepare posters and displays as projects.

3.  What are some of the technologies people used at different times in New Hampshire history? Who used them? When? Why?

Methods:
A.  Have students look at photographs or images from photography books, scrapbooks, town histories. etc., that depict their community in the late 1800s. (These are probably available in your local library and local historical society. Books that depict the Victorian era in general can be found at the NH Historical Society library and Museum of New Hampshire Store.) Students can take notes, write a report, and illustrate with posters the ways people kept warm and cool, etc.

B.  Have students take photographs of evidence of past technology in their communities  old railroad beds, stone walls, logging roads, mills, etc. Make a display.

4.  How has technology affected the natural environment in New Hampshire?

Methods:
A.  Have students brainstorm in groups and choose one technology to research and report back. Use old newspapers as well as resource books. Discuss/acf vs. opinion. Possible topics: farming . logging, railroads, paper-making, mining, tourism. What are some technologies that have helped the natural environment? What are some technologies that have harmed the natural environment?

B.  Ask speakers to come to class and discuss their jobs. Have students devise interview questions. Ideas: the local recycling center manager, a forester, a logger, a horticultural nursery owner, a dairy farmer, a highway maintenance supervisor.

ASSESSMENT: Have the class discuss differences between today's technologies and technologies in Era 6. Devise evaluation rubrics and have students assess their essays, reports, and posters. In student conferences, compare students' evaluations with the teacher's evaluations.

SOURCES:
Ailing, Diane. A New Hampshire Histon- and Electric Timeline, 1820-1985: A Reproducible Teacher Resource. Manchester, NH: Public Service Company. Call (603) 634-2557.

AMC and Forest Service Workshop in Crawford Notch. "The Industrial Revolution." Cobblesrone, September, 1981.

Gillon, Edmund V. Jr. Cut and Assemble a Nineteenth Ceniun' Mill Town. New York: Dover Publications.

Govatski. David, articles and hand-outs (time line, articles on the railroad industry, and maps of railroads) White Mountain National Forest, 1996.

Granite Monthly, Vol. VII, No.5. May 1912. Article on John E. Henry, "Lumber King."    "Lumber King of the North Country." Granite Monthly. September, 1914. Article on George Van Dyke.

Macauley, David. Mill. Boston: HoughtonMifflin.l983. Museum of New Hampshire History Tour, Concord. NH. Call (603)226-3189.

Ober, Richard, ed. At What Cost? Shaping the Land We Call New Hampshire. Concord. NH: New Hampshire Historical Society, 1992. New Hampshire forest history timeline.

Ross, Pat. Hannah's Fancy Notions. New York: Penguin Books. 1988.

Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests. Books, pamphlets, speakers. Concord, NH.

Weisman. Joanne B., ed. The Lowell Mill Girls. Lowell, MA: Discovery Enterprise.

NH STANDARDS: Geography II, 13, 14. 15; History 16. 17, 18: Economics 7