Unit Overview

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This unit combines History Lab concepts and tools with the five W's & H (who, what, where, when, why and how) of historical inquiry AND newspaper reporting. The objective is to teach students how to examine movements and events in Pacific Northwest history by using newspapers past and present as sources of historical evidence. There are eight short inquiries in the unit that both introduce Pacific Northwest history content and the seven different historical thinking concepts used in the History Lab.

History Lab concepts include time, place, viewpoint, biography, exploration, causation, and precedent. The "Tools of the History Trade" encompass artifacts, ephemera, books and periodicals (including newspapers!), images, people, maps, and electronic media. Historic newspapers provide a gateway to past events, movements, and people. Analyzed closely, newspapers also provide us with a sense of the "tastes of the time" (i.e. popular culture trends in fashion, graphics, household conveniences and technology, and politics). This unit will help students compare the tastes and trends of ten different decades, each decade featuring particular days in November and December.

The historic issues included in the student sets are:

1900
December 22, Saturday "Christmas Edition" (pages 1, 7, 13, 18)
Article: "Where Salmon is Crowned King"
Article: "Mines and Mining" & "Lumber and Shingles"
Article: "The Great Northern Tunnel"

1910
November 10, 1910 (pages 1 & 4)
Article: "Thanksgiving Day Celebration Plan of Suffragettes"
November 7, 1910 (pages 1& 10)
Article: "Lawson Mine: Black Diamond Disaster due to Dust and Damp"

1920
November 25, 1920 (pages 1 & 5)
Article: "Consider the Stadium—It's Ready, It's Perfect, It's Seattle's Pride"
Article: "Another Paving Job that Needs City's Attention"
November 27, 1920 (pages 1& 3)
Editorial: "Symphony Paves way for Future of Art in City"
Article: "Heavy Wind Reached Velocity of 58 Miles an Hour over Seattle"

1930
November 9, 1930 Sunday (pages 10, 13, 19, 23)
Article: "Indians Aiding in Developing Reservation Lands"
Article: "Left High by Regrade Operations: Brownfield Island Rears Head in Regrade Mud Sea"
Article: Entertainment: Movies & Performances
Article: "Hello Mora; How d'y'do La Push"

1940
November 7, 1940 Thursday (pages 1, 2, 3, 18)
Feature: "Narrows Bridge Crashes in Wind!"

1950
November 19, 1950 Sunday (pages 1, 18, 24, 25)
Feature: "Santa Parade Opens Yule Season Here"
Contest: "Tangle Towns"
Article: "Interesting Design, colorful Arrangement in Laurelhurst Home"
Advertisement: Washington Title: "The City on the Shores of Elliot Bay"

1960
November 9, 1960 Wednesday (pages 1, A, 5, 6)
Article: "Senator Kennedy Wins!: Nixon Concedes to Democrats"
Article: "The Winner Neither too Young Nor of the Wrong Faith"
Advertisement: Rhodes Dept. Store
Article: "State-by-State Round-up of Election Results"

1970
November 7, 1970 Saturday (pages 1 and F-1)
Article: "Freemont: new hip look, new rock sound"
Advertisement: Nordstrom Best (check this, page F-1)
November 22, 1970 Sunday (page 1 and H-5)
Article: "How Many are Too Many?"
Article: "Boeing will Assemble Lunar Rover at Kent"

1980
November 5, 1980 (pages A1, A2, A8, A9)
Feature: "Landslide Victory for Reagan"

1990
November 18, 1990 (pages A-1 and A-16)
Feature: "Seas of Neglect"
November 26, 1990 (pages A-1 and A-5)
Feature: "New Bridge in Danger"

SPECIAL NOTE: If you don't already have a set of the historical newspapers, you may order a set from our Newspaper Order Form.