Student CenterNoState
Teacher CenterNoState
GLENCOE.com Home > OLC
Online Learning Center
Literature

Web Quest Lesson Plan

Introduction

In this unit students have explored the concept of progress. In this lesson, they will compare and contrast life in 1900 with life today. They will also read people's predictions from 1950 about life in the twenty-first century, and consider how today's advances may affect the future.

Lesson Description

Students will read selected passages from the 1900 House
<www.pbs.org/wnet/1900house/index.html> and PBS Kids: The Future <www.pbskids.org/wayback/future/index.html> and answer questions about the reading.

Instructional Objectives

  1. Students will read about family life at the turn of the century, and compare and contrast every day living in 1900 with their own lives.
  2. Students will identify the advantages and disadvantages of progress.
  3. Students will answer questions based on what they read.

Student Web Activity Questions and Answers

  1. Name three things the Bowler family liked better about living in the 1900 House compared to living in their own home.
  2. Possible answer: They preferred how life in the nineteen hundreds was more personal (they actually knew the grocer and the baker and the butcher). They preferred how people were more open with each other instead of shutting themselves off from each other like we tend to do in the modern world. They liked how their family was able to grow closer without all of the distractions of the modern world.

  3. Name three things the Bowler family missed from the modern world that they did not have in the 1900 House.
  4. Possible answer: They preferred the food in the modern world over the nineteen hundreds. They preferred the convenience of the modern life when it came to chores. They preferred the electronics/music/phones/entertainment of the modern life.

  5. Choose three household objects that exist in both the 1900 House and homes today. How have these objects changed? How have they stayed the same?
  6. Possible answer: The Scullery: In the nineteen hundreds, washing machines were really expensive, so most people didn't have one. Instead, they had to use a washtub to do all their laundry by hand. Now, most people use a washer and dryer to do their laundry much more quickly.

    The Kitchen: In the nineteen hundreds it took an average of eighteen minutes to boil a pot of water on the cooking range. Today we can either boil water on the stove in less than five minutes, or we can microwave it even faster.

    The Front Parlor: In the nineteen hundreds, homes were lit by gas lights and candles. In modern times, homes use light bulbs that run on electricity.

    The Bedroom: In the nineteen hundreds, bedrooms often had pictures of religious and inspirational images hanging on the wall. In modern times, some bedrooms still have these images on their walls, but it is more likely to see images of movie and music stars, animals, or personal photographs.

    The Bathroom: In the nineteen hundreds, people used a jug, basin and washstand to wash their hands and clean up. In the modern world, people use a sink and faucet.

  7. On the PBS Kids site “The Future,” how accurate were the predications made in the 1950s about life today?
  8. Possible answer: The predictions from the 1950s were not very accurate compared to what life is really like today. Only two of the predictions came true: the flat-screened televisions that can hang on the wall, and the doctors being able to speak with and see other doctors in surgery via a television. The rest of the predictions are still being realized.

  9. Make five predictions of your own for the year 2055.

    Possible answers:

  1. There will be a cure for cancer.
  2. We will have flying cars.
  3. People will have walked on Mars.
  4. There will be no more poverty
  5. A woman will be elected President of the United States.
  6. We'll watch movies on cell phones
  7. The New York Mets will win the World Series

Log In

The resource you requested requires you to enter a username and password below:

Username:
Password: