Wood River times (Hailey, Idaho), July 3, 1890. 1890. Newspaper. Library of Congress Chronicling America. https://www.loc.gov/item/sn86091172/1890-07-03/ed-1/.
In the spirit of the 250th (semiquincentennial) anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, students will reflect on Idaho’s statehood into the Union as the 43rd state by reading headlines and comments on this event from a local newspaper. This will lead to both a historical timeline of at least five events that have defined Idaho history from its statehood until the present as well as a personal historical timeline each student will create including major events happening in the United States on their birthday. Additionally, students will expand their timelines with five events that have happened during their lifetime beginning from their birthday until the present day.
This is the exact date Idaho entered the Union as the 43rd state of the United States of America. Hailey, Idaho, was a small rural town at the time.
Source: https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/idaho-admitted-union
- What story does the newspaper capture of Idaho’s statehood?
- What does the article leave out about Idaho’s statehood?
- How can understanding Idaho’s statehood help value its impact on the United States as a whole?
- How might knowing these events add depth to your personal history? What events define your life?
ELA Standard
CCSS: 6th Grade Reading: Deep Reading on Topics to Build Knowledge (DR). 2. Read a series of texts organized around a variety of conceptually related topics to build knowledge about the world. (These texts should be at a range of complexity levels so students can read the texts independently, with peers, or with modest support.)
Social Studies Standard
6-12 United States History: Historical Thinking Skills. 6-12.HT1.4 Construct and/or communicate a historical argument using primary and secondary sources.
Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features
- Invite students to read the headlines of the Hailey, Idaho, newspaper on the date Idaho became the 43rd state of the Union and summarize the comments made about the area becoming a state.
- Have students read a summary of Idaho’s statehood from the online research engine EBSCOhost: https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/idaho-admitted-union
- Ask students to research newspaper headlines from their hometowns and articles that were published on their own birthdate and reflect upon the historical events of this time and its potential impact on their lives.
- Have students create a timeline of events beginning with Idaho’s state until the present moment, including images where possible and writing a sentence describing each event.
- Have students create a timeline of events of local events beginning with their own birth until the present moment, including images where possible and writing a sentence describing each event.
Idaho news (Blackfoot, Idaho), July 5, 1890. 1890. Newspaper. Library of Congress Chronicling America. https://www.loc.gov/item/sn88056018/1890-07-05/ed-1/.