Teacher's Resources
We’d like to be part of your students’ preparation for their visit. Our professionally produced DVD, “From Famine to Fortitude”, is the cornerstone of our presentation, and introduces your visit to the Feeley home, established in 1863. This industrious family was a model of our understanding of the early lives of our ancestors. The restored house includes important displays that include the cooking, cottage industries, heating and sleeping quarters of a modest family of the time.
Each of these lesson plans will be complemented by your Museum visit, as we will narrate your time with us to emphasize the lessons learned in the classroom. Feel free to request a copy, and be in touch with us with any questions you might have.
Students will explore how immigrants have both adopted and influenced American culture. By examining a primary source document, they will understand how many Americans felt about the assimilation of immigrants. Then, by conducting their own research into the origins of “American” customs/traditions, they will discover how immigrants have contributed to American culture.
Students will compare/contrast Irish peasants’ situations in Ireland during the Great Potato Famine of the mid to late 1840s and their situations as new arrivals in the United States. Students will analyze the pros and cons of immigrating in response to the famine and will evaluate whether the immigrants made the “right” decision in leaving Ireland for America.
Students will use historical newspaper accounts of the Great Railroad Strike of 1877 to evaluate whether B&O Railroad workers had good cause to strike and whether the actions they took in protest were justified. Students will consider the issue of perspective when evaluating newspaper accounts, as well as legal, moral and ethical modes of protest in a democratic society.
Irish Railroad Workers Museum © 2021