Procedure:
- Read and discuss the Gravdal quote.
- Read the preface to Ole Rynning's True Account
of America with the whole class:
Preface
DEAR COUNTRYMEN -- PEASANTS AND ARTISANS:
I have now been in America eight months, and in
this time have had an opportunity to learn much
in regard to which I vainly sought to procure information
before I left Norway. I felt on that occasion how
unpleasant it is for those who wish to emigrate
to America to be without a trustworthy and fairly
detailed account of the country. I learned also
how great the ignorance of the people is, and what
false and preposterous reports were believed as
full truth. It has therefore been my endeavor in
this little publication to answer every question
that I myself raised, to make clear every point
in regard to which I observed that people were in
ignorance, and to refute the false reports which
have come to my ears, partly before my departure
from Norway and partly after my arrival here. I
trust, dear reader, that you will not find any point
concerning which you desired information overlooked
or imperfectly treated.
ILLINOIS, February, 13, 1838
OLE RYNNING
- Break the class up into groups of five using the
"jigsaw" method: Distribute the five excerpts
to the primary group, one per student. Then move the
students into a secondary group with other students
who have been assigned the same excerpt. In the secondary
group, the students read, analyze, and discuss the
excerpt, answering questions 6A, 6D, and 6E on the
Written Document Analysis Worksheet.
- Ask students to return to their primary groups
and report back to the groups with the information
that they learned about their assigned excerpts.
- Organize a whole-class discussion, in which students
share their responses to the three questions in the
Written Document Analysis Worksheet.
Summary:
After the presentations, the teacher will lead a discussion
on the "push-and-pull" factors found in Rynning's
Account (why Norwegians were pushed out of Norway, and
why they were pulled toward America). The class will be
asked to come to an agreement on the three most important
reasons why Norwegians came to America.
Extension Activity:
Unfortunately, Ole Rynning and almost the entire community
of Norwegians at Beaver Creek, Illinois died from malarial
fever in the winter of 1838, just as Rynning's Account
was starting to be shared back in Norway. Some historians
wonder if Rynning would have changed his view of America
in a second writing had he lived longer.
Have the students write "revised" versions
of their chapters for a book the class will put together
that will be titled: True Account of America for
the Information and Help for the Newly Arrived Immigrants
Written by a Middle School Student Who Is Living at
the Present Moment. First, ask the students to read
their chapters aloud to the class and then compile the
chapters into the class book.
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