Subjects: American History, Social Studies, Language
Arts
Grade Level(s): 9-12
Time Frame: 1 or 2, 50-minute periods
Objectives:
1.0 Overall: Students will understand the purposes
of a eulogy and an obituary and the differences between them,
identify the essential elements of both, determine which is
the more authentic historical record, and be able to associate
an individual's life with important historical events.
Bloom’s Taxonomy: CongressLink lesson plans are
built around Bloom's taxonomy (click here for
detailed information about this taxonomy).
2.0 Knowledge: What are the definitions of "eulogy" and "obituary"?
Identify the birth and death dates of Everett Dirksen. Using
basic reference resources and the obituary, list the major
events in Dirksen's life and the major events in U.S. history
during the same time. List the "Three Great Reversals" in Dirksen's
career.
3.0 Understanding: What is the difference between "eulogy" and "obituary"?
How would you summarize Everett Dirksen's career, and which
source is more helpful in doing so? What are some examples
of Everett Dirksen's positive qualities, and which source is
more helpful in identifying those? Compare the definition of "politician" in
the eulogy and the obituary.
4.0 Application: Using the career of a still-serving
politician (e.g., the President, Senators, Representatives,
or other elected official), find examples of compromise and
partisanship. Find an obituary in a newspaper or online and
compose a eulogy to the same person.
5.0 Analysis: What information would you have to have
about a person in order to write an obituary or eulogy? Are
there elements of Everett Dirksen's life that are not accounted
for in the eulogy, and why might that be? Are there qualities
in Everett Dirksen that might not be viewed so positively today?
Why? Can you find examples of key information omitted from
either the obituary or the eulogy? What determines the historical
value of either?
6.0 Synthesis: Construct both a eulogy and an obituary
for your (i.e., the student) life. Write either a eulogy or
an obituary for a fictional character. Using the eulogy of
Dirksen as a guide, work in groups to compose a eulogy for
a current political figure. Use the Internet to find eulogies
or obituaries of other figures, in and out of politics, to
compare to Dirksen's.
7.0 Evaluation: What do you think is the most important
function of an obituary? Of a eulogy? Why do some people have
a longer or more prominent obituary than others? Do you believe,
and for what reasons, that an obituary or a eulogy is an accurate
historical record?
Materials:
Eulogy delivered
by President Richard M. Nixon at Memorial Services for the
Late Senator Everett McKinley Dirksen in the Rotunda of the
Capitol, September 9, 1969.
Obituary, "Dirksen
Dead in Capital at 73," by E. W. Kenworthy.
National Standards Addressed by Lesson [based on National
Standards for Civics and Government, Center for Civic Education,
1994. Citation based on section, subsection, standard of the
document]:
I. What Are Civic Life, Politics, and Government? A.1. (pages
89-90)
V. What are the Roles of the Citizen in American Democracy?
D.1-4 (pages 132-34)
Evaluation/Assessment: See: http://www.congresslink.org/rubric/pdf
Author(s):
Frank H. Mackaman
The Dirksen Congressional Center
fmackaman@dirksencenter.org
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