Title:Oh My Darling!#149

National Standard: 16 The changes that occur in the meaning, use, distribution and importance of resources.

State Standard: 14

Teaching Level: E

Lesson Introduction: This lesson shows historical fiction through song. It leads to a discussion on human interaction with the environment.

Objective/Purpose: Through their interpretation of the folk song, Clementine, students will create a visual image, which includes geographic features, of an event in America's past. Students will present this image to others, they may create models, draw, write a narrative, or present a skit. Students will discuss and predict the effects of mining on the human and physical features of the environment.

Materials: copies of the song, Clementine, miscellaneous materials used for making models and posters, old clothes that can easily be converted to costumes by students

Procedure:
1)Distribute copies of the song. Read over each verse together. Clarify vocabulary words and elicit suggested meanings of each verse from the students.

2)Following the class discussion, review each verse again. Verse 1: "a miner, forty-niner" refers to a gold miner who went to California in search of a fortune during the 1849 gold rush. Often students relate this to the football team, San Francisco Forty-Niners and their mascot. Verse 2: "Light she was, and like a fairy, and her shoes were number nine" is an interesting comparison. What do the students think Clementine looked like? "Herring boxes without topses, sandals were for Clementine" shows an example of "poetic license." Verse 3: "Fell into the foaming brine" refers to the running water that was unsettled due to the mining of gold in the river. Verse 4: "And I lost my Clementine", she drowned. Verse 5: "Then I kissed her little sister, and forgot dear Clementine." Women made up a very small portion of the population in a mining camp.

3)Sing the song.

4)Ask the students to create a map or model of mining camp in which Clementine may have lived. The map should include the canyon, cavern, human dwellings and the river.
5)Students present their map or model to the rest of the class as they sing and act out the song.

6)Discuss what would happen to their mining camp if a huge gold lode were discovered. What jobs would be needed to sustain life in the mining camp? What would the increased population do to physical environment? How would the physical environment be changed once all the gold was mined?

7)Have students change their map or model to reflect the after effects of a gold rush.

Evaluation/Assessment: Student involvement and teacher observation. Did the students use geography in their presentations? Did they show understanding of the concept of a non-renewable resource and man's effect on the physical environment?

Extension/Enrichment: Research the effects to the environment due to the extraction of other non-renewable resources. Take students to a quarry or mineral mine. Research the history of mining in New Hampshire. Find other folk songs that tell a story. Identify the facts and fiction within the song.

Reflection: How successful was this lesson? Did all students benefit? Were there any surprises? What might you do differently another time? Please note any changes that will make this lesson more effective and useful in the future and pass them along to the NHGA. We appreciate your comments.
Thank you.
The authors.

Clementine
In a cavern, in a canyon,
Excavating for a mine,
Dwelt a miner, forty-niner,
And his daughter Clementine.
Chorus:
Oh, my darling, Oh my darling,
Oh, my darling Clementine!
You are lost and gone forever
Dreadful, sorry Clementine!

Light she was, and like a fairy,
And her shoes were number nine,
Herring boxes without topses,
Sandals were for Clementine.
Chorus

Drove she ducklings to the water
Every morning just at nine,
Hit her foot against a splinter,
Fell into the foaming brine.
Chorus

Ruby lips above the water
Blowing bubbles soft and fine;
As for me, I was no swimmer
And I lost my Clementine.
Chorus

How I missed her, how I missed her,
How I missed my Clementine,
Then I kissed her little sister,
And forgot dear Clementine.
Chorus

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Original file name: 149rtf - converted on Tuesday, 20 October 1998, 20:56