Lesson Plan: Mining
For Teachers - An Introduction:
This lesson is designed to introduce your students to historical
research with primary sources. They will be presented with a set of six
primary sources relating to an occupation in Minnesota history. Students
will be provided with source data, online Activity questions to direct
their study, and a worksheet designed to help them draw conclusions
about the sources they have seen and about conducting primary source
research in general. The sections of this site are not intended to be
complete histories of the people or events involved, but rather serve as
examples of what students might find in their own research efforts.
Why is mining important to Northern Minnesota:
The mining industry was one of the great contributors to the
development of northern Monnesota. The huge deposits of iron ore
discovered on the Mesabi Range generated dozens of mines, thousands of
jobs, and a series of towns that sprang up one after another as the
mining industry grew. Conventional underground mining was performed, as
well as open-pit mining of the many ore deposits that were close to the
surface. Though mining is a very dangerous industry, its success helped
develop not only the communities on the range but also neighboring port
cities on Lake Superior.
What You Will Need for This Lesson:
- Access to a computer lab with Internet capability for at least one 40 minute class period.
- Photocopies of the worksheet and a printed key (download both in the Student Materials section of the site).
- If you have not already done so, we encourage you to explore the site for yourself ahead of time to become familiar with the navigation and features available to you and your students.
Skills
Objectives:
The student will be able to:
- access primary sources online for research and
study identify and summarize the different kinds of sources
in the exercise identify advantages and disadvantages to
using particular primary sources explain and synthesize
source information to evaluate its usefulness and reliability
Using this Lesson in Your Classroom:
When the students are in the computer lab, lead them through the
following sequence (you may wish to use an overhead projector screen):
- Go to the Communities web site. Click
on Communities on the left hand side of the screen. Click on
Hibbing. Click on Mining. Read the
introductory material on Mining and click Enter. This will
bring you to a screen with an excerpt from the novel Red Mesabi. This is
the first source the students will encounter. Let them know that
they can see a scanned image of the actual novel pages by clicking on
the View button underneath the thumbnail image. Show students the
Activity button and have them click on it to view questions and possible
answers about each source. Once students have studied this
passage and read the appropriate questions about it in the Activity
section, direct them to the other sources that are accessible through
the blue menu bar running across the top of the page. Each of these
buttons will take them to another source to explore. When the
students have completed studying each source and reading the questions
for each item, they should be able to complete the worksheet they were
given (see below).
What Your Students Will See In This Lesson Online:
Below is a listing of each source provided on the Mining section of
the web site and a transcript of the activity questions for each source.
(The questions are found on the site by clicking on the Activity
button.)
Book 1
Click on the Book 1 button to open the primary source.
This is
from a novel about the iron range.
1.1) How is open-pit mining done?
Possible Answer:
Steam shovels are used to scoop ore directly out of the ground and load
it onto trains.
1.2) If open-pit mining is cheaper, why would they sometimes choose to use underground mining instead?
Possible Answer:
Sometimes there is so much dirt and rock between the surface and the ore
deposits that it is cheaper to dig an underground tunnel to the ore.
1.3) How do miners get to the ore underground?
Possible Answer:
They dig a tunnel called a shaft downward, then dig more tunnels out to
where the ore is.
1.4) How might your trust of this source be affected by knowing that it came from a fiction novel?
Possible Answer:
Since fictional stories are made up, it would be a good idea to compare
this source to some factual ones. However, this description appears to be
thorough and accurate.
Data 1
Click on the Data 1 button to open the primary source.
This is a table about the amount of ore that was mined and the cost of mining it.
2.1) Has the amount of ore that's been mined gone up every year?
Possible Answer: The
"tonnage mined" column shows that in 1927 the amount went down, but then
it went back up again for both open-pit and underground mining by 1929.
2.2) Approximately how much more total ore was mined open-pit than underground?
Possible Answer:
More than three times as much ore was mined using the open-pit method
--about 90 million more tons. The actual difference is 126, 478,819 -
37,113,134, or 89,365,685 tons.
2.3) During the four years shown, was the "total average cost per ton" ever cheaper for underground mining than it was for open-pit?
Possible Answer: No,
it wasn't, although every year in the table the two costs got a little
closer to each other.
2.4) According to the "total average cost per ton" column of the table, about how much more expensive was underground mining than open-pit mining?
Possible Answer:
Underground mining is about twice as expensive.
Diagram 1
Click on the Diagram 1 button to open the primary source.
This
is a diagram of an underground mine.
3.1) What does the diagram tell you about how the mined ore was transported around the mines?
Possible Answer: The
diagram shows an ore cart at the base of the mine. Ore carts were like
small train cars that moved on rails like a train.
3.2) Describe a "raise" and what it appears to be used for in the diagram.
Possible Answer: A
raise was a tunnel that ran between the upper level and the lower level.
Ore would be mined at the top of the raise, then dumped down to the ore
cars at the bottom.
3.3) What is the purpose of all of the logs at the top of the mine diagram?
Possible Answer: The
logs formed a protective roof that kept the ground overhead from caving
in on the working miners. Logs were also used to support the lower
tunnels.
3.4) How does the picture on the left relate to the split picture on the right?
Possible Answer: The
drawing on the left is an end view of an underground mine tunnel; the
two parts to the right form a side view of the same tunnel.
Photo 1
Click on the Photo 1 button to open the primary source.
This is
a set of three photos of underground mining.
4.1) In the middle photo, what do you think is being done by the man who looks like he's standing by a big box?
Possible Answer: The
big box is actually an ore car. He is at the lower level of the mine,
and is dumping ore out of a chute at the bottom of a raise.
4.2) Were these pictures all taken around the same years, and how can you tell?
Possible Answer: No,
they were not. One shows men digging by candlelight and wearing older
style clothing than the work clothes being worn by the men in the other
photos.
4.3) How could all of the logs supporting the roof have gotten into the mine?
Possible Answer: One
of the first steps in underground mining was to dig a system of tunnels
and build in supports to avoid cave-ins. Once the tunnles were dug, the
logs could be brought in to build the supports.
4.4) What kind of lighting would you expect to find in an underground mine?
Possible Answer: Not
very much because there is no natural light underground. In older days,
workers had to carry candles into the complete blackness. In later years men
wore helmets with lamps attached to them.
Photo 2
Click on the Photo 2 button to open the primary source.
This is
a photo of a steam shovel.
5.1) What are the advantages of using a steam shovel over using human workers?
Possible Answer: It
would take many people to equal the amount of power and speed that could
be had by digging with a steam shovel.
5.2) Fewer human diggers would be needed, but what other jobs might be created by using a steam shovel?
Possible Answer:
Workers would be needed to operate the shovel, to keep its boiler
running, and to repair and maintain it. Steam shovels took away some
jobs but created new ones.
5.3) Would a steam shovel be of any use underground? Why or why not?
Possible Answer:
Steam shovels require too much space to move around underground, plus
moving an 80-ton machine up and down the shafts would have been very
difficult and dangerous, if not impossible.
5.4) What effect would adding more steam shovels to an open-pit mine have?
Possible
Answer: The mine could produce more ore faster, but this would also
require more people to work with the ore and would require trains to run
more often to transport the ore.
Photo 3
Click on the Photo 3 button to open the primary source.
This is
a photograph of a steam shovel loading ore cars at a mine.
6.1) Is this a photograph of an underground mine?
Possible Answer: The
huge, dug-up area marks this as an open-pit mine; however it was
possible for a mine to have both an open-pit region and an underground
mine.
6.2) What is the reason for having a railroad line run by a mine?
Possible Answer:
Trains were used to ship the tons of ore from the mines to the
businesses that would extract the iron from the ore. Having them nearby lowered expenses.
6.3) How could mines without a train track possibly transport the ore?
Possible Answer:
Animals could be used to pull carts, but this would be slow and expensive. A single ore car on a train could carry a ton of ore and millions of tons would be shipped in a year.
Animals with carts, or even trucks could never carry that much ore.
Thought Questions for online Exploration:
During the online lesson, your students should complete the
accompanying worksheet for this section. (Download from the student
materials the pdf file containing the worksheet and key.) The questions
for this worksheet are provided below. Since questions relating to
specific sources are used during the online activity, the following
worksheet questions are designed to help students synthesize and apply
the material they have learned from the online activity and to analyze
the kinds of information and the credibility of various types of primary
sources when taken as a whole.
- Over the years, various kinds of technology improved mining. What kinds of technologies improved the digging process? What technology made transporting ore possible? What kinds of processes have changed very little?
- The mines of the Mesabi Range allowed dozens of towns like Hibbing to grow. How does having a mine nearby benefit a town like Hibbing? What problems might arise when a townÕs survival depends on a mine? What are some of the negative impacts mining has on the land?
- Though you've seen only a very small part of the complicated mining process, you should have an idea of how mining was done. What steps are taken to get iron ore out of the ground? Once the ore has been removed from the ground, what is the best method for transporting ore over the land and why? Once the ore had been carried away from the mines, where was it taken?
- Two methods of mining were used at Hibbing: open-pit mining, and underground mining. What are some of the similarities between these two methods? If you suddenly had a need for more ore, which method would you use and how would you change it to make it faster? What are some of the dangers in underground mining that open-pit miners wouldnÕt have to fear as much?
After your students have completed these questions, you may either collect them to be graded and discussed later or go over them in class as a discussion outline. When you downloaded the file with these questions you also downloaded a teacher's key for your use.
Extending the Lesson: Historical Themes Mining
You can also use the sources provided on this site to encourage
higher-order thinking about a number of historical themes and issues
that relate to mining. Below are possible activities and discussion
starters to extend student application of the content material provided
in the sources. The information provided in the sources about mining
does not provide a comprehensive picture of these issues, but it can
serve as an introduction to a theme or as supplementary material to
enhance your work with a theme that is already part of your curriculum.
| Possible Themes:
1. Industry and Transportation 2. Mining Throughout the World |
Theme One:
Industry and Transportation
|
Objective:
In small groups, have students discuss the following questions. You may wish to provide these questions on an overhead transparency or supply a handout for student reference.
|
Theme Two:
Mining throughout the World:
|
Objectives:
In small groups, have students discuss the following questions. You may wish to provide these questions on an overhead transparency or supply a handout for student reference.
Optional activities:
|