Coal Mining Communities Unit Study for Middle Grades (5th-8th)
Since we’re at home, we’ve been working through a slow-paced family unit study on coal mining with the boys–while waiting to see what is going to happen with the school year. They are watching documentaries and YouTube videos, reading articles, and their final assignments are a slideshow about the science of coal and a short graphic novel about the life of coal mining communities. I looked at this as more of a culture and history study than a science and fossil fuel study. We have coal mining history in our family tree and were exploring the social impacts of coal on communities. But you could easily leap in a more scientific or STEM direction if you wanted to.
We actually watched October Sky as part of our Astronomy unit, but it also makes an interesting background to diving into coal mining. The book series Rocket Boys by Homer Hickam, Jr. would be a good text to add for a modern angle. The PBS series Poldark (or the book series) also include mining in Cornwall England following the American Revolutionary War as a backdrop to the drama if you have a period-drama fan in the mix.
Please note that this can be a difficult topic with strongly opposing views and experiences. I would suggest previewing materials and giving some thought to how you will present materials before starting a unit. Most of these resources are for upper elementary and middle grades up. This can be a complex and sensitive topic.
Here are some of the resources we’re using for this topic…
Amazon PRIME Videos of Coal Mining
American Experience: Mine Wars
Hillbillies, Coal Miners, Treehuggers, and God
The Molly Maguires (full length drama about Irish immigrants in the PA mines in 1876, lots of directions to go after this movie–also, Sean Connery. {smile})
Dirty Jobs (Season 1, Episode 30)
FREE YouTube Videos about Coal Mining
Virtual Tour of Black Thunder Coal Mine, WY
Appalachia Coal Mining by Mountain Top Removal, WV
America Revealed, Where Does Our Coal Come From (PBS)
Coal in Kentucky, KY (full length documentary available FREE)
Coal Rush, WV (full length documentary available FREE)
On Coal River, WV (full length movie, related to Coal Rush events)
Tour of Loretta Lynn Homeplace, KY (a little modern touch, since we also visited Lynn’s place in TN on our spring break road trip)
Educational Websites about Coal Mining
Kentucky Coal and Education Project
National Coal Heritage Area (WV)
How Coal Works (Union of Concerned Scientists, green energy focus)
Coal Resource Library (National Geographic, lots of science facts here)
Coal (Student Britannica, basic science facts)
The Coalminng History Resource Center (UK site, contains a lot of information!)
A Day in the Life of Pennsylvania Coal Miners (a photo-documentary)
Books and Audible Choices about Coal Mining
King Coal, Upton Sinclair
Growing Up in Coal Country, Susan Campbell Bartoletti
No 9: The 1968 Farmington Mine Disaster, Bonnie Stewart (also see the new Mine 9 movie)
The Unquiet Earth and Storming Heaven, Denise Giardina (modern fiction, very good for older readers–and adults!)
Creating Assignments
As I said at the beginning of the post, I’m trying to use creative project-based assignments to pull it all together for them. The best thing to do is to judge the interest of the child. If they’re very book-ish, they might just prefer a book report. My kiddos enjoy technology and need to learn social media skills, so we are going in that direction more often. I also like to pull Mr. Fix-It into the mix by letting him lead in hands-on projects or letting him be the “audience” at the end of the day or week for presentations.
Here’s a few ideas we’re using for different unit studies now, that the 9-14 age group should be able to handle fairly self-sufficiently.
Write a Graphic Novel
This could be a biographical sketch on an actual historic person or a character sketch of a created person based on what they’ve read. Or a non-fiction book about the topic in general or the science behind the topic (see examples we love in this post on Non-Fiction Graphic Novels). I usually print 2 copies of the comic template and we do a pencil draft for review, then a final.
Write a Graphic Novel Worksheet (Scholastic, FREE)
6 Free Comic Book Templates (FREE, just sign up for newsletter, my favorite)
Comic Templates (TPT, FREE)
Book or Movie Reviews and Posters
I’m a big fan of the simple 3-2-1 non-fiction book report format. I’ll have my kiddos use it for every little documentary show they watch and keep the report as notes for future projects. It doesn’t have to be just books, it can be a movie, a show or YouTube video, or even individual chapters in a book to make sure comprehension is tracking along. But here are a few slightly different ideas for summarizing and applying information.
Film Review worksheet (FREE with signup)
Movie Review worksheet (FREE with signup)
Book Review Template (FREE, several options)
Amazon Listing Summary (FREE, and so creative!)
Main Idea Social Media template (Love this idea!)
Movie Poster project
Newspaper Article project
Now this is a big list of resources, but remember BOOK + MOVIE = UNIT STUDY. You don’t have to use all of these! Just pick one video, one book, and one project option to summarize those two resources and see where it goes. I find that on some topics the kiddos get into it and dive into whatever I provide and some topics we read a book and watch a video or two and just move on.
You can find some more great learning resources and project ideas on my Pinterest Boards…
Earth Day Every Day (lots of green project ideas)
Books and Reading (book report and writing templates)
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