| Lesson plan The last 100 years have been a period of unparalleled achievements in science, medicine, human rights, and more. In this activity, students will identify key figures in 20th-century progress, and then document the life and times of each in a searchable database. On This PageLesson plan information|
Instructional level | | • | Intermediate user | | • | Advanced user |
| School level | | • | High school (14–18 years) |
| Curriculum areas | | • | Geography | | • | Social studies | | • | Language arts | | • | History | | • | Thinking and reasoning | | • | Working with others | | • | Work skills |
| Themes | | • | Famous people and heroes |
| Class time | | • | 4-6 class periods (9-14 hours) |
| Academic standards | | • | Developing research skills |
| Software required | | • | Microsoft Office Access 2000 (Windows only) | | • | Microsoft Encarta Deluxe Encyclopedia 99 | | • | Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.5 or Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 | | • | Microsoft Office Word 1998 or Microsoft Office Word 2000 |
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Teacher guideObjectives| • | Students will be exposed to 20th-century history and to the people who shaped it. | | • | Students will be introduced to database tools and organizing techniques. |
Prerequisite skills| • | Basic experience with Microsoft Office Word and Microsoft Office Access | | • | Basic research skills using Microsoft Encarta and Microsoft Internet Explorer |
How to begin1. | Start Microsoft Access. In the opening window dialog box, select Create a new database using blank Access database. In the File New Database window, name your database "Giants of the Century," and save it to a location accessible to all your students. | 2. | In the Database window, double-click Create table in Design view. | 3. | Create fields for Name, Nationality, Area of Influence, Decade, Contribution, Picture, and Sources. | 4. | Click in the Data Type cell for the Picture field. Click the drop-down button and select OLE Object from the list. | 5. | Click in the Data Type cell for the Name field. Click the drop-down button and select Hyperlink. Do the same for the Decade field. The students will connect these links to their proper destinations later. | 6. | By default, text fields hold only 50 characters, but you'll want more room than this for the Contribution and Sources fields. To increase field size, click the field to display Field Properties, and select the General tab. Increase the Field Size value to 255. | 7. | Close the table. You'll be prompted to assign a primary key, but you don't need to because the database will contain only one table. | 8. | Design a form for entering information into the table. In the Database window, in the Objects column, click Forms, and then double-click Create form by using wizard. | 9. | In the sequence of Form Wizard dialog boxes, select all available fields in your table, and then choose columnar layout and a style for your form. | 10. | In the final Form Wizard dialog box, confirm a title for your form, select Modify the form's design, and then click Finish. The form will appear in Design view. | 11. | To prevent images you import into the database from being clipped or distorted, click the Picture field, and on the View menu, click Properties. Select the All tab, click in the Size Mode field, and select Zoom from the drop-down list box. Close the Properties window. | 12. | Make any other changes you like to the form in Design view, either by selecting and dragging objects to different locations or by editing properties (as in Step 11). | 13. | Close and save the database. Now students can create records (like the sample shown in the Student Activity section) for the individuals they've chosen and link them to biographical and historical information as described in the Student activity section. |
Student activityDescriptionOne exciting way to look at history is to study the people who shaped it. In this activity, you and each of your classmates will choose five individuals who made the world a better place during the 20th century. Then, in a single database, you'll combine information about their lives, accomplishments, and the historical events that influenced their work. 
You can use Microsoft Access to collect information about your history makers.
Step 1: Giant research| • | Software: Microsoft Encarta, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Office Access | | • | What to do Gather pictures and basic information about your five history makers 1. | Think about the greatest achievements of the 20th century, in any and all fields of human endeavor. Who made them happen? What names come to mind? Thomas Edison? Madame Curie? John Lennon? Mother Teresa? Pick five people whose accomplishments you admire most or about whom you would like to learn more. | 2. | Using Encarta Encyclopedia and Internet Explorer, search for images and information about the men and women you've chosen. The sites listed above will help you get started on the Web. Request permission to reproduce images if permission is not explicitly given in the source. Cite all sources you use. | 3. | Use the Access form your teacher has created to collect information about each person, including area of influence, and the decade and nature of his or her major contribution(s). | 4. | When you enter information in the Name and Decade fields, it will appear blue and underlined. These are hypertext links, but they won't work properly until you connect them to their appropriate destinations in Step 4. | 5. | Find a picture of each of your chosen history makers, and include it the Access record. To insert the image into the form: | • | Click in the Picture frame to select it. | | • | Go to the Insert menu, and choose Object. | | • | In the Insert Object dialog box, select Create from File. Then use the Browse button to locate the image you have saved so that the path to that image appears in the File box. | | • | Click the Link check box, and then click OK. |
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Step 2: Get personal| • | Software: Microsoft Office Word, Microsoft Encarta, Internet Explorer 
The Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia Timeline gives you the big picture.
| | • | What to do Research and write short biographies of your history makers 1. | As a class, create a list of all the people represented in your database. Your teacher will help you divide the list evenly among all the students in your class. | 2. | Use Encarta Encyclopedia (and Web resources if necessary) to research and write short biographies on the individuals assigned to you―no more than a page each. Each biography should be a separate Word document. | 3. | Make sure you use the same margins, font, and other formatting as your classmates so that all your biographies share a common look. | 4. | Use the subjects' last names for your file names, and save them to a shared directory your teacher will set up. |
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Step 3: Research the historical context| • | Software: Microsoft Office Word, Microsoft Encarta, Internet Explorer | | • | What to do Write a paper on the period of history your history makers worked in 1. | Your teacher will divide the class into ten teams and assign each a decade to document. | 2. | Using Encarta Encyclopedia and Web resources, research and write a one-page Word document highlighting the major events of your assigned decade. | 3. | Keep in mind that the purpose of this document is to provide an historical context for the achievements of the men and women you and your classmates have chosen. The scope of your history document must be broad enough to encompass events that may have influenced all the "giants of the century" who made their major contributions during your assigned decade.
Research tip: 
Encarta Encyclopedia articles about the people you have chosen include links to related historical information. Encarta Encyclopedia also contains a timeline that provides an historical big picture. | 4. | When you are done with your history document, save it in a shared directory (that your teacher will set up) with the name of the decade it represents (for example, 1900-1910.doc). |
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Step 4: Pull it all together| • | Software: Microsoft Office Access | | • | What to do Link your records to your biographies and history documents 1. | Open a new spreadsheet in Excel. | 2. | Open the "Giants of the Century" database. In the Database window, in the Object column, click Forms, and then double-click the form name to open it. | 3. | Go to each of the records you created in Step 1 (Giant research). Click the person's name, and then cancel any dialog boxes that appear. The name will then be highlighted. Go to the Insert menu and select Hyperlink to open the Insert Hyperlink dialog box. Browse to the location of the biography document for that person, and click OK. | 4. | Repeat this procedure with the decade you've entered in the Decade field, but link to the document that contains history for the corresponding period. | 5. | Your "Giants of the Century" database is complete. Browse the records and discuss in class. What does it tell you about the 20th century? |
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Innovative teaching 
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