History Teacher or Hoarder?

By Jeff Burns

The picture above is not a picture of my classroom or my garage; this room is much better organized.  I’m a history teacher.  Sometimes I wonder of that just means I’m a hoarder. I love old stuff, things, junk, objects – or maybe artifacts sound better – and I love using them in my history classes.  Holding, using, and discussing these artifacts brings history to life for my students.

This is real hands on history, and the use of objects can not only enhance your students’ learning, but it can also allow you to check off a lot of the pedagogical demands made on teachers today.    Hands on history promotes:

 

•      Movement

•      Discussion
•      Thought
•      Engagement
•      Understanding
•      Multiple intelligences
•      Personalization
•      Differentiation
•      Interaction
•      Grouping

Objects can be used singly, in groups, or in themed collections like traveling trunks, in a variety of ways:

•      As a hook to generate interest

•      To start discussion
•      To supplement instruction
•      In learning stations
•      In museum/gallery walks

But most importantly, objects reinforce the purpose of history; they tell the story. 

The Histocrats have previously blogged about traveling trunks.  We were introduced to the idea through participating in several Teaching American History Grants in which we created our own trunks.  A traveling trunk is a collection of primary and secondary sources related to a theme a topic; they may contain documents, objects, artworks, even videotapes.  While it’s relatively easy to create your own trunk, many museums and institutions offer trunks that teachers can borrow for free or rent, and they can often be shipped anywhere in the country.  To find sources, check with a particular institution or simply search for “traveling trunks.”

My artifacts come from a lot of different places.  The contents of my first trunk, pictured above, came from pre-packaged kits sold by Colonial Williamsburg, supplemented with a few items that I either made or found elsewhere.  The trunk is about colonial life and the objects are sample belongings of a colonial militiaman, woman, slave, and Native American.

Some objects are family artifacts like photos, my grandfathers’ World War I draft registrations (copied at the National Archives – Atlanta where all WWI draft registration cards are stored), my great grandmother’s cast iron  iron and 100+ year old scissors for example.  I’ve purchased some things in antique shops, flea markets, and on Ebay. On a trip to New England, I discovered sealed bottles of various medicines sold in the late 1800s, with the medicine intact, and magazines dating from the 1880s and 1910s and 1920s.  (Because I was flying and because I didn’t want century old medicine sitting around my classroom, I poured out the original contents and replaced it with colored water.)  On Ebay, I’ve found models of various forms of transportation, reproduction catalogs, and an authentic stereopticon with cards (home entertainment device of the 1800s which enabled people to see 3D images).

In other blogs, I wrote about using museums-in-a-book and museum boxes, packaged collections of reproduced documents.  I laminate and use these documents in my collections.

Depending on my objectives, students may engage in one or more of several activities while examining the objects:

•      Take Notes
•      Discuss
•      Answer Specific Questions
•      Create Graphic Organizers
•      Make Connections
•      Analyze
•      Categorize/Group
•      Speculate
•      Make Predictions

 

After the hands-on activity is completed, what do you do with the experience?  It is essential to debrief in some fashion, formally or informally.  There are many summative assessments that you might employ:

•      Use evidence to write an essay

•      Develop a character and write a letter, journal entry
•      Create a poem, story, dialogue, skit, or other document
•      Create a character sketch, a biography, a résumé

And if you’re looking for a project, have students create their own groups of objects as a trunk or exhibit, to explore some topic of family, local, state, American, or world history.

So, don’t be afraid to bring back Show & Tell to your classroom! 

Document Box Fun

By Jeff Burns

Of course, I love book stores, new or used.  Barnes & Noble, and other chains, often have great “Bargain Book” aisles in which I can spend lots of time, often finding great materials that I can use in my history classroom.  It was there that I was introduced to various historical collections created by Chronicle Books.  Their products  are also available in many museum gift shops and online. Chronicle publishes creative journals, notecards and stationery, and books.  They also published boxed collections of reproductions of primary documents relating to particular topics.  Unfortunately, it seems that these items may not be available through the website anymore, but they may be found elsewhere.


The boxes themselves are beautifully designed, conversation starters on a table or shelf.  The Ellis Island box for example is made to resemble a piece of luggage, and the Titanic box is designed to look like a steamer trunk, complete with a lift-out inner tray.  Inside each box is a treasure trove of primary documents, carefully archived and explained in the accompanying booklet, in order to present a detailed view of the topic.  In Ellis Island, for example, you find reproductions of postcards, shipping line advertisements, letters from and to immigrants, letters of naturalization, photographs, inspection cards, etc.  In Titanic, there are copies of menus, postcards, ship diagrams, and other documents.   Each document is transcribed and described in the accompanying manual.


For classroom use, I usually laminate the documents for durability.  Then, students can practice interpreting the primary sources.  In reading the documents, students learn important critical reading and interpretation skills, and they gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of the time.     Students might be asked to arrange or group the documents in order to create a particular project or address a particular question.  Documents can be distributed to students who are assigned to create a character or situation based on their assigned document, or the students might be required to use the assigned document as a starting point for a research project.  The accurate reproduction details provide a high level of verisimilitude, making students think and feel like historians.  I also use the documents for bulletin board displays and teaching trunks.  Beyond the classroom, they provide hours of entertainment for history buffs.

If you can find these great resources, I hope you check them out.  If you know of other similar products, please comment below.