Public History and Lesson Planning

"The Book Worm and Her Favorite Book," 1914.
This illustration looks a lot like my summer so far
Image Courtesy of  Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division {http://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/ppmsca.28050/}

Hello from the other side! I have officially graduated with a Masters Degree in Public History. Throughout this summer I have been applying to full-time jobs in the culture industry - museums, historical institutions, non-profits, historic sites, conservation labs, and even nature preserves. During this time, I have explored the possibility of entering into many different sub-fields of public history and museum work. For example, I have looked into the possibilities of working in collections, in curatorial departments, in development, and also in museum education. This is one of the best things about a degree in public history - I have been exposed to so many different aspects of history education and the culture industry. I can use my classroom and internship experiences to launch myself into a diverse array of career paths. There is also a drawback - I often describe myself as knowing a little about a whole lot - some would say a master of none, hah! So I am definitely at the entry level in this field. I have many experiences, but cannot call myself an expert in any one aspect of the museum field. 

 Recently, I was asked by a prospective employer to create a sample lesson plan that could be used by a museum education team. Whoa. When I first read that I cringed. A deep cringe that comes from that nagging "master of none" feeling that graduate students often feel. I've heard that this feeling has creeped up on PhD Candidates as well. When studying such a vast discipline as history, it can feel as if you'll never know quite enough for anyone. So the thought of creating a lesson plan was terrifying. I had flashbacks of my roommates in college spending countless sleepless nights writing lesson plans as education majors. Lesson planning is quite different from creating dynamic museum programming, but there are similarities which made this task a little less scary. I thought I would start off small and slow - to start where I feel the most comfortable. I have years of experience working with children under 10 yrs. So I decided to write a lesson plan targeted towards grades 2-4. Below is the full version of my make-believe lesson plan. I decided to create a fake exhibit on a subject that interests me, and then use inspiration from lesson plans from the Tenement Museum in NYC. See the Tenement Museum's lesson plans HERE. If anyone has any tips on writing exhibit and object-based lesson plans, please feel free to comment below or shoot me an email! This is my first attempt.
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Lesson Plan Example (Hypothetical):
Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Farming Exhibit: Tools that Fed America. (This hypothetical exhibit and lesson was inspired by the large antique farm equipment display at the Wyoming Co Fair.)

Grade Level: 2-4 - Can be customized to meet your classroom's needs.

Big Idea: Objects help us understand people, places, and events in the past and the present.

Description:  During this lesson, students will explore antique farming equipment to try to unravel the story they tell about America between 1870-1950. Students will learn about how farmers grew crops and cared for livestock in Pennsylvania during this time. Through this process, students will learn how historians use objects to learn about the past.

Objective: Students will:
  • ·         Make predictions based on observations
  • ·         Understand that objects help us learn about the past
  • ·         Learn about PA farmers between 1870 and 1950


Essential Questions:
  • ·         How do historians learn about the past?
  • ·         How has farming equipment evolved or changed over time?
  • ·         What tools were important to farmers over 100 years ago?


Time Frame: One hour split into 10-15 minute increments.

Materials:
  • ·         Observation worksheets (Appendix I&II)
  • ·         Handling Collection objects


Vocabulary:
  • ·         History
  • ·         Museum
  • ·         Exhibit
  • ·         Display
  • ·         Artifact


Procedure:

Pre-Lesson Prep (to be completed prior to museum trip)
Read story about farmers in the 1800s to class. Instruct students to draw a picture of a farmer and what types of tools they think farmers use today.


Part 1:
  • ·        Explain that in today's lesson, the students will be learning about farmers in PA over 100 years ago! They will learn about what types of tools they used, what kinds of animals they raised, and how observing objects in a museum can teach us about the past.
  • ·         Distribute Worksheet One (Appendix I). Explain to students that they should look at the picture of the object in the farming exhibit, and fill out the worksheet. Go over the questions on the worksheet with the students and give them some examples of descriptive words. This activity can be done individually or in groups.
  • ·         Regroup with the students after 5-10 minutes. Allow students to stand in front of the group and read their observations out loud to the group, or choose 3 or 4 worksheets from the students to read to them out loud.


Part 2:
  • ·         Bring students to a table with the Handling Collection laid out. Students are to pass along each object and can hold and investigate the objects for 10 minutes. During this time, encourage the students to make guesses on what each object is using their observations skills and some key vocabulary of descriptive words.
  • ·         During this time, the museum educator can be brought in to tell stories about some of the objects after the students have made their guesses. The museum educator will also have photos of the objects in use and videos if the teacher requires.


Part 3:
  • ·         Students are to congregate in the exhibit space now, and are given Worksheet Two.
  • ·         Explain that the students will have time by themselves or with their small groups to explore the exhibit space and find one object they would like to observe. Students are given clip boards and pencils, and are now free to explore the exhibit and pick one object to use as the subject for Worksheet Two.
  • ·         After 10-20 minutes of exploration and filling out the worksheet, students are to come back together in the work space, and talk about their objects. Students may read out loud their observations and show their drawings of the objects.
  • ·         At this time, the museum educator will explain that historians use objects and observations to understand the past just like the students did with their worksheets. The educator will explain that objects help us to understand the past by showing how farming has changed over time and how new technology has led to increased food production. Educator will talk with students about the differences in filling out the worksheets - was it different to fill out the sheet by looking at a photo verses looking at an object? The educator or the teacher will explain to each student what their object is after the activity.
  • ·         The class is now free to explore the rest of the exhibit with help from the museum educator/chaperones, and can continue to the rest of the museum if so desired.





Worksheet One - Farming Exhibit Object Photo Observation

Name: _____________________                 Date:_______________


Object Photo:


Source: {https://matronofhusbandry.wordpress.com/2010/03/27/clean-eggs/}


Sketch the object you see here:
 













List three words that describe this object:

____________________          ____________________          ____________________


How do you think you could use this object? What do you think it does?

________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________   
________________________________________________________


Write this object into a story. Who uses this object, and where is it used?

____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________







Worksheet Two - Exhibit Observation

Name:________________________                 Date:_________________

Draw your object here:

















List three words that describe your objects:

_____________________        _____________________        ____________________

How do you think you could use this object? What do you think it does?

_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________


Write this object into a story. Who uses this object, and how is it used?

______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________





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