National Park Service | Teachinghistory.org

Teaching with Museum Collections

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National Park Service Teaching With Museum Collections offers object-based learning emphasizing the links between the real things and historical analysis. Collections connect students to their past, rich and varied cultures, momentous events, inspiring ideas, and the places where the nation's history happened.

Lesson plans provide teachers with easy-to-use, grade-appropriate educational activities, and link to national educational standards. Photographs of museum objects and specimens, historic photographs, maps, and other documents are used to teach. Reading materials, web resources, and glossaries are included. Suggestions on how teachers can substitute similar available objects, and develop local, community-based activities are provided.

Teaching with Museum Collections includes a worksheet for analyzing artifacts asking students to examine such factors as the object's construction purpose, value, and design. The site also includes a similar worksheet for analyzing photographs.

Website

http://www.nps.gov/history/museum/tmc/index.htm

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Bent’s Old Fort National Historic Site Living History Encampment

Description

This popular living history event will provide participants the unique opportunity to learn about 1840s life by living it! You will be immersed in the role of trader, trapper-hunter, laborer, blacksmith, carpenter, Dragoon soldier, Army Topographical Engineer or domestic cook. You will gain a much deeper understanding of the realities of fur trade era life in the American West.

Participants will be provided study materials and lectures on history, living history, and interpretive skills. Living historians will teach and direct participants in use of 19th century work techniques and social skills. Lectures will take place through the first day with an overnight on the Santa Fe Trail that evening. On Friday, those who are to work for Bent, St. Vrain and Company will travel to the fort and sign on with the company. From that moment on, you are living a 19th century life 24 hours a day. The Army and trappers will spend most of their time working out of their camps along the Arkansas River.

Contact name

Greg Holt

Sponsoring Organization

Bent's Old Fort National Historic Site

Phone number

1 719-383-5023

Target Audience

K-12

Start Date

Wed, 06/04/2008 - 20:00

Cost

$200

Course Credit

The program meets continuing education requirements for credit; two hours graduate level credit will be available and college tuition fees apply.

Duration

Four days

End Date

Sat, 06/07/2008 - 20:00

Website

http://www.nps.gov/beol/forteachers/professionaldevelopment.htm

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National Park Service History E-Library

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Annotation

This website gathers together documents concerning the history of National Park Service properties.

Navigation is simple. Just select your park of interest from the drop-down list, and you will be brought to a list of all of the available documents for that particular location. Documents include structure reports, administrative histories, physical and cultural landscape reports, studies of historic resources available, management regulations, conference proceedings, notes, and more.

Note that these resources largely explore the history of preserving a historical site, rather than the importance of the site itself. This is the history of making history public. The documents are most likely to be of use in the later grades, as they lean towards official language. However, there are also images such as floor plans and photographs within documents which may be of use when introducing a park into your discussions.

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