Carnegie Museum of the Keweenaw
Background
Not familiar with Houghton, Michigan and the Keweenaw Peninsula? Start here:
This is the Carnegie Museum lesson plan in the Copper TRACES online program for fourth graders and equivalents. In this lesson, students will learn about the city of Houghton’s historic buildings and how the city was a center of transportation, commerce, and supported the people working in the mines. The main takeaway from the activities and materials in this lesson is to teach about the importance of preservation and the role of values.
Preservation is the act of restoring, upkeeping, and maintaining a historical artifact for future generations to understand and learn about the past. It is a way of passing on history and traditions as a way of expressing or projecting community values.
Values are ideas or objects that are deemed important. Individuals and communities can each have their own values and ideals. Through time capsules, we can see what previous generations valued by the objects they contained (i.e., heirlooms, etc.)
Some things cannot be preserved within a time capsule, such as buildings. Many buildings in downtown Houghton hold the city’s historical significance in commerce, transportation, and mining. Houghton’s historic buildings were sites of business, government, fraternity, and hospitality. The buildings also highlight the changes to the city over the last century, with many of these buildings now being used for other purposes different from their original intent.
Finally, the idea of telescoping values comes into play in this lesson. Telescoping values is the idea that valuing one thing can lead to the formation of valuing another thing. Something can be valued and that can in turn lead to another similar thing being valued. One example is books lead to the value of knowledge, knowledge leads to the value of education, education leads to the value of a library. These telescoping values are important because it relates how individual persons values can add up and contribute to a community’s values.
- How does preserving the past show our values today?
- How does preserving the past show the values from back then?
- What do we choose to preserve, and how does that convey value?
- Historical preservation correlates to values, both personal and communal.
- Buildings change in both use and physical appearance over time.
- Historical buildings are preserved today for many reasons.
- The city of Houghton, MI is an example of history being preserved.
By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:
- Recognize historical changes that happen in communities such as Houghton, MI.
- Develop an understanding and appreciation for the preservation of historic buildings.
- Explain how people choose what to preserve, and as a community what we value.
- Develop an understanding for personal values.
30 minutes to 1 hour
*Activities can be done at the instructor’s pace
*Activities can be completed in one sitting or across multiple days
- Computers
- Projector/screen
- Print outs of paper buildings
- Drawing and writing utensils
- Container for a time capsule
- Potential objects to add to a time capsule(optional)
*Note: Needed materials depend on activities chosen to complete
- Have video ready to play for students.
- Print sheets for students.
- Review material and understand background information
*Note: Standards depend on activities chosen to complete
Common Core Standards for English & Language Arts
SL.4.1
Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 4 topics and texts, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.
SL 4.4
Describe people, places, things, and events with relevant details, expressing ideas and feelings clearly.
Michigan K-12 Social Studies Standards
4 – H3.0.2
Use primary and secondary sources to explain how migration and immigration affected and continue to affect the growth of Michigan.
4 – H3.0.4
Describe how the relationship between the location of natural resources and the location of industries (after 1837) affected and continue to affect the location and growth of Michigan cities.
Michigan K-12 Geography Standards
4 – G4.0.3
Describe some of the movements of resources, goods, people, and information to, from, or within the United States, and explain the reasons for the movements.
Visual Art Standards
ART.VA.I.4.3
Analyze and reflect on the elements of art and design to communicate ideas.
ART.VA.I.4.4
Prepare, present, and collaboratively evaluate personal artwork.
People learn in a variety of different ways and understanding these ways can help meet the needs of learners and contribute to a successful learning environment. Howard Gardner, an American psychologist, developed the idea behind people having a variety of intelligences impacting how they learn. This is referred to a Garner’s Multiple Intelligences. The activities in this lesson will focus on various intelligences as noted in each activity.
Students will orally explain to partners to demonstrate understanding of why values and preservation are important.
- Introduction video
- Picture Exploration
- House Template
- Timeline
Field Trip – Visit Carnegie Museum
Call the Carnegie Museum directly at (906) 482-7140 or contact the museum at: https://carnegiekeweenaw.org/contact-us
Activities
Introduction Video (10 minutes)
Activity Objective
Introduce students to the general ideas and definitions of vocabulary relating to preservation and values. This activity uses spatial and interpersonal learning.
- Play introductory video for the entire class to watch together.
- Asks questions to the students that reflect the information display in the video.
- Ask, “What is preservation? Why do you think preservation is important?
- Ask, “What are important things to preserve? If you had to preserve something, what would it be?”
- Ask, “What does this make you wonder? What broader / bigger questions does this video raise for you?”
Picture Exploration
Activity Objective
To show students the physical changes of historical buildings over time. To also show students why certain buildings are preserved due to the value they hold in their communities. This activity uses spatial and interpersonal learning.
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Introduce the website and the picture exploration activity. Explain how you can use the sliders on the picture to switch between the old and new pictures at the same time.
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In small groups allow students to explore the pictures on their own. Have them compare and contrast the buildings and how they have changed from then and now.
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Telescoping Values Discussion: Use the library building as an example of this idea of telescoping values, where a value of something leads to the formation of other buildings, organizations, and other values, etc. to reinforce its importance. (For example: Books lead to the value of knowledge, knowledge leads to the value of education, education leads to the value of a library.)
Time Capsule Activity
Activity Objective
To highlight to students their individual and communal values they wish to preserve by creating a time capsule to show the future. This activity uses spatial, interpersonal, and intrapersonal learning.
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Have students create or choose objects from a selection by the teacher that they would like to show to people in the future.
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Students can create a range of things; drawings, letters, and other arts and crafts such as artwork, origami, necklaces, etc. The possibilities are nearly endless for what they want to show the future.
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After all students have something to contribute, initiate a discussion about how long these objects will be preserved, who will open them, what the communal value of these objects are, and how those values might change over a period.
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Before each student contributed their item, they should participate in a “Turn and Talk” where they talk with a partner and explain why they chose the object.
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Combine all the items in a container and create a time capsule.
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Store away the time capsule and open at the end of the school year.
Make and Preserve a Paper House
Activity Objective
To emphasize the changes that can be done to a building and highlight the compromises and difficulties of preserving such community buildings. This activity uses spatial, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and body-kinesthetic learning.*This activity can be done with each individual person designing their own house or with groups collaborating to design a house
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In this exercise, the students will design a building and have their building altered in some way, to try and restore or preserve the house back to its original state then later.
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Students will form small groups and will be given a template of a house in which they can decorate or draw on in any way they see fit. The idea is making the houses uniquely designed. Let them know during this step that the buildings they create will be edited by other people to avoid discouragement and conflict.
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After each group has a completed building, they will pass their buildings around to one or many other groups who will then change or alter the house in some way.
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After the house has been rotated around by each student, the building will return to the original student and see the changes done to the building over time when in the hands of other people. If time allows it, the students could be given the opportunity to restore or preserve their houses back to their original state as best as possible.
This activity will conclude with an interactive discussion about the challenges of preservation. Can discuss with the students how there is sometimes no control over what happens to a building.
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