Standards Met:
SS5H3 The student describes how life changed in America at the turn of the 19th century.
SS5E1 The student uses the basic economic concepts of trade, opportunity cost, specialization, voluntary exchange, productivity, and price incentives to illustrate historical events: particularly how price affects people’s behavior and choices.
SS5E2 The student describes the functions of four major sectors in the U.S. economy. This will, however, be relevant to the late Victorian era. (Household function, private business function, bank function, and government function.)
ELA5R1 The student demonstrates comprehension and shows evidence of a warranted and responsible explanation of a variety of literary and informative texts.
ELA5R3 The student understands and acquires new vocabulary and uses it correctly in reading and writing.
VA5MC.1 The student engages in the creative process to generate and visualize ideas.
VA5MC.2 The student formulates personal responses to visual imagery.
VA5MC.3 The student selects and uses subject matter, symbols, and/or other ideas to communicate meaning.
VA5CU.1 The student understand the visual arts in relation to history and culture.
VA5CU.2 Views and discusses selected artworks.
VA5PR.1 Creates artworks based on personal experience and selected themes.
VA5PR.2 Understands and applies media, techniques, and processes of the two-dimensional.
VA5C.2 Develops life skills through the study and production of art.
Lesson Plan:
Students and teacher(s) will discuss each of the artifacts. Discussion topics can include the item’s purpose at the time of manufacture, how a typical household would use it, how and where it was made (perhaps in contrast to how and where a comparable item is made today), the cost of the item, and its use. Students should be allowed to hypothesize on each artifact’s details. Teacher(s) then illuminate(s) how and why the items are important, and then, again, asks questions as to how the students or their families might have used the artifacts, or if their families would have had them at all, based on occupation and/or geography, etc.
After the discussion, students will draw and write their own “scrapbook” or collage of the artifacts—and stories behind them. The “scrapbook” should include one drawn picture of themselves as they picture their life (at any age) during the late Victorian era. At least one item from the trunk should be pictured in the drawing. To the side of the picture, or on the opposing page, students should write what they feel like could be a typical morning or day that would take place for them during said period, or why they chose to include that particular portrait in their scrapbook. (Individual language arts assignments may be incorporated here.) Each of the two responses should have at least one artifact pictured/mentioned in it.
When finished with their scrapbook construction, the students should be able to present their work in front of a group or in front of their class in a “show and tell” format.
