Analyzing Objects

Porcelain

Musket Ball

Smallpox

Nail

Reaper

Shirtwaist

Transistor

Coffee

Record

Tire

Dishwasher

Dress

Stereograph

Stone

Mail

Shoe

Question 1: Examining the past and using it to put our present into context.
Question 2:
By looking at objects, we can glean information about our needs/wants over time, which can be threads to our present and help us to make better decisions about the future
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Module Id: 689
User Id: 1298
Question 1:
Part of a larger set
Ornate (sculpting, ribs, crown on top of cup)
Gold decoration inside and outside of cup
Cobalt Blue and White
Question 2:
Could be part of an ornate English tea service, which Americans stopped using following our "conversion" to coffee following the Boston Tea Party, which would be a theme leading to the Americanization of art.
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Module Id: 951
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Question 1:
It looks like a tin (of coffee?) from WWI or WWII for American soldiers overseas. It's obviously been around the block or world a couple of times, and was not a "coveted" object.
Question 2:
Had we remained part of GB, it's possibly would have been a tin of tea. Sometimes things that happened long ago have long-reaching repercussions, such as turning us from tea-totalers to coffee fiends. Without this switch, the Axis powers might have changed their plans to invade England with Operation Sea Lion.
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Module Id: 1147
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Question 1: A collection of discarded tires outside of an industrial type of building.
Question 2:
Tires are indicative of post WWI, and probably pre-WWII (when rubber was recycled). Shows we didn't really know what to do with used materials from the Industrial Age.
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Module Id: 1108
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Question 1:
Very old rusted nails of varying lengths and shapes (assume for different uses). They appear to have been hand made.
Question 2:
Traditionally, nails were quite expensive because they were hand made. In colonial periods pegs were often used in things like barns because they were cheaper, larger and stronger. These nails could tie in to the idea of wealth in America, and the idea of a "trickle down" of things/ideas that only the wealthy could afford becoming commonplace to everyone (a bit of Andrew Carnegie's Gospel of Wealth idea later on).
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Module Id: 953
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Question 1:
It is an envelope from the civil war (Confederate States of America). It was Confederate business and was sent to the cradle of the Confederacy.
Question 2:
Physical mail, correspondence, had been a mainstay of personal communication from the formation of the colonies until the dominance of the internet. Americans have long, since the time of Morse and Field, sought to speed communication between great distances.
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Module Id: 1021
User Id: 1298
Question 1: These appear to be old, handmade shoes
Question 2:
Handmade shoes were and are expensive to make. These might connect to the elimination of craftsmen and rise of an industrial era where the manufacturing of shoes and the like became much more affordable.
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Module Id: 1002
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Question 1:
Historical Thinking is complex. At its core it involves telling stories and answering questions. The questions help us to ascertain the "trustworthiness" of the sources of those stories to help us to get closer to the past. This includes taking into account:
- Multiple Accounts and Perspectives
- Analysis of Primary Sources
- Sourcing
- Understanding the Historical Context
- Claims-Evidence Context
Question 2:
Yes, you can use objects, with a foundation of primary sources to help encourage historical thinking. This involves spending time analyzing the objects, their focus in time and space and asking questions to ascertain their importance.
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Module Id: 689
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Question 1:
This British made porcelain would not have been allowed to be produced in the colonies (Navigation Acts) in order to strengthen the Mother Country (Mercantilism). A fine collection of porcelain like this would have been boycotted following the Townshend Acts of 1767, and Colonists would have utilized homemade vessels (probably made of clay) as a symbol of protest and patriotism.
Question 2:
1. Were the Southern colonies fully supportive of the Northern-inspired protests, or did they simply tolerate them?
2. Why did the argument for "Virtual Representation" fail? It worked in Great Britain in places like Manchester.
3. How did the British communicate changes like the Sugar Act and Stamp Act? Was it filtered through governors or even colonial legislators? Were the colonist left with the impression that there was no choice other than protest?
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Module Id: 951
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Question 1:
Instant coffee represents technological changes that affects gender roles in the 20th century. It is said that women today (21st Century), even those with roles outside the home, spend as much time on home-based tasks as they did over 50 years ago. My 80 year old mother-in-law, looks back fondly to the time she was able to "keep" a house that ran well and was clean. Her identity was and is tied to the traditional role of a wife and mother who cooked and cleaned - "What else would I do, just sit around the house?" she once said. The introduction and explosion of frozen and instant foods, created by necessity in WWII challenged these traditional female roles, and as we see in my mother-in-law, to partial success.
Question 2:
Advertising sought to connect with the traditional homemaker of the Depression and WWII, and redirect the sense of pride and patriotism that was broadcast during the war which encouraged Victory Gardens and home canning. As we can see with my mother-in-law from the previous answer, there were limitations to their success (she was never a good cook, nor took particular pride in her culinary creations - "It didn't taste very good, but no one ever got sick from my cooking!"
I believe these roles continue to evolve in the 21st century, and can be tied back to the pioneer woman of the 18th and 19th centuries.
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Module Id: 1147
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Question 1:
The tires connect to broader themes of scarcity and sacrifice during WWII. The ideals of doing without, and stretching resources for the duration are highlighted by the photo. Everyone was expected to be part of the team to defeat the Axis powers. In addition to tires, food and gas were part of the rationing effort.
Question 2:
Why was the government part of the rationing effort?
Who was expected to ration?
What was the purpose of rationing?
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Module Id: 1108
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Question 1:
The mass produced nail opens up comfortable housing to the masses in the 19th century. While the railroad makes travel more comfortable/possible for most, the addition of the mass-produced nail makes relatively inexpensive and comfortable balloon frame housing possible.
Question 2:
Teddy Roosevelt initially travelled west for adventure. The more common man and woman moved west for a better life, better economic opportunity. Anything hand made, like the nail, was inherently expensive and unique, like the Conestoga Wagon. With the mass production of nails, like the fast and inexpensive introduction of travel via rail, settlers could more comfortably move west as well as live in comfortable housing.
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Module Id: 953
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Question 1:
In this case, mail connects to the issues of slavery, free speech, and states' rights. The mail has been used to stifle and open debate about controversial practices, like slavery and birth control (the Comstock Law).
Question 2:
While I knew about the Liberator and other materials being sent South, I did not know that much of that mail was not delivered, and that it was stolen and burned. The dissemination of information then, and now, can be central to divisions in American society. Then the focus was on slavery, now, MSNBC and Fox highlight other divisions.
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Module Id: 1021
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Question 1:
It connects to the ideas of:
- New expanded role of the Federal Government
- Challenges of mass production
- Introduction of fiat money, direct taxes and a draft
Question 2:
Sources that focus on:
- War veteran pensions
- Increased role of government as an employer (Pendleton Act)
- Change back to one of a quietness of the Federal government (one WWI soldier stated that after the Great War, he no longer had any contact with the Federal government)
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Module Id: 1002
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Title: The Dangers of Looking at History without Analysis, Context and Sourcing
Grade Level: High
Short Answer:
I have started the last several years with a quick look, using mostly secondary sources, at the recent trend of removing Confederate statues, and changing the names of Confederate-based streets and schools (the change this year in Arlington from Washington-Lee to Washington Liberty is but one example).

After this module, I think my present approach lacks an examination of:
- Analysis of Primary Sources
- Sourcing
- Understanding the Historical Context (Locating events in time and space and asking questions to do so)

I think it would enhance the engagement of students if I presented some primary sources from when the statues were unveiled, and when the schools were dedicated. From these documents we can identify and ask questions about these controversies and their origins. Were the statues meant to honor and or intimidate?

This would create a great beginning for our school year.
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Module Id: 689
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Title: Slip of the Cup - Moving toward Starbucks
Grade Level: High
Short Answer:
This would be an excellent follow-up to the Treaty of Paris 1763 as we move toward disassociation with Great Britain. I have an interactive Keynote (Mac version of PowerPoint) where we examine moving from Union to Disunion with GB. I would add a pic of the teacup as the first slide to initiate a discussion with my 11th grade AP US History students. I think I will have the last slide be a picture of a Starbuck's Coffee Cup. Throughout the discussion, I will add (if you don't mind) some of the other primary sources provided in this presentation.
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Module Id: 951
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Title: Nails that replaced stone and cabins
Grade Level: High
Short Answer:
I show a short clip from Ken Burns' "The West" that highlights the role of the train in westward expansion, and we talk about the relative discomfort in traveling west via wagon and comfort of the train. After this clip, I would introduce them to this unit, and then have them visit a local Sears Home (we have a lot of them in our area because of the proximity to the railroad in the early 20th century). Finally, we would tie in present housing trends (with a brief step back to Levittown) and techniques and look at flooding and tornado problems today.
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Module Id: 953
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Title: Mail - Fuel of Dissent?
Grade Level: High
Short Answer:
This would be a good introduction to the Civil War, and can be used as an anchor to mail as communication during wartime (as the principle means of communication during the Civil War, WWI, WWII and Vietnam). The idea that news dissemination can be inflammatory would not be news to our students, but that it has been for a long time might. After looking at this unit as an introduction, it could inspire a table-wide (my students sit in tables of 4) and then a class-wide discussion about news, mail and division.
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Module Id: 1021
User Id: 1298
Title: The Stereoscope - An iFull (without the phone)
Grade Level: High
Short Answer:
I will purchase an Underwood and Underwood Stereoscope and slides for this lesson.
(I have family roots in Ottawa KS) and after introducing this unit, will share these slides with the class, and play some original Edison recordings (the old cylinders) to begin an introduction about technology and education. We will end with a clip from a recent Star Trek where a young Spock is in an education "well" learning as an individual. The discussion will then turn to the future of education.
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Module Id: 1047
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Title: Shoes - Getting from Here to There
Grade Level: High
Short Answer:
I would have each table of students brainstorm about the needs to build an Army from 16,000 to well over a million. As a class we would then share and pair down our lists. Then I would Introduce the materials from this module to highlight not only the massive challenge the Federal government faced, but the changing role and expectations of it as well.
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Module Id: 1002
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