Analyzing Objects
Porcelain
Musket Ball
Smallpox
Nail
Reaper
Shirtwaist
Transistor
Coffee
Record
Tire
Dishwasher
Dress
Stereograph
Stone
Shoe
Question 1:
Handpainted blue and gold would indicate a wealthier owner/buyer. Lack of apparent wear/chips indicate a show piece, which would mean that coffee/tea would be served in a formal setting.
Question 2:
This could relate back to the necessity to have boiled water beverages, specifically tea, in order for the colonies to function. This relates to trade as well as identity, both as Americans/subjects of the British Crown as well as class consciousness.
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Submitted: Tuesday, December 8, 2020 - 15:04
Question 1:
This looks like some sort of cell slide. It is in greyscale, so most likely this would be prior to the 1960s.
Question 2: This is probably related to science, technology and innovation (APUSH strand).
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Submitted: Tuesday, December 8, 2020 - 15:14
Question 1:
Since this piece can be located around the time of the French and Indian War, this would indicate a higher level of American identity being tied deeply into British Empire. As British citizens, tea would be part of the daily routine and consumption of all Americans. Due to this heavy consumption, the Crown will enact taxes to recoup funding to defend the American colonies in the French and Indian War. These Intolerable Acts, wrapped around tea, sugar, and rum (which was arguably more important than tea to the colonists, but this is a grade school course...), paved the way for a revolutionary spirit and eventual action to be free of "taxation without representation."
Question 2:
Economic and social factors would be important to elaborate upon before diving headlong into the tea to revolution tie.
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Submitted: Tuesday, December 8, 2020 - 15:08
Question 1:
Smallpox, a general scourge on humanity, was mostly responsible for eliminating a significant (80-90% estimate) of the American Indian population from the land. This would mean that the spread westward for colonization would take place more rapidly for European settlers but would also mean that native populations would seek alliances with European forces to staunch the flow of settlers into their land.
Question 2:
The primary benefit is capturing the attention of science and medicine minded students who already feel history is irrelevant. The drawback are that, for most levels of students, understanding epidemiology is, at best, difficult.
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Submitted: Tuesday, December 8, 2020 - 15:17
Title: Revolution in a Teacup
Grade Level: High
Short Answer:
To use this example in class (APUSH), students would first need to read their text on the Road to Revolution prior to examining imagery. Students would then see an enlarged, projected image and we would have a freeform conversation about how this piece relates to the Road to Revolution. To focus conversation, I would include various pieces of information about the artefact--time it might have been purchased, where it was acquired from, etc.
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Submitted: Tuesday, December 8, 2020 - 15:11
Title: The Great Disease
Grade Level: High
Short Answer:
In my APUSH class, students usually are fascinated by the morbid, so I include stories of smallpox, massacres, famous crimes, etc. to capture their attention. With smallpox, we usually cover the issue of inadvertent consequences when populations interact and take away some of the shock factor and make it clinical. We would look through demographic figures as well as maps of population density to take positions on what exactly the effect of smallpox was over the long term. Lastly, I would not use the first image of the cell slide--many students would not find that visually engaging--instead I start with the Aztec Codex images.
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Submitted: Tuesday, December 8, 2020 - 15:20