Analyzing Objects

Porcelain

Musket Ball

Smallpox

Nail

Reaper

Shirtwaist

Transistor

Coffee

Record

Tire

Dishwasher

Dress

Stereograph

Stone

Mail

Shoe

Question 1: Evaluating/Analyzing sources to understand the past
Question 2: Objects could be used in an archaeological sense to help understand the past
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Module Id: 689
User Id: 1482
Question 1:
The dress is made of a white fabric with a sort of sash attached to it that appears to say "Woman's Suffrage." It looks like it might be two pieces and has buttons down the front of the coat portion. It covers the majority of the woman with long sleeves and long skirt portions.
Question 2:
Anticipating that the sash does say woman's suffrage on it, I can infer that this was during the suffrage movement, prior to 1920. This is further supported by the fact that it is a full covering dress which indicates that it was a time that women were expected to remain covered.
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Module Id: 1075
User Id: 1482
Question 1:
I know from the title, that this object is made of porcelain. It is a tea cup and saucer. It appears to be a part of a set given that objects of a similar design are in the background. It has an intricate design in colors of blue, gold, and white.
Question 2:
Knowing that the British were a big fan of tea, and that British colonists were the ones that formed the US, this might be around the time of the Revolution. I also know that porcelain comes from China so this may have some connection to trade with China as well. Since the set is so ornate, I anticipate that this is something that is owned by a wealthier family and will be passed down through generations.
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Module Id: 951
User Id: 1482
Question 1:
Based on the text written on the object, it appears to be a tin of coffee. Given that there is no reference on scale, it is impossible to determine the size. It appears to be made of some sort of metal based on the texture, scrapes, and possible rust included.
Question 2:
Given my knowledge of history, I would anticipate this having something to do with a war - possibly WWI or WWII.
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Module Id: 1147
User Id: 1482
Question 1:
This object appears to be a shirt. White with dark colored stripes and buttons down the front. Has cuffs on the sleeves. Not sure if the tightening towards the bottom is indicating that it is supposed to be worn that way (mean possibly a woman's shirt) or if it's indicating some sort of alteration idea (indicating factories)
Question 2:
Based on my knowledge, I'm going to assume that this module will have something to do with factories and mass producing items. Meaning we will be looking at working conditions and perhaps the idea of child labor.
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Module Id: 950
User Id: 1482
Question 1:
This is a large rock that appears to be located along a fence line. It's sitting on mulch of some sort, and the other side of the fence is a grassy area. It is a large stone that has writing on it (perhaps a grave stone?)
Question 2:
You can't read the writing on the stone, so it is difficult to determine what it's purpose might be, but I'm thinking perhaps its a grave stone. If true, it could pertain to practically any time in history as people die every day.
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Module Id: 1039
User Id: 1482
Question 1:
This object is entitled "Reaper." It includes a lot of long pieces of some material connected by gears and such. It's a pretty difficult object to describe.
Question 2:
Given my knowledge of American History, I know what a reaper is. I feel this will lead us into a discussion on the advancements of farming technology.
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Module Id: 952
User Id: 1482
Question 1:
This object is a bunch of dark circle/oblong shapes on a lighter background. To me it looks like something that someone might see while looking through a microscope.
Question 2:
I would assume that this is looking at technological advancements in the medical/science field. Perhaps having something to do with vaccinations? Polio?
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Module Id: 954
User Id: 1482
Question 1: Utilizing primary sources (various ones) to gain an understanding of the past.
Question 2:
In an archaeological sense - questioning what the object is, what was it's purpose, making observations, combining it with written primary sources, etc. and putting forth an educated guess
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Module Id: 689
User Id: 1482
Question 1:
Something that the sources pointed out was the change in style of the dress. While women were still dressing modestly, they were changing the idea of what they were supposed to look like. In that sense the dress, along with ideas of furthering the suffrage movement were made easier through the advancement of technology. By having magazines and newspapers that would print information around the world (other suffrage movements or woman's rights movements) the advancement of this fashion comes with the advancement of ideas.
Question 2:
I find the idea of them wearing white to draw on the ideas of Rome and Greece interesting. With my understanding, women often were unable to participate in government in these civilizations - while the right to was shown by women (lady justice and so on). I would love to hear from someone who specifically studied this aspect of the suffrage movement as to why they thought this would be successful and to what extent they think it was. I would also like to know more about the suffrage movement in terms of minority groups participating. The success of the woman's suffrage movement was that WHITE women got the right to vote. How were they so easily accepting of those minority groups that participated not getting any advancements in rights as well.
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Module Id: 1075
User Id: 1482
Question 1:
Porcelain is a luxury, an expensive good, likely to be taxed. The fact that someone in the colonies had this shows that they were wealthy and didn't mind paying taxes for nicer things (perhaps a loyalist). Given that it is a tea set, it indicates a strong tie to the mother country of Britain as the British are known for drinking tea.
Question 2:
I would like to know which colony this set came from - would give me a better idea of the type of person who owned this and their possible beliefs regarding revolution. Would be beneficial to know when the set was purchased or made to know how far along into the revolutionary process we were.
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Module Id: 951
User Id: 1482
Question 1:
It connects to a woman's role being less of a homemaker and becoming more of an active citizen - the ability to hold a job while still providing for the family in that traditional way became more of an option. While it was a necessity during war times for soldiers, it's now become an option for every day Americans. How does this idea of instant/pre-prepared food items change the lives of women?
Question 2:
Mindset is a struggle when analyzing advertising from the past. The world I live in today has no issue with instant/pre-prepared foods, but the world these advertisements came from, does. I would be beneficial to include other primary/secondary sources (like was done in this module) to provide the context necessary in order to understand the woman's mindset.
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Module Id: 1147
User Id: 1482
Question 1:
The shirtwaist leads to a more industrialized economy which in turn leads to harsh working conditions and eventually labor unions. Triangle shirtwaist factory is just one example of how workers were treated.
Question 2:
While the industrialization of the economy allowed for women to join the work force, it also allowed for children to join the work force. With machines, smaller children were required to work in order to be able to fix them. How did labor unions represent the needs of the children (along with the adult workers) to make sure that they weren't being exploited.
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Module Id: 950
User Id: 1482
Question 1:
It's fascinating to me that this stone (which I assumed was a gravestone) led to the discussion of slavery. I have never studied slavery from the point of Washington DC and it was interesting to see all of the sources and how it did play a role in the legality of slavery in the US.
Question 2:
I think the expansion of the United States in general is an interesting look at how boundaries changed. Did the United States have the legal right to expand? We did anyway under Manifest Destiny and the Louisiana Purchase. There were also various conflicts that provided the US with more territory.
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Module Id: 1039
User Id: 1482
Question 1:
Something I hadn't really given much thought to is how the advancements in farming technology gave way to the need for advancements in other technologies. These sources point out that it led to better transportation across various methods. It also negated the need for the majority of the population to practice subsistence farming because larger farms were able to produce enough food for many families. This allowed for a shift in population and a shift towards a more industrialized economy.
Question 2:
Really anything that these sources led to could be used to justify a dramatic change to American life. This all leads to a more industrialized economy so we could look at something from Carnegie with steel production in cities, we could look at something (while this is a bit out of the time frame) on the assembly line and how this impacted factory life. The ability to perform large scale farming opened up a world of possibilities in cities. This led to a need for more housing in cities so you could look at something about a tenement and how this new way of living impacted the family lifestyle.
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Module Id: 952
User Id: 1482
Question 1:
Something people don't necessarily think about when it comes to studying disease is that while we recognize that disease can decimate a population, what are the effects afterwards. I regards to the Natives who were exposed, it decreased their populations drastically and gave them a much smaller chance of maintaining their land in the face of incoming colonists.
Question 2:
Disease has played a large role in the development in the world, but lack of understanding of those diseases was a problem throughout history. Looking at how the disease impacted the population is not only important from a medical POV, but also from a general POV. How did the population respond, what treatments did they use, how did everyday life change. Typically I would think this would be difficult for students to understand (which is a drawback) given that we have very advanced medical care, but in today's world with Covid concerns, I feel it may be more relatable. They would know that it has a far larger impact on everyday life other than just people dying which would help them in looking for those impacts in history.
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Module Id: 954
User Id: 1482
Title: Engaging Using Objects
Grade Level: High
Short Answer:
I like the idea of providing them with objects and having them guess before having any prior knowledge as to what the object was for. In WHI I do an activity with students that is similar to this, but uses pictures of objects. It would be cool to be able to procure an object (or a replication) to show them one in person and have them go through the process.
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Module Id: 689
User Id: 1482
Title: Clothing Through the Years
Grade Level: High
Short Answer:
It would be interesting to present students with photos of fashion through the years. Have them make inferences about how lives were changing based on the fashions - specifically women and the role they had in society. I would them present them with lists of woman's rights passages in hopes to show them that the changes they saw in the clothes, were distinct changes that we saw for woman's role in society.
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Module Id: 1075
User Id: 1482
Title: Every Day Objects
Grade Level: High
Short Answer:
The idea of presenting a tea set to students to get them thinking about the American Revolution is an interesting approach. I know the context of this course is American History and I have a decent knowledge of the American Revolution which allowed me to infer that that is where this lesson is headed. Would be interesting to see whether students could do something similar since by the time they make it to High School, they have studied American History several times. Perhaps coming up with an object that leads into the Renaissance for my WHI kids.
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Module Id: 951
User Id: 1482
Title: Advertising
Grade Level: High
Short Answer:
I like the idea of using advertisements in the classroom. When I taught US/VA History one of my favorite units to teach was the Cold War due to the propaganda that was used. I loved showing posters about the fears of communism and the Duck and Cover video always got a good reaction out of my students. By providing them with these advertisements and other background knowledge of the time period, they were able to get a sense of how individuals during this time period may have felt about communism and the fears of atomic bombs.
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Module Id: 1147
User Id: 1482
Title: Sewing a Shirt
Grade Level: Middle
Short Answer:
I would try and organize with the FACS teachers at the school. Have students experience how difficult it is to sew something - whatever aligns with their standards - and to see why this would result in moving towards more industrialized productions.
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Module Id: 950
User Id: 1482
Title: Sewing a Shirt
Grade Level: Middle
Short Answer:
I would try and organize with the FACS teachers at the school. Have students experience how difficult it is to sew something - whatever aligns with their standards - and to see why this would result in moving towards more industrialized productions. We would then have a discussion about work place safety and point out some of the protections that have been put in place to ensure worker safety - this would be relevant to them as some of them would be approaching the age to get jobs.
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Module Id: 950
User Id: 1482
Title: Expansion of Slavery
Grade Level: High
Short Answer:
I like the idea of providing students with the first source (as was done in this module) and having them predict where it will lead us. It's an interesting way to start a lesson on the expansion of slavery which requires them to use some anthropological skills. It also shows that objects alone are not always enough in determining the influence of something. I never would have thought slavery is where this module would be headed. Then providing them with the background on the stones and how it leads to the expansion of slavery.
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Module Id: 1039
User Id: 1482
Title: The Butterfly Effect
Grade Level: High
Short Answer:
I would use this lesson to show how technological advancements can have impacts far larger than anticipated. Without the access to farming equipment, large farms wouldn't have been as possible. This led to a larger farming production, better transportation, and a population shift into the cities. An example that I believe might resonate with students is the invention of the computer. This was created for scientists and mathematicians, but now almost everybody has one in the palm of their hand in the form of a cell phone. What tasks are we now as everyday people able to accomplish because we have this technology. The computer led to the internet, better/faster communication and an easier way to accomplish tasks.
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Module Id: 952
User Id: 1482
Title: The Plague
Grade Level: High
Short Answer:
In WHI we study the Black Plague. A lot of students recognize that it's a legitimate disease and that people were scared because of a lack of a cure, but they don't know to look beyond just the medical aspect of it. The impact it had on knowledge, religion, and everyday life. Given that the world is now in a global pandemic, I think I'll be able to use examples from the impacts we have seen from Covid, to get them to look for impacts of the Plague as well. This could also be said for any other major Plague/disease you were looking at in history.
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Module Id: 954
User Id: 1482