PASS IT ON Cultural Traditions of the Lower Eastern Shore A K-12 Curriculum and Activity Guide Pass It On: Cultural Traditions of the Lower Eastern Shore is a production of the Lower Shore Traditions program at the Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art, Salisbury University. PRODUCTION TEAM Richard Hughes, Maryland Heritage Areas Authority James Lane, Community Scholar Editor and Project Director Ellen Lawler, Ph.D., Department of Biological Sciences, Cynthia Byrd, Ph.D. Salisbury University Executive Director Edward Robeck, Ph.D., Siedel School of Education Lora Bottinelli and Professional Studies, Salisbury University Education Director Supporting Institutions Kim Check Arts in Motion Arts Integration Program Blackwell Library, Salisbury University Programs Coordinator Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum Katie Hall Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore Contributing Writers Crisfield Heritage Foundation Sylvia Bradley Delmarva Discovery Center Cynthia Byrd Edward H. Nabb Research Center, Salisbury University Joshua Hill Julia A. Purnell Museum Kathleen Rommel Lower Eastern Shore Heritage Council Anthony Towey Maryland Heritage Areas Authority Maryland Historical Trust Graphic Design Maryland Humanities Council Sam Gibson, Salisbury University Publications Maryland State Arts Council MSDE Standards Consultant Maryland State Department of Education Lori Bock, Wicomico County Department of Education Maryland Traditions Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation Web Content Consultant Mid Atlantic Folklife Association David Hooks National Endowment for the Arts Audiovisual Support Public Access Channel 14 Tom Taylor Rural Development Center, University of Maryland Eastern Shore Creig Twilley Salisbury Wicomico Arts Council Somerset County Board of Education Research Assistant Westside Historical Society Kathleen Rommel Wicomico County Board of Education Graduate Assistants Worcester County Board of Education Ecaterina Cojoca Financial Sponsors Joshua Hill This publication has been financed in part by state funds from the Anthony Towey Maryland Heritage Areas Authority, an instrumentality of the State of Interns Maryland. However, the contents and opinions do not necessarily reflect Leigh Dryden the views or policies of the Maryland Heritage Areas Authority. Brittney Herz This program is also supported by Maryland Traditions through a grant Laura Thomas from the Maryland State Arts Council, an agency dedicated to cultivating Other Support a vibrant cultural community where the arts thrive, and by the National Catherine Dawson Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency which believes that a great Reneé Fredericksen, D.P.A. nation deserves great art. Rose MacGregor Dan Parsons Mike Scott, Ph.D., Department of Geography and Geosciences, Salisbury University G. Ray Thompson, Ph.D., Edward H. Nabb Research Center Bill Wilson, Pemberton Hall Foundation Advisory Panel Lori Bock, MSDE Standards Consultant Ann Dyke, Community Scholar Elaine Eff, Ph.D., Maryland Traditions John Fredericksen, Ph.D., Wicomico County Board of Education Introduction meet this need, the Ward Museum, with the support of the Maryland Heritage Areas Authority, For most children, first exposure to the arts occurs Maryland Traditions, the Maryland State Arts in the home, prior to the start of formal education. Council, and the Lower Eastern Shore Heritage On the Eastern Shore of Maryland, students are Council, has developed Pass It On: Cultural growing up in a rich and unique cultural landscape, Traditions of the Lower Eastern Shore: A K-12 with art, history, and tradition embedded in their Curriculum and Activity Guide. The oral histories, daily lives. This culture is reflected in local arts documentary photography, and audiovisual materials institutions like the Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art, developed through LST programming have been an outreach of Salisbury University. The Ward used as a basis for the curriculum in both print and Museum, with its roots in the region’s decoy carving online form. This heritage-centered curriculum will tradition, is dedicated to exhibiting, collecting, and prepare students for life as citizens who understand promoting traditional arts and interpreting their the importance of this place and its people as part of significance through educational programs and the larger world. publications. The content for the curriculum is based on research Serving a broad cross-section of the community and conducted by the Ward Museum with the support of its visitors, the museum is committed to the the Lower Eastern Shore Heritage Council, the scholarly study of folklore and folklife. The Nabb Research Center for Delmarva History and museum’s Lower Shore Traditions (LST) program, Culture, the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, founded in partnership with Maryland Traditions public and private schools, and many other and the National Endowment for the Arts, has built educational institutions. Developed over a period of an archive of documents, recordings, and five years, Pass It On allows the museum to offer photographs to be used by interested community schools and teachers the tools to initiate quality members and scholars. The Ward Museum works cultural heritage programming in their classrooms. continually to identify and interview local tradition Each unit of the guide has been tested in classroom bearers and collect ethnographic materials that and workshop settings. As feedback from educators, enhance existing programs and generate ideas for administrators, parents, and scholars has been new initiatives. The program has broadened the collected, the guide, activities, and lesson plans have reach of the museum into the rich cultural been revised to meet the needs of students. The landscape of the maritime, agricultural, and marsh activities and lesson plans have also been aligned communities of the Delmarva Peninsula. Fieldwork with Maryland State Department of Education conducted in these communities fuels exhibits, (MSDE) standards for social studies, but it is lectures, workshops, events, and publications and important to note that the topics addressed are has formed the basis for partnerships with the multidisciplinary, and many activities can be adapted Smithsonian Folklife Festival, the American Folklife for use in science, art, and language arts instruction Center at the Library of Congress, and many local as well. and regional cultural institutions. The variety of programming from LST engages audiences of all ages The guide is divided into four units: Working the from the surrounding communities, with programs Water, Living Off the Land, Sporting and Playing, on crabbing and oystering, foodways, hunting and and Folklore and Folklife. Each unit begins with a trapping, domestic arts, and, of course, regional art list of student objectives, followed by a textual forms such as decoy carving. narrative designed to introduce teachers and students to the history and cultural traditions Through interaction with teachers, school associated with each aspect of Eastern Shore life. administrators, and other cultural organizations, it The narrative leads to a series of suggested learning became apparent that there was a need for more activities, activities designed for work outside the tools and resources to allow teachers to incorporate classroom, and three specific lesson plans with local arts and traditions into their classrooms. The options that can be adapted according to class size Ward Museum hosts many field trips and other and time allotment. The suggested learning school outreach programs, and teachers and activities are keyed according to a recommended age homeschool parents were requesting materials for group, but most can be adjusted in complexity to teaching local history and culture. In an effort to accommodate younger or older children. Each 4 Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art, Salisbury University extended lesson plan provides an overview, objectives, subject areas, materials and resources lists, activities, extensions, and vocabulary. An online resource guide, found at www.wardmuseum.org, features electronic versions of each unit’s text as well as supplementary text, maps, images, interview transcripts, activities, Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) standards alignment for social studies, and additional audiovisual materials for the classroom. Supplementary materials for the activities are listed for easy access and download. The online resource also includes an educator survey designed to collect feedback as the guide is used. As feedback and comments are processed, the online version can be updated and supplemented with new resources as they are created or discovered. Activity kits with supplies and equipment are available for teachers to borrow, and field trips at the museum using content and activities from Pass It On can be scheduled. For more information, contact the Ward Museum’s Education Department at 410-742-4988, ext, 110. Pass It On: Cultural Traditions of the Lower Eastern Shore 5 Table of Contents Unit 1: Following the Water .....................................................................................7 Suggested Learning Activities ....................................................................................26 Extensions: Beyond the Classroom ............................................................................28 Lesson Plans................................................................................................................29 Unit 2: Living Off the Land....................................................................................33