Creating Experiences: Big Ideas in Museum Education

TO LEARN

CREATING EXPERIENCES: BIG IDEAS IN MUSEUM EDUCATION

INTRODUCTION

For decades history has been taught in most school systems as a chronological series of events. Each event is unique. A specific date and location are further defined by any combination of assorted points of interest such as people, politics, economics, and natural phenomenon. The student’s involvement with this information becomes an exercise in retention. The goal: maintain essential facts through the duration of the inevitable exam.

After that, all bets are off.

Making history relevant to today’s student is more of a challenge than ever. Past practices aside, the first true computer savvy generation has entered the work force. These digital natives are programming their own personal devices with an apparent endless supply of options. Choice and speed are assumed. How can we relate historic perspective to someone who communicates in “real time” and measures change in seconds instead of centuries?

We look to Socrates, “I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think.” And there we begin. Working with educators and historians, we have created personal experiences with the stories that illustrate what became and is the 35th state. Each individual is placed “in the moment” experiencing the sights and sounds that immerses the curious and the dreamer. For the young learners that ask “what’s next?” We wonder “Do we really need to know where we’ve been to know where we are going?”

The state museum’s education programs are committed to supporting the West Virginia Department of Education’s (WVDE) vision of high standards and preparedness for higher learning. The programs will meet the 21st century content standards and objectives for West Virginia schools, combine multiple disciplines and target all grade levels. The format will involve designing experiences that require research, investigation and reflection, which strengthens higher-order thinking skills and analytical proficiency.

To ensure that all materials compliment the individual teacher’s course of study, the education unit invited a select group of educators to develop curriculum programs and materials for the inaugural Teachers Guide. This project was the result of a partnership with our sister agency, the Center for Professional Development (CPD). Our agencies collaborated the following summer and instructional videos were created to enhance the information for teachers and students preparing to visit the museum.

We also have enjoyed the generous support of the RESA III office, the Department of Education, The Governor’s Office of Technology and the Marshall University’s Department of Integrated Science and Technology. All have provided wisdom, creativity, enthusiasm and encouragement.

We are not finished. We look forward to hearing from you. We intend to listen to you and continue to provide programs and services that excite your students about West Virginia’s rich cultural heritage.

Timeline Overviews (w/maps)

PREHISTORY

300 million BC – 1650 AD

West Virginia: An Ancient Land

Over millions of years, cataclysmic forces created West Virginia’s towering mountains, precious minerals, and breathtaking scenery.

Over time, water eroded the massive Appalachian Mountains, created beautiful waterfalls and caverns, and cut valleys through mountains of rock. The New River Gorge, one of the state’s most scenic features, was carved by the second-oldest river in the world.

What was once a steamy swampland became coal, oil, and gas. Ancient oceans evaporated, leaving behind salt, iron, limestone, and manganese deposits. Rivers and streams also deposited rich soils that were ideal for growing farm crops and producing some of the first hardwood trees in the world.

DISCUSSION TOPICS

An Ancient Time

* Geological definition of West Virginia

* Minerals and conditions that create salt, coal, gas and oil

* Changing formations and new geo-systems

* Forestation and Waterways

* Wildlife

A Native People

* Earliest inhabitants

* What we do not know

* Survival and native settlements

* Prehistoric culture

* Archaeology

FRONTIER

1754-1860

The Frontier: Conflict and Independence In the 1700s, England, France, and American Indian tribes held separate claims to present-day West Virginia, which was then part of Virginia. Through a series of violent conflicts, all three groups surrendered their claims to the region.

When the conflicts ended in the late 1700s, Scots-Irish and Germany settlers poured into western Virginia. They brought with them traditional music, food, and crafts, which became the roots of Appalachian culture.

Life on the frontier was challenging. Pioneers hunted or harvested all the food they ate, forged homemade tools, and built houses on the land they cleared by hand. Women not only clothed and fed large families; they helped tend crops and livestock.

Over time, western Virginians developed a distinctly different culture from the eastern part of the state. Their sense of self-reliance and independence eventually led to a split from the state of Virginia.

Pre-requisite understandings: In order to better appreciate the significance of this period in western Virginia’s history, knowledge of the following circumstances and events is encouraged.

Colonial Settlement

 The London and Plymouth Land Companies  Jamestown  The evolution of the Virginia Colony  European explorers and claims to the Ohio Valley  Native American treaties – tribes that ceded rights and when  The French and Indian War

Discussion Topics

Settlement in western Virginia

 Hunters and trailblazers  Claiming the land  First white settlers  Land Speculators  Native American concept of land ownership  Fighting for land  Heroes and legends

Growth and Development Period

 Formation of towns and counties  Importance of salt  A booming industry  Slave labor  Influence of religion  German and Scots-Irish influence

Home on the Frontier

 Handmade  Home grown  Frontier craftsmanship  Home remedies, healing waters

Transition to next time period

 Harpers Ferry, a company town  John Brown

Civil War and the 35th State

1861 – 1899

The Civil War and Statehood:

A War within a State

During the Civil War, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad made the present-day eastern panhandle a constant battleground. Both the Union and Confederate armies occupied Harpers Ferry, Martinsburg, and Romney on numerous occasions. Meanwhile, the North controlled most areas west of the Alleghenies through key victories at Rich Mountain, Carnifex Ferry and Droop Mountain.

Beyond the strategic importance, the Union’s military control of western Virginia protected the political leaders who had gathered in Wheeling to break from the pro-Confederate government of Virginia. These leaders had grown increasingly frustrated with Virginia for its failure to fund roads, railroads, and other improvements in the western part of the state. They used Virginia’s secession from the Union as an opportunity to break away and form a separate government.

In 1861, leaders from northwestern Virginia established a new Virginia state government that remained loyal to the Union. This government then carved out territory to create a new Union state. On June 20, 1863, West Virginia became the 35th state – the only permanent change in territory due to the Civil War.

Pre-requisite understandings: In order to better appreciate the significance of this period in West Virginia’s history, knowledge of the following national circumstances and events is encouraged

Abraham Lincoln is Elected

 “Free States” and “Slave States”

 The Missouri Compromise of 1850

 Belief systems and religions that supported slavery and abolition

 The Virginia State Constitutional Conventions

 The making of the Confederate States of America

DISCUSSION TOPICS

Internal Improvements in western Virginia

* Separation and neglect * Roads and turnpikes

* Economic growth and cultural identities

* Publicly funded facilities

* An emerging society and its priorities

Military Significance of western Virginia

 Influence of the railroad and westward migration

 Mapping of rural/agricultural and urban/industrial regions

 Strategic importance of state’s major battles

 Appalachian settler’s belief systems and military alliances

Creation of the 35th State

 Western delegates vote

 Opportunity and empowerment: the Restored Government of Virginia

 Maintaining “slave state” status

 Provision for the emancipation of slaves

 The fate of the Restored Government of Virginia

19th Century Wheeling, an Urban Manufacturing Center

* “Gateway to the West”

* Rivers, roads and railways

* Iron and Steel Mills

* Wheeling’s Streetscape

* Workforce of Immigrants

* The beginning of the labor movement

Immigrants and Industry * Reasons to emigrate

* Why West Virginia

* Connections to the Old Country

* Special skills, special people

* Evidence of ethnic communities today

Our Agricultural Heritage

 The family farm

 Subsistence farmers, cash crops

 Farming organizations

 Farm tools, technology and the science of farming

 WVU Extension Service: 4-H and Home Demonstration Clubs

 Agricultural Fairs

INDUSTRIALIZATION

1900 – 1945

Industrial West Virginia: From Farms to Factories

In the late 1800s, railroads connected the new state of West Virginia with the rest of the country. The Industrial Revolution soon swept through the Mountain State. Coal mines. Sawmills. Oil and gas wells. Steelworks. Glass and pottery factories. As the value of natural resources increased, out-of-state investors bought land cheaply from West Virginians, who thought they were getting a bargain.

The new industries offered men and women in West Virginia a paycheck for the first time. Companies, which needed more workers than the region could supply, recruited African American laborers from the South and recent immigrants. As a result, the state’s population doubled between 1870 and 1900, with new company-owned towns and lumber camps emerging along the rail lines.

No industry dominated the state’s economy like coal. West Virginia coal fueled the nation’s steel factories, battleships, steam, locomotives, and power industries. For many years, southern West Virginia led the country in bituminous coal production; though, its mines were the deadliest in the nation.

Coal mines quickly grew weary over low wages, long hours, and poor working conditions. Their only leverage was to go on strike. In the early 1900s, these work stoppages became increasingly violent. Hundreds of West Virginians died during the mine wars, which culminated with the Battle of Blair Mountain in 1921.

DISCUSSION TOPICS

Coal Industry

 The hand-loading process

 Hard labor, dangerous conditions and long hours

 Different people, same job

 The measure of a day’s work

 From the mine to the world market

 Monongah

 Coke

 Safety becomes a priority

 Women and children workers

 Mechanization effects jobs  Still West Virginia’s most significant industry

Timber Industry

 Settler’s homes to sawmills

 The timbering process

 Tools of the trade

 Lumber companies

 Deforestation

Iron and Steel Industry

 Jefferson County, 1754

 The Bessemer Oxygen Furnace

 Steel companies

 Hand-cut nails, galvanized metal and tools

 The impact of imported steel

Chemical Industry

 “Chemical Capitol of the World”

 The significance of natural brine deposits

 Research and innovations

 Better living through chemistry

Oil and Gas Industry

 Wirt County, 1860

 The Jones-Imboden Raid  The Oil Boom

 Natural gas and the glass industry

 Fires

 Production decline

Glass and Pottery Industries

 The key ingredients

 The artisan

 Glass plants and factories

 Commercial pottery

 Child labor

 Window glass cooperatives

Transportation’s Effect on Industry

 Rivers and Steamboats

 Locks and Dams

 Barges

 Railroads

 Lanterns and Shop Tools

 John Henry

 1877 Railroad Strike

Life in a Company Town

 The Company Store

 Toys

 Scrip  Payroll Book

 Itmann Store blueprints

 Not all work --- company teams

 Medical survey of coal towns

 Community Spirit

 Music, dance and the radio

The Hatfield – McCoy Feud

The Changing Role of Women

 Mother, homemaker, breadwinner

 Community activities and organizations

 Entering the workforce

 Cottage industry to arts-and-crafts industry

 The right to vote

 Politics, preservation and power

 Suffragettes

Caves, Taverns and Temperance

 Making whiskey

 Revenuers and the State Police

 Women’s Christian Temperance Union

 Thurmond Paint The State Capitol

 Location, location, location

 The Capitol burns

 State Capitol Annex

 Capitol Complex statues and memorials

The Labor Movement

 Paint Creek – Cabin Creek strike

 United Mine Workers

 Law Enforcement, creation of the State Police

 Management

 Matewan Massacre

 Yellow dog contracts

 Miners bear arms and declare war

 Blizzard treason trial

 The failure of violence

The Great Depression

 The New Deal resettlement program

 Arthurdale

 National Recovery Administration

 Rural electrification

 Civilian Conservation Corps

 Works Progress (and Projects) Administration

 Hawks Nest Tunnel disaster CHANGE and TRADITION

1954 – 21ST Century

West Virginia changed greatly in the late 20th century. The coal industry increasingly used surface mines and massive underground machines to extract coal – both of which eliminated mining jobs. The loss of these jobs and a downturn in the coal industry had a domino effect on the state’s economy. Unemployment reached record levels, and, by 1970, more than 250,000 West Virginians had left the state. While the nature of mining has changed, the coal industry continues to be the state’s dominant economic force, providing more coal than ever.

During this same time, there were noticeable advances in civil rights. African Americans fought to integrate schools, and some of the nation’s earliest lunch-counter sit-ins occurred in Charleston, Bluefield, and Huntington. Women also battled for equal rights, particularly in the workplace.

The state’s landscape was altered dramatically in the late 20th century. New interstates and corridors bypassed once-thriving towns while sparking the growth of recreational industries, such as white-water rafting, skiing, and golf. Abandoned railroad beds were converted into popular biking and hiking paths, while old logging roads became ATV trails.

In the last few decades, Appalachian music, arts, and crafts have experienced a revival. Fairs and festivals are held across the state to celebrate the traditions of quilting, carving wood, making hand- blown glass, and many other crafts. Musicians keep alive the frontier spirit by playing fiddle tunes that have been handed down from generation to generation. Today, the pioneer traits of self-reliance and craftsmanship are more alive than ever throughout West Virginia.

MILITARY

West Virginians at War: Service and Honor

From the Revolutionary War through today’s military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, West Virginians have proudly honored their state. West Virginia leads the nation in military veterans per capita. More than 500,000 West Virginians have served in the military, more than 10,000 have sacrificed their lives.

The Mountain State has contributed more than its share of military heroes during international conflicts. Monroe County’s Andrew Rowan carried the “message to Garcia” in the Spanish-American War. Hampshire County’s Chester Merriman was one of the youngest casualties of World War I. Harrison County native “Woody” Williams and 10 other West Virginians won the Medal of Honor during World War II. Wyoming County’s Kenneth Shadrick was one of the first Korean fatalities. Monongalia County’s Thomas Bennett, a medic and conscientious objector, was awarded the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War. Wood County’s Robert Sweet was a POW during the Gulf War. Roane County’s Ruby Bradley is the American military’s most decorated woman.

West Virginia’s have played equally important roles on the home front. The origins of West Virginia’s National Guard can be traced to a militia formed in 1735 in present-day Berkeley County. West Virginians have sold bonds, raised victory gardens, and conserved key resources for the war effort. During World War II, the state increased industrial production to support the war effort, particularly in the coal, steel, and chemical industries. In times of war and peace, West Virginians answer the call.

Plan Summaries

A Sense of WV- (Showpath)- Students are time travelers on a journey. Their job is to experience all the sights, sounds, and various senses encountered in the time periods of the museum. They will have to report back to their peers about their findings. This lesson will provide historical perspective. Through this lesson, the students will be enabled to relate history to their life today. As teacher leaders of WV, we would expect this lesson to result in historical empathy and an understanding of the time periods. We expect the activity to provide students with a better sense of self (their culture, their history, their environment) in hope that it will provide knowledge and understanding of where they are going. (4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th grades)- Download Lesson

Where Will I Go From Here?- (Showpath)- Students will follow the WV Museum Showpath, considering how West Virginians in the past have been challenged to make a life here. Using the WV Museum as a gateway, student groups will acquire knowledge of their past to critically evaluate and plan for their future. This will give students the opportunity to explore how West Virginians in the past have survived, and give them the opportunity to imagine and analyze where they, as citizens of WV, can find their place and create their own history. (4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th grades)- Download Lesson

In the Footsteps of WV- (Showpath)- Students will complete a project in the persona of a fictional character from an historical era. This lesson provides for differentiation based on differing materials, different activities while at the museum, and different final projects. This is a way to expand the students’ knowledge of specific eras in WV history while personalizing the content. This lesson will enable students to consider history from different viewpoints. Puts the students “in the shoes” of fictional characters from various historical periods to challenge their decision making processes. (5th, 8th grades)- Download Lesson

A to Z Observations- (Showpath)- Before visiting the museum, students will be assigned letters. The letters can be the first five letters of their name (can use middle or last if not enough letters in the first name), the teacher can assign letters randomly, or the more adventurous can assign the entire alphabet. As the students tour, they will try to remember impressions (artifacts, pictures, sights, sounds, even abstract impressions of what they experience), that associate with the letters students are assigned. These are examples to guide the students as they go through the showpath, but teachers can adapt these to their individual uses. (8th grade)- Download Lesson

Women’s Roles: Then and Now- (Prehistory/Frontier)- Students will study the roles that women played on the Appalachian frontier and compare them to women’s roles today. Students will see how far women have come in gaining opportunities as well as how life has changed in general during the two hundred years since white settlers came to the western Virginia frontier. This lesson is intended to show students how much women’s roles have changed – and how much they haven’t. (4th grade)- Download Lesson

What is Geological Time?- (Prehistory/Frontier)- Only a small percentage of WV history has included humans. By completeing the activities students will develop an understanding of the terms and meaning of geologic time. This lesson is intended to show students what is meant by geologic time and how it relates to WV history. (6th grade)- Download Lesson

Eloquent Words- (Prehistory/Frontier)- In this lesson students will learn about both sides of an issue, then attempt to write persuasively for one. This will give students practice in making logical arguments and using rhetorical techniques. It will also help students learn to look at both sides of an issue. Students will brainstorm the reasons that Europeans had for claiming the land and the reasons Native Americans had using what they have learned and then use that information to choose a side to defend. Lastly, students will write a short speech like Chief Logan’s where they give their side’s reasons for claiming the land. (8th grade)- Download Lesson

John Brown’s Raid- (Prehistory/Frontier)- John Brown's actions at Harpers Ferry polarized both Northerners and Southerners, and brought the nation to the brink of war. Students will develop a K-W-L chart and answer the question of how the raid affected thinking on the slavery issue. This lesson is intended to show students the importance of the slavery issue to the nation prior to the Civil War. (8th grade)- Download Lesson

Learning to Ask Questions About the Past- (Prehistory/Frontier)- Historical Inquiry should abound in a museum, and in a classroom. For that matter, it should abound in every community, in every family, and in every mind of every student in West Virginia. Nothing is more relevant than our families, our homes, and us individually. In this lesson built around a visit to the state museum, students will develop their questioning skills in the classroom before they go on their field trip. While in the museum students will practice asking questions, and once they arrive back at school, they will ask questions concerning the artifact that their group has chosen and then address their questions through research. (8th grade)- Download Lesson Time warp: From Frontier to Prehistory- (Prehistory/Frontier)- One of the most interesting ways to view things, in the minds of our youth is through “historical imagination” and “historical inquiry”. Teachers should insist that students use sources of historical inquiry in utilizing artifacts and data to explain “the way things were”. Equally, students are intrigued by Hollywood application of “time warps” such as seen in television and movies such as the “Quantum Leap” series, and the films “The Butterfly Effect”, “Frequency”, and “Back to the Future”. This engagement activity involves putting the student in the role of an early explorer who was literally “ahead of his time”. (8th grade)- Download Lesson

My Brother, My Enemy- (Civil War/Statehood)- Students will explore West Virginia's role in the Civil War, especially how families were frequently divided by their loyalty to both the North and the South. Using several activities and a trip through the WV Museum, students will create a newsletter and publish a newsletter to demonstrate their learning. Students should understand that West Virginia and its families played an important role in changing the nation. Soldiers and battles were fought in our yards where we walk today. Unfortunately, many of those soldiers were fighting neighbors and their own family members in a bloody battle to save our nation from itself. (4th, 5th grades)- Download Lesson

Concern in Eastern Virginia- (Civil War/Statehood)- Students are told an heir to a prominent 1800's legislature comes across a very interesting keepsake. Along with his great-great uncle’s obituary, he finds attached a piece of paper headed, “Items to take to western Virginia.” Along with a listing of several items, at the bottom of the page in different handwriting he reads, “John’s last words.” Students will use this information during their visit to the WV State Museum to decide why the uncle was moving to West Virginia, whey he was taking these items, and what this information has to do with WV Statehood. Inevitably, when asked why WV separated from Virginia, most people will target slavery as the cause of the rift. This lesson questions this assertion and allows students to uncover facts that factually substantiate reasons for WV separating from Virginia. (5th, 7th, 8th grades)- Download Lesson

Morse Code: The Telegraph and WV- (Civil War/Statehood)- Two inventions that revolutionized WV and the world were Morse Code and the telegraph. With teacher guidance and through discovery, students will realize how these communication tools help shape popular opinions and beliefs. As students view artifacts in the WV State Museum, they will gain a greater appreciation for these inventions, the time period of their greatest use, and how they were used in helping WV become a state. (5th, 7th, 8th grades)- Download Lesson

Immigration and Helvetia: Lesson One- (Civil War/Statehood)- It has often been said that a person’s life is a mirror reflection of their family's past. From rituals to traditions, celebrations to reunions, all of our families have histories that bring the past to the present. This lesson plan will allow students to analyze and evaluate those individuals who came to settle in a rural mountainous setting known as Helvetia and understand why they chose West Virginia as their final living site. Students will analyze the following information: reasons to emigrate, why to WV, connections to the old country, special skills and special people, and evidence of ethnic communities today. (8th grade)- Download Lesson

Immigration and Helvetia: Lesson Two-(Civil War/Statehood)- Students will use what they learned at the WV State Museum and what they discussed in lesson one to explore the question, why did Swiss immigrants choose WV? Using this information students will create an original website detailing their information and research. (8th grade)- Download Lesson

War, What is it Good For? – (Civil War/Statehood)- Students will use online resources and their museum experience to answer critical questions about WV's role in the Civil War. As a final project they will create an electronic portfolio of their research, using a format of their choice. (8th grade)- Download Lesson

Wheeling and the Big City: Lesson One- (Civil War/Statehood)- Wheeling has a rich history dating back centuries with the Adena Indian tribe asserting its power and authority in the area by scalping would be land speculators and leaving their skulls out in plain sight to serve as a warning to other visitors to the area. Even the name Wheeling, “place of the skull”, serves as a reminder to the past. Wheeling would grow with the influx of European immigrants and the creation of the National Road. In this unit, students will be given an opportunity to explore the history of Wheeling. Possible topics of discussion will include: “Gateway to the West”, rivers, roads, and railways, Wheeling streetscape, workforce and immigrants and the beginning of the labor movement. Students will be working to answer what does West Virginia mean to me and how did the influx of immigrants affect Wheeling in the 19th Century? (8th grade)- Download Lesson

Wheeling and the Big City: Lesson Two- (Civil War/Statehood)- Students will continue discussing the information and questions in lesson one and build on their knowledge gained by drawing on what they learned at the WV State Museum to create a time capsule showing what West Virginia is like currently and then comparing that to the past and the artifacts they viewed in the museum. (8th grade)- Download Lesson

WV Music- (Civil War/Statehood)- Popular music is as American as baseball and apple pie. Parents often chide, “If you knew your lessons as well as words to all of the songs on the radio, you would be a genius.” Popular music permeates our culture. Students walk into class singing the latest hit. When they do this, most of the time they are met with “knock it off-last get started with class.” This lesson gives students a chance to incorporate what they love and sharpen their knowledge and appreciation for WV in the process. (7th, 8th grades)- Download Lesson WV Cartoons- (Civil War/Statehood)- It has been said that a picture is worth a thousand words. Even though students might not understand the meaning of many cartoons, the humor presented engages students. Once engaged, students are open to analyzing cartoons until they realize the intended meanings. This lesson uses cartoons to enhance student’s understanding of how WV became a state. (8th grade)- Download Lesson

Coal Mine Industrial Picture Analysis- (Industrialization)- Students will look at photographs to see that history is not just in the words, but also in the pictures Students are asked to pick three pictures, from the coal mine administration collection, and analyze them using the national archives photograph analysis worksheet. The students must then write a newspaper report about life in a coal town using the pictures as their source of information. (4th, 8th grades)- Download Lesson

Is Charleston Your Lucky Charm?- (Industrialization)- Students will learn the history of the location of West Virginia’s state capitol. Students take the role of young citizens living in the city of Charleston in the new state of West Virginia. The decision to choose the capitol city is up for vote, students will research and choose which city they will vote for – Charleston or Wheeling? (4th, 5th, 6th, 8th, grades)- Download Lesson

Off to Work We Go!- (Industrialization)- Students will discover how FDR’s New Deal impacted West Virginia. Through putting themselves in the role of a young, recently married man, who has been unemployed for 8 months with 2 children and one more on the way, who is desperate to find work to support his family, they will discover how the New Deal impacted everyday people in West Virginia. (4th, 6th, 8th grades)- Download Lesson

The “Coal Lifecycle” Scrapbook- (Industrialization)- After studying the coal industry and/ or carbon cycle and a visit to the WV State Museum students are told a lump of coal has come to the classroom with amnesia. He doesn’t know who he is, where he came from, or what he is supposed to do. It is their job to help him! To assist him, students will create a scrapbook of “Coal’s Lifecycle” to jog his memory. (5th, 6th grades)- Download Lesson

Child Labor Industrial Picture Analysis- (Industrialization)- Students are asked to pick three pictures, about child labor in West Virginia for Lewis Hines to show to Congress. Students must write a letter explaining why they picked these pictures. Students also need to analyze two of these photos (they can not be from the same industry) using the National Archives photo analysis worksheet. (6th, 8th grades)- Download Lesson

Where Does Coal Go? – (Industrialization)- After students have studied the effects of transportation in America and West Virginia, the modes of transportation, and the coal industry they will be told they are thinking about purchasing a small coal mine in West Virginia. Before they do so, they need to see how coal is transported and how far it can be transported. Students will create a map that documents this information from what they have learned. (6th, 7th grades)- Download Lesson

Why Would I Owe My Soul to the Company Store?- (Industrialization)- Students will be introduced to Tennessee Ernie Ford’s Song “Sixteen Tons”. Students will analyze the chorus of the song and find out its validity through the museum by proving how true the chorus is or why he would say a coal minder owes his soul to the company store. Students will then create a spreadsheet with examples of the miner’s income minus his expenses and graph/chart these findings and then summarize in one paragraph why the feeling of debt and “owing” one’s soul was so common? (6th, grade)- Download Lesson

5 Days Documentary- (Industrialization)- Students are a documentary crew. They have been assigned to do a documentary on living in a timber, chemical, glass or a natural gas town. They must live with a worker for 5 days and participate in a workers life. (8th grade)- Download Lesson

Changing Roles of Women- (Industrialization)- Students will be introduced to the fight for women’s suffrage in West Virginia. Using information the class will design and create a Women’s Suffrage Magazine. Students will participate in pairs. Each group will be “journalists” who will contribute a “story”, an advertisement, and an illustration to the magazine. Students will then have a class debate on Women’s suffrage using the knowledge they have gained through the lesson and museum tour. (8th grade)- Download Lesson

Famous People Website- (Industrialization)- Using the information found in the WV State Museum and through research students will find how a given person is important to West Virginia history and make a web page for the person and present it to the class. (8th grade)- Download Lesson

Industrial Book- (Industrialization)- The students will look at West Virginia Poet Laureate Louise McNeill's poems about West Virginia during the Industrial Age from the book "Gauley Mountain." Then students are asked to write 4 selections for a book about the industrial period in West Virginia. (8th grade)- Download Lesson

The Outsiders- (Industrialization)- Students will look at absentee ownership and its effect on West Virginia. Students will look at the problems caused by the geography of West Virginia on getting resources to market. Using what students have learned they are to determine the effect of outside investors in West Virginia. They will act as economic advisors in a country that has many similarities to West Virginia and will deliver a presentation on whether the country should allow outside investment in their country. (8th grade)- Download Lesson Art Critic for a Day!- (Change and Tradition)- Students need to use critical thinking skills in all areas of their life. They need to use these skills to evaluate many aspects of our world. There are particular skills that are necessary to evaluate art works. In this lesson they will learn these skills. Students are given the task to find an art work in the WV State Museum that they believe will excite others and will be displayed in their school library. Students are given criteria in which to evaluate these pieces and it is their goal to find an art work their classmates will enjoy. (4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th grades) – Download Lesson

Quilt Squared- (Change and Tradition)- Crafts have always been a part of rural culture. Crafts differ from "art" in that they serve a purpose, as well as being beautiful. Quilts also have significance because they were often made from old clothing and the owner could use it as a "remembrance." Using what students learned and explored in the WV State Museum students will use math to design their own class quilt. (4th, 5th, 6th grades)- Download Lesson

WV Wants You!- (Change and Tradition)- Music is an essential part of our culture and students of all ages listen and enjoy a variety of music styles. West Virginia has a strong tradition of encouraging and fostering many musical styles. Students are told that Def PB Records is looking for a new artist that will capture the essence of West Virginia in music. Their team will write, adapt and compose a song that captures what they experienced while visiting the West Virginia Museum of Culture and History. Students will present their finished song, symphony, cantata or whatever they created at a class assembly. (4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th grades)- Download Lesson

How Does it Feel?: Why is the Civil Rights Movement so important?- (Change and Tradition)- Civil Rights have always been at the forefront of importance in West Virginia history. The Civil Rights movement of the 1960s got its start from sit-ins in soda shops throughout the state. The class is a segregated society. One group gets more space, the best supplies and equipment, as well as making all the decisions for the entire class. The other group must work with less space, fewer supplies, and no input in the decision making process. This lesson puts students in the footsteps of people of the past and helps them to understand how it felt. (5th grade)- Download Lesson

“Reporting Live From…”- (Change and Tradition)- West Virginia has had both natural and man- made disasters throughout its history. In the wake of many of these disasters, new safety regulations and precautions have been implemented. The student becomes a reporter covering a West Virginia disaster through research and a visit to the WV State Museum. (5th, 6th, 7th, 8th grades)- Download Lesson

From Here to There- (Change and Tradition)- The Interstate Highway System supported by President Dwight D. Eisenhower brought a population shift to West Virginia, as well as greater safety on our roads, reduction of travel time, and an increase in our state's economy. Student will describe a journey between two points in West Virginia, as someone in the present and someone in the past, before the Interstate Highway System existed. (7th grade)- Download Lesson

Honoring West Virginians- (Change and Tradition)- This unit was designed to teach students about the cultural, societal, and historical importance of monuments. While learning about monuments and their design and construction, students will also learn about some of WV’s historical heroes. The monument designing scenario associated with this lesson is a unique way of capturing the students’ attention. The hands-on elements of this lesson should help to maintain student interest and participation. (8th grade)- Download Lesson

West Virginians in the Military: Letters Home- (Change and Tradition)- Students will read a series of letters from military personnel from WV deployed overseas during different periods of war to family and friends stateside. After researching what life was like in WV for family members as well as at the area of deployment for military personnel, the students will assume the role of a family member at home or a deployed military personnel member and write historically accurate letters to each other. This lesson also includes a technology enrichment idea for a final product other than letters. (8th grade)- Download Lesson

The Inaugural Teachers Guide

* See attached Folder- “Inaugural Teachers Guide”.