RIPON HISTORICAL SOCIETY
EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH PROGRAM
One of the school bells in the museum
Some of the hands-on artifacts in the traveling trunk
Second grade students see how family entertainment has changed in 100 years.
(A focused one-hour visit to the museum)
Fourth Grade
Learning and Assessment Plan
(Two classroom sessions of one hour each)
The Traveling Trunk
Program
(Hands-on items and classroom ideas)
Focused School Visits to the Historical Society Properties
The philosophy of the Society relating to school visits is centered on active involvement in thinking critically about selected items rather than taking a passive walk through the properties. Second graders studying local history are welcomed to the Society in class-size groups. Curriculum meeting several Wisconsin Standards in Social Studies, Language Arts, and Technology has been developed by the Society in cooperation with second grade teachers. Click here to see the learning plan for the one-hour visit, Everyday Life in Ripon: Past and Present.
Teaching Resources for Classroom Use and Presentations by Ripon Historical Society Members
From classroom to club meeting to senior citizen activities, our traveling trunk is ready to go. Developed by Jessica Fuoco, a 2006 Society summer intern from Ripon College, the trunk is actually a lidded plastic box filled with a variety of duplicate artifacts from our collection. All of them date from about 1900 to 1920. A text describing each item is in the trunk. Also included is a set of ideas for using the trunk in the classroom, with learning activities that address History, English, and Mathematics skills. Grade four is the target level, but the ideas can be adapted for different groups. The artifacts may be handled. While the Society can supply a presenter if desired, the contents of the trunk are self-explanatory and may be borrowed without a presenter. For more information, call the Society at 920 748-5354 and ask for Mary Brandt.
The following presentations are currently available. Others can be developed upon request. Contact Jean Woolley at 920 748-2260 or riponhistsoc@yahoo.com All of our educational materials and presentations contribute toward meeting Wisconsin K-12 Standards.
| Ripon Then and Now: Transportation |
Videotaped presentation by Bobbie Scott PowerPoint presentation with questions for critical thinking Target Population: Grade 4 |
| Wisconsin Then and Now: Agribusiness |
Videotaped presentation by Bobbie Scott PowerPoint presentation with questions for critical thinking Target Population: Grade 4 |
| Ripon Then and Now: Winter |
PowerPoint presentation with questions for
critical thinking Target Population: Grades 2-4 |
| Wisconsin Then and Now: Stone Age Tools |
PowerPoint presentation with text for
presentation May be presented to multiple-class groups Features some of the Society's archeology artifacts collected in the Rush Lake area Designed as Part One of Wisconsin Then and Now: Tools Target Population: Grade 4 |
| Wisconsin Then and Now: Tools |
PowerPoint presentation with notes Features home and farm tools from about the past 100 years, plus a couple of Stone Age tools Built around the concept of how people have used simple machines to build tools Interactive; designed for Society members to deliver at school to class-size groups Click here to see learning plan |
Teaching Resources for Home Schoolers
The resources that the Society makes available to K-12 classes can be adapted for home schoolers. To discuss possibilities, call Jean Woolley, Coordinator of K-12 Educational Programming, at 920-748-2260 or e-mail her at riponhistsoc@yahoo.com.
Mentoring
Society members are available for limited-term mentoring of individual students who are interested in doing projects related to the history of the Ripon area, using resources already available at the Society or doing guided research in developing new resources to preserve the community's heritage. School personnel may contact Jean Woolley at 920-748-2260 or e-mail her at riponhistsoc@yahoo.com to discuss potential mentoring projects and matches. Participating in the National History Day experience http://www.nationalhistoryday.org/ is possible if projects are related directly to the Ripon area and within the purview of the mission of the Ripon Historical Society. For ideas on what older middle or high school learners might enjoy researching with a mentor, click to see lists of what is available in the Archival Subject Boxes and Archival Subject Folders. Children from older elementary through high school might also enjoy learning about the Rush Lake archeology collection or about the history of surveying. We have a complete extra set of the Newton Resurvey of Ripon from the 1860's that children can handle under the guidance of a mentor.
Non-school Group Visits
Scouts, after-school program providers, and other organizations may arrange special visits by contacting Mary Brandt, Curator-Museum or George Miller, Curator-Archives, between 9:00 and 11:00 weekdays at 920-748-5354.
College Course
Ripon College offers a course, History 300.01 Ripon Local History: College and Community. The instructor is Dr. Russell Blake: Blaker@mail.ripon.edu, 920-758-8731. The course provides an opportunity to learn to work with archival primary sources and to design and carry out significant projects using these sources. Archival work involves using unedited material, and students have the opportunity to formulate questions and analyze material that has, in some cases, never before been used by a historian. The archival work is done in the Ripon College Archives and the Ripon Historical Society. The partnership between the Historical Society and Ripon College benefits both. The students have an opportunity to do original archival work; the Society benefits in that their projects enhance what the Society can offer to the community.
Internship
Ripon College offers paid summer internships to selected students through its ProCollege program. Students work on projects needed by the Historical Society under the guidance of the museum and archives curators, Mary Brandt and George Miller, as well as Professor Russell Blake.