Everyday Life in Ripon: Past and Present

The Plan for Learners:

Why this is important

What are some basic needs that you have to meet every day? Who helps you meet those needs? Did people have those same needs when your great grandparents lived? Do you think they met them in the same way you do? In your visit to the Ripon Historical Society, you will see evidence of how people lived in Ripon during different times since the city was founded over a hundred and fifty years ago. Some of the artifacts are older than others. Your docents will ask you questions and help you figure out how some of these items were used. Some met basic needs. Others were for decoration or entertainment. As you visit the different areas of the museum, decide which artifact you find most interesting. You will get to draw a picture of that historical item and a contemporary item that serves a similar purpose. Then you will use modern technology to create a presentation of your drawing in KidPix computer software.

 
What you will learn to do
  Illustrate changes that have taken place in the way your great grandparents might have lived and the way you live today.
 
How you will know when you are succeeding
You will demonstrate your competence:
o by drawing pictures of different items, one from the present and one from the past, and comparing them
o by telling about items you see in a drawing
o by translating your drawing into a presentation using KidPix computer software
 
Your performance will be successful when:
o you follow directions
o you listen politely when others are speaking
o your drawing shows a historical item you saw on your visit to the Ripon Historical Society
o your drawing shows at least one item from the past and one from the present
o the items in your drawing are used for similar functions
o you explain how the items in your drawing are used
o you explain changes in society that make your historical item different from your current item
o you explain changes in technology that make your historical item different from your current item
o your drawing communicates a message to other people in your class
o your KidPix presentation includes both visual and auditory components
o your KidPix presentation is based on your drawing
 
Knowledge and skills you will learn along the way
This learning plan addresses the following learning objectives to help you master the competency:
a. List ground rules for a visit to a museum.
b. Tell what it means to be a good listener.
c. Tell about ways we can learn about how people lived long ago: 1,000,000 years ago, 1000 years ago, 100 years ago, or just 20 years ago.
d. Observe in order to learn from the items you see in the museum, using as many senses as you can.
e. Define terms: artifact, document, record, museum, invention, observation, evidence, counterpart, current, historical, evolve.
f. Explain the difference between a home and a house that is used as a museum.
g. List basic needs people have, no matter when they live.
h. Discuss how people meet those basic needs today.
i. Discuss how you might meet those needs if you had no electricity, natural gas, propane, or plumbing.
j. Compare how people cooked and kept food from spoiling before they had electricity in their homes.
k. Compare family entertainment of long ago with entertainment today.
l. Compare clothing and hairstyles of long ago with those of today.
m. Compare old pictures and portraits with those in your home.
n. Show how people met personal hygiene and sanitation needs before they had plumbing, gas, and electricity in their homes.
o. List various stages in the technological evolution of recorded music from wind-up victrola to MP3 computer downloads.
p. Use KidPix computer software.
 
Learning Activities
_____1.

FIND OUT who knew their grandparents, great grandparents, and great great grandparents. THINK of stories about how they lived when they were children.
 
_____2.
DISCUSS museum etiquette, good listening behavior, and senses you will use to learn while in the museum.
 
_____3.
DEFINE terms needed for the tour.
 
_____4.
VISIT the three stations: dining room/kitchen, upstairs, children's room/living room. The docents will ask you questions based on the learning objectives. APPLY what you already know to figuring out the answers.
 
Assessment Activities
_____1.
RETURN to the meeting room to create your drawing that will compare life in Ripon's past and present.
 
_____2.
CREATE your KidPix presentation at school.
Teacher Information
Description

This plan is for a one-hour visit to the Ripon Historical Society museum by second graders studying local history. They come to the museum in class groups of about 22 students. The whole group meets in the Historical Society meeting room for a kickoff session. Then they break into groups of seven to visit three different stations within the museum: the dining room and kitchen; the children's  room and living room, and the upstairs bedrooms and bathroom. Each group is assigned a moving docent, who accompanies them from station to station. A stationary docent at each station greets the group and leads a discussion, focusing on specific items identified in advance. In the kitchen the focus is on food preparation and preservation and hygiene and sanitation. The theme in the living room is family and individual entertainment. Upstairs the focus is on personal hygiene and style in clothing and decoration. Throughout the visit, comparison of life between about 1900 to 1940 and the children's current lives is central to the discussion. When all groups have visited all three stations, the large group gathers in the meeting room for a wrap-up session, where they draw pictures of an artifact they saw on the tour and its current counterpart.
 
Wisconsin Standards Addressed
WI.SS.B.4.1 Identify and examine various sources of information that are used for constructing an understanding of the past, such as artifacts, documents, letters, diaries, maps, textbooks, photos, paintings, architecture, oral presentations, graphs, and charts
 
WI.LA.C.4.2 Listen to and comprehend oral communications
 
WI.LA.F. Research and Inquiry--Students in Wisconsin will locate, use, and communicate information from a variety of print and nonprint materials.
 
WI.SS.B.4.4 Compare and contrast changes in contemporary life with life in the past by looking at social, economic, political, and cultural roles played by individuals and groups
 
WI.TE.C.4.2 Show how modern invention and innovation have evolved as a result of new knowledge and technology
 
WI.TE.B.4.6 Follow a set of instructions to produce a product using appropriate tools and materials