Post-Visit Activity: The LivingMuseum
(for more information contact Mark Zucker at Manzanita Seed Elementary, OUSD)
Objectives:
- Students will conduct research and take notes on a historical figure and then draft, revise, and rewrite or type a six-paragraph biography.
- Students will create a LivingMuseum exhibit, with biography, timeline, map, and other appropriate decorative and informative materials.
- Students will write a first-person narrative from their figure's perspective and then act it out in character as visitors activate their LivingMuseum exhibit.
Sequence:
Students choosea figure from the “Remember Them” Monument and completea note-taking guide with these components:
1. Introduction (name, birth, death, reason for fame)
2. Childhood (family, education)
3. Struggles (when they lived, issues of their time, hardships they overcame)
4. Accomplishments (years of work, what they did that was significant)
5. Significance (why it matters, who was affected, what changed)
6. Conclusion (why they're remembered, what you learned)
Components:
- Students work in pairs to share their notes and add to them before drafting.
- Students draft 6 paragraphs, revise in pairs, type or rewrite, proofread in pairs, and publish.
- Students pick 5 - 10 events from their person's life and make a timeline. Discuss whole class the important events in USA and world history that correlated to their lives (end slavery, end segregation, get right to vote, etc).
- Students draw a map showing where in the world their person lived, labeling key places.
- Students draw a portrait of their person in proportion, make other informative materials, and decorate their exhibit, including map, timeline, portrait, biography, title, and name.
- Students write first-person narratives, using the attached rubric to ensure inclusion of key elements (3 struggles with statements of empathy, 3 accomplishments with statements of significance).
- Students perform the LivingMuseum for classes and the community, delivering their first-person narratives in character from the perspective of their historical figure while the audience uses the rubric to give the performers feedback on their presentation.
BiographyNote-Taking Guide Supplement: Context and Significance
Name ______
Nameof Historical Person: ______
Historical Context – Fill in blanks
came from______, a place where .
He/she lived during ______, a time when .
Main Accomplishments (list at least three of the most important):
______
______
______
______
Significance (respond to at least four of the following ideas)
1) Inspired others to ______
______
2) Was a symbol of ______
______
3) Had struggles, like ______
4) Helped change______
______
5) Because of this person______
______
6) Set a good example by______
______
7) Is remembered for______
______
8) Represented or stood up for ______
______
10) Personal (add any interesting details about the person's life)
______
______
______
______
______
LivingMuseumPresentation Rubric
Speaker ______
Please rate the speaker on how well they demonstrate mastery of the learning targets below using the following 1 - 4 scale. Then write one good thing you noticed and one thing the speaker should work on at the bottom:
4 = Meets learning target completely
3 = Mostly meets learning target, or meets most parts of it
2 = Somewhat meets learning target, or meets small part of it
1 = No evidence of meeting the learning target
Description of Learning Target
Skills
Voice (speaks at a good pace, in a loud, natural, and clear voice)
Eyes (looks at audience directly, makes eye contact but doesn't stare)
Body (shows self-control, stands upstraight, acts expressively)
Knowledge
Accomplishments (states main work, reason for fame)
Context (explains time in history, mentions specific struggles in their lives)
Significance (describes person's importance, what they changed, who they affected)
Character
Point of View (stays in character, keeps the mood serious and proud)
Traits (names characteristics of person,what they did to show traits)
Empathy (shows how it felt to be them, what it would be like to go through their struggles)
One thing I noticed that you did well was: ______
______
One thing you could work on to improve your presentation was: ______
______
OUSD “Remember Them” Instructional Materials / “LivingMuseum / page #1