Overview
Churchill Road Elementary sixth grade students became museum curators to develop a museum exhibit on “Taking a Stand in History”. Based on the National History Day theme, the students’ task was to select a significant person in American society between 1700 and 1970 who took a stand and changed American history. As a culmination to the children’s research, their projects were showcased during a museum night for their parents. The “museum” remained on display in the school for the remainder of the week for the entire community to visit and enjoy.
This research project is part of a Churchill Road K-6 initiative in which children participate in inquiry studies related to their grade level core curriculum. The purpose of the inquiry research is to give all children an opportunity to participate in an authentic, child centered, high level research task. Children at all grade levels choose topics of study and with careful supervision from their teachers, theyare able to develop and answer purposeful thesis statements.
To communicate the story of the historical figure, the students selected powerful visual images includingprimary source documents, original illustrations, models, photographs and maps. The students were to create a display board for the museum that told a story of their stand. Playing on the concept of acting as a curator, the students’ displays incorporated a variety of materials that would attract the attention of museum patrons and inform them about how their person took a stand in history. Each student needed to submit to the museum board (the research coaches) a persuasive essay stating the reasons why this person should be recognized and included in the museum. This year 106 sixth graders submitted proposals that were accepted by the board.
Drawing upon the AAMNVA workshop series, the teachers began this project with the “Life in a Box” activity. The teachers created boxes on people who had taken a stand listed on the AAMNVA site. The Life in a Box activity helped the students understand that by analyzing primary sources, we can better understand peopleand how they have taken a stand in history. Next the students analyzed the “Time Capsule Activity” using the primary source analysis sheet. At the conclusion of this activity, the students brainstormed how they could use primary sources in their own project. The students were introduced to the AAMNVA webpage which served as an invaluable resource for their research. Each classroom had lessons on how to evaluate and examine primary sources. The students used the “Image Detective” to further their analysis skills. Other lessons taught were citing primary sources and using the Prints and Photographs online catalog.
In addition to the AAMNVA lessons, the teachers taught research lessons on proper note taking, outlining, bibliographies and how to write a persuasive essay. As a culminating lesson, the sixth graders took a fieldtrip to the AmericanHistoryMuseum to investigate how museums develop exhibits. The students had focus questions for specific exhibits in the museum to help them prepare their own exhibit. “The Brown vs Board of Education”, “Within these Walls,” and “Presidents” exhibits were the most helpful. The artifacts, quotes and 3-d objects helped the student understand how to capture the audience’s attention and how to properly use captions and color in a display. It was thrilling to observe the students at the museum as they toured the exhibits. Many of them recognized primary sources that they had seen on the LOC website.
Overall, the materials provided by AAMNVA, helped the students further their understanding of primary sources and the materials helped them deepen their knowledge about a person in history. The creation of the museum displays was the culminating product of over two months of intensive research. To support the students’ growth as self-directed learners, the students were assigned to one of eleven research coaches. The coaches included the classroom teachers, the reading teacher, the ESOL teacher a special education teacher, the principal, assistant principal and the instructional assistants. Students met with their coaches on a regular basis every week for advice, updates, for modifications to the assignments and to receive formal and informal assessments.