Instructor's Guide

CLASSROOM PLAN

The teacher explains to the class that a curator's job is to take care of all the rare objects (or "artifacts" as curators call them) in a museum or historic site. Artifacts include furnishings, clothing, china, cutlery, carpets, photo, letters, diaries, tools, etc. Curators also undertake research on artifacts to uncover clues and information about the people who made or used the artifacts and about their lifestyle, history etc. These clues are used to design exhibits.

Today the class is going to do some historical detective work (otherwise known as research) with some "artifacts" in this suitcase. These "artifacts" are copies or replicas of real things at Point Ellice House. It's the job of the class to find clues from the artifacts in order to figure out whose objects these were.

Write the following questions on the blackboard and review with the students as they begin their "sleuthing" or researching.

1. Q: Whose things were these?
   A: The O'Reilly family - Kathleen, Peter, Caroline, Mary Augusta, Frank
   and Jack.
   
2. Q: What do these objects tell you about their owner?
   A: They tell us where they lived - at Point Ellice House. They tell us they were wealthy.
3. Q: What relation did these people have with each other?
   A: There was a mother, a father, two sisters and two brothers.




4. Q: What happened to these people?
   A: Mary Augusta died; Kathleen grew up and was presented to Royalty; Peter was a Government Agent; etc.




5. Q: Is there any other interesting information about the family?
   A: List of nicknames: 'Pop', 'Kitty', 'Pussy'.

Give each of the groups four or five pieces of "evidence" (artifacts such as two or three photographs, two or three letters, or diary notes). All the "artifacts" should be distributed. Give each group enough clue sheets for each piece of "evidence".

Ask them to study the "evidence" and write the answers to the questions on the clue sheets. Let them work quietly in their groups studying the artifacts and writing notes.

After they have finished figuring out the meaning of their group's artifacts, ask them to interview the other groups to figure out the following information. They may begin to do this without the teacher's prompting as they grow more curious about whose objects these were.

Then have the students sit at their desks to answer the blackboard questions.

Have the class summarize what they learned from this detective work. Discuss how this is the kind of work historians and curators do in museums all the time.

Suggest the students interview their families (grandparents, etc) about ancestors and their lives. Prepare a story about a grandparents childhood. Focus the research on where the grandparent lived (photo of the house), a favourite toy (drawing ?), a special memory (family celebration). Bring in a family artifact with a 'label' explaining its significance. Display these in the classroom. ...[submit to this website for display]

Another personal research topic which could have the students produce a collage or storyboard exhibit would be to research where and how one ancestor lived around 1850.

A group research topic would be to interview and prepare an exhibit on an 'elder' in the community. Questions which might gather good information could include:
(be prepared with notepad or tape recorder; visit the person at least once before interviewing; make sure they know you are interviewing them...)

Aural History Interview