High School

GRADE 10 LESSON PLAN

Lesson: The Legacy Scavenger Hunt

Students study specific artifacts from Point Ellice House and try to find examples of them in their own home. They then compare and contrast the similar objects to determine which one is better quality, economically, practically, etc.

Prescribed Learning Outcomes

Society and Culture

It is expected that students will:

• Identify the influences of immigration on, and the contributions of immigrants to, the development of Canada

Organization & Scheduling

Suggested time: 2 or 3-50 minute blocks

Materials & Resources

The following items can be viewed online or printed off for use in the classroom: (if you print them off, make sure they are printed off individually with their information attached- to do this click on the artifact from the database)

• Artifacts from the Kitchen - Iron, Chopper, Gridiron, Knife, Filter, Scale
• Artifacts from Jack's room - Room Heater, Pocket watch
• Artifacts from the Dining room - Upright piano, Meat cover
• Artifacts from Caroline's room - Pincushion
• Artifacts from Peter's room - Foot warmer, Fire screen
• Artifacts from Kathleen's room - Flower stand, Folding chair, Fireplace broom, Stationary box
• Artifacts from the Drawing room - Match holder, chess set, Japanese screen, Harp, Coffee table, Fire screen
• Artifacts from the Study - Desk workbox, Binoculars, Banner screen
• Polaroid (optional) cameras (one per group-aprox. 8)
• Two question sheets per group

Suggested Procedure

1. Divide the class into 8 groups (approximately 3 or 4 students per group)

2. Give each group the artifacts from one room in the house. Each group should have a different room in the house.

3. Allow the students time to read through their list of artifacts and choose 2 to focus on. (some rooms only have 2 artifacts).

4. Go through the list of questions about the artifacts from the house with the students.

5. Next, tell the class that their assignment is to come back next class with objects (or pictures of the objects) at home that do the same job as the artifacts that they are studying in class.

6. Allow the students to work in their groups to answer the questions about the artifacts and to brainstorm objects from home that they can bring/take pictures of.

7. Next class, go through the second part of the questions sheet as a class. Tell the class their assignment is to compare and contrast the artifact from Point Ellice House and the object that they brought from home.

8. Allow the students to work in their groups to answer the second part of the questions.

9. If time allows (or use another class period), have the groups present their artifacts and the objects that they brought from home, to the class.

Possible Assessment

When assessing the group work look for the following criteria: (each group will end up getting one mark that will apply to each individual in the group)

• The students were able to answer the questions about their artifacts accurately.
• The students were able to find an object at home that is almost a replica of the artifact.
• The students were able to justify why they chose the objects to match the artifacts, had strong reasons for why they would choose the object over the artifact (or vice versa), were able to explain why the immigrants used the artifact instead of their object, and were also able to describe how the object evolved from the artifact.
• The students were able to give a short and accurate presentation with the above criteria included.

Adaptations

The teacher may want to choose the groups so that there is a mix of skill level among the individuals in the group. This way, there can be more participation from each group member.

The teacher may also want to skip the presentations from each group due to time constraints.

Extensions

Visit Point Ellice House, take the headset tour, and discover the artifacts you have studied in their original setting.

Study artifacts from another culture (one that is now a big part of Canadian society-such as Chinese, French, etc.) to find out if there are things that we now use that were brought by these immigrants.

The Archaeological Perspective

Part I: The artifacts

1. What is your artifact? /1

2. What is it made of/from? /2

3. Describe your artifact in detail. /5

4. What was the artifact used for? /2

5. What object around our homes today would compare (serve the same purpose) to this artifact from Point Ellice House? /1

Part II: The objects

1. Why did you choose your object? /2

2. What are the similarities between your object from home and the artifact from Point Ellice House? (are they exactly the same? do they do the same thing?, etc.) /4

3. What are the differences? /4

4. Was it easy to find an object to match your artifact? Why or why not? /2

5. Do you think the idea for the object that you brought from home came from the artifact that you studied? Why or why not? /2

6. Which is of better quality, the artifact or your object? Why? /2

7. Which one is better economically? (Consider use of energy, time and money to make it, how long it lasts, does it cost anything to use it, etc.) /4

8. Which one is more practical? (Consider ease of use, size, weight, etc.) /2

9. Which would you choose to use, the artifact or the object from your home? Why? /2

10. Why do you think the O'Reilly's used the artifact instead of the object that you brought from home? /2

TOTAL /37

Click here to download a printable version of this lesson.