Introduction to You are the Curator Activity:

Because of your demonstrated knowledge of Ohio history and your considerable skill in the analysis and interpretation of primary source materials, you and your colleagues have been selected to be guest curators of the Ohio Historical Society and to develop a museum exhibit panel which will tell the story of the Civil War.

> You Are the Curator Activity

PowerPoint

Link to the Powerpoint for this activity

Ohio Social Studies Academic Content Standards for this Activity

History 6-8

• Benchmark G: Analyze the causes and consequences of the American Civil War.
• Grade 8, GLI 9: Explain causes of the Civil War with emphasis on:
  • a. Slavery;
  • b. States’ rights;
  • c. the different economies of the North and South;
  • d. The extension of slavery into the territories, including the Dred Scott Decision and the Kansas-Nebraska Act;
  • e. abolitionist roles of Frederick Douglass and John Brown;
  • f. The addition of new states to the Union and their impact on the balance of power in the Senate, including the Missouri Compromise and the Compromise of 1850;
  • g. The emergence of Abraham Lincoln as a national figure in the Lincoln-Douglas debates, the presidential election of 1860 and the South’s secession.
• Grade 8, GLI 10: Explain the course and consequences of the Civil War with emphasis on:
  • a. Contributions of key individuals, including Abraham Lincoln, Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant;
  • b. The Emancipation Proclamation;
  • c. The Battle of Gettysburg.

Introduction to Using Primary Sources:

Primary sources are diaries, journals, official documents, artifacts, letters, and many other types of historical objects. They are called primary sources because they were written, used or owned by the people who actually lived during a specific time period.

These authentic items from the past not only can enhance classroom teaching, but also can be connected with many of the academic benchmarks and indicators in the Social Studies curriculum. Through the study of these primary sources, history comes alive with stories about real people, places, and events...told in their own words.

Teaching with Primary Sources:
Library of Congress: Using Primary Sources in the Classroom
Suggestions for using primary sources compiled from the National Digital Library's Educators' Forum held in July, 1995 and from the Library staff. These suggestions for student activities can help enhance social studies curriculum using artifacts, documents, photographs, and manuscripts from the Library of Congress Historical Collections and other sources.
http://memory.loc.gov/learn/lessons/primary.html

The New Jersey Historical Society: How to Use Primary Sources
These online interactives are based on curricular activities from the New Jersey Historical Society. You can also view and download the complete printable lesson plans.
http://www.jerseyhistory.org/howtofind.html

National Archives and Records Administration: Teaching with Documents
This section contains reproducible copies of primary documents from the holdings of the National Archives of the United States, teaching activities correlated to the National History Standards and National Standards for Civics and Government, and cross-curricular connections.
http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/

National Park Service: Teaching with Historic Places
Teaching with Historic Places has developed more than 115 classroom-ready lesson plans that together cover major themes of American history.
http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/twhp/topic.htm

Ohio Memory Online Scrapbook
This award-winning website contains over 26,000 primary sources from across the state.
http://www.ohiomemory.org/