Story+of+NC+-+History+Museum

Part I.

I really enjoyed the part of the museum where we got to see how people use to build boats. The example the museum provided w**as** not what I was expecting but it was really cool to see how different their workmanship was back then compared to how we build things now.I also really loved the information about the Indian trade networks, I really enjoyed the map, and seeing where materials came from and how far they could travel.

Part II. 1.I would probably have students begin to work on a unit, before going to the museum, on the lost colony so when they go to the museum they have prior knowledge of some of the items discussed throughout the tour.

2.I would provide my students with some kind of worksheet, maybe one that allowed them to fill in some of the blanks, like a guided notes kind of idea but I also think it would be really fun to incorporate some kind of scavenger hunt into that as well. For the scavenger hunt, maybe you could provide clues to your students for where they’re suppose to start and what they’re suppose to look for and when they get their clue right, they can move on to the next one.

3. I would probably focus on the lost colony, since I might be doing a unit on that at the time. The museum descriptions, examples of materials used, etc. would help students better understand the lost colony. I would also like to focus on the map of the Indian trade networks because that map is really cool. The idea of things like Mica being able to travel hundreds of thousands of miles at a time where trains/planes/cars didn’t exist I think is something students would find interesting.

4. When visiting the museum I may have students separated into small groups. These small groups could work together, on their scavenger hunt, and each group could be assigned to a specific area of the exhibit. For example, group one may have the “putting down roots” section, group two may have the Indian Trade Network section, etc. Then at the end of the tour, students can report back on what they found in their section. Though all students will be required to view the entire exhibit their fellow peers may pick up on something in a particular section that they didn’t notice themselves.

5. I may have my students, within their groups, build their own colonies. Using different materials students could build their colonies in a way that they think they will be successful.

6. I think there’s always a concern that students will get lost. I also think there’s a concern that students will be more focused on being out of school and having fun with their friends than actually visiting the museum for educational purposes.  Part III.

If I was creating an activity I would separate students into groups and have them each assigned to a different area of the exhibit. So if we use the North Carolina exhibit as an example groups might look like this:

Group One: Ancient Boatbuilders Group Two: Skilled Waterman Group Three: Trade Brings Crisis Group Four: John White <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Group Five: The Lost Colony <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Group Six: Indian Trade Networks <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">All Groups: Putting Down Roots

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">All groups would be required to fill out a guided notes worksheet on the exhibit (one that isn’t so detail specific) and then in their specific group, they would provide information, through questions, about their particular section. Once everyone had completed their section, they would be required to report back to their fellow students on what they learned. Students would have a worksheet to fill in the details they found necessary for each section their peers were presenting on.