Four Questions Activity

Teacher directs students' attention to a photograph or painting from an earlier era. Students take time to examine the picture, and then respond to the following questions:

1. If this photograph had been taken today, how many things can you think of that would or could be different?
2. What other scenes might have given us a picture of life during this time period?
3. If you were to take a picture of a scene of contemporary life, what would it look like?
4. List all the details that might be in the contemporary picture you said you would take in the answer to the previous question. Be sure to list all the details you can think of.

Remembering Game

When we were kids, this was a popular activity at birthday parties: Children were given a minute to examine a tray that held a variety of items and then, with the tray put away, the children listed everything they could remember. This same activity can be replicated at the museum, with students examining the items in an exhibit. This puts the focus on single items, rather than grasping the Big Picture concept of the exhibit, but this kind of focus can be addressed before or after the "Remembering" activity.

Time Capsule

Have the children make a list of objects that they would put in a time capsule to tell the future about the present. This can be a cooperative group activity beginning with individual lists, and then using skill of how to reach a consensus in order to put only 20 objects in the capsule.

Next, use jigsaw method so that each group hears from other groups about what they chose for the time capsule. Listen for compare/contrast statements from the jigsaw groups.

Go to:

• Teaching Michigan History home page
• Michigan Historical Museum home page
• Michigan Historical Center home page

Updated 01/29/2008

Michigan Historical Center, Department of History, Arts and Libraries
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