Hannalee+Alrutz


 * Part 1: NC Museum of History Field Trip Questions **

First off, I would be going over a unit with my class that could relate to a museum exhibit so that they will be able to make connections and remember what they inquired about. I would also have my students used to talking with low voices so as to be appropriate for museums. We would have had many activities throughout the year where students had the chance to work in teams, so that they would be able to work together with their classmates during the field trip. Students will have learned by this point to listen to adults and respect authority so that navigating through a museum will be painless.
 * 1. How would you prep your students prior to their visit to the museum? **

I would have my students fill out a worksheet during the museum trip. They probably would be split up into groups with a chaperone per group. They can fill out their sheets together. The sheet would include a few response statements, such as: I might have a few questions that require the groups to visit every exhibit in the museum and identify artifacts. The student groups will have a museum map to help them find their way around.
 * 2. As a teacher how would you guide your students through the exhibits? (would you provide them with worksheet/scavenger hunt, what would they be looking for?) **
 * Find an artifact that you like. State what it is and what it does.
 * Why is it significant?
 * Why do you think they have it in the museum?
 * How does it connect to life now?
 * Sketch what the artifact looks like.

I would focus on sections where I could make Language Arts connections, such as dialect, artifacts with language on it, mediums of communication, etc. I would do this because Language Arts is my passion and one of my skill sets. I would focus on the sections of the exhibits that connected to whatever I was teaching. I would want to bring up themes that my students had been exploring for a while already, so that those themes would stick with them. Showing the class that what we are learning is important, relevant, and authentic will impact them positively.
 * 3. Which sections of the exhibits would you focus on the most? Why? **

It would be difficult to keep track of every student inside a big building. I would need multiple chaperones to help. It would also be hard to keep the class quiet and respectful. I would need to be aware of what was going on and quick on my feet.
 * 4. What questions or concerns might you have as a teacher taking a group of students to a museum with vast exhibits? **

It would be awesome if there was free parking. There may be a different option for buses or school groups that I am unaware of, but when I went, I had to pay each hour to park. I did not see an elevator, though there probably was one. This is important for students and visitors who are disabled or in a wheelchair.
 * 5. What improvements could the museum make in terms of accessibility? **

There was an exhibit on NC Governors. It was timely because the election season is here, however, the exhibit was not engaging. I think it could have been a lot more interesting if real people were there to talk about the government system, or maybe to act like one of our governors. If someone could have explained concepts or stances on issues, I would have liked it a lot more. As it was, there were dresses from the governors’ wives, and some technology that students could mess around with, but that was all.
 * 6. What exhibits or exhibit items did not grab your attention? How could they have been presented in another way to boost engagement? **


 * Part 2: Field Trip Guide- **** Create a 1 page field trip guide for students to complete if they were to visit the exhibit. The guide should include 10 higher- order thinking questions, a least one mini-activity for them to complete during the trip, a compelling question for students to investigate that ties my questions and activities together. **

NC Museum of History Field Trip Guide

Answer the following questions anytime during the field trip:


 * 1) Compare and contrast ads from 1920 to ads you see today.


 * 1) Create a protest sign that you would hold if you were part of the Birmingham Campaign.


 * 1) What would happen if the Civil Rights Movement had failed?How would life now be different?


 * 1) Would you fight for the North or the South? Why? What is your motivation?


 * 1) How has WW2 affected our lives today?


 * 1) How does propaganda portrayal of men and women affect society’s beliefs about men and women?


 * 1) Is the law good or bad?


 * 1) Who makes the law?


 * 1) How does what happened in Selma during the Civil Rights Movement connect to us today?


 * 1) Choose an artifact that you like, and tell what it is, what it does, and why is it in a museum? What is its significance?

Mini- Activity: Choose a Supreme Court Case to act out. Write out the roles each student on your team will play, and be sure to show the outcome of the decision. Your group chaperone will record your skit.

Compelling Question: Are we more than where we came from?


 * Part 3: Artifact Activity- **** Select 1 artifact that piqued your interest and design a mini-activity for students to complete that you describe in 1 to 2 paragraphs. **

I chose a Battle Flag of the First Regiment North Carolina Troops carried by Private John Reams. The flag and Reams were captured by Private George W. Harris, Company B, 148th Pennsylvania Volunteers, at the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, Virginia, May 12, 1864. In the Spring of 1864, the Confederates in NC were being thinned out during various battles, one including the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House. At this point, Confederate soldiers were beginning to wonder how they would win if they could win the war.

I would have the students complete a KWL (what I know, what I want to know, and what I learned) about the flag without filling in the “what I learned section” yet. I would have them do research on the Battle of Spotsylvania, Private Reams, or Private Harris as an assignment back in the classroom. They would have to find a primary source about their topic and write a paragraph about what they learned. They could then put the main take aways in the “what I learned” section of the KWL. I would like to have a class sharing time where everyone has a chance to present their findings.