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Lesson Plan

Saving the Past, Shaping the Future

First State National Historical Park

Grade Level:

Upper Elementary: Third Grade through Fifth Grade

Subject:

Literacy and Language Arts,Science,Social Studies

Lesson Duration:

30 Minutes

Common Core Standards:

4.W.1, 4.W.1.a, 4.W.1.b, 4.W.1.c, 4.W.1.d

State Standards:

Visual Arts: Pr4.1.4a; Pr4.1.5a; Pr5.1.4a; Pr6.1.4a; Pr6.1.5a; Re.7.2.4a; Re7.2.5a; Re8.1.4a; Re9.1.5a; Cn11.1.4a; CN11.1.6a

Civics Standard Four 4-5b;

History Standard: 1-4-5a; 2-4-5a; 2-4-5b;3-4-5a; 4-4-51; 4-4-5b

Additional Standards:

NGGS 4-PS4-2; NGGS 3-5-ETS1-2

Thinking Skills:

Understanding: Understand the main idea of material heard, viewed, or read. Interpret or summarize the ideas in own words. Applying: Apply an abstract idea in a concrete situation to solve a problem or relate it to a prior experience. Analyzing: Break down a concept or idea into parts and show the relationships among the parts. Creating: Bring together parts (elements, compounds) of knowledge to form a whole and build relationships for NEW situations. Evaluating: Make informed judgements about the value of ideas or materials. Use standards and criteria to support opinions and views.

Essential Question

How do today’s natural and cultural resources reflect the past?  How do our actions today impact future preservation?

Objective

Youth will complete 8 hands-on, minds-on activities to form a deeper connection to their communities, find personal relevance in the stories they uncover, and nurture their own passions in exploring the past.

Scroll to the bottom of this page to learn more about the upcoming in-person field trip!

Background

Saving the Past, Shaping the Future was developed as a comprehensive way for 4th graders to learn how a wide variety of Delaware organizations work together to preserve the natural and cultural resources found throughout the state.

Preparation

There is no obligation to complete all 8 activities, nor is there a certain order in which you have to complete them. Below is a summary of each activity and the standards each activity meets, allowing you to determine which are the best fit for your students and learning goals. We also encourage you to visit each activity page so you know exactly what your student will be reading, viewing, and doing.

HISTORY	Standard One 4-5a	Standard Two 4-5a	Standard Two 4-5b	Standard Three 4-5a	Standard Four 4-5a	Standard Four 4-5b
Artifact Detective	X	_	X	_	_	_
Exploring the Nanticoke	_	_	_	_	X	_
The Price of Liberty	_	X	X	X	_	_
The Progress of Light	_	_	_	_	X	X
Secrets from a Shipwreck	_	_	_	_	X	_
Uncovering the Past	X	_	X	_	_	_
We Are All in This Together	_	_	_	_	X	X

 

CIVICS	Standard Four 4-5b
The Price of Liberty	X

 

ELA	CCSS ELA-Literacy W4.1
The Price of Liberty	X

 

Visual Arts	Pr4.1.4a	Pr4.1.5a	Pr5.1.4a	Pr6:1.4.a	Pr6.1.5a	Re.7.2.4a	Re.7.2.5a	Re8.1.4a	Re9.1.5a	Cn11.1.4a	Cn11.1.6a
Art of the Everyday	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
We Are All in This Together	X	_	_	X	_	_	_	_	_	_	_

 

NGGS	NGSS 4-PS4-2	NGSS 3-5-ETS1-2
The Progress of Light	X	X

 

The activities do not require the students to do any advanced preparation, and require only paper and a pencil to complete the off-screen components, however colored pencils, markers, or crayons can enhance their experience if they have access to those materials.  

Some activities contain vocabulary terms that you may want to familiarize your students with ahead of them completing the program. We would also like to call special attention to the activity called “The Price of Liberty,” for the references to slavery, and historical terminology in historical documents, that may need some unpacking. We’ve included a “language of slavery” resource in that activity for you and the students.

Procedure

The 8 activities in this program can be completed in any order. Each activity consists of three components: LEARN, DO, and REFLECT. 

1. Students will LEARN about the content, which may involve interacting with pre-recorded videos, reading text, or comparing photos to learn more about that specific topic. 

2. Students will DO some type of activity that will expand on what they learned. These components are designed to be completed with simple materials such as a piece of paper and a writing utensil, and optional use of crayons or markers may enhance their project. However, some activities may offer supplemental, such as building something with materials from around the house, and these are 100% optional. 

3. Finally, students will REFLECT on what they have learned. Students will answer open-ended questions. These questions were created to try to continue to expand their learning into this topic and for the students to think about this topic’s relevance in their everyday life. 

All of the activities have been designed for your students to complete individually or as a class. You can either assign students specific activities by sending them the direct link to the desired activities OR you can share the program landing page and allow them to choose the activities that they want to complete. 

Individually: 

• Each student will need to have their own device to access the website. 

• You can collect their work or have them share their reflections, questions, and lessons learned. 

As a Class: 

• You will need a way to project onto a wall or screen to share your webpage with your students, or a way for students to share a device to work in small groups. 

• Students could then work as a small group for the “Learn” and “Do” components, but would need to work individually on the “Reflect” component, as their responses may vary. 

• For The Old State House and Biggs Museum activities you may want to print copies of the text so that students can reference it on their desks during the “Do” and “Reflect” components. 

Assessment Materials

You should expect to see the following outputs from each of the 8 activities, as you assign them to your class.
 

Activity Name	Activity Output, From the "DO" Component
Art of the Everyday	Mini-exhibit of objects at home
Artifact Detective	Write-up of an object that is significant to the student, their family, or their community
Exploring the Nanticoke	Newspaper write-up with the student’s interview
The Price of Liberty	A letter to an elected official
The Progress of Light	Design of a future light source
Secrets from a Shipwreck	Chart of household items from around the world
Uncovering the Past	Artifact sketch and story
We Are All in This Together	Drawing that shows how they plan to help their community

Rubric/Answer Key

For each of the 8 activities, students are tasked with completing some type of mini project in the “Do” components of the activity. They may write a letter, sketch a design, or create an at-home museum exhibit. These pieces have no “right” answers, but are designed to get students thinking about their own personal and community connections to Delaware’s culture and history. We would love to see your students work! You can share any of these pieces with us by emailing [e-mail]. If there are questions that prompt the students to quiz themselves in the “Learn” components of the activities, those answers are provided right on the activity pages for the students.

Enrichment Activities

Since these activities are open-ended, you can choose to expand upon or go into as much detail as you'd like, when you implement the activities as it coincides with your curriculum. It's optional and up to you as the teacher to do any enrichment activities to challenge the students.

Junior Ranger Information

If your students wish to become Junior Rangers, please visit our "Becoming a Junior Ranger Preservationist" page.

We are in the process of creating a recorded Junior Ranger swearing-in ceremony for future academic years and home school groups. Stay tuned!

Additional Resources

First State National Historic Park

Partner Organizations Website's:

This program was made possible in part by a grant from the National Park Foundation. However, this program would not have been possible without the amazing partnering organizations, listed below, who have donated their time and expertise to this virtual program. Big thanks to everyone who helped create this fun experience for us all.

• Biggs Museum of American Art
• Delaware Agriculture Museum
• Delaware Historic Preservation Office
• Delaware Humanities
• Delaware Public Archives
• First State Heritage Park
• The Old State House
• Old Swedes Historic Site
• Zwaanendael Museum

Related Lessons or Education Materials

Saving the Past, Shaping the Future: Field Trips on The Greens

We have redesigned the ArCH experience to include pre-visit virtual activities that will enhance the students in-person experience. The new program is called Saving the past, Shaping the Future: Field Trips on The Greens and will replace the ArCH program. This new program will be offered:

• October 16th & October 23rd, 2023 on The New Castle Green, New Castle DE
  • REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN! Please email [e-mail] if you would like to recieve a notificiation when registration opens. 

Below are a few questions that we thought may help give you insight into this year's program but please reach out if you have additional questions. 

• How will this program be similar to the previous ArCH Field Day?
  • 20-minute stations
  • Activities focused on preservation
  • Presented by organizations from around the state of Delaware
  • Bus Transportation Funding for Title 1 Schools
  • Rotate through 6 hands-on, minds-on stations
• How will this program differ from the previous ArCH Field Day?
  •  The program will be offered in New Castle, DE in the Spring and Dover, DE in the fall. 
  • Each field trip will run roughly 10am - 1pm with a 30-minute lunch.
  • This will be a scaled-down version so we encourage you to apply early.
• Should I attend both the New Castle & Dover dates? 
  • No, the programs are being designed so that students will have the same experience regardless of whether you attend in the Spring or the Fall.

Contact Information

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