Why a hunt for everyday history?
What does the teacher's manual look like?
What about the web site?
What's this about a TV show?
How will I learn to use this stuff?
What does all of this cost?

Why a hunt for everyday history? When history is in a textbook, it is stories about dead people; when it is in our hands, it is a treasure. Conventional wisdom, pedagogical research and their own instincts suggest to teachers that this is true. The popularity of the PBS television series, The Antiques Roadshow, offers visible proof.

In 2003, as Ohio celebrates its bicentennial, teachers across the state will seek ways to liberate history from the textbook. Their challenge will not be finding resources. The Internet, television, newspapers and professional journals will be awash in history that year. Rather, the challenge will be sifting through their options to find those special programs that go beyond words - the ones that bring Ohio's history alive and put it in their children's hands.

When they find such a program, teachers will further evaluate it to see if it meshes seamlessly with their goal of meeting student proficiency outcomes in citizenship and the emerging state social studies standards. They are likely, if only reluctantly, to set aside an exciting project that leads children down branching paths of inquiry, but that takes time away from proficiency preparation.

A curriculum package that meets both objectives would let students spend less time memorizing facts and more time examining artifacts. It would lead them along exciting paths to discovery that arrive ultimately at mastery of key learning outcomes. And it would transform Ohio history from a dead story to a living treasure.

This is such a package. The project is a quest for treasure. The treasures are artifacts of daily life in Ohio over the past two hundred years; and the hunt is an exercise in documenting the provenance of each object while discovering connections between past and present, commerce and the home, the lives of individuals and the story of a society. This project fires young imaginations with an enthusiasm for history born of the recognition that it is something to which their families have contributed, something that has shaped the lives of their parents and grandparents. Then the project sends students out into the community - searching for history that they can touch. We will help them find these everyday artifacts by promoting their quest across the state in print and on television. And we will help them preserve the objects they find, and tell their stories, by giving them experts to work beside and the World Wide Web as their forum. (Back to the top)

What does the teacher's manual look like? The manual forms the heart of the project. Its lesson plans, extension activities, professional development resources and research tools will guide teachers as they, in turn, guide their students through a hands-on exploration of Ohio's everyday history.

The Hunting for Everyday History manual is modeled on the universally well-received teachers' manuals that accompanied Y?, Inquire Ohio and The Rest of Your Brain. A series of lesson plans will form the core of the manual. Each will state explicit correlations to appropriate fourth grade citizenship learning outcomes - making it instantly apparent to the teacher how each lesson will fit into his or her overall instructional goals. The lessons will advance the students' "treasure hunt" while exercising proficiency skills in thematic areas that include:

Toys & Games This unit encompasses commercially produced and traditional toys as well as traditional games and play like jump rope. Artifacts might include board games, toys, dolls, catalogues, advertisements, and photographs. This unit relates to historical periods and events, economics, geography, the toy industry and advertising, childhood and family life, Ohio history, and cultural groups.

History at Home: A History of Housework This unit focuses on the history of technology as well as manufacturing, production, advertising and sales. We also use this unit to look at the history of childhood and the family. Artifacts and evidence for this unit could include appliances and utensils, advertising cards, advertisements, catalogues, city directories. A related unit might focus on history at the dinner table looking at dinnerware, furniture, and especially foods which connect back to regional history and cultural groups.

Neighborhood History This unit focuses on technology, transportation, industry, and communication. It integrates historical periods, economics, geography, and cultural groups. This unit makes heavy use of maps and encourage students to look around their communities to see the history inscribed on the environment and architecture.

Souvenirs Students will look at souvenirs for evidence of places and events, geography, political history, organizations, the rise and impact of mass production and popular entertainments. Artifacts may include postcards, posters, trinkets, campaign buttons and bumper stickers, refrigerator magnets, etc.

Traditional and Ethnic Arts (Only available online) Artifacts reflecting the history of Ohio regions and the cultures and peoples of Ohio and the United States The focus of this unit is on cultural groups but it will integrate manufacturing in Ohio, geography, and other subjects. This unit will draw upon artifacts, photographs, and a variety of records. A related unit might look at clothing in photographs going up to the recent past.

The lessons are designed so that they may be used sequentially throughout the school year, or selected a la carte according to teacher needs. Chapters preceding the lesson plans contain background information for teachers designed to increase their comfort and proficiency with leading inquiry-based investigations in history and citizenship. Teachers responding to evaluation questionnaires for Inquire Ohio and The Rest of Your Brain consistently cited this information as among the most valuable provided by those projects. Appendices to the manual will contain extension resources including web sites and a bibliography.

To help teachers prepare for their journey, the manual will include background information on everything from the pedagogical theory of helping children discover Ohio's history to practical tips and tricks for operating a digital camera and dealing with issues of intellectual property in publishing information to the World Wide Web. This information will appear throughout the manual as articles, sidebars, context boxes and appendices. It will be integrated with the lesson plans so that it is available to teachers when and where they need it.

Immediately preceding the lesson plans, teachers will find a chart that correlates each lesson with all applicable proficiency learning outcomes.