Lesson Plan
A Place
Called Home
Social
Studies – Language Arts – Technology
“Readers make leaders!” – J.L. Panagopoulos©
This picture book story was
written for the State of Michigan
to help share the stories of America’s historical past.
The forts
mentioned in this book along with Mill Creek are today living history
museums located in the “Straits” of Mackinaw, Michigan.
·
Before you read this
story show your students a map of the United
States and ask them to identify the state of Michigan.
Help them find the Straits of Mackinaw. What shape do they see when
they look at the state of Michigan?
What are the names of the lakes that surround the state?
Those lakes are part of the Great Lakes of America.
There are five Great Lakes in American, can your students name them?
H.O.M.E.S is an easy word to
remember and it will give your students a clue of the names of the Great Lakes:
H = Lake Huron
O = Lake Ontario
M =
Lake Michigan
E = Lake Erie
S =
Lake Superior
What other states beside
Michigan borders the Great
Lakes?
·
In the book
A Place Called Home the
characters talk about a period of time during the American Revolution.
Was your state one of the original 13 colonies?
What were the names of the original 13 colonies?
When did your state become a state?
Michigan
was not one of the first 13 colonies and did not become a state until 1837; Michigan was the 26th state to join
the union.
Michigan,
however, was surrounded by the Great Lakes and was prime territory for early settlement
and development because of the transportation that the lakes made available
to the settlers and explorers.
The first
European (French) fur trader came to Michigan in 1610, his name was Etienne Brule.
“I
had with me a youth of 15 who wished to go with the savages (Native
Americans) to learn their language…to learn what their country was like, see
the great lake, observe the rivers and what tribes lived in that region…so
that on his return we might be informed…we asked him if this was agreeable
to him for it was not my wish to force him but so soon as the request was
made, he accepted the journey with great willingness. The youth was
furnished with everything necessary…”
Le Sieur Samuel De
Champlain, founder of New France 1610.
The British
first came to Michigan through the Great
Lakes in 1712, when they led an attack against the French in Detroit at Fort Pontchartrain.
Because the British came into what is now the State of Michigan, they brought with them the first
steps of the American Revolution.
In 1759,
after the French and Indian War, when the French surrendered to the British
and forfeited their lands to British settlement, the forts throughout the
Great Lakes became home to the British and the waterways of the
Great Lakes became their highway of travel.
It wasn’t
until 1796, thirteen years after the American Revolution (1775-1783) was
over, that the British finally left what was to become the state of Michigan and the first American flag flew over
Fort Detroit and Fort Mackinac.
Did your
state have any involvement in the America Revolution?
Were there any French or British forts in your state?
§
While writing this book I
had an opportunity to work as an archaeological assistant at Fort Michilimackinac and I wanted to make certain that the
pictures included in this book would reflect the forts, the mill, and the
artifacts of this historic area
of
America.
Have your students look at the pictures in the book and try to
identify artifacts that
might have been found at these historic sites.
1.
The pictures of the fort and mill are correct to the historic
past.
2.
The use of the horses and sleds to pull the fort “pieces”
across the Straits on the ice.
3.
The use of studded horseshoes on the horses that pulled the
sleds across the ice.
4.
The birch bark Indian canoe and ornamentation on the Native
American filling the canoe.
5.
The food products growing in the garden at the fort.
6.
The apple trees transported to the mill site.
7.
The yoke pieces used on the oxen.
8.
The cow bell and chicken bones were all found at the mill site
by archaeologist.
9.
Buttons from the coats of the soldiers. Original mill pieces
such as the blades and mill stones found in the mill pond.
Remnants of the burned fort which were still visible up until the
1950s when the idea of reconstructing the fort was first considered.
·
For the fun of it use a
small wading pool and fill it with sand.
Next bury modern things that we use today in the sand and have them
discuss which artifacts might survive time and why.
Suggested things to bury:
1.
A plastic bottle, would it survive time and why?
Time to talk about the environment and recycling?
2.
An apple
3.
A metal toy car
4.
A shoe
5.
A piece of paper
6.
Etc…
§
The research concerning
the
Campbell family
was difficult to find because these were simple people that were not wealthy
nor were they famous. Have your
students think about two hundred years in the future and ask them in what
ways will people in the future
know that they have lived.
1.
birth certificates (primary source documents)
2.
baptismal records
3.
social security records
4.
death records
5.
cemetery records
6.
diaries & journals
7.
personal letters
8.
photographs
These are all
things a historical researcher might find in an archive that records the
life of a person. Have your
students start keeping a journal for the future.
Make sure they record their full name, address, phone number, the
full names of their parents, the name of their school, and the full name of
their teacher.
In their
diary/journal have them write down things about themselves that they would
like people from the future to know about them.
Have your students talk with their family to learn more about their
past and record it in their diary/journal.
By doing this they are creating primary source documents that perhaps
someone 200 years in the future might use to write a book about them.
§
Consider creating a time
capsule with the documents.
§
During your IP
videoconference please make sure you have worked with your students for
proper videoconferencing etiquette.
1. Make
sure your students have read A Place
Called Home.
2. Make
sure your students have created questions to ask the author.
If their question has been asked, make sure they have a back-up
question.
3. Make
sure your students sit quietly until it is time to ask their questions or to
share their information.
4. Make
sure your students sit politely (no heads on tables, no tapping of pencils
or hands thumping near the microphones) and listen to the author as she
answers questions. Students may
interact and respond to the author’s questions but they must be attentive to
make sure
they can
hear and participate.