Journaling

Your students created their own journals to take home and learned the usefulness of keeping a journal.

Activity:

Have students complete a journal entry for what they did during their visit. Compare journals and discuss why everyone's journal entry is a little different. Discuss what Historians 100 years from now might determine about what life is like today.

Vegetable Soup

In the Log Home, we learned about how people lived a long time ago. Including how they would cook and gather food.

Brainstorm and Discuss:

What are all of the steps to making vegetable soup in a log home. Starting with nothing and ending with a delicious dinner. For example:

• Start a garden
  • Plant vegetable seeds- what vegetables would we grow?
  • Water and tend to the garden
  • Harvest
• Make the vegetable broth (a liquid)
• Cut and season the vegetables
• Gather wood for the fire
  • Start a fire in the fireplace
• Add your vegetables and liquid to a pot
• Heat
• Enjoy!

Future Historians

During their time here students got to see several artifacts and how people used these objects long ago.

Activity:

Present several everyday objects(Styrofoam cups, cell phone, paper bags, tablet, light bulb, etc.). Divide the students into groups and present each group with an object from today. Ask the students to pretend they are living 200 years into the future and have uncovered the object they’ve been given. Pretending to be Historians have students discuss/answer the following questions:

• What is it made of?
• Does its shape give a clue about its purpose?
• What is its texture, weight, size, etc.
• Is there any writing on it that gives us clues about the object?
• Is it single-use or reusable?
• What do the objects say about our culture today?

Classroom Museum

A museum is a building full of historical, scientific, artistic, or cultural objects and stories available for people to learn from and engage with. Heritage Sylvanias Museum houses objects and stories all about Sylvania and Northwest Ohio.

Activity:

Create a Museum in your classroom! Have students bring in an artifact (50 years or older) to research. Have students research their item, answering the following:

• What it is
• How and when it was used
• who used it
• And any other interesting facts or stories about the object

Have students create a museum sign explaining their item. Set up a classroom display of the items and signs for students, teachers, and guests to tour.

Make Your Manners

Inside the Stone Academy, a School Marm would instruct her students to “make their manners” to have her students focus and attention. In their time here, your students also got to practice making their manners. To do so they should:

• Fold their hands nicely on top of their desk
• Sit up straight with their back against the back of their chair
• Feet touching the floor (If they can)
• And silent mouths

One Room School House

We visited the Stone Academy and experienced how school was different in 1844.

Ask your student: The school building is a replica, what does replica mean?

Transportation

We saw the original Sylvania Train Depot and talked about the importance of transportation and how people can get from place to place.

Ask your student: Why was the train an important mode of transportation?

Artifacts

We learned that artifacts are objects from long ago but are still around today. We practiced analyzing and identifying artifacts. And learned there are artifacts that look like they could be used for multiple different jobs.

Ask your student: What is an artifact that you saw today? What did it do?

Old Fashioned Games

We learned that the games kids would play were not like what we have today. Old Fashioned Games are often much simpler and homemade. We then got to try and play a lot of these games.

Ask your student: What games did you play? What material were the games made out of?

Pioneer Crafts

Pioneers had many chores, often those chores were to make things to use. We learned how to make journals and dipped candles today. *These candles can be burned, however, they will burn quickly and be messy. These candles make great birthday cake candles.*

Ask your student: Why would Pioneers make candles? What are the 2 parts of a candle?

Traveling Through Ohio

During their time here students learned about Ohio and the journey people would take to obtain freedom.

Activity:

Have students line up on one side of the room, and have them walk from one side to the other. Time them. Have them do it again but this time they can only travel when the lights are OFF. While they travel turn the lights on and off to slow their journey. Time them again.

(Do not have students travel in complete darkness).

Discuss how long a journey would take when you can only move at certain times. And why it might be necessary to seek help from the Underground Railroad.

Language

Historians often adjust the words they use to describe groups of people and institutions.

Brainstorm and Discuss:

Why might historians refer to people as freedom seekers instead of fugitives? Think about how different words may make someone feel.

The Natural World

 Traveling on the Underground Railroad was no easy task. There were dangers and unknowns around every corner.

Brainstorm and Discuss:

What things are essential to surviving in the natural world?

Ex. Water, Food, Shelter, etc.

Where would you get these things?

What other items would be helpful for survival and where might you get these?

The North Star

Traveling through the night was for more than secrecy. The North Star, aka Polaris, was a useful star to know. It helped guide people North. By following Polaris, the more overhead it got the more North you were.

Activity:

Using an online star map, such as “Stellarium Web”, find the North Star and its connected constellation, Ursa Minor.

Challenge students to identify Polaris on a clear night while at home.

The Underground Railroad

We talked about what the Underground Railroad is and how it worked, particularly in Ohio.

Ask your student: Why is it called the Underground Railroad?

The Lathrops

The house your student was in was owned by Lucian Lathrop and was built in 1850. Your student learned about the building, the Lathrop Family, and their efforts on the Underground Railroad.

Ask your student: What was one of the Jobs Lucian Lathrop had in his lifetime?

Ans: Hotel Manager, Deputy Sheriff, Minister, State Representative, Station Master

Freedom

We brainstormed what freedom means after reading a story about the underground railroad. Paying close attention to how different characters in the book might have different interpretations of freedom. Afterward, students had the chance to write what freedom means to them and display it on the wall at the Lathrop House.

Ask your student: What did you say freedom means to you?

The Ravine

We had the chance to go down into the ravine to see the landscape and topography of Harroun park. This park separates the Lathrop House from the Harroun Barns. This area was once used to travel between both locations when on the Underground Railroad.

Ask your student: What was the natural feature in the park that escaping slaves would follow to get to the Lathrop House?

Ans: The Ravine