Environmental History

Transcription

1 Environmental History Self-Guide Explore the trails, walks, and exhibit buildings to learn how people used the land and how it changed over time. NCSS: People, Places, and Environments MA SS: The effect of geography on the history of civilizations and nations. MA Life Science Gr. 3-5 #10 Life Science/Ecosystems Give examples of how organisms can cause changes in their environment to ensure survival. Explain how some of these changes may affect the ecosystem. CT SS Demonstrate an understanding of geographical space and place. CT SS 1.5 Describe the interaction of humans and the environment Applying History: Exhibit curiosity and pose questions about the past when presented with artifacts, records or other evidence of the past. Be active learners at cultural institutions, such as museums and historical exhibitions. CT Sci VI 5.2 Perceiving and responding to information about the environment is critical to the survival of organisms CT Sci VII 3.2 Organisms can survive and reproduce only in environments that meet their basic needs. Essential Question: What is the significance of the ability of people to change the environment? Objectives Students will demonstrate understanding of how human activities and natural phenomena cause change to environments and the effect it has on the inhabitants and wild life. Students will identify intentional and unintentional consequences of human use of the environment. Students will evaluate the environmental change over time on the New England landscape. Pre-visit Activity Make a chart with four columns. In the first column, write down ideas after brainstorming how many ways we use and depend upon our environment today. (ex. Leisure activities, shelter, food, etc.) In the next column list the natural resources used for each activity. Check whether it is sustainable in the next column. List any modern concerns for the environment in the last column.

2 Old Sturbridge Village Field Trip Divide students into small groups (recommended 10 or fewer) with a teacher or chaperone. Select one or both of the environmental Self-Guides to make enough copies for each group to have one guide to work with. At Old Sturbridge Village Each group of students with a teacher or chaperone should plan to visit the Freeman Farm, Asa Knight Store, New England s Changing Landscape Exhibit, one of the mills, one of the households, and two to three craft shops, and one of the nature trails. Use the self-guide to assist students with their research at Old Sturbridge Village. Self-Guides Select one self-guide per group. Self-guide A focuses on the impact early nineteenthcentury New Englanders had on their environment. Self-guide B focuses on natural resources, in particularly wood, and supply and demand for it. Students will explore how New England became deforested and the impact it had on the area. Post-visit Activity Have a class discussion about what was learned at Old Sturbridge Village. How did farming impact the environment? How did industrialization change the landscape and environment? Compare the information in the pre-visit chart with how we are using the land today with how it was being used in the early 1800s. How are we applying what we know now to sustain and care for our environment?

3 What is Old Sturbridge Village? A museum of over 40 exhibits on 200 acres that includes a re-created village with households, shops, country store, meeting-houses, and a district school. The museum has authentically costumed interpreters doing daily activities typical of an early-american community and exhibits and outdoor displays that interpret the people and land of early New England. Old Sturbridge Village Self Guide for Environmental History (Give to the chaperone of each group of ten students.) Museum Manners Manners are very important in the early nineteenth-century. Please join us to make this a pleasant visit for all. Please stay with your chaperone at all times Enter exhibits and buildings quietly, with your chaperone at the front of your group. For your safety, do not approach, touch, or feed the livestock. Animals are unpredictable and horns, hooves, and teeth may cause injury. Walk carefully Village roads and floors are like those of early New England. Fences, walls, and trees in the Village are not for climbing. Eating and drinking are not permitted in exhibit buildings. Please do not touch objects behind barriers. As a courtesy to other guests, please turn off or set cell phones to vibrate. Please preserve our 19th-century environment by disposing of trash in designated receptacles placed for your convenience throughout the Village. Use early American manners and greet the costumed Villagers with, Good day! Thank you and enjoy your visit! Focusing Question A: What factors determine how and why land changes over time? How to use this guide: Before you enter the Village, ask your students to think about some concerns we have today about our environment. Have them make predictions about what might have been a concern in the early 1800s Select one or two exhibits or nature trails from each category box to visit. Allow about minutes in each exhibit for plenty of time to explore, observe and ask questions. You may have time to visit other exhibits, but don t worry if you don t get to every one. Have one student be the scribe and take notes in the blank boxes. At the end of your visit, ask students to draw some conclusions.

4 A. How were nineteenth-century New Englanders using the environment and what concerns do you think they had about the environment? New England Changing Landscape Exhibit The Nature Trails The River Walk The Pasture Walk The Woodland Walk Asa Knight Store Households Freeman Farm Towne House Small House Etc. How did water power impact the environment? Shops Blacksmith Cooper Tinner Shoe Shop Pottery Printing Office River Walk Mills Sawmill Grist Mill Carding Mill Mills Sawmill Grist Mill Carding Mill

5 What is Old Sturbridge Village? A museum of over 40 exhibits on 200 acres that includes a re-created village with households, shops, country store, meeting-houses, and a district school. The museum has authentically costumed interpreters doing daily activities typical of an early-american community and exhibits and outdoor displays that interpret the people and land of early New England. Old Sturbridge Village Self Guide for Environmental History (Give to the chaperone of each group of ten students.) Museum Manners Manners are very important in the early nineteenth-century. Please join us to make this a pleasant visit for all. Please stay with your chaperone at all times Enter exhibits and buildings quietly, with your chaperone at the front of your group. For your safety, do not approach, touch, or feed the livestock. Animals are unpredictable and horns, hooves, and teeth may cause injury. Walk carefully Village roads and floors are like those of early New England. Fences, walls, and trees in the Village are not for climbing. Eating and drinking are not permitted in exhibit buildings. Please do not touch objects behind barriers. As a courtesy to other guests, please turn off or set cell phones to vibrate. Please preserve our 19th-century environment by disposing of trash in designated receptacles placed for your convenience throughout the Village. Use early American manners and greet the costumed Villagers with, Good day! Thank you and enjoy your visit! Focusing Question B: What happens when a natural resource no longer supplies our needs? How to use this guide: Before you enter the Village, ask your students to think about a natural resource we all use today. (ex. Oil and petroleum products) Are there any concerns about the sustainability of this resource? Select one or two exhibits from each category box to visit. Allow about minutes in each exhibit for plenty of time to explore, observe and ask questions. You may have time to visit other exhibits, but don t worry if you don t get to every one. Have one student be the scribe and take notes in the blank boxes At the end of your visit, ask students to draw some conclusions

6 B. Wood was used to meet a variety of needs in the early 1800s. Find as many uses for it as you can as you tour the village. What impact did this have on the environment? Think about: How did people keep warm in the winter? Look for evidence. Which houses or shops do you think were heated the most efficiently? Why? What other ways do you think people used wood? Look for evidence. Mills Sawmill Grist Mill Carding Mill Freeman Farm Farmyard Inside the House Households Salem Towne House Small House Shops Blacksmith Cooper Pottery Shoe Shop Printing Office Tin Shop The School House Asa Knight Store Meetinghouse Trails Woodland Walk/Goods from the Woods Pasture Walk River Walk Changing Landscape Exhibit