As mentioned in several other posts, I will be focusing on Frank Lloyd Wright and his architectual style.  These lessons will be used in a technology class, that also has art as its focus.

I will start off by giving students an overview of FLW the man. Then we will investigate his architectual style, possibly comparing it to other architects (maybe Christopher Wren?)  This initial introduction will be produced as a PowerPoint presentation so that it can be used by others. However, I will then convert the presentation into a flipchart that will be used with the  Promethean Board and projector in my classroom. I will also make the flipchart available so that anyone who uses this same technology can have access to it.

Students will then complete a Webquest type activity similar to the one we were involved with at the Lincoln Presidential Library. This will serve to bring more in depth information about FLW to the students.

Students will then choose a particular work of art by FLW. By work of art I am referring to a house, a piece of furniture, stained glass or even a rug that he designed. They will create a foldable to display the information that they gather about this particular work of art. These will be put on display.

Students will then be given one of several Colorpix cards that I purchased at the FLW house and museum. These cards have designs on them that were created by FLW, which the students will color according to information they have learned on FLW’s style. Each design is also accompanied by an essay question. Students will answer the essay question with a 7-10 sentence paragraph, using the 3 point response technique that is used in my school.

As a culmination to the lessons, students will use Microsoft word or MS Paint, and they will create their own FLW inspired design. These will adhere to the architectual elements that we have covered and will also be printed and displayed.

As an extention there is a PBS video on FLW that I would like to obtain. Having never seen it, I can’t say what it’s specific uses would be. There are several activities that accompany the video. Information on the video can be found at the PBS website. I am seriously considering ordering this video. Not sure if I will receive it in time to incorporate it into my lesson plan.

Reflecting back on our trip, there are many ideas and new things that were brought to light that I will be able to incorporate in to my classroom.

I have to say I really loved the use of technology in the Abraham Lincoln Museum. It was so interactive and the shows were wonderful. This is a wonderful way to grab or “hook” the kids into the study of history. I get so tired of hearing “history is boring.”  As teachers, it is our job to prove them wrong. What a challenge! Especially with middle schoolers since they think they know everything. LOL

For me, the highlight of the trip was visiting Springfield, seeing “all things Lincoln”. I absolutely loved the visit to Lincoln’s home. There was a picture in the visitors center of Lincoln standing on his porch, surrounded by throngs of people. Then when you walk around the corner and actually see that house, envision Lincoln standing there, hearing the cacophony of voices and cheers, it’s awespiring; I get chills just thinking of it now. Then walking through the house, being in a place where Lincoln actually was, seeing the private side of his life compared to the public side we are familiar with, it really brings things in to perspective.

I was shocked that Lincoln let his boys run amok like he did. I had never heard them described in quite this way. He pretty much let them do whatever they wanted. That is not the way I envision children of the President behaving. This just proves that they were “real” people, the common man. If only we could get some of that back in to politics today.

Despite my infatuation with “all things Lincoln” I have to say there were two other sites / people that really piqued my interest, which I didn’t really expect. Those are Frank Lloyd Wright and George Pullman.

With Frank Lloyd Wright, I wasn’t really interested in seeing or hearing about his architectual techniques, and really didn’t understand why anyone cared. Was it just because he was “American”? Boy was I given a kick in the pants. He is quite an amusing man. While I became enthralled with his buildings, and loved walking around the neighborhood trying to pick out the houses he had actually built or remodeled, I am even more interested in his architectual style and the man himself. He seems quite “self-interested” and didn’t appear to be the nicest of people. I am really looking forward to studying more about him to see if this is truly what he was like. As mentioned before, he and his architectual style are the topic of my lesson plan.

Secondly, George Pullman. Like FLW, his behavior, mannerisms and issue with control really caught my interest. I really had no idea the extent that this man went to to create Pullmantown, this area of “paradise” in a world gone crazy with industrialization. While you can see his vision of perfection, it is skewed from the view of a person on top. You really have to see the other perspective, the people who made it work and did the work. I really feel that our architectual tour of the Pullman factories brought that in to perspective. Jane really made us take a look at the working man, not just at the administrators themselves. That is the part of history that we lose. It has been mentioned many times on this trip and in previous classes that we focus too much on the rich and famous. They weren’t and are not the only people in this country and they certainly weren’t and aren’t always the most interesting.  This is the part of history that you really have to search for. The history that you see in photoraphs, that you read about in letters. Not the textbook version. This is the part of history that we need to bring to light. This is what makes history interesting.

I would really have liked to see more of the video that was presented on the bus first thing this morning. Can someone tell me what the title was? Is this the video that Scott has a copy of that we can check out? Maybe we shouldn’t have started the video until everyone was on the bus and quiet. There was a little too much chaos and I really couldn’t follow the video. Just the images called to me for more research.

Going to the place where the Haymarket bombing actually occurred put things in to perspective. As I’ve stated before in my blog, actually seeing such places brings the reading to life. It is so important for us to experience the locations of these occurances,not just read about them on a flat page. If only we could teach all our classes that way too. Hands on experience brings things into stark reality for our students. Seeing the place where the gallows were was almost eerie. In my minds eye, I could see the placement of the gallows, see the convicted as they walked up the stairs and in defiance refused to confess. Even though there is nothing in the area to mark the spot, after having read about the incident, it was like you could feel something in the air; tension, disbelief, fear, certainty, and even hate.

Moving on the the Pullmantown, I was actually stunned. I have to admit that since this an area of history that I don’t normally teach (I usually focus on colonial history) I really had no idea that there was an actual town developed around the manufacture of Pullman cars. It was so interesting to see houses and the actual plant that are still standing. I was so excited that we got to walk through the plant. You could visualize the men coming in to work, the administration looking down on them, the noise and hard work that occurred in those buildings. I also loved visiting the Hotel Florence. It had such character and it’s almost as if you could feel Pullman sitting in his suite upstairs, changing the color of blinds to beacon people from the plant to come and speak with him. Can you imagine being the one called over? Pullman came across as a harsh almost tyrannical man. Not sure I would have wanted to meet with him alone.

Awake at 5 AM for our journey to Madison, WI. All aboard at 6 and on our way to the land of the “cheeseheads”. Okay, now I know there is more to Wisconsin than cheese and the Green Bay Packers. My husband has always told me how beautiful Wisconsin was, and now I believe him! LOL  

We began the morning at the State Historical Museum with an overview of some publications that they have produced.  I was completely impressed with the fact that they produce their own textbook, for the 4^th grade, on Wisconsin history. I really wish that the Colorado Historical Society worked in such close conjunction with teachers in order to produce materials that they can use. A lot of the resources that are available in Colorado are not cost effective; such as the history trunks. I would love to use those in my classroom, but the cost of shipping it back is simply more than I want to handle.  And field trips are out of the question at this point. There simply isn’t any money to take kids anywhere, and asking the families to take care of it is a hardship on them. Most of my students can barely afford school supplies; but I digress…

I loved the exhibit “Odd Wisconsin”. It was so entertaining yet extremely informative. That is definitely one of those “hooks” we keep hearing about! Kids would love to visit an exhibit like that. I also liked the openness of the museum. You didn’t feel “boxed in” by the history.  It also made it more inviting, like you could just wander at your own pace. They were so accommodating at the Museum; genuinely happy that we were there.

Off to lunch at one of Jonathan’s favorite watering holes which was quite delicious. It was so nice to actually sit in the sun for a change.  I was beginning to think all it did was rain around here. That would of course account for all the green. All we get is wind and hail at home.

Then we began our afternoon at the State Historical Society. We started with our lecture by Jonathan Pollack. I loved his approach of talking about immigration by showing naturalization papers over a span of several years. It brought in to sharp relief the issues surrounding immigration at the time, anti-immigrant feelings, and how the process became harder and more involved.

We then received a brief overview of their website and were allowed to visit the research room. I can’t believe they just gave us unfettered access to documents like that. We were holding original documents from people we had just studied. Simone ( I think that was the assistants name) said that they don’t have all of those documents reproduced or scanned. When we asked what would happen if one of them was damaged or lost, she just kind of looked at us. Another employee responded “these are from the 30’s and they are still in really good condition.” Maybe I misunderstood, but I just can’t understand how they couldn’t have copies of all that material. I know it’s time consuming, but that is invaluable history. Once it’s gone, there is no getting it back.

Our final lecture of the day with Stan Schultz was great! He was so charismatic and excited about his topic, it was easy to listen to him. I learned more about the Progressive Era in that short hour than I think I knew from all my studies combined. It was very beneficial. I would love to be able to take a class from him.

Today we ventured to the Jane Addams’ Hull House. (Why is it called Hull House?) The house was much more “intricate” than I had expected. I had very little background knowledge about Jane Addams and her work in Chicago. (I know, I know , but it’s true.)  I am very interested in learning more about what she did. I think Donna is doing a lesson on Hull House and I’m going to see if I can mooch some of her ideas to use in class. I also want to learn more about the other women involved such as Starr.  I am also struck by the concept of the Bowen Country Club. Wouldn’t it be great if we had activities like this for our kids today? Get them out of the city and in touch with nature at no cost to the family?

I was really looking forward to our Chicago Architecture Foundation Boat tour this afternoon. Too bad the weather decided not to cooperate. I really admire the guide for standing outside in that weather. Her explanations were informative and relatively easy to follow. We were able to see the majority of the buildings from below deck. I was disappointed that the view of the Sears Tower was obscured by the clouds and fog. I think that would have been a dramatic scene to see from the river.  I also don’t understand why they are changing the name of the Sears Tower to the Willis Tower? Why would they do that? Who cares that Sears no longer occupies the building. It will always be known as the Sears Tower.

This morning we ventured to Oak Park, IL and had a tour of the Frank Lloyd Wright home and Studio. The house was absolutely beautiful. I loved the color scheme, which our guide said was original. I also liked the concept of not having furniture all over the room, but having seats along the edges, like in the living room. It does open up the space more. The dining room chairs were very unique in their design; you can definitely tell Wright designed them, but I would not want to have to sit in them for any period of time. I also thought it was great that there was even a high chair that matched the design of the regular chairs. I learned a lot about the man himself. I was taken aback by the fact that he left his family with another woman. That is something I certainly did not know.

I would like to do my lesson plan on Frank Lloyd Wright. Have the students do background research and some computer art design to “match” his. This would be a great way to incorporate art into my class, and allow the kids to be creative too.

This afternoon we traveled to the Museum of Science and Industry for a presentation on the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. During the simulation I began to get a little nauseous. I have difficulty with depth perception in my eyes, and when I watch computer simulations like that (or video games) it makes me sick. As they would zoom across the water or other parts of the complex, I had to look away. The music that was droning and vibrating in the background was also quite annoying. I did really enjoy the second part of the presentation with the brief PowerPoint. It was easier to follow.

The walk around outside did bring things to life. You could actually see the architecture that was discussed in both presentations.

Then it was off to the White Sox game. We have to see if we can keep up our “winning streak”. We see the Red Sox play, they take the series; we see the Phillies play, they take the series; we see the White Sox play…  Only time will tell! Even though they lost 2-1, I just love baseball. It’s such a great opportunity to see the different fields around the country.

Our presentation from the DBQ project this morning was very informative. While I have heard of DBQ prior to today’s presentation, I have never had an in depth explanation of the theory and process behind it. I liked that they had us work through one of the exercises to see how they function. I REALLY wish that we would have been able to each get one of the folders. We have been brainstorming ideas amongst ourselves on how we could obtain one or two.

In the afternoon I was on the walking tour for Old Town Chicago which was very nice. Our guide “Dick” had so many wonderful stories and a lot of information to pass on.

Just hearing the history of the area and his explanations as to why certain houses look a certain way, was great. For example, the streets of Chicago were a muddy, marsh like substance. So they put sewer lines down and then covered them with rocks and gravel, and built the streets up eight feet above where they used to be. This was obviously a problem because many of the business entrances were much lower than the new level of the street so they would actually come and lift the buildings, build a brick story underneath and then put the original structure down on top of it. Pullman was one of the 1st to figure out a method to do this on large structures. I believe it was the Belmont Hotel?  Many of the houses were rebuilt after the fire and had very large (or long) stairways on them. Since people didn’t know where the new street level would be, they had these longer staircases and then they could take away stairs as needed, to be at street level.

 

We also were able to see St. Michael’s Church, which was absolutely beautiful.

Began our morning with a short trek to the “L” and a ride to the Chicago History Museum. Our 1st presentation was by Dr. Sarah Marcus and was very informational. The Encyclopedia of Chicago will be so useful. The images and information will bring the information alive for students.

I loved the website with the Stories of Chicago and can’t wait to incorporate that in to my class. I also like that it comes with pictures that relate to the stories, and activities including questions for discussion. Always nice to have those and not have to reinvent the wheel. I was a little disappointed to see that they only had elementary and high school as their focus of the grant but there are many usable activities in there that I can tie in to the middle school curriculum.

Then hopped a bus down to Adison St. to see Wrigley Field! Walked around the park and stopped for refreshments. Ate a magnificent dinner at a little italian restaurant called Mia Francesca. Mouth watering!

It was very nice to have time last night to get settled and get some computer work done. Even better to get some sleep and be refreshed for today.

Took a wonderful walk to the Art Institute of Chicago for our tour. I was very impressed with our guide. She was informational and entertaining. She made excellent selections as to which art work she shared with us, and didn’t overwhelm us with a lot of “artistic” talk. I thoroughly enjoyed the time we spent there. I LOVE Georgia O’Keefe’s work and was very pleased to see some of her art there. I have visited the O’Keefe Museum in Santa Fe before, but the work that was on display here showed a different side; not all florals or bright portraits which you usually associate with her. This, however, was my favorite. I really like the colors and the simplicity with the daisy.

And of course I have to mention “American Gothic”. I never understood why it was called this until today. I think it is interesting that the artist was just driving along and saw the gothic style window on the farmhouse. I also thought it was interesting that the couple in the portrait are actually the artists’ sister and dentist!

Like I mentioned in an earlier blog, I have to incorporate art into my class next year and I purchased a  wonderful book in the museum store. It is actually written for parents and gives ideas on how to share art work with your kids. I loved the activities that were in the book, and am looking forward to incorporating some of that into my class.

Lindsey also gave me a wonderful idea about using the concept that was presented by Bryon Andreasen at the Lincoln Museum in Springifeld. She suggested that I work with the History teachers and have my students create “exhibits” that vary in presentation type / style, like the one that was presented to us on the Lincoln/Douglas debates. Wonderful idea! I’m already brainstorming some ideas and thinking about how I can incorporate them in to the various units that are studied at the different grade levels.

We began our morning at the Old State Capitol.

We were led on a guided tour through the building with very in depth explanations as to the changes, renovations and uses of each room. I would have liked to have been introduced to some of the artifacts in the rooms, even though they weren’t original to the building. An explanation as to the reason for their placement would have been interesting. It is always a bit disheartening for a history buff when you visit a “historical” site and are told that they aren’t the originals or that the building has been altered or torn down and reconstructed. Even more disheartening is knowing that nothing in that building (such as furniture, etc.) was there when Lincoln was.

Then we went across the street to the Lincoln-Herndon law offices.

Our guide was a bit hard to follow with her explanation of how the building was originally constructed, torn down, rearranged, etc. Basically what I got was that the flooring was original. It was very interesting to see the desk that was from his brother-in-laws, where Lincoln sat and wrote his 1^st Inaugural Address. A true piece of Lincoln history. (I’m assuming she meant Lincoln’s brother-in-law and not Mr. Tinsley, the owner of the building?)

A short walk to the Lincoln home and we were introduced to the lifestyle of a Springfield attorney. The house, in my estimation, was quite beautiful and much larger than I would have anticipated.

It was very interesting to see the photograph of the Lincoln home at the Visitors Center, and then to actually stand in front of it and be able to compare the image from 1860 to the present.  This shows how easy it is to use pictures (or other primary sources) in your class. Back to the house, I was struck by how small the kitchen was. Considering the type of clothing that the women would have had to wear, there wouldn’t be much room to move around. Our guide told us that several nights before leaving Springfield to go to Washington DC that the Lincoln’s threw an open house. Over 700 people went through their house that  night! It was so crowded with just a group of 17, I can’t imagine even 100 in there. 

The Lincoln tomb was awe inspiring. He has a more regal burial spot than even George Washington. I think its sad that the bodies of Lincoln and his family have to be entombed under / behind so much concrete and marble to protect them from grave robbers. I have heard a lot of talk on this trip about the History Channel program “Stealing Lincoln” (or something similar to that). I wish I would have seen this program prior to the trip. This is something I am going to look into upon our return.

I didn’t quite know what to expect at New Salem Village. It was much larger than I anticipated. I had expected there to be more “period actors” available at the different cabins and shops. We spoke with a woman at the tavern, who was in the back room sewing a quilt. It was absolutely beautiful. She said that a group of volunteers came in to work on the quilt whenever they could. Then they placed them in the various cabins on the property. Once a year they make a quilt for an auction. We tried to give her our addresses to send the quilt to, but she just chuckled and smiled. I would have liked to been able to go into some of the specific cabins to get a better idea of how they were arranged. I am a little fuzzy on the historical accuracy of New Salem Village. While I’m sure that the names of the families and business owners were accurate, I am not sure about the location or how accurate the reproductions are.

 We also saw this piece of “machinery” outside several of the cabins, but have no idea what it is. Does anyone know?

Now we are on our way to Chicago. The anticipation of arriving at the “dorms” is almost unbearable!

Ok, I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised upon entering our room. SOOOOOOOO much better than years past. I think we will be quite comfortable here