Download Teachers Booklet - ACT Museums and Galleries

Artefact Chat
Teacher Booklet
Extra Activities and
Information about the Program

Contents
Program Summary p. 3
Curriculum information p. 3
Information about Calthorpes’ House p. 5
Checklist for planning your excursion p. 6
What will happen during the program p. 7
Pre‐visit activities p.8
Post‐visit activities p. 10
References p. 12
Artefact Chat
Calthorpes’ House is a wonderful venue to learn about oral histories, and artefacts
from Australia’s past. The house was built in 1927, and is significant as an almost
intact collection of objects from the period which, with the gardens, allows
students to enter a time capsule.
The education program Artefact Chat includes a tour of the house and garden, an
artefact study, and students will create a scrapbook collage reflecting the
museum.
This onsite excursion is supported by the online outreach Education Program
Artefact Chat, for which further information can be found at the following
website: www.museumsandgalleries.act.gov.au/artefactchat
The following information is provided to assist teachers in making the most of
their visit to Calthorpes’ House. Please note the checklist for planning your
excursion is on page 6.
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Program Summary
Name of Program Artefact Chat
Target Audience Years Foundation ‐ 2
Length of Program 1½‐2 hours
Availability of Program Tuesday ‐ Friday
Size of Group
30 students maximum
A ratio of 1 adult supervisor to 10 students is required.
Cost
$6.50 per student
Accompanying adults free
Aim
The program explores the concepts of artefacts and how they inform oral
histories. The students are provided with insight into the artefacts owned by, and
experiences of, a family living in Canberra in the 1930s through four activities; a
tour of the house, an artefact study, a tour of the garden, and a craft activity. The
engagement is active and hands‐on.
Philosophy
The strategies used in this program are experiential discovery. Students are
encouraged to engage with the site through the hands‐on activities. As a result of
these strategies the responses from the group will influence the information that
is provided during discussion.
Curriculum Information
Historical Skills ‐ Analysis and use of sources
Identify and compare features of objects from the past and present (ACHHS035);
Comparing objects from the past with the present to identify similarities
and differences (for example toys, whitegoods, televisions, radios).
Historical Skills ‐ Historical questions and research
Pose questions about the past using sources provided (ACHHS033);
Discussing what life was like for their parents and grandparents by
examining everyday objects (for example telephone, radio, cooking
utensils, toys), photos and stories from the past, using ‘What’ How’
‘When’ ‘Why’ questions.
Historical Knowledge and Understanding ‐ The Past in the Present
The history of a significant person, building, site or part of the natural
environment in the local community and what it reveals about the past
(ACHHK044);
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Investigating the history of a chosen person, building, site or landmark in
the local community using sources (for example books, newspapers, oral
histories, audio visual material, digital sources, letters, photographs) and
relating a story which these reveal about the past.
Historical Skills ‐ Chronology, terms and concepts
Distinguish between the past, present and future (ACHHS048);
Using terms to denote the passing of time in speech and writing (for
example ‘in the past’, ‘years ago’, ‘the olden days’, ‘in the future’).
Historical Skills ‐ Historical questions and research
Pose questions about the past using sources provided (ACHHS049);
Developing inquiry questions about a site (for example ‘What does it look
like now’ ‘What condition is it in’ ‘How might its use have changed’
‘What was its purpose’ ‘How was it built/created’ ‘How was it paid for’
‘What is its use and importance in the present’).
Historical Skills ‐ Explanation and communication
Use a range of communication forms (oral, graphic, written, role play) and digital
technologies (ACHHS054);
Representing ideas and creating imaginative responses through visual
images as well as written and spoken descriptions and narratives.
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Information about Calthorpes’ House
The following information provides both an introduction to Calthorpes’ House, the
family and the artefacts. This may be information you would like to share with
your students in preparation for their visit to Calthorpes’ House.
Calthorpes’ House was built in 1927, the year the Provisional Parliament House
opened in Canberra. Mr Harry and Dell Calthorpe lived in the house with their
two daughters Dawn and Del. The Calthorpe family also lived with their maid,
Mary. Dawn and Del had many pets to feed and play with, the cat’s name was
Tiddles, the canary was Glad, and the dog was called Johnson.
The truly unique feature of Calthorpes’ House is that everything in the house
actually belonged to Harry, Del, Dawn and Dell. The question of what is real and
what is a reproduction is not a factor. The house is an artefact, and Dawn has told
many oral histories about her memories of living in the home. The connection
between the oral histories and the artefacts throughout the house and garden is
immediate, for example, all the toys and books in Dawn’s bedroom really are the
ones she played when she was a child.
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Checklist for planning your excursion
Clothing: Calthorpes’ House programs are indoor and outdoor excursions that
involve walking. Warm, waterproof attire is important in the cooler months
and sun protection is also a priority throughout the year. Calthorpes’ House
backs onto Red Hill and, due to snakes, long pants and closed toed shoes are
required. It is recommended visiting Teachers are familiar with the ACT
Government Territory and Municipal Services Living with Snakes information,
particularly the section title ‘Avoid being bitten’, which can viewed at the
following location:
http://www.tams.act.gov.au/play/pcl/wildlife/local/living_with_snakes
ACT Museums and Galleries’ staff retain the right to refuse entry to students
who are inadequately dressed.
Weather: The programs are offered in all weather. The decision to postpone
the excursion lies with the school. If you decide to postpone your booking,
please ring 6207 9943 and 0424 585 464 as soon as possible so we can notify
the Presenters. If a catastrophic fire danger rating is issued by ACT Emergency
Services or a severe weather warning is issued by the Bureau of Meteorology
the program will be cancelled by the ACT Historic Places Education Officer.
Camera/photographic device: Please bring up to three cameras/photographic
devices, as the success of this program relies upon up to three photographs
being taken by two accompanying adults during the program. Any
photographic device will suffice for example; smart phone, iPad, digital
camera, etc. It is imperative to one of the program outcomes that schools
provide their own photographic equipment as there is none provided on site.
Student preparation for the excursion: Divide the class into a maximum of
three groups (with a maximum of 12 students in each group) with at least one
adult for each of these smaller groups.
Please ensure that every student wears a name tag. This makes it much easier
for the Presenters to communicate effectively with the students.
Morning Tea and/or Lunch: It is best that students do not bring school bags
as they cannot take these on the program. Lunches should be collected into a
few tubs. On arrival your Presenters will show you where to put the food. It is
recommended students drink fluids during Morning Tea and/or Lunch. There
are no bins provided, please take your rubbish away with you.
First Aid Kit: Please bring your First Aid Kit. Please note that our First Aid Kit
does not include medications, nor can we supply equipment for allergic
reactions such as an EpiPen. Please ensure you bring with you any medicines
your students should require while they are at Calthorpes’ House.
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Special Needs: Please advise the Bookings Officer at the time of booking if
there are students in your group with particular needs so that staff can be
prepared to assist in appropriate ways and vary the program as necessary.
Risk Management Plan: Please check the Risk Management Plan for Artefact
Chat, available from our website at the following link ‐
http://www.museumsandgalleries.act.gov.au/calthorpes/education.html
What will happen during the program
Artefact Chat encourages students to engage with Calthorpes’ House through
three activities; a tour of the house and garden, an artefact study, and students
will create a scrapbook collage reflecting the museum.
Arrival: Your bus will not be able to enter the grounds of Calthorpes’ House, as
the driveway is too narrow. Please do not park the bus on the verge. Please
disembark on the nature strip on the Calthorpes’ House side of the Mugga Way.
The road is busy and entrance to the museum is just below a crest, therefore we
recommend students do not cross Mugga Way to access the property. When
you have disembarked, you will be met by a Presenter who will direct the group
along the driveway to the Garage at the rear of the house.
During the program: The introduction to the program will occur in the garage.
After the introduction the students will be divided into the smaller groups. Each
group should be accompanied by at least one adult. Each group will carry out the
same program activities in a different order.
The House: Students will tour the house to look at and discuss key artefacts, and
to listen to oral histories associated with key artefacts. Only the Presenter will
handle collection items using gloves.
Before entering the house, students and accompanying adults will be required to
put shoe covers over their shoes. This helps to protect and conserve the floor
coverings. The Presenter and teachers should ensure booties are secure around
students’ ankles so as to reduce risk of tripping on excess fabric. The Presenter
will wear white gloves to handle collection items.
The Garden: Whilst visiting the garden, each group will be looking for a location
where a photograph was taken when the Calthorpe family lived in the house. The
group will have their photograph taken in the garden, and this image can be stuck
onto the scrapbook page when they return to school. The focus of this rotation is
how artefacts can inspire oral histories. Please note there are some safety rules
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that need to be observed in the garden, students need; long pants and closed toes
shoes, and to remain in a group behind their Presenter.
The Garage: Students will carry out the scrapbook collage. Students will use
images of Calthorpes’ House, along with papers and other materials to create
their own scrapbook page. When they return to school, the photograph taken in
the garden can be pasted into the centre of the page, so that each student has
their own artefact that can prompt a personal oral history of the day they visited
Calthorpes’ House.
Pre‐Visit Activities
Read: Wilfred Gordon McDonald Partridge by Mem Fox and Julie Vivas. This story
book can be used to introduce students to the idea that objects can prompt
memories. This idea can be used to introduce the concepts of artefacts and oral
history.
Artefact detective: In the story book by Mem Fox, Wilfred selects his
grandfather’s medal to share with Miss Nancy. Recall with the students how Miss
Nancy reacted, and what she said, when she touched the medal. Ask the students
if any of their family member have won a war medal. Tell the students about
Harry Calthorpe; he fought at Gallipoli, Turkey, during World War I, where he was
injured by an exploding shell in 1915. Invite the students to look carefully when
they visit Calthorpes’ House to find Mr Calthorpes’ war medals, hint; they are
displayed in the garage!
Image: Harry Calthorpe was living in Cootamundra when World War I was declared.
He enlisted immediately and can be seen toward the back of the photograph
smartly dressed in suit, hat and bow tie.
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Vocabulary: Create a class glossary of unfamiliar words the students might
encounter on the program, such as; artefact, oral history, museum, collection,
scrapbook, collage.
Location: Use a map of Canberra showing Calthorpes’ House. Locate points of
interest to help the students understand how to read the map. Show them where
to read the suburb and street name. If the school is local to Canberra; find the
school, Lake Burley Griffin, and the streets of some of the children in the class.
Point out the proximity of Calthorpes’ House to Parliament House, Civic, etc.
Compare the map to a historical map of Canberra. Appropriate maps and
landscape views are avaliable at the following link,
http://www.idealcity.org.au/competition‐2‐information_materials.html, these
digitised images were sent to entrants of the Canberra design competion in 1911.
When comparing the old and new maps, discuss what has changed. Alternatively,
to answer this question, describe changes in the landscape by comparing a recent
photograph of Canberra to photographs taken in the past. After looking at the
various maps and photographs, student could talk about what they think they will
you see during their journey to Calthorpes’ House.
House rules: Mrs Calthorpe had at least 21 rules in her new house at 24 Mugga
Way, and those rules were:
No slamming doors
No muddy feet
No running in the house
No fingers on the walls
No feet on the chairs
No rings around the bath
No clothes on the floor
No blowflies
No smoking fires
No empty wood boxes
No splatters of boot polish
No music or rolls left on the pianola
No gramophone records left on the floor
No chair arms to be used as pincushions
No socks or picnic rugs with grass seeds
No cobwebs
No washing on the line on Sunday
No dirty fingernails
No ugly words
No singing at the table
No cabbage or cauliflower water to be poured down the kitchen sink
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Are there any rules Mrs Calthorpe had that are the same for students’ homes
today What can the class tell about Calthorpes’ House from these rules, for
example; are there hints about what they ate, what type of heating the house
had, how they behaved during meal times, etc Talk about rules the students
have in their classroom or at home. How do they compare to the rules Mrs
Calthorpe for her family
Create: Before the students visit Calthorpes’ House, conduct an oral history
interview about an artefact that is important to them. Students could choose an
artefact from home and bring it, or a photograph of the artefact, to school.
As a class think of questions for each artefact, for example;
Why is this artefact special, How old is the artefact, Why did you choose this
artefact, What do you remember about this artefact, etc. This will enable
students to be familiar with the terms ‘artefact’ and ‘oral history’ before they visit
Calthorpes’ House where they will hear oral histories in relation to artefacts once
owned and used by the family. They will also become familiar with the idea that
artefacts don’t need to be old to have importance and significance to people.
Post visit Activities
Listen: Read the following passage to the students, an oral history told by Dawn:
The day I invite my mother to lunch in the cubby is another disaster. I borrow a
new breakfast cloth to fold over the vegetable box. I set the table with my little
blue tin plates and a pretty anchovette jar with wildflowers in the centre. When I
take the hot potatoes out of the coals, the ash falls on to the cloth and burns a
hundred holes. My mother jumps up in agitation from the soap box seat.
Create: Draw or paint the scene that was described in the oral history above.
Cook: With teacher supervision, students could carry out a cooking activity by
baking potatoes. Prick each potato with a fork, wrap in tin foil, and place in a hot
oven. An adult should check the baking progress. Remove them from the oven,
wait until the potatoes have cooled, slice in sections and eat with butter!
Listen: The Calthorpe family had a radio, pianola, and gramophone and enjoyed
listening to music. They also enjoyed sing‐a‐longs. Some of the songs they sang
were; It's a long way to Tipperary, Bye Bye Blackbird, Oh I do like to be beside the
seaside and Ain't we got fun. Weblinks to these songs are listed in the References
at the end of this booklet.
Favourite Sayings: Dawn tells oral histories about her father, Harry, and his many
friendly sayings. One saying Dawn remembers her father saying to her is, ‘get a
wriggle on.’ Ask the students what they think this means. Does anyone still use
that saying in their family What other friendly sayings do we use today
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More classroom ideas: Further examples of ideas that can extend and enhance
your excursion to Calthorpes’ House can be found at the ANCARA website, and a
weblink for this site is listed in the References at the end of this booklet.
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References
ACT Heritage Council. 2001 Calthorpes’ House Entry to the ACT Heritage Register.
Downloadable from:
http://www.tams.act.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/13359/232.pdf.
Australian Curriculum: History, Foundation – Year 10, Australian Curriculum,
Assessment and Reporting Authority,
http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/History/Curriculum/F‐10
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority,
http://www.acara.edu.au/curriculum/worksamples/AC_Worksample_History_1.p
df
Bickford, Anne. 2003. Calthorpes’ House. Cultural Facilities Corporation, Canberra.
Burness, Elizabeth Pickhaver. Illustrations. In Jo Pillinger, Dawns’ Surprise. ACT
Museums and Galleries, Canberra.
Gibbney, James. 1986. Calthorpes’ Canberra The Town and Community in 1927.
Calthorpes’ House Museum: occasional series no. 1. Australian Government
Publishing Services, Canberra.
Lawson, Elaine. 1993. Calthorpes’ House Notes on the house, contents and
Conservation philosophy.
Waterhouse, Dawn. 2002. Chortles, Chores and Chilblains Cameos of Childhood in
Calthorpes’ House, Canberra. ACT Historic Places, Cultural Facilities Corporation,
Canberra.
ACT Government, 2010‐current. Hazard and OHS Risk Assessment form: Artefact
Chat. Downloadable from:
http://www.museumsandgalleries.act.gov.au/calthorpes/education.html
Information about, and lyrics for, It’s a long way to Tipperary, can be found at;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It%27s_a_Long_Way_to_Tipperary
Information about, and lyrics for, Bye Bye Blackbird, can be found at;
http://www.youtube.com/watchv=eO6PpD‐tRLU
Information about, and lyrics for, Oh I do like to be beside the seaside, can be
found at; http://www.youtube.com/watchv=XmJVXHLjVhk
Information about, and lyrics for, Aint we got fun, can be found at;
http://www.youtube.com/watchv=c9gjSqoDrK4
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24 Mugga Way
Red Hill, ACT
Education Officer Phone: (02) 6207 9943
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