Download Teachers Booklet - ACT Museums and Galleries

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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