We will start the program outside of the building with a walk-around, describing the Dutch sandstone façade and roof features specific to our area and give a brief history of who lived in our house. Once inside students will be introduced to four specific individuals who are a part of Orangetown’s past.
These introductions will be made in the form of descriptive items; documents, clothing, toys that define the individual and their time. Students will be given some printed materials that they can keep that will provide some supportive information. Our four historic figures from Orangetown’s past will be: A Soldier from Camp Shanks, (1942), A young lady of 1795, an elementary school student from 1956 and a teenager from Nyack, (1916).
After the students become familiar with these individuals we will have a discussion and the students will be asked to choose one person to write a letter to, asking some questions about life at the time. This letter will initiate the Who Was Here? assignment, where the students will be asked to answer this letter in the first person, using historical facts to substantiate their findings. They will be asked to add a creative component to their presentations, (a drawing, map, model, miniature or poem) they may dress as their character or bring in an artifact from home to show an understanding of primary source artifacts. Participation in this program should bring about an understanding not only of local history – but also of how people lived in Orangetown in previous generations. It should also be a lot of fun. |
