Wed, 9/11/13-
We started off class by asking: "What does it mean to be an historian?". An historian is an expert on history and research. They dig in the past to explore documents, discover new things, and interpret their findings. For students, it is like stepping into the shoes of a historian. They research and apply their knowledge about topics just like historians would. When studying social studies, students create a hypothesis. A hypothesis is an educated guess. These educated guesses will help students predict and support the evidence they find. Students become "history detectives".
Dr. Smirnova presented the class 4 bags. These 4 bags are called "artifact bags". Inside these artifact bags, contain ancient artifacts from the past. Students look in the artifact bags and try to predict and research about what their artifacts are. While looking at the artifacts, the students answer the questions: "Who/What", "When", "Where", "How", and "Why".
We paired up into our field work groups. I am in group C with Laura, Caitlyn, Rachel, and Anne. Rachel picked out a gold bag. Inside the bag we made these discoveries and researched about them:
Red & Gold book=Russian award
Blue & white porcelain figure- Russian Firebird. A napkin holder
During our research, we used the technology software, google docs. Google docs allows you to write in a document and let others write in it on different computers on the same document at any time. Everyone in the group wrote an idea or fact down and this is the document we created together as the result of our discoveries:
Who/What- In class today, we got into our field work groups. We picked out an artifact bag. It was gold and filled with 3 items. The first item we pulled out was a red and gold Russian diploma/award. The second item was a gold,black, and red spoon it was Khokhloma folk art. The third item was a blue and white Gzhel of a firebird from Russia.
When- The khokhloma were first created in the second half of the seventeenth century and named after a trade settlement that was known for trading handmade goods. During the fourteenth century russian pottery became associated with the town of Gzhel [southeast of Moscow] and was named after that town.
How - The spoon was made when soft,carved wood is coated with clay mortar, linseed oil, tin, and paint before being baked in a kiln to harden. The pieces of of Gzhel pottery are made of clay and fired to make the pottery hard. the color depends on the clay used, and ranges from brown to white, the latter being the most popular. The pottery is then covered in a white base glaze and then decorated in a single glaze pattern of either blue, green, yellow, or brown. this style is called Maiolica.
Where- All of the items from our artifact bag came from Russia and were possessions from the professor.
Why- The fire bird statue was given to the professor’s husband from her brother. Her brother gave it to her husband saying that he was passing on something precious that needed to be protected. The khokhloma is an ornamental piece. the pieces in general are best known by their coloring; red, black, and gold. The red and gold book was an award given to Dr. Smirnova for science.
Connection- customs, cultures, traditions, and valuable possessions.
Conclusion- We want to be historians to explore Russian customs, culture, and traditions. Students develop skills of investigation and research.
I really enjoyed doing the artifact bag activity. It was so interesting to learn about the connections each item held with Dr.Smirnova. It was great to hear about what Dr. Smirnova had to say about each item, such as where they are from or how she got them. Russian culture is so interesting and I want to learn more about it! It was nice too see how they are such sentimental values to our Professor.
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Friday, Sept. 13th-
In today's class, each group presented their research on their artifact bags.
These were their results:
The document is Dr. Smirnova's birth-certificate. The black box is a Russian jewelry box. Inside of the jewelry box is an American flag pin. This symbolizes Dr.Smirnova's journey to the USA. The wooden doll is called a Russian nesting doll. It is a popular souvenir in Russia. The photograph is one of Dr. Smirnova's relatives.
this is my groups artifacts. See the description of these artifacts above.
The doll is a handmade Russian craft. It is also a popular souvenir. The blue and white plate is also a valuable of Dr.Smirnova. The blue book is an award she won.
The book is an award that Dr.Smirnova won in Russia. The doll is another homemade doll. The photograph is when Dr.Smirnova came to America and was at a camp site.
Today's class was really interesting to me. I loved seeing all of Dr.Smirnova's possessions and the connections she makes to all them. I enjoyed listening to each group and how they made their discoveries on the artifacts. I cant wait to do the artifact bag with my group when we go to fieldwork!
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