5-6th Grade Activities
An activity for everyone:
Imagine you are living in the year 2150. Write a “history report” about the early twenty-first century. What aspects of twenty-first century life will be most interesting to people in 2150? What will be hardest for people in 2150 to understand about the twenty-first century? What will they think is funny, or look on with prejudice about the twenty-first century?
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Activities / questions by subject:
Cycling
This is the cover of a popular magazine from 1896, the height of the safety bike boom. ("Safety bike" is a term referring to a bicycle with two wheels of the same size.)
Parents and teachers:
—Explain how various artists have used birds to represent freedom, and the symbolism of a rising sun in artwork.
—Discuss the classical imagery of Hermes, the messenger god of Ancient Greece who wore a winged helmet. Besides being the messenger of the gods, he was also the god of athletes. How has the artist used the pigeons in this image to evoke classical images of Hermes?
—Explain the historic use of carrier pigeons to send messages speedily from place to place, and the history of racing pigeons.
—Discuss the Victorian fashion of birds on women's hats, and how seeing a tableau like this might have inspired the artist.
Students:
Discuss the following questions with your friends:
—What do the woman's posture and body language tell you? Does she seem slow or fast? Weak or strong?
--The Statue of Liberty was a gift from France to America in 1886, just a few years before this picture appeared on the cover of a magazine. Look at the way the woman's right arm is outstretched in this picture. Does it remind you of the way the Statue of Liberty holds her torch? Why might the artist have chosen to show her this way?
—What was the artist trying to show that the bicycle represented?
(Possible answers: freedom / liberty, the rise of new ideas and technologies, speed, athleticism, that a bicycle raises us beyond mere human abilities and puts us on a level with the birds or the classical gods.)
Read these poems and discuss how they share themes with the artwork above:
A Song of the Wheel (Poem—1883)
An Early Morning Ride (Poem—1883)
Parents and teachers:
—Explain how various artists have used birds to represent freedom, and the symbolism of a rising sun in artwork.
—Discuss the classical imagery of Hermes, the messenger god of Ancient Greece who wore a winged helmet. Besides being the messenger of the gods, he was also the god of athletes. How has the artist used the pigeons in this image to evoke classical images of Hermes?
—Explain the historic use of carrier pigeons to send messages speedily from place to place, and the history of racing pigeons.
—Discuss the Victorian fashion of birds on women's hats, and how seeing a tableau like this might have inspired the artist.
Students:
Discuss the following questions with your friends:
—What do the woman's posture and body language tell you? Does she seem slow or fast? Weak or strong?
--The Statue of Liberty was a gift from France to America in 1886, just a few years before this picture appeared on the cover of a magazine. Look at the way the woman's right arm is outstretched in this picture. Does it remind you of the way the Statue of Liberty holds her torch? Why might the artist have chosen to show her this way?
—What was the artist trying to show that the bicycle represented?
(Possible answers: freedom / liberty, the rise of new ideas and technologies, speed, athleticism, that a bicycle raises us beyond mere human abilities and puts us on a level with the birds or the classical gods.)
Read these poems and discuss how they share themes with the artwork above:
A Song of the Wheel (Poem—1883)
An Early Morning Ride (Poem—1883)
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This is an advertisement from the 1880s for a high wheel bicycle. This was the most common bicycle of the time: it was so common, when people said "bicycle" everyone understood they meant this kind of bicycle! It was also called the ordinary bicycle.
How is it different from a modern bicycle? How is it the same?
Read this piece about cycling history: The Evolution of a Sport (1896)
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How is it different from a modern bicycle? How is it the same?
Read this piece about cycling history: The Evolution of a Sport (1896)
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In the 1880s when men rode high wheel bicycles, women rode high wheel tricycles.
How is the high wheel tricycle of the adult woman in this advertisement different from a modern child's tricycle?
Read this piece to learn more about high wheel tricycling: Cycling for Women (1888)
How is the high wheel tricycle of the adult woman in this advertisement different from a modern child's tricycle?
Read this piece to learn more about high wheel tricycling: Cycling for Women (1888)
This 1883 picture shows two men coasting on their high wheel bicycles. High wheel bicycles are a type of bicycle called a fixed gear. This means that whenever the wheel is moving, the pedals are spinning. Question: Why do you think they put their legs over their handlebars?
(Answer: They put their legs over their handlebars to keep them out of the way of the spinning pedals. Also, this way if they fall off their bicycles, they land on their feet.)
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(Answer: They put their legs over their handlebars to keep them out of the way of the spinning pedals. Also, this way if they fall off their bicycles, they land on their feet.)
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Foods
What kinds of foods do you think people ate back in the 1880s and 1890s?
Now look at the pictures and advertisements here: Victorian Foods. Talk to your friends or parents about them: did any of them surprise you?
Now look at the pictures and advertisements here: Victorian Foods. Talk to your friends or parents about them: did any of them surprise you?
Travel
This picture shows a woman customs agent searching a female smuggler. The customs agent has made the other woman remove her outer skirt, and discovered that the smuggler had wrapped many yards of lace around her petticoats to hide it. (Imported lace was considered a luxury good and was heavily taxed when someone brought it into the U.S.)
Does this search scene remind you of searches at modern airports? Why or why not?
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Does this search scene remind you of searches at modern airports? Why or why not?
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This picture shows the arrivals dock in New York.
How is it similar to a modern airport? (Suggested answers: crowded, busy, people look tired / distracted.)
How is it similar to a modern airport? (Suggested answers: crowded, busy, people look tired / distracted.)
Science
Look at this photograph of two children from the late 19th-century. What is the little boy holding? (Answer: butterfly net and vasculum. To learn about vaculums, see this page: Accessories.)
More lesson plans and activities:
Coloring pages for Kindergarten—2nd grade
3—4th grade activities
7—8th grade activities
9—12th grade activities
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Some external links to materials for enhancing learning:
Suggestive Programs for Special Day Exercises
(Lesson plans for holidays, from 1898—free download from Google books)
Cursive writing practice guides for sale:
www.vermontcountrystore.com/store/jump/productDetail/Christmas_Shop/Gifts_For_Kids/Toys/Cursive_Handwriting_Instruction_Guide/45621
"Everyday Life As A Learning Experience" —an article by Sarah on an educational website:
https://www.commonlit.org/texts/everyday-life-as-a-learning-experience
Search this website:
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