How does preserving the past show our values today?
How does preserving the past show the values from back then?
What do we choose to preserve, and how does that convey value?
Enduring Understandings:
Historical preservation correlates to values, both personal and communal.
Buildings change in both use and physical appearance over time.
Historical buildings are preserved today for many reasons.
Objectives:
By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:
Develop an understanding and appreciation for the preservation of historic buildings.
Explain how people choose what to preserve, and as a community what we value.
Develop an understanding for personal values.
Instructional Time
30 minutes to 1 hour
*Activities can be done at the instructor’s pace*Activities can be completed in one sitting or across multiple days
Recommended Materials:
Computers
Projector/screen
Print outs of paper buildings
Drawing and writing utensils
Container for a time capsule
Potential objects to add to a time capsule(optional)
*Note: Needed materials depend on activities chosen to complete
Preparation:
Have video ready to play for students.
Print sheets for students.
Review material and understand background information
Learning Standards:
*Note: Standards depend on activities chosen to complete
Common Core Standards for English & Language Arts SL.4.1 - Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 4 topics and texts, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly. SL 4.4 - Describe people, places, things, and events with relevant details, expressing ideas and feelings clearly.
Michigan K-12 Social Studies Standards 4 – H3.0.2 - Use primary and secondary sources to explain how migration and immigration affected and continue to affect the growth of Michigan. 4 – H3.0.4 - Describe how the relationship between the location of natural resources and the location of industries (after 1837) affected and continue to affect the location and growth of Michigan cities.
Michigan K-12 Geography Standards 4 – G4.0.3 - Describe some of the movements of resources, goods, people, and information to, from, or within the United States, and explain the reasons for the movements.
Visual Art Standards ART.VA.I.4.3 - Analyze and reflect on the elements of art and design to communicate ideas. ART.VA.I.4.4 - Prepare, present, and collaboratively evaluate personal artwork.
Intelligences
People learn in a variety of different ways and understanding these ways can help meet the needs of learners and contribute to a successful learning environment. Howard Gardner, an American psychologist, developed the idea behind people having a variety of intelligences impacting how they learn. This is referred to a Garner’s Multiple Intelligences. The activities in this lesson will focus on various intelligences as noted in each activity.
Assessment
Students will orally explain to partners to demonstrate understanding of why values and preservation are important.
A group of students talk to a young person dressed in historical re-enactment dress.
NPS Photo
Frontier Life in the Keweenaw with the Fort Wilkins Historic State Park
Background
Establishing Fort Wilkins:
In 1843, the United States established a Mineral Land Agency at Copper Harbor to regulate copper mining activity. Copper Harbor's safe, deepwater port quickly became an important point of departure and a supply post for those seeking copper riches. In response to the rush of prospectors the government dispatched two companies of federal troops from Detroit to Copper Harbor in May 1844. Their assignment was to keep the peace among the miners at Copper Harbor and to deter problems with the Native Americans if any occurred.
One hundred and fifty soldiers made the 600-mile journey from Detroit to Copper Harbor on the wooden sailing ship, the John Jacob Astor. While the soldiers worked hard to finish building the new fort, their dependency on the Great Lakes for transportation, communication, and supply became increasingly evident. The Army garrisoned Fort Wilkins for a total ofjust five years, from 1844-1846 and 1867- 1870.
Building Fort Wilkins:
Army officers selected a narrow strip of land between Copper Harbor and Lake Fanny Hooe as the fort's location. Soldiers felled trees at the east end of Lake Fanny Hooe and cut local stone for building foundations. Logs were rafted to the construction site where troops squared them into timbers for raising buildings.
Knowing that many materials would be unavailable in the local area, the Army brought various items, includittg milled lumber, doors, windows, and brick, from Detroit. Other
imported materials included lath (planks or boards), lime and hair for plaster, and cast iron
stoves and stovepipe for heating and cooking. Because of the shortage of skilled labor, the Army also requested that several "cttizen mechanics" be sent from Detroit to aid in the Fort's construction. Carpenters and plasterers, making $ 1.25 per day, helped erect the new barracks.
Fort Wilkins resembled a typical mid-nineteenth century military post. Buildings included quarters for ofhcers, enlisted men and married enlisted personnel; company kitchens with mess rooms; a hospital; a sutler's store; a powder magazine; a guardhouse and storehouses. A bakery, carpenter shop, and blacksmith shop were also built within the stockade walls. The Army also included plans for a cattle yard, stables, and a slaughterhouse. It took $15,000 and about five months to build Fort Wilkins. The troops
completed 19 of the fort's 22 buildings the first season.
Fort Wilkins closed in 1846 with the onset of the Mexican War. The fort was not regarrisoned until 1867. Despite intermittent use, Fort Wilkins fell into a dilapidated state. The Army assigned Ordnance Sergeant William B. Wright as caretaker of the abandoned post for nine years until his discharge in 1855. Dr. John S. Livermore, a physician and surgeon in the Keweenaw Peninsula since 1848, leased the Fort as a health resort in the
1850s. The U.S. Army regarrisoned the fort in 186l , aft.er the Civil War because of a shortage of barracks space. Fort Wilkins was perrnanently abandoned by federal troops in August 1870.
Key Facts
Michigan became the 26th state on January 26, 1837.
Dr. Douglass Houghton is appointed the first State Geologist. He explores the Upper Peninsula in 1840-1841, and confirms the presence of copper in the Keweenaw Peninsula. This results in America's first mining boom.
In 1842, the Treaty of La Pointe ceded territory from the Ojibwe to the United States government to open up land to mining.
In 1843, Copper Harbor becomes an important point of arrival and departure for copper seekers. In response to this rush of prospectors, Fort Wilkins is established in May 1844.
Troops at Fort Wilkins completed 19 of22 buildings in the first season.
Fort Wilkins depended on Lake Superior shipping for communication, transport and supply. With the long, cold winters, shipping stopped and Fort Wilkins remained isolated from the outside world much of the year. Preparing and contending with the reality of this isolation remained a constant battle.
Terms to Learn
Peninsula: An area of land bordered by water on three sides.
Frontier: An unexplored, sparsely settled section of land.
Geologist: A person who scientifically studies the earth's crust, land formations, rocks, etc.
Ojibwe: The Native Americans whose ancestral and current homelands includes the Keweenaw Peninsula and the Western UP.
Treaty of La Pointe: In 1842, the Ojibwe entered into an agreement with the United States government. In exchange for annual payments of money and goods over a twenty-five year period, land from the Chocolay River, in present day Marquette, to what is now Ashland, Wisconsin, would be ceded to the U.S.
Ceded: To give up rights to or to separate.
Mineral Land Agency: Established in 1843 at Copper Harbor to regulate mining activity.
Prospector: A person seeking mineral riches in new and uncharted lands.
Garrison: A body of troops stationed at a fortified military post.
Build and Design Your Own Fort
Build and Design Your Own Fort
ACTIVITY INQUIRY STRAND: Information Processing V.1.LE.2 - Acquire information from observation of local environment.
Activity Objective
The point of this activity is for the student to learn about the different buildings at Fort Wilkins and how they were used. After they finish this project, have the students identify their buildings and tell the class something about them.
*Note: One page will provide 2 small cabins. The second page will provide a larger building. Enlarge each page 125% for 1 lx14 stock. Remember to cut on the dotted line and fold the solid line.
DIRECTIONS: Follow the steps below to build your own fort.
STEPS:
Cut on the dotted lines
Tape the sides together
Fold on solid lines so the paper stays
Draw on and color your buildings to match its name
Name your buildings to match ones at Fort Wilkins
Semi-fold on the solid lines to get an idea of how much room you have for drawing and coloring.
Frontier Fort Crossword Puzzle
Frontier Fort Crossword Puzzle
Activity Objective
Use a familiar puzzle to teach students about vocabulary words related to an 1800s frontier fort in Michigan. This puzzle can be done individually or in groups.
