Collections

Objectives

• Students will use the Internet to find out more about collections and collecting.
• Students will learn about the significance of collections, and about starting and maintaining their own collections.
• Students will list three items that they would consider collecting. They will list the logistical considerations involved in establishing each collection - such as cost, care, and display. Students will choose one of their three items to begin collecting.

Description

The Web site is maintained by the Smithsonian Institution. It provides detailed information on collecting rocks, stamps, and coins, as well as a number of useful links to related sites.

Suggested Activities

• Have students write a short paragraph about how they might create a system for remembering where and how they got each item for their collection, who was present, and why the item or moment was special to them.
• Have students write a short paragraph about their goals in creating the collection, and to whom they might someday give it.
• Give students an extended time frame of several months and have them bring in and present their collections to the class.

Level Activities

• Have students connect to http://www.usmint.gov/kids/index.cfm?fileContents=timeMachine/timeMachine.cfm and explore the time periods listed toward the bottom of the screen. Encourage students to:
break into groups to discuss what coins can tell us about American history.
make a list of the different units of currency in the United States, indicating not only the historical figures found on their faces, but also why these historical figures deserve to be remembered in this way.
find a coin, determine its origin and minting year, and research two or three important events in American history that were going on at that time.