Collections

Content Objectives

Students will:

• Learn about the concept of collecting.
• Access prior knowledge and build background about collections; what they are made of and how they are gathered.
• Explore and apply the concepts of how collectible items stem from people's interests and how museum collections are gathered.

Language Objectives

Students will:

• Demonstrate an understanding of collecting.
• Orally use words that describe collectible items.
• Extend oral vocabulary by speaking about the work of a museum curator.
• Use key concept words [collection, set, baseball cards, passion, obsession, transaction, exchange, barter, maintain, valuable, historic, curator].

Other

Explain

• Use the slideshow to review the key concept words.
• Explain that students are going to learn about collections:
• What is a collection?
• How do collectors build and maintain their collections?
• Are all collections valuable?
• What do museums have to do with collecting?

Model

• After the host introduces the slideshow, point to the photo on screen. Ask students: Why do people collect things? (to have a fun hobby, to make money by preserving valuable items, as a job, etc.)
• Ask students: What are some things that people collect? (baseball cards, stamps, newspapers, etc.)
• Say: Many people collect different kinds of things. Some people have stamp collections or coin collections while others go to museums to visit different collections. What types of collections can be found in museums? (art, historical items, etc.)

Guided Practice

• Guide students through the next four slides showing them pictures of various items. Always have the students discuss whether or not the items would be considered collectibles and what the people who collect them are probably interested in.

Apply

• Play the games that follow. Have them discuss with their partner the different topics that appear during the Talk About It feature.
• After the first game, ask students to discuss collections they have or have had in the past. After the second game, have them discuss what interest of theirs inspired them to start this collection.

Close

• Ask students: If you were to start a new collection today, what would you collect?
• Summarize for students that sometimes people collect things as a hobby or sometimes they collect things that they like and are interested in. Encourage them to think about topics they are interested in – what collectible items correspond to these topics? How would they go about building this collection?