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Educator Guides

The Decorative Arts Trust is thrilled to offer four complimentary educator guides featuring lesson plans related to our Collecting250 resource. In commemoration of the United States Semiquincentennial, this free website features 250 objects representing all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Each guide features a one-pager, worksheets, information on common core and other standards, and ideas for lesson extensions. These guides were created for educators who teach history or art to middle and high school students, but we welcome all teachers, program leaders, and family members to consider utilizing these educational activities. Explore below, and feel free to contact us with questions or examples of how you used Collecting250 in your classroom!

The Functions of Objects: An American Collection

Students examine various objects in Collecting250 and determine their function through the question, “What job does this object do?” Students present a proposal (in trading card form) for the acquisition of an object, historic or present-day, that they believe should be included in the collection. Students’ trading cards can be shared in a school display in recognition of the Semiquincentennial.

Collecting: Uncovering America through its Objects
Students explore reasons why humans engage in collecting. They share their knowledge of collections and role-play as private collectors. Then students curate a series of objects from Collecting250 for their own museum spaces, with peers discussing which collection is the most historically significant, the most expensive, etc. Students also investigate an object and create a “missing” poster.
Weaving a Storyline Across 250 Years
Students investigate various objects in Collecting250 and consider the underlying history of those objects through the question, “What story does this object have to share?” Students create a historical fiction narrative that threads the stories of various objects from the collection into a storyboard that interweaves personal student stories with the stories told by objects found in the collection.
Objects and Traditions: History Revealed
Students consider Collecting250 objects through the lens of tradition. Students discuss traditions that are important in their families and communities, and then students examine objects and discuss how they might have been made in association with traditions. As students investigate objects, they discuss how cultural beliefs, values, and artistic expression influence the making of an object.