4th Graders Visit The Henry Ford Museum!
On February 13th, our fourth grade crews visited The Henry Ford Museum to launch our third Expedition of the year: a 10-week exploration of the Perspectives of the American Revolution!
Our guiding questions are:
What does it mean to be free?
How did the American Revolution and the events leading up to it affect ALL people in the colonies?
What impact did the American Revolution have on Native Americans?
How does one's perspective influence their opinion?
A visit to the Liberty and Justice for All exhibit was a way for hands-on research to inform our students' work throughout the expedition and connect them with their role as critical thinkers and change agents, now and in the future.
When we first arrived, students were tasked to think critically about 3 guiding questions: What is the American Revolution, how did the American Revolution and the events leading up to it affect all people in the colonies, centering the Indigenous experience, and what impact did the American Revolution have on Native Americans?
Students explored the exhibit using a graphic organizer to house their thinking, learning, and notes.
We debriefed together after our visit by sitting in a Crew huddle. During this time, students shared their learnings from the museum: Justice for All. Specifically, students were taught to think critically about the historical perspectives present in the Exhibit and historical perspectives they think may have been missing.
Our takeaways from our visit were the importance of thinking critically about historical perspectives and the events leading up to the Revolution. Following this initial field study, students were able to launch their research during our Case Studies. Throughout our case studies, students read both literature and informational texts about the historical perspectives of the American Revolution and specifically, were taught to think critically about voices represented in historical perspectives and those who are not. In our research, that was the indigenous and Black enslaved perspectives.
One of the most powerful experiences in this visit to the Henry Ford Musuem was the opportunity to go back! This amazing partnership allowed 4th graders to go back to the museum at the end of our Expedition for a Musuem Exhibit Takeover. During this time, students took on the role of curator and were stationed across the exhibit.
As visitors came to their area, students were guided to teach others about both their expert knowledge of the historical event that led up to or was part of the American Revolution, as well as, teach others in the museum to think critically about historical perspectives that were missing from the display.
This experience allowed students to be the drivers of their learning and push for justice and change which are central to our mission and work at Detroit Prep! We look forward to a lasting partnership with Henry Ford Musuem for years to come!