Please note, groups of more than 40 students require a teacher or chaperone to teach at least one activity.
Educational groups are required to have 1 chaperone per 10 children through the duration of their visit.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Lesson Plans
The Time of My Life
Grade Level : 2 — 4
[±]
Show/Hide
Objective:
Based upon the timeline of Tom Watson’s life, each student
will construct a time line of their own life, selecting the important
events and dates they would like to have remembered by people
in the future.
|
Making Butter
Grade Level : K — 12
[±]
Show/Hide
Objective:
Students will gain an appreciation for the life on a rural Georgia
farm at the turn of the century — before grocery stores
and packaged foods were commonplace.
|
Games People Play
Grade Level : K — 3
[±]
Show/Hide
Objective:
During the museum visit students learned about life in rural Georgia.
Life in 1910 was not all work and no play. Here are some games
that children enjoyed in their spare time. Ask your students how
these compare to the things that they like to do. This activity
will address American history as well as physical fitness goals.
|
Persuasive
Speeches
Grade Level : 6 — 12
[±]
Show/Hide
Objective:
Tom Watson was a trained orator. He was known to move people to
tears. This lesson covers political history, persuasive writing,
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, and advertising techniques.
|
Great Speeches
Grade Level : 7 — 12
[±]
Show/Hide
Objective:
Tom Watson never used a speech writer. In fact, he rarely used
notes. Many of his speeches, whether given on the political stump
or in the courtroom, were given “off the cuff”. Students
will look at several “great speeches” and analyze
them, using Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, for the elements
that make them great. Have the student include a brief biography
of the person who gave the speech. Discuss the political, economic,
or social conditions surrounding the purpose of the speech. A
further activity is to compare Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Declaration
of War speech and George W. Bush’s September 11, 2001 Address
to the Nation; compare and contrast the two speeches, what elements
brought comfort to the Nation, what elements were meant as a warning
to the World? Great Speeches will address American history, Georgia
history, civics, citizenship, and public speaking requirements.
|
Campaign
Promises
Grade Level : 7 — 12
[±]
Show/Hide
Objective:
This activity dissects a campaign speech. We have provided a link
to Thomas Watson’s campaign speech in Houston, Texas, given
on September 23, 1904. Please feel free to adapt the activity
to fit with any campaign speech given any where in the world by
any politician. You may want to assign this as a short essay project.
This activity can address curriculum standards including American
history, civics, and Georgia history.
|
Platforms Are Not Just
Shoes!
Grade Level : 7 — 12
[±]
Show/Hide
Objective:
Students will learn how political parties construct their platforms
and then present them to the greater party. They will learn how
compromise is always the order of the day in a political party.
Students will explore the platforms of various political parties,
past and present, and then construct a platform based upon issues
that may arise in a national or local election.
|
Political
Parties
Grade Level : 7 — 12
[±]
Show/Hide
Objective:
Did you know that many of the founders fathers, including George
Washington, distrusted permanent political parties? In this activity
you’ll learn about the formation of the American Political
Parties. And how Platforms & Planks are used by Political
Parties.
|